Rogue Diamond (26 page)

She was directed in
si
de a tiny green-and-glass building. "I'm Ale
xis Julian and I'm the one look
ing for a child who's being brought across the border illegally.
I understand the Hermo
si
llo po
lice alerted you about her. This is the child." She shoved her papers across the desk along with a photo of Jenni.

The unifor
med Customs officer looked curi
ously at her, then at her papers.

"Jenni was taken illegally in Hermo
si
llo," Alex continued anxiously. "We think she's to be sold for adoption in th
e States. That's why we're look
ing for her here. She was supposed to be taken across this border yesterday, pos
si
bly even the day before. Did you
see
her?"

"
Uno momento,
senorita." The man took her papers and conferred in rapid-fire Spanish with another officer. Then both men joined her, as if to serve as a united front. "We have found no such child, senorita."

"But surely she's been taken across by now! I . . . I just want to see her, to stay with her. I won't interfere with your investigation or
any
thing. You see, she's been stolen from her home and family. Her mother was killed and I'm all she has left!" Alex f
elt the swell of panic mushroom
ing in
si
de her breast and she struggled to stay in control of her emotions.

The men gave her sympathetic looks, but
there was no recognition in their eyes. "I'm sorry, senorita. We have not seen this child."

Alex edged forward on her seat and leaned one arm on the offic
er's desk. "But you don't under
stand,
si
r. You m
ust find her for me. They're go
ing to sell her for adoption in the States. We have to stop them—right here—before they can take her any farther!
" Alex tapped the desk with con
viction.

The men exchanged harried glances, then one spoke. "Senorita,
por favor
, we have found no child these last two days. That is all I can tell you at this time." The finality of his tone told her
that
he
couldn’t or
wouldn't tell her anything more.

Alex felt as though she had just been slapped. Could she believe them? Damn! Maybe she should ha
ve
waited
for Nick after all
.
His force
fulness attracted attention.
Got action. Hers merely elicited sympathetic stares.

No
, she decided stubbornly.
She was here
for Jenni
and here she would stay
until . . . until she had no more reason to stay.

"Then maybe they haven't brought Jenni through yet," she deduced aloud. "Do you mind if I wait?"

The officers exchanged glances again, and wordlessly decided she could do no harm. Better to humor her. "
S
í
, claro
, senorita. You may wait in here." They directed her to a small, square, glassed room where she had visual access to the string of cars lining up to cross the border into Arizona.

Al
e
x
waited. And waited. Three hours. Four. It
was hot in the little booth. She dozed on the hard bench for a few minutes and awakened with a start, horrified that perhaps she had missed Jenni. She rushed out to ask the officer in charge if a small child had been discovered. He shook his head. Dejectedly, Alex took her seat again.

The realization came slowly. Finally Alex knew in her heart that Jenni had already been transported across the border. It was too late to question how such a thing could have happened when the customs officers were supposed to be watching for this child. It just did. Nick was right. There were ways.

With a re
si
gned
si
gh, Alex gathered her paper cups, thanked the officers for their kindness, and drove the van acr
oss the border into Jessup
, Arizona
.
Oh, God, how she had argued with Nick about coming to this place. Now that she was here, it was a letdown. Somehow she had e
x
pected more excitement, but what she found was a dusty, rather lifeless little border town, and she felt as bedraggled as the place appeared.

Now what? Where should she start to look for Jenni? Would th
e baby still be with the connec
tion, the woman who
served as the first Ameri
can link of the chain, as Nick called it? God, how she wished Nick was here
.
He would know what to do
, where to go
. He would know how to find this woman. Alex drove around the town, which con
si
sted of several blocks of half-dying bu
si
nesses and small re
si
dential p
ockets. The
major
highway
to Tucson
led past Mc
Donald's, the old copper smelter
plant, and the junior college. That was it.

She turned around and drove back into town. Parking on an empty corner, Alex entered the county building. Perhaps the Child Welfare Department could give her the information she needed. Fifteen minutes later Alex stepped back out into the blazing noon heat. No knowledge of the mis
si
ng child. And they certainly had no knowledge of an illegal baby ring. So now what?

She squinted in the near-blinding brightness and an incongruous
si
gn on the building across the street caught her eye. The shape of a huge cowboy boot, outlined in neon lights, blinked and rocked. COWBOY BAR, it read.

A bar. Of course! You could find out all sorts of information a
bout a town in the bar, Alex de
cided with a blossom of hope. You could even find out about illegal connections. It was in a cantina that she and Nick had met the man with the baby for sale in Guaymas! Without another thought about the propriety or pos
si
ble danger of a lone woman entering a strange bar in a strange town, Alex crossed the street and sallied in
si
de, under the flashing boot.

The imme
diate
dark
ness of the room sur
prised her. It took a full minute for her blinded eyes to be able to discern walls, tables, chairs, the bar, and five pairs of masculine eyes staring at her. Suddenly sh
e felt naked, as those eyes dis
robed her, and she burned with embarrassment and indignation at their blatant ogling. Every one, to a man, gave her a full assessment in the time she stood like a zombie, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dimmed
l
ights.

