Kitabı oku: «Someone's Baby»

Chapter One

Being a freelance private investigator was exciting. Being a freelance private investigator was challenging.

Being a freelance private investigator was boring! Especially when you didn’t have a case.

Jayne Bateman stopped her mental grumbling, set down her camera and reached for her soda. In the process, her purse slid to the car floor on the passenger’s side, dumping its contents on the mat.

“Great. Just great.” At least it hadn’t been the soda.

So far her stakeout had been a total bust. Four days of watching in the hope that she might see something important. And all she’d seen so far was more people than she would have thought even lived in the county. What had seemed like a heaven-sent chance was now looking like an exercise in futility.

She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but when her brother the cop had told her brother the judge that his tiny police force would have a problem staking out two locations every day for the next couple of weeks on the off chance a black-market baby ring might select Bitterwater for its next exchange, Jayne had been certain this was her big break.

Lily Garrett had told her all about the organized baby-selling ring operating in Texas. The enviably tall, dynamic woman had sparked new interest in Jayne’s chosen profession when they met at a seminar a week ago.

Lily Garrett was everything Jayne thought a private investigator should be. Intelligent, forceful, determined. She also happened to be strikingly attractive, yet people took her seriously. Lily and her brother Dylan had opened an investigative agency called Finders Keepers in Trueblood, Texas, just outside of San Antonio. She told Jayne their father had converted a big part of his two-story house for them to use as an office. And since Dylan had worked undercover for the police department for several years, his contacts gave them a huge edge.

Unfortunately, Dylan had been called back to work to assist the police in some sort of sting operation against the very mob that was selling black-market babies. Lily expected to be bogged down with work if she took on a couple more cases. She asked if Jayne would be interested in doing some freelance work for her from time to time.

Jayne was thrilled by the possibility. The Garretts were doing positive things with their agency by reuniting families. Jayne liked the sound of that and she liked Lily as well.

Jayne pushed aside a spill of pale-blond hair and surveyed the quiet shopping center over the tip of her straw. Few people ever took Jayne seriously. Okay, so she looked several years younger than her mature, twenty-four years—and she did slightly resemble the famous fashion doll because of her ash-blond hair and her petite stature. She was barely five feet tall if one counted high heels—and she always did. But what people overlooked was the fact that she’d grown up on a working ranch with three brothers. That meant she’d learned to compete at an early age.

The police academy hadn’t worked out for her. Her brother the cop had made police work sound a lot more interesting than it actually was. Besides, there were entirely too many rules. Jayne never had been very good at taking orders. She’d left with no animosity and some knowledge and helpful skills.

In her mind, the next logical step was private investigative work where she could use her training and set her own rules. No way could she envision her life in some stuffy office or crowded city. And while she really enjoyed working with horses, her youngest brother already filled that slot in her family. He worked with their father training cutting horses. Jayne needed to carve out her own niche.

Unfortunately, if she didn’t get a break soon, she’d be in real danger of starving to death first. She had quickly learned she was not cut out for spying on cheating husbands or running boring background checks, yet those were the only sorts of cases coming her way.

This baby-kidnapping ring, however, now that was something she could sink her teeth into. Lily had freely discussed what she knew about the mob-run black-market baby ring over lunch the day they met. Jayne had absorbed the information with rapt attention, wondering how any woman could sell off her own child. Jayne had overheard her brothers discussing that very subject in her father’s barn a few nights ago.

Even Lily hadn’t known that the police suspected the exchanges were made in small-town shopping centers. Nor had Lily known that a new exchange was about to go down any day now. Armed with this inside information, Jayne knew all she had to do was be in the right place at the right time and her career would get the boost it needed. Even her brothers would take her seriously if she came up with a videotape of the exchange and a list of license plates to go with it. The police would then be able to nail everyone involved.

Lily Garrett might even offer her a permanent job. Maybe Jayne could open a branch of Finders Keepers right here in Bitterwater.

“Now if the baby-nappers would just cooperate…preferably before I get arrested for loitering and talking to myself.”

But as morning slipped into late afternoon, their cooperation was looking less and less likely. Too bad her brother the judge hadn’t known a time or the exact spot. With Jayne’s luck, her brother the cop would nail the guys at Bitterwater’s only other shopping center while she was sitting here getting fat eating junk food in her car.

Jayne was debating about going into the grocery store to use the bathroom again when a blue sedan pulled into the lot and parked several yards away from her car. A middle-aged couple sat inside animatedly talking together for several minutes before they finally stepped from the car. She had never seen either of them before.

