The Baby Snatchers

by Chris Taylor

  Cynthia appeared to consider Georgie’s words and then nodded slowly in agreement. “I think you’re right.” She flashed Georgie a relieved smile. “Thanks, Georgie. You’re the best!”

  They finished their meal and Georgie tried hard not to think about the words of reassurance that had rolled so easily off her tongue. Like she’d told Cynthia, it was very possible Cameron might be one of those guys who wasn’t interested in settling down. The thought was as depressing as hell. She swallowed a sigh and finished her coffee. Cynthia chewed on her last french fry.

  “What are we doing after lunch?” the young girl asked brightly, her earlier doldrums dissolved or forgotten.

  Georgie thought for a moment. She hadn’t planned to spend the whole day with the teen, but she was enjoying the young girl’s company and she couldn’t deny the pleasure she felt at seeing Cynthia’s demeanor change from the sad and grieving young mom to a girl who was acting more and more like a normal teenager.

  “We could go to the movies,” she suggested and was immediately rewarded with a huge smile from Cynthia.

  “Yes! I love the movies! It’s been years since I’ve seen one!” She pushed back her chair and ran around to Georgie’s side and threw her arms around her in an awkward hug. “You really are the best, Georgie!”

  Georgie accepted the young girl’s praise, pleased that her suggestion had been met with so much enthusiasm. Georgie was a movie-addict. Going to the cinema was her single, most favorite thing to do. It was a rare time when she didn’t catch at least one movie a week. Sometimes, she spent an entire day in the movie complex. It was one of the reasons she’d made it to twenty-nine without a serious boyfriend in tow. Her mother frequently bemoaned the fact that she’d never find a suitable partner while she was hiding out in the dark in a movie cinema.

  Pushing away from the table, Georgie quickly paid the bill and then linked her arm with Cynthia’s. Together, they walked away from the café and up the street in the direction of the train station that would take them to George Street, the hub of the movie cinemas.

  * * *

  The phone in Cameron’s pocket vibrated against his chest. Tugging it out, he checked the screen and frowned at the display. No Caller ID. He answered the call on the third ring.

  “Detective Sergeant Dawson; can I help you?”

  “Detective, it’s Deborah Healy from the Sydney Harbour Hospital.”

  “Ms Healy. What can I do for you?”

  “I’m calling about the figures I quoted you the other day. The ones pertaining to the number of infant deaths in the hospital over the past twelve months.”

  “I take it you’re referring to the fifteen deaths recorded in your database and not the two you had knowledge of. How accurate was your official data?”

  “Yes, well, I’ve had a chance to review all fifteen files.” There was a pause. When the general manager spoke again, her tone was grave. “I’m afraid the figures are correct.”

  Cameron absorbed the news calmly, although he could hear the edge of panic in Deborah Healy’s voice. He didn’t blame her. He’d never had anything to do with having babies or even turned his mind to how many children were born in his city each year, but the thought that more than one a month died at birth in her hospital, seemed alarming. Most people would expect if they gave birth in a hospital in Australia, going home with a healthy baby was almost a certainty. It was apparent this wasn’t the case at the Sydney Harbour Hospital.

  “I want you to investigate this, Detective, with all due haste. Every one of those deaths happened on Ward Seven and every one of them had SIDS recorded as the cause of death. It’s very clear something’s not right. Throw in the fact I was kept in the dark about all but two of these deaths and I’m afraid we have a serious problem.”

  Deborah’s solemn announcement broke into Cameron’s thoughts. His gut clenched. If the general manager was asking him to look into the matter, things were definitely off-base. Either that, or she was trying to head off something even worse. He hadn’t forgotten that at least two of her once highly respected doctors were now warming their butts in jail—and he was sure she hadn’t forgotten, either.

  “Who’s responsible for keeping you informed?” he asked.

  “There’s a chain of command, but it starts at the ward level. Any incident involving serious injury or death to a patient must be reported by the NUM of that ward.”

