Stealing Time (24 page)

"Eat something. I have to feed people now. I'll get my happy thoughts from that."

Baum raised his eyebrows at his boss.
Could he take a sandwich?

"Take one," Emma insisted. "I need reassurance, really."

"Take one," April told him.

Jason took a sandwich and examined it. He knew he was going to have trouble eating it but didn't want to ask where the top of the roll was or when she'd made it. "Thanks, Emma. This is terrific."

Emma nodded at him proudly.
See, I'm going to be a good mother.

Jason liked very simple food, like tuna fish and chicken salad. As he struggled with the Cajun chicken paired with Italian cheese and soapy avocado, he wondered how wild Emma was going to get in the coming years with her cooking and if she knew that the sudden urge to supply food at regular intervals was part of nesting. But he couldn't complain about the impulse or the result. At thirty-four and forty, they were ready for domesticity. It had taken them both a while to grow up and settle down enough for children. Now they were truly exuberant parents-to-be. The baby they were expecting in just a few weeks had become the focus of their lives, and along with that, apparently, came lunch.

As for the case at hand, Jason had mixed feelings about Anton Popescu and felt terrible for Heather. The truth about their relationship had yet to come out. Depending on which of the clocks all around him he consulted, he had between five and twelve minutes of his free hour left. By the time the first one started chiming, the exotic lunch was over and the two detectives were gone.

CHAPTER 26

A
fter their gourmet lunch at the Franks', April and Woody checked in at the precinct to brief Iriarte. He was alone in his office, talking on the phone, when they got there. He put his hand over the mouthpiece. "Yeah?"

"We lucked out with Heather Rose, sir," April told him.

He hung up without saying good-bye. "She give it up?"

"Some, not everything. She didn't nail her husband as a beater, but she did tell Jason the baby is with its mother."

Iriarte heaved a great sigh. "Sometimes I think there is a God. Who is it?"

"She didn't say."

"What do you mean she didn't say?" Iriarte erupted again.

Hagedorn appeared at the door, rapped on the window, then plunged in without waiting for an invitation. "Ten," he announced.

"Ten what?" Iriarte looked at him expectantly.

Hagedorn held up a file. "Ten mixed babies." He stood there, grinning, one hand raised and his pudgy body frozen in the pose of triumph as he offered, like a precious trophy, the regurgitations of his computer.

Iriarte blinked. The blink meant he didn't really care ten what, and furthermore he didn't want to know. But for Hagedorn, his favorite, the lieutenant had the tolerance of a saint. "Go ahead, Charlie."

Hagedorn gave his boss another shit-eating grin. "I checked them all out. Guess what?" Excitedly, Hagedorn pushed his lank hair back from his pale forehead.

"What?" Iriarte asked nicely.

"One hundred forty-two babies born in downtown hospitals during your time frame, Sergeant." He nodded at April.

"Uh-huh."

"Eighty are black or Hispanic or mixed. Fifty-two are pure Asian." He looked up. Here was the triumph. "Only ten others are mixed Asian and other."

"Good work, Charlie." Iriarte looked impressed.

"Do you have home addresses for them?" April asked. Only ten was too good to hope for.

"Yes."

"Let's go, Baum." April reached for the file.

In four minutes, she and Baum had once again evaded the specialists and were on their way down to Chinatown to start checking them out. April was too preoccupied thinking about Emma and Jason having a baby, and of the 142 other couples engaged in productive monkey business nine months earlier, to worry about Woody's driving.

She wondered how many of those fornicating couples wanted the babies they got. Were all the parents still together and able to keep their offspring? Had one or more of the infants been sold or given away? These were not terms in which April thought very often. Usually, she tried to avoid thinking about normal people getting married, having babies. She was still reeling from the sight of Emma's protruding belly with a human being inside of it. It was disturbing.

She braced a hand against the dashboard as Woody braked suddenly for a pedestrian. But she was excited about the case now, keyed up for the hunt and undaunted by the fact that searching for an infant born almost four weeks ago might turn out to be like looking for a lost item in a landfill. Chinatown was a maze, but people were connected there; they knew things about each other, even if they didn't tell. Somehow she didn't think this was going to be a hard one.

Upbeat and optimistic though she was, April was surprised when she stopped in Bernardino's office in the detective squad room and he punched the air at her accusingly.

"I've been trying to get hold of you," he said.

"No one told me. What's up?"

"We found your stroller," he announced.

"No kidding? What was in it?" Now April was really excited.

"Groceries. Sit down, make yourself comfortable."

April took a chair and nodded at Baum to do the same. He sat. "Groceries?"

"Madison spoke with her. Ah, thanks, Madison." The Chinese detective April had noticed yesterday, with the serious narrow face and the receding hairline, came in and handed Lieutenant Bernardino a cup of coffee.

Bernardino made the introductions: "Sergeant Woo, Detective Madison Young, Detective Baum."

Young nodded at Baum, then at April. "Good to meet you both," he said.

"Same here," April said.

"Ask the sergeant if she'd like some coffee," the lieutenant prompted.

"Would you like some coffee, ma'am?" he asked politely.

"No, thanks," April told him, noting again how the situation had changed for her. Now guys were getting her coffee.

"Madison, you found the stroller. What was the woman's story?"

"I caught up with her this morning at quarter to noon on Pike Street. She was pushing the stroller in question. Light blue Perego, brand-new, right?"

"Right."

"Turns out she's an older woman, a grandma. She had the thing filled with groceries and was carrying a child."

"Ah, how old a child?" April asked excitedly.

