The Cradle Files

by Delores Fossen

  Oh, yes.

  His badge. Another personal involvement with her wouldn't do much to help his career. And there was that whole issue of how she would feel about him when her memory fully returned.

  "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

  She nearly dodged the question. And probably should have. But after all they'd been through, it seemed pointless to keep her thoughts to herself. "I was wondering how I would feel about you when my memories fill in."

  He looked ready to dodge it as well, but he didn't. "Are you still furious with me because I didn't tell you about your father's death?"

  "No."

  "Well, you should be."

  "You're a cop. It was the cop thing to do. Which only proves, of course, that you're on the same high-achieving level as your family."

  "No. It proves that I put my badge above all else." He waited a moment before he continued. "Besides, when you get back all of your memories, you may realize that you hate me. That might be the real reason you walked out. The news about your father might have only been the last straw that sent you running."

  "Why would I hate you?" she asked.

  "Because I'm pigheaded."

  He mumbled a few other derogatory adjectives. Temperamental. Obsessed. All semi-true. His out-pouring seemed to drain him of his common sense or something, because he leaned in and kissed her. It wasn't frantic and hot, and it didn't seem like foreplay. It was like his embrace—natural. And if he had any motive or expectations beyond that one kiss, he didn't act on them.

  Lexie did.

  Well, she didn't exactly act, but she did have a revelation of sorts. An uncomfortable one. It was the one thing Garrett didn't need to hear: she was falling for him all over again.

  Which either made her stupid, or made her suspect he was her soul mate.

  Maybe both were true.

  "Cuddling probably isn't a good idea," she mumbled. But she didn't move away. She darn sure didn't want to get up and go into another room, where she'd be alone. Alone was the last thing she wanted right now.

  "I wouldn't want this to get around to my poker buddies, but cuddling is almost always a good idea."

  She smiled. "It's foreplay," she contradicted.

  "It can be. But for us, breathing is foreplay."

  Lexie couldn't contradict that.

  "You walk into the room," he continued, "I smell your toothpaste and I'm aroused."

  So, that's what did it for him. Toothpaste. "The thought of your tattoo arouses me. Not the one on your shoulder. The one on your butt."

  As if this was the most mundane conversation in the universe, he nodded. "You remember that one?"

  "Yes. And I remember your butt. Hence the part about me getting aroused." But it did make Lexie wonder where this dialogue—and the passion she felt—were going. "Something this intense burns out quickly."

  "You bet," Garrett agreed. But he sounded as if he was questioning it as much as she was.

  Lexie definitely wasn't convinced. "So after we've found our daughter, what stops us from having another round on the coffee table?"

  He looked down at her. "Nothing. Except us, of course."

  She rolled her eyes and groaned. They weren't going to stop anything sexual. Even now, less than a month after giving birth, she wanted him—bad. Still, this could easily be a too fast, too hot situation. It might take them hours of time on the coffee table to realize that they weren't compatible.

  But even she couldn't deny that it'd be fun.

  A ringing sound blasted through the room, and it took Lexie a moment to figure out it was coming from Garrett's cell phone. He practically leaped off the sofa and hurried to his jacket to retrieve it.

  "O'Malley," he answered.

  Within seconds, his expression changed completely, going from extreme anticipation to surprise. Maybe even shock.

  "I'm very interested in what you have to say," Garrett commented to the person on the other end of the line.

  "Who is it?" Lexie whispered.

  "Dr. Andrew Darnell. He's ready to talk."

  Chapter Fourteen

  "Where are you?" Garrett asked Darnell. "Maybe we can have this conversation face-to-face?"

  "Not yet. Not until we get a few things straight. Then I'll gladly meet with you."

  Lexie hurried over, and because she was several inches shorter than Garrett, she stood on the coffee table in order to put her ear next to his.

  "I'm listening," Garrett assured him. And he silently cursed because there was no way to record this conversation. He only hoped that didn't come back to haunt him.

  "I know you have a P.I. digging into my past," the doctor explained. "He's probably hacked into my computer files. Someone did, anyway."

