SH Medical 07 - The Detective's Accidental Baby (13 page)

With Lock, she felt safe to open up. The way he’d held her while she unloaded about her brother had been wonderfully supportive. Too bad the condom had broken.

Was that really such a terrible thing?

Yes, Erica answered promptly. But perhaps not as terrible as it had seemed at first.

Her hand drifted to her still-flat abdomen. She’d spent so many years considering pregnancy as a medical condition that she hadn’t given much thought to the more profound implications. Not that she was ready to embrace motherhood. Yet sometime in the past few days, her initial panic had eased.

In the cafeteria, she approached the line for hot food. Nearby, Ned Norwalk lingered by the dessert display, his gaze fixed on her. What was he doing, trolling for gossip?

When he started in her direction, Erica tamped down her impatience. While she didn’t enjoy having to guard her words around the notorious gossip, they both worked with Dr. T and they needed to get along.

“Hi, Ned.” She mustered a smile.

“Can we talk?” He spoke tautly.

“Something wrong?”

He glanced around. No one appeared to be paying them any attention. “I was looking for Dr. T earlier and I happened to hear part of what you said in the break room.”

With a sinking sensation, Erica recalled the footsteps in the hall. Why hadn’t she noticed that they didn’t continue on? The man must have heard enough to keep the entire hospital buzzing for days. An unplanned pregnancy with a man she scarcely knew, and now Ned wanted to grill her for more details? “What I said was in confidence!”

Ned raised his hands in a calming gesture. “I’ll admit I’m not shy about spreading the word when someone drops it in my hot little ears, but eavesdropping’s a different matter.”

“Good,” Erica said. “So what’s on your mind?”

“There’s something you ought to know. Let’s go outside, okay?”

Reluctant as she was to share confidences with him, her colleague sounded sincere. Anyway, he’d already heard the worst. “Okay.”

A minute later, they stood on the cafeteria patio, which was empty thanks to the nippy March breeze. Impatiently, Erica waited for Ned to explain whatever he thought was so important. Some insight about Dr. Brennan? Or a warning about Bailey’s overprotectiveness toward the twins? Ned and Bailey were buddies from way back, she recalled.

His words took her completely off guard. “It’s about that man you mentioned, the detective. Lock Vaughn.”

Erica hugged herself, shivering. “You know Lock?”

“We’ve met.” Ned braced himself, feet apart. “I just thought you should be aware that he came around asking questions about you.”

Why would Lock do that? She’d be happy to answer his questions herself. “I don’t understand.”

“He questioned me about you a couple of months ago. In January.”

Impossible. That was before they’d met. “It must have been later.”

“No, I’m pretty sure that’s when it was.”

Whatever else people might say about Ned, he usually got his facts straight. “This doesn’t make sense,” Erica said.

“Not to me, either.” He spoke quickly, cutting off further protest. “Let me explain, okay?”

“Okay,” Erica said. And stood there listening with growing dismay.

Lock hadn’t met her by chance. From the very beginning, he must have lied to her. It was worse, much worse, than she could have imagined.

Chapter
Thirteen

Monday morning was
slow, and therefore a good time to catch up on paperwork from the weekend’s
activities. In his office, Lock updated Phil’s file with his notes from
Saturday and read his email. After taking care of business messages, he
checked his personal ones.

In the days immediately after
he’d forwarded his information on the adoption site, he’d considered
possible reasons for woman number three’s silence. On vacation? Already
found her relinquished son?

When nearly a week passed
without a reply, he’d begun to get angry. Why didn’t she bother to answer?
At the very least, he deserved the courtesy of a response.

Now here it was, a reply with
the same header the site had sent to all three women—Re: Your Confidential
Inquiry—along with an address he didn’t recognize. Lock tightened his grip
on the mouse.

Finally, a step toward getting
some answers. Why he’d been abandoned. Why she’d chosen the Vaughns. What
had happened to his father.

Scarcely able to breathe, Lock
opened the email.

The message began
: If you have a diamond-shaped birthmark on your inner right
ankle, then I’m your mother.

Lock’s heart rate sped up. He
hadn’t mentioned the mark in anything he’d posted. While it wasn’t as
convincing as DNA evidence, it came close.

Swallowing hard, he continued
reading.

I’m 62 and in good
health, except for high cholesterol. There’s no medical information about
your father, who’s dead now. You have no brothers or sisters. That’s all I
can tell you. Since filling out the form, I’ve decided I don’t want any
further contact. I’m happy with my life the way it is.

This is a temporary email address.
In case you have some urgent question, I’ll check it again in a few days,
but please don’t expect anything more. Goodbye.

