Lara Lacombe - Ranger's Baby Rescue

“I’ll call in just a moment,” he said. “In the meantime, why are you here?”

Emma swallowed hard. “The police said they didn’t have the man power to comb through Big Bend and still follow up on other leads. So I’m here to look for myself. I need a park ranger to go with me.”

His first reaction was denial. “That’s not really the kind of thing we—”

“Please,” she said, cutting him off. “I know I’m asking for a lot. But I have to do something. I can’t just sit at home while my baby is missing. I have to try to find her.” A look of desperation crossed her face as she stared up at him. Matt felt his initial resistance softening as his curiosity grew. What would it hurt to check out her story? A few quick phone calls, and he’d have some answers.

“Stay here,” he said. Emma sucked in a breath, and he held up a hand. “I’m not promising anything. But let me make a few calls and if you’re telling the truth, I’ll see what kind of assistance we can offer you.”

She nodded vigorously. “Thank you,” she said. Her shoulders relaxed a bit. Matt wanted to warn her not to get her hopes up, but he feared it was too late for that.

He left her in the lobby and headed for his desk, tossing the business card next to his keyboard. Typing quickly, he pulled up the number for the El Paso police department and dialed. When the call was answered, he asked for the name on the card and was put on hold while the call was transferred.

So far, so good , he thought to himself. Apparently this detective really did exist. Now to find out if he knew Ms. Foster, or if she was simply delusional.

“Doug Randall,” said the voice on the other end of the line.

“Detective Randall, this is Matt Thompson. I’m a park ranger down at Big Bend.” He quickly explained Emma’s appearance in the ranger station and summarized her story. “I’m calling to verify the details.”

“It’s true,” Randall said shortly. “All of it. Her baby was kidnapped three nights ago, and her brother, Joseph Foster, admitted to taking the child when she spoke to him over the phone. We’re currently searching for him.”

“What about the FBI?” Matt asked. “I thought they were involved in kidnapping cases.”

“They are,” Randall confirmed. “But we’re focusing our efforts in El Paso and the surrounding areas. Most of the evidence suggests Joseph hasn’t gone far, despite what Ms. Foster thinks.”

“I see,” Matt said. So Emma was telling the truth, but it seemed the police and FBI didn’t agree with her conviction that her brother and baby were in Big Bend. “What would you like me to do? I don’t want to interfere with your investigation. I can try to send her home if you think that would be best.”

“That would be ideal, but I don’t think she’ll cooperate. She’s got a bee in her bonnet about her brother and that park. I explained to her we simply don’t have the man power to mount a thorough search of that area. In fact, I was just about to reach out to you guys, ask y’all to keep a lookout for anything suspicious. I doubt you’ll find anything, though—our evidence suggests her brother and the baby might still be in El Paso. One of his associates swears on a stack of Bibles he saw the pair two days ago. I just can’t see him taking a baby out into the wilderness, away from any kind of supplies or support.”

“It does seem a bit unrealistic.” Matt sympathized with the detective—searching for one man and a baby in a large city like El Paso was probably a lot like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

“I asked Ms. Foster to stay close,” Randall continued, exasperated. “I guess our definitions of the term vary widely.”

“I’ll tell her we can’t do anything and that her best bet is to go home.” Now that he knew she was telling the truth, Matt felt sorry for Emma. But he didn’t know the first thing about searching for a missing baby, and it was important she cooperate with the police.

“Actually,” Randall said, sounding thoughtful, “maybe you could help me out.”

“How’s that?” Matt replied. He had a sneaking suspicion the bottom was about to drop out of his day.

“Keep her there,” Randall said, confirming Matt’s premonition. “You can keep tabs on her while she goes on this wild-goose chase. Based on our preliminary findings, she’s not a suspect in her baby’s disappearance. But I still need to know where she is. If you stay with her, you can let me know if her brother tries to contact her or if she does actually find something relevant to the investigation.”

“Do you really think that’s a possibility?” Babysitting a stubborn, misguided woman wasn’t exactly high on Matt’s list of desirable activities, nor did it fit his job description.

“It’s worth considering, especially since she’s already there. Can you do it?”

“I suppose,” Matt said. “I’ll have to clear it with my supervisor, though.” It wasn’t unheard of for park rangers to assist law enforcement investigations, but the rangers in question usually worked directly with the officers involved. There had been such a case recently, when a ranger had teamed up with an FBI profiler to catch a serial killer who had been using the park as his hunting ground. In this situation however, he’d be working with the victim, with no clear search plans in place. How long was he supposed to help her? Unless he missed his guess, Emma was determined to comb every inch of this park. She probably wouldn’t be willing to leave until her baby was found, either here or in El Paso. He couldn’t help her indefinitely, that much was certain.

“Patch me through to him and I’ll put in the formal request,” Randall said. “I really appreciate you helping out like this,” he added.

Matt sighed, wondering how in the hell he’d gotten into this situation. I never should have made eye contact , he told himself. I should have turned around and let another ranger handle her . But it was too late for that now.

“All right,” he agreed. “I’ll be in touch, but don’t expect us to find anything.”

Randall let out a short laugh. “I don’t, but at least now I know we’re truly covering all the bases. One of us is bound to get lucky.”

It won’t be me , Matt thought sourly. He didn’t have the greatest track record where babies were involved.

Jennifer’s face flashed in his mind, the image of her accompanied by the familiar feelings of betrayal and pain. Three years ago, he’d shipped out with his army unit for a quick overseas tour and had come back to find his fiancée holding a baby. She’d sworn it was his, but even though the math just barely worked out, Matt had taken one look at the infant and known in his soul he wasn’t the father. The child was adorable, though, and he’d felt a tugging at his heart like he’d never experienced before. It would have been so easy to fall in love with the little one, even though the boy wasn’t his flesh and blood. But while he might have been willing to raise another man’s child, Matt wasn’t willing to forgive Jennifer for her deception. She’d cheated on him and spun a web of lies, trying to trick him into staying with her. He simply couldn’t spend the rest of his life with someone he couldn’t trust. After a paternity test confirmed his suspicions, Matt had packed his things and moved out.

He’d been worried about the baby, but Jennifer hadn’t wasted any time. The door had barely shut behind him before she started seeing the baby’s real father again. Last he’d heard, they were a cozy family of three, living the American dream in the suburbs. Matt felt a pang of jealousy every time he thought about them. That should have been his life; he’d signed up for the wife, the child, the dog, the house. Hell, he’d even looked forward to driving the standard-issue minivan. It was a vision that had kept him going throughout his time in the army, and coming home to find out Jennifer had lied to him had ripped the rug right out from under his feet. Seeing her holding a baby had been like a dream come true. Realizing the boy wasn’t his child had been a kick in the gut. It had shaken him to the core, and he was still trying to recover.