Random Acts of Greed: Holly Anna Paladin Mysteries, Book 4

by Christy Barritt

  “Sounds like a plan.” My mom rose and grabbed the phone. She had Doris’s number in her cell phone from my old days of working with her.

  I glanced again at the baby as he quieted for a moment. His blue eyes stared at me, as if trying to ascertain the answers to all of his questions. Where’s my mom? Who are you? When am I going home?

  Fear. I saw a moment of fear in the depths of his ocean blues.

  I’m going to do my best to help you, Buddy. I tried to send him a silent message of reassurance but settled instead on kissing his head.

  “We’ll need to take him to the hospital to be checked out,” I said, trying to think the process through. “We should call an ambulance.”

  “I’ll take care of that.” Chase rose and pulled out his cell phone.

  “He’s an adorable little boy.” Alex reached for his hand, and the baby’s fingers slipped around hers. “And he looks healthy.”

  “I think he likes you, Holly.” My brother, Ralph, smiled as the baby grabbed my hair again and tried to eat it.

  My smile quickly faded as the reality of the situation hit me again. This wasn’t a fairytale, dream-come-true moment. This was serious. This baby’s mother would most likely be pursued by authorities and charged with abandonment. If she was alive.

  After all, there was blood.

  The realization caused the color to drain from my face. Just what had this baby been through?

  “Why would anyone leave someone as precious as you?” I whispered.

  I’d seen it before. I wasn’t a stranger to abandoned babies. When I’d worked for Children’s Services, I’d seen some real parenting horror stories.

  But for a mom to leave her baby on a stranger’s—or a near stranger’s, at least—doorstep instead of with a family member or friend showed desperation. And the note she’d left, urging me not to trust anyone, made my guard go up. What did that mean?

  Whatever it was, it didn’t settle well with me. I had the feeling this was only the beginning of a long, intriguing story.

  “He looks like a healthy baby boy.” The doctor pulled down his stethoscope and wrapped it around his neck. “I don’t see any health problems. He appears to be well fed and well taken care of. I’m going to guess he’s about six months old, based on my physical examination.”

  Relief filled me, and I scooped the baby up in my arms, holding him close to me as we stood in a little curtained-off room at the hospital. The doctor, a man in his late fifties with an Asian tint to his skin, had spent the last hour with me.

  He was good with the baby, speaking in low, lilting tones and offering lots of smiles. I was grateful the man seemed compassionate.

  I was also grateful that Chase had come with me, because numerous times since I’d arrived at the hospital I’d found myself holding my breath. I already disliked hospitals. They brought back too many bad memories. Adding an abandoned baby to the mix only upped the stakes.

  What if something was wrong with the baby? What if he was sick or injured or had signs of abuse?

  I’d seen none of those things, but I hadn’t wanted to rule them out until I knew for sure.

  Knowing he was healthy was an answer to prayer.

  Funny . . . I’d only known this baby for two hours, and I already felt a bond with him. He was all alone in the world. He needed someone to love and protect him.

  I was going to be that person.

  “You two are free to take him home,” the doctor said.

  He thought Chase and I were married, I realized.

  My cheeks warmed as visions of what it would be like to have a family with Chase filled my mind. I imagined a cute, little baby with Chase’s eyes and smile. Maybe a couple of them. I hoped that would become a reality one day.

  I pushed those thoughts aside but didn’t bother to correct the doctor. Neither did Chase.

  As I stepped from the curtained area, my former boss appeared down the end of the hallway. Doris Blankenship was in her fifties, with short, mousy brown hair and a constant scowl that had left wrinkles on her face. She was skeletal skinny and wore fitted skirts and tops that emphasized her malnourished look.

  I’d always said pretty is as pretty does. Doris was neither pretty on the inside nor the outside. I questioned at times why she even did this job since she disliked people so much.

  No, I didn’t really care for the woman, nor did she care for me. I’d kind of hoped that I wouldn’t ever have to work with her again. But here we were.

