“What?” she blurted out.
“Huh?” Campbell added.
Her mother and father were her only close living relatives that she knew of.
“Who?” she finally asked. “Who died?”
“A young woman and her daughter with the last name of Grouse.”
“Grouse?”
“Yes. Do you know someone by that name?”
Natalie rubbed her eyes and tried to focus past the two faceless dead bodies she now couldn’t stop picturing. “No. I don’t. Not that I know of.”
“Ugh. I was hoping this one was going to be easy. Is there any way you can come to the hospital and we could sit down and do this? I hate to ask, especially with it being earlier than the ass crack of dawn, but I have detectives from the good ole NYPD staring at me and they have a few questions for you as well.”
Natalie stared at Campbell, who immediately picked up his phone, pushed buttons, and dialed someone.
He spoke rapidly to whomever he’d called and she just couldn’t follow his conversation and process the panic she still had rolling through her.
“What was the woman’s first name who died? I don’t know any Grouse that I know of.”
“Wren. Her first name is Wren.”
Natalie sucked in a huge breath, and goosebumps broke out all over her body. “Oh my God.”
“You do know who it is.”
“Yes, but we’re not related. Oh God. And Hazel? The little girl. Oh God. And she was pregnant. Is the baby—”
“Please come to the hospital. To the ER entrance. The detectives will meet you there and escort you in.”
“How did she die?”
She hesitated and Natalie could hear someone speaking on the other end, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying.
“I can’t give out any more information. Will you come?”
Natalie glanced at the clock. “We’ll be there in less than thirty minutes.”
The other woman exhaled loudly. “Thank you.”
They hung up and Campbell followed a few words later. They were both out of bed and pulling on clothes.
“It’s Wren. What could have happened? And her precious little girl.” Natalie choked on the last word and shoved the emotion into a folder marked deal with later so she could keep focused on getting out the door instead of deteriorating into a puddle of tears.
“I don’t know. I don’t fucking know. But I bet it has something to do with her husband, boyfriend, baby daddy, dude.”
Natalie shoved her feet into tennis shoes and went into the bathroom to grab a clip to put her hair up. “Why do you say that?”
“I’ll tell you on the way.”
When she walked over, the dogs yawned and rolled over back to sleep.
Campbell walked out of the room and she followed. They grabbed what they needed to leave, locked up, and made it outside.
Finding a cab wasn’t going to be easy at two in the morning so Natalie tugged on a coat she’d grabbed out of her closet.
A cab turned the corner and she stepped closer to the road.
Campbell pulled her toward him and put her at his back. He stared down at her and didn’t say a word as he held up his arm.
As the cab pulled to a stop, its light shutting off, she momentarily leaned against Campbell’s arm. Instead of being annoyed like she would have mere days ago, she felt protected. No. She felt safe and as if she were more than just a job.
It was a feeling of a man protecting someone he cared about.
Love?
No. Not that.
But there were feelings behind it. From her end too. A gust of wind kicked up as she was climbing into the back of the cab, and she used it to help her shake the feelings. She needed to concentrate on the problems at hand.
And Lordy did they have a pile of them to sift through.
Campbell closed the door and told the cabbie where to take them.
As they started moving she asked, “What makes you think Wren was hurt by her significant other?”
He didn’t hesitate, didn’t pause or hem and haw. Within thirty seconds he told her about Wren asking for her and him talking to her, the interruptions and the woman trying to get into her office and then leaving. Ending with the encrypted stick he’d given to the cops.
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me any of this?” Okay, yeah, she was a bit pissed.
“All of this happened when the other woman collapsed and then had to be taken to the hospital. It all happened so fast I forgot about her until after I’d gotten the other woman in the ambulance. Then at that point she was already gone. Or close to it.”
“But why didn’t you tell me? Wait. Holy shit, is this what you didn’t want to tell me last week because you weren’t sure if it did or did not have anything to do with me?”
“If I’d told you then, what could you have done? Wren fled and never returned. I told Greta to let me know when she showed for her next appointment.”
“Which was when?”
“It should have been last Friday. Days ago.”
“And?”
“And unfortunately nothing. She never showed for her appointment. Greta had it flagged in the system to tell me when she arrived and thankfully she told me when she didn’t show up. I’ve had Clay trying to help me find her, but we’d come up empty since all the info she gave you guys was wrong. That’s who I was on the phone with.”
“Who?” Natalie rubbed her temples and hoped beyond hope the looming headache would stay away.
“Clay. I told him what was happening and he’s going to do some checking on his end.”
“Ugh, you woke him at two? Angela’s gonna love me for that one. They don’t get any sleep at all anyways.”
“They were actually both up. Wyatt was crying in the background. Teething, Clay told me.”
Natalie shook her head, trying to clear it. What in the world went so wrong with Wren? “She was close.”
“Close to what?”
“Her due date.”