"More than a year old. She put the child down while we were talking. A little girl. She toddled around."

"You have an address on them?"

Madison nodded. "They live in the projects. The kid's her daughter's. She takes care of it during the day while her daughter works in the Hong Kong Supermarket."

"Is there a younger baby in the family?"

"No, a son in kindergarten. The way Grandma tells it, a well-dressed woman with a long ponytail got out of a cab on Tuesday morning."

"What street?" Baum asked.

"Allen Street."

"Allen?" April said. This was sounding good. The description fit Heather Rose.

"The Hong Kong Supermarket is on Allen," Madison explained.

"Go on. What about the woman with the ponytail?"

"She had two shopping bags and was holding a baby. The grandma says she looked around for someone. The stroller was in the trunk of the car. The taxi driver didn't want to help her get the stroller out of the trunk. She was upset with the driver because he just stood there, wouldn't help. While they were arguing, another woman came up to her, and they talked for a moment. The second woman took the baby and the shopping bags, but she didn't want to take the stroller, said she didn't need it. She took the baby and the shopping bags and walked away, leaving the woman with the ponytail crying." Madison shrugged. "That's it."

"How did Grandma get the stroller?"

"Oh. She figured the crying woman didn't need the stroller anymore, and she didn't want the man with the turban to have it, so she walked over and asked if
she
could have it."

"The driver was a Sikh?" Baum remarked.

Madison nodded.

"We're looking for him," Alfie told them. Hundreds of New York cabbies were Sikhs.

"How reliable is this grandma of yours?"

"She was pretty slick, told me right off the bat she didn't steal the stroller. The woman with the ponytail gave it to her. She got kind of defensive about it, knew how much it was worth."

April was excited. "Okay. Now we know Jason had it half right. The other half is that Heather herself gave the baby back to its mother. It wasn't kidnapped by anybody. Good work, Madison."

"Who's Jason?"

"Oh, he's a shrink I know. He talks to head cases for me." April grinned at Baum. They had the pieces now. They could crack the case.

"So, sweetheart. You wanted to come home. Here you are." Alfie smiled. "We don't do shabby work here."

"No, sir. You did good. But what did she mean, she didn't need it?"

"Who?"

"The baby's mother. Why wouldn't she need the stroller?"

"That's the next question. By the way, what do you have for me?" "We ran a birth certificate check. I have some addresses of possible mothers. You mind if Madison takes a few?"

Bernardino shook his head. "Not at all. What about the Popescus?"

"What do you say we bug them later?"

"Later's fine." Alfie grinned at her. "Welcome back."

CHAPTER 27

N
anci Hua was struggling with her conscience when April called her again Thursday afternoon.

"Did you find your cousin?" she asked.

"Who is this?" Nanci demanded, startled because she was still hoping the enticement of a thousand-dollar reward would inspire Annie Lee, the lady in the factory where Lin worked, to call.

"It's April—who do you think it is?"

"Oh, April, I wasn't expecting you," Nanci said guiltily.

"I'm sorry I was short with you yesterday. You know how it is." April's voice trailed off as the noise in the background picked up.

"Oh, I didn't take it personally. I know you're busy."

"We go way back. You can count on me. Have you heard anything new?"

"No," Nanci said. This was the truth. She'd tried the hospitals again. Still, nobody had heard of Lin Tsing. In her most optimistic moments, Nanci tried to imagine Lin getting in trouble with a boyfriend and running away somewhere with him. In her less optimistic moments, she had darker fears.

"You want to tell me about it?" April said in her crisp cop voice.

"Tell you about what?" Nanci said warily.

"You didn't give me the whole story yesterday. If I'm going to help you, I have to know it."

"You already said this. I told you I feel guilty about bothering you."

"Get off the guilt trip. I don't have a lot of time to chew the fat, is all. I didn't mean to be impatient. Look, I'm down in Chinatown right now. I'm hoofing around, and I can ask some questions for you if you want me to."

Nanci hesitated. "How's the case going?"

"It's coming along."

"What does that mean? Did you find the baby you were looking for?"

"We have some leads."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, we'll find him. About your cousin—"

"It's a boy?"

"Yeah, Nanci, it's a boy. Blue eyes, we're guessing half Chinese. If you know where he is, it would be a big help if you passed it along."

"How would I know?" Nanci bristled.

"Just kidding." April laughed on the other end of the phone.

"Why are you talking like this? I really resent it. Why do you always have to act like a cop?"

"I
am
a cop, Nanci. That's why you called me," April reminded her.

"I called because you're an old friend," Nanci retorted defensively. "I didn't expect you to start accusing me of things."

"Hey, I was kidding. I called to make up. So, give me some facts. I'll check into it. Where does your cousin work?"

"Um . . ." Nanci stalled. She wanted to talk to the boss in the factory herself.

"You said you went there," April said.

"Did I? Maybe I did."

"So. What's the name and address?"

"I'm trying to remember." Just like yesterday, Nanci got to the place where she couldn't go any further. Cops always acted like this. She remembered the police coming and talking to her after the fire that killed her father. They kept asking her the same questions over and over about what happened that day, and who was in the building. On and on, as if it were all her fault and they were going to find out and punish her. She'd been fifteen then, not much younger than Lin was now. She'd been stunned and frightened, having lost her only relative in America. And it seemed to her that the police just would not believe her. Proof of all this came a few days later when she had to go into the police station and say the same things all over again to different people. Friends of her father took her in because she was underage and the city social workers would have taken her away, sent her back to China. At the time, April had already taken her police department test, but she had not yet been acccepted. April hadn't been able to help her.