The Baby Snatchers (4 page)

“He’s not that young. Cynthia said he was at
least ten years older than her.”

“Okay, so he’s not straight out of the
Academy, but he’s still not old. Anyway, there’s no harm in asking.
I’ll call Bryce right now.”

Georgie sighed in relief. “Thanks, Chanel. I
hate to trouble you or Bryce, but I couldn’t think of a faster way
to find out.”

“Hey, it’s no trouble. I’m happy to help
out. What’s the brother’s name?”

“Cameron Dawson. At least, I assume they
bear the same surname. I didn’t think to ask.”

“You never know, you might get lucky. Even
if he has a different last name, it’s unlikely there’ll be more
than one Cameron, aged approximately twenty-six or twenty-seven, at
the same precinct. I’ll call you right back.”

After thanking her again, Georgie ended the
call and made her way to her car. The cherry-red Mazda CX-3 was
parked where she’d left it. She’d barely sat down in the driver’s
seat when Chanel rang her.

“Wow, that was quick. How did it go?”

“No good. Bryce’s not answering his phone.
He might be out on a job. I’ve left a message for him to call me.
I’ll let you know once I actually speak with him.”

Georgie’s shoulders slumped in
disappointment, but she forced herself to reply with a level of
optimism. After all, with a bit of luck, Chanel would talk to her
husband about it before the night was over and Georgie would have
the information she sought.

“Thanks, Chanel, I really appreciate
it.”

“No problem. I’ll speak to you later and
I’ll let you know when I can escape from here and have a night out
on the town with you!”

Georgie laughed and after a round of fond
farewells, ended the call. Turning the key in the ignition, she
headed for home.

* * *

Detective Sergeant Cameron Dawson typed the
last sentence of the report he’d prepared on the drug bust that had
gone down earlier that day. A moment later, he saved his work and
logged off. With a sigh, he stretched his arms above his head and
leaned back in his cheap, government-issue chair. It squeaked in
protest against his weight, but he was beyond caring. His eyes
drifted closed with fatigue.

It had been a helluva tough day. The bust
had been a culmination after months of surveillance and long hours
undercover, deep in the bowels of a drug cartel. Cameron had been
only one of several detectives involved in the sting.

More than a thousand pounds of
methamphetamine had been confiscated in the raid, along with vast
amounts of the chemicals and other drug paraphernalia required to
make more. A dozen criminals involved in the extensive meth
operations were now behind bars, charged with a string of offenses.
It would be a long time before any of them saw the light of day.
All in all, it had been a good day’s work and Cameron felt
justifiably satisfied.

“You did good today, Cam.”

Cameron opened his eyes and managed a tired
smile in Bryce Sutcliffe’s direction. “Thanks, mate. Appreciate you
saying so.”

Bryce had been caught up in a complex
homicide case and hadn’t been part of the meth investigation, but
like all of their colleagues, they were a team first and foremost
and they cheered each other on. Some days the support and
encouragement from his fellow officers was needed and sometimes it
wasn’t, but it warmed Cam through to know the men and women who
worked at the City of Sydney Police Station were devoted to each
other as much as they were to their jobs.

“You’re the talk of the town,” Bryce added.
“Every media outlet in the city wants a piece of you. Good thing
you’re kind of pretty. You’ll grace the cover of every magazine.
Who knows? Hollywood might even come knocking on your door!”

Cam grinned good-naturedly. “You’re full of
shit, Sutcliffe. I think you’ve gotten way too close to the hundred
or so diapers your girls must go through each week.”

Bryce laughed and shook his head. “It just
goes to show what you know about kids. The triplets are
three-and-a-half. They stopped wearing diapers a year ago.”

“Really? ’Cause that sounds awfully young. I
had a little sister once. I was eleven when she was born. I
remember she was still in diapers, at least at night, right up
until she turned four.”

“Yeah, well maybe I exaggerated a little
bit, but Zoe’s mostly toilet trained and the other two won’t be far
behind.” Bryce paused and then frowned. “What do you mean you
had
a little sister? What did you do? Disown her?”

Cam swallowed a gasp, feeling like he’d just
taken a punch to his stomach. Bryce’s chuckle came to a sudden
stop.

