The Baby Snatchers

by Chris Taylor

  “Why, Mom? Why?” Sobbing, she stumbled over the corner of a rug.

  “No more questions,” her mother snapped. “You know too much already. Now, get moving and watch where you’re going. Walk to the front door. We’ll take your car.”

  “You’re not going to get away with this!” Georgie cried out, hating the fear and panic in her voice.

  “Move!” Rosemary screamed, threatening her with the waving gun.

  Georgie studied her aunt’s face, contorted with anger. A crazed light gleamed in her eyes. Georgie gasped on another sob, this one laden with fear. She no longer recognized the woman she’d known her entire life. Her mom appeared equally foreign.

  With no other choice, she turned and made her way out of her father’s den, across the wide expanse of Italian marble and back to the heavy front doors. Pulling them open, she stumbled down the steps and walked over to her car. Rosemary stood behind her with the gun inches from Georgie’s head. Her mother waited not far away.

  “Get in. And don’t try anything stupid, or you’ll be dead,” Rosemary warned.

  Georgie gasped, but both women ignored her cry of fear. With trembling limbs, Georgie managed to slide in behind the wheel. All she could do was pray that Cameron had received her message. With the gun at the ready, Rosemary climbed into the seat opposite. Marjorie took a seat in the back.

  “W-where are we going?” Georgie stammered.

  “We’re heading west, like I told you,” Rosemary growled. “To the cottage in the Blue Mountains.”

  Georgie put the car into reverse and backed out of the cobblestone driveway. Checking for traffic, she eased the Mazda into the street. Rosemary held the gun with a steady hand, pointed in Georgie’s direction. It was all Georgie could do to stay on the road.

  “It’s a shame it had to come to this,” Marjorie stated matter-of-factly from behind Georgie. “But I guess this is the only way.”

  Fresh fear raced through Georgie’s veins, but she kept her attention steadfastly focused on the road. “What do you mean?”

  Rosemary shrugged nonchalantly. “You’ll see.”

  “But the police—”

  “Will never find you,” her aunt added. “While we were inside, I got your mother to send a text from your phone to hers. You’re meeting her in the city to catch a late-night movie. Just the two of you. Some quality mother-daughter time. She’ll be suitably confused and uncertain when she attends the police station in the morning to file a missing person’s report. By the time they get off their asses to look for you, any trace of you will be long gone. It will be like you didn’t exist.”

  The calmness in her aunt’s voice sent shivers down Georgie’s spine. In desperation, she half-turned toward her mother. “Mom, please… You can’t—”

  “Shut up!” Rosemary screamed and pushed the gun within inches of Georgie’s face. Once again, Georgie’s frantic thoughts turned to Cam.

  As if he could tell she was thinking about him, her phone rang. Tugging it out of her pocket, she glanced at the screen. It was him.

  “Don’t answer it!” her aunt shouted, waving the gun at Georgie’s head. “Give that phone to me.”

  With great reluctance, Georgie handed it over and listened with a heavy heart as the phone continued to ring. After what seemed a lifetime, the call went through to voicemail and a moment later, a beep indicated Cam had left a message. Rosemary put the phone up to her ear. In the silence, Georgie could hear the deep timbre of his voice.

  “Ha!” her aunt scoffed when the message had come to an end. “How sweet! He’s worried about you. He wants you to call him back.” With the gun still pointed in Georgie’s direction, Rosemary quickly sent off another text. “There, that should do it.”

  Dread welled up in Georgie’s belly. “What did you tell him?”

  Her aunt smiled. “Let’s just say I hope you’re not expecting your boyfriend to come to your rescue any time soon.”

  Georgie clenched her teeth so hard they ached. “What did you tell him?”

  “Just that you were meeting your mother in the city. You’re going to the movies, remember?” The look of wide-eyed innocence on her aunt’s face turned the blood in Georgie’s veins to ice.

