Jingle Bones (7 page)
Authors: Carolyn Haines
He spoke with wisdom, but there were also dangers to the child. “The mother can't be far away. The baby hasn't even been properly cleaned. And you know as well as I do that once that baby is in the system, it could be devastating to the child.”
“I don't disagree. Child services does the best job they can, but they have no budget and they have more cases than they can work.”
“This fostering is temporary. I promise. Just for a day or two?”
He nodded. “You've got forty-eight hours. After that, I'll have to follow the law.”
“Thanks, Coleman. Now let me throw on some jeans and a jacket. Dawn will be here soon and I need to get to work on finding the woman who had that baby.”
“There's a lot of blood here, Sarah Booth. I'm no expert on childbirth, but this doesn't look right to me, even if she had it right here on your front porch.”
He was right about that.
“That baby could have frozen to death out here. How'd you know to look out the door at three in the morning?” Coleman took blood samples and photographs as he talked.
“The person who left her rang the doorbell. Repeatedly. She waited in the driveway until I went out on the porch and picked the baby up. She made sure the infant was safe before she left.” And she had been bleeding heavily. It tore at my heart. “I think whoever left the baby was trying hard to make sure she was taken care of.”
Coleman pushed his hat back on his head as he stood up. “The more I hear, the less I like it. It sounds like the person was desperate.”
“And the question to ask is âWhy?' Why didn't they just wait for me to help them once I'd taken the baby inside?”
“Because they have something to hide.” Coleman's frown said a lot. If it was the mother who'd left the baby and who was bleeding so profusely, she was in serious trouble. A woman who abandoned her childâbut made sure it was safeâand then ran away had to be in a world of hurt.
“You think she's a criminal?” I somehow couldn't put the mother of that beautiful child in the category of felon.
“I don't know, but she's running from something or someone. The bigger question is why you, Sarah Booth? Why Dahlia House? You weren't picked at random. The baby was brought here, specifically, to you.”
“Because the mother wants someone to find her. That's what I do. I find people and things.”
“And you're damn good at it.” He gathered his evidence and came to stand only inches from me. “I'll let you know what I find out.”
“Thanks, Coleman.” He'd helped me more than he knew. I hurried back inside before my feet froze to the porch.
CAROLYN HAINES
is the author of the Sarah Booth Delaney mysteries. She is the recipient of both the Harper Lee Distinguished Writing Award and the Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellence. Born and raised in Mississippi, she now lives in Semmes, Alabama, on a farm with more dogs, cats, and horses than she can possibly keep track of. You can sign up for email updates
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Also by
Carolyn Haines
Sarah Booth Delaney Mysteries
Ham Bones
Bones to Pick
Hallowed Bones
Crossed Bones
Splintered Bones
Buried Bones
Them Bones
Novels
Revenant
Fever Moon
Penumbra
Judas Burning
Touched
Summer of the Redeemers
Summer of Fear
Nonfiction
My Mother's Witness: The Peggy Morgan Story
As R. B. Chesterton
The Darkling
The Seeker
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Contents
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
JINGLE BONES.
Copyright © 2015 by Carolyn Haines. All rights reserved. For information address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Cover design by Kerri Resnick
Cover illustration © paulista / Shutterstock
e-ISBN 9781250089069
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].
First Edition: October 2015