  Cam grimaced. “How many levels of command before it gets to you? How many people are we talking?”

  “Four for each department.”

  “Not so many. It shouldn’t be too hard to work out where the communication broke down.”

  “You’re right and I can assure you I’ll be looking into the matter very thoroughly.”

  Cam heard the steely determination in the general manager’s voice and was confident she’d do what she said. After all that had gone down on her watch, she couldn’t afford to have the police break another scandal among the staff of the Sydney Harbour Hospital.

  “I’ll need copies of those records,” he said.

  “Of course. I’ll get them over to you as soon as I can.”

  “I appreciate your cooperation, Ms Healy. I hope I can continue to rely on your support.”

  “If we have a rogue staff member or members acting illegally, I want to bring an end to it, right now.”

  Cameron’s heart picked up its pace. “Do you really think that’s possible? That an employee has something to do with these deaths?”

  Deborah sighed heavily. “I’m not willing to speculate, but know this, Detective: No other hospital in this country would have an infant death rate so high. Coupled with the fact most of these deaths weren’t reported to me, it’s obvious something’s not right. We need to find out what’s going on.”

  “I’ll need to speak with some of your staff.”

  “You have my permission to speak with whomever you want. Just…be discreet. I don’t want this getting out before it’s absolutely necessary.”

  Cameron thought of Cynthia and her little baby girl and his gut tightened with dread. Was it possible the child had been murdered shortly after she’d been born? And what about Danielle Jamison’s baby? Was the premier closer to the truth than any of them had imagined? Had a staff member killed his grandson? Was the Sydney Harbour Hospital hiding another criminal? Cam couldn’t bear to think about it.

  Thanking Deborah for her cooperation, he ended the call and leaned back in his chair, stunned at the direction of his thoughts. Hot on their tail, were images of Georgie. The premier had said Georgie Whitely had delivered his grandson. Georgie was also present at Josephine’s birth. How many others on the general manager’s list had involved the beautiful midwife? Cameron wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but he sure as hell would have to find out.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Cam swung into the driveway of his apartment block only moments before Georgie’s Mazda came into view. She’d sent him a text earlier, to say she was taking Cynthia to the movies and would drop her home a little after six. Despite the unsettling questions that still filled his mind, Cam wanted to be there when she arrived.

  Even if he managed to prove that something illegal had taken place, there was no proof Georgie was involved. It could be something to do with the failure of hospital equipment or technology, or involve any one of the thousands of other staff members who worked at the hospital.

  His enquires with the other large hospitals servicing the greater Sydney area confirmed Deborah Healy’s surety that none of them would have infant death rates as high as hers. Yet, apart from the fact the hospital’s reporting system had broken down, there was still no evidence of wrongdoing.

  Pulling into his parking space, he climbed out and waited for the girls to join him. Like she had earlier that morning, Georgie parked her car alongside the curb. The two of them walked toward him, arm in arm, and he was moved to see the genuine smile that turned up Cynthia’s lips. He hadn’t seen her so animated since before he le
ft the family home a decade ago. Not even weeks of therapy had made her smile that way.

  “You two look like you’ve had a nice day,” he said when they reached him.

  Cynthia’s grin widened. “We had the most fantastic day, Cam! We spent the morning at the day spa—look, do you like the color of my nails?” She thrust her hands out in front of her and laughed before continuing. “Then we had lunch at this really posh place down near the harbor. To top it off, Georgie took me to the movies.” Cynthia spun on her heel and tugged at Georgie’s arm. “How did you know I love going to the movies?”

  Georgie smiled softly. “I love going to the movies, too. It was fun. Thank you for coming with me.”

  Cynthia’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “No! I’m the one who’s grateful. I’m the one who wants to say thank you. I’ve had the best day ever!” She flung her arms around Georgie and hugged her. Cam’s chest tightened with emotion when Georgie hugged her back.

