Baby In My Arms

by Madeline Harper

  Ben looked at Kate and shrugged. “Maybe not that blatant, Tina, but you’re on the right track. My plan is a simple one—to find out if Hedrick can profit from getting his hands on Mandy.”

  “And if he can, he’ll probably want to sell Amanda to the highest bidder.” At Kate’s look of surprise, she went on. “Hey, stranger things have happened. Some people will do anything for a baby, steal them right out of the hospital nursery, kidnap them from grocery carts—”

  “Tina, nothing that dramatic could be happening to us,” Kate said, trying to stem the flow of terrible possibilities.

  “Snatch them off the school playground…” Tina added, undaunted, as Amanda tired of the pillows and began to yell. “Just read the newspapers. Did you hear about the woman who was killed so someone could kidnap her baby?”

  “Tina—” Kate glanced at Ben as she picked up the baby. “It’s all too improbable….”

  “I don’t blame you for checking it out,” Tina told Ben. “This Hedrick guy knows Kate is a single mom. With her gone, he could dummy up some court papers and grab Amanda and place her with anyone.”

  “I doubt if he’d risk his career to steal a baby,” Ben commented dryly. “But there may be relatives, who want to avoid the courts. All of this is speculation, of course. We’re still looking for facts.”

  “Facts! Use your imagination,” Tina countered. “Mr. Big would send a flunky, use another name, stay in the background. The brains behind the scene. Don’t you ever watch TV?” Her dark eyes gleamed, “Oh, I wish I could be in on it. I love to act, although I have to admit that you two look the part, well-to-do, good-looking. That color suits you, boss, and the short skirt is fabulous.” Her eyes flicked over to Ben. “And you look pretty handsome, yourself, Mr. Blackeagle.”

  Ben wore a charcoal-gray suit, pale blue shirt and black string tie, his ponytail pulled back neatly at the nape of his neck. Tina was right, Kate thought, he looked wonderful.

  “Amazing what a good suit can do,” he quipped. “Come on, Kate, we’ve got to move. We’re running late as it is and we need to stop by the police station and drop off this tape.”

  “Police again? What is it with you two? Tell me!” Then she threw up her hands in dismissal. “No, don’t. I’m scared enough already.”

  “I wonder if we should leave Tina and Amanda alone?” Kate asked anxiously.

  “I’m going to double-lock the door and put a chair under it. My windows have bars, and I’m two stories up. No, I feel safe here.” She shivered a little. “But that office—”

  “I’ll take care of the office later,” Ben told her.

  “Promise you’ll hurry back.”

  “We will,” Kate said. “And thanks, Tina. You’re wonderful.”

  “Just remember that at Christmas bonus time, please!”

  BEN SAT in Daniel Hedrick’s waiting room, thumbing through a magazine and listening to Kate talk with Hedrick’s secretary. She was laying it on too thickly, but what could he do? She was clearly beyond reining in.

  “I love children,” Kate bubbled. “I’d like at least four. So would Ben. When we were dating, we talked about having a family. Now that we’re married, it seems time, but—”

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kate’s eyes well with tears. Kim, Hedrick’s secretary, was quick with a tissue.

  “Thank you,” Kate said, sniffing.

  “Do you mind if I ask about your problem, Mrs. Black?” Kim inquired in a near-whisper, even though there was no one else in the waiting room.

  Kate nodded. “I can’t seem to get pregnant although we’ve tried everything. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve taken my temperature during my fertile time—you know,” she said confidentially, in a lowered voice. “Poor Ben. I call him home from work in the middle of the day, and he has to perform on cue.”

  She smiled toward Ben, who was beginning to get very uncomfortable but couldn’t do anything to stop this spiel for fear of negating the whole process.

  “He does wonderfully,” she assured Kim, who nodded knowingly and glanced at Ben through lowered lashes. “But so far—nothing. We even tried artificial insemination—”

  Her story was interrupted by a buzz from the inner office. Ben breathed a sigh of relief as Kim announced, “Mr. Hedrick can see you now.”

