The Cradle Files

by Delores Fossen

  Lexie nodded and looked at Garrett, who took things from there. It was just as they'd rehearsed. Garrett wanted Lexie to speak as little as possible.

  "That's right," he said in response to Dr. Blake's remark. "We know it's a little early to be visiting birthing facilities, but we want to be certain that we choose the right one. You see, my wife is very shy, and it might take her many visits to get comfortable with the facility and the staff."

  Dr. Blake flashed another of those PR smiles. "That's not a problem. At Brighton, we welcome visitors and questions."

  He hoped she meant that. "Will Erica and I be able to choose the obstetrician?"

  "Absolutely. We have six here on staff." And with that, the doctor slid a glossy brochure their way. "Their bios are all in there."

  Oh, but it wasn't just bios, Garrett soon learned. There were photos as well. Three men, three women. Lexie leaned over to study those photos with him. She was so close that she was touching his shoulder, and he felt her arm tense.

  "Is there any one in particular you'd like to meet, sweetheart?" Garrett asked Lexie, using the best loving-husband voice he could manage.

  "I don't want a female doctor," she said. She kept her voice a raspy whisper. "And none of those men look very friendly."

  "But I assure you they are," Dr. Blake insisted. "They're friendly and qualified to carry you through the entire process of prenatal care to childbirth. Here at Brighton, we want you to have the ultimate birthing experience."

  Yeah. And sometimes that experience included baby kidnapping.

  "A few months ago, I drove past the birthing center," Lexie continued, while trying to disguise her voice. "I saw a doctor in the parking lot. He was in his forties. Graying hair. He was tall and had wide shoulders. I had a very good feeling about him, and he's the doctor I'd like to use."

  Lexie was describing the man who'd nearly killed her. Garrett didn't care much for the bold approach, but he liked Dr. Blake's reaction even less. Her smile faded, and her jaw quivered as she tried to force that smile back in place.

  "I can't recall anyone of that description ever working here," the doctor explained. "He was a probably a visitor or someone interviewing for a position. We get a lot of applicants here at Brighton."

  "I thought he worked here," Lexie insisted. She moved to the edge of her seat. "In fact, I'm certain of it. He was parked in a space reserved for employees only."

  "Well, people don't always park where they're supposed to park." Dr. Blake leaned back, away from Lexie, and pointed to the brochure. "Since you have very specific requirements for an obstetrician, perhaps you should take the brochure home and study the bios of our staff. I believe you'll find one who's suitable. If not, you're welcome to go elsewhere."

  The doctor's tone had a don't-let-the-door-hit-you-in-the-butt ring to it. Lexie's questions had obviously made her very uncomfortable, and that was their cue to get out of there.

  Garrett stood. "We'll read the brochure and have a look around on our own. If we decide to use Brighton, we'll let you know."

  Lexie and the doctor stood as well, and Dr. Blake cast uneasy glances at both of them. "I'm afraid your look around will be limited to just this corridor and the reception area. I can't let you into the birthing areas. Privacy concerns, you understand."

  Yes, but whose privacy did they want to guard?

  Lexie and he stepped out of the room. Much to his surprise, no one was lurking in the hall to make sure they left the building. Probably because the security cameras were a human substitute. Someone was likely watching them, so the trick was not to draw attention to themselves. That might not be entirely possible, but it wouldn't stop him from trying.

  They proceeded down the corridor. Even with the surveillance, Garrett intended to casually stroll as far as he could, perhaps even into the unoccupied birthing rooms, and he'd keep going until someone stopped them and escorted them back to the "safe" areas. They might get lucky and see something that would trigger Lexie's memory.

  "Dr. Blake knows a lot more than she's saying," Lexie whispered. "That doctor was here, and she was covering for him."

  "Maybe. Or maybe the doctor who delivered the baby was doing illegal things after hours. Maybe someone became suspicious, and Dr. Blake fired him. Now, she doesn't want his name associated with her perky, badge-sporting clinic."

