“You mean the addictive-personality part, Daddy. The theory is, addiction hides some other personal pain. Symptom substitution. That’s why addicts often substitute one addiction for another—alcoholism for drug addiction or sex addiction or overeating. Which means if Sondra Roberts was a compulsive eater, she might have substituted eating for alcohol. Or alcohol for sex or something else. She could be a member of a host of Twelve-Step programs.”

Cindy uncrossed her legs and stretched.

“Probably be easiest to start with AA, since they’re the largest. I can call them up if you want.”

Decker smoothed his mustache. “I’ll have Marge do it.”

“I can do it.”

“I can’t authorize you to work in an official capacity, Cynthia. Nor do I want to. Let Marge handle it.”

“If I want to do some snooping on my own—”

“No, Cynthia! No! No! No!”

“Daddy, I’ve reached my majority. I can do what I want.”

“Cindy, I’ve just spent over an hour sifting through debris and trying to identify a body that was charred to dust. The wreck wasn’t an accident. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Cindy cast her eyes on her lap. “You don’t want me to get hurt. And I understand your concern. I just want to help, that’s all. I saw the baby in the layette, Dad. I can’t just sit passively and pretend I didn’t.”

“Leave it up to the police, Cindy. That’s not a request, that’s an order!”

Cindy sighed, then threw up her hands. “I’ll listen to you, because I can see you’re completely stressed out.”

“Thank you, Cindy.”

“You’re welcome, Father.”

Decker regarded his daughter, then reached over and gave her a big hug. He decided to trust her. He had always trusted her, and she had never given him cause to doubt his trust. He just hoped he wasn’t making a grave mistake this time around.

It took Decker almost twenty minutes to get through hospital security. A little late for the extra muscle and beef, but he supposed the administration would like the way it played on TV. All those armed guards looking very serious and official. As if the babysnatcher had had to break through a fortress. If only they had been a little more careful beforehand.

Security was equally as heavy around Lourdes Rodriguez’s room. Decker couldn’t figure out the reason for that, unless someone got word that the asshole who snatched the baby was coming back for the mother. That’d be a new one. Probably it was the hospital’s way of minimizing the press passing through her room. A distraught mother wasn’t the kind of PR the hospital had in mind.

A burly, bald guard blocked the entrance to Lourdes’s room. Decker was about to show him I.D. when he was intercepted by Georgina, Rina’s labor nurse.