  Rosemary had it all worked out. Cameron would no doubt accept her text at face value, even if it did leave him a little confused. The text she’d sent to him earlier from her mother’s house had only contained five words: I need help. Please call.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Dear Diary,

  Matron was forever telling me to always have a Plan B. ‘You never know when you’re going to need it,’ she’d say. I’d say, she was right. But then, she was right about everything.

  * * *

  Cameron stared down at his phone in confusion. What the hell was Georgie on about? One moment he received a text that sounded desperate, even fearful and half an hour later, she told him she was going to the movies with her mother. It was odd. Going to the movies at that time of night was strange enough, but going with her mother after all he and Georgie had discussed at Bar Luca was downright weird. The last person Georgie ought to want to be hanging with was her mother.

  Cam looked at the screen again and couldn’t rid himself of the feeling something wasn’t right. After the first text, he’d tried to phone her, but his call had rung out and then gone through to voicemail. He’d left a message, expressing his concern and asking her to call him back, but all he’d gotten was the second text.

  Striding down the corridor, he found Cynthia lying across her bed, engrossed in a book. It warmed him to know she took pleasure from such simple, ordinary things.

  “Hey, how are you doing?” he asked.

  She put her finger on the page to hold her place and looked up and smiled. “I’m fine. What’s the matter?”

  He hastened to reassure her. “Nothing. At least, I don’t think so. I received a strange text from Georgie. It’s got me a little on edge.”

  Cynthia frowned and sat up, tucking her feet beneath her. “Is she all right?”

  “I think so. I’ll be happier after I hear from her.”

  “You really like her, don’t you?”

  Recalling their earlier conversation about her fears that she’d be asked to leave, Cam came further into the room and perched on the side of her bed. “Yeah, I do, but it doesn’t change things between us. You’ll always be my little sister and you’ll always have a home with me, no matter what female companions come in and out of my life.”

  The tension around her mouth eased. She smiled softly. “Do you really mean that?”

  “Yes,” he said, reaching out to give her a hug. “I really do.”

  They sat in silence for a little while and then Cynthia said, “I like Georgie.”

  Cam pressed a kiss against her hair. “I like her, too.” He hesitated and then remembered something else he and Georgie had discussed.

  “I’d like to know what happened at home that forced you out onto the streets. Would you talk to me about it?” He’d voiced his question gently, making sure she knew it was all right if she didn’t, but he was quietly relieved when she sighed softly and replied.

  “Life didn’t get any better after you left. Mom no longer had you around to scream at and blame for everything, so she turned her attention to me.”

  Cam was immediately filled with outrage. “You were a little kid! Barely five years old! What kind of person picks on a child?”

  Cynthia’s lips twisted into a grimace. “A bully. You remember what she was like. She was never happy. I couldn’t do anything right. It got worse over the years, right up until the day I left.”

  “So Dad didn’t throw you out?”

  “No, not like you, but he did nothing to make me stay. I told him I couldn’t keep living there, being a punching bag for his crazy wife. He just shrugged and looked a little forlorn and then watched me walk out of his life.”

  The anger that always smoldered right below the surface whenever Cam thought of th
eir dad sprang to life. “What a coward! I’d hoped he’d grown some balls over the time since I’d left.”

  Cynthia shrugged sadly and shook her head. “I guess not.”

  The memory of that awful day and the pain he’d endured when his father had ordered him to leave, hit him in a wave so hard it could have happened yesterday. “I’ll never forgive them,” Cam rasped.

  Cynthia scooted closer to him and laid her hand on his arm. “Don’t say things like that, Cam. A grudge like that will eat you up inside. One day you’ll realize you’re so full of hate, there isn’t room for anything else. You don’t want to end up like that. There’d be nothing left for anyone, including me and Georgie.”

  Cam stared at her in confusion. “Don’t tell me you’re not angry at them?

  “Of course I’m angry! Or at least, I was. I spent the best part of the first year I lived on the streets, being angry at them. Then I met Albert and he made me see things clearer. Some people aren’t strong enough to stand up against a bully. Dad was weak like that. It was easier to give into Mom’s demands than to stand up to her.” Her voice lowered to a whisper and tears glinted in her eyes. “It was easier for him to let us go.”

