“Who was here?” Cindy said. “Marie? Marie hasn’t been here for the past hour.”

“I can’t seem to locate…It’s simply not…and Marie’s not answering her page. It’s crazy. In all my years as a nurse, I’ve never…I mean you read…” Again she faced Cindy. “Somebody had to have been here, Cindy. Someone must have been in the nursery.”

“Maybe somebody was here, Darlene,” Cindy said. “I was with Hannah. I wasn’t in the main nursery—”

“So you must have seen someone. Who did you see?”

“I didn’t see anyone. I was busy with Hannah.”

“Why are you interrogating my daughter?” Decker said.

“I’m not interrogating. I’m just asking—”

“Why?”

“If only Marie…”

“Why does Security want to talk to my daughter?” Decker said forcefully.

“Because she isn’t here.” Darlene began to shake all over. “And Cindy was probably the last person to see her.”

“But you said you saw Marie in the hallway, Darlene,” Cindy said. “That would make you the last person to see Marie.”

“No, not Marie!” Darlene burst into tears. “It’s one of the infants! I can’t find Baby Girl Rodriguez!”

12

Nose pressed to the glass, Decker stared at the newborns—things no bigger than a rib roast, completely helpless…sinless. His heart went out to them, knowing that life would dish out a fair amount of dirt even if they were lucky. Baby Girl Rodriguez’s safety net had unraveled just a few days into her existence. His eyes traveled over the infants of differing races and sexes until they landed on an empty layette. His heart began to pound.

“Hey, Sergeant.”

Decker spun around, startled by the interruption.

Officer Brian Harlow. He’d been in uniform nearly three decades. He was still muscular and fit, but the years were there. Hair that was more silver than blond, a gut straining the buttons of his shirt. Vanity probably prevented him from admitting he needed a larger size. Harlow ran his fingers through his slicked-back hair.

“We’ve done three passes through the lots, through the immediate neighborhood, too.” He shook his head. “No sign of the red Honda. It’s still dark, not easy to tell colors, but we’ll keep trying. Should be better when the sun comes up. In the meantime, do you want to put out an APB on the car?”

“Yeah, call it in.”

Harlow clapped his hands together. “You got it.”

“Any action by Bellson’s apartment?”

“Just talked to the cruisers. Everything’s quiet.”

“No movement inside?”

“Nothing.”

“Any lights?”

“Black as a well,” Harlow said. “When do you think the warrant’ll come through?”

“Probably take another hour or so,” Decker said. “Hollander couldn’t get through to the first two judges. Finally, he managed to locate a third and wake him up. He’s on his way to His Honor’s house as we speak.”

“How’s the baby’s mother?”