Admittedly, Jayne didn’t know every single person who shopped here in Bitterwater, but she did know people who looked nervous and out of their element. The woman was dressed in an expensive red sheath far more appropriate for San Antonio. The same could be said for her fancy hairstyle. Jayne brushed absently at her own long, straight hair and continued her assessment. The woman’s dress was nice enough, but the color was all wrong for her complexion. Even from this distance, Jayne would take bets all that gold and glitter coming from the chains and bracelets the woman wore wasn’t costume jewelry. The woman was as out of place as a gelding in a breeding stall.

The man with her wore a tailored business suit that didn’t come off a discount rack, either. He carried a shiny black briefcase that he gripped a little too tightly. His gaze darted about the parking area, nervously expectant.

And his tie was red. The red clashed with the different red shade of the woman’s dress. Not significant surely, yet Jayne’s brain wouldn’t leave it alone.

Wouldn’t that make a great identification signal? Nearly everyone owned something red, yet it was a color that would stand out without looking out of place. Jayne could almost hear the baby-nappers telling the buyers to come to the meeting wearing something red. The more she toyed with that thought the more she liked it. She watched the two of them closely, and dutifully wrote down their license plate number.

They were a mature couple, obviously not hurting for money based on their expensive car alone. And they made it clear they were waiting for someone. That didn’t make them baby buyers. More than likely they were Realtors or something, here to use the small business center located a couple of doors down from the grocery store. Except they weren’t paying the stores any attention at all. They scanned the parking lot as avidly as Jayne herself had been doing. She scrunched down a bit so they wouldn’t notice her and tamped down a rising excitement.

She’d already been surprised by how many strangers actually used this shopping center. Especially at this hour of the afternoon. Still, these two people definitely stood out.

Jayne reached for her camera and snapped off a couple of quick shots. The couple suddenly came to attention. She lowered the camera and swept the parking lot to see what had captured their interest. A flame-red sedan drove sedately down the next aisle over. She’d never seen the car before nor either of the two men inside, but if she were going to typecast a couple of thugs, these guys would make her list. No necks, broad shoulders, low-sloping foreheads—perfect.

Jayne sank even lower in her seat. Since she wasn’t tall to begin with, she didn’t have to sink very far. Anticipation sent her heart dancing. What if this was it? What if she’d actually picked the right spot?

The red car pulled through a parking space and came to a stop only a few cars down from her. The two men stepped out, dressed in ill-fitting suits.

And they both wore red ties.

Her heart tried a triple jump in her chest. This had to be it. It had to be!

Raising her head cautiously, she watched them peruse the parking lot before striding toward the eager couple. Then she remembered she was supposed to be filming the exchange. The baby must still be inside the red car. From her angle, she could just barely make out a car seat jutting up in the rear seat closest to her.

This really was it! She’d done it! They were going to make the exchange right here in front of her!

Jayne reached for the video camera, shaking with excitement. When she turned back, guns had appeared in both beefy hands. The couple looked horrified. Jayne’s own pulses leaped. The man was shaking his head, arguing, while the bigger of the two thug-types was staring at something beyond Jayne and to the left of her position.

Before she could twist around to follow that gaze, she saw the muzzle flash as his gun discharged. Something had gone horribly wrong.

The woman screamed. The man with her shoved her back toward their car. The other two men crouched down and fired again. Someone was shooting back and the car with the baby in it was right in the path of the bullets!

The couple fled toward their vehicle. Jayne dropped the video camera and opened her door. She had to get the baby to safety. If the men made it back to their car, God alone knew what would happen to the child. She could at least prevent them from taking it away.

Jayne flinched at the popping sound the guns made as she ran forward. Beside the car seat, the door was locked, but she glimpsed the infant sound asleep inside. It was so tiny it must have just been born. Any hesitation she had was gone. She must rescue the baby.

One of the thugs noticed her. He aimed his gun right at her. Jayne ducked and wrenched her shoulder opening the driver’s side door. Keys dangled invitingly from the ignition. She seized the easy opportunity to get the baby out of the way and prevent the men from escaping at the same time. She slid inside and started the engine, but she had to stretch to reach the pedals with her toes. The driver was a lot taller than she was.

The big man lunged toward the car. Her fingers clicked on the automatic lock a split second before he grabbed the handle trying to get inside. He reached into the open window, and grabbed a handful of hair and the front of an earring before Jayne threw the car in gear. The man swore and brought up his gun. Using the tip of her shoes on the gas pedal, she pulled out of the parking space with a jerk. A shot whizzed right past her head and exited the driver’s side window. Another man suddenly sprang out from between parked cars. He also aimed a gun at her.

The baby-nappers had brought backup!

Jayne hunched down behind the steering wheel and pushed down on the gas. The man fired right before he leaped out of her way. The windshield cracked as a hole appeared.

Quaking from head to toe, Jayne stayed as low as possible and tore out of the parking lot. The fiery red car nearly careened into an oncoming pickup truck. Avoiding the other vehicle forced her to turn right instead of left into town.