  DANIEL HEDRICK was cool. Not crook cool or gangster cool, but pale and watchfully cool. He was unimpressively small, with a neat compact body, an impeccably tailored suit and perfectly coiffed browngray hair. His forehead was high and gave him an intelligent look. His eyes were blue and watchful. Ben decided immediately that he was a good lawyer, tough but smooth enough to keep his opponent off guard.

  He settled Ben and Kate in large comfortable chairs and poured each of them a cup of coffee from a silver service on the sideboard before looking directly at them with his clear, penetrating eyes.

  “Tell me about your plans to adopt a baby,” he said, positioning a legal pad in front of him on the desk and picking up a silver pen.

  Kate couldn’t wait to begin. Her story had not only pathos but depth. Ben was surprised to learn where they’d met and fallen in love—in a ski lodge—and married—in a little mountain chapel. Then followed the first wonderful years of their life together, perfect except, of course, for the lack of children.

  Hedrick was busy taking notes. “And you’ve been married how long?”

  “A little more than four years,” Ben said, giving the information he and Kate had agreed on. He thought of reaching for her hand but decided this lawyer was bright enough to pick up on obvious phoniness. “Most of the adoption agencies won’t consider a couple until they’ve been married five years or more, but we believe there are other more important considerations. Maturity, dedication—”

  “And determination,” Kate added. “We want a baby and we don’t want to wait. That’s why we’re here. We want a baby now.”

  “For Christmas, Mrs. Black?” The lawyer’s smile was sardonic, and it caused Ben to cringe, but Kate handled his remark perfectly.

  “Well, of course not that soon. But maybe next year would be possible.”

  Hedrick nodded. “Possible.”

  He asked a few more general questions. Kate was eager to fill in with specific answers that ran just short of their life stories. Finally, Hedrick put down his pen.

  “You’re a charming couple,” he said, “and seem genuine in your desire for a family. However, procedures must be followed. My secretary will give you an application to fill out, financial forms and a medical questionnaire for your doctors. There’s also a small fee for processing.”

  “That’s no problem for us,” Ben said expansively, wondering what Hedrick considered small. “We’ll cooperate in every way. I do have one question, though, something my wife and I have discussed. Where do these babies come from? What kind of mothers give them up?”

  “First, let me say that all the children available to me for placement aren’t babies,” Hedrick responded, circumventing the question. “There is a great demand for newborns, so obviously the wait for them is longer.”

  “That doesn’t matter,” Kate broke in quickly. “A one-year-old…maybe two…”

  Hedrick nodded. “I’m glad you’re flexible on the age because we often have parents who are forced to give up an older child for adoption. Whatever the preference, we do our best to make a good match with prospective parents. But all of those specifics will be addressed with great care once you enter the process.”

  “Can’t you give us a general idea of where the babies come from?” Ben persisted. “Are your referrals from doctors, social agencies, word of mouth or—”

  “We have various sources, all of which are private and confidential,” Hedrick replied, his pale eyes unwavering.

  “Then we’ll never know anything about the child we adopt,” Ben said.

  “You might not know the birth mother’s name, but information about the adoptive child will certainly be supplied. However, that’s a long
way off.” He got to his feet. “And now if you’ll step outside, Kim will get things started. Please take our packet of forms home with you and give serious thought to all of your answers. It’s very important that we get correct information from the outset so that we don’t encounter snags along the way.”

  Hedrick was polite but firm. Clearly, the interview was over. He shook hands with both of them and ushered them to the reception area.

  Kim sat at her desk, the forms stacked neatly in front of her. She was dark, pretty and very thorough, taking her time as she explained each document that Kate and Ben were to return, her movements matching her Texas drawl.

  When she finished, Kim commented, “I see couples all the time who want babies desperately, and I can tell right away how serious you all are.”

  “Oh, we are,” Kate echoed.

  “Believe me, I understand what you’re going through,” Kim assured her.

