The Baby Snatchers (12 page)

He frowned.
Marjorie Whitely.
Could
the woman be Georgie’s relative? Perhaps her sister? Or even her
mother? With no way of knowing Marjorie’s age, any possibility
could only be a guess. Then, of course, there was the possibility
that the woman wasn’t related at all. He wrote down the name on his
notepad. Just another thing he’d ask the general manager.

A copy of the preliminary death certificate
was attached to the file. The stated cause of death was SIDS. The
certificate had been signed by a Doctor Frederick Rolleston and was
time-stamped and dated just under a fortnight after Cynthia’s
delivery. It confirmed that two babies had died from SIDS less than
a two weeks apart.
Surely that was unusual?
He needed to
find out.

His call connected and he waited for Deborah
Healy to answer. It was picked up by her assistant and he quickly
identified himself and asked if he could speak with the general
manager.

“I’m sorry, Detective. She’s on another
call. Can I take a message and have her phone you back?”

Cam swallowed his impatience. After leaving
his contact details, he ended the call and then returned to
Danielle’s notes. A few minutes later, the phone at his elbow rang
and he snatched up the receiver. “Detective Sergeant Dawson. Can I
help you?”

“Detective, it’s Deborah Healy. I’m
returning your call.”

“Ms Healy. Thanks for getting back to me so
quickly. I appreciate it.”

“No problem. What can I do for you?” The
general manager’s tone was all business.

“I’ve been looking over the file you sent
over. The one belonging to Danielle Jamison. I was wondering if you
could tell me how many babies die at your hospital each year.”

“Thankfully, not many, Detective. We pride
ourselves on the quality of our service. It’s very sad about what
happened to poor Danielle Jamison’s baby. Thank goodness it doesn’t
happen very often.”

“How often?”

“Danielle Jamison’s baby was only the second
baby to die at this hospital in the past twelve months for sudden
and unexplainable reasons. The other infant passed away more than
nine months ago.”

Cam frowned. “I’m afraid that’s not correct,
Ms Healy.”

“What do you mean?”

“My niece died within hours of her birth a
little over a fortnight ago. Your information isn’t right.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! It’s hospital policy
that I be notified immediately of
all
deaths that occur in
our establishment and the sudden death of an infant is no
different. You must be mistaken about your niece. Perhaps you have
us confused with one of the other city hospitals?”

Cameron’s anger stirred. “I’m not mistaken,
Ms Healy,” he replied coldly. “I collected my sister off Ward Seven
the morning after her baby died. You need to check your sources.
They’re obviously not keeping you up to date.”

“I-I see. If you give me a moment, I’ll…
I’ll check one of our databases,” the general manager replied
shakily. “Perhaps I was away when it happened…”

Cameron heard the sound of keys clicking on
a keyboard. A moment later, Deborah spoke again. Cam heard the
tension in her voice.

“Ah, here we are. A list of all infant
deaths in the hospital over the past year.” There was a long pause
on the other end of the phone. Cameron frowned.

“Ms Healy? Are you still there?”

“Yes, I-I’m sorry. I was reading through the
data. It’s… It’s a little lengthier than I expected.”

Once again, Cameron swallowed his
impatience. “How many?”

“According to the latest reports, there were
fifteen infant deaths over the past twelve months.”

“That’s more than one a month.”

“Yes,” the general manager responded in a
shaky voice. “There must be a glitch in our system. I’ve only been
notified about two.”

“Is it possible the information has been
entered incorrectly? Duplicated, or something like that?”

“I wouldn’t have thought so, but something
has happened. I’ll need to speak with the head of obstetrics. Those
statistics can’t be right.”

A sudden sense of urgency made Cameron’s
heart beat faster. “Get back to me as soon as possible. I need that
information.”

“O-of course.”

“Two more things: First, what can you tell
me about Georgina Whitely? She was the midwife who delivered
Danielle Jamison’s baby. She was also present at the birth of my
late niece.”

