Rick Mofina - Whirlwind

“It has to be something.”

“There was something just a bit off about them.”

“What do you mean?”

“First, the baby was big for three months. I would’ve bet he was older.”

“Like five months?”

“Could be five, yes.”

“Anything else?”

“She said she had him on solids, which I thought odd for a baby that age. And when I asked about how the baby got the little scrape on his head the mother seemed detached, vague, only for a moment.”

“What do you make of that?”

“Could’ve been trauma from the storm. We’ve seen a lot of that.”

Kate thought for a moment. “Do you remember what the baby was wearing when you treated him?”

“A romper. A white one.”

“It had stripes,” the younger woman said.

“Blue?”

“I don’t know.”

Kate stared at Maggie, then the doctor, piecing the details together, processing their potential meaning.

This could be nothing. This could be everything.

“Can you tell me anything more, about where they’re staying or where they went? I understand they were from out of state.”

The two women looked at each other.

“I’m afraid not,” the doctor said. “Confidentiality comes into play. Besides, your case happened in Wildhorse Heights. That’s what, twenty miles from here? What are the odds of the baby coming here with strangers?”

“I think they left the baby’s romper here,” the younger woman said.

“What do you mean, they left it?” Kate asked. “Left it where?”

Maggie nodded to an area across the floor.

“After they were done with us, they went to the section where people had donated clothes. I walked behind them to get a tea on my break.”

“What did they do with the romper?”

“I think they tossed it and took some donated clothes for the baby. It had bloodstains on it, right, Doctor?”

“Bloodstains?” Kate asked.

“Very tiny, from the scrape on the head,” Butler said. “The baby must have touched his head then himself.”

“Show me where they left the romper. I need to find it.”

Maggie led Kate and Butler to the tables against the wall that were topped with heaps of children’s clothes in boxes, plastic baskets and tubs. She took them to the area marked Baby 0-12 Months.

“I’m pretty sure I saw them leave it here yesterday and select some new clothes, but then I walked by fast.”

Kate began sifting through the containers starting with the first one at the end of the row. When she saw that Maggie and Butler had joined her, she repeated the details.

“It would be a white romper with blue stripes and a little elephant on it. The details are in the flyer.”

In all, Kate estimated about twenty containers each the size of a laundry basket. Guided by the romper’s colors they went through them all quickly.

Their search yielded nothing.

Kate absorbed the setback and was in the process of thanking Butler and Maggie for their help when a weary-looking woman hefted a tub from the table.

“Excuse me. Are all the donated clothes kept here?” Kate asked.

“No, we have another table along that wall there for laundry. It takes time but we wash them all first. See that line of baskets?” The woman gestured and Kate saw six hampers.

“Yes.”

“Those have not been washed yet. Did you need to go through them?”

“Yes.” Kate and the others rushed to the table.

Butler saw it first-a blue-and-white pattern bulging from the first basket’s lower ribbing. Carefully, she extracted a balled romper, unfurled it and held it up. It was white with blue stripes and had a little elephant on it. She looked at the tiny browned bloodstains.

“This is it,” she said.

Kate’s pulse quickened. She pulled her phone from her bag.

“I need to make some calls. No, wait. First I need to take a picture of this romper and send it to someone. Could you please hold it up again, Doctor?”

Duncanville, Texas

Jenna Cooper pressed the baby’s romper to her cheek and wept.

She ran her fingers tenderly over the soft cotton fabric, studying the blue-and-white stripes before she drew it back to her face and breathed in her baby’s sweet smell.

“This belongs to my son. This is Caleb’s.”

A circle of solemn faces watched her in silence.

Jenna had been shaking since Holly’s phone rang forty-five minutes ago with a call from some official who was helping find people missing in the storm. Jenna and Blake were staying with Holly and Garrett at the Embassy Suites nearest the flea market. Jenna first thought that the call was from Holly’s family in Atlanta but then Holly said, “No, Jenna’s cell phone was lost in the storm. She has a new number and left mine for- Yes, I’m her sister and I’m with her.”

Holly listened then put her hand over the phone and told Jenna, “They found something that might belong to Caleb at a shelter and they need you there to identify it.”

Garrett must’ve set a record getting them to Duncanville, using the GPS and with Blake directing him. As their rental SUV roared across the city, Jenna held Holly’s hand. In the wake of what they’d experienced in the high school gym the previous night, Jenna struggled not to get her hopes up and prayed to heaven for good news.

Now she was standing here in the shelter, grappling with the fact that Caleb may have been here in this spot where she was holding the last thing he’d worn before she lost him. Her mind swirled with questions.

“Where is he? Is he hurt?”

“Jenna?” a man in the circle said.

“How come no one held him for me?” she continued. “Where is he?”

“Jenna, I’m Frank Rivera with the Missing Person Emergency Search System. We’re helping police find people who’re missing or displaced because of the storm.”

Numb, Jenna stared at Rivera as he nodded to two uniformed police officers.

“This is Officer Soria and Officer Burns with the Duncanville Police Department. Dr. Charlene Butler is with the medical unit here at the shelter and I believe you know Kate Page with Newslead?”

Jenna offered Kate a weak smile.

For the next several moments, Rivera gave Jenna and Blake a summary of what had transpired at the shelter-how a couple brought in a baby, how Dr. Butler examined him before the couple left, and how the case led to the discovery of the romper.

“It was Kate who alerted us to the romper,” Rivera said.

Jenna gave Kate a quick look of appreciation.

“Now, we’re just starting to sort things out.” Officer Soria had his notebook open. “Jenna, maybe you can tell us how you’re certain that this is your son’s item of clothing?”

“The color, the style, the elephant crest is lifting a bit on the right,” she said through tears. “And the bottom snap is loose. I told that lady, Belle, at the flea market-she put it all in the computer file when I reported him missing.”

Rivera nodded to the officers. “It’s all there, detail for detail,” he said. “And I believe it was submitted to the Dallas PD and State database for entry into NCIC.”

“What’s that?” Blake asked.

“It’s the FBI’s National Crime Information Center,” Rivera said. “It’s a national database. Given Caleb’s age and the fact he disappeared after a catastrophe, his case is listed as a Missing Person file in the system.”

“Like the thousands of other new ones in the aftermath of the storm,” Officer Soria said. “We’ve alerted the FBI’s Dallas Division. They’ve got people on their way here, but I’m sorry, things have been a little overwhelming for them and everyone.”

“Overwhelming for them? ” Blake said. “Do you have any idea of what we’ve been through?”