Campbell tucked his hand beneath her hair and squeezed her neck, rubbing it several times. “Hey.” He faced the cabbie. “Pull into a space at the hospital instead of up to the ER entrance.”
“You got it,” the cab driver responded with a thick Russian accent. They turned into the parking lot less than a minute later and the cabbie parked.
“Why not go up to the front?” Natalie wanted to know.
Campbell hauled out his phone, looked up something, and dialed a number.
“Who are you calling?”
“The hospital.”
“Why?”
“To make sure it was actually the hospital calling before. I take your safety very seriously.”
The phone connected and Campbell put it on speaker. “Yes, I’m trying to verify you had a DOA brought in earlier. Two females. Twenties on the mother and three or four on the little girl. Names of Wren and Hazel Grouse.”
“I can’t give that information out to anyone but immediate family.”
Natalie piped up. “My name is Natalie Grant. I’m listed as her next of kin.”
“Please hold.” Hold music filled the cab.
Natalie held her breath, hoping maybe the other woman had been wrong before. It was a Hail Mary but she grabbed on to it with everything she had.
They didn’t have to wait long. “Yes. Unfortunately both females were brought in and officially pronounced dead.”
Emotion clogged Natalie’s windpipe and she couldn’t say anything else. They were dead. They were really…gone.
“Thank you. We’ll be there in a few minutes to start dealing with details.”
“Drive safe,” the operator told them and disconnected.
After hanging up, Campbell placed a hand on her thigh and just gave her a minute.<
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How could she have been so wrong about someone? She wiped her eyes and faced him. “What made you think of that?”
“Just needed to make sure we weren’t walking into something other than what we’ve been told.”
Natalie stared at him. “You’re really good at what you do.”
He leaned over and gave her a kiss. “It’s why you hired me.”
“You’re absolutely right.”
Campbell’s phone went off, drawing their attention. “It’s Wyatt. Hey, Wyatt, what’s going— Yeah, we’re in the parking lot.” Campbell looked up and around the headrest in front of him. “I see you. We’ll meet you at the entrance.” He disconnected and pointed toward the ER entrance while digging for his wallet. “Drop us off right up there.”
The cabbie moved toward the hospital.
“What did Wyatt say?”
“He got word a little bit ago what was going on because your name is flagged in some interdepartmental list.”
“Lucky me.”
“So he’s here and is going to help get to the bottom of everything since he’s the lead on your case.” Campbell swiped his card as soon as they pulled to a stop and Wyatt approached their cab.
Natalie’s heart sank. “I was hoping it was all some kind of mistake, you know. That we’d get inside and it was someone else. Somebody else’s nightmare, that sounds horrible.”
“What? Someone else? Not Wren?”
“Exactly.”
He squeezed her hand and opened the door. “We’ll get to the bottom of everything. You have my word.” Campbell drew her out as Wyatt held the door.
And she took a deep breath.
She’d never thought she’d be comforted by Campbell in anything like this, but she realized she didn’t want to face it with anyone else.
He gave her a hug and then took her hand, letting Wyatt take the lead as they walked into the emergency room entrance.
The other detectives approached and her heart sank again.
A feeling of dread settled on her shoulders and she wondered if it would ever go away.
* * * * *
A couple hours later Natalie stood outside the nursery room window, staring down at a gorgeous infant with the name of Starling.
A beautiful little girl with the saddest blue eyes she’d ever seen.
She was alone in the world. A place surrounded by people. Yet still…alone.
Natalie knew how that felt.
Numb.
Every cell in her body was numb.
Campbell rubbed her arm but she couldn’t really feel it. She only knew he touched her because their reflections in the glass told her so.
She held still, barely breathing because at any moment one more emotional blow was going to come her way and she was going to shatter like the pane of glass her palms rested on.
Her walls were shaking, brittle.
But she couldn’t let them come down. She couldn’t let them fall. She had to be strong. She didn’t know how much longer she could hold it together. But she couldn’t fall apart now.
“Tell me again what happened. Tell me one more time and maybe I’ll believe it.” Or not, she added in her own head as she stared at the tiny girl wrapped up tight in a little pink blanket.
Campbell cleared his throat. “Starling was born a couple days ago. Wren was fine after the delivery, healthy just like the baby. Her husband had been out of town and missed the entire delivery. When he got back in town he brought Hazel to come see her last night and to take all of them home supposedly. The staff said things were tense between the couple, but they seemed to settle down and Wren appeared to be happy. Then all of a sudden they were gone. The husband took Wren and Hazel and left Starling here.”
“Just left her here,” Natalie whispered.
“Good thing or she’d be dead, too.”
Natalie shook her head but didn’t say anything else.
What could she say?
What kind of parent just leaves their child in the hospital? Abandons them. Natalie shook her head again and wrapped her arms around her middle. With the things she’d seen at the clinic, it happened more often than she wanted to admit. But Wren?
Wren knew her. And she could have given the baby up for adoption. So many options.
