The Baby Snatchers

by Chris Taylor

  Her mother’s expression hardened. “You were a child, Georgina!”

  “Mom, I was seventeen!”

  “And he was twenty-three! He took advantage of you, Georgina. Fair and square.”

  Georgie opened her mouth to protest again and then closed it. There was no use arguing with her mother. Not about this. She’d learned that a long time ago. With a sigh of resignation, she pushed away from the desk.

  “I’m going to head home and put my feet up. It’s been one hell of a long day and I’m on again first thing in the morning.”

  Marjorie nodded and offered her a tight smile. “I’ll see you then.”

  * * *

  Georgie tucked an errant strand of chestnut-colored hair behind her ear and headed for the staff parking lot. The rustle of dried leaves beneath her feet reminded her they were well into the fall. Winter would be upon them any minute. Georgie didn’t mind. She loved the cold.

  Not that it got really cold in Sydney. Not like when she was young, tucked away in a cottage in the Upper Blue Mountains. She had fond memories of drinking hot chocolate by the open fireplace at the cottage, and having snow fights with her sisters. Though it only snowed about a week a year there, it was more than what fell in Sydney. As far as she knew, Sydney had never seen snow.

  While her parents had also relocated to the city, they still maintained their mountain hideaway and when time and the demands of their jobs allowed, they escaped the noise and mayhem of the city and spent some quality time surrounded by the peace and tranquillity of the beautiful Australian bush. Georgie made a mental note to make an effort to take a few days off over the winter and join them there.

  Her phone rang, distracting her from her thoughts. Tugging it out of her handbag, she glanced at the screen and smiled.

  “Chanel! Thanks for calling me back.”

  “Of course! Why wouldn’t I call you back?”

  “I don’t know. You’re always so crazy busy, between work and your new promotion to senior resident. Congratulations, by the way, Doctor Sutcliffe. Then there are the triplets and that demanding husband of yours!” she joked. “How is Bryce, by the way?”

  Chanel took the gibe in the spirit it was intended, and laughed. “He’s great. I don’t know how he manages to keep going. People tell me I’m amazing, juggling work with three small kids, but at least I only work part time. He works sixty hours a week and then comes home and helps out with the girls. The man’s a saint!”

  Georgie giggled and forced down the tiny pang of envy. Chanel was a good friend. It wasn’t her fault she’d hit the jackpot in the husband stakes. Georgie could only hope she’d be just as lucky some day.

  “How have you been, Georgie? I haven’t seen you for ages!”

  “Flat out, like everyone. Lately, it seems all I do is leave home, go to work and then come home again.”

  “We must organize a girls’ night out. I’ll confer with my dear husband and see when he’s scheduled for days off. He can spend some quality time at home with his daughters.”

  Georgie smiled. “That sounds like a great plan. Let me know when we can do it. I might even see if Isobel can make it. I’m sure Mason would be happy to do daddy duty, too.”

  “He’s such a sweetie,” Chanel agreed. “After that horrible stuff Isobel went through with Nigel… I’m so glad she found someone special.”

  “Yes,” Georgie agreed, remembering the traumatic events of a couple of years earlier when nurse Isobel Donnelly, had left her violent and abusive husband. Getting away from him had been difficult; and complicating matters further, her ex had been a prominent doctor at the same hospital. Things had been very tough on Isobel for a while. Georgie couldn’t be happier that she’d found love and contentment with someone else.

  “So, what can I do for you?” Chanel asked, interrupting Georgie’s musings.

  “I had a young girl in the birthing suite today. Sixteen-year-old runaway. She’s had a tough life.”

  “Haven’t they all?” Chanel said without rancor.

  “Yes, you’re right and this girl’s no different. She’s living God knows where and has no family support, except for a brother, and she doesn’t know where he is.”

  “Okay. What do you want me to do?” Chanel asked, sounding uncertain.

  “Actually, she told me her brother’s a police officer and she believes he’s stationed in the city. I was wondering if you could ask Bryce if he knows of him.”