  “I’m so glad,” Kate responded. “We’re just desperate for a baby.”

  Ben thought that was overblown, but Kim bought right into it. “I can tell you are, and I’ll do everything I can to help. The reason I love my job so much is because I get to be there and see the new parents’ faces on that wonderful day when we place their baby with them.”

  “I wonder if that day will ever come for us?” Kate asked dramatically.

  Ben winced, and then thought what the hell? He might as well play the game, too, since Kim seemed genuinely interested in their case. She could have influence with her boss, even the answer to just how much money mattered.

  “I told Hedrick that money is no object,” he said. “Whatever it costs to get a baby, we’ll pay. Even if it’s not a baby. We like toddlers, too.”

  “It can be a boy or a girl,” Kate said tearfully. Ben stopped her with a look.

  “Don’t you worry,” Kim assured Kate. “You never know what can happen—a placement falling through, a desperate natural mother in need of help. Why don’t you leave me your phone number?” she suggested.

  Kate scrawled Ben’s number on a pad. “Thank you so much,” she said. “You surely are filled with the spirit of Christmas.”

  Ben choked back a laugh, covering it with a cough.

  “You all might be surprised,” Kim answered with a smile. “Sometimes things turn around real fast here.”

  “SO WHAT DO YOU THINK?” Kate asked as they headed for Ben’s car.

  “I think you missed a career as an actress. Where did all those tears come from?”

  “I’m not sure. Maybe it’s the new hair.” She patted her wig. “I wanted it to seem real.”

  “I think you succeeded,” he said with a wry smile.

  “Did I overdo it?” she asked. “I caught some of those killer looks of yours.”

  “I think Kim ate it up. As for Hedrick—” He shrugged. “I don’t know how to evaluate him. He’s bright and cagey, but is he a criminal? It doesn’t add up,” Ben decided.

  “What were you hoping for?” Kate asked.

  “Some hint of duplicity, I suppose. But he doesn’t fit the profile of the person we’re looking for. He’s certainly not the type to leave a threatening message on your answering machine or go gunning for you in the streets, whatever the reason.”

  “There could be a whole ring of people working for him, Ben, just like Tina suggested. He may be the man at the top.”

  “If that’s true, he picked a very dangerous criminal path. I can picture him more easily in high-stakes investments, money laundering, stuff like that. But kidnapping babies for adoption?” Ben shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

  “What’s the next step?”

  “Wait a few days. If nothing happens, approach him again, and keep digging into his background. We can’t rule him out yet. In fact, we can’t rule anybody out.” He opened the passenger door and helped Kate into the Bronco.

  They were three blocks from Hedrick’s office when Kate noticed Ben tensing over the wheel. He glanced into the rearview mirror, eyes narrowed.

  “What?” she asked. “You look alarmed.”

  “Not alarmed,” he said, smoothly changing lanes. “Curious. There’s been a white pickup truck behind us since we left the lawyer’s office. I know I’m getting overly suspicious, but—”

  Kate started to turn and look over her shoulder.

  “Use the side-view mirror,” he warned. “Don’t look back.”

  “Who could it be? I can’t make out the driver,” Kate fumed. “Can we make a run for it?”

  “In this traffic? No, but I can try a few tricks. Are you game?”

  Kate checked her seat belt. “Go for it.”

  “Keep your eyes open for the next parking garage, and get some money out of your wallet.”

  Kate fumbled with her handbag. “There’s a garage up ahead.”

  Ben sped up and then without warning turned into the garage and grabbed a ticket from the automated machine. The pickup tried to turn, but overshot the entrance. The sound of honking car horns permeated the winter air as the driver attempted to back the truck and failed.

  As soon as the automatic arm on the garage entrance lifted, Ben zoomed inside, circled around and headed out the exit on a parallel street. The parking attendant, taking the fees, looked surprised as Ben handed him a dollar for a minute’s parking time and then roared out onto the street.

  “You can look now,” he told Kate. “Do you see a white truck?”

