Sloane Monroe 06-Hush Now Baby

by Bradshaw, Cheryl

  “Do you hear that? Do you hear him? It’s Finn, Cade. It has to be.”

  “I hear it, Sloane. Check inside the camper. I’ll wait here.”

  I released the latch on the camper door, ascended the steps, gun extended. The crying stopped. Two people sat back to back on the ground in the far corner, a man and a woman, mouths gagged with a black cloth, hands bound with rope. Rope had also been wound around both of their bodies then secured to a long, metal rod under the sofa, leaving them incapable of any movement, any potential to escape. Aside from being bound, the woman looked unscathed. The man’s shirt was soaked in blood, concealed by a jacket which had probably been used to smuggle him out of Saige’s house without alarming the neighbors.

  I approached the woman first, tugged the gag out of her mouth, stooped down. “Where’s the baby?”

  The woman blinked, paused, then said, “Please … help us. You don’t know what he’s—.”

  “If you want my help, tell me where the baby’s at. Where’s Finn?”

  “You don’t have time to—”

  I brandished my gun, aimed it in her direction. She was right, there wasn’t time. “The baby.”

  She bent her head forward. “In there.”

  “In there” was a small bathroom. Not seeing a child when I first walked in, I detected movement coming from the other side of a murky shower door. I opened it and looked down, looked at the mass of chocolate-colored hair, the beady eyeballs staring up at me, staring like he knew why I was there, knew I’d come to save him.

  “Hi there.” I holstered my gun, leaned down, unbuckled the car seat, placed a hand behind his head as I lifted him toward me. His delicate fingers clutched one of mine, and I thought of Hannah, realizing to a fuller extent how impossible it was for her to give up this precious baby.

  “Find Finn?” Cade called from outside.

  “I have him.”

  I stepped out, turned to the woman. “Samantha Wilcox?”

  She nodded.

  I shifted my gaze to the man beside her. “This your husband?”

  “No.”

  What did she mean, no?

  “If he isn’t your husband, who is he?”

  “He’s … my brother.”

  CHAPTER 46

  “The man in the restaurant isn’t Derrick Hamilton,” I yelled to Cade.

  “Who is he then?”

  The woman answered. “My husband, Rob. He has a gun.”

  “Sloane, stay where you are,” Cade cautioned. “Stay with the baby.”

  Keeping Finn safe was foremost on my mind, and right now, Cade’s intentions were right—the camper wasn’t going anywhere. Minutes passed. Rob hadn’t left the diner. Had he seen us? Bailed on foot? As long as he hadn’t observed us going around the side of the building, it was just a matter of minutes, seconds even, before he appeared.

  “Please, let us go,” Samantha pleaded.

  “Not until I know how you ended up with Jack and Serena’s baby.”

  “There’s no time. Rob could be back any minute.”

  “Give me the short version.”

  Samantha explained she’d lost herself after losing her baby, becoming swallowed up in her grief. Her husband, Rob, tried taking her back home. She refused to go. She wanted to be with her sister, her brother, her family. Not him. The days passed, each more difficult than the one before. Samantha distanced herself from her husband, refusing to speak to him.

  “I told him I wanted a divorce,” she said. “I told him my life would never be the same again after losing our son.”

  “What did he do?”

  “He left. I thought he went home without me. A few days later he returned to my sister’s house with a baby.”

  “Did you ask where the baby came from?”

  “Of course I did. He said the child’s mother overdosed on drugs. The baby had just been put into foster care. He said he filled out the paperwork, and they just handed him the baby. He thought trading our child for this one would fix things between us. Somehow he convinced himself this new baby would make everything better.”

  “Did you believe his story?”

  “I’m no idiot. I’d seen the AMBER Alert on TV. Seen the baby’s picture. So had Saige. I told him I knew he’d stolen the baby, killed the baby’s mother, the same woman I saw at the hospital. Made me sick, what he’d done. You wanna know what he said? His only response was that the baby’s mother wasn’t a mother at all. She’d adopted the boy. Like that justified his actions somehow.”

  “You’re saying he knew you disapproved and decided to hold you, your brother, and your sister hostage for several days?”

  Seemed peculiar that three people could remain under Rob’s eye for so long.

  “Not my brother. Before Rob showed up, Derrick had taken the camper and went hiking in Yellowstone for a few days. He had no idea what was going on until he returned.”

  “I’m guessing that’s when things got crazy,” I said.

  “Rob admitted to all of us what he’d done, thinking my brother would be on his side. He said he’d kept the kid himself for a few days after he took him while he worked up the nerve to bring him over. He thought he’d swoop in, win me over, and convince me to leave with him. He’d cleared both of our bank accounts and booked one-way tickets to Canada. Truth be told, he’s never been very smart. I just never thought he was a killer.”

  “How did your sister die?”

  “When Derrick came back, saw we were being held at gunpoint, saw the baby, he came up with a plan to distract Rob while Saige called the police. Rob followed her into the bedroom. As soon as she grabbed her phone and started to dial, he fired. Derrick ran in, and Rob turned, shot him too.”

