The Baby Snatchers (3 page)

“I have a colleague who’s married to a
police officer who works in the city. I could make some enquires
and see if we could find your brother,” she said. “What do you
think?”

The girl shrugged, but Georgie caught the
brief flash of hope in Cynthia’s eyes and resolved to do what she
could to find the girl’s brother before she was discharged.

“I could also put you into contact with
someone from the Department of Family and Community Services. Would
that be okay?”

Cynthia was shaking her head back and forth
even before Georgie had finished. “No way! There’s no way in hell
I’m letting those interfering, old bitches steal my baby.”

“They’re not going to take Josephine away
from you, honey. All they’ll do is try and help you and your little
girl. She’ll need special things like clean clothes and water to
bathe in and a safe, warm place to sleep—and unless you’re going to
breastfeed, you’ll need bottles and formula. The people from social
services might help you find a better place to live and give you
some assistance until you get back on your feet. If you don’t want
to do it for yourself, think of your baby. Do it for
Josephine.”

Cynthia averted her gaze, but a moment
later, she offered Georgie a shrug, which Georgie took as a yes.
She breathed a quiet sigh of relief. At least the girl was prepared
to accept help. If not for her sake, then for the baby’s. It was
something.

The door to the birthing suite opened and
Georgie’s mother appeared in the room. As head of the labor ward,
Marjorie Whitely was Georgie’s boss. It had taken five years of
persuasion, but her mother had finally convinced her to leave her
beloved pediatric nursing and retrain as a midwife. It meant that
Georgie took orders from her mother, but so far, their professional
relationship was working.

“Is everything all right in here,
Georgina?”

“Yes, thanks, Marjorie,” Georgie replied,
calling her mother by her given name, like the rest of the staff
did. “Cynthia’s just given birth to a healthy baby girl. I’ll have
them cleaned up and returned to the ward shortly.”

Her mother nodded her approval. “Very good.”
She cast her gaze in the direction of the young mother.
“Congratulations, Cynthia.”

Georgie’s patient smiled and ducked her
head. “Thank you.”

Marjorie returned her attention to her
daughter. “Georgina, do you mind if I have a word with you
outside?”

Georgie glanced up in surprise, but nodded.
“Of course.” She looked over at Cynthia. “I won’t be a moment. When
I get back, we’ll get you into the shower. How does that
sound?”

“Great. Thanks,” Cynthia replied, and threw
her a grateful smile.

Georgie smiled back and then followed her
mother out of the room. “You wanted to speak with me?”

“Yes. That girl in there. What’s her story?
Where are her parents?”

Georgie’s shoulders slumped on a heavy sigh.
“She’s a runaway. Terrible family life. She left home when she was
fourteen.”

“Where’s she living? From the look of her,
it’s not somewhere I’d be happy sending a newborn. They’re so
susceptible to disease and illness at this age.”

“She didn’t give me an address, but she said
she lives there on her own. She thinks her older brother is working
somewhere in the city. I’m going to try and locate him. I also
spoke to her about contacting FACS and she’s agreed to let me make
the call.”

Georgie’s mother pursed her lips. “That’s
something then. I guess we can be grateful for small mercies.”

“I’ll call them as soon as I get Cynthia and
the baby settled back on the ward.”

Marjorie nodded. “Good. Let me know how that
goes.”

“I will.”

With that, her mother turned and headed
toward the nurses’ station. Georgie slipped back into the room. The
baby had wakened and Cynthia smiled down at her, a look of delight
and wonderment on her face.

“You’re so beautiful, Josephine. My
beautiful little girl.” Another round of kisses were pressed
against the baby’s head.

“How about I take her for a while and let
you have a shower? It’s been a long, hard day and you deserve a
break. There’s a bathroom right through that connecting door.
You’ll find soap and towels on the shelf. There are clean hospital
gowns there, too, unless you’d rather change into clothes of your
own. I could go back to the ward and collect something for you, if
you like?”

A flush of embarrassment slid across
Cynthia’s cheeks. She averted her gaze. “No, that’s okay. A gown
will be fine. I… I didn’t leave anything on the ward.”