  “I think we lost him.”

  “If he was following us,” Ben said. “I may be seeing dragons where none exist.”

  “He did try to turn into the garage.”

  “So maybe he wanted to park. Still I think we’ll take the scenic route back to Tina’s, lots of cruising around so we can be certain no one is behind us.”

  “Why would Hedrick have us followed?” Kate asked. “Unless he somehow recognized me. If he shot at me—This gets more complicated by the minute. I feel so guilty involving Tina and you and taking up most of your time. Your business has probably gone to hell.”

  Ben laughed. “Your job at ESS was the last one I had scheduled for this year, remember? I’m heading for sunny Mexico soon, and I’ve got enough work in January to keep me busy.”

  Kate nodded and looked out the window. Even though it hurt, she needed to keep in mind that she and Amanda were only a temporary part of his life.

  “Besides, this mystery you’re involved in has become a full-time job for me. And you, too. As usual we have more questions than answers. Was the break-in at your office a coincidence?”

  “I doubt it,” Kate said darkly.

  “And if not, is it connected to the person who may—or may not—have followed us?”

  Kate sighed. “Despite what Tina says, this isn’t like a TV movie. Nothing seems to make sense, and we certainly don’t have all the loose ends tied together.”

  Ben chuckled. “Nope, we seem to be collecting more of them by the hour.”

  BACK AT TINA’S, they gave her an account of the interview and then discussed what to do about the ESS office. Tina was calmer, but not eager to return to work. Finally Ben made the decision. “I’ll take Tina back to collect your messages, E-mail and one of your PC’s. That way, Tina can access all the files, and we can switch the phones over.”

  “Great,” Tina said. “Let’s get the fax, too. Business has been slow, Kate, so I might as well work from here. With you out of the office, I’m not setting up interviews.”

  “Do it,” Kate agreed. Somehow she’d square it later with the corporate office. Right now safety seemed more important than possible job placements.

  After Ben and Tina left for the ESS office, Kate wondered how her assistant had handled Amanda. This was definitely not a baby-proofed place. Everything that was reachable was also breakable. And everything that couldn’t be reached was what Amanda really wanted.

  After a couple of temper tantrums, Amanda settled down with what Kate decided was an appropriate “toy” that couldn’t be destro
yed—at least not immediately—a colorful macramé purse that Tina had hung over the living room doorknob. As backups, she added a pan and a set of wooden spoons from the kitchen. That should keep the baby happy for a while.

  With one watchful eye on Amanda, Kate picked up the phone. She was too jumpy just to sit. No matter what the Hedrick visit produced, she still had unfinished business of her own. Her first calls produced no satisfactory results.

  Her inability to reach Robert Brownley at home or in his office was irritating. This time, the maid who answered the phone at his residence merely said he’d left for the day; the secretary at his office informed her that he was in off-site meetings. Was it possible that he’d been behind the break-in at her office? Deciding she needed to keep a low profile, Kate didn’t leave her name and number this time.

  She made the same decision when she called the spa and was told that Coral Lampiere was still on vacation, with her return date uncertain.

  Kate settled back in her chair and thumbed through her address book for the other number she needed to call.

  She immediately recognized the pleasant Southern drawl of her second cousin, Laura Knight. “Kate! We’ve been wondering about you. Haven’t heard a thing since you got custody of the baby. How are the two of you getting along?”

  Kate glanced at Amanda, who was busy chewing on Tina’s purse.

  “Right this minute, we’re doing okay, but it’s tough, Laura. I’m not the maternal type.”

  The responding laugh was low and supportive. “Don’t be silly. All mothers feel that way. With my first, I was a basket case….”

  Kate listened while Laura recounted her early days as a mother. Now in her late forties, she’d reared three children successfully, which, Kate figured, qualified her to give advice. She gave it generously.

  “Jack and I learned by doing.” She told a few anecdotes to prove that philosophy while Kate hung on, waiting for an opening. “You can learn the same way, Kate, just by doing whatever needs to be done—”