Baby Love (Baby Series)

by ANDREA SMITH

  Tristan had gone to his room earlier to call Libby. Trey and I had busied ourselves folding laundry and loading the dishwasher. I had taken the last load out of the dryer and was folding it when I came across several of Preston’s sleepers and tee-shirts. Tears had immediately streamed down my face. Trey came into the laundry room to ask me something and stopped when he saw my emotional meltdown.

  He had immediately pulled me into his arms and consoled me. Later in bed, Trey had made love to me again very slowly and lovingly. Afterwards he had held me in his arms assuring me that our baby girl would be home soon.

  It was just past dawn when my Blackberry chimed on the nightstand next to the bed. I disengaged myself from Trey’s arms quickly grabbing for it. The caller I.D. was not recognizable simply showing 'Indiana Call'.

  It was Daniel’s voice on the other end.

  “Tylar – it’s Daniel Henderson. I’ve heard from Maggie. I think I can help you.”

  I sprang up immediately; he had my full attention.

  “Where is she?”

  “Whoa, wait a minute. I want to make sure that if I give you this information that I am not going to be dragged down with her for this. That’s why I am calling you first. If you can’t give me that assurance, then all bets are off.”

  “Daniel don’t fuck with me,” I hissed. “If you don’t give me the information than you are withholding evidence in a felony kidnapping. If she has taken my baby across state lines, it’s a bigger felony. Besides, there is a reward being offered if in fact your information nets us the return

  of Preston.”

  “Really?” he asked, “Well I wasn’t looking for any monetary reward – just your assurance that I won’t somehow be incriminated in all of this shit.”

  By this time Trey was up hovering over me as I continued the conversation. He was shaking his head at me indicating he wanted me to back off of Daniel.

  “You have my assurance. Please tell me what you know.”

  “I got a call from her a few hours ago. She apparently ditched my SUV because the heat is on her and the word is out. She’s such a dumb bitch at times. Anyway, she gave me a sob story about how she only took your baby because she had lost mine and she wanted us to be a family again. I didn’t mention that you had been here. I acted as if what she was telling me was the first time I had heard it. I acted shocked and appalled.”

  He paused for a moment, chuckling at his apparent ability to pull the wool over her eyes.

  “She asked me if anyone had contacted me or if the authorities had been around questioning me. I told her no. She admitted to having a nice chunk of change stashed away and wants me to meet her at a Greyhound Bus station in Wheeling, West Virginia. She gave me the arrival time of her bus and said she would be looking for me. I agreed to be there. She wouldn’t tell me what city she was departing from. She probably doesn't trust me a hundred percent since she's screwed me over so many times."

  ‘Did she call you from a track phone?”

  “Nope – she is playing it way cool. She called from a pay phone that had a Georgia area code on it. Same area code that you cell phone has a matter of fact. I wrote down the number of the pay phone if you want it. She had to keep feeding change into it. Now I won’t hear from her again before the bus arrives in Wheeling. Oh, just so you know, I did hear your baby crying in the background.”

  My heart lurched. Oh dear God, Preston was crying.

  “I did ask her if she felt like she would be recognized and she said she had taken care of it. She wouldn’t tell me anything further. She said that I would see for myself when she found me at the bus station.”

  “Daniel I am going to put Trey on the phone. You give him the details, okay?”

  “I guess,” he replied somewhat reluctant. “Don’t fuck me over on this Tylar.”

  The irony was not lost on me with his warning. I handed my Blackberry to Trey and scrambled to get a pen and paper for him to jot down the information. For the first time I held out hope and prayed that this would lead us to getting our baby back.

  Trey was scribbling away and responding to Daniel in a very re-assuring and encouraging tone. That is why I let him take over; I knew he would handle it more diplomatically than I ever could. I wasn’t above thinking that perhaps Daniel had been involved all along. As long as we got our baby back we could deal with the rest of the issues later.

  Trey ended the conversation by telling him that he would phone him within the next hour to work out the details. He made sure that he mentioned to Daniel that he would be financially rewarded if this led to getting Preston back in our possession. He thanked Daniel for ‘doing the right thing.’

  As soon as Trey was off the phone he swung into action. He phoned the detectives and relayed the information that he had obtained from Daniel. I scrambled to get dressed and get an overnight bag packed before he finally noticed what I was doing.

  "Tylar - what are you doing baby?"

  "I'm getting packed and ready. We're going to West Virginia aren't we?"

  "Sweetie," he sighed, sitting down on the bed and pulling me onto his lap.

  "The feds are involved now. We have reliable information that she intends to take Preston across state lines. I know as screwed up as this is going to sound to you this is actually a good thing. Up until this point while we had notified the FBI of her abduction, the jurisdiction remained in the hands of state and county law enforcement officials. Now that it is likely she is taking Preston out of state, the FBI can step in because they have jurisdiction in every state. This is mandated by the Federal Kidnapping Act also known as the Lindbergh Law."

  "Okay Trey, I appreciate the Government lesson and I'm glad that the FBI is on it, but are you telling me that we can't go to Wheeling to make sure they know that it's Maggie? Obviously she is wearing a disguise and is savvy enough not even to let Daniel know what it is so that he can't recognize her. She's not entirely stupid you know? If she smells trouble closing in on her she may very well be disguised to the extent she can elude the FBI agents."

