Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Jesse and Mark were already waiting with Amanda in her pathology lab, chatting amongst themselves when Steve entered. A buff coloured folder was tucked under his arm and he pinched the rim of a cup of coffee with the fingers of his other hand. He stopped abruptly as he caught sight of the tiny bump under the pale blue sheet on the gray metal gurney. He swallowed hard before addressing Amanda

"Hey, have you got anything for me?" he nodded towards the gurney.

"This is a bit out of my league, I'm used to dealing with more complete, I mean more recent corpses" she looked at the blue sheet "All I can tell you is what I didn't find."

Steve raised a hand for her to continue, as Jesse and Mark listened intently.

"No broken bones that I can find, no cut or scrape marks on the bones to suggest trauma"

"So it wasn't foul play?" Jesse interrupted, his usual boisterous tone replaced by a mixture of confusion and disbelief.

"Not necessarily" Amanda corrected him "suffocation, malnutrition, poisoning, a hundred other ways of harming an infant that wouldn't show up in remains like this."

Jesse dropped his head realising he'd jumped the gun with his question.

"But you wouldn't poison a baby" Steve began "Something as small and helpless as that, we get cases all too frequently of shaken baby syndrome, suffocation is pretty common too. Basically you're saying we can't rule out murder right?"

Amanda nodded, still looking at the tiny mound on the gurney

"And if it was natural causes why hide it" Steve added, "can you give me an approximate age?"

Amanda let out a long deep breath "Young, very young indeed. Going on size and bone development I'd say absolute maximum of a month old" Mark nodded in agreement. "This baby could have been just a few hours old when" she bit her lip.

Steve waited a moment before asking "how long do you think she, he?"

"He, little boy" Amanda confirmed.

"How long had he been down there?"

Amanda shrugged, "really, we'd have to test the bones to give you a date, that'll take a few days to process"

"Guess?" he almost pleaded

She shrugged again, wrapping her arms around herself. Amanda was visibly upset as her eyes remained focused on the blue sheet, Steve's questions not helping her mood "I don't know Steve" she snapped "50 years, more, when were those houses built?"

He flicked through the folder "Mid 20's". He took a sip of coffee as Amanda thought about it.

"OK, presume that's the only place they've ever been and I'd say 50 to 80 years".

Steve sat in silence for a while then scanning the room said "The clothes, pieces of fabric he was wrapped in, I'll take them for forensics."

Amanda crossed the room and handed him the clear plastic bag from her desk "I guess the clothes where hand knitted, white wool, remnants of a white towel diaper. The cloth he was wrapped in looks like it was probably an adults headscarf, I think there is some print along the side." She turned the bag over and pointed to a swatch of faded red and orange fabric "I can't make it out, hopefully your guys will have more luck. Generally it has survived pretty well, it was surprisingly dry down there."

"May I?" Mark asked taking the plastic bag from Steve. He scrunched up his nose first peering closely at the bag then holding it at arms length.

"What?" Steve seemed unconvinced by his father's investigation skills. Mark rotated the bag in his hand squinting at it again.

"Can you see a pattern here?" he wagged a finger over the plastic "Orange swirl then this browny bit." Jesse looked over his shoulder and Amanda stepped closer to them. "The red's a little dirty and this here" he pointed again "this could have been pink but it faded worse than the rest".

Steve tapped his foot impatiently "And all this tells us?"

"Your aunt Dora had one just like it" Mark grinned,

Steve rolled his eyes "fascinating, and that gem of family history helps me because?"

"You know Dora was always the height of fashion, up to date, and quite exclusive in her tastes, wouldn't shop anywhere too common" he smiled again

Steve sighed in defeat realising his father expected him to follow his theory with ease. "You're suggesting I get aunt Dora to take a look at a fabric swatch?" he guessed

Mark shook his head, "No need for that, it's there" he tapped his temple "I know I saw her wearing it…" He closed his eyes, Steve shot a glance at Jesse and shook his head "It was, it was, Got it!" he snapped his fingers "The day the war ended, she threw her arms around my neck and I had my face buried in this very same fabric. Your aunt Dora bought this material in 1945, and I could name a handful of shops she would have used at the time".

"Try beginning with A" Amanda suggested, then seeing their confused looks explained "The name printed along the hem begins An or Am as far as I can tell."

"Angus Fabrics on Delaware Road" Mark beamed.

Steve let out a small laugh "Thanks dad, if you're right at least it gives me somewhere to start until forensics give me anything more solid."

"Anything you want me to do?" Jesse asked though his usual eager tone was still absent.

"No, I'm OK for now thanks"

As Jesse and Mark left Steve turned to Amanda who was still staring at the gurney. Steve turned the plastic bag containing the tiny clothes over in his hands "thanks Amanda, I know this one wasn't easy" he said.

"It's the job" she replied, her voice void of emotion.

