Read Chapter 1 of Baited

Chapter 1
Shae

As the excitement of the evening continued, Shae put her arm around Mackenzie. “We should get you home,” she said to the girl, who was still emotional from seeing her friend Olive come out of surgery.

The girl had been tossed aside to live or die from her ailment in a dirty bus stop by the woman who had taken her all of those years ago. The woman Shae was ready to find. “The sooner we get you home and get to the station, the sooner we can get Charlie back.” 

They had just gotten a call that the man who knew her baby’s whereabouts had been arrested. With any luck, he would lead them right to the baby without any problems.

“Can I go with you to the station?” asked Mack, still clutching the little girl’s one-armed teddy bear. “I want to go and see the man who is helping those idiots steal my baby.” Mack’s frustration was appropriate for what she’d been through. While her baby had been stolen shortly after its birth, being stolen twice was almost more than she could take.

Cam cleared his throat. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said. “You going down there to confront him might make him mad. And besides, you don’t want your emotions to get you in trouble. We’ll take you back to the house, and you can get some rest.”

Mackenzie put her hand on her hip. “Are you fucking kidding me?” she said to the detective. “You expect me to just go and sit at the house, look at the walls, and wonder what’s going on with my baby?”

“Watch your mouth,” said Cam. “I know you’re frustrated and hurt, and your emotions are in overdrive, but that’s also the reason you don’t need to go down there. You can go wait at Shae’s. Now come on. We’re going.”

Mackenzie looked at Shae and Cam. “No way. I’m staying here for when Olive wakes up. She’s going to be all alone in a strange place, and I know what that was like for me. I can’t imagine being a little girl and waking up to a roomful of strangers.”

Shae sympathized, but unfortunately, that wasn’t how it worked. “You are not her family, Mack. I’m not sure if they’ll let you stay.” The family was going to want their privacy with the little girl, and social services would be involved as well.

But Mackenzie wasn’t taking no for an answer. “I’ll ask someone. It seems to me that it would be better for her to feel safe, to see a familiar face.” She walked down to the nurses’ station, and Shae followed with Cam lagging behind them.

Shae walked up to her. “Hey, Mack. What are you going to do? She’s in recovery.”

The nurse walked over from where she had been standing in the back. “May I help you?”

“Yes, you may,” said Mack with determination in her tone. “I would like to sit and wait for my friend to wake up. I’m the only person in the world she knows aside from two other people, so unless you want her to wake up and start screaming, I should be there for her.” Mackenzie’s smug and matter-of-fact attitude embarrassed Shae. 

“I’m sorry,” said Shae. “She’s a bit upset, is all.”

The nurse shook her head. “It’s fine and not a bad idea actually. I mean, I should talk to the doctor, but I’m sure he’d agree that when the child wakes, having a familiar face to keep her calm will help, although you should understand that she is going to be out for a while. The doctor wanted to keep her calm through the rest of the night.”

Mackenzie didn’t blink. “I have all night. Besides, one wall is as good as another when it comes to staring.”

“You’re right about that,” said the nurse. “Just one minute.” She turned and walked to the back.

Once she was out of sight, Shae turned to the girl. “Mackenzie, are you going to be okay here?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine. You’ll know right where I am, and I slept in a stairwell for three weeks. I think I can handle this place.”

“Well, her next of kin has called, and they are going to be here soon, along with social services, so keep that in mind.” Shae knew that Olive wouldn’t even know them, but they would have more rights when it came to handling this situation. “If they ask you to leave, wait out here and call me.”

“I’m not leaving until I give Bobo back to her. She loves this bear. It’s not like I can be useful anywhere else. I can’t even help my own son. I just have to sit and wait, so it may as well be here.” Mackenzie had made up her mind, and Shae knew that there was no changing it now. She was staying, and that was final. 

The nurse came back. “She’s being moved to her room now. If you would like to come with me, I can show you.”

Mackenzie gave Shae a pleading look. “Call me if you have any news about Charlie?”

“Of course, I will. And I’ll be back to pick you up in the morning. Unless you need me sooner.”

“I’m good, thanks.” She went with the nurse, and Shae was hesitant to leave without her.

“Come on,” said Cam. “Let’s get to the car. We need to get down and see if they got Talbot booked.”

“Is he in Morrow County, or is he in Columbus?” she asked as they walked down the hall and to the elevator.

Cam pushed the button, and the door opened. “He’s here. I didn’t want to have to make that drive to Morrow County again. Besides, they can accommodate me for a change.” He had been really angry about the other county’s attitude. He couldn’t help it if his investigation had crossed county lines and he expected their full cooperation.

They went into the elevator. 

“I can’t believe this happened,” said Shae. “Why would those men think they could get away with this? Desperate people do desperate things, but still.”

“That’s the reason,” said Cam. “Because they thought they could get away with it. I’m going to show them they can’t.” 

He got in the car, and Shae followed.

It wasn’t until they were on the road that Shae could tell there was something on Cam’s mind. She hesitated to ask, but when he kept on with the silence, she had to ask. “What’s wrong with you? You look like something’s bothering you.” More than that, he looked like he had something to say.

“It’s nothing,” he said, waving his hand. “Just was thinking, is all.”

“Thinking about what? Those guys?”

“No, I was thinking about Mackenzie.”