  “Sure, I guess so. Do you know how long it’s been since this guy worked there? They tend to transfer around a fair bit, especially if they’re young.”

  “He’s not that young. Cynthia said he was at least ten years older than her.”

  “Okay, so he’s not straight out of the Academy, but he’s still not old. Anyway, there’s no harm in asking. I’ll call Bryce right now.”

  Georgie sighed in relief. “Thanks, Chanel. I hate to trouble you or Bryce, but I couldn’t think of a faster way to find out.”

  “Hey, it’s no trouble. I’m happy to help out. What’s the brother’s name?”

  “Cameron Dawson. At least, I assume they bear the same surname. I didn’t think to ask.”

  “You never know, you might get lucky. Even if he has a different last name, it’s unlikely there’ll be more than one Cameron, aged approximately twenty-six or twenty-seven, at the same precinct. I’ll call you right back.”

  After thanking her again, Georgie ended the call and made her way to her car. The cherry-red Mazda CX-3 was parked where she’d left it. She’d barely sat down in the driver’s seat when Chanel rang her.

  “Wow, that was quick. How did it go?”

  “No good. Bryce’s not answering his phone. He might be out on a job. I’ve left a message for him to call me. I’ll let you know once I actually speak with him.”

  Georgie’s shoulders slumped in disappointment, but she forced herself to reply with a level of optimism. After all, with a bit of luck, Chanel would talk to her husband about it before the night was over and Georgie would have the information she sought.

  “Thanks, Chanel, I really appreciate it.”

  “No problem. I’ll speak to you later and I’ll let you know when I can escape from here and have a night out on the town with you!”

  Georgie laughed and after a round of fond farewells, ended the call. Turning the key in the ignition, she headed for home.

  * * *

  Detective Sergeant Cameron Dawson typed the last sentence of the report he’d prepared on the drug bust that had gone down earlier that day. A moment later, he saved his work and logged off. With a sigh, he stretched his arms above his head and leaned back in his cheap, government-issue chair. It squeaked in protest against his weight, but he was beyond caring. His eyes drifted closed with fatigue.

  It had been a helluva tough day. The bust had been a culmination after months of surveillance and long hours undercover, deep in the bowels of a drug cartel. Cameron had been only one of several detectives involved in the sting.

  More than a thousand pounds of methamphetamine had been confiscated in the raid, along with vast amounts of the chemicals and other drug paraphernalia required to make more. A dozen criminals involved in the extensive meth operations were now behind bars, charged with a string of offenses. It would be a long time before any of them saw the light of day. All in all, it had been a good day’s work and Cameron felt justifiably satisfied.

  “You did good today, Cam.”

  Cameron opened his eyes and managed a tired smile in Bryce Sutcliffe’s direction. “Thanks, mate. Appreciate you saying so.”

  Bryce had been caught up in a complex homicide case and hadn’t been part of the meth investigation, but like all of their colleagues, they were a team first and foremost and they cheered each other on. Some days the support and encouragement from his fellow officers was needed and sometimes it wasn’t, but it warmed Cam through to know the men and women who worked at the City of Sydney Police Station were devoted to each other as much as th
ey were to their jobs.

  “You’re the talk of the town,” Bryce added. “Every media outlet in the city wants a piece of you. Good thing you’re kind of pretty. You’ll grace the cover of every magazine. Who knows? Hollywood might even come knocking on your door!”

  Cam grinned good-naturedly. “You’re full of shit, Sutcliffe. I think you’ve gotten way too close to the hundred or so diapers your girls must go through each week.”

  Bryce laughed and shook his head. “It just goes to show what you know about kids. The triplets are three-and-a-half. They stopped wearing diapers a year ago.”

  “Really? ’Cause that sounds awfully young. I had a little sister once. I was eleven when she was born. I remember she was still in diapers, at least at night, right up until she turned four.”

  “Yeah, well maybe I exaggerated a little bit, but Zoe’s mostly toilet trained and the other two won’t be far behind.” Bryce paused and then frowned. “What do you mean you had a little sister? What did you do? Disown her?”