  "Is there a point to all of this?" Garrett challenged. "Are you saying you have something in those files you want to keep hidden?"

  "I'm saying I don't like my privacy being violated. I participated in some private adoptions, along with my attorney, Irving Kent. Neither Mr. Kent nor I had anything to do with stolen babies and illegal adoptions."

  Garrett didn't buy it. "Three and a half weeks ago, a woman named Lexie Rayburn delivered a baby girl. You were the attending physician. Afterward, you tried to kill Ms. Rayburn with an overdose of narcotics."

  "No! I most certainly didn't."

  "Then I welcome your explanation. Oh, and it better be a good one. Because then you're going to tell me where that baby is."

  "I was the doctor at a delivery three and a half weeks ago, but I didn't try to kill the mother. I simply gave her a sedative because she became extremely agitated."

  "Mothers tend to do that when their babies are stolen."

  "The child wasn't stolen. It was a surrogate baby, and the surrogate father came and picked up the child."

  Lexie huffed. "I'm Lexie Rayburn. Where did this so-called surrogate father take the baby?"

  If Darnell was alarmed that Lexie was listening, he gave no indication. "I don't know."

  "I don't believe you."

  "But it's the truth." Darnell sounded beyond desperate now. "I need your help, Sergeant O'Malley. I don't know what's going on, but the reason I hired a bodyguard is because I think someone's trying to kill me."

  "Welcome to the club," Garrett grumbled.

  Darnell didn't have a response to that. "I want to meet with you. I want you to arrange for me to be protected."

  "Oh, we're going to meet, all right, but first let me explain to you what kind of cop I am. I would have no qualms about putting a bullet in you if you harm the baby that you stole."

  "I can't harm a child I don't have. I don't know where she is." And much to Garrett's surprise, he sounded honest. About that, anyway.

  "Meet me in the courtyard of the Franciscan mission on Monte de Leon Street in one hour," Garrett ordered. "Come alone."

  "You'll protect me?"

  "You bet. But if you don't have some answers, the right answers, then you'd better start worrying about who's going to protect you from me."

  * * *

  "HAVE I MENTIONED THAT bringing you with me just wasn't a good idea?" Garrett asked. Again.

  "Yes, you have," Lexie answered. "But we both know you didn't have a choice. Remember that part about not wanting to leave me at the safe house alone?"

  "I should have waited for my brother to arrive so he could stay with you."

  Lexie blew out a long breath. "Garrett, I can help you if something goes wrong. Not that it will," she quickly added when that look flashed through his eyes. The look of a man who wanted to strangle himself for going against his instincts. And his instincts obviously included keeping her hidden away while he took all the risk. "You arranged for an ideal meeting place."

  Well, maybe not ideal. Nothing about this constituted ideal, but Garrett and she were in sort of a catbird seat. They'd arrived at the mission a good half hour before the meeting, and for most of that time they'd been waiting in the reception center that overlooked the courtyard. When Dr. D
arnell showed up, they'd be able to see him, and they'd also know if he'd brought along any hired guns.

  They didn't have the courtyard to themselves, which Garrett had likely anticipated. A few visitors were strolling the grounds and the buildings. There weren't enough people to call a crowd, but the lack of privacy hopefully meant that Darnell hadn't come to fight.

  Garrett checked his watch. "Darnell should be here in five minutes."

  "He'll show," Lexie assured him.

  But before the last word had left her mouth, she heard a slight buzzing sound.

  "My phone," Garrett said. He'd obviously set it on vibrate, probably so it wouldn't ring and alert anyone.

  Lexie held her breath, praying that the doctor hadn't canceled.

  "Anything he wants to say to her, he can say to me," Garrett responded to the caller.

  Her heart sank. Darnell was likely canceling, and no doubt wanted to substitute a phone conversation for a face-to-face meeting. That couldn't happen. She needed to see how he reacted when they questioned him about the baby.

  Garrett put his hand over the mouthpiece. "It's Billy Avery. Do you want to talk to him?"