  Lexie nodded, but he could tell it wasn't a full-fledged agreement. "But even if that's what happened, Dr. Blake still knows who this doctor is."

  "True, but there are ways to get that information. I can check IRS records. Well, I can have someone check them. Since I'm not supposed to be working on this case, it's best if I try to stay one step removed from the official part of the investigation. Going to the IRS would definitely qualify as official."

  "So, other than a call to the IRS, what do we do?" Lexie asked.

  "I'll set up that meeting with Billy Avery. In the meantime, we lie low, just beneath the radar, and we keep searching."

  They stopped outside one of the rooms and tested the door. It was unlocked. So Garrett opened it. It looked like a homey bedroom, complete with a bassinet and other baby items. There was even a rocking chair.

  "It's a recovery room," they heard someone say. A woman approached them along the corridor. "Most of our patients and their families are brought to rooms like this within minutes after delivery. We want the recovery period to mimic home life."

  No doubt. But the bassinet was just another reminder that Lexie and Garrett didn't have their child. The room was a reminder that Lexie hadn't been given the royal treatment. Just the opposite. Instead of home life, she'd gotten hell.

  "I'm Alicia Peralta," the woman said softly, shaking their hands. "I'm a nurse here at Brighton." She fired several nervous glances around the hall. "I heard you asking about that doctor."

  Garrett and Lexie nodded and waited to hear what the woman had to say.

  Alicia Peralta moved closer to them and came up on her tiptoes so she could whisper in Garrett's ear. "I know who the doctor is, and I know what he did. Come with me. It isn't safe to talk here."

  * * *

  LEXIE'S HEART WAS pounding, and it pounded harder with each step that Garrett and she took. They followed the petite, dark-haired nurse down the corridor that Dr. Blake had put off-limits, then made their way out a back exit that led to a parking lot.

  Garrett and Lexie exchanged a glance, and he slipped his hand inside his leather jacket, where his shoulder holster and his Glock were located. That only made Lexie's heart beat faster. Because if the nurse was leading them to an ambush of some sort, it would be devastating. But it wouldn't be nearly as devastating as not learning the information that would help them find their daughter.

  "It should be okay to talk out here," Alicia said, taking them to a shady area at the back of the lot. No one was around. Well, no one Lexie could see, anyway. But she couldn't rule out the possibility of an attack, so she slipped her hand in her purse and curved her fingers around the small handgun that Garrett had loaned her.

  "What do you know about this mystery doctor?" Garrett immediately asked.

  Alicia turned her attention to Lexie. "I heard your description, and I think the man you're referring to is a former employee, Dr. Andrew Darnell."

  Lexie almost cheered. Thank heaven. They finally had a name to go with the face that haunted her every dream, her every waking hour.

  "Why didn't Dr. Blake volunteer this information?" Lexie asked.

  "I think Dr. Blake realized that Darnell was using the clinic to recruit women for questionable adoptions. You see, we provide obstetrical services to a facility for unwed mothers that's just a few miles from here. I started to notice that most of those girls and young women were giving up their babies for adoption, and I think Dr. Darnell was somehow talking them into it."

  "Or forcing them into it," Lexie mumbled.

  Alicia stared at her. Nodded. "I suspect that could be true."

  "What makes you say that?" Garrett quest
ioned suspiciously.

  "The records, for one thing. Many of Darnell's patients have missing or incomplete records. Plus, he had this habit of inducing labor at two or three in the morning, at a time when staff is usually at a minimum."

  Was that what happened to her? Lexie wondered. Had she been at that facility for unwed mothers, and had Dr. Darnell been her obstetrician?

  Had he taken her baby as part of some illegal adoption scheme?

  As horrible as that theory was, there was a silver lining. Maybe her daughter was with a loving couple who was taking good care of her. Temporarily. Because Lexie intended to get her child back.

  "Do you recognize me?" Lexie asked the nurse. "Was I a patient here?"

  The woman studied her. "I don't think so."

  "She normally has reddish hair," Garrett interjected.

