Colton Baby Homecoming. Lara Lacombe

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СКАЧАТЬ caught the keys midair. “Saw your truck as we pulled in. I’ll be right back.”

      After a moment of silence, Sam let out a sigh. “None of this makes sense,” he said, running a hand through his hair.

      Ridge huffed out a laugh. “Tell me about it. I’m the last person who needs to be trusted with a baby.”

      “Oh, I don’t know about that,” Sam said, a sparkle of humor showing in his eyes. “You’ve taken pretty good care of that dog. How much harder can it be to take care of a baby?” Once again, his voice sounded forced, as if he was trying to make light of something that bothered him. All at once, Darcy remembered the gossip she’d heard about Sam Colton—how his former fiancée had pretended to be pregnant with his baby so she could con him into marrying her. He’d been about to make things official, but just before the wedding, the woman had been killed—one of the first victims of the Alphabet Killer.

      Darcy eyed Sam with newfound respect and a touch of pity. Even though his former fiancée hadn’t really been pregnant, Sam had thought she was and had wanted to do right by his child. How sad for him to find out the truth, especially when he couldn’t confront the woman who had spun that web of lies in the first place.

      Ridge offered him a sympathetic smile, and his brother nodded.

      “So we have a baby with dark hair and a mother whose name presumably begins with the letter F,” Sam said, his tone making it clear he was thinking out loud. “Hell of a coincidence.”

      “I thought so, too,” Ridge remarked.

      “The killer has never gone after a woman with kids before.”

      They must be talking about the Alphabet Killer, Darcy thought. Did they really think the baby’s mother was a target?

      “There’s a first time for everything,” Ridge said. “Besides, we don’t really know how the victims are chosen. Aside from their physical similarities, that is.”

      “True.”

      The men were quiet for a moment, each one clearly lost in thought.

      “And you didn’t find anyone out there today?” Sam asked.

      Ridge shook his head. “No signs of Mr. Johansen’s early morning visitor. Or anyone else for that matter.”

      “Since you didn’t find a body, we can assume the mother is still alive. For now, at least.”

      “Either that, or the killer caught up to her and left her in the woods.”

      Sam tilted his head in acknowledgment of the point. “That’s possible. But Penny stopped after finding the baby, right?”

      The dog in question cocked an ear at the mention of her name, but didn’t bother to lift her head.

      “That’s right,” Ridge confirmed.

      “Wouldn’t she have kept going if there was a body around?”

      It was a good question, and Darcy found she was curious to know the answer, as well. She’d never been around a search and rescue dog, and had no idea how they worked.

      Ridge shrugged. “Presumably she would have indicated if there was another scent around. But she’s not trained as a cadaver dog—she goes after the living, not the dead.”

      “We can send out a team to search the area around your cabin. But I don’t think they’re going to find anything.” Sam paced a few steps in the small room, his hands on his hips. “So where did the woman go after leaving the baby? People don’t just disappear.”

      “Sure they do,” Ridge replied easily. “You know that as well as I do.”

      What does he mean by that? Darcy wondered. Then it dawned on her—his sister, Josie, had vanished a few years ago. Her absence probably weighed heavily on him, since the pair had been close.

      Sam frowned at his brother. “Now is not the time to get cute.”

      “You know I can’t control it.” Ridge grinned, his dimples prominent even through the dark, heavy stubble on his cheeks. It was the same teasing expression he’d worn so often when they were alone together as teenagers, and it made Darcy’s heart tighten to see it now on the face of the man he’d become.

      Sam shook his head, but Darcy saw the smile he tried to hide. “We’ve got to find this woman—she could be the key to unlocking the whole case.” He turned to face Darcy. “Let’s start with what we do know. Do you have any idea how old this baby is?”

      Darcy tilted her head to the side, considering his question. “I’d say she’s about one to two weeks old,” she replied. “That range is consistent with her height, weight and reflex responses.”

      “Okay,” Sam said. He gestured to the computer workstation in the exam room. “Can you pull up access to hospital birth records during that time frame?”

      “I should be able to,” she said. It took a few moments, but she was able to gain access to the records system without much trouble. “It looks like there were nine total births during that period, four of which were female babies.”

      Annabel slipped inside the room while Darcy searched. “Good thing you put the note in a plastic bag,” she commented, pushing wet tendrils of hair off her forehead. “It’s really coming down out there.”

      “Washing away any traces of the person who left this baby on my porch,” Ridge commented sourly.

      “Can you print off the list of parents?” Sam asked, ignoring his siblings.

      Darcy slid him a glance. “I really shouldn’t,” she hedged. “It’s a massive patient privacy violation. I could lose my license.”

      Sam fixed her with a look. “Do you understand what we’re trying to do here? This baby’s mother is likely the target of a killer. I need that information.”

      “It might not even help,” Darcy hedged. “There’s no guarantee this baby was born here. She may have been born at a neighboring hospital, or possibly even at home.”

      “Maybe,” Sam replied. “But I have to start somewhere.”

      Darcy shook her head. “I’m sorry. I wish I could help, but if I do this and I’m caught it’ll wreck my career.”

      “You’re wasting my time here.” Sam kept his voice down, but she heard the impatience in his words. He seemed like a man who was used to getting what he wanted and didn’t tolerate anything or anyone getting in his way. Darcy appreciated his determination, but she wasn’t about to be bullied into doing something she knew to be questionable. She was torn, though—what if her refusal to help cost this woman her life? Could she live with herself knowing a woman had died because she was more concerned about her job than doing the right thing?

      “Sam.” Ridge’s calm tone cut through the growing tension in the room. “You know she’s right. Don’t ask her to compromise her professional ethics. How long can it take to get a warrant from a judge?”

      “Too long,” Sam СКАЧАТЬ