Georgie looked around the room for Cynthia’s
belongings. A brown paper bag containing the cheap dress and
sandals she’d arrived in were all that Georgie could find. She bit
back another sigh. Things were even grimmer than she’d thought.

How on earth was the girl going to care for
a baby?

It took awhile, but right before Georgie’s
shift was about to end, she received a call from a FACS employee.
The woman, who identified herself as Cheryl Stuart, opened her
monologue with an apology.

“I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to phone
you back, but we’re absolutely snowed under. Two of the people in
my office are away sick and another one’s on annual leave. It
leaves me and one other—and believe me, she’s as overworked as I
am.”

Georgie wanted to commiserate with the woman
about the never-ending issue with government resources that just
wouldn’t stretch as far as they were needed, but time was running
out. Cynthia would be discharged within a day or two. Something
needed to be set in place quickly.

“I’m sorry to hear about your rough day,”
she said in a mollifying tone, “but I have a young girl who gave
birth a few hours ago and I’m concerned about her living
arrangements. She’s been estranged from her parents for two years
and has good reason not to want to contact them. I understand she
has a brother living in Sydney and I’m trying to track him down,
but so far, I haven’t had any luck.”

Her announcement was met with silence and
then a loud and heavy sigh. “How old is she?”

“Sixteen.”

“So she isn’t that young.”

Georgie felt a wave of anger. “She’s young
enough, and certainly in need of your help.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, same old story. But it’s
not like she’s eleven or twelve. I had a twelve-year-old the other
week. New baby, living out on the streets. Nowhere to go, no one
who cared. It kills me.”

Georgie drew in a deep breath and eased it
out in an effort to release the tension in her shoulders and neck.
Cheryl wasn’t telling her anything new. She saw the same on Ward
Seven every day.

“If everything’s fine, this girl will be
discharged tomorrow or the next day,” she said. “We’ll lose any
chance we have of helping her and her baby.”

“Yep, I know how the story goes.” Another
heavy sigh and then, “What’s her name? I’ll see what I can do, but
it won’t be before tomorrow.”

“Cynthia Dawson. I’ll do my best to keep her
here until you arrive, but please put her on the top of your list.
We’re short of beds and if someone else comes in overnight, I’m not
sure there’ll be anything I can do.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Same shit, different
day,” Cheryl muttered. “I’ll do the best I can.”

After thanking her, Georgie hung up the
phone and made a record of the conversation in Cynthia’s notes.
She’d looked in on the girl a few moments earlier and had been
pleased to see both Mom and baby were asleep.

“How did things go with Cynthia Dawson?”

Georgie looked up from the desk and
acknowledged her mother’s question with a nod. “I got onto FACS.
They’re overloaded, as usual, but they’ve agreed to come and see
her tomorrow.”

Marjorie grimaced. “Let’s hope she’s still
here. We have a full house at the moment.”

Georgie compressed her lips in silent
agreement. “Let’s pray we don’t get anyone else in.”

“How did things go with locating the
brother? Did you find him?”

“I’ve made some calls. I’m waiting to hear
back.”

“What are the chances you’ll locate
him?”

Georgie shrugged and refused to acknowledge
the wave of despair that threatened. “Who knows? But I have to try.
That poor girl won’t cope on her own. It’s a simple fact.”

Her mother’s expression softened. “Don’t
take it personally, Georgina. You’re doing the best you can.”

Tears pricked Georgie’s eyes. She hurriedly
swiped them away. “Why does it feel like I’m never able to do
enough?
”

Marjorie patted her gently on the back.
“What’s enough? When is it
ever
enough? We can’t blame
ourselves for the situations these girls find themselves in.
They’ve made bad choices. They have to live with the
consequences.”

Georgie stared hard at her mother and shook
her head. “It’s not always that easy, Mom. Don’t you
remember—?”

“Of course I remember!” her mother snapped.
“But your situation was different.”

“How?”

“You weren’t living on the streets, for one.
And that boy took advantage of you. He—”

“Jason didn’t take advantage of me, Mom. I
know you find that hard to believe. I wanted it as much as he did.
We were in love. It was as simple as that.”