  Feeling confident in her story, I removed the gag from Derrick’s mouth. “Is what she’s saying true?”

  “Every word.”

  Outside I heard Cade yell, “Stop! Hands on your head. Right now! Don’t move. I said don’t … move!”

  And then a gunshot went off.

  CHAPTER 47

  Rob Wilcox had moved, just not in the way Cade expected. Feeling defeated, and with no place left to go, Rob had lifted the gun to his own head, firing one last shot. He was dead. It was all over. I left Samantha and Derrick roped together until the police arrived to verify their story. I was sure everything Samantha told me was true, but now it was time to let the law take over. I had a beautiful bundle of joy to look after.

  Once Finn’s identity was confirmed, Cade asked the chief’s permission for us to escort Finn back to Jack. I expected a resounding no, but since I was the only woman around, and hadn’t let go of the child since I’d swaddled him in my arms, the chief let common sense be his guide.

  I strapped Finn back into his car seat, hopped into the back seat with him, and closed the door.

  “I saved him, Hannah,” I whispered. “I did it. He’s safe now.”

  Cade started the engine. “What’s that?”

  “Oh, nothing.”

  “I’m proud of you.”

  I buried my head in my hands, and wept.

  I wept because I had lost Hannah.

  I wept because I’d saved Finn.

  I wept because I’d never had any children of my own.

  I wept because I’d allowed myself to become lost, forsaking what mattered most.

  I wept because my grandfather had been right about me all along.

  The present, the past. It poured out of me like a dam finally seizing the opportunity to break. And I couldn’t hold it inside any longer.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t know why I’m falling apart like this.”

  “Don’t be.” Cade reached back, cupped my chin in his hand, lifted my head so I faced him. “It’s nice to finally meet you. The real you.”

  CHAPTER 48

  Jack’s front lawn looked like the main attraction at a family reunion when we arrived. I recognized many faces from Serena’s funeral. Jack weaved through the crowd, opened the door. I got out
and backed up, allowing him the chance to reach over, remove Finn. He didn’t. Instead he spread his arms out, pulled me close. “Thank you. Thank you, and thank Cade for getting Serena the justice she deserves. She can finally be at rest. I’ll never forget what the two of you have done. Never.”

  The next several hours passed in a joyous celebration. Many tears were shed for Serena, and a healthy dose of laughter spread through the crowd prompted by the return of Finn. After it died down, and only Jack’s closest family lingered, a familiar car pulled up. Renee. I met her at the front door.

  “I heard you found him,” she said.

  “We did.”

  “Can I come in?”

  Jack approached from behind, Finn in hand. “Renee. Thanks for coming.”

  “Thanks for calling me, Jack. I never expected it.”

  “Would you like to hold him?” Jack asked.

  I backed away, gave Renee the space she needed.

  “It was nice of you to call her,” I said. “After losing Hannah, and what she went through with her brother and his wife, I’m sure it means more to her than you know.”

  “Oh, I believe I do know,” he said.

  After Renee spent time with Finn, she passed him to Bonnie, and I watched Jack and Renee slip away together. When they returned, Jack said, “I’ve been doing some thinking the last few days. I just talked to Renee for a while, and uhh … I believe we have come to an agreement.”

  Bonnie raised a brow. “What kind of agreement?”

  “I’ve given it a lot of thought, and, I’m not sure I’m the right person to raise Finn,” Jack said. “If Serena was here, believe me, I’d feel different. She isn’t here, and, the truth is, it’s not the same raising him without her.”

  “You don’t need Serena here to be a great father,” Bonnie said.

  “It’s not that, Mom. I can’t even take care of myself right now, let alone a newborn baby.”

  “You’ve got your family, your sister, me. We’re all here for you. You won’t raise him alone.”

  “I loved him from the moment I first saw him. Even though we only had him for a few weeks, he’s still my son. In ways, he always will be. In other ways, I realize he also has a connection to Renee. When I first met Renee at the hospital, I could tell she wished she could raise Finn herself. She couldn’t then. She can now. I don’t feel right keeping him from her. I won’t keep him from her.”

  “What are you sayin’?” Cade asked.

  “If the state will allow it, and I believe they will, Renee is going to adopt Finn.”

  Bonnie smacked a hand over her mouth. “No, Jack. Please.”

  “This is what I’ve decided to do, Mom. I’ve had a lot of time to consider what’s best for him. With Serena gone, I know in my heart this is right.”

  “Don’t worry,” Renee said. “Any of you. I’ll never keep Finn from you. That’s not my intention. I believe there’s a way we can do this together, a way we can all be family, bonded together through our love for this little boy.”

  “Son, are you sure this is what you really want?” Bonnie asked. “Are you absolutely sure?”

  He nodded.

  “I am.”

  Although it was clear Bonnie had mixed feelings, I knew she wouldn’t stand in his way. Renee and Jack shared a common bond—with Finn and in their grief. Bonnie was smart enough to know what it meant. She reached out, snatched Renee’s hand, did her best to form a smile. “Well, Renee. Welcome to the family.”