Her body trembled in reaction while her heart threatened to explode. She tore away from the scene with a squeal of tires. Shaken, but also giddy with her amazing success, she pushed the speed as fast as she dared. She had disrupted the exchange. She had saved the baby from being sold!

Unfortunately, she was speeding down the two-lane road away from town. She needed to get the car turned around so she could drive the baby into Bitterwater and the police station there. Her brother was going to have a cow!

Only, even scrunched down like this she could barely reach the pedals. She was going to have to stop for a minute and adjust the seat for her much shorter legs or she’d wreck.

Her elation was so high she was shaking. Wait until she walked into the police station with the baby in her arms. Her brother wouldn’t be able to tease her about her choice of career anymore.

Jayne pulled off on the side of the road raising a cloud of dust. She fumbled for the lever that would let her pull the front seat close enough to the steering wheel that she could drive the car in relative comfort. Her left shoulder was beginning to actively hurt. She must have wrenched it badly. She resisted an urge to rub the sore spot. Instead, she cast a look over the back seat to make sure the baby was okay. The car seat faced away from her so she could barely make out the small infant, but it still appeared to be sleeping.

Confident now, and bubbling with excitement, she pulled back out onto the road ignoring her shoulder. There was a crossroad up ahead. She could turn around there. The scarred glass with the bullet hole in the center made it a little tricky to see, now that she was sitting up, but she could manage. She’d just rescued a baby amid a hail of bullets. She could do anything!

She glanced in the rearview mirror as she pulled out. A silver car was barreling up behind her.

Intuition, or even a premonition, had her pressing down on the gas pedal. Lots of people drove fast. It was practically a rule. It didn’t have to mean a thing. But the car was gaining on her with single-minded purpose. She couldn’t have said why she knew the driver was coming after her, but she didn’t fight her desire to flee.

She came to the crossroad and took the turn too fast. She nearly lost control of the flame-red car. If there’d been another vehicle in the oncoming lane she would have crashed. The silver car followed closely behind her. Jayne didn’t dare slow down now. She fed the car more gas. Her police training kicked in. With an effort, she steadied her breathing and concentrated on the skills she’d been taught about high-speed pursuits. Funny. She’d expected to use these skills pursuing the bad guys—not being pursued by them.

She whipped down secondary roads, going deeper and deeper into unfamiliar territory. Her pursuer stayed right on her tail. His skills were obviously every bit as good as hers. Maybe better. He was gaining on her.

Without warning, she rounded a corner and came up on a horse trailer moving sedately along the narrow two-lane road. There was no time to slow down even if she’d wanted to. The shoulder abutted a gully. Her head pounded with fear as she pulled around him in the oncoming lane at eighty miles an hour. She barely squeezed back in before colliding head-on with an SUV heading in the opposite direction.

The sound of her heavy breathing filled the car. Her shoulder began to burn with surprising fire where she’d wrenched it. The baby began crying. Ahead was a major road. In her rearview mirror, she saw the silver car speed past the horse trailer. She’d gained ground, but not nearly enough. His car was faster. There was no choice. She whipped onto the new road amid honking horns and the squeal of brakes—and undoubtedly more than one curse.

She raced dangerously along the more heavily traveled, four-lane road, darting in and out among the cars, even using the shoulder to go around slower vehicles. All the while she prayed for a police car with flashing lights and a blaring siren. Instead, another quick glance in the mirror showed that the silver car was closing on her once again.

Impossible! There had to be a way to lose him.

Directly ahead was another cross street. An eighteen-wheeler hauling heavy bridge joists was in the right lane, lumbering along at a sedate fifty-five miles an hour. Jayne judged the distance. The timing would have to be exactly right or she’d kill both herself and the infant she was trying to protect. She knew she could make it. She also knew the silver car could not.

He was right behind her. She glimpsed his angry, set features in her mirror. With unnatural calm, she again measured the distance, saw there was no traffic on the secondary road, and cut directly in front of the semi at the last second. His horn blared a deep, furious warning as she sailed past and onto the side road, barely maintaining control over her car.

Instantly, Jayne dropped her speed. Something warm and wet ran down her left arm. She ignored it, bypassed the first side road she came to and kept going until she found a second one. The distances between roads became farther apart the longer she drove, but she repeated the process twice more before finding herself on a country lane in the middle of absolute nowhere.

Fences bordered the road indicating ranches or farms. Good. Her pursuer would never find her now. Even she didn’t know where she was. All she had to do was keep driving until she—

A yellow light flashed on her dashboard. Her gaze flicked down and her heart began to pound all over again.

Low gas.

How could she be almost out of gas? What sort of criminals didn’t fill their gas tanks?