He stared at the
screen in disbelief. This was all he got? Not even a first name, no
explanations, no willingness to meet and heal old wounds. This was
his
life,
not just hers. How selfish could the woman be? Obviously she didn’t give a
rap about his messed-up childhood. Just as she’d done thirty-five years ago,
she was thinking only of herself.

Lock clenched his fists.
Although he’d known any number of reactions were possible, including
continued silence, he hadn’t been prepared for outright rejection. In a
fury, he typed a response to make sure she knew exactly what he thought of
her and why.

His professional side reminded
him it was never a good idea to send a message in anger. Too bad. He’d never
hear from her again, anyway.

After a light tap, Sue Carrera
peered in his door. “Phone call, Lock. It’s a woman.”

Guilt twisted through him. Had
his mother changed her mind? He’d have to apologize…except he hadn’t
provided a phone number or any information about the agency. “Did she give a
name?”

“Erica.” The secretary’s eyes
shone with curiosity as she awaited his response. She loved anything that
hinted of romantic entanglements, as if her coworkers were characters in a
soap opera. So far, the only one who’d given her any satisfaction was Patty,
who’d reconnected with high school sweetheart, Alec, while guarding his
five-year-old daughter.

Well, Lock supposed, sooner or
later Sue was bound to learn how he felt about Erica. But not yet. “Thanks.
I’ll pick up.”

With obvious reluctance, the
secretary departed.

Why hadn’t Erica called him on
his cell? he wondered belatedly. The answer, he discovered when he checked,
was that he’d forgotten to turn the thing on this morning. No wonder things
had been so quiet.

He picked up the landline,
reminding himself to keep his voice low. The office had thin walls and big
ears. “Everything okay?”

“You didn’t run into me in the
park by accident, did you?” No greeting, only accusation.

What had she heard, and from
whom? “We should get together and discuss this in person.”

“Just answer the question,”
Erica snapped.

“Yes. No.” Lock wanted to be
frank but discreet. If only he’d prepared for this bombshell. “Which
time?”

“Don’t play games with me!” Her
voice rang with anger. “You manipulated me from the start. Why?”

“Slow down.”
And give me a chance to get my bearings.
“What is it you’ve heard?”

“You were asking questions about
me in January. Before we met. Nosy, insulting questions.”

“Who told you that?” Surely not
Patty or Mike.

“Ned Norwalk. Male nurse. Early
thirties, blond hair, blue eyes. Ring a bell?” Without waiting, she rushed
on. “I can’t believe the stuff you asked—whether I threw wild parties and
showed up at work drunk. Oh, and was I sexually promiscuous!” She gulped as
if the words stuck in her throat. Which they probably did.

“He’s exaggerating.” Lock hadn’t
phrased his inquiry in such insulting terms.
But
I implied them.

“That’s all you have to say?”
Hurt and disappointment laced her tone. “You set me up.”

“That’s not true.”
What a mess,
Lock
thought, rubbing his forehead. He had to find a way to straighten this out.
“It’s true that I didn’t meet you by accident that first time. I was
investigating you. But what’s happened since then is another matter
entirely.”

“Investigating me why? For
whom?”

He wished he were free to
explain. “I can’t breach my client’s confidentiality,” Lock told her
unhappily. “Erica, I’m sorry. I know it sounds bad.”

“I could understand checking out
my reputation, although I have no idea who put you up to that,” she went on.
“But you tried to pick me up. What was that about?”

Oh, hell. “It was—” if only he’d
listened to his better judgment and refused that part of the assignment
“—kind of a test.”

A shocked pause—at least, he
assumed she was shocked—greeted this revelation. “You tried to pick me up to
prove what a slut I am?”

This kept getting worse and
worse. “Not exactly.” But wasn’t that the case? “I was rooting for you to
turn me down.”

She paused again. “You can’t
think that’s a reasonable excuse.”

“It’s true, though.”

“Unbelievable.” Her voice broke.
“So what is this pregnancy? Proof of my poor character?”

Oh, Lord, he hadn’t even
considered that idea. “Of course not! Everything that’s happened between us
was
after
I
filed my…closed the case.”

“Filed your report,” she
finished for him. “Repeating every bit of dirt you managed to dig up from
the hospital gossips. Spying on me, too, no doubt. What else did you do?
Snap pictures of me?”

“Uh…” He couldn’t come up with
an evasion. Maybe he should quit trying.

“You did!”

“Erica, it was my job.” That was
honest but it sounded lame, even to Lock. “It happened before I knew
you.”

“I can’t tell who I’m angrier
with, you for being such a jerk or myself for getting involved with you.”
Her tone verged on shrillness. “Here’s the truly weird part. All these
months I’ve mistrusted Ned, but he’s the one who was truthful with
me.”

Lock understood her anger and
disillusionment. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you. That would have meant
betraying my client.”

“So instead you betrayed me,”
she retorted.

