Page 9 of Forged in Steele

She texted Zeke and Teagan to let them know of the change and send someone up to guard Mrs. Pratt’s room, then unzipped the backpack as she wouldn’t search it in front of the mother. The pack didn’t feel like it held a baby but Bristol squinted as she looked. Laptop, book, earbuds, and snacks sat in the bottom. She let out a long breath, but then worry set in.

The bag was big enough to fit a newborn inside. Not a living one. No, the child would cry but…

Living.Was there blood in the bag?

She couldn’t dig into the bag without wearing gloves, but she saw no obvious sign of blood. Nor any other indication that the baby had been killed, and she wouldn’t think about the baby potentially dying until it became a real possibility.

She headed back into the room. Jared remained in place, standing there with his shoulders back, his feet planted in a wide stance, ready to take action instead of calming down the sobbing mother. Beneath his pricey black suit and crisp white shirt, she could imagine him as a sailor before his FBI days. Or at least she thought he’d joined the Navy. He’d left her that summer to go into the Navy, and she assumed that wasn’t a lie just to ditch her.

He gave a pointed look at the backpack. She signaled that the bag was clear and received a sharp nod of acknowledgment, his manner equally as pointed. This man was so different from the boy she’d known. Sure, he’d just graduated from college back then, but in so many ways the two of them had still been children. She’d gone on to her sophomore year of college, but she still knew what they’d had together was real and deep.

Her phone rang, and she set the pack on a chair to dig out her phone. The call came from Teagan. “Tell me you have good news.”

“We have something,” she said. “A woman carrying a tote bag exited the birthing center via the emergency exit just before the child was reported missing.”

“But the alarm didn’t go off.”

“She or someone else must’ve disabled it.”

Bristol turned her back to the mother and contemplated the news. She lowered her voice. “Not the typical kidnapping then as she would have to study the alarm and have skills to disable it.”

“Exactly,” Teagan said. “Obviously not a spur-of-the-moment abduction.”

Obviously not.“Anything else?”

“The suspect avoided the cameras with her face, so she knew what she was doing. We tracked her to the parking lot but lost her there. We’ll want to get this description added to the AMBER Alert.”

“I’ll be right down.”

The door burst open, and Bristol spun, hand on her sidearm. An experienced deputy she recognized as Craig Franz charged in and planted his feet.

His hands drifted to his duty belt. “What are you doing here, Steele?”

She explained along with giving him the details of the kidnapping then introduced everyone. “We were about to ask Mrs. Pratt some questions, but there’s security footage needing immediate review.”

“You have something?” Mrs. Pratt’s face lit up. “Did you find Luna?”

Bristol shook her head. “There’s a person of interest on one of the security videos, and we need to check it out. We’ll update you the moment we know anything.”

“I need a few details before we leave.” Franz looked at Mrs. Pratt. “Do you have a picture of Luna in the clothing she’s wearing right now?”

“Yes. Yes. I know my husband took one before he went to get coffee.” She grabbed her phone and displayed the picture. “It’s hard to see her clothing because she’s swaddled, but the blanket is unique. She was too big for the hospital blankets so we used ours. This pink one with bunnies should be very recognizable, right? I mean the colors are so bright.”

“Could be.” Bristol didn’t know how long the kidnapper would keep the baby in her blanket for that very reason. She noted the mother had an iPhone as did she. “Can you AirDrop the photo to me?”

“Sure.” Mrs. Pratt quickly sent it.

Bristol confirmed the arrival, and her heart ached at the sight of the precious newborn who was now in someone’s hands with the power to harm her. Maybe not because they planned to do her harm, but because of the blood sugar issue.

Franz looked over her shoulder. “I’ll need the photo as well.”

“Of course.”

Jared didn’t say anything but gave her a look. She took it to mean she better plan to share the picture with him too. She gave a single nod.

He relaxed his shoulders. “Does your daughter have any distinguishing marks like a birthmark?”

“Yes,” Mrs. Pratt said. “A strawberry mark near her shoulder.” She tapped the location on her own body.

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