  Alicia continued to comb her gaze over Lexie's face. "You don't look familiar, but Dr. Darnell had a lot of patients that he saw on the side, after normal office hours."

  Garrett had already suggested something similar. If so, maybe Darnell was indeed acting alone, with his own henchmen and not clinic employees.

  "Do you know how to contact Dr. Darnell?" Lexie asked.

  "I'm sorry, I don't. I could ask around—"

  "No," Garrett insisted. "I wouldn't want you to get in trouble."

  And they didn't want anyone to get suspicious. Especially Dr. Blake, who might even be covering for the baby-stealing doctor.

  Alicia nervously glanced around and checked her watch. "I have to get back inside before someone realizes I'm not at the nurses' station."

  Without a goodbye, she hurried across the parking lot and slipped back into the center.

  "You think she's telling the truth?" Lexie asked.

  "Only one way to know." He pressed his hand to the small of her back to get her moving toward their unmarked police car, which he'd talked a friend at the SAPD garage into lending him. "I'll find out if this Dr. Darnell exists and if he worked here. If that checks out, then I can start looking into records at the home for unwed mothers."

  "Illegal adoptions," Lexie stated, going over the possibilities. "How could it possibly go on here, at such a large clinic?"

  "Where there's money to be made, people find a way. If Dr. Darnell was providing babies through private and perhaps illegal adoptions, it means that the birth families probably wouldn't have qualified for babies adopted through legal agencies. Maybe they didn't have the money for private legal adoptions, or maybe they couldn't pass the extensive background checks."

  Her heart sank. Mercy! Her baby could be with people like that. Criminals, or worse.

  "Don't go there," Garrett warned.

  She looked up to see what had prompted his comment, and found him staring at her.

  "Do not think worst case scenario here," he added. They got inside the car. "Just focus on what we have to do. One step at a time. And that first step is verifying what Alicia Peralta just told us."

  Lexie nodded. "And we need to take a look at the home for unwed mothers."

  "I'll send in a P.I. for that. If Dr. Blake is involved in this, she might have already alerted the home. Walking in there could be a trap."

  He drove out of the parking lot and onto the rural highway that fronted the secluded birthing center. Both checked the mirrors, to see if anyone was following them, but they appeared to have the entire highway to themselves.

  Garrett didn't waste any time. He snatched up his cell phone and pressed in some numbers. "I'm calling a P.I. friend. He's the best of the best."

  "You're not going to get your brother involved in this?"

  "Not yet. Not until I have something concrete." He paused. "Besides, I don't really want to have to explain to him why I took you inside a clinic where just three and a half weeks ago someone tried to kill you."

  Garrett opened his mouth to say more, but his call must have connected. "Mason," he stated. "This is Garrett. I need a favor. Find out what you can about Dr. Andrew Darnell, Dr. Linnay Blake and a nurse named Alicia Peralta. They all worked or still work at the Brighton Birthing Center. I also need someone to get a personal look at a home for unwed mothers. I don't have an address, but it's located near Brighton."

  It was exactly what they needed—information—and Lexie hoped it wouldn't take too long to get it.

  Garrett ended the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket. "This P.I. works fast. We might have something as early as this afternoon."

  The afternoon was only a few hours away. Not too long. Yet it seemed like a lifetime.

  "How much trouble is this going to cause you?" she asked.

  "Probably a lot."

  There it was. That in-your-face honesty. Other times she appreciated it, but right now, it made her feel awful. "I really have this knack for ruining your career, don't I?"

  He lifted a shoulder. "I'd have to be a heartless SOB to put a badge ahead of a baby."

  That didn't answer her question. "But you didn't ask for this baby."

  "Neither did you," he pointed out. "Making a baby is the risk any two people take when they have sex. Including safe, adrenaline sex."

  She stared at him, frowned. "You're certainly being logical about all of this."

  "You think so? Then you're wrong. It's a facade. There are too many things coming at us. The gunmen, the attraction, your memory loss, and the baby. I just keep thinking that if you hadn't heard her cry or if you hadn't managed to hold on to those few memories of the clinic and the doctor, we might never have known we had a daughter."