“Not intentionally.” He wished
she’d be reasonable. Or forgiving. Or simply merciful. “Look, Erica, once
you’ve had time to think about this—”

“I don’t see how I can ever
trust you again. And you expect me to turn over a baby and assume that
you’ll keep your word to take care of it and love it, and not try to use me
as your free backup?”

She had no right to make that
kind of assumption. “If you think this changes my decision to raise my kid,
you’re mistaken,” Lock challenged.

“I’ll fight you in
court.”

“You’d lose.” Wait a minute. He
hated lawsuits. “Let’s leave the lawyers out of this. We can work it out.
Are you at home? I’m coming over.”

“Don’t bother. I’m so angry
right now I can’t even talk to you.”

“Erica—”

“Goodbye.” She
disconnected.

He slammed down the phone. That
was the advantage of landlines over cells; they landed with such a
satisfying crash.

Lock checked his watch. Nearly
four o’clock, which meant she might still be at the hospital, or at home or
in between. He’d give her a few hours to cool off and then stop by her
apartment.

The surge of resentment at her
reference to the baby faded fast. It was hard to blame her for being
outraged. Hell, he was kind of outraged himself at that stunt he’d pulled on
their first encounter. He should never have tried to pick her up.

This weekend, she’d been sweet
and loving and open about her mixed feelings. The fact that she’d agreed to
babysit with him, despite her reservations, had been a promising step.
Toward what, exactly, Lock wasn’t certain, but he knew this much: he wanted
to be around Erica just as much as he wanted his child.

That didn’t mean he expected her
to take on a role she clearly rejected. Still, there’d been the shimmering
possibility that they could work out an agreement that suited them both.
Time together, time with their child.

Now she was slamming the door.
The law might give him the right to claim his baby, but he couldn’t force
Erica to be his friend. Or his partner in child rearing. Or his
lover.

All his adult life, Lock had
abandoned relationships the way he himself had been abandoned, unable to
bear the intrusive demands of intimacy. With Erica it was
different.

She’s like me. Maybe a little too much
like me.

A hard knock gave scant warning
before Mike barreled in. “So you’ve decided to raise your kid! Did I hear
that right?”

“Whatever happened to privacy?”
Lock growled.

“Whatever happened to
my
privacy
if you bring a baby into our house?” His brother towered over the
desk.

Lock got to his feet. Even
though he was six inches shorter, he felt more in control that way. “You’re
the one who’s trying to become a father. Consider this good
practice.”

“Is there some universe in which
that makes sense?”

Patty’s blond head appeared in
the doorway. “Erica’s having your baby? How did that happen?”

Both men rolled their
eyes.

“I didn’t mean the facts of
life,” she grumbled. “I meant…I thought she told you to take a
hike.”

“Butt out,” Lock said. “I mean
that in the nicest way.”

“You didn’t tell Mike to butt
out!”

“That’s because he’s about to be
an uncle.” Lock wondered how many other people had heard that loud
conversation. Sue, too? How about the seniors thumping and bumping away
downstairs? The way things were going, they’d be marching up here any minute
to give him advice, too.

“I helped you scope her out,”
Patty insisted. “I even wriggled a few details out of my husband. So this
concerns me, too.”

“Look, we’re working it out.”
Lock’s newly activated cell phone rang. “I’ll fill you in later.” The name
on the readout was Mindy Eckert, wife of the missing handyman.

Mike and Patty regarded him
stubbornly.

“Client,” Lock said, and
answered the call. “Yes, Mrs. Eckert?”

The two exchanged frustrated
glances. Reluctantly, they cleared the office.

“It’s Josiah!” Mindy exclaimed
in a distraught voice. “He just called from Ensenada, Mexico. He has no idea
how he got there or where he left his car. He sounded confused. I got the
name of his hotel and promised to meet him there. Mr. Vaughn, I’m afraid
he’s had a stroke or something. My sister’s coming over to take care of the
kids, but I’m afraid to drive down there by myself.”

Ensenada lay three to four hours
south of Safe Harbor, not counting delays at the border. “If he’s had a
stroke, he should get medical attention right away.”

“If he leaves his room, he might
disappear again.”

Mentally, Lock flipped through
the possibilities. Trying to enlist the help of the U.S. Consulate or
Mexican authorities would take too long if this was a medical emergency. And
Mindy was understandably in no mood to wait. “Do you have a passport? What
about him?”

“They’re both in our safe
deposit box at the bank,” she said. “I checked after you asked me about that
on Friday.”

The guy hadn’t packed with the
intention of leaving the country. And while this might be some kind of
trick, Josiah—based on everything Lock had learned—didn’t seem like the
conniving sort. “Did he ask you to bring money?”

“He didn’t mention it.
Why?”

“Or other valuables?”

“You think he’s being held for
ransom?”