“Oh, shit. I’m sorry, Cam. That was stupid
of me. She… She didn’t die, did she?”

Cam shook his head and ran a hand tiredly
over his face. Squeezing his eyes shut against the sudden surge of
pain, he clenched his jaw and tried to come up with an answer.

“No, mate, nothing like that. At least, not
that I know of. My dear old dad kicked me out when my sister was
just a kid.” He shrugged. “I haven’t seen her since.”

Bryce’s expression grew more troubled.
“Jesus. I had no idea! Shit, I’m sorry, mate. I was only joking. Me
and my big mouth. Chanel’s always telling me to think before
I—”

“Don’t sweat it, Bryce. You weren’t to know.
No one knows. That’s the way I like it. I did it tough for a few
years, but who doesn’t? There wouldn’t be many people who go
through their childhood without picking up a few scars along the
way. That’s just the way it is.”

“So you haven’t seen your sister
since—?”

“I left home at sixteen. Cynthia was five. I
remember she stood near the front gate and waved good-bye to me
until I was out of sight. It was the last time I saw her.”

“You never thought of looking her up or
finding out where she was?”

Cameron shrugged and did his best to keep
the emotion out of his voice. “What’s the point? I assume she’s
still living at home and I have no inclination to see my father
ever again. Besides, she probably wouldn’t even remember me.”

Bryce stared at him in silence, a strange
expression on his face. Cam frowned up at him. “What’s the matter?
You look weird.”

Bryce averted his face, but Cam could see he
was gnawing on his lower lip—as if he had something to say, but
didn’t know how. Cam cursed under his breath. What the hell. His
secret was out there now.
Did it matter if Bryce knew all the
sordid details?

“I can tell you’re bursting to know more,”
Cam said, forcing a grin. “Ask away.”

“It’s not that. I… I was speaking to Chanel
a few minutes ago. She… She called to ask me if I knew a cop by the
name of Cameron Dawson.”

Cam frowned. “Why would she ask about
me?”

“She was asking on behalf of someone else. A
friend of hers who works at the Sydney Harbour Hospital. Georgie
Whitely. She’s a midwife.”

Cam watched Bryce curiously, wondering what
point his colleague was trying to make. He raised an eyebrow.
“And?”

Bryce looked away and then began to pace.
Cam’s frown deepened.
What the hell had gotten into the man?
He asked Bryce as much.

“Shit, mate. I’m sorry. It’s none of my
business, but I promised Chanel I’d speak to you about it.”

“About what?” Cam said, not even bothering
to hide his exasperation.

“About… About someone who claims to be your
sister.”

Shock held Cam momentarily immobile. At
last, he found his voice though he was filled with a growing sense
of unease. “My sister? What the hell would your wife know about my
sister?”

“Not Chanel. Her friend. Georgie. The
midwife.”

“You’re not making any sense, Sutcliffe. For
Christ’s sake spit it out!”

“Georgie Whitely helped deliver the baby of
a young girl by the name of Cynthia Dawson. She said she was your
sister.”

Cam gaped, his jaw slack with shock. It
couldn’t be
his
sister.
His
sister was barely
sixteen. “She must be mistaken,” he said, his voice not quite
steady. “My sister lives in the country and she’s still in high
school. Way too young to be having a baby.”

Bryce stared at him, his expression solemn.
“I don’t think so, Cam. Chanel told me the girl was young. A
teenager. She insisted she had a brother who was a cop and was
stationed in the city. His name was Cameron—”

A loud buzzing noise started in Cameron’s
head and blocked out the rest of what Bryce had to say. Shock and
disbelief rendered him speechless. His heart pounded.
How could
his little sister be in a hospital in Sydney, having a baby?
She was still a child! How the hell had their parents let it
happen? And where the hell were they?

The thought that his parents might be in
Sydney for the birth sent panic rushing through his veins. As much
as he wanted to see his sister, he couldn’t risk running into them,
especially his father. The rage he’d felt for so long against the
man who’d been responsible for throwing him out hadn’t abated with
time. If anything, the possibility that Ray Dawson was a few mere
miles away sent renewed anger surging straight to his brain.

