Suspicious Origin

by MacDonald, Patricia

  “That’s it,” said Britt.

  “Room 420,” said the volunteer behind the desk.

  Britt thanked her, walked down the hall to the elevator, got in, and pushed the button marked four.

  She got off the elevator and looked up and down the cheerful hallways of the maternity floor. The nurses’ station was in the center of two parallel hallways. Room 420, Britt thought, slightly disoriented. Would that be this way, or.…

  Britt looked to her right, and then looked again. Her heart jumped as she recognized a pudgy young man with wispy, blond hair, wearing an olive-drab parka. He was stepping away from the nurses’ station. Under his arm, he was holding a pale blue teddy bear. On the coat sleeve of that arm was an orange chevron, made out of reflector tape. He looked furtively up and down the hallway, and then limped down the corridor. Halfway down the hall he turned to his left and entered one of the rooms.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Britt looked in the doorway of Room 420. Vicki was lying on her back in the elevated bed. The TV was blaring overhead, but Vicki’s eyes were closed, her mouth hanging open. There were dark smudges that looked like bruises under her eyes. A pale blue teddy bear was tucked under one of her arms.

  Sitting quietly next to the guardrail beside Vicki’s bed was the young man Britt had seen in the hallway. He was watching Vicki sleep. When Britt entered the room, he looked up, startled, and then seemed to relax. Britt felt her heart pounding at the sight of him. It was the same guy they had seen hitchhiking out by the Carmichaels’. The very same guy Britt walked up to the guardrail on the other side of the bed, and found the remote control for the television. She switched it to off, and the abrupt silence awakened Vicki. Her hand flew to her belly, and then she winced, and slumped back against the pillow. She gazed, bleary-eyed, at her two visitors.

  “Hi, Vicki. Sorry to have to wake you,” said Britt.

  Vicki frowned, and rubbed her eyes. She turned her head to gaze at the young man in the chair and smiled faintly. “Hi,” she said.

  “Brought you something,” he said, pointing to the stuffed bear.

  Vicki picked it up, looked at it and sighed, letting it tumble over her knees into the guardrail. Then, she peered up at Britt. She made no effort to introduce one of her guests to the other. “What do you want?” she asked.

  Though her heart was thudding, Britt hoisted the bag. “Zoe wanted me to bring you her gift. It’s a scarf. She made it for you.”

  Vicki took the gift bag, lifted the tissue paper and looked in. Her grumpy expression softened into a broad smile. “How cute. She’s sweet.” Vicki pulled the scarf out of the bag. “Dave, look,” she said.

  The blond-haired guy nodded. “Nice,” he said.

  “The little kid that lived next door made it for me. The one that was in the fire.”

  Dave, Britt thought. This is Dave.

  Vicki looked up at Britt. “Tell her I said thanks. That was so cute of her.”

  “She wanted to give it to you herself, but when you said you were leaving…”

  Vicki stuffed the scarf back into the bag and her frown returned. “Yeah. I’m leaving.”

  “Feeling all right?” Britt asked.

  Vicki blinked and then sighed. “At least it’s over.” She squinted at Britt and then up at the television suspended above the foot of the bed. “Who turned the TV off?” she demanded, looking at Dave accusingly.

  “I did,” said Britt. “I need to talk to you.”

  Vicki shifted her bulk in the bed so that she was sitting up. “Put that pillow behind me, will you?” Vicki asked Dave in her babyish voice.

  Dave jumped up and adjusted the pillow. “Okay?”

  “I guess,” said Vicki, sighing again. She turned to Britt. “What do you want? You want him to leave?” There was an edge to her little baby voice.

  Britt looked over at Dave. “Actually, I need to talk to both of you.”

  Dave seemed surprised that she was addressing him.

  “Are you a close friend of Vicki’s?” said Britt.

  Dave looked flummoxed by the question.

  “What’s it to you?” said Vicki.

  Britt continued to look at the young man, who seemed very uneasy. “It’s not a hard question,” she said.

  “Yeah, sure,” he said.

  “Have you ever hitchhiked, Dave? Out near where the Carmichaels live?”

  Dave’s eyes widened, and he looked helplessly at Vicki.

