Page 4 of Dr. Sexypants

She launched into an explanation about baking downstairs and letting Lainey sleep, but then Kristy came up to the apartment when she heard the baby crying, and Lainey was nowhere to be found.

She stepped aside to let me in.

“Oh my God! Have you called the police?”

“They’re on their way,” she replied as she closed the door and blew a strand of hair out of her face that had fallen free from her ponytail.

Just then, the baby started to cry, and she bit back a sob. “Noooo! He just fell back asleep!”

“Did you try feeding him?”

She shot me a look that suggested that was a stupid question before answering, “Of course, but he wouldn’t take a bottle from me. Lainey has just started to wean him, so he’s not always on board with a bottle instead of her breast. And before you ask, yes, I changed him.”

I nodded slowly as I tried to think what else to try while Kristy retrieved a very angry three-month-old from his crib.

She came back out and handed him to me, along with the bottle. “How about you give it a go? He likes Adam, so maybe he’ll like you, too. I have to run downstairs and shut the ovens off.”

“I’ll give it a try.”

I sat down and cradled him in my arms while I talked in a soothing tone and put the nipple to his lips.

“Come on, buddy. I know you’ve got to be starving; this will make you feel better.”

The little dude was not having it. He turned his head, so the milk dribbled down his cheek, while he screamed until he was red in the face.

I felt like I’d let Kristy down personally when she reappeared with a sigh and took him back.

The knock at the door made her mutter, “Thank God!”

A minute later, Haven Springs’ newest police officer, Adam Callahan—dressed in jeans and a Henley—held Conor while he drank from the bottle like he might never get another meal.

Adam chuckled as he stared down at him with a soft smile. “Slow down, little man. You don’t want to get a tummy ache.”

Meanwhile, Kristy stood watching with her mouth agape.

“How the hell did you do that?” She gestured toward me. “He and I both tried. I thought for sure he’d be able to get him to eat, since he’s a doctor. No such luck.”

I felt the need to defend myself. “To be fair, I mostly deal with emergencies. Pediatrics isn’t my specialty.” I watched Adam with the baby and remarked, “You’ve obviously got the magic touch.”

Kristy murmured, “Lainey said you are the baby whisperer. She wasn’t lying.”

“We’ve had a few bonding moments recently. I’m sure he’s missing Lainey, and I’m familiar.”

“Whatever it is,” Kristy said, shaking her head, “You are now in charge of the baby.”

“No, he needs to help me.”

I hadn’t noticed Brian O’Shaugnessy standing there in his uniform until that moment when he spoke up.

Adam replied, “How about I finish feeding him while you get Kristy and Justin’s statements, then we get ahold of the O’Briens and see if they can take him?”

My head was spinning as Brian questioned Kristy, and they went through Lainey’s purse and found her phone.

I worked in the ER, I saw a lot of the weird shit people do in this town, but nothing remotely like this had ever happened in Haven Springs.

One thing I did know, they needed to find Lainey—fast. I’d watched enough true crime shows to know the longer she was missing, the less likely it was she’d be found alive.

Finally, Brian said, “You guys can go. We’ll take it from here.”