  His words touched her in a way she shouldn't be touched. Because this shared empathy didn't mean all the problems they had were gone. No. Despite Garrett's response to the pressure, he still resented her. With reason. Old wounds didn't heal overnight.

  "Just for the record, I don't expect you to forgive me," she told him. "And I'm not looking for a big-happy-family ending to all of this. I just want us to find our daughter."

  His grip on the steering wheel tightened. "This doesn't look good," she heard Garrett say.

  Confused, Lexie followed his gaze and saw that he was staring at the rearview mirror. She turned to glance behind them, and saw the SUV. It was obviously speeding on the country road, and it was closing in fast.

  "It might not be one of the gunmen," she murmured, trying to reassure herself. But she reached for her gun.

  Beside her, Garrett did the same.

  Just as the SUV rammed into them.

  Chapter Nine

  The sudden impact nearly caused Garrett to lose control of the car. While he tried to keep a grip on his weapon, he clutched the steering wheel and somehow kept them from going into a ditch. He also pressed a tracking device and a security alarm that would alert headquarters. Backup would come.

  Eventually.

  But Lexie and he were out in the middle of nowhere, at least twenty miles from San Antonio, and it might take a half hour or more for backup to arrive.

  That meant Lexie and he were on their own.

  Hell.

  He blamed himself for their situation. Even though they'd perhaps gotten critical information at the birthing center, that information might have a very high price tag.

  It could get them killed.

  Of course, doing nothing might cause them to lose their child, so he hadn't had much of an alternative.

  "I can't see their faces," Lexie was saying.

  Garrett cursed. "Stay down!" he ordered. The woman just didn't listen when it came to maintaining cover.

  She did slip lower in the seat, but kept her head high enough that she could see out the side mirror. "I think there are three of them."

  Three. The same number that had attacked them at his house. He didn't think it was a coincidence. No, these were likely the same three men. And if Lexie hadn't been in the car with him, Garrett would have figured out a way to get a better look at them. Maybe he could have even maneuvered into a direct, face-to-face confrontation, so he could beat these t
hree senseless. But Lexie was with him, and he had to get her out of there.

  The question was how.

  The SUV slammed into them again. The car lurched forward, and Garrett clipped the edge of the ditch with his right front tire.

  "I can shoot at them," Lexie insisted.

  "And they can shoot at you," he countered.

  There was another jolt from the SUV, and he heard the sound of metal tearing through metal, which likely meant the bumper was gone. At this rate, the much bigger and heavier vehicle could keep ramming them until the gunmen either ran them off the road or destroyed the car.

  Except there was a third scenario.

  And Garrett didn't immediately think of it—until a bullet slammed through the back windshield. The blast was deafening. No silencer this time, and the bullet tore through the windshield as well.

  Another bullet quickly followed. Then another. Garrett fought to maintain control of the car, but the steering wheel gave an almost violent jerk. His stomach dropped to his knees. One of those bullets had ruptured a tire.

  A dozen possible solutions went through his head, none of them good. And he cursed himself again for putting Lexie in this situation.

  "What should I do?" she asked, her gun clasped in both hands.

  Garrett didn't answer her, mainly because he didn't know how. It was time to do the evade and escape that he'd mentioned the night before.

  There was another blast from a bullet. The Mustang jerked to the left. Another tire was gone, and within seconds, Garrett was driving on the metal rims. There was friction, smoke and the stench and shriek of steel slicing through the asphalt. They wouldn't last long like this, and he didn't think the gunmen planned to stop shooting anytime soon. He had to act fast if he had any hopes of getting out of this.

  "Hold on," Garrett warned Lexie.

  He twisted the steering wheel to the right and aimed at a path off the road. It wasn't much—barely six feet wide—and the car scraped between two scrub oaks. Garrett didn't stop. Didn't even slow down, though the lack of functioning tires was a hindrance. However, they weren't nearly as much of a hindrance as size was to the SUV. The driver behind him plowed into one of the oaks, bashing in the front end of his vehicle.