Baby Love(38)

She asked Sheila the basic questions: name, date of birth, current residence, employment, marital status and so forth.

She then presented Sheila a photo of Maggie - it was the same photo being circulated by the media so chances were Sheila knew why she was being questioned.

"Do you recognize the woman in this picture Mrs. Bradley?"

"Yes, I believe that I do. She came to the hospital a few months back and wanted to see her newborn grandchild. It was past visiting hours. She gave me a sob story."

"What kind of story?" the detective probed.

"Well she said that she had just arrived in Atlanta an hour or so before coming to the hospital. She said that her daughter had been through a very difficult labor and delivery and that she didn't want to bother her. She just wanted a glimpse of her grandbaby. She didn't even know if her daughter had delivered a boy or a girl. She provided me with her daughter's name and I pulled her file."

"What happened then Mrs. Bradley?"

"Well I didn't see any harm in letting the woman see her grand-daughter so I told her to wait outside the window in the hall and I collected the baby girl and allowed her grandma to see her behind the glass. There was absolutely no risk to the baby I assure you."

"Did you see this woman again?"

"Yes, as of matter of fact I did. It was that same night. I had clocked out after my shift and got on the elevator to go down to the ground floor she was already on the elevator which I found strange because visiting hours were over everywhere in the hospital. She approached me when I got outside to the parking lot as I was getting into my car."

"What did she say?"

"She thanked me for my compassion in allowing her to see her grand-daughter. She said that her daughter unfortunately had gotten herself into a predicament with this man, the father of her grandchild and that he was abusive to her daughter. She said that he would beat her daughter if he even knew that she had come around. She said she wanted no problems for her daughter; that she was trying to get her to leave the man. She asked me if I would help her get access to the baby to get the baby out of harm's way."

"She wanted you to assist her in taking the baby from the hospital?"

"That's what I gathered. I told her flat out no way. She offered me $20,000 and said that it would never come back on me. I told her no way again and told her to leave me alone."

"Then what happened?" the investigator questioned.

"She became very angry; she became a totally different person. She scared me. A white SUV pulled up beside her. I thought - or hoped she would just get in the car and get out of my life. But the driver got out and before I knew what was happening, I was pushed to the ground; my purse was taken. I was stunned for a few moments, sort of like being in shock. When I gathered my wits, she was gone and the SUV was gone. I wasn't positive that they were connected. It all happened so fast. I mean as far as I knew, it was a random theft and one thing had nothing to do with the other."

"Did you report what happened to the authorities?"

Sheila Bradley bowed her head down in shame. She shook her head back and forth negatively.

"No I did not. I didn't report the purse snatching nor did I report her request of me in the parking lot that night. I had very little cash in my purse and as soon as I got home, I cancelled my credit cards. There was really no damage done."

"Mrs. Bradley," the detective pursued, "You did not feel that it was necessary to report the request that was made of you to assist in an infant's abduction from the hospital?"

"That's right," she answered succinctly, "Do you know why? It's because nobody working at that hospital would dare try such a stunt. There are cameras everywhere in that nursery. Not only that, there are cameras at all exits and entrances as well as in the elevators and stairwells. I was concerned enough over the fact that I had allowed her to be in the hallway after visiting hours without reporting her to security. Let me tell you detective, we see all kind of nut jobs on the maternity floor; mothers, fathers, grandparents and siblings. If I reported these as they happened I would never get any nursing done. That's a fact."

"Mrs. Bradley I am going to show you a copy of a resume that was submitted to a local agency that places nannies, babysitters and housekeepers. Read through this and let me know if you recognize it."

Nurse Bradley skimmed through the document then handed it back to the detective.

"No - I do not recognize it but to answer your next question, 'yes' it does contain all of my personal information including my social security number."

"How would a resume such as this be presented on your behalf?"

"Well detective, I would say that most everything on this resume of any importance could be found on my driver's license. Of course, the woman you are asking me about if involved with the purse snatching would have had that information, along with knowing where I worked and my license plate numbers. That would be my guess."

"So you are basically saying that you in no way participated in composing this resume for the purpose of signing with an agency that was supplying candidates for interviewing for the Sinclair family as a babysitter to this same baby that Maggie Preston - that's the name of the grandmother in case you weren't aware - so that she could gain access to the baby and abduct her?"