“Then they had a car accident. Drunk driver. Hit them head-on. Everyone in both vehicles died.”
“Instantly.”
Campbell nodded. “Wren and Hazel and the other driver died before anyone else could even get to the vehicles. At least they didn’t suffer. Didn’t hurt.”
“And what of the husband?”
“Died after he got to the hospital. Kept trying to tell the staff something but he bled out. Nothing could be done for him either.”
“How sad.”
Campbell squeezed her again and then turned her a bit to the side. Her gaze lingered on the baby for a couple more seconds and then she looked up. The nurse who’d called her earlier from the hospital approached. She looked tired. Natalie could completely empathize.
“Here’s a copy of the will I told you about earlier.” She handed over a small sheaf of papers.
Wren’s name was at the top, all of her info, Hazel’s full name was listed under children and her date of birth.
Becky flipped to the third page and there in black and white sat her name listed as next of kin and guardian to Wren’s children. It specifically listed Hazel and then named any other children she were to have after the date of the will being drawn.
Natalie flipped to the last page.
The date.
Two weeks ago.
“I don’t understand,” Natalie whispered. “I’m not related to her. She was coming to a clinic I run for pregnant mothers. She missed her last appointment, we couldn’t find her, and now this. I honestly don’t know what to say.” She flipped the papers back around and Campbell took them from her.
“I’ve worked at this hospital going on thirty years and I tell you, I always think I’ve seen the strangest thing and then something else comes up. This one sure falls into that category.”
“What now?” Campbell asked.
Natalie stared at the nurse as if she held all the answers in the world.
“Honestly, until we get this straightened out it’s up to you. The baby needs immediate foster placement since she was cleared to be discharged yesterday. You’re listed as next of kin and guardian, so Starling can go home with you. Normally we’d do all sorts of background checks in this situation, but Detective Wyatt has vouched for you and I’ve known him going on ten years. If you have his stamp of approval then you’re good.”
“Well, I’m not really a relation, but I’m an approved foster parent so I can absolutely take Starling. The idea of walking out of the hospital and her not being with me makes me want to vomit.” She glanced at the baby and her stomach dropped. With her heart in her throat she turned to Campbell. “Oh God. We can’t.”
His eyebrows pulled low into a V. “Why not?”
“I completely forgot to file the paperwork for you to be approved. I didn’t even put through my change of status. It would be completely illegal for us to—”
He kissed her, and then kissed her forehead. “I did all of it. Breathe. I was supposed to be approved last week.”
A breath whooshed out of her and it felt like she’d gotten punched in the stomach. But a good kind. Sorta. Her eyes welled up again and Campbell kissed her once more.
He turned to Becky. “Can you pull it up in your system? Make sure everything is ready on that end? Campbell Newbury.” He spelled it for her and then gave her his birthdate and the last four of his social security number.
“Of course.”
A door opened to their left and all of them glanced that way. Another nurse in purple scrubs appeared, carrying Starling.
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Butterflies fluttered inside Natalie’s stomach as the woman approached. She barely heard Becky say something about leaving to go check the foster records for the state. Something else about getting better acquainted.
All Natalie could see was the tiny infant wrapped in pink with her little yellow hat on.
“Would you like to hold her?” the nurse asked.
Doubt crept inside and wouldn’t let go. Without taking her eyes from the wiggling baby she addressed Campbell. “I can’t touch her. Can’t hold her. Not if I don’t get to take her home. Not if I have to give her back. How sure are you the approval is in place?”
“Ninety-nine percent.”
“But…”
He rubbed her back, nodded.
Not having to explain herself anymore in the moment was priceless, but the thought of the nurse putting Starling back in her little basket made her stomach hurt too.
Campbell fixed it. Just like he fixed everything else. “Why don’t I hold her until we get the all-clear and then she’s all yours?”
She closed her eyes and said a little prayer. The words she used were gone as soon as she thought them, but the emotion behind them lingered. They were of humble thankfulness for the man standing with her along with the hope for a guiding hand in the coming days and weeks.
As she lifted her eyelids, Campbell was there, staring at her.
Starling let out a little cry and they both turned to face her.
The nurse held her out and laid her in Campbell’s arms. “I’ll let you guys say hello and I’ll be right in there if you need me.” She pointed somewhere Natalie didn’t see because nothing existed in that moment except the baby girl and the man holding her.
Starling wiggled as he held her close and rocked her back and forth.
In awe.
That’s what Natalie was.
Completely in awe of the man she’d come to depend on.
“Hi, pretty girl.” Campbell smiled down at her.
She wiggled enough to get one of her tiny fists out of her blanket and before Natalie thought better of it she reached forward to touch the tiny back of her hand with her thumb.
The baby wrapped her hand around one of Natalie’s fingers and that was it.
Natalie was a goner.
Her heart beat different in her chest, and her entire system seemed to rotate several degrees off her normal access.
Ultimate Surrender: The Surrender Series, Book 2 Page 23