  Doris’s heels clicked at a fast clip as she made her way toward me. I could already see the stress pouring off of her in waves. Her shifty gaze quickly went to the baby before going back to me.

  “You were approved,” she announced, stopping in front of me. Her lips flinched downward in a frown. “I just talked to the judge about it.”

  “Wonderful.”

  “You just need to fill out some paperwork to make it official. We’ll have to do another home inspection and have weekly follow-ups, to start with. Thankfully your certification is still valid—the home study, your physical exam, your interview. The only thing you don’t have at this point is a designated room for the baby.”

  “I can make that happen,” I told her.

  “I figured you’d say that.”

  My heartbeat quickened with excitement. I was so glad I’d already taken the time to go through that process to be a foster parent. It had been extensive, but I’d done it in preparation for the future. However, I’d put a hold on any children being placed with me when I’d thought I had only months to live. That all tied in with my fear of hospitals, but that was a story for another day.

  “That’s great news,” I said.

  She glanced at Chase, her beady eyes narrowing. “The police will look for his real mom in the meantime. She’ll be lucky to get custody back after a stunt like this.”

  If she’s alive. I remembered the blood on his carrier. What if it was his mom’s?

  Chase squeezed my shoulder, knowing from our many conversations just how riled up this woman made me. The motion was his small way of reminding me to keep myself in check.

  “My captain has already been made aware of the situation,” he told her.

  “I’ll talk to your captain also, of course.” Doris’s gaze went back to me. “You sure you’re okay with this?”

  I nodded, probably a little too hard. “I’m definitely okay with this. For some reason, someone wanted me to watch after him.”

  Why was that? Why had someone picked me? I didn’t have time to worry about that now. Right now, I had to take care of this bouncing baby boy.

  Doris stared at me a little longer before offering a curt nod. “Okay, then. Let’s sign those papers.”

  Ten minutes later, it was official. I was going to foster this baby until we had some answers.

  I pulled the blanket up higher around the baby as his eyes began to droop. My arms ached slightly. They weren’t used to carrying eighteen pounds of baby. But I wasn’t complaining.

  After everyone went about their various tasks, Chase and I stood in the busy hallway, and it hit me. Now this was up to me. I had to figure out the next steps here.

  If I’d been helping someone else in this situation, I would have known immediately what to tell them about how to proceed. But, for a moment, I felt bewildered and slightly off-balance at the task before me.

  And I didn’t like it. I usually thought of myself as more competent than this.

  “Alex dropped off a car seat.” Chase brushed a hair from my shoulder, his gaze soaking me in, studying me, trying to ascertain my emotional state.

  I knew him well enough to know that.

  “She wanted me to reassure you that it’s still up to code and good to go,” he finished.

  I smiled. Alex knew me all too well. That was going to be my first question.

  “I’m going to go install it, and then I’ll pull up to pick you two up. Okay?”

  I nodded, grateful Chase was with me. “Okay. Thank yo
u.”

  He kissed my forehead before sauntering away, getting a few second glances from the nurses stationed at the desk down the hall. I should be used to that. The former professional football player was the definition of a head-turner.

  Instinctively, I brushed my lips against the baby’s forehead. He was being so good and quiet right now. His eyes continued to droop, and I had a feeling he’d be asleep soon. The thought of him snoozing in my arms turned my spine to jelly.

  Holding him felt right. Too right.

  I shoved those thoughts aside, knowing they weren’t helpful or healthy.

  “It’s been a hard day, hasn’t it?” I murmured instead, staring down at his round face and chubby, Gerber-baby cheeks.

  As if in response, he let out a yawn. I tugged the blanket up closer around him and slowly made my way down the hallway toward the exit.

  I paused at the emergency room door, waiting for Chase to pull up since it was too cold to wait outside. He’d followed behind us in the ambulance, having the foresight to realize we would need a ride home.