  Maggie was not an intellectual by any means, but she had street smarts and she was excellent at playing people. If Trey and the FBI agents thought for one minute that she was going to throw her grey wig on and a pair of glasses to preserve her identity, they were naïve. I pointed as much out to Trey.

  "Okay baby, let's presume for a moment that your mother - I'm sorry - your aunt - is the absolute master of disguise. What makes you think that you will recognize her?"

  "Trey from here on out please refer to her simply as Maggie? I don't want to claim any blood relation. To answer your question, I have instincts Trey. Especially were Preston is concerned. I don't understand how you could not want to be there."

  Trey shifted a bit and hesitated before speaking again.

  "Well actually baby, I am intending to fly to Wheeling."

  "What?" I said a bit louder than intended.

  "If you're going than so am I. I mean it Trey, please don't leave me here."

  By this time I had teared up not understanding why he would even have considered my not coming along. She belonged to both of us.

  Trey was emotional now; torn between telling me something I might want to hear or the truth. He opted for the truth.

  "Tylar the reason that I don't want you there is to protect you just in case things are not what they appear to be."

  "What do you mean Trey by things are not what they appear to be."

  "I am only considering the worst case scenario which is one where this all was a hoax and when we get to the bus station we find out Daniel fabricated it all in an effort to throw us off of her path. Or what if, God forbid, she does show up in Wheeling but Preston is not with her? You heard what he said she told him about not worrying, she would find him at the bus station and that she had covered her risk of being identified."

  "But he said that he heard Preston crying while she was talking to him on the pay phone."

  "I know baby," his voice cracked.<
br />
  "But you have to realize that we are dealing with a sociopath here. The most important thing to Maggie is self-preservation."

  I didn't want to think about what that meant as far as Preston's well-being. I refused to give up faith that this would turn out alright; I believed that Maggie would be on that bus. I believed that Preston would be with her. It was my turn now to remind Trey that we were in this together.

  "Trey? Remember our wedding vows? Remember how I promised you that we would be together during good times and bad? That time is now. I am going to Wheeling and that is that."

  Our discussion was interrupted when Tristan knocked on our bedroom door. Trey called out for him to enter.

  "Good morning you two," he greeted still in his sweats with his sleep-tousled hair.

  "Mom just called to let us know that they just took Dad into surgery."

  It had completely slipped my mind and as I looked over at Trey I could see it was the same with him. Shit! So much was going down right now it was difficult to remember what day it was.

  "Tristan, would you feel better being in Bristol with your mom?" I questioned softly. "I know that Trey and I have not been as supportive as we should have been due to our situation. . ."

  "Hey - no you guys. You are not to worry. Mom and Dad both know what you are going through. I'm going to go ahead and fly home to be with Mom. You two need to continue what you're doing to get 'Chubbers home."

  I had to smile knowing that Trey's nickname for Preston had worn off on Tristan and the only way that could have happened is from Trey continuing to talk about her to his older brother. We filled Tristan in on the latest but then found he was reluctant to leave.

  "Tristan," Trey said earnestly, "It would ease my conscious knowing that you are there with Mom. I know Dad said this is routine and all and maybe it is, but I know Mom is not convinced of that and she needs one of us there with her. Right now…."

  "Say no more," Tristan replied, "I've got this covered. You do what you need to do brother, okay?"

  They hugged briefly and then Tristan left to get on his way back to Bristol. I continued packing and Trey didn't stop me. We were in this together. Good or bad.

  By eleven o'clock that morning Trey and I were boarding a flight from Atlanta to Wheeling, West Virginia. Trey filled me in during the flight on what exactly would go down.

  Apparently, FBI agents had picked Daniel up in Indiana and they flew with him to Wheeling. A couple of agents would be posted in the bus terminal, blending in with the usual patrons. Nothing would stand out as odd. Daniel was wired just in case Maggie's disguise was one that would not be easily detected my seasoned feds. Daniel had been instructed to just go along with it and in fact, a Jeep Cherokee Laredo, the same year and color had been obtained and staged in the parking lot in case the agents did not easily recognize her. If her plan was to actually slide by Daniel because she still had keys to my old Jeep than she would definitely be in for a rude awakening when the key didn't work. There was an additional agent staked out in the terminal parking lot for just that scenario.

  Trey and I were to maintain our distance with several local law enforcement officers in their vehicle parked closed by. Trey had promised Tristan that he would call as soon as we could but to not tell Susan anything just in case things went 'awry.' I wasn't comfortable when he said that even though he kept assuring me that everything would be okay.

  We had several hours once we got to Wheeling because of the bus's schedule. Maggie had presumed that Daniel would be driving so the fact that everyone had flown in allowed time for preparation and strategic planning. Trey and I had rented a car and booked a room at a hotel planning to stay the night once we got Preston back.

  I had packed her diapers, clean clothes, favorite toys, blankets. I had brought some fresh bottled breast milk just in case my supply couldn't accommodate her robust appetite.

