I stop at the sign. Nothing I do is secret. By now, everyone knows a baby has been left at the station, so any excuse I come up with is going to take about five minutes and a phone tree of concerned neighbors to blast it through town.
Every state is a safe haven state. I tap my fingertips on the steering wheel, but she wasn’t the one who dropped off the baby. A boy dropped off the baby.
Fuck. I ease my foot onto the gas. The last thing I want to do is cause her trouble, but if this kid took her baby, or she’s hurt, I can’t let it go.
A loud party report. I frown. That’s feasible. Here’s hoping Chad hasn’t changed his ways over the last several years. If I stop at the neighbor’s house first, my story will be more plausible.
Once I’ve secured my vehicle, I knock on Laura Barron’s door. Moments later, she greets me with a tentative smile. “Is everything okay?” Her icy blue eyes widen. “Jake Thompson?” The smile increases. “I didn’t recognize you.”
“Hello, Ms. Barron.” I grasp the edge of the screen door, holding it open. The last I knew, she worked as a baker at Jolie’s Café.
“Laura.” She tips her head toward me. “Call me, Laura.”
“Laura, I’m sorry to bother you, but we received a loud party report last night for a house in this neighborhood, but by the time we came to investigate, the party had died down, so we didn’t get an exact location.”
She frowns and tips her head toward Chad’s house. “They’ve always got something going on over there. And with that young girl in the house, it’s ridiculous.”
I brace my foot against the bottom of the door and fish my notebook out of my pocket. “Is this a regular occurrence?”
“At least two or three times a week.” She crosses her arms over her chest.
After I flip open the notebook, I jot down the information she shared. While it’s not relevant to the case, it’s good information to have for the future, and solidifies my ruse.
I ask her several additional questions and thank her for the information. “Did you say that Chad’s vehicle is gone?” I glance toward the house in question, scanning the open garage, driveway, and street. There’s a pickup in the garage, but everything else is empty.
“Yes, it should only be the sister. Troy is in jail, so he’s gone. And Chad took off in that loud car of his before daybreak.”
“Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me.” I pause for a second as I step back. “It’s good to see you.”
“You, also.”
“Last I knew, you worked at Jolie’s. What’re you doing now?”
“I’m still baking Jolie’s recipes for the market. It was sad when they decided to close, but I got the best of both worlds. I bake from home,” she smiles, “and I don’t have to put up with anyone.”
“Do you make those famous triple chocolate cakes?”
“Yes, I do.” She grins with a twinkle in her eye. “That’s one of my most famous recipes.”
“Do you happen to have any lying around?” That was Emily’s favorite cake growing up. Maybe she doesn’t like it anymore, but I’m willing to bet that she’s still a fan.
“I just might. Give me a second.”
It might be stupid, but that’s what I stopped by Jolie’s to get the day everything ended. A piece of cake for Emily. A way to show her that I’d paid attention. Maybe this time, things will be different.
“Here you go.” She hands me a sack with a container inside. “Compliments of the baker.”
“Thank you.” I push back all thoughts of the cake and what I’d like to use it for. Now, it is not the time. But later? Definitely later.
We chat for a few more minutes, and then she says, “Mackenzie is a good kid, but I don’t know if she stands a chance with that boy as her role model.”
“I’ll check on her and make sure she’s okay.” I tap my hand on the doorframe and turn on my heel.
“We need more good guys in the world, like you.”
“Thank you.” I give her a quick nod and bound down the stairs. I’m not sure she’d think I was such a good guy if she knew I was lying to her face, but she served the purpose I needed.
The next person she talks to will get the story of the nice cop who followed up on a call from last night and went to check on the girl everyone in the neighborhood is worried about. That should keep people from putting two and two together and deciding that Mackenzie abandoned her baby.