  CHAPTER 49

  I woke early, having slept a full, uninterrupted five hours the night before. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. What began as a short weekend getaway had turned into one of the longest weekends of my life. I had bittersweet thoughts about heading for home.

  Home.

  Was it really?

  Did I even belong there?

  I had an open invitation from my grandmother to stay in her condo in Florida anytime I wanted for as long as I wanted. She was hardly ever there, and when she was, it wasn’t for long. Somehow Florida didn’t seem right either.

  I stuffed the last of my toiletries into the front compartment of my suitcase and rolled it into the hallway. A teary-eyed Shelby was waiting, hands shoved inside her pockets, face inspecting the ground.

  “Why the tears?” I asked. “I thought you’d be happy to see me go. I’ve taken far too much time away from you and your dad. Now you can have him all to yourself.”

  My attempt to make light of the situation fell flatter than a single sheet of paper.

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “Hey, look at me,” I said. “It’s not like I’m never coming back. Once I figure out where I’m going and what I’m doing, you can come stay with me anytime.”

  “I just thought …”

  “Thought what?”

  “Nothing. It’s stupid.”

  “It isn’t to me.”

  Cade entered the room. “You all packed then?”

  I was standing in front of him with a zipped suitcase and keys in my hand, wondering when the awkwardness would end.

  “Dad … say something,” Shelby said.

  “What do you want me to say?”

  “You know what to say. Please. Don’t let her leave.”

  “Sloane knows what’s best for her right now, Shelby. We have to respect what she’s decided. She stayed a lot longer than she planned.”

  “You don’t want her to leave either. Tell her, Dad.”

  “I’ll visit soon,” I said. “I promise.”

  I tried to slip an arm around her back. She shrugged me off. I didn’t push it. Cade seized the opportunity to sweep me up in his arms while a disgruntled Shelby stood against the wall, watching us like we couldn’t be acting any more ridiculous. I wanted to pretend I didn’t fully comprehend what was happening, even though every part of me did.

  “Drive safe,” he said. “Let me know when you get back. Okay?”

  Drive safe. Let me know when you get back? That’s it?

  When had the man who confessed his love a few nights before made the decision to replace his charming, effervescent words with diplomacy? And why did I care? This was my choice, what I wanted, what I asked for—space, time.

  I pulled back from his embrace and dished back what he’d served, thanking him for everything he’d done for me the past week, asking him to say goodbye to his family. Before I headed to the car, I turned, hoping I’d get one more chance to address Shelby. She was already gone.

  “Should I go talk to her?” I asked. “I feel terrible. I don’t want to leave knowing she’s hurting because of me.”

  “She’ll be fine. Give her a day or two. I’m sure she’ll get over it.”

  He tried to sound convincing, but even he didn’t seem to believe his words.

  When I reached the driveway, Cade remained in the doorway, one hand stuffed inside his pocket, eyes glued to me. Why couldn’t he just go back inside, close the door, make it easier for both of us?

  I placed my bag in the back seat and stood there, my hands pressed against the roof of the car. My heart pounded inside my chest. Why didn’t I feel better about leaving?

  I spoke without turning around. “You’re just going to stand there and let me leave? There’s nothing else you want to say? Nothing at all?”

  “Dammit, woman. You’re impossible. I told you, if you wanna be part of my life you have to …”

  He was behind me, standing so close I could feel the heat of his breath caressing my ear. For a moment we stood there, neither one of us relenting. Him wanting me to come to him. Me wanting him to come to me. The difference was … he had come to me before. And I’d done nothing.

  “Say something,” he whispered. “Talk to me.”

  I didn’t say something, I did something. I flipped around, looped my arms around his neck and pulled him toward me, pressing my lips on his. He returned my kiss with one of his own, holding me close, not wanting to let go.

  “I’m still figuring things out, Cad
e, but I know one thing—I’m not ready to leave.”

  “Don’t then. Stay with me. Figure out what you really want.”

  I leaned against him, savoring the moment.

  In the distance, I almost thought I saw a white horse.

  THE END

  All of Cheryl Bradshaw’s novels are heavily researched, proofed, edited, and professionally formatted by a skilled team of professionals. Should you find any errors, please contact the author directly. Her assistant will forward the issue(s) to the publisher. It’s our goal to present you with the best possible reading experience, and we appreciate your help in making that happen. You can contact the author through her website by clicking HERE.

  About Cheryl Bradshaw

  Cheryl Bradshaw is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She currently has two series: Sloane Monroe mystery/thriller series and the Addison Lockhart paranormal suspense series. Stranger in Town (Sloane Monroe series #4) was a 2013 Shamus Award finalist for Best PI Novel of the Year, and I Have a Secret (Sloane Monroe series #3) was a 2013 eFestival of Words winner for best thriller novel. To learn more:

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  Books by Cheryl Bradshaw

  Sloane Monroe Series

  Black Diamond Death

  Murder in Mind

  I Have a Secret

  Stranger in Town

  Bed of Bones