“She’ll be fine.”

“I’m sure she will be. But you, you’re going to have your hands full with her if you’re not careful.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, for example, her attitude back there. Like she could do what she wanted, and no one could stop her. I personally think we should have brought her home. She needs to know she can’t just have her way all the time. The little girl is going to have her family there. Even though they don’t know her, it’s their business and their life to rebuild.”

Shae didn’t understand why he was so upset about it. “I’m sure she was right about the girl, though. She’ll wake up and be all alone, without anyone she knows. I don’t see the problem.”

“Look, all I’m saying is, the girl lacks discipline.”

“She’s had a rough life, and she’s already been emancipated. Her mother is in prison, and she doesn’t have any parents. Besides, she had a baby. She’s a mother, a young woman.”

“What does that matter? She’s not an adult. She’s a kid. And unless you start to give her some guidance, she’s going to remain the same and find trouble again. I’ve seen it happen time and time again.” He shrugged. “Girls sometimes fall into a pattern, especially if they have suffered a trauma like Mack.”

She couldn’t believe her ears. “Wow, you know all about it, don’t you?” 

“I just think you should lay down some rules. It will make things easier.” Cam spoke as if he had children of his own and they were all perfect.

“Thanks, but I don’t need your parenting advice. I’m not the girl’s mother, and she’s a mother herself. So far, she seems pretty responsible and level-headed, considering her entire world is upside down at the moment.”

“Well, I guess all I’m saying is that maybe she wouldn’t have gotten into this mess if she had some better disciplinarians in her life.”

“Or maybe she got into it because the adults in her life were too strict. You can’t know. But I do know that we’re both doing fine, thank you.” The more she thought about it, the more it pissed her off. “So you think all young girls who end up pregnant should have had more discipline to not end up that way?” She gave him a hard look.

“Well, I guess I do. Yeah.”

“And what about the man in the picture? I guess they don’t have to be responsible and disciplined. They can sleep around with young girls and knock them up and dump them, and they don’t have to be responsible or accountable? What about her father?”

Cam glanced her way. “Easy, okay? I didn’t mean to start a fight. All I’m saying is to watch out and not let the girl walk all over you.”

“You didn’t answer my question.” She leaned in closer, giving him a pointed look.

“I didn’t know there was one,” he said.

“Whatever. You know I’m right. But I’m not letting you blame Mack for her position. Yes, she ended up pregnant, but she didn’t get that way alone, and I don’t think she asked for any of this to happen. She shouldn’t take all the blame. The piece of shit that got her pregnant and left her isn’t around to share it.”

Cam sighed. “Okay, okay. I didn’t mean to put it all on her, but I—” He stopped and slowed the car to turn into the parking lot. “You know what? Never mind. I don’t want us to have any problems.”

“Us? We’re good.” Shae rolled her eyes and hoped that things got better when they went to talk to Talbot. “Do you think they’re here with him?”

“They should be. I know we gave them a hell of a head start.” He was just about to say something else when the phone rang in Shae’s lap.

She answered. “Shae Sawyer speaking.”

“Ms. Sawyer,” said a deep but feminine voice. “This is Christine Kirkpatrick. I was just going to let you know that I’ll be arriving in Columbus tomorrow morning.” 

Shae was surprised to hear the voice she hadn’t heard for several years now. The mother of Karissa Kirkpatrick had met Shae years back when her daughter was murdered. Shae had called the woman shortly after learning that Olive was okay to let her know that she’d be around.

“I got the call about my daughter’s baby and your message,” the woman said. “I’m so glad you’re still on the case.”

“Well, don’t give me credit. I mean, I wish I could take it, but we didn’t find her. She found us. Her kidnapper left her at the hospital bus stop so that she could get help. She has a bowel obstruction, and they had to do surgery. She’s in a room now.”

“Yes, they told me. I can’t believe it. Is it really her?”

“According to the letter, I’m sure of it. She’s a lot like your daughter. The hair, the eyes. Spitting image really.” She had a feeling it would be like seeing her daughter again. “I’m sure they’ll still want to do a DNA test before turning her over to your custody, just as a precaution.”

“I just can’t believe this all happening. I’ve waited so long that I nearly gave up on ever getting her back.” The woman’s voice was strangled with tears, and Shae couldn’t help but tear up with her.

“I can’t believe it either.” She also couldn’t help feeling a little jealous. Christine, although unaware, was in the same situation Shae had been in. Like Shae, her daughter had been cut open and left for dead, her baby stolen right out of the womb.

“I’m on my way back to the station at the moment, but I’ll be back up there first thing in the morning.”

“That sounds perfect. Well, I’m about to stop and gas up. I’ll see you soon. And thanks again, Shae. I’m so grateful for the work you’ve done.”

“Well, if it were better circumstances, I’d say it was my pleasure. I wish you and your girl all the best.” She was about to tell the woman about Mack when she quickly ended the call. But she had a feeling that Mack would be waiting and could explain everything.

“Who was that?”

“Karissa Kirkpatrick’s mother. She’s coming to town. We’ll have to see her in the morning.”

“Well, first things first,” said Cam. “I just got a text that says Talbot’s booked and waiting.”

Shae breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that this part of the case was almost over. The sooner they focused on Leah, the better.