Page 9 of Ransom for His Secret Son
“I don’t know.” She swallowed hard. “Like I said, in the other two cases, demands were made first. Specific ones that required the parents to break the law.”
Brody stayed quiet for several seconds. “And one of those parents was murdered.”
“Yes,” she answered, the dread coating her voice.
Brody didn’t have time to respond before the door swung open, and Dr. Patel walked in. She was brisk and efficient, her sharp gaze sweeping over the baby as she adjusted her stethoscope.
“Sheriff, Sandra, Remi,” the doctor said in greeting. It wasn’t a surprise that she remembered Remi, even though Remi hadn’t lived in Lost Canyon since Miranda’s death six years ago. But Dr. Patel would have no doubt recalled Remi being at Miranda’s bedside when she’d passed away.
“I understand you found this baby in the cemetery?” the doctor asked, already reaching for the chart the nurse had left behind.
Brody forced himself to focus. “Yeah.” His voice came out rough. “Left on a grave, wrapped in a blanket.”
Dr. Patel’s frown deepened as she carefully unwrapped the baby. The little boy squirmed but didn’t cry, his tiny fingers curling into the fabric of the hospital bassinet. She ran her hands gently over his arms and legs, checking for injuries.
“No signs of trauma,” she murmured, tilting the baby’s chin to check his reflexes before moving him to a scale. “He’s about a week old but underweight, barely six pounds, so maybe he was a preemie.”
“A twin,” Brody supplied.
The doctor nodded. “Then, he’s a good weight for a multiple,” she remarked, moving him back to the table and continuing the exam. “Not even an insect bite. It’s a miracle, really. If it were summer, the heat could have been deadly. Winter, the cold just as bad. But spring…” She shook her head. “Whoever left him there must have known he wouldn’t be in immediate danger from the weather. Still, other things could have happened. He’s lucky, though, that you found him so quickly.”
Maybe luck had played into it. But probably not. Even if Brody hadn’t been driving by the cemetery after his shift, Remi would have likely found him. Or else that John Smith would have alerted someone. Because it was obvious to Brody that it had been an integral part of the plan for Brody to find the child.
And for him to realize just what was at stake here.
Dr. Patel straightened, her gaze shifting from Remi to Sandra and him. “What about the baby’s identity? Do you have any idea who he is? And where’s the twin?”
Brody hesitated. This was where things got complicated. He scrubbed a hand down his face, exhaling hard. “I don’t know where the twin is. And I think…he…they might be mine.”
Dr. Patel’s eyes widened in surprise, but she recovered quickly. “Might be?”
“You know my wife and I went through fertility treatments before she passed away. There were two stored embryos that I recently learned are missing from the clinic,” Brody admitted. “This baby could be one of them.”
Dr. Patel’s brows knitted together. “I see. I don’t have to ask. You will investigate this and report any illegal activity. But have you also contacted Child Protective Services?”
Brody stiffened. “Not yet.”
“You realize they’ll need to be involved,” she said. “A newborn abandoned in a cemetery. It’s standard procedure.”
His jaw tightened. “I get that.” And he did. CPS would need to place the baby in temporary care. But none of that would stop whoever had sent him that picture.
Someone still had one of his sons, and both boys were likely in extreme danger.
Remi stepped forward. “Since Brody’s the sheriff,” she said to Dr. Patel, “this baby’s in the best possible hands right now. He needs to be in protective custody in case the person who had him comes back for him.”
Dr. Patel looked alarmed and still hesitant, but she finally nodded. “I’ll finish the exam. In the meantime, you should think about getting a DNA test. If he is your son, you’ll need proof to keep him in your custody.”
Proof. Yes, he needed that, but he had a bad feeling that proof wouldn’t be enough to keep either of his sons safe.
“I’ve already ordered a DNA test,” Brody explained. “But it might be faster for you to go ahead and do one since I don’t have a DNA sample from the baby yet.”
“All right,” the doctor said. “I’ll get the nurse back in to draw some blood. I need to do the routine screenings normally done on a newborn. Also, I have to rule out any possibility that he’s been given something he shouldn’t have.”
Hell. Brody hadn’t thought of that. But he thought of it now, and the possibility of someone drugging his baby shot pure hot anger through him. If someone had done that, they were going to pay and pay hard.
“I’ll put a rush on it and will call you when I have the results,” the doctor assured him.
Brody thanked her, and when Dr. Patel left, he took out his phone to text Jolene to arrange for the baby to be placed in protective custody. His baby. And while he was guarding the child, he and Remi would work on finding who was responsible.