"That doesn't always make it better though, does it?" he asked.

She shook her head slowly and as he turned to close the door behind himself he saw the single tear which she brushed from her cheek.

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"Full House" Steve puffed as he bounded up onto the deck of the beach house.

"Good Run?" Mark asked and Steve nodded as he braced his hands on his knees.

"Hey buddy" he bent down and ruffled CJ's hair as he scooted his toys across the deck "nice police car, where's your brother?"

"Inside watching TV alone, bit of a grouch today" Amanda answered.

"Have you been showing off my beautiful baby photos again?" Steve grinned, faking embarrassment. He nodded to the brown leather album that sat on the table between Jesse and Mark.

"Not quite" his father chuckled "just a little confirmation of my hunch yesterday. I know you said you didn't need our help just yet but it was for my own satisfaction". He flipped open the book and gently turned the 'pages' which were in fact fabric samples. "Angus Fabrics of course has long gone, but I called Dora, she sends her love by the way" Steve smiled "she remembered the owner as a beautiful, beautiful man" he mimicked "by the name of Arthur Angus who lived on Richmond Drive. I called over there this afternoon and he was delighted to help somebody tracing a discontinued pattern. I described it in three words and he opened the album straight to the page." Mark slid the album to Steve. The fabric was indeed, as far as Steve could make out at least, the same as the faded piece he's seen in Amanda's lab.

"Very good" Steve conceded, inwardly marvelling at his fathers resourcefulness, not to mention memory for detail. "Don't suppose he remembered selling a piece to a shady looking character?" he teased, not wanting his father to get too carried away with his detective skills.

"No, but he was sure he only stocked that pattern from February 1945 to the Christmas of 1946. It was his own design so nowhere else would have sold it".

"OK" Steve was thinking out loud "So the earliest that the material could have been purchased was the start of '45." He disappeared inside and emerged moments later with a few sheets of paper stapled in the corner. "Scratch the first three tenants of our house on Garret Drive, Ogilby, Bennett and Rushdon. We've got a couple, Dr and Mrs Robins, lived there from 1943 until June 1945. Then a woman by the name of Oxley had the place from August '45 until the February of '46. The place was empty for a few months then a Mr Miller was the owner." He thought for a moment. "We've got '45 as one parameter, but the material doesn't help us with the other extent." He turned to Amanda "In your opinion, what's the latest the baby could have been placed there?"

"I'd still say at least 50 years" Amanda offered "but if you want me to be really conservative then go with 40 years."

"OK 40 years, Miller had the place from June '46 until he passed away in October 1959. Mrs Rice was the next occupant from December '59 until the early 70's, she's also passed away. 1 other name on the list then vacant since '84." He sat looking at the paper a while longer. "Mr Miller and Mrs Rice are both out as far as interviews go" he thought for a moment "and I'd go with the premise that whoever did this wouldn't want to hang around the scene of the crime. So as both were long term tenants and no longer able to give me any info themselves I'm willing to bump them down this list for a while." The others nodded at his logic and he drummed his fingers on the table top "Dr Robins and Miss Oxley" he sat back in his chair.

"June '45 the doctor left?" Jesse asked suddenly, Steve glanced at the paper again and nodded "Miss Oxley took the place in August?" again Steve nodded. "OK, so in a month anybody could have walked in and put the body there, not exactly high security, an outhouse in the forties."

"By the same reasoning anybody could have walked in anytime and put it there" Amanda pointed out.

Steve rolled his eyes "I usually try to progress in an investigation, narrow down the possibilities you know?" he joked.

"Why?" Mark asked

"Because that's what the police department pay me to do" Steve exclaimed.

"No I mean why leave him there, if it was the doctor or Miss Oxley, wouldn't they be frightened the next owners would discover it? Or if it was this stranger from the street the same question applies".

There was silence for a while before Jesse asked "What if it wasn't foul play, what if somebody wanted the baby to be found, like by a doctor for example." He expanded on his theory "you get babies abandoned on the steps of hospitals right? Back then everybody in a neighbourhood like that would know which house belonged to a doctor. Maybe somebody left him in the outhouse expecting him to be rescued."

"Why not on the doorstep in that case?" Steve retorted, "Sorry Jess, doesn't fit."

"Especially as the baby was under the floorboards" Amanda pointed out.

Steve ran his fingers through his hair "OK, I guess tomorrow I take a look at Dr Robins and Miss Oxley, see if I can find them alive and well and willing to talk, though judging by the dates I doubt it. Talk about a cold case, this one's so old it's practically frozen. And we still don't know it's a murder investigation" he added.

"That little boy" Amanda hissed "at least deserves our efforts, however he got there." She hadn't intended her words to be so harshly aimed at her friend.

Steve looked at her apologetically, realising she'd mistaken his frustration for indifference. He headed towards the kitchen "my cue to shower for dinner" he called.