“Georgie’s been with us for seven years.
She’s an excellent nurse. She was the Nursing Unit Manager of our
pediatrics ward until a couple of years ago. She decided to retrain
as a midwife and transferred to Ward Seven. She’s been there ever
since.”

Cameron absorbed the information and made a
note on his pad. “And what about Marjorie Whitely? Where does she
fit in?”

Deborah’s voice filled with pride.
“Marjorie’s one of our finest, most experienced nurses. She’s been
at this hospital nearly all of her working life. She’s delivered
more babies than anyone. You won’t find yourself in better hands.
She’s the Nursing Unit Manager of Ward Seven and Georgie Whitely’s
mother.”

Having guessed there might be a connection
between the two women, Cameron nodded and wrote Georgie Whitely’s
name next to Marjorie’s and drew a line between them. It was
interesting that mother and daughter chose to work together. There
were many people who would run in the opposite direction rather
than share their workplace with a relative, Cam included. Georgie
and her mother must be in that select group of family members who
actually enjoyed working in close proximity.

“Is there anything else, Detective?”

The general manager’s sharp question
distracted him from his thoughts. He gave her a hasty reply. “Not
at this time, Ms Healy, but rest assured, if I have any more
questions, I’ll be in touch.”

The phone line disconnected in Cameron’s ear
and he slowly replaced the receiver. Checking his email, he found a
message from the switchboard operator informing him that Georgie
had called while he’d been on the phone. She’d received his message
and had made an appointment at the spa for her and his sister two
days hence.

He thought about coming face to face with
the sexy nurse once again and his pulse leaped in response, even as
his head dictated he proceed with caution. She might very well
become a person of interest in his investigation. Besides that,
he’d learned early that the people who were supposed to care for
you above all others were often the same people who let you
down.

Over the decade since he’d left home, he’d
guarded his emotions closely and his heart even closer. Though he’d
dated casually, he’d taken care not to let any entanglement develop
into a serious relationship. Life was so much easier that way.

But with Georgie, things were different. He
wanted to get to know her. He wanted to open up. For the first time
in his adult life, he wanted to take a chance. It was risky and it
could all end in a painful mess, but there was nothing he could do
about it. Georgie’s name might have been linked to a couple of
recent infant deaths, but even that wasn’t enough to deter him.
Right now, all he could think about was seeing her again and where
it might lead…

* * *

“Tammie! Wake up! It’s time to go.”

Tammie Sinclair stirred on the gurney that
doubled as a bed for the night staff. Blinking away sleep, she
stared at her boss through the dimness.

“Come on! Hurry! I need your help.” Without
waiting for her response, the older woman turned away.

Tammie struggled off the gurney and followed
the other nurse into a storage room. A plastic crib stood in the
middle of the confined space with a baby asleep inside. “Is it a
boy or a girl?” she whispered.

“A boy. Not that it matters.”

Tammie came closer and stared down at the
newborn. He was perfect in every way. She tamped down on an
overwhelming surge of yearning and thought about Wendy. Maybe this
time their invitro-fertilization attempt would be successful… She
no longer dared to hope.

“What do you need me to do?” she
murmured.

Georgie tossed her handbag into one of the
staff lockers and closed it. Tucking a loose strand of hair back
into her tidy bun, she turned and surveyed her appearance in the
bathroom mirror. She was about to begin her last shift before two
rostered days’ off and she could hardly wait. The week had been a
trying one with a full ward of desperate and needy mothers, but
thankfully no more babies had been lost. The day stretched out in
front of her and she began to count the minutes until it would end.
The thought of two glorious days off work seemed like heaven,
particularly when it meant she’d see Cameron again. A burst of
excitement surged through her.

She’d arranged an appointment at a day spa
for early the next morning and had told Cameron she’d swing by his
apartment at eight to collect his sister. She tried not to get her
hopes up that he might still be there at that time of day, but even
if he wasn’t, she still had to drop Cynthia home. One way or the
other, Georgie was determined to make it clear to the hot detective
she was interested—and if her efforts came to nothing, she’d move
on.