  “Hey, how’s he doing?” a deep voice said behind me.

  I looked up and spotted one of the paramedics who’d given the baby and me a ride to the hospital. He was probably my age, with dark, curly hair and crystal-blue eyes. His smile was charismatic and wide, and I had a feeling he was the life of the party with his never-met-a-stranger personality.

  He’d sat with me in the back of the ambulance on the way here and kept an engaging conversation going the whole time. He had a way of putting people at ease, which probably made him great at his job as a paramedic.

  I rocked the baby in my arms. “He’s perfect.”

  The paramedic smiled and tried to catch a glimpse of the baby’s face. “That’s good to know. Do you know his name?”

  His question stopped me. His name? I’d had so much on my mind that I hadn’t really given his name a second thought. “No, I have no idea. I think I’ll call him Sweet Pea.”

  The man’s lips curled up, and light danced in his eyes. “Sweet Pea?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t want to confuse him, so maybe a pet name’s better than naming him myself. Once the police figure out who the mom is, they’ll look for next of kin. His stop here with me is just temporary.”

  And don’t you forget it, Holly Anna Paladin.

  He smiled. “Sounds smart. I’m Evan, by the way.”

  “Holly. Nice to meet you.”

  He leaned closer and stroked Sweet Pea’s hand. “He’s going to be a linebacker one day.”

  I glanced at Sweet Pea again. “You’re right. Cincinnati Bengals, maybe?”

  “I don’t know—I think the Colts might be a better choice.” Evan grinned again before stepping back and glancing at me. “No idea who his mom is?”

  I shook my head. I’d been through it in my mind countless times in the past couple of hours. I was clueless. “I have no idea. But the police are working on it.”

  Evan touched my elbow. “Well, I think it’s great you’re taking care of him. We need more people like you in the world. I was a foster child myself, so I know how important it is.”

  Evan’s words warmed me, for some reason. “Thank you.”

  A voice crackled over his radio, and he raised his hand in a wave goodbye. “I’ve got to get back to work. Best of luck, though!”

  “Thanks again.”

  Just as Evan disappeared, I spotted Chase pulling up in his Jeep.

  Now it was time for the real adventure to begin.

  I looked down at Sweet Pea. “Here goes nothing, darling. Here goes nothing.”

  Chapter 3

  “You look . . . exhausted.” My best friend, Jamie Duke, stared at me the next morning with squinty eyes and a frown. “Like, I’ve never seen you this exhausted.”

  Only a moment earlier, I’d let her inside my house, and she’d followed me into the living room, where I promptly plopped down on the couch and grabbed my coffee. I was on my third cup, and I still couldn’t feel any effects. Even Peggy Lee singing “I’m a Woman” in the background didn’t cheer me up, nor did the early morning sunlight that streamed through the thick, wooden blinds on the windows.

  “Remember to keep your voice down,” I whispered. “We can’t wake the baby. And I am tired. Taking care of an infant is demanding.”

  Although it was nine a.m., I’d just gotten Sweet Pea to sleep an hour ago. It had been a bad first night, but I couldn’t blame Sweet Pea for it. He was simply being a baby—a baby who’d just been through a trauma and who was probably missing his mama and his bed and the familiar smells and sounds of home.

  He snoozed right now in a Pack ’n Play in the library, which was close enough where I could hear him but far enough away that I could pull the curtains in the room closed and keep it quiet for him.

  “So what happened?” Jamie gently sat on the couch beside me, a half-full bottle of water in her hand. She looked bright-eyed and fresh with her ray-of-sunshine springy curls and mocha-colored skin. She’d recently taken up jogging, and it didn’t matter the weather. She went every day, claiming the act of her exercising wasn’t a pretty sight but it got the job done.

  First, she’d lost nearly one hundred pounds, and now she wanted to firm up her muscles. I was proud of all her hard work, but I’d love her whatever size she was.