For his mother, he felt nothing but
contempt. Right from the beginning, she’d treated him like a slave,
but as far as Cam was concerned, it was his dad who bore the blame
for putting him out. His dad could have stood up to his mother. His
dad could have told her no. But he hadn’t. Instead, at his mother’s
insistence, he’d turned his back on his son. He’d taken the
coward’s way out and had asked Cam to leave…

A hand on his arm startled him and brought
him crashing back to the present. He blinked rapidly in an effort
to clear his mind of the bitter memories.

“Are you all right, Cam?” Bryce stared at
him with a look of concern and tightened his hold on Cam’s arm.

“Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine.” Cam pulled away from
Bryce’s hold and turned away, making an effort to calm his
breathing and slow his racing heart. “You surprised me, that’s all.
I was a little taken aback when you mentioned my sister. And a
baby…” He shook his head. “It’s a bit much to take in.”

“Of course, I understand. I’m sorry. I
didn’t know. When Chanel asked me if I knew you, of course I told
her yes. She asked me to pass on the information about your sister.
Georgie’s concerned about her. She indicated you were her only
family and with her being so young with a new baby… I guess Georgie
and the other hospital staff wanted to make sure she and the child
were going to be okay.”

Cam nodded, his lips compressed. His anger
had once again been stowed away in the dark pit of his gut, where
he’d kept it hidden for so long. “It’s all right, Bryce. I get it.
She’s sixteen with a newborn. She needs help.”

Bryce shrugged. “I’m just the messenger. Do
with it what you will.”

Cam’s thoughts suddenly snared on something
Bryce had said. He frowned at his colleague. “Did you say Cynthia
told this midwife I was her
only
family?”

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s what Chanel said.
That’s why it seemed so important to let you know. Apparently,
she’s likely to be discharged tomorrow or the next day at the
latest and Georgie wanted to know she had someone looking out for
her and the baby.”

Cam’s frown deepened. If Cynthia told the
nurses she didn’t have any other family, perhaps his parents
weren’t at the hospital, like he’d assumed. Surely if they were,
the midwife wouldn’t have any reason to ask his sister about
family. Yes, the more he thought about it, the more he was sure
Cynthia had gone to the hospital alone.

A pang of distress ripped through him at the
thought of his little sister going through something as momentous
as the birth of her child all alone. At least, he assumed she’d
been alone.

“What about the father of the baby? Surely,
he must be in the picture?”

Bryce shook his head. “I don’t know anything
about the father. Chanel didn’t mention him.”

Cam drew in a deep breath that expanded his
chest, and then exhaled. More than a decade ago, he’d vowed never
to revisit the past. He’d mourned the loss of his little sister,
but she’d been collateral damage. She’d been too young to take with
him. At the time, his only hope had been that she’d be treated
better than he had and that perhaps their adoptive parents would
show her a little more love and kindness than they had their only
son.

But what if it hadn’t worked out that
way?
What if that bitch of a mother had transferred her wicked
attitude toward Cynthia? And what if his father still hadn’t found
the guts to stand up to the woman? What if Cynthia’s teenage years
had been as dark and depressing as Cam’s?
Had she been kicked
out of home, like he had? Was that the reason she was pregnant and
alone at sixteen?

The questions kept coming, racing around and
around inside his mind and he had no answers. With gritted teeth,
he pressed his hands against both sides of his head in an effort to
slow down his thoughts. Bryce threw him another concerned look and
with a gargantuan effort, Cam managed to calm himself enough to
reassure his colleague.

“It’s all right, Bryce. I’m okay. I am. I
probably don’t look like it, but I’ll be fine. I have so many
questions about how this came to be. Having no answers is
frustrating.”

“I understand. You’ve had a shock. Is there
anything I can do?”

“No. I appreciate your offer, but this is
something I’m going to have deal with on my own. I’m glad we
brought that meth investigation to a close. The boss owes me a few
days off. I’ll go and see him now and tell him I need to collect. I
have to visit with my sister and work out what the hell has gone
wrong with her life. A baby at sixteen?” He shook his head, feeling
grim. “It’s not the best way to get ahead.”

“I’m sure between the two of you, you’ll be
able to work something out. Who knows? Things might not be as bad
as they sound. I’m only getting the information secondhand,
remember?”