  Trey and I waited nervously in our hotel room until the agents phoned him and told him it was time to go. He asked me once again to stay at the hotel and wait until everything had concluded but there was no way.

  We left together getting into the vehicle with the local police to head towards the bus terminal. We parked about a block from it. The police were in mobile contact with other law enforcement as well as the feds.

  Forty-five minutes later the officers we were with received communication that everything had gone as planned. Maggie was in federal custody; Preston was in the custody of local authorities who were in transit to our stake-out position.

  I screamed in delight, throwing my arms around Trey and crying in joy. I made a solemn prayer of thanks to God for bringing my baby safely back to us. Tears streamed down Trey's face.

  Within minutes my baby girl was back with her daddy and me. The FBI agents followed us back to our hotel to discuss the particulars. I was totally involved with my baby as I held her close to me from the minute she was in my arms until we arrived at our hotel.

  Maggie had dressed her as a boy. She had blue jean bib overalls on with a plaid flannel shirt underneath. She had a miniature black Harley-Davidson Motorcycle jacket on that was clearly too big for her. Her hair was tucked up under a black knit toboggan; she had on a pair of black cowboy boots. Everything looked as if it had been purchased at a yard sale.

  "What did she do to you, baby girl? Did she try to make you look like a boy? My Preston is no boy. She's our beautiful baby girl." I cooed to her.

  I took her hat off and was shocked that her hair looked filthy and matted. Preston looked at me with her piercing blue eyes. She had snot running from her nose.

  She buried her face against me whimpering softly.

  I wasn't going to get a smile out of her at the moment that was a certainty. I could only imagine what she had been through these past several days. I shuddered thinking about it. I would make her feel safe and secure again.

  "How about we take a nice bath, Preston?"

  She was in desperate need of a bath. I took her into the bathroom of our hotel suite and started a bath for her.

  I laid her down on the bed removing the boy clothes and boots from her. Her diaper was sopping wet and in dire need of changing. She looked thinner.

  I lowered her slowly into the warm water of her bath, desperate to wash Maggie's stench from her. Preston had loved her baths at home but she fussed and cried loudly as the water touched her private areas. I froze in fear.

  I screamed for Trey who was still in the other room. He was at my side in moments, concern crossing his face.

  "Trey something is wrong with her. She became extremely distressed when I put her in the water."

  Even now Preston was squirming to the point I couldn't let go of her to see what the problem might be.

  "Here let me take her," Trey offered, grabbing a towel from the rack.

  He leaned down as I raised her from the water kicking and crying; he wrapped the towel around her and lifted her from me taking her into the bedroom. I followed him with another fresh towel that I placed on the bed.

  Trey told me to turn the overhead light on in the bedroom. There had only been a bedside lamp on which had kept the room fairly dim. He laid the baby down and gently unwrapped the towel from her.

  Her perineum area was beet red. She had a rash going but it was not like the prickly heat one that she had gotten over the summer. This was a reddened area with larger welts.

  He turned her over so that she was now on her belly. We both gasped in horror as we saw the black and blue bruises on her bottom. Tears sprang to my eyes.

  "Did you bring any of her clothes Tylar?"

  "Yes of course Trey."

  "Let's get her dressed and take her to the nearest ER. She needs to be thoroughly examined by a pediatrician."

  I nodded, tears flooding my eyes. It was like the dream I had had where I pummeled her bottom only when I looked in the mirror, I had seen the face of Maggie. Perhaps my dreams had been a premonition after all.

  Trey returned to the living room t
o fill the detectives in on what we had discovered. One of them gave Trey directions to the nearest hospital and said he would meet us there. I carefully dressed Preston in her own clothing, putting her jacket and hat on to keep her warm in the cool October evening.

  The pediatrician that examined Preston was extremely gentle with her. He talked to her as if she could understand everything he was saying though I think he did it for Trey and my benefit so we would know what he was checking for and how he needed to check for various injuries.

  Blessedly she had no other bruises on her body with the exception of her bottom. He checked her arms and legs, hands and feet and there were no injuries or fractures. He checked her neck glands, ears and eyes. Her lungs were clear. Pictures were taken for evidence of her bruised behind.

  The doctor diagnosed her as having a cold; contusions on the gluteus maximus and a yeast infection in her perineum area.

  (Yeast infection!)

  "How would she have gotten a yeast infection?" I asked.

  "Both boy and girl babies can and do get yeast infections. There are several causes but the most likely one in this case is that the baby was not thoroughly cleaned up after a bowel movement or perhaps bathed in a tub that had fecal matter in it. If your daughter has extremely sensitive skin it could have been something as minor as being given a bubble bath or having perfumed soaps used on her."

  "Then you don't think she was sexually molested or anything?"

  Trey looked at me quickly puzzled by my question. I had to know. I had to put it out there.

  "Mr. & Mrs. Sinclair I have not seen anything that would indicate that during my visual examination of her. If you want me to perform a more in-depth examination focused on sexual penetration I can do that however it will be more traumatic for the baby."

  Trey and I looked at one another for a moment. I didn't want to put Preston through any more trauma than what she had already been through. I hoped that Trey felt the same way.