BooksBarbecue
Back When I Lost You
Chapters (81)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. Dedication
  4. Prologue
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-one
  26. Twenty-two
  27. Twenty-three
  28. Twenty-four
  29. Twenty-five
  30. Twenty-six
  31. Twenty-seven
  32. Twenty-eight
  33. Twenty-nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-one
  36. Thirty-two
  37. Thirty-three
  38. Thirty-four
  39. Thirty-five
  40. Thirty-six
  41. Thirty-seven
  42. Thirty-eight
  43. Thirty-nine
  44. Forty
  45. Forty-one
  46. Forty-two
  47. Forty-three
  48. Forty-four
  49. Forty-five
  50. Forty-six
  51. Forty-seven
  52. Forty-eight
  53. Forty-nine
  54. Fifty
  55. Fifty-one
  56. Fifty-two
  57. Fifty-three
  58. Fifty-four
  59. Fifty-five
  60. Fifty-six
  61. Fifty-seven
  62. Fifty-eight
  63. Fifty-nine
  64. Sixty
  65. Sixty-one
  66. Sixty-two
  67. Sixty-three
  68. Sixty-four
  69. Sixty-five
  70. Sixty-six
  71. Sixty-seven
  72. Epilogue
  73. Acknowledgments
  74. Read More
  75. Prologue
  76. One
  77. Two
  78. Three
  79. Four
  80. Follow Merilyn online
  81. Dedication

Approaching the crib, Nell felt Paul hanging back. She didn’t blame him. No reason they both had to see the body, not when statistics told her this was probably going to be a sudden infant death – a tragedy, but not a crime.

The baby was wrapped in a yellow polka-dot blanket and looked for all the world like she was sleeping but for the sense of absence, a feeling impossible to describe, but which was immediately felt.

Nell felt Eve’s eyes on her and looked across at the pathologist.

‘Have you met the parents yet?’ Eve’s blue eyes were hard, so Nell assumed she had and it clearly hadn’t gone well.

‘No,’ said Nell.

Eve puffed her displeasure. ‘Nasty man. Can see the control he has over the mother just from one glance.’

Nell felt the adrenalin surge again. ‘You think he did something to the baby?’

Eve looked down at the cot. ‘Wouldn’t surprise me. Men like him don’t like competition, even if it comes in the form of a baby.’ She looked at Nell. ‘Especially if it comes in the form of a baby,’ she corrected.

Nell watched as Eve began to work, taking in the milky-white skin of the child, free from discoloration or bruising; noting the baby’s hair still fluffy from her evening bath.

‘What are your thoughts?’ she asked.

Eve didn’t reply. Her forehead furrowed as she gently examined the baby. Nell looked around the room for signs of neglect but found only a well-cleaned carpet, clothes neatly placed in a small white wardrobe, toys perfectly stacked in three clear plastic boxes. Sudden infant death. She was sure of it. Her heart slowed. The sickly smell of regurgitated milk and perfumed baby wipes was giving her a headache and the heat in the room was claustrophobic. The sooner they could close this one, the better.

‘It’s not a natural death.’

Nell turned. ‘What?’

Eve’s words jarred with the whole feel of the room.

‘This baby was killed, Sergeant.’ Noting Nell’s scepticism, she added, ‘Trust me, DS Jackson, this baby is dead because someone wanted it to be. And I don’t mean that person to be God.’

Nell looked down at the baby, at the dried dribble of milk in the corner of her mouth, the sleep crusted around her eyes. She looked peaceful, not the recipient of a violent attack but a baby who had just forgotten to wake up. A mad moment, then? The baby crying for too long and too late, parents’ frustrations spilling over into a single act of violence?

As if Eve could sense Nell’s doubt, she said, ‘Distended stomach, fluid from her ear, suggesting head trauma. Obviously, I’ll find out more when I get her down the emergency room.’