  Careful, he silently warned himself. For all her outward goodness, he hardly knew Georgie Whitely, and until he knew the extent of her involvement, if any, in the mysterious infant deaths, he’d do well to keep his distance. He needed to proceed with caution.

  “Well, I guess I’d better get going,” Georgie said, interrupting his thoughts.

  “No!” his sister protested before he could respond. “Come in! Stay for dinner! Cam cooks a mean barbeque. She turned to him with an expectant look on her face. “Don’t you?”

  He couldn’t find the words to turn her down. “I’m surprised you noticed. You’ve barely eaten anything I’ve cooked since you arrived,” he muttered.

  Cynthia had the grace to look embarrassed. “That’s not true!”

  Cam softened his words with a smile. “Oh, I think it is.”

  “Well, that was before. I feel so much better now. In fact, I’m starving. What’s on the menu?” She shot him a cheeky smile and Cam couldn’t help but laugh.

  If he were honest, he didn’t really mind that she’d invited Georgie to dinner. It would give him a chance to get to know her a little better and to sound her out about the infant deaths. It would be interesting to observe her reaction to a few questions and remarks.

  Cam prided himself on being very perceptive. He had a knack for getting inside a person’s head and they didn’t even know he was there. It had helped him solve an admirable number of crimes over the years and he was confident his skills would continue to serve him well, even with the added complication of his attraction to his witness. His promise of caution would ensure he’d keep his libido under wraps. He turned to Georgie.

  “Would you like to stay for dinner? After spending the day with this brat, it’s the least I can do.”

  “Cam! That’s not nice!” Cynthia replied in mock outrage and poked her tongue out at him.

  Cam chuckled and Georgie sent him a soft smile. It lit up her brown eyes and sent a rush of blood to his groin. He swallowed a groan and once again determined to keep well away from her. She was dangerous to his peace of mind and until he knew what was going on at her work place, it was best he keep his distance. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t exchange chitchat over dinner. Did it? All of a sudden, he wasn’t quite so certain.

  “Are you sure?” she said, nibbling on her lip.

  Cam dragged his gaze away from the tempting sight and nodded. It was too late now to retract the invitation.

  “Yes, of course,” he forced himself to reply. “Come on, let’s go inside.” He threw his arm around Cynthia’s shoulders and the three of them walked toward the front entrance to the building.

  * * *

  It was getting late when Cynthia finally stretched her arms above her head and yawned and announced she was going to bed. She kissed Cam goodnight and then surprised him by kissing Georgie on the cheek.

  “Thank you for a wonderful day, Georgie. I’ll remember it forever.”

  Georgie smiled with pleasure. “It was great,” she agreed. “We’ll have to do it again.”

  His sister’s eyes widened in delight. “Could we? You mean it?”

  Georgie chuckled. “Yes, of course. But we’ll have to wait a few weeks. It will take that long before our nails will need to be redone.”

  Cynthia shrieked with excitement and threw her arms around Georgie and hugged her. “Oh, Georgie! Thank you! You’re the absolute best!” Then, throwing them a wave, she skipped down the corridor in the direction of her bedroom.

  Cam stared at the woman who sat across from him at the kitchen table. She seemed almost too good to be true. Like a guardian angel sent to heal his sister’s pain. Could an almost-stranger really be that kind to a girl she barely knew? Or was it all an act? Cam was determined to find out.

  “Would you like another coffee?” he asked.

  “No, thanks. One’s enough.” She smiled and pushed back her chair and started collecting the dirty plates.

  “I’ll do that,” Cam protested.

  “It’s no trouble. Besides, you cooked. I have a rule in my house: The cook never has to clean up!”

  Cam chuckled. “I like that rule. Too bad I’ve lived on my own for so long. Until Cynthia arrived, there was nobody around but me. I cooked, cleaned and did whatever else was required.”

  Georgie headed toward the kitchen with her hands filled with dirty plates. She threw a grin over her shoulder. “Me, too. If only we’d known there was an easier way.”

