Caroline Burnes - Familiar Lullaby

Mel held up a hand. “I don’t doubt that you’d make the most wonderful parents in the world. But that’s not up to me to decide. I’m only a detective. The Department of Human Resources handles all of these cases. All I do is follow the procedure.”

He saw the frown pass over Preston Johnson’s face and knew these weren’t people who gave up easily. Too bad the baby’s mother hadn’t wanted him one-tenth as much as these strangers. He felt a flush of fury. At a strange woman. At the cruelty of fate.

“Detective, I don’t mean to usurp your authority,” Preston said carefully. “Would it offend you if I made a call to Judge Patterson? I believe he handles these cases, and we’re old friends. If he said we could keep the child—just until Monday morning—would you feel comfortable with that?”

Normally, Mel knew the suggestion of going over his head to a judge would ignite his sense of outrage. But for some reason—probably because the Johnsons so obviously cared for this abandoned baby—he felt only hope. “Judge Patterson has the final say. If he gives me the green light to leave the baby, I’ll do it with a glad heart.”

Preston Johnson smiled. “I’ll make the call. While you’re waiting, could we make you some coffee? I’d offer champagne, since we had to hustle all of our guests out the door.” He chuckled. “But I know you’re on duty.”

“Coffee would be nice,” Mel said. Actually, he just wanted to get back to the department, where he’d left a stack of paperwork a mile high on the last case he’d finished. A double homicide. What he wanted more than anything was ten consecutive hours of sleep.

Everyone else in the room was so involved with the baby they failed to hear the disturbance at the front door. Curious, Mel slipped out of the room, down the hallway and to the front where the butler held firmly to the door.

“I’m sorry, miss, but no press was allowed to attend tonight. I don’t believe the Johnsons want to change that policy now.”

“I heard that someone dropped a baby.”

Mel recognized the crisp tones of the reporter and he stifled a groan. Lily Markey. She was a pitbull disguised as a fashion model. Of all the hundreds of reporters in Washington, D.C., Lily Markey was the one he dreaded most. She wasn’t unethical, and she wasn’t sensational—what she was was a pain in the butt because she was so ethical. She had a reputation for being tough but fair, and she lived up to it every day. In a city where law enforcement viewed most of the media as egotists and liars, Lily had everyone’s respect.

And here she was with a tip about the baby.

“Miss, you can call Mr. Johnson Monday at his office. I’m sure he’ll talk with you.”

“It’s Saturday night. I can’t wait until Monday,” Lily said sweetly. “In fact, I’ve got an hour until deadline. I have to see one of the Johnsons right this minute.”

“Impossible,” the butler said sternly. “Now remove yourself or I’ll have to take appropriate steps.”

Mel sighed again. He could deal with Lily now, or he could wait until later, but deal with her he’d have to. He walked up to the door. “I’ll take care of this,” he said softly to the butler. “Thanks.”

He opened the door, stepped outside and closed the door behind him.

“Mel?” Lily showed genuine surprise. “The baby’s okay, isn’t he?”

Mel was struck first by Lily’s intensity. She was a woman who gave her heart and soul to her work. He noticed her beauty and her word choice almost as a simultaneous second.

“He? You must have one helluva source at the department because I haven’t phoned in the gender of the baby to anyone.”

He’d caught her off guard, and he was pleased to see her flush. Lily Markey had a very powerful source. Someone way high on the food chain in law enforcement was feeding her facts. And he’d nailed her on it.

“Oops,” she said, biting her bottom lip in a way that said she was a silly child. Only Mel knew she wasn’t silly, and she wasn’t a child.

“Oops is right. With a clue like that, I might be able to figure out who your source is.”

“Unlikely,” she said, recovering her balance. “Now tell me about the baby. Will the Johnsons keep hi—it?”

“How did you know—”

“I’ve been to numerous cocktail parties thrown by Rose and Preston. Everyone in their circle knows how much they want a child.” Lily waved one graceful hand in the air, dismissing the personal knowledge she’d obtained.

“Even a Washington Post political reporter?” Mel didn’t bother to hide the sarcasm in his voice. Sane people, especially those who lived in the fishbowl of Washington politics, would gnaw off an arm before allowing a media person to know any of their personal business. Especially something as private as a desire for a child.

“I’m not an ogre. I can understand the desire for a child.”

There was a defensive tone in Lily’s voice and Mel wondered if he’d hit a nerve. “I thought it was newspaper policy that you had to eat at least three of your young to prove you were tough enough.”

To his surprise she laughed. “Old policy. The newspaper revamped with a kinder, gentler policy. Now we just have to eat three police detectives.”

“Touché,” he said, laughing also. He couldn’t help but notice that Lily, though reputed to be cold and heartless, had eyes that danced with merriment when she laughed. With her auburn hair and green eyes, she seemed more Irish lass at the moment than big-city reporter.

He changed his mind instantly when she opened her mouth. “So, what about the baby? Will the Johnsons keep it?”

“That’s to be determined by DHR,” he said, stepping back into his official role.

“What are you doing here? I thought criminal action was your bailiwick?”

“It is. There’s nothing more criminal than abandoning a child.”

“Abandoning?”

He narrowed his gaze at Lily. She acted as if he’d said the baby had been abused.

“I thought it was left here at the Johnson home. During a big party. That doesn’t seem to constitute abandonment. I mean, it isn’t as if someone left him out in the freezing cold in a Dumpster or—”

“That baby was abandoned as surely as if the mother dropped him in an alley like an unwanted kitten.”

“I beg to differ. I—”

To Mel’s surprise, Lily halted in mid-sentence. She bit her bottom lip again, as if to force herself to shut up.

“Why does it seem to me that you’ve got a personal stake in this baby?” He was only playing a hunch, but his hunches were one of the reasons he was considered one of the top three detectives in Washington, D.C.

“It’s just a terrific human-interest story.”

“I thought politics was your beat.” He felt that strange tingling that made every one of his senses come alive.

“It is. The Johnsons are political.”

“An unwanted baby isn’t exactly what I’d consider your normal turf.” He paused. “What are you doing here, Lily?”

She hesitated. “I’ll tell you, Mel. I got this tip from a friend. A close friend. I was asked to pursue the story, as a personal favor.”

He nodded. That made a little more sense. “Well, there’s no story here yet.”

“Level with me. The baby’s okay, right?”

There was worry in her voice though she did her best to hide it. “Yes. He seems fine. The Johnsons have called a doctor to check him out. It would appear the infant will have every benefit that money can buy. At least for the short amount of time the Johnsons can keep him.”

“What do you mean? They want him, don’t they?”

“You may know the Johnsons, but you aren’t familiar with the law. A person can’t just find a baby and keep it because she wants it. The baby will have to go through the system.”