  “Why the hell did they bother to adopt when it was obvious they didn’t like kids?”

  Cynthia looked up at him earnestly. “Dad loved us. I’m sure he did.”

  “Just not enough.”

  Cam wanted to rant and rave against the injustice of it, but something in the quiet acceptance and forgiveness in his little sister’s demeanor stopped him. Here she was, still a child and yet she had more understanding and kindness inside her than he could ever hope to have. Her compassion shamed him into silence.

  Tightening his arms around her, he hugged her for a long time. “I love you, Cyn,” he whispered.

  “I love you, too, Cam.”

  He pressed a kiss against her hair and squeezed her again. Then, remembering Georgie’s conflicting texts, he gently set Cynthia aside. “I need to make some calls.”

  “About Georgie?”

  “Yes. I’m a little more worried about her than I said. I’ll be out in the kitchen if you need me.”

  “Okay.” Cynthia threw him a soft smile and then returned to her book.

  Cam strode back down the hallway. His sister’s attitude had been a revelation and one he needed to ponder, but right now, thinking of Georgie, he was filled with a sense of unease and growing urgency. Apart from the fact he needed to make sure she hadn’t spoken to anyone about his investigation, she’d been distressed when she’d left him and he needed to know she was okay. It didn’t make sense that she was in the mood to go to the movies—with her mother no less. Tugging out his phone, he dialed the station and was relieved when one of his colleagues picked up.

  Rohan Coleridge was a detective with years of experience under his belt. He was just the man Cam needed to talk to.

  “Rohan, it’s Cam. I need you to do me a favor.”

  “Sure. Fire away.”

  “I want you to check a cell phone signal. I need to know what tower it’s bouncing off.”

  There was a hesitation on the other end of the phone. Cameron bit back his impatience and added, “It’s my…girlfriend. I’m worried about her. She sent me a couple of texts that have weirded me out. I just want to check to ensure she’s where she says she is.”

  “From anyone else but you, Cam, that might sound a little creepy.”

  “It’s legitimate, Rohan. I swear.”

  Rohan sighed. “Yeah, okay. What’s the number?”

  Cam supplied Rohan with the information.

  “Do you know her phone carrier?”

  “No, but let’s start with Telstra.”

  “Give me five. I’ll call you back.”

  Cam ended the call and sat down on the sofa. Hopefully Rohan would be able to triangulate Georgie’s cell phone signal and narrow down her location. She lived in the eastern suburbs. Anywhere in the vicinity of her street or the city would satisfy him. It would confirm she was where she said she was, and if so, he’d leave it at that.

  The phone in his hand vibrated and even though the Caller ID was blocked, he answered straight away. “Cameron Dawson.”

  “Cam, it’s Rohan. Good guess. She’s with Telstra. The other good news is I’ve been able to approximate her location. She’s heading west. The last ping we got on her phone was about three minutes ago from a tower near Emu Plains. I hope that’s what you wanted to hear.”

  Cam’s heart skipped a beat and then took off at a gallop. Blood rushed through his ears, almost deafening him to the rest of Rohan’s comments.

  “Something’s wrong.” His voice was husky with strain.

  “Sorry?”

  Cam cleared his throat and sucked in a desperate breath. He jumped off the couch and began to pace. “Something’s wrong. She shouldn’t be anywhere near Emu Plains. She lives in the eastern suburbs and she sent me a text to say she was meeting her mom in the city. The fact that you’ve tracked her cell phone heading west is all wrong. Are you sure your data is correct?”

  Cam clung to the faint hope that Rohan would answer in the negative, but his sense of foreboding escalated when his colleague said, “I can’t imagine why it would be wrong.”

