Where is the Baby? Read Free

me up, make me stay inside?’
    â€˜Nope. Let’s go see if we can find the van and get the baby. Then I’ll take you to a place where some nice folks will look after those cuts and scrapes and make sure you feel all right, while me and my buddies try to sort things out.’
    â€˜Okay.’ She watched the two policemen put Wolf and Toadman’s hands behind their backs, then put shiny silver things on their wrists. ‘What’s gonna happen to them?’ she asked.
    â€˜That depends on a lot of things,’ the officer told her. As they were passing down an aisle with towels and sheets, he took a big towel from a pile on a table and wrapped it around her. Then he picked her up and carried her towards the entrance. The towel was soft, and feeling sleepy all at once, she put her head on his shoulder. ‘What’s your name, Mister?’ she asked him.
    â€˜Brian,’ he answered, his voice sounding funny. His arm held her secure as he took her through the store and outside into the heat to a blue and white car. ‘This is the cruiser,’ he explained. ‘You’re going to sit right up front with me while we see if we can find the van. Okay?’
    â€˜Okay.’
    He set her down on the seat, then closed the door and went around to the driver’s side. She looked at all the buttons and dials while he started the engine, hearing little voices coming from somewhere.
    â€˜What’s that?’ she asked, leaning forward.
    â€˜What’s what?’
    â€˜It sounds like tiny little people talking inside here.’ She put out a hand and touched the dashboard.
    He laughed and said, ‘That’s the police radio. You’re a sharp little cookie.’
    â€˜What’s that mean, Mister Brian?’
    â€˜It means that you’re very smart.’
    â€˜Oh!’
    â€˜I have a daughter about your age.’
    â€˜Yeah?’
    â€˜She’s almost five and her name is Lucia.’
    â€˜That’s a nice name. I never heard it before.’ She looked out at the rows of cars. ‘I think it’s way at the back. When I looked out the window, there weren’t any other cars close by. Do you think maybe I’m almost five, like your girl?’ she asked.
    â€˜You might be a little more, or a little less.’
    She gazed out the window, considering the information. ‘Maybe that’s how old I am. Nobody never told me. Oh look, Mister Brian!’ she exclaimed. ‘There it is! Over there!’ She pointed to the far end of the lot. ‘I see it!’ she said excitedly, her pointing finger jabbing at the air. ‘It’s the one with all the black windows.’
    â€˜Good girl!’ He picked up his microphone and spoke into it, saying he wanted some uniforms to check for a baby in the back and put in a call to DCF, and a tow to load up the van. As he put the microphone down, he looked over at her, asking, ‘How did you get out of there?’
    â€˜With a knife and fork.’
    His eyebrows drawing together, he said, ‘
What?
’
    As they parked across the way from the van, she explained to him how she’d got the window open.
    â€˜And that’s how you hurt yourself?’ he asked.
    â€˜I cutted my hand with the knife when it broke. And I hurted my foot ’cuz it got caught in the window when I climbed out. I fell down on my hands and knees. See!’ She held her hands palm outwards to show him.
    â€˜And how did you get these?’ he asked, indicating the insides of her elbows.
    â€˜Toadman does those with his cigrets when I’m bad. I got more, if you wanna see,’ she offered, reaching to raise the bottom of Wolf’s T-shirt to show him.
    â€˜No, that’s all right.’ He stopped her hand. ‘
Bastard!
’ he whispered fiercely, his face going tight again.
    â€˜Toadman calls everybody bastard, ’specially when people piss him off. Did I piss you