  “That’s none of your business,” Vicki declared, glaring at Britt again. “There’s no law against it. Look, I just had a baby. I feel lousy. Do you mind going?”

  There was a tap on the door and Britt looked up to see the obstetrician, Dr. Yasushi, coming into the room. The doctor was petite and attractive, with glasses that had narrow black frames. She exuded energy. “Hello,” she said cheerfully to all three of them. “How’s my patient doing?”

  Vicki turned around and looked at the doctor gratefully. “I’m tired,” Vicki complained. “I need to rest.”

  “Let me have a look at you. Would you excuse us, please?” the doctor asked Britt and Dave. She indicated that they should step outside.

  “Dave,” Vicki warned. “Don’t you say anything. She’s a friend of Hawkeye’s.”

  Britt edged past the doctor and went out into the hallway, and Dave limped out after her. There was an atmosphere of happy excitement on the maternity floor as men and children arrived with flowers and balloons. She could hear pleased murmurs and babies squalling from the open doorways on the corridor. Most of the nurses who came and went were smiling.

  Dave leaned against the wall, avoiding Britt’s gaze.

  Britt hesitated, not sure how to begin. “Who’s Hawkeye?” Britt asked. “Is that Caroline?”

  Dave shrugged, studying the toes of his work boots.

  “Dave, look,” said Britt. “I’m not a friend of Caroline’s. I hardly know the woman. And I don’t care what’s going on with you and Vicki. Believe me. But Alec Lynch says that he picked up a hitchhiker and drove him to Montpelier the night my sister was killed in a fire. That’s all he could tell the police. A guy named Dave. My niece and I saw you out hitchhiking by the Carmichaels. And you fit the description to a T Are you that man? Can you give my brother-in-law an alibi? Because he’s in jail now, charged with setting that fire, and whatever your situation is with Vicki, it can’t be more important than that.”

  Dave scuffed the heavy treads of one of his work boots against the wall and sighed. “No,” he said miserably. “No. It’s just that…”

  “Come on, Dave,” said Britt. “You seem like a decent guy.”

  Britt could see the internal struggle he was having reflected in his face.

  “You see, Vicki told them she was…unattached,” he said. “I wasn’t supposed to be coming around. I had to sneak around to see her. I’d meet her out in the back. Sometimes we’d meet in that barn there behind your…you know, next door.”

  “What do you mean, told them?” Britt asked.

  “Them. You know, the Carmichaels. She knew they wouldn’t like it if the baby’s father was in the picture, you know what I mean?”

  “That’s you,” said Britt, her suspicion confirmed. “You’re the baby’s father.”

  Dave shrugged and smiled bashfully.

  “Well, look, that’s your business. You and the Carmichaels. But you’ve got to understand. A man’s life could depend on this. Did Alec Lynch pick you up that night? He drives a blue Mercedes. He said he sideswiped the hitchhiker as he was coming around the corner. When the hitchhiker got out of the car, he had a limp.”

  Dave nodded, and looked resigned. “Yeah. He drove me back to Montpelier.”

  “He did,” said Britt. Britt felt as if her heart was going to fly out of her chest. It was true. This was the guy. The one the police had not been able to find. He’d been under their noses the entire time. Vicki’s constant, secret visitor.

  The doctor came out of Vicki’s room, making note
s on a chart. She gave Britt and Dave a brief smile.

  “Doctor,” said Dave. “How’s she doing?”

  “Doing great. You the father?”

  Dave nodded.

  “She’s young. She’ll bounce right back.”

  “That’s good,” said Dave.

  “I signed her release forms. She’s okay to leave. I told her to get dressed.”

  “Isn’t that kind of quick?” Dave asked.

  The doctor shrugged. “No insurance,” she said, and Dave hung his head slightly. “But she’ll be fine at home. No problem. Bring her back for a checkup in a month.”

  “Oh, okay,” Dave said seriously, nodding.

  The doctor started down the corridor. Dave limped back into the room, with Britt behind him.

  “Do you mind?” Vicki cried. “I’m getting dressed.” She was pulling up a pair of sweatpants around her still-ample belly.

  “She said you could leave,” said Dave.