  Panic started low in Cam’s gut. Why would Georgie be at Emu Plains and heading even further west? After all that had happened that day, it just didn’t make sense. He imagined she’d be home, coming to terms with the possibility some members of her family were criminals, and yet, according to her cell phone data, she was on the far western point of Sydney. There was nothing much after Emu Plains except…

  “The Blue Mountains,” he muttered and suddenly recalled her mentioning she’d grown up there. He was also sure he’d read something about that area while he’d been researching her parents and the adoption agency.

  “Are you all right, Cam?”

  “Rohan, I need another favor. Go to my desk and open the file labeled: Sydney Harbour Hospital. It should be right there near my phone.”

  “Hang on a sec. I’ll go and see what I can find.”

  The line went silent and Cam tried not to count the seconds. A moment later, Rohan was back.

  “Okay, I have the file. Now what?”

  “Flick through it until you come to a printout from the Land and Property Information Office. It’s toward the back.”

  “Yep, okay. I have that.”

  “Go through the list of property. There’s a place located in the Blue Mountains. I can’t remember exactly where and I need the address. Can you see it?”

  The seconds ticked by and Cam did his best to hold onto his patience. If his hunch was correct, Georgie was on her way to her childhood home. He had no idea if she was traveling alone, but he needed to reassure himself she was all right. Her odd text messages had put him on edge and he wouldn’t relax until he was sure she was fine.

  “Wow, these people are certainly not without funds. I’d like to own even half of this property portfolio.”

  Cameron swallowed his impatience. “Just give me the Blue Mountains address.”

  “Fifty-eight Rawson Parade, Leura.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “That’s what it says here.”

  Cam’s heart rate jumped up a notch. “Thanks, mate. I owe you one.”

  “Is something the matter, Cam? Do you want me to put in a call to the station up there?”

  “Right now, I’m not exactly sure what’s going on, but my gut’s telling me something’s not right and I’ve learned to listen to it.”

  “I’m happy to call the boys up in Katoomba, give them a heads up.”

  Cam thought about it. Until he knew what was going on, there was no point alerting the local police. He didn’t want to waste anyone’s time, least of all some fellow officers.

  “Thanks for the offer, Rohan, but I think I’ll head up there on my own and see what I can find out. If I need backup, I’ll call. Keep the address handy, just in case.
”

  “Yeah, all right. Well, good luck and let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

  Cam thanked him again and ended the call. A moment later, he strode back down the hall and halted outside Cynthia’s bedroom. Knocking on the door, he waited for her to invite him in.

  “Hey,” she smiled. “What are you doing back here?”

  “I’m sorry, honey, but I have to go out. Will you be all right here on your own?”

  She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I lived on the streets for two years, Cam. What do you think?”

  “I know, but…you know. You’re sixteen. You’re still a kid.”

  “Cam, I’m sixteen. I’m nearly an adult.”

  He smiled. “Okay, but I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone.”

  “I’ll be fine. Go, okay?”

  “All right.” He started to back out of the room.

  “Is this about Georgie?” Cynthia asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Is she all right? I hope she’s not in some kind of trouble.”

  Cam grimaced. “I’m not sure, yet, but that’s why I have to go. I’m going to find her and make certain she’s okay.”

  Cynthia’s expression softened. “You’re a good guy, Cameron Dawson.”

  Cam blushed under her warm regard, pleased that his little sister thought so.

  “What are you waiting for? Go and save her,” Cynthia urged. “All girls dream of being rescued by their knight in shining armor.”

  He looked at her. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “Do you?” he asked curiously.

  Her expression softened. “Yes, and I know he’s out there somewhere.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Georgie risked a glance toward her aunt and was concerned to discover the deadly looking weapon in Rosemary’s hands was still pointed at her head. She didn’t even know her aunt, or anyone in her family, owned a gun. It frightened her to realize how little she knew the woman she’d grown up admiring.

  Along with her mother, it was her Aunt Rosemary who’d inspired her to enter nursing. When she thought of how the two sisters had been spending their time, a wave of nausea rolled up from her stomach. She gasped aloud and tears burned behind her eyes. All of a sudden, she wondered if any of her sisters knew. She glanced at the rearview mirror to her mother, needing to know.