  Cam swallowed a gasp, feeling like he’d just taken a punch to his stomach. Bryce’s chuckle came to a sudden stop.

  “Oh, shit. I’m sorry, Cam. That was stupid of me. She… She didn’t die, did she?”

  Cam shook his head and ran a hand tiredly over his face. Squeezing his eyes shut against the sudden surge of pain, he clenched his jaw and tried to come up with an answer.

  “No, mate, nothing like that. At least, not that I know of. My dear old dad kicked me out when my sister was just a kid.” He shrugged. “I haven’t seen her since.”

  Bryce’s expression grew more troubled. “Jesus. I had no idea! Shit, I’m sorry, mate. I was only joking. Me and my big mouth. Chanel’s always telling me to think before I—”

  “Don’t sweat it, Bryce. You weren’t to know. No one knows. That’s the way I like it. I did it tough for a few years, but who doesn’t? There wouldn’t be many people who go through their childhood without picking up a few scars along the way. That’s just the way it is.”

  “So you haven’t seen your sister since—?”

  “I left home at sixteen. Cynthia was five. I remember she stood near the front gate and waved good-bye to me until I was out of sight. It was the last time I saw her.”

  “You never thought of looking her up or finding out where she was?”

  Cameron shrugged and did his best to keep the emotion out of his voice. “What’s the point? I assume she’s still living at home and I have no inclination to see my father ever again. Besides, she probably wouldn’t even remember me.”

  Bryce stared at him in silence, a strange expression on his face. Cam frowned up at him. “What’s the matter? You look weird.”

  Bryce averted his face, but Cam could see he was gnawing on his lower lip—as if he had something to say, but didn’t know how. Cam cursed under his breath. What the hell. His secret was out there now. Did it matter if Bryce knew all the sordid details?

  “I can tell you’re bursting to know more,” Cam said, forcing a grin. “Ask away.”

  “It’s not that. I… I was speaking to Chanel a few minutes ago. She… She called to ask me if I knew a cop by the name of Cameron Dawson.”

  Cam frowned. “Why would she ask about me?”

  “She was asking on behalf of someone else. A friend of hers who works at the Sydney Harbour Hospital. Georgie Whitely. She’s a midwife.”

  Cam watched Bryce curiously, wondering what point his colleague was trying to make. He raised an eyebrow. “And?”

  Bryce looked away and then began to pace. Cam’s frown deepened. What the hell had gotten into the man? He asked Bryce as much.

  “Shit, mate. I’m sorry. It’s none of my business, but I promised Chanel I’d speak to you about it.”

  “About what?” Cam said, not even bothering to hide his exasperation.

  “About… About someone who claims to be your sister.”

  Shock held Cam momentarily immobile. At last, he found his voice though he was filled with a growing sense of unease. “My sister? What the hell would your wife know about my sister?”

  “Not Chanel. Her friend. Georgie. The midwife.”

  “You’re not making any sense, Sutcliffe. For Christ’s sake spit it out!”

  “Georgie Whitely helped deliver the baby of a young girl by the name of Cynthia Dawson. She said she was your sister.”

  Cam gaped, his jaw slack with shock. It couldn’t be his sister. His sister was barely sixteen. “She must be mistaken,” he said, his voice not quite steady. “My sister lives in the country and she’s still in high school. Way too young to be having a baby.”

  Bryce stared at him, his expression solemn. “I don’t think so, Cam. Chanel told me the girl was young. A teenager. She insisted she had a brother who was a cop and was stationed in the city. His name was Cameron—”

  A loud buzzing noise started in Cameron’s head and blocked out the rest of what Bryce had to say. Shock and disbelief rendered him speechless. His heart pounded. How could his little sister be in a hospital in Sydney, having a baby? She was still a child! How the hell had their parents let it happen? And where the hell were they?

  The thought that his parents might be in Sydney for the birth sent panic rushing through his veins. As much as he wanted to see his sister, he couldn’t risk running into them, especially his father. The rage he’d felt for so long against the man who’d been responsible for throwing him out hadn’t abated with time. If anything, the possibility that Ray Dawson was a few mere miles away sent renewed anger surging straight to his brain.