  I took another sip of coffee. This would be my first time rehashing this with her. My mom had told her a version of events last night, but I wanted to run through everything with my BFF.

  “Let’s see,” I started. “We got home last night. Everyone was great. My sister ran to Walmart and picked up a Pack ’n Play, bottles, clothes—anything I could possibly need. Sweet Pea—”

  “That’s his name?”

  I shrugged. “That’s what I’m calling him.”

  She nodded a little too slowly and skeptically. “Okay.”

  “Anyway, Sweet Pea didn’t like the first two bottles, and we went through three different formulas—the hospital gave us several samples—until we found one he’d actually take. Except maybe he didn’t really like it after all because he was up for most of the night with gas pains.”

  She frowned. “That’s not fun.”

  I nodded as I remembered how desperate I felt to help him. There had been a point when I wasn’t sure he’d ever stop crying, and I’d briefly considered taking him back to the hospital. Maybe the doctor had missed something. Thankfully, a few burps later, Sweet Pea had calmed down.

  “I know,” I told her. “I kept him in my room with me and sent everyone else either home or to bed. Adjusting to taking care of an infant with an audience all around me only added to the stress of the situation.”

  “I can imagine. He’s finally asleep?”

  I sighed and raised my coffee mug. “Finally. Now I know why new moms look so harried.”

  She studied me a moment with an upturned nose. “The bathrobe, tangled hair, circles under the eyes look isn’t really you. I’m used to perfect hair, makeup, and coordinated dress, shoes, belt, etc.”

  “This is something I rarely say, but I don’t even care at the moment. I just want coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.” I usually cherished being proper and put together. Today, priorities had changed, and I was in survival mode.

  “I take it you’re not going into work?” She stared long and hard at my outfit one more time.

  I shook my head. I worked for my brother. He’d recruited me when he’d been elected as a state senator, and I worked as a Constituent Aide. I’d hoped to make a greater impact in this position than I’d done as a social worker. The jury was still out on whether or not that had come to fruition, though.

  I missed working hands-on with people and situations, and questioned my decision to give up my job with Children’s Services. I mostly felt like I pushed papers now and fought a system where change came slowly and people could be bought.

  “Ralph understood,” I said. “I’ll have to answer a few emails and return a couple
of phone calls, but I’m staying here with Sweet Pea today. A caseworker is going to stop by for a home inspection sometime this week. My mom checked out everything this morning, and I think we’re good.”

  A few minutes of silence passed. I didn’t mind them. The quiet gave me a chance to collect my thoughts and try to pull myself together.

  “That’s so crazy that someone actually left a baby on your doorstep.” Jamie shook her head, her eyes holding a faraway look as she probably tried to comprehend everything. This was not an everyday situation.

  I’d replayed everything several times in my mind, trying to make sense of the turn of events. “I know, right? But last night, as I wasn’t sleeping, I kept thinking about it. Someone is in trouble. There was blood. The note said, ‘Don’t trust anyone.’ Why else would there be blood on his carrier?”

  “Maybe it’s a custody dispute that turned ugly.”

  I nodded. “Maybe.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “But you’re thinking something else?”

  I sucked on my bottom lip, pondering whether or not I should share my next thought. If there was anyone I could share it with, it was Jamie. “I need to figure out who his mom is.”

  She jerked her head back. “Retro Girl, maybe she doesn’t want to be found. Maybe she has a good reason for all of this.”

  “Maybe she’s dead. Whoever left Sweet Pea wrote, ‘Help me.’ That’s practically a plea for me to get involved, Girl Genius.”

  Jamie and I had codenames we used when we were working undercover. It was just something silly we’d come up with, and using the names now helped to break some of the tension in the room.

  The diva look captured my friend’s face. “The person who left Sweet Pea probably meant ‘help me by taking care of my baby.’”

  “Maybe. I still think this person needs help other than that. That blood proves someone was hurt. Maybe it was Sweet Pea’s mom. His dad. I have no idea.”