  All right. She hadn't anticipated that, and it took her a moment to shift gears. Yes, they needed to talk to Darnell, but they could perhaps learn something from Avery, as well.

  Lexie cautiously took the phone. Garrett moved closer, until they were pressed up against each other in order to hear the conversation. But he also slipped his hand inside his jacket and put his hand on his gun. He didn't look at her. Instead, he kept his attention fastened on the courtyard.

  "I'm getting calls and visits from cops, Lexie. Regarding a missing baby. Well, I just wanted you to know that I had nothing to do with it."

  Although she didn't remember a lot about the time she'd worked for Billy Avery, Lexie hadn't expected him to make a confession, especially not over a cell phone.

  "You know, you're the second person today who's said they didn't have any part in this," she informed him. "I'm getting tired of hearing it."

  "But I'm telling the truth. And I'm also telling you to back off. If you don't, you'll be very sorry."

  Beside her, she felt Garrett's arm tense as he checked to see whether or not Darnell had arrived. He hadn't.

  "Let's clear up a few things," she said to Avery. "You know I'm not the bluffing type, and I will bury you if you've taken my child. You want to play? All right, here we go. Let's play. I'm within seconds of calling police headquarters and detailing every illegal thing you've ever done. Hear that, Billy? Everything."

  "You know nothing."

  "I know things about you that will make a prosecuting attorney salivate. Do you honestly believe I could work for a man like you and not know what you were doing? Think back—remember when you'd be talking on the phone to one of your cronies, and you'd wonder if someone was listening? Well, guess what? I was listening."

  "You're bluffing."

  "Am I?"

  "I hope to hell you are bluffing, Lexie, because I'm not behind your baby's disappearance. If the cradle is empty, it's not because of me."

  "I'm not convinced."

  And with that, she hung up. She was about to explain to Garrett what she'd just done, then realized no explanation was necessary. He used his cell phone to speed dial a number.

  "Brayden," he said a moment later. "Keep a close watch on Avery's calls and visitors. If he's behind this, he'll be contacting someone very soon."

  "I was bluffing," Lexie admitted as soon as Garrett finished talking to his brother. "Other than what I provided during testimony at the trial, I don't have any other dirt on Billy Avery. Or if I do, I don't remember it."

  "I figured. But threatening him like that was a good move. It might spur him to make a mistake." Obviously riled, though, Garrett glanced at her. "Of course, the mistake could be yours."

  She readily nodded. "He might try to send someone after me, to make sure I won't tell the cops anything."

  "Bingo. Man, when you annoy someone, you go for the number one scumbag in the state. At any time during your threats and bluffs did it occur to you that Avery might try to silence you permanently?"

  "It occurred to me. But what would you have done in my place?"

  He hesitated a moment. Cursed softly. "The same thing. Except I would have threatened to bash his face in."

  "I considered that." And she was only partly joking. "I just hope what I did gets us some results."

  "Oh, if Avery calls anyone, we'll know about it. And we'll follow visitors to see if they can lead us to the baby."

  It was a good backup plan in case Dr. Darnell turned out not to be in a confessing kind of mood. Of course, it was entirely possible that Darnell was working for Avery.

  If that was true, why would Avery want her dead? If the baby was his insurance policy, then he had all he needed to keep her silent. Or better yet, why hadn't he just had her killed the night she delivered? That would have ensured she never testified against him. Something didn't add up, especially since her former boss hadn't been surprised to hear from her after all this time. Or maybe it did add up, and she just hadn't made the right connection.

  Remembering that they had yet another confrontation to face, she glanced around. "Still no sign of Darnell?"

  "Not yet. But then, I figured he wouldn't be standing in the open. Especially if he has a boss who'd rather he not reveal anything about the illegal adoption…."

  She followed Garrett's gaze, to see what had diverted his attention, and Lexie spotted the man. Not Dr. Darnell. This guy was older, probably mid-fifties, and he wore an expensive Italian suit. He crossed the courtyard and made a beeline toward them.

  The man wasn't alone.

  Dr. Linnay Blake, the Brighton Birthing Center director, was with him.

