Save Her Child by CJ Lyons (best historical biographies txt) 📗

high esteem, I’ll forgive your transgression. Perhaps what you need, Sergeant, is less evidence from your own eyes, but more faith in the Good Lord and those He has chosen to do his work. There is a higher law that I obey, higher than man’s.”

Luka had been almost ready to back off, find another course of action. But Matthew’s tone of smug superiority, his certainty that he knew better than anyone else, rankled so deeply that Luka gave in to his anger.

“I’ll leave, then.” He bit out the words. “But I’d like you to accompany me to the station for further questioning.”

“Are you arresting me?” Matthew seemed almost amused.

“Perhaps. It won’t stick, I know, and I’ll look a fool, but I think you need to see evidence with your own eyes, Reverend Harper, of exactly how serious man’s law can be.” Luka threw the man’s own words back at him. “Not to mention how serious I can be when a child’s life is at stake.”

Matthew appeared taken aback, and Luka thought for a moment that he might surrender, give Luka what he wanted: answers. But then Matthew shrugged and stood. “You’re wasting your time, Sergeant, but I guess it’s yours to waste.” He walked past Luka and opened the door. “Let’s go.”

Thirty-Four

Leah couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this frustrated. At least in the ER, she could do something, anything to try to help a patient. Now she was relegated to the sidelines while Luka investigated—and he couldn’t even do anything more than speak to Reverend Harper, since Beth’s leaving the hospital wasn’t a crime and there was no evidence that she or the baby were in any danger.

No evidence except Leah’s gut instinct. Luka hadn’t seen the terror that filled Beth’s face yesterday. Plus, why would she leave the hospital if she hadn’t felt threatened?

And all she could do was wait for Luka to hopefully get some answers from Reverend Harper. Maybe he helped facilitate some kind of underground network for victims of domestic violence? She could definitely see his son, Jonah, doing that kind of work with the people who came to the Pierhouse Shelter. Maybe Beth was in good hands, and Jonah and the reverend simply couldn’t say anything because of confidentiality?

Except… wouldn’t they have at least told Naomi? Keeping it a secret from a stranger like herself, she understood. But keeping it a secret from the reverend’s own daughter? A police officer who could help protect Beth? That made no sense.

She returned to her office and tried to focus on actually getting some work done. Emily texted several times, each one more emoji-filled, but then came one final message, urging Leah to HURRY HOME. Leah had almost forgotten about back-tracking Beth’s movements using the photos Nate had taken. Better than sitting in her office doing busy work, given that Luka hadn’t called with any updates. She texted Emily that she was on her way, closed down her computer, and left for the day.

By the time she walked through the kitchen door it was almost six o’clock. Emily and Nate were gathered around Ian’s old laptop on the kitchen table, their noses practically pressed to the screen, surrounded by neglected, forgotten bowls of congealing mac and cheese. The kids ignoring mac and cheese, one of Ruby’s forbidden temptations that flew in the face of Leah’s ban on processed foods? This had to be serious.

“Mommy!” Emily cried out. She hopped down from her chair and raced over, tugging at both Leah’s arms. “We’ve found her! Nate took baby lady’s picture and I made a map and she’s here, she’s here!” She pointed triumphantly at the computer screen.

Nate smiled shyly up at Leah. “Hi, Dr. Wright. How was your day?”

No matter how many times Leah told him to call her by her first name, he always began every conversation with her surname and title.

“My day was okay—better than your uncle’s, at least. He’s still at work.”

“Poor Luka,” Emily said. “Did he fall off his crutches? We should get him a wheelchair. Nate, we could build one, customize it, make it really cool!”

Two minutes in the door and Emily had used up a day’s quota of exclamation points, making Leah wonder how much sugar Ruby had fed them. “Where’s Ruby?”

“Living room,” Nate said.

“Talking to her booooyfriend,” Emily crooned. “Said it’s private, grown-up stuff.”

Leah wondered if it was the same friend responsible for Emily’s fake ribbon. At least Emily seemed to have forgiven Ruby, even if Leah hadn’t. Her stomach growling—she’d missed lunch—Leah grabbed her own bowl of mac and cheese from the stove and took the seat beside Nate. “Show me what you found.”

He clicked a few keys, saying, “I thought we could try to retrace the lady’s steps and see where she came from through the fair.”

“Except she didn’t come from the fair,” Emily put in, nudging her own chair so she was between Leah and Nate.

“What do you mean, she didn’t come from the fair?” Leah asked.

“No wristband,” Nate answered.

“Wristband?”

“Like this,” Emily chimed in without taking her eyes off the screen. She and Nate raised their hands in unison, revealing bright green plastic bands they still wore.

Leah thought for a moment. “Perhaps she was a vendor or a judge, someone who didn’t come in through the admission gate. In that case, she wouldn’t have needed one.”

This time it was Nate who answered. “No, see, we’ve been going through all the pictures me and Emily took.” He pointed to the screen as the images flitted past. “That yellow band, that’s for the guys manning the booths. And the judges, they have red ones.”

“So far we haven’t seen anyone with no bracelets,” Emily told Leah. “But we did find the baby lady in a few pictures.” She reached past Nate to move the mouse and a new photo appeared. “Here she is walking out past the horse barn.” Nate enlarged the photo and Emily pointed to a woman in the background. She had long dark hair, was wearing a