Page 28 of Dead Rattled
When Ronan stood he felt butterflies dance in his stomach. “Feel free to add your own two cents if I’m missing something important.”
“Are you okay? I’ve never seen your hands shake like that before.” Jude wore a concerned look.
“I don’t think I’ve been this nervous to speak in front of a group of people since high school when I had to do a recitation fromOthello. I had a crush on a guy in the first row. Thank fuck the podium hid my erection.
Jude snorted. “At the press conference make sure to keep Leviathan in your pants. If all else fails, think about Marlon Brando swimming naked in a vat of chocolate pudding.”
“Not helping, asshole.” Ronan grinned. “Let’s do this.” Reading his notes one last time, Ronan left the meeting room and headed toward the stairs.
When he and Jude entered the media room, it was packed with reporters. Four television cameras were stationed at the back of the room, while the podium had eight microphones set up, along with two digital recorders. Ronan held up a hand to bring the room to order. “I’m Cold Case Detective Ronan O’Mara and thisis my partner, Detective Jude Byrne. We’re here today to ask for the public’s help with a series of cold cases that range from fifty to seventy years old.”
The assembled press gasped. “Is the Salem Police so inept that there are stacks of unsolved murder cases half a century old lying around waiting to be solved by armchair detectives?” Linda Barton from CBS Boston asked.
Ronan offered the reporter a brief smile. “Actually, Linda, these cases aren’t murders at all.” He turned to Jude for a bit of reassurance. What Ronan was about to say was going to shock everyone in the room. “In 1955 St. Agnes Parish opened a home for unwed mothers. It was in operation until 1975. Most of the babies that were born in the St. Agnes House, as it came to be known, were adopted by families through various Catholic charity organizations. Over the years, fifty-seven children were reported to have died, either at birth, or soon after, but now, we have reason to believe that those children may have been sold to wealthy families while the birth mothers were told their children had died.”
The room erupted in shouted questions. Each reporter was louder than the next.
Ronan held his hands up to settle the room. “I realize this is a long shot, but if you were one of the women who were told your child had been lost, please have your DNA tested and uploaded to public databases. I realize there is a cost associated with this and we will be setting up a GoFundMe account to assist families wishing to connect with each other.”
Jude shot Ronan a questioning look.
There had been no mention of a GoFundMe to help with costs, Ronan was speaking off the cuff. He would make the first donation and knew other contributions would soon follow.
“You’re accusing the Catholic Church of selling babies in a post-World War II black market?” John Jameson from Channel 5 asked.
“Not at all,” Ronan said. Cold sweat trickled down his spine. “The Cold Case team is working to put the pieces together. If anyone listening to the sound of my voice has any information about the St. Agnes House please get in touch with the SPD. The same goes for any mothers who delivered a baby at the house or anyone who worked at the facility. We would very much like to help reunite as many families as we can.”
“We’d also like to say,” Jude began, “that the statute of limitations has run out to charge anyone involved with kidnapping and selling infants, so no one who comes forward with information about these children will face criminal consequences. As Detective O’Mara said, we just want to reunite families.”
“You said earlier that you have reason to believe babies were sold to wealthy families, what evidence do you have to prove this theory?” a reporter fromThe Boston Globeasked.
Ronan swallowed hard. The last thing he wanted to do was involve Tennyson in this matter. “A woman who gave birth at St. Agnes House came to us after she took a DNA test and found her lost daughter alive and well, which is why I’m hoping mothers and siblings of the lost children of St. Agnes House will get tested. As I said, these children were born between 1955-1975. Jude and I will take a few questions.”
Hands shot up all over the room. Ronan pointed to John Jameson. He’d been very helpful with investigations in the past.
“Do you have any leads on who was responsible for selling babies? It’s been seventy-one years since the first children were born at St. Agnes House. Is anyone connected to the organization still alive?”
“We don’t know. That’s why we’re asking for the public’s health. Please reach out to the Salem Police Cold Case Unit. We can be reached by phone, email, and text.” Ronan looked around the room for the next question. “Chaz, from theSalem News.”
“Reports are surfacing about a set of human remains found bricked into a wall at a house out by the Salem State University campus. Is there any truth to the rumors that the remains are that of Kitty Maxwell, a nurse who worked at St. Agnes House?”
Ronan gritted his teeth. He should have known Chaz would be onto the story. He’d worked for the paper for over twenty years and had connections and sources all over the city. “We’re working on making a positive identity. We do not have information on cause of death at this time. Again, if you have any information about Miss Maxwell, please reach out to the Cold Case team.”
“What does the Catholic Church have to say on this matter? You’re making some pretty serious accusations here.” A reporter from theBoston Heraldasked.
“I’m not accusing anyone of anything,” Ronan said, battling to keep himself under control. “We’re simply trying to find out what happened to the missing children born at St. Agnes House. I’m sure the church will make a statement on the matter in due time. I can tell you that St. Agnes Parish is being advised of this situation as we speak.”
“Detective O’Mara, are you available for an interview with the network?” The man calling out the question was a well-known reporter from ABC.
“Yes, Jude and I are both available.” Ronan stepped back from the microphone. He knew it was going to be a long afternoon answering questions and begging for the public’s help. He’d been in the room when Natalie Fairchild had been reunited with the daughter she’d lost over fifty years ago. Ronan would make it his mission to bring as many families together as possible. Appearing on the network news would reach millions of people who might have information on the lost children and the doctors who took advantage of their vulnerable patients.
12
Tennyson
The meeting with Father Baker went about as well as Ten thought it would. He wasn’t pleased at the thought that babies might have been sold to wealthy families through the Catholic Church, but he was willing to review any information the detectives dug up.
Tennyson had begrudgingly told Father Baker about his meeting with Natalie Fairchild and not being able to find the spirit of her daughter. He’d been quite skeptical over Ten’s gift until he was able to reunite the priest and his grandmother, who’d helped raise him. After Granny Baker revealed the secret ingredient in her super moist cake recipe—lard— he’d been willing to listen to the rest of Natalie’s story and what they’d learned that morning thanks to the spirit of Kitty Maxwell.
