The Next Girl(Detective Gina Harte #1)(10)
She pulled out her identification and held it up. ‘DI Harte. I’m investigating the abandoned baby case.’
The nurse examined her identification, smiled and stepped out of the way. ‘You can’t be too careful. I’ll show you through. Doctor Nowak will be coming round shortly.’ Gina followed the nurse through the long, sterile corridor, past several smaller rooms. She caught a glimpse of a couple sitting beside a baby. Tubes, beeping monitors and the father’s ashen face all left an imprint in her mind. ‘Here we are. If you want coffee, there’s a machine just there.’
‘Thank you. I might just be in the market for one of those. What time did you say the doctor was coming around?’
‘He’s due in about half an hour. I’ll let him know you’re here though. He’ll probably finish up with the patient he’s with and come and see you,’ the nurse replied as she left. Gina felt around the rubbish in her pocket, moving receipts and crumpled tissues aside before finding a few coins to buy a coffee with. As she fed the coins in the machine, she noticed another liver spot appearing on the back of her hand. Her forty-six years were beginning to show and the stress Hannah was putting her under certainly wasn’t helping. Her reflection in the coffee machine revealed that she also needed to dye her roots.
She lifted a plastic chair from the pile and placed it next to the baby’s cot and sat. Steam arose from the cup, warming her cold nose. She gripped the warm cup with both hands and looked at the baby. ‘Who left you there, little baby?’ she thought as she took another sip of coffee. The infant slept peacefully, a feeding tube neatly inserted into her nose.
Gina had been twenty-three when her daughter Hannah was born. She’d been a sleepy baby, just like the little one in front of her, except for the night of the thunderstorm, the night her mind kept getting drawn back to. Despite trying to move on from the past that haunted her, Gina’s bad memories were as tattooed in her mind as every gruesome crime scene she’d ever attended.
Despite Hannah’s most recent demands, attending her husband’s memorial service was out of the question. He’d been gone a long time, too long for any memorial service but Hannah had arranged it and insisted on having it. Gina didn’t want to remember. She was being forced to remember a past that would never leave her alone.
‘Good morning. DI Harte? Doctor Nowak.’ An older gentleman entered the room, holding his bony hand out towards her. Standing, Gina shook his hand. ‘The baby is doing fine. It may all look a little scary with the tube and monitors, but her weight dropped and we wanted to make sure she was well nourished. We’ll be removing that in a few hours. She isn’t sedated, just sleeping.’ Gina detected a slight accent as the doctor spoke. ‘How can I help you? We gave all the information we had to your DC Wyre last night.’
Gina brushed her creased trousers with her hands and scraped away a stray hair that was stuck to her face. ‘I know, and thank you for your assistance. The news of the baby has been released on the local news this morning. I’m just asking that you and the hospital staff keep an eye out for anyone acting suspiciously. The mother may come to the hospital to catch a glimpse of her baby and we are worried – as I know you are too – about her physical and mental health.’
The doctor lifted his glasses from the chain that hung around his neck and put them on. He grabbed the chart and scanned it as he spoke. ‘And I totally understand that. We will do everything we can to assist you with your enquiry. I will send out an immediate memo to all hospital staff.’ He clipped the chart to the end of the cot and walked towards the door. ‘I best get on with my rounds,’
‘Yes, thank you for your time.’ Gina listened as his footsteps disappeared down the long corridor. A chorus of babies cried in the distance. Gina turned to look at the infant in front of her. This baby hadn’t cried; this baby had barely moved; this baby had been deprived of her first moments to bond with her mother. The girl brought her little legs towards her chest, removing the blanket as she did so. Gina crept over towards the cot and pulled the blanket back over the baby. Although the hospital was kept at a warm temperature, she still felt a chill coming from the winter air as doors were opened and closed. She brought her hand gently towards the little one’s head and stroked her fine hair before leaving.
As she reached the nurses’ station, she searched for the nurse she’d spoken to on her arrival. The young dark-haired woman appeared from a side room. ‘Doctor Nowak’s sending a memo around shortly,’ said Gina. ‘Could you please be extra vigilant of anyone loitering or visiting? Here’s my card, should you need to report anything.’
The nurse smiled and took the card. ‘Will do,’ she replied. She left Gina standing alone as she continued with her duties. Gina pressed the release buzzer and left the ward, leaving the crying babies behind. As she turned onto the main corridor, she watched a man trailing a drip and wearing pyjamas. The two women and the child walking beside him bore a familial resemblance.
Who was she looking for? Someone who was alone, someone who looked scared, someone who was anxiously trying to find a way of checking on the baby without looking suspicious. The corridor was dotted with people.
Two nurses wheeled a man on a bed into a lift. A woman with a child got out of the lift, followed by a tall man wearing a woollen hat and wrapped in a scarf. He bumped her arm as he passed. She turned to see him rubbing his neck, but he didn’t look back. ‘Sorry,’ Gina called. The man continued walking without acknowledging her apology. She turned and watched as he slowed down outside the ward. She hadn’t caught his features as he passed. He bent down and tied a shoelace before continuing towards the coronary ward.