There was a long pause. “No, she should hear it from me. I’ll pick her up and bring her down with me. She’s freshly divorced…She can’t be alone with this kind of news.”
“Let me know when you get into town. I’ll give you my personal number.”
Harris shook his head. “Glad you took that call. I can’t ever get through doing that without breaking down myself.”
“One of the worst parts of our job. Never gets better or easier. He’s going to bring her mother with him and call me when they get here. Could be tomorrow afternoon. Let’s keep this quiet until after they get here.”
“It’s getting late. Why don’t you go home, and I’ll keep an eye on the reports coming in from forensics,” Sharkey said.
“Okay. Get some rest. This could get worse before it’s over.”
“Yeah, give my best to Amy.”
“Will do.”
Sharkey glanced at the clock. It was after six. He longed to hold his children in his arms. As he drove home, he couldn’t get Carl Abbott’s voice out of his mind. The horror and disbelief were so intense. He pulled into the yard and Camie met him on the porch.
“I have a good dinner ready for you.”
Sharkey chuckled. “Okay, I’m ready.” Camie looked into his eyes and was surprised at what she saw.
“Come on,” she took his hand and led him into the living room. “He’s here,” she announced.
Danny and Danielle squealed and jumped out from behind the sofa. “Daddy, surprise.” They held up a paper sign that said, “Best Daddy in the World.”
Sharkey laughed and picked them up. “You made that sign all by yourselves?”
“Mommy helped a little.” They laughed and hugged him.
“Okay let’s eat,” Camie said.
“Yeah, we’re starved,” Danny said.
After dinner, Sharkey and Camie went out on the porch and watched the kids play catch.
“I take it you had a bad day,” Camie said, holding his hand.
“Yeah, about the worst. We had a call for a body found on Government Road.”
“I saw that on the internet.”
“It gets worse. The woman has two missing kids. I got hold of the father of one of the kids, the estranged husband of the victim. The other baby’s father is nowhere to be found. The grandmother is coming in tomorrow with the husband. The mother seemed so young…and sweet. It was so sad.”
“What are the chances of getting the kids back?”
“Who knows? We’ll do what we can, but statistically, not good. We haven’t a clue on their location. I’ll get more information and reports tomorrow.”
“I’m so sorry, Sharkey…now I understand what I saw in your eyes. There but for the grace of God go any parents.”
“This was well planned. The mother was killed and children were taken out of a motel across town. There are lots of questions. It’s just me and Harris. Webber is out on a mandatory seminar for at least the next week.”
“Great timing. Come love, take a shower and we’ll make the world go away for the rest of the night together.”
“I don’t know what I would do without you,” Sharkey said softly as he held her close.
“You don’t have to worry about that,” she said, pulling him up off the couch. “I’ll get the kids ready for bed and you head for the shower.”
* * *
Amy was waiting for Harris outside the hospital. She waved and hurried over to the car when he pulled up.
“Hi, Love. How was your day?” she asked, kissing his cheek. “What’s wrong?” Her face mirrored her concern.
“We had a bad day. A murder and possible kidnapping of kids…one only a baby.”
“Oh no, that’s awful.” Her face showed shock and dismay.
“You got any kids in the hospital that might have come in last night?”
“No. We have only three patients in the children’s ward. They came in a few days ago.”
“Okay,” Harris said, “I didn’t think it would be that easy. Look, how about a quiet dinner at the Italian Restaurant or get takeout and go home. It’s going to be a rough day tomorrow.”
“Of course.”
Harris went into the restaurant and ordered two takeout dinners. He returned to the car with the food then drove home.
“By the way, Sharkey said that Camie would be getting hold of you about us coming to dinner.”
“Good. I love Sharkey and Camie.” She smiled. “I don’t think I’ve been this happy in a long time. It’s gonna be good, yeah?”
“It’s going to be great. It sounds like just what I needed. You always know just what to say, my amazing lady.”
Amy set out dinner and they sat down on the back porch.
“This is the second time that you and Sharkey have had a big case and Doug Webber hasn’t been there. He isn’t thinking of leaving, is he?”
“I should hope to shout not. We had a hell of a time on the last cases when he was gone.”
“You know, when a baby comes along, people start to see their world differently. Gloria and he both being police may cause them to rethink their futures. It’s not an easy life and when the impacts fall over to the children, it changes things.”
“They’re a great couple, and our department wouldn’t be the same without them. Guess it’s their decision.”
“Come on, Sweetie, let’s eat and get some rest. Tomorrow could be full of surprises.”
Sunday Morning
As Sharkey and Harris walked across the parking lot to the station, Sharkey said, “Let’s concentrate on finding this Trujillo guy. Trujillo is pretty common in Hispanic countries and this part of the U.S Southern Florida.”
“Great. I’ll run the name through our system and maybe check with Interpole to see if he’s in their system.”
Sharkey’s cell phone rang.
“Detective Sharkey. How