Oh, dear God! What am I
doing here? Is it a mistake to be here without Nick? I know what they're thinking
.
I can see it in their eager faces. Will I be able to walk out of here? Maybe I shouldn't
have
walk
ed
in
.
But someone here knows the baby connection. I'm sure of it
.

She proceeded cautiously to the bar, where three of the men sat at the other end, talking to the bartender.
On her approach their conversa
tions stopped, a
nd the only sound was the twang
ing country record playing on the old-fashioned jukebox in the corner. Alex leaned on the bar and the bartender ambled over with a welcoming smile.

"What can I fix for you?"

"I'm not here for a drink, thank you,"
she con
ceded with a ne
rvous smile. "I need some infor
mation. I wonder if you could tell me, uh, if you know a woman who, uh, deals with babies from Mexico. You kno
w, like . . . has them for adop
tion."

The bartender leaned forward and asked in a low voice, "You pregnant? Want to sell it? Good money for healthy babies, I hear tell."

"No—I, uh, I'm looking for a baby." Alex felt a disturbing heat building around her neck. This was not going to be easy.

"You lookin' to buy?" He eyed her warily and suddenly Alex realized that she was on the edge of illegal turf and playing a dangerous game. She'd damn sure better play their game well or she could be in deep trouble, and with no one to
help her out of it,
si
nce no one knew where she was.

She
feigned a nonchalance she didn’t feel and
shrugged. "Maybe."

He motioned to a man who sat at a corner table by himself, drinking
Tecate
, a brand of Mexican beer. "Homer's been here longer than I have. Knows more people. Maybe he can tell ya."

Alex's heart pounded as she made her way to Homer's table, disquieted that she would have to repeat her story to this tough-looking man. She tried to ignor
e the bawdy comments that accom
panied her brief journey across the room.

"Hey there, cutie!"

"Mmm, bonita!"

"Guera, chula! Blondie!"

By the time she reached Homer's table, Alex was aquiver in
si
de. Never had she been subject to such a demeaning
si
tuation, and yet she couldn't stop now. Blandly, she watched Homer lick a dab of salt from his thumb's web, gulp a shot of tequila, and follow it with a long swig of Tecate. Alex stifled a shudder
as he downed the boilermaker.

"
Si
e
ntese, por favor, chula
," he directed in Spanish.

Alex decid
ed right away she would not con
verse in Spanish. After all, she was an American looking to buy. "Thank you. I'll be brief, Homer. I'm looking to buy a baby. Mexican. I
understand you know where I can
get one."

He assessed her with droopy bloodshot eyes. "Maybe you married?" His gaze dropped to her ringless left hand.

Quickly deducing that a married couple with
plenty of money had a better chance at this, she nodded. "Uh, yes. But I took the rings off, for safety. The diamonds, you know."

"Put them back on. Looks better," he directed. "Where is your husband?"

"He had bu
si
ne
ss in California. A big real es
tate deal that he just couldn't miss."

"You from California?"

"Uh, well, we have a home there. Palm Springs. But also in Scottsdale, and West Palm.
I
n
uh,
Florida. I hate the Springs this time of year. There is absolutely no one there. And I get so lonesome. You see, I can't have any children. I've been to doctors all over the country and they told me to forget it and just to adopt one. But adoptions take so
long
. And Sterling, that's my husband, Sterling, he's been turned down by two agencies already. You see, Sterling's older and, well, you know how picky those places can be." She paused to see how she was doing.

Homer took a
dvantage of the time to take an
other swig of beer.

Alex cleared her throat. "So Sterling said, honey, if you want a baby, you just go right over there and get one. So here I am." Alex hushed and smiled expectantly, hoping with all her might that she was convincing.

Homer con
si
dered her lengthy explanation while he slowly finished off the
Tecate
. "Go to
la f
arma
cí
a
. Couple a blocks over. Tell the druggist you're lookin' for a baby."

At that point Alex realized she would have to repeat her story, maybe several times, before she
reached the e
nd of the trail. "Thank you, Ho
mer." Discreetly, s
he slipped a ten dollar bill be
neath his beer can. "Have another drink or two on Sterling. He'll be so grateful."

She exited as quickly as she could amid catcalls of "Don't leave so soon, pretty baby!" and "Come on back and let me treat! Then you can treat!"

Alex slipped into the old van and drove to a remote part of town. Damn, she wished she'd kept that
fake
wedding ring Nick had given her in Guaymas! She changed into some fresh clothes in the back of the van, rearranged all her papers, and tucked away everything connecting her to living in Mexico. Then she walked the distance back into town, stopping along the way at a pawn shop. When she entered the small pharmacy with a used ring on her finger, Alex hoped she resembled a married woman intent on finding a child.