More and more she’d been feeling the
pressure to find a special someone and settle down. She wanted
marriage and babies and she wasn’t blind to the fact that the time
was slowly, but surely, wearing down. The irony that the only child
she might bear was the one she’d given away sent a surge of
desperate pain rushing through her and she steadfastly forced her
thoughts in another direction.

“Georgina, may I see you for a moment?”

Georgie spied her mother’s reflection in the
bathroom mirror and turned to greet her with a smile. “Of course.
Good morning, Marjorie.”

Her mother smiled back, but it didn’t reach
her eyes. They left the staff restroom and headed toward Marjorie’s
office. Georgie glanced at her mother and took a moment to study
the woman she’d loved and admired all her life, despite all that
they’d been through. She noticed new age lines etched around the
corners of her mother’s eyes. Fatigue shadowed their dark
depths.

Her mother worked too hard. It was as simple
as that. Georgie didn’t know of any other NUM who worked weekends,
and yet her mother often did. She also did night shifts in addition
to her morning shifts and did it without a word of complaint.
Georgie’s Aunt Rosemary worked similarly hard.

When Georgie had asked her mother about it,
once, Marjorie had replied that she and her sister had grown up in
a time when work was scarce and jobs were highly valued. Going
above and beyond what was expected was the norm for their
generation. Besides, with chronic staff shortages in the hospital,
it was imperative someone fill in when needed. Babies waited for no
one and it wasn’t fair to the mother or the child if there were
inadequate staff-to-patient ratios. So, sometimes her mother and
aunt did double shifts, but they seemed to take it in stride.

It was only recently that Georgie had
noticed her mother’s hair had turned much grayer and her steps were
less sprightly than they used to be. Georgie made a mental note to
speak to her father about it. They were wealthy people; both of
them had inherited sizeable estates from their parents. Although it
was admirable that Marjorie wanted to be there for her patients, it
wasn’t necessary for her to work herself into the ground. If she
kept it up, she’d be the one looking for the hospital bed.

Georgie chuckled at the thought of her
mother as a patient. No doubt she’d make a terrible one.

“What’s so funny?” Marjorie asked, throwing
her a sideways look.

Georgie walked through the open doorway of
her mom’s office and took a seat opposite the crowded desk.
“Nothing much. I was just thinking about how hard you and Aunt
Rosemary work and what would happen if you ended up as patients in
this hospital.”

Her mother looked horrified at the thought.
“Don’t wish that on me, Georgina! I have far too much to do.
Besides, who would want to look after me? I’d be the patient from
hell!” Marjorie smiled and gave her a wink and Georgie laughed
again.

“Exactly!” she said.

Her mom took her place in the chair that
stood behind the desk and moved some of the papers out of her way.
Her expression grew serious. Georgie frowned and all of a sudden,
tension filled the air.

“Wh-what is it, Marjorie?” She barely formed
the question. Dread weighed heavy in her veins.

Her mother sighed heavily and Georgie’s
concern ratcheted up another notch. Her heart thumped hard against
her ribs. “Talk to me, Mom,” she pleaded. “What’s wrong? Is it Dad?
Oh, God! Please don’t tell me something’s happened to Dad!”

“No, Georgina, it’s nothing like that. Your
dad’s fine. At least, he was when I said good-bye to him
earlier.”

“Then what? Is it Sasha? Or Clare? Or
Montana?” she asked, referring to her adult siblings.

“No. As far as I know, your sisters are all
okay. It has nothing to do with our family. It’s… It’s something
that happened here, at work.”

Georgie’s eyebrows flew upwards in surprise,
but she couldn’t help feeling relieved. If it was work related, she
was sure she could handle whatever it was. Her family, now that
would be a different matter.

“What is it?” she asked in a calmer voice,
her breath coming easier.

Her mother looked up at her and shook her
head sadly. “It’s about Sandra Briggs.”

Georgie frowned. “Sandra? The young girl who
gave birth yesterday afternoon?”

“Yes. I’m afraid her baby didn’t make it
through the night.”

Georgie sat straighter in her chair. “You
mean, he
died?
”

Marjorie nodded slowly. “Yes. I’m sorry,
Georgina.”