Her mother’s expression hardened. “You were
a child, Georgina!”

“Mom, I was seventeen!”

“And he was twenty-three! He took advantage
of you, Georgina. Fair and square.”

Georgie opened her mouth to protest again
and then closed it. There was no use arguing with her mother. Not
about this. She’d learned that a long time ago. With a sigh of
resignation, she pushed away from the desk.

“I’m going to head home and put my feet up.
It’s been one hell of a long day and I’m on again first thing in
the morning.”

Marjorie nodded and offered her a tight
smile. “I’ll see you then.”

* * *

Georgie tucked an errant strand of
chestnut-colored hair behind her ear and headed for the staff
parking lot. The rustle of dried leaves beneath her feet reminded
her they were well into the fall. Winter would be upon them any
minute. Georgie didn’t mind. She loved the cold.

Not that it got really cold in Sydney. Not
like when she was young, tucked away in a cottage in the Upper Blue
Mountains. She had fond memories of drinking hot chocolate by the
open fireplace at the cottage, and having snow fights with her
sisters. Though it only snowed about a week a year there, it was
more than what fell in Sydney. As far as she knew, Sydney had never
seen snow.

While her parents had also relocated to the
city, they still maintained their mountain hideaway and when time
and the demands of their jobs allowed, they escaped the noise and
mayhem of the city and spent some quality time surrounded by the
peace and tranquillity of the beautiful Australian bush. Georgie
made a mental note to make an effort to take a few days off over
the winter and join them there.

Her phone rang, distracting her from her
thoughts. Tugging it out of her handbag, she glanced at the screen
and smiled.

“Chanel! Thanks for calling me back.”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I call you
back?”

“I don’t know. You’re always so crazy busy,
between work and your new promotion to senior resident.
Congratulations, by the way, Doctor Sutcliffe. Then there are the
triplets and that demanding husband of yours!” she joked. “How is
Bryce, by the way?”

Chanel took the gibe in the spirit it was
intended, and laughed. “He’s great. I don’t know how he manages to
keep going. People tell me I’m amazing, juggling work with three
small kids, but at least I only work part time. He works sixty
hours a week and then comes home and helps out with the girls. The
man’s a saint!”

Georgie giggled and forced down the tiny
pang of envy. Chanel was a good friend. It wasn’t her fault she’d
hit the jackpot in the husband stakes. Georgie could only hope
she’d be just as lucky some day.

“How have you been, Georgie? I haven’t seen
you for ages!”

“Flat out, like everyone. Lately, it seems
all I do is leave home, go to work and then come home again.”

“We must organize a girls’ night out. I’ll
confer with my dear husband and see when he’s scheduled for days
off. He can spend some quality time at home with his
daughters.”

Georgie smiled. “That sounds like a great
plan. Let me know when we can do it. I might even see if Isobel can
make it. I’m sure Mason would be happy to do daddy duty, too.”

“He’s such a sweetie,” Chanel agreed. “After
that horrible stuff Isobel went through with Nigel… I’m so glad she
found someone special.”

“Yes,” Georgie agreed, remembering the
traumatic events of a couple of years earlier when nurse Isobel
Donnelly, had left her violent and abusive husband. Getting away
from him had been difficult; and complicating matters further, her
ex had been a prominent doctor at the same hospital. Things had
been very tough on Isobel for a while. Georgie couldn’t be happier
that she’d found love and contentment with someone else.

“So, what can I do for you?” Chanel asked,
interrupting Georgie’s musings.

“I had a young girl in the birthing suite
today. Sixteen-year-old runaway. She’s had a tough life.”

“Haven’t they all?” Chanel said without
rancor.

“Yes, you’re right and this girl’s no
different. She’s living God knows where and has no family support,
except for a brother, and she doesn’t know where he is.”

“Okay. What do you want me to do?” Chanel
asked, sounding uncertain.

“Actually, she told me her brother’s a
police officer and she believes he’s stationed in the city. I was
wondering if you could ask Bryce if he knows of him.”

“Sure, I guess so. Do you know how long it’s
been since this guy worked there? They tend to transfer around a
fair bit, especially if they’re young.”