Margaret Daley - Lone Star Christmas Rescue

“The doctor is releasing Baby Doe later today,” Nurse Martinez said, stopping next to her bed.

“To who?” Kay asked as she peeked at the dark-haired little boy.

“That depends on what the State decides. A case worker will be here around five.”

Case worker? How was she going to prove she was the child’s mother? Would the photos in the locket be enough?

“Do you want to hold him?”

“Yes.” Kay sat up, her heartbeat pounding as she waited to take the child, who cooed and smiled at her. Did the baby know her?

When Kay settled the little boy against her, she knew it hadn’t been the first time. The baby reached up and explored Kay’s face, continuing to grin, his eyes bright, as though he was used to touching Kay and interacting with her.

“I see he knows you. I’ll leave you two to get reacquainted. If you need me, just push the button.”

“Thanks,” Kay said, her attention riveted to the boy’s adorable oval face, his sun-kissed skin, as the head nurse left the room. “How are you, sweetie? I wish I remembered your name. I can’t call you Baby Doe.”

The child babbled, with “Mama” the only recognizable sound in the string.

Mama. Kay’s throat tightened with conflicting emotions—from awe to fear—that she’d tried to hold at bay. How was she going to take care of this child when she didn’t know who she was? Three hundred dollars wouldn’t go far. If she was this child’s mother, then where was the father? Kay held up her left hand, staring at her third finger, which gave no indication she’d worn a wedding ring recently. On her right middle finger, she wore an opal one.

Suddenly more questions deluged her. Was she divorced? Or widowed? What if she never married the father of—again she stared at the baby, willing a name to pop into her head.

Kevin? Kyle? No! Another name surged to the foreground. “Kaleb,” Kay said out loud, and the little boy giggled, touching Kay’s mouth. “Is Kaleb your name?”

The little boy caught sight of the hospital ID bracelet around his wrist and began playing with it.

Kay sighed. If only you could talk. The child’s reaction to the name confirmed what Kay would call him until she discovered otherwise. Kaleb.

The past hours’ exertion crept through Kay’s body. Her headache kept demanding her attention, but she refused to let it get in the way of her time with Kaleb. Kay lounged back and cuddled the baby against her while he played with her curls. The feeling of Kaleb’s fingers combing through her hair stirred a protective instinct—not an unfamiliar feeling.

She hugged Kaleb. “Sweetie, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

The door swung open, and suddenly a man appeared in her room. A dark-complexioned stranger. Large. Scowling. Her heartbeat went from calm to racing in seconds. She tightened her hold on Kaleb and picked up the call button. The scent of cigarette smoke wafted to her, nauseating her.

His thick dark eyebrows slashed downward. “Amy Grafton?”

“No,” she said with as much force as she could without shouting. If he came another foot closer, she would call for help.

He took a step toward her bed. “But this is room 236.”

She pressed the button, then clutched both arms around Kaleb, who had grown quiet, as though the baby felt all of her tension. “A nurse is coming. I’m not Amy.” What if she was? No, she didn’t think she was, and she didn’t like the man’s body language, as if he was preparing for a fight, his gaze darting about as though he was searching for something.

Rosa Martinez swung the door open and nearly hit him with it. A tall orderly stood behind the head nurse.

The stranger pivoted. “Sorry, ma’am. Wrong room.” Then the large man rushed from her room so fast he shoved the nurse against the door and nearly knocked the orderly over.

Rosa frowned and peered into the hallway before dismissing the orderly and heading toward Kay.

“Should I call security?” The nurse stopped next to the bed with her eye on the entrance into the room.

“He was looking for someone called Amy Grafton.”

“He was? I’m not familiar with a patient by that name on this floor. Maybe she’s still in ER, and they haven’t brought her up to her room yet.”

A niggling sensation told Kay that wasn’t the case. Chills swathed her from head to toe.

“What did you need? Did Baby Doe spark any memories?”

“He responded to me and the name Kaleb.”

Rosa grinned. “That’s great.”

“I want to keep him in here for the time being. Is that okay?”

“It’s not normal protocol, but I’ll talk with the doctor and see if he’ll okay it. In the meantime, enjoy Kaleb. I hope that’s his name. It’s beautiful.”

Kay hoped so, too. That meant she was beginning to remember her past. “Thanks.”

When the head nurse left her alone, Kay whipped back the sheets, her attention fixed on the door, her legs dangling off the side of the bed. “I don’t have a good feeling about that man.” The fear she’d tried to tamp down exploded, driving Kay into motion. “Kaleb, we’re leaving.”

* * *

The intense sun beat down on Drake as he examined the crime scene at Big Bend National Park. A hiker had found the bodies of Clarence and Susan Moore—what was left of them. Drake had seen his share of dead people, but the sight before him churned his gut. This retired couple had helped him when he’d needed it. If at all possible, he wouldn’t let their deaths go unsolved.

“As you see, they were tortured,” the park ranger, Don Calhoun, said, “and from the condition of the bodies, not long after they left the visitor’s center yesterday.”

After bringing him and Kay to it. “Why tortured? Has anything like this happened recently in the area?”

“No. That and the connection to what happened with the lady made me decide to call you in on this.”

Was this connected to Kay somehow? “I appreciate being notified. I’d like to help with the investigation.”

Don combed his fingers through his hair and plopped his hat back on his head. “The investigator appreciates your offer.”

“Who is it?”

“Me. I was a police officer for five years before I became a park ranger. We’ll process the crime scene, but something tells me this isn’t over.”

Drake glanced at the couple’s red sedan parked fifty yards away. He’d checked it earlier. “I agree. This is savage, and it doesn’t look like anything was stolen from their car.”

Taking pictures of the couple and the surrounding terrain and gathering what little evidence there was, Drake worked with Don and another park ranger. When the bodies were transported from the scene, Drake put his gear back in the rear of his SUV. “I’ll let you know if the lab finds anything. Whoever did this was careful.”

“A pro?” Don asked.

“Probably. I don’t think this is a crime of passion. It seems cold and calculated.” Hence the lack of evidence. Drake opened his driver-side door. “I need to get back to Cactus Grove. I’ll dig into Clarence and Susan’s lives and get back to you about the lab report. Let me know what the autopsy reveals.” It wasn’t unusual for different law enforcement agencies to work together to solve a crime.

“Will do. I’ll keep you informed of anything having to do with the case.”

As Drake drove out of the park, he pushed his SUV over the speed limit. An urgency gripped him. When his cell reception returned briefly, he noted that Kay had called several times. Something was wrong. He tried calling her hospital room.

No answer.

Then he tried the nurses’ station and asked for the head nurse. “I’m sorry. She’s tied up right now. Can I help you?”