  Vicki rolled her eyes. “I know. The nurse told me this morning, when she took the I.V. out.”

  “Vicki, Dave and I had a talk out in the hall. I need for him to go to the police and tell them that he’s the man that Alec picked up in his car on the night of the fire. Dave can give Zoe’s dad an alibi,” said Britt. “They’ll have to let him out of jail.”

  “I should do it, babe,” he said.

  “Fine, do what you want,” said Vicki.

  “Hey, don’t be mad, babe. I’m just helping the guy out.”

  Vicki shook her head. “And then you’ll tell them…” she said.

  Britt knew that Vicki was referring to the Carmichaels. “They’re going to find out anyway,” said Britt. “Kevin is Alec’s attorney now.”

  “What about her? You can’t tell Hawkeye,” said Vicki.

  “You’re in no position to make conditions,” said Britt.

  “Oh shit,” said Vicki, exhaling a gusty sigh. “They’re gonna kill me,” she said. “They think I was living on my own. That’s what I told them.”

  “They’ve got the baby,” said Britt. “That’s all they want.”

  “I told them I didn’t know who the father was. Or where he was,” said Vicki.

  “Well, things change,” said Britt, spreading her hands wide. “And maybe it’s for the best. I mean, they need the father’s permission, too, to adopt the baby.”

  “They do?” said Dave. He looked at Vicki in surprise.

  “Sure. That way they won’t have to worry about the father showing up someday and claiming paternal rights,” said Britt. “That happens sometimes, you know.”

  Dave nodded and was silent. Britt detected potential trouble for the Carmichaels in that silence. Was it possible that Dave would balk at signing away his paternal rights? Britt had no desire to screw up the Carmichaels’ adoption. But, in a way, Britt thought, it wouldn’t be all that surprising. Surely, Kevin Carmichael knew the risks with one of these private adoption deals. He was an attorney. He had to know how many times these kinds of arrangements fell through on the adoptive parents. Even Britt knew that, just from reading the newspapers. She often wondered why they had chosen this most hazardous of routes. Why hadn’t they gone through the regular channels?

  Vicki brushed her hair and put on some lipstick. “What a mess,” she said. “Well, that’s as good as it’s gonna get today.”

  “How are you two getting home?” Britt asked.

  Dave and Vicki exchanged a glance.

  “Won’t Caroline come for you?”

  “I’d never call her,” said Vicki. “We’ll get a cab, I guess. And go get my new car. Remember, I got that new Toyota out at the Carmichaels’. And my money.”

  Britt couldn’t help noticing that Vicki said “my money” instead of “our money.” “I’ll drive you out there,” said Britt. “I want to make sure you get that car so that Dave gets to the police station.”

  “I said I’ll go, and I will,” Dave protested.

  “That’s great,” said Britt soothingly. “I’m not trying to pressure you. It’s just that you have to realize how important this is.”

  “I realize it, okay?” said Dave.

  “Okay, sorry. My car’s down in the parking lot,” said Britt. “Anything you want me to carry?”

  Vicki looked around the room. There was an arrangement of flowers from Kevin on the windowsill and the blue bear, still upended on the bed. She reached across the bear, and picked up the bag with Zoe’s scarf in it. She shook out the scarf and wound it around her neck. “Let’s go,” she said.

  A nurse came padding into the room on squeaky white shoes. “Everything okay in here?” she asked.

  Britt turned to the nurse. “Everything’s fine,” she said.

  The nurse shrugged. “Okay.” She bounced back out of the room.

  “You’re a real pain in the butt, you know that?” said Vicki to Britt. “You better not ruin everything for me.”

  Britt didn’t flinch. “You ready?” she said.

  “Ready,” Vicki grumbled. She began to lumber toward the door. Dave reached across the bed, and picked up the blue bear, tucking it back under his arm. Britt followed them both out into the hall.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Britt pulled into the Carmichaels’ driveway behind the cherry-red Toyota. Vicki shook her head and looked around. “Man, I cannot wait to get away from this place. I hated it here. I just want my money, and the car, and to get out of here. Now Dave, you just keep quiet, and let me do the talking.”