  Garrett checked to make sure they had the reception center to themselves. At the moment, they did. And he drew his weapon just in case Linnay Blake and her friend were there to cause trouble. "Get back into that corner," he ordered Lexie.

  That earned him a huff, and she nearly gave him a lecture about equal rights and such. But he obviously had enough on his mind. Lexie stepped back, deep into the corner, taking her own handgun from her shoulder purse.

  The man opened the door, and Garrett took aim.

  "Sergeant O'Malley?" the newcomer asked. He turned his cool hazel eyes on her. "Lexie Rayburn?"

  "Who are you?" Garrett demanded.

  "Well, I'm not someone who warrants being held at gunpoint."

  Garrett kept his gun and his glare aimed at the man. "I'll decide that if you don't mind."

  The glare must have worked at least a little because the man dropped back a step. "I'm Dr. Darnell's attorney, Irving Kent. And I believe you know Dr. Linnay Blake."

  "They know me," Dr. Blake said coolly. "They lied their way into my clinic."

  "We had a reason to lie," Lexie interjected.

  "That may be, but that's not why we're here." Kent retraced that step and moved closer to them. He lowered his voice practically to a whisper. "Dr. Darnell called me about a half hour ago, said he had a meeting with you and Ms. Rayburn, and he asked me to come."

  "He did the same to me," Dr. Blake explained. "He requested that I meet him here."

  "Why would he do that?" Garrett asked.

  Kent shrugged as if the answer were obvious. "He said it's because he didn't trust you, and he wanted me here, just in case." He glanced around. "I'm afraid just in case might have happened."

  Kent's comment brought Lexie out of the corner. "What's that supposed to mean?"

  Linnay Blake jumped in to answer. "It means Andrew Darnell was afraid of someone, and that someone might have intimidated him into skipping this meeting. You're wasting your time. Darnell's not going to risk his life for anyone or anything."

  Irving Kent reached into his pocket. Not the best idea he'd ever had, and the startled look in his eyes proved that when Garrett pointed his gun right at his head.

 
"It's a business card," Kent explained. He extracted it from his pocket and held it out.

  Garrett reached forward cautiously, and took it. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

  "If Darnell shows, call me. I want him to explain why he wasted my time with this bogus appointment. Oh, and tell him I'll bill him double for it."

  Kent didn't wait for Garrett's assurance that he would call. The attorney turned and walked away.

  "So, why did Dr. Darnell want you here?" Lexie asked Dr. Blake.

  She shook her head. "I have no idea."

  "Really? You don't think it has something to do with the illegal adoptions?"

  "Maybe. Maybe he wanted to bare his soul and wanted witnesses. Who knows? I meant what I said—Darnell is spineless. He'll never accept the blame for anything he's done wrong." She checked her watch. "And if you don't mind, I'm late for an appointment."

  Lexie nudged Garrett's arm when Linnay Blake walked out. "Do we just let them go?"

  With his jaw muscles twitching, he stared at the door. "I've got no reason to hold them. Yet. Besides, the person we need to speak to is Darnell. If either of them is guilty of anything, Darnell might be ready to tell us."

  Lexie hurried to the doorway, but all she got was a glimpse of Dr. Blake disappearing down one of the shrub-lined paths.

  "Darnell's not coming, is he?" Lexie groaned and smacked her hand against the wall. "This could have all been a setup."

  "Trust me, I've considered that. That's why I didn't want you here."

  She dismissed what he said with a shake of her head. "But if it's a setup, then why hasn't he already made his move?"

  That's when they heard a woman scream.

  "Stay here," Garrett ordered. And he would have rushed out the door if Lexie hadn't caught his arm.

  "Alone?" she questioned. She didn't mind being alone. In fact, she hoped like the devil that she had a chance to run into Darnell, but she didn't want Garrett going out there without backup.

  There was another scream, followed by a shout for help.

  Garrett fired a glance at Lexie and then in the direction of the scream, obviously debating what he should do. "Stay behind me, and don't try anything dangerous."