Her gaze swept the surrounding countryside but saw nothing more than empty land. There wasn’t a building or a silo to be seen, much less a gas station. Her left arm was not only hurting badly, but her fingers were starting to feel numb.

She glanced down and gasped. Her sleeve was stained a vivid bright red. Blood actually dripped from her wrist, discoloring the steering wheel and her pants. Panic seized her as she realized she was bleeding profusely. She hadn’t wrenched her shoulder. She’d been shot!

The knowledge opened the way for an instant rush of pain. She gasped again and bit her lip to keep from crying out. Now what? This wasn’t a major road leading toward civilization and a doctor or hospital. And it had been a long while since she’d passed any other side roads.

Fear recharged her adrenaline. How badly was she hurt? She needed medical attention, but she couldn’t stop now. While she may have lost the silver car for now, that driver was unlikely to give up. She’d take bets he was even now searching for her along these back roads. And this stupid red car stood out like a beacon.

Jayne prayed that she wasn’t bleeding to death because there was no help for it. She ignored the pain and the blood and kept driving, looking for something familiar. Twice she saw dirt roads that may have led to ranches, but she was reluctant to try them for fear they wouldn’t go anywhere at all. A line shack would be a death trap.

The baby’s soft cries were increasing which only added another level of urgency.

“Easy little one. I’ll get us out of this. Somehow.”

If only she had her purse and her trusty cell phone. She could actually picture the small telephone lying on the floor of her car—along with the rest of the contents she’d spilled from her purse. Her daring rescue wasn’t looking so daring anymore. Where the heck was a cop when you needed one!

The car began to sputter.

Either she pulled off the road or kept driving until the car died right there in the middle of the street. A drainage ditch ran alongside the road, barely leaving a dirt shoulder here. Still, she couldn’t see any other possibilities.

Jayne pulled over and turned off the key.

For a moment she just sat there. The infant’s pitiful cries reminded her that the child was her obligation now. She ran her right hand up along the wet sleeve on her left arm, probing for the source of the injury. Liquid fire. She had to blink back tears.

Giving in to tears and just sitting there while she waited for help was quite tempting, but she hadn’t passed another car in a long time. That meant she was on her own.

Using her right hand, she reached across her body to open the car door. Stepping out, she had to grip the door a moment to keep from falling as a wave of dizziness washed over her.

Not good. Definitely not good. She swallowed hard and forced her panic back. “You can do this!”

She let her left arm dangle uselessly and used her right hand to open the back door where the baby’s cries helped put her own problems on hold.

“With lungs like that, at least I know you aren’t hurt.”

But the baby was wet and probably hungry.

A large green-and-yellow bag sat on the seat beside the infant. She needed two hands to unzip the bag. That caused blood to flow alarmingly down her arm. She bit down on her lip again to keep from crying out and forced her attention to the bag. Inside was everything a new mother might need. A package of six, already prepared bottles, a can of extra formula, a box of newborn diapers, even a couple of tiny outfits.

Jayne didn’t bother investigating the entire contents. It was enough to know she had the basics. Carefully, she pried her blouse away from her injured shoulder so she could inspect her injury. Blood flowed freely from an ugly raw wound that made her sick to look at. The bullet had torn away flesh as it skimmed across the top of her shoulder. If she wasn’t mistaken, that was bone she glimpsed.

She tried not to be ill. “It’s okay baby. The blood’s not pumping or spurting like it would if the bullet had struck an artery.” The brave words were of little consolation to her or the child. She was bleeding badly enough to be thoroughly frightened.

Using one of the diapers as a makeshift bandage, she covered the wound as best she could, applying pressure for a few minutes in an effort to slow the bleeding. But she couldn’t just stand out here exposed. The baby-nappers would be searching for her. She needed to put distance between her and the silver car.

Pulling the car seat out was pure agony. She was tempted to leave the heavy plastic seat, but it would offer the baby some protection when she had to set the infant down so she could rest. Heck, she already felt woozy and who knew how far she would have to walk before she found help.

She finally got the baby and the car seat out of the car and removed the diaper bag. It struck her then, that it might be a good idea to hide the flame-red car as well. The color stood out like a beacon which would make it easy for the silver car’s driver to spot.

She walked around to peer over the edge of the road. The drainage ditch was deep. Not deep enough to hide the car, but maybe deep enough that it wouldn’t be noticed right away. After all, it would be dark in a few hours.

“Worth a shot,” she muttered aloud.

There was enough gas left to get the engine started one more time. She put the car in neutral and aimed the tires at the ditch. A hard shove against the trunk was all that was required. The engine sputtered and died, but the car rolled far enough to slip over the edge. It made a satisfying crash as it tumbled down and flipped on its side.

The baby had begun crying in earnest. Jayne fought against adding her own cries. “I know you need to be changed and fed, but it’s going to have to wait, okay? We’re too exposed here.”