Sweet Anger(78)

“Lieutenant Harris, Ms. Stewart,” Hunter said without fanfare.

“Ms. Stewart,” he drawled.

“Lieutenant Harris,” she murmured.

Hunter led her to a chair and she sat down, just before her knees buckled. She hoped she wasn’t giving away her nervousness, but Hunter’s worried look told her she might be. He didn’t look as though he’d gotten any more sleep than she had.

Harris leaned back in his chair and crossed one ankle over the opposite knee. “You’re in a real jam, Ms. Stewart.”

“So Mr. McKee told me.” She congratulated herself on answering in a voice that was surprisingly cool.

“But you can get out of it,” Harris went on. “Who did you talk to over at the hospital?”

“I can’t tell you.”

He lowered his foot to the floor and leaned forward. “You’d deliberately withhold evidence pertinent to a police investigation?”

“I have no evidence.”

“Let us be the judge of that. Tell us what you know.”

“I did. In my story. Look at it again if you need reminding. I can even provide you with a copy of the script.”

“Then, you won’t cooperate?”

“I’m trying. I just offered—”

“I heard what you offered,” he snapped. “I want the name of your source.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t tell you that.”

“Then, you’ll go to jail, lady.”

“I suppose I will,” she said defiantly. She despised being called “lady.” She glared at him. He glared right back. She was the first to lower her eyes.

“You ever been in jail, Ms. Stewart? Of course you haven’t, a nice girl like you. Well, let’s see if I can paint you a picture. First—”

“That’s enough, Harris,” Hunter said firmly. “I’ll take it from here.”

“But—”

“I said I’ll take it from here,” he shouted. The detective made his aggravation known by taking his time leaving the room. When the door closed behind him, Hunter took the chair the detective had just vacated directly in front of Kari. “You’re not going to tell us, are you?”

“No.”

“Kari, think of the parents of those babies.”

“I have,” she said in anguish.

“Have you? Have you really? Can you imagine going to the hospital to deliver a baby and having it snatched from you, having it disappear without a trace, never knowing what happened to the child you had created with someone you love?”

“Stop, please.”

“You lost a child—”

“Stop!”

“—but you never saw it. Imagine holding your baby once or twice, feeding it from your breast—”

“Hunter, no.”

“Imagine going home to the nursery you’d spent hours decorating, preparing, rearranging, anticipating the baby who would sleep in the crib. And then coming home without it.”

She came out of her chair and began to prowl the office aimlessly, as though looking for an escape from an invisible cage. “You’re being cruel. I know what those parents are suffering. But I can’t compromise myself.”

“What happened to those babies, Kari? Maybe they were sold on the black market to childless couples who will love them. Or maybe they’re being used in bizarre medical experiments. Or maybe they’re being reared to be used in child pornography. Or maybe they were sold to perverted old men who—”

“Oh, stop, please,” she cried, placing her hands over her ears. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because, dammit, I don’t want to put the woman I love in jail and will use any tactic necessary to keep from doing it.” He gripped her shoulders hard. “Don’t make me do this, Kari,” he pleaded.

“I have to, my darling.” She touched the lines on either side of his mouth, trying to erase the fatigue and stress there. “My heart tears in two every time I think of those families, Hunter. You know me well enough to realize that.”

She eased out of his arms but kept her eyes level with his. “But if I revealed a source, my career would be over. I’d lose my standing with other reporters. My credibility wouldn’t be worth a dime. No one would ever trust me again. I gave my word. I can’t break it.”

His head dropped forward as though a band at his neck had been severed. For several seconds, he stared at the floor. Then, drawing a deep sigh, he crossed to the door and opened it.

“Harris,” he called out harshly. The detective was slouched in a chair. He got to his feet and lumbered toward them. “She’s ready to go now,” Hunter said briskly, as though if he didn’t speak the words quickly, he might never say them.