  All three of them got out of the car and climbed up on the front porch. Vicki looked around the snowy yard. “I wonder where Kirby is,” she said. “I’m not leaving without him.” She fiddled nervously with the end of the brightly colored scarf.

  She’ll leave without her baby, but not the cat. People are weird, Britt thought.

  Summoned by the bell, Caroline opened the door. She looked pale and tired and when her gaze rested on Vicki there was an undisguised loathing in her expression. “Hello,” she said.

  “I came to get my stuff,” said Vicki. “And the money. And the car.”

  “Everything’s in your room,” said Caroline. “Except the car. Obviously.”

  “What about Kirby?” Vicki asked, peering past Caroline into the living room.

  “He’s outside,” said Caroline. “It’s not safe for cats to be around little babies. If they scratch the baby it can be deadly. They can get some terrible disease from it.”

  Vicki rolled her eyes. “That’s stupid,” she said. “Lots of people have cats. Dave, you go look for him while I get my stuff.”

  Caroline peered at Dave as he obediently descended the porch steps and began to limp toward the back of the house. “Who’s that?” she said.

  “Friend of mine,” said Vicki, sweeping past her into the house.

  Caroline smiled thinly at Britt. “Do you want to come in?”

  The tension between Caroline and Vicki was palpable, and Britt would rather have stayed outside, but she didn’t want to appear unfriendly. She followed Vicki inside and sat down on the couch. Vicki started up the stairs.

  “Don’t wake him,” said Caroline.

  “I won’t,” said Vicki, although she seemed to be stomping up the steps as noisily as possible.

  Caroline sat down opposite Britt, perching on the edge of the chair. She pushed a long lock of her shiny hair behind her ear and glanced anxiously up the stairs.

  “How’s he doing?” Britt asked.

  Caroline’s worried face broke into a tremulous smile. “My baby? He’s great. He’s perfect. He’s the perfect child.”

  Britt nodded. “That’s…that’s wonderful. It must be tiring though. Taking care of a baby”

  “I’m not tired,” Caroline protested. “I can do it.”

  “I’m sure,” said Britt. “I didn’t mean…”

  Caroline looked at Britt quizzically. “Why are you here?”

  “Here? You mean here at your house?”

  Caroline nodded.


  “Well, they needed a ride from the hospital.”

  “She’s leaving, isn’t she?” Caroline asked.

  “As far as I know,” said Britt. “She seemed eager to be on her way.”

  “It’s not like you’re close to Vicki,” Caroline said.

  “No, not at all. I just happened to be there when she needed a ride. I came over to give Vicki a present from Zoe. Zoe wanted her to have it before she left town.”

  “Who is that boy?” Caroline asked suspiciously.

  Britt didn’t want to get into this discussion. “Just a friend, I guess. He was visiting when I arrived.”

  “What kind of a friend is he?” Caroline asked. “A boyfriend? She told me she didn’t have a boyfriend.”

  This isn’t my concern, Britt thought. This is their business. She stood up. “I don’t know anything about that. Look, I’ve got some things to do. I guess I’ll be going.”

  Caroline stood up and trailed her to the door. “How come he’s here?”

  “They didn’t say. Moral support, maybe,” said Britt. “As you said, I hardly know Vicki. Look, I’m going to take off. Good luck with the…with your new baby.”

  Caroline stood in the doorway watching Britt as she went down the stairs. Dave was standing out beside the red Toyota smoking a cigarette, and kicking a tire absently with one of his scuffed-up work boots. The cigarette, the boots. Britt had a sudden realization. She walked up to him. “Dave, were you out in the woods behind this house yesterday?”

  Dave looked up at her blankly and then nodded. “Vicki was supposed to meet me. When she didn’t come out, I didn’t know what happened to her. This morning I just took a chance and called the hospital. They told me she had the baby. Why?”

  “Nothing,” said Britt. “My niece thought she saw someone back there when she was feeding the cat. It scared her a little bit.”

  “I didn’t think anybody knew I was there,” said Dave.

  “No harm done,” said Britt. “Look. I’m going to have to take off now. Can I tell the police chief you are coming in to corroborate Alec’s story?”

  Dave nodded absently.

  “I know that Vicki is eager to be on her way, but there’s a little girl who needs her father back. It all depends on you, Dave.”