Gem felt a flutter of panic but played it smooth. Since Latasha wasn’t a Chitah, she wouldn’t know a lie from the truth. “A boy. I don’t know much else. She wrote me an email and invited me to come see her so we could catch up, but then I found out she moved and isn’t working here anymore. That’s why I thought she went back with her ex. You know how a baby can change people. I’m sure it’s not easy being a single mom and trying to hold down a job, especially when it’s next to impossible to find nannies.”
Latasha rolled her eyes and nodded. “Someone could make a lot of money opening a daycare. More women these days are doing it alone, and I’ve seen a couple of girls turn to prostitution. Breed employers don’t like it when you have to take off work because you can’t find a babysitter. That doesn’t fly, and we don’t have laws to protect our rights.”
So true. What little Gem knew of the human world was that employers had to go through a process to fire someone. And even then, people could collect unemployment. In the Breed world, you could simply roll your eyes at the boss and you’d be out on the street with no income.
Latasha touched her crimson hair, making sure everything was in place. There were short corkscrew curls like loose coils twisting and pointing in every direction. “I remember Jenny talking to some guy a few times right before she was fired. It sticks out because I was new on the job, and she got in trouble for ignoring her station when it happened a second time. I don’t know if that helps any.”
“Is he a regular?”
“We get so many faces coming through…” She waved her hand and turned a sharp eye toward a woman who set an empty glass on the floor.
“What did he look like?”
“It’s been so long I don’t remember. I might see him in here every day and not even know it,” she said with a chuckle. “Maybe dark hair? Definitely short hair, because what Idoremember is that he had a tattoo on the back of his neck. Some kind of design.”
Gem’s heart began to race. “Can you describe it?”
Latasha pulled a curl straight, and when she let go, it sprang back into position. “It’s been ages, so I couldn’t tell you. Why people mark their bodies up with those things, I’ll never know.”
Gem jotted her number down on a scrap of paper and folded a twenty-dollar bill inside. “If you remember anything else, can you give me a call? You’ve been so helpful.”
“Sweetie, it was nothing. Duty calls.” She stood up and shook off the lethargic posture she’d adopted. “If you change your mind on that drink, let me know. I hope you find her. She probably got herself a new man. Or maybe she moved. People do it all the time.” Latasha winked and strutted away.
Gem had goose bumps all over.
She didn’t usually like working on murder cases, but this was different. Somewhere out there was a baby wondering where his mother was. Scared. Alone. Crying. It didn’t matter if he or she was too young to remember; the damage was done. Gem had been one of those children who grew up never knowing who her parents were, always wondering what her life would have been like had she not been sold on the black market. She used to believe that her mother had given her up, but after working for Keystone and seeing all the stolen children, she was certain that wasn’t the case.
What fate lay ahead for that baby? Despite the rumors of hopeful couples who shopped on the black market, most of the victims were sold to nefarious criminals who wanted to brainwash those children and use them like slaves. She didn’t want this baby to experience a loveless childhood filled with memories of abuse and emotional manipulation.
Claude appeared and sat in the chair across from her. He leaned forward, nostrils flaring, and held her hands in his. “What’s wrong, female?”
Gem didn’t talk about her past with Claude, but he sensed it from time to time when that dark cloud came over her. She quickly stood up and led him into the hall. “I have a description of someone who was seen with her.”
“And?” When Claude folded his arms, his muscles pushed out.
Gem rocked on her heels. “Dark hair and a tattoo on the back of his neck.”
“What kind of tattoo?” he asked flatly.
“A design,” she said, making a veiled reference to Shepherd’s neck tat.
Claude shook his head. “Lots of people have tattoos, Gem.”
“And Shepherd is one of those people.”
Claude turned in a circle, his eyes downcast. “This isn’t his kind of place. And even if it was him, so what? It’s not a crime to be seen with someone. He’s not selling children on the black market.”
“I sure hope he’s not! And we’re all entitled to a personal life, but I’d like to think that if we’re working on a case and he recognizes the person in the photograph that he’d say something. Otherwise, it appears as though he’s hiding something from us. Shepherd may be a big ol’ grump, but I’ve always trusted him. Now I don’t know what to believe.”
Claude put his arm around her when a couple walked by. “Tone it down a notch. We can discuss this somewhere more private.” When they reached a darker spot by the wall, he pulled out his phone.
“Who are you texting?”
The display illuminated his face. “Shepherd. I’m requesting his presence so we can settle this once and for all.”
Gem shifted her weight to the other leg. “What makes you think he’ll come?”
Claude flashed his butterscotch eyes at her. “Because right now he’s probably praying for a meteor to hit the planet to get him out of that formal dinner.”