  For his mother, he felt nothing but contempt. Right from the beginning, she’d treated him like a slave, but as far as Cam was concerned, it was his dad who bore the blame for putting him out. His dad could have stood up to his mother. His dad could have told her no. But he hadn’t. Instead, at his mother’s insistence, he’d turned his back on his son. He’d taken the coward’s way out and had asked Cam to leave…

  A hand on his arm startled him and brought him crashing back to the present. He blinked rapidly in an effort to clear his mind of the bitter memories.

  “Are you all right, Cam?” Bryce stared at him with a look of concern and tightened his hold on Cam’s arm.

  “Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine.” Cam pulled away from Bryce’s hold and turned away, making an effort to calm his breathing and slow his racing heart. “You surprised me, that’s all. I was a little taken aback when you mentioned my sister. And a baby…” He shook his head. “It’s a bit much to take in.”

  “Of course, I understand. I’m sorry. I didn’t know. When Chanel asked me if I knew you, of course I told her yes. She asked me to pass on the information about your sister. Georgie’s concerned about her. She indicated you were her only family and with her being so young with a new baby… I guess Georgie and the other hospital staff wanted to make sure she and the child were going to be okay.”

  Cam nodded, his lips compressed. His anger had once again been stowed away in the dark pit of his gut, where he’d kept it hidden for so long. “It’s all right, Bryce. I get it. She’s sixteen with a newborn. She needs help.”

  Bryce shrugged. “I’m just the messenger. Do with it what you will.”

  Cam’s thoughts suddenly snared on something Bryce had said. He frowned at his colleague. “Did you say Cynthia told this midwife I was her only family?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure that’s what Chanel said. That’s why it seemed so important to let you know. Apparently, she’s likely to be discharged tomorrow or the next day at the latest and Georgie wanted to know she had someone looking out for her and the baby.”

  Cam’s frown deepened. If Cynthia told the nurses she didn’t have any other family, perhaps his parents weren’t at the hospital, like he’d assumed. Surely if they were, the midwife wouldn’t have any reason to ask his sister about family. Yes, the more he thought about it, the more he was sure Cynthia had gone to the hospital alone.

  A pang of distress ripped through him at the thou
ght of his little sister going through something as momentous as the birth of her child all alone. At least, he assumed she’d been alone.

  “What about the father of the baby? Surely, he must be in the picture?”

  Bryce shook his head. “I don’t know anything about the father. Chanel didn’t mention him.”

  Cam drew in a deep breath that expanded his chest, and then exhaled. More than a decade ago, he’d vowed never to revisit the past. He’d mourned the loss of his little sister, but she’d been collateral damage. She’d been too young to take with him. At the time, his only hope had been that she’d be treated better than he had and that perhaps their adoptive parents would show her a little more love and kindness than they had their only son.

  But what if it hadn’t worked out that way? What if that bitch of a mother had transferred her wicked attitude toward Cynthia? And what if his father still hadn’t found the guts to stand up to the woman? What if Cynthia’s teenage years had been as dark and depressing as Cam’s? Had she been kicked out of home, like he had? Was that the reason she was pregnant and alone at sixteen?

  The questions kept coming, racing around and around inside his mind and he had no answers. With gritted teeth, he pressed his hands against both sides of his head in an effort to slow down his thoughts. Bryce threw him another concerned look and with a gargantuan effort, Cam managed to calm himself enough to reassure his colleague.

  “It’s all right, Bryce. I’m okay. I am. I probably don’t look like it, but I’ll be fine. I have so many questions about how this came to be. Having no answers is frustrating.”

  “I understand. You’ve had a shock. Is there anything I can do?”

  “No. I appreciate your offer, but this is something I’m going to have deal with on my own. I’m glad we brought that meth investigation to a close. The boss owes me a few days off. I’ll go and see him now and tell him I need to collect. I have to visit with my sister and work out what the hell has gone wrong with her life. A baby at sixteen?” He shook his head, feeling grim. “It’s not the best way to get ahead.”