Cries of the Children(35)
“I’m sorry,” Samantha answered. “It’s been crazy downstairs. I suppose the sight of those tiny babies was a shock to her. Most adults can’t handle it, let alone a child!”
Barbara opened a door to a waiting room. Julie was sitting on the couch, her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around herself. Her head was bent down, so that her long brown hair fell all around her shoulders.
“She ran from me,” Barbara said. “I found her hiding under the sink in the maintenance closet.”
“Julie, what happened?” Samantha asked.
At the sound of her voice, Julie’s head snapped up. Samantha sat down and put her arms around her.
“I was so scared!” she cried. “When I saw the baby in the glass box, it made me remember something terrible!”
“Can you tell me about it?”
Julie just hugged her tighter and shook her head. Samantha looked across the room at Barbara.
“Now do you see why it’s so important to find out who she really is?”
“But aren’t you afraid of—?”
“I’m more afraid of the damage my keeping silent is doing to her,” Samantha interrupted. “Barbara, I need your help. I have to do something.”
“You said you can’t go to the police,” Barbara pointed out. “It could be because you’re somehow involved in all this. You could be an accessory to a kidnapping and not be aware of it!”
“That’s crazy,” Samantha said, “but I guess it’s possible. And not knowing is hurting both Julie and me.”
She extricated herself from Julie’s embrace.
“Come on, sweetie,” she said. “I’ll see if I can get someone to stand in for me. I’m going to take you home.”
Barbara sighed. “I still think you should let things happen on their own. The answers will come, and only then will you be prepared to face the police—and the child’s family.”
Samantha took Julie by the hand and left the room without answering Barbara.
“Are we going?” Julie asked. “I don’t like it here.”
They walked to the elevator.
“You know, you’d feel better if you told me exactly what happened.”
Julie stared down at her pink sneakers.
“There was a baby in a glass box,” she began. “I . . .”
The elevator door opened and they walked inside. Julie clammed up immediately, refusing to speak in front of the other people there. Samantha decided to wait until they were alone before pressing the matter.
When they got off the elevator, Samantha noticed a friend, Dr. John Brightman. She called to him, and his face lit up with a bright smile.
“Hi, Sam,” he said. He was the only person who ever called her by that masculine diminutive. “Thanks for taking over for me the other night. You really saved my neck.”
“Did you enjoy the wedding?”
“It was great,” John said. “And Kelly appreciates that I was able to take her after all. I still can’t believe I got the date mixed up. If I can return the favor . . .”
“As a matter of fact,” Samantha said, “you can return it right now.” She explained the situation to him, claiming Julie had taken ill.
John looked down at Julie, who smiled shyly.
“Hi, pretty thing,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry to hear you aren’t feeling well.”
He turned back to Samantha again.
“Maybe you should have Chris Webster up in pediatrics take a look at her.”
Samantha didn’t reply. She seemed to be thinking. John sensed she was bothered by something. He had only been working at Sangre de Cristo General for a year, but in that time he’d come to know Samantha like a good friend.
“Samantha, you aren’t in trouble, are you?”
Samantha hesitated. She’d confided in her best friend, but Barbara really hadn’t given her any practical advice. Should she involve another person? It really wasn’t fair to include John in all this.
He touched her elbow.
“Sam, I’m your friend,” he said. “If there’s anything I can do . . .”
Samantha sighed. Yes, he was a friend, and she needed all the advice she could get.
“Julie, would you go on to the nurses’ station and pack all your things?”
Julie looked nervous, but Samantha smiled reassuringly and said, “It’s okay. Maria is there, and I’ll be along in a minute.”
Julie left the two adults. Samantha turned to John and said, “Yes, I’m in trouble. Something strange has happened, and I don’t know what to do about it.”
“Why don’t you tell me?” John suggested.