  Cameron’s heart leaped at the discovery she lived alone. It boded well for the fact that she might be single. The next instant, reining himself in, he told himself he shouldn’t be so interested in her personal life. He had yet to broach the subject of the dead infants and still didn’t have a clue how she might react.

  They’d shared a pleasant meal around the table talking about their day. Cam had kept the conversation light, unprepared to discuss what had kept him busy throughout the day. He needed to comb through the hospital records and get a better sense of what had happened before he went any further. Still, the mood at the table was comfortable and he’d enjoyed getting to know Georgie better.

  “You’re really good with your sister. She’s lucky she found you.” Georgie’s quiet words broke into his thoughts.

  He stared at her. “I’m not sure that she found me. The way I heard it, you were the one who made the enquiries. If it weren’t for you, I would never have known she was in the city, let alone in a hospital giving birth.” He moved closer to where she was stacking the dishwasher. “I haven’t had a chance to thank you.”

  “There… There’s no need to thank me. I was merely doing my job.” Her eyelids fluttered rapidly and her flimsy dress moved with each quick intake of breath. Cam was pleased to see she was affected by his nearness.

  He’d always enjoyed women and they seemed to enjoy him. There had been a fair number of them, in and out of his life. No doubt a therapist would imagine the fact he’d grown up with a wicked adoptive mother, and a birth mother who hadn’t loved him enough to keep him, would have been enough to sour him off female companions for life. But that wasn’t the case. It wasn’t all women he held a grudge against, just two of them. As far as he was concerned, both of them could burn in hell, along with his cowardly father.

  Shaking off his dark thoughts, he gave Georgie a soft smile. “Are all nurses as dedicated as you?”

  “I’m not sure you’d call it dedication. Like I said, I was merely doing my job. When I first saw Cynthia, she was already in labor and it was obvious she’d had a rough time. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you about her appearance that first day.”

  Cam remembered the dirty state his sister had been in, even after a shower, and nodded slowly. “I remember.”

  “When I questioned her about her living arrangements, she told me she moved around a lot and was reluctant to give me specifics. It was obvious she had no fixed place to go. I was concerned for her and her baby and what would happen to them when they were discharged. When she told me she had no family other than a
brother who was a police officer in the city, I took the only course of action open to me: I made an effort to locate you.”

  “And you did.” Their gazes caught and held and the silence between them stretched out.

  The tension in the air escalated and was only broken when Georgie turned away and focused her attention on stacking the rest of the dirty plates. The cutlery followed and the noise of that precluded further conversation. Cam busied himself by collecting the condiments off the table and storing them away in the pantry.

  A few moments later, the cleanup was done and he reached for a bottle of port. “Would you like a glass?”

  She shook her head. “I’m driving. I’d better—”

  “You didn’t have any wine at dinner. One glass won’t put you over the limit.”

  She seemed to think about it and then accepted his offer with a slight smile. “All right. One glass.”

  He poured the drinks and carried them over to the glass sliding door that led out to the balcony. “Let’s have them out here. It shouldn’t be too cold, yet.”

  Georgie followed behind him and he handed her a glass. “You have a great view,” she murmured, peering through the dark.

  The lights from nearby houses and apartment blocks gently illuminated the night. His balcony overlooked a leafy park favored by morning joggers—him, included. He indicated the wooden deck chairs and they each took a seat. Georgie relaxed in one with a quiet sigh.

  “What a week,” she murmured and took a sip of port.

  Cameron stared over at her and wondered what she was thinking. “It can’t be easy, doing what you do. How do you keep it up?”

  She smiled softly. “It’s my job and I love it. I guess it’s as simple as that.”

  Cameron nodded. He understood how a job could keep someone enthralled, the good times far outweighing the bad. There were many people who wondered how he could do what he did for a living, but it was like Georgie said: Policing was his job and he loved it.

  “It must be difficult to lose a newborn. How do you cope with that?”