The basement had been made into a living space. Carpeted, plastered, and painted, and artificially lit. There was a single fold out bed against the far wall. A sink, toilet and shower stall to the left, close to the entry of the room. Near the bed there was a chest of drawers with one missing drawer. The centre of the room held a small table with two chairs, and to the right of the entryway a small kitchenette sink and cupboard. The right wall, where there was a natural alcove was covered with a sliding closet door. That was where the noise was coming from.
They moved further into the basement, Cal still leading and Gillian close behind him, her hand gripping his shirt at his waist. They heard a scuffling from behind the door. There was someone else in there with the baby.
Judging by the noise, whoever it was wasn't large enough to be an adult. Between the wailing screams of the baby they could hear what sounded like someone doing their best to keep panicked breathing quiet.
Gillian squeezed Cal's side firmly to draw his attention. He looked over his shoulder at her, and she pulled him towards her more.
"Let me go first," she whispered.
"Are you mad?", the disbelieving return.
She took a deep breath and held him with both hands then.
"They probably don't have great experiences with men, Cal. I might be a little less threatening?"
Cal looked to the closet door as though he could see through it and nodded, allowing Gillian to move in front of him. She hesitated, turning to him again.
"Maybe you should hang back a little? Out of sight."
Cal did as she suggested as she moved to the door. The scuffling sound was heard again and the baby's cries intensified. Gillian slid the door open just enough to let light inside and took a few steps back.
"Hello?"
Her soft voice travelled into the crevice of the closet. The small figure within stilled suddenly and completely. The baby continued, oblivious to the situation.
Gillian stepped out of her heeled shoes and sank to the floor, grateful to have chosen pants for the day. She looked up at Cal then with wide eyes.
"Why don't you go tell Officer Davis to call in social services, then call Wallowski and let her know what's going on. We'll probably need a medical team too but tell them to make sure they have experience with stuff like this."
"And what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to try to make a new friend", she looked back then at the opening to the closet, trying to get a glimpse of the pair inside. Cal took a deep breath but nodded in agreement. Gillian was the best possible person for this.
"Cal", she called softly after him. He stopped to look back to her again. "Ask the cops to follow up on that autopsy too? I think we need to know if Claudia Kabuso recently gave birth, or ever did for that matter," she explained with a subtle incline of her head towards the room's other occupants.
Suddenly, Cal felt sick.
Cal rushed to the front of the house, startling Officer Paul Davis as he swung the door open.
"Jeeeesus Christ, Lightman," he exclaimed in a stage whisper, his hand on the holster of his gun causing Cal to duck back behind the door. "I could have killed you! Are you insane?"
"Little bit, maybe. Take a deep breathe Davis. We've just found your 'just cause' for that search warrant."
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, you tell the judge that you've responded to a report of breaking and entering from a pair of psychologists and in so doing, made a startling discovery. But before you make that call, you'll have to make a few others."
Gillian looked around the room, trying to keep her movements as calm and still as she could. The small figure inside the closet hadn't moved. His breathing could still be heard between the increasingly distressed cries of the hungry and soiled baby.
Looking behind her she realised that, although there were no toddler friendly items apparent, perhaps the small kitchenette might hold some supplies for the baby. There were cupboards all around the sink area and a small refrigerator.
She raised herself up from the floor and moved to search. Opening the door under the sink revealed some diapers. There were some graham crackers and formula mix in the sink above. Gillian opened the refrigerator next, revealing pre prepared bottles of what appeared to be either formula mix or pumped breast milk. She tested a small amount, deciding that it was still fresh enough to use. She removed one of the bananas that were in the fridge too, hoping to tempt the occupant out of hiding.
Using the electric kettle, Gillian heated some water and filled a small bowl. She placed one of the baby bottles in the water to heat it to a useable temperature. As she worked, she heard slight movement from the alcove behind. It seemed that her new friend was getting curious.
Detective Sharon Wallowski entered the interview room on a mission, closely followed by a harried Jared Pugh. Wasting no time, she sat at the small table opposite Caleb Morris with a flourish. Caleb looked nervous by the manner of her entrance but presiding over his anxiety was fear. He was fidgeting and looking ready to bolt.
"You have to let me go home. Please."
"Why's that Caleb? You worried someone will find the kids?"
The fidgeting stopped. Caleb sat frozen in his seat as he stared wide-eyed at the police officers in the room.
"Still waiting for that lawyer? You think your brother will wait now? Or you think he'll turn on you? How much can you trust Charlie, huh? Because to me, he seems like a self-preservation kind of guy."
When Caleb finally found his voice, Wallowski wasn't expecting what came out.
"Are they ok?"
From behind the two way glass in the interview room, Ria Torres observed the reactions from Caleb.
"The baby needs to eat," Gillian said gently from the floor of the room, holding the bottle in her hand and looking into the darkness behind the closet door. "I think you must be hungry too, right?"
She heard a shuffling retreat further into the small sanctuary where the child was hiding.
"The baby needs a fresh diaper too. I can help with that."
Gillian peeled the banana and began to mash it up into a bowl with a fork. She opened the graham crackers and put them on a plate. She sniffed at the food before taking a small bite from a cracker, then placed the remainder in the space on the floor between herself and the closet door.
The baby had near exhausted it's voice by now. Still crying in distress, but much softer and hoarse. The shuffling became louder until the missing drawer from the dresser appeared in the gap, a tiny infant inside, padded with a blanket. She couldn't help the gasp that escaped her then. She moved forward, staying on the floor, and pulled the drawer towards her while at the same time pushing the plate and bowl ahead into the vacated space. Gillian examined the baby first. It could only be a week old at most. Given the presumed circumstances of its birth, she was astonished to find it in relatively healthy condition. She retrieved a cloth and basin from the kitchenette, filling it with a small amount of warm water, and she set about the task of cleaning up the baby. As she worked, she became aware that the toddler hidden in the shadows was watching her every movement closely.
When she had managed to clean the baby and replace the soiled diaper, she disposed of the waste and attempted to feed the bottle to the little boy. He must be long overdue a feed, and she worried that his tiny body might reject the nutrients, but she had no choice but to try if there was a chance that the infant would survive this ordeal. As she worked, she returned her attention to the older child.
"You must be hungry. You want to come over and see the baby while you eat your food? You can see that he's ok while we wait for help."
He shuffled closer, his concern for his brother taking precedence over his concern for himself. When he crept into the artificial light of the room Gillian smiled at him and turned the baby in her arms so that he could be seen better.
Cal watched silently from the doorway, doing his best not to disturb the scene. The ambulance and social services would soon be creating a circus around them, but for now he just wanted to watch Gillian work her magic. The boy was responding to her well, far better than he would have expected he would respond to any stranger given the circumstances. The baby would need medical attention as soon as possible and Cal expected that as soon as they tried to take him away it would cause some distress in both the little boy and Gillian. Looking at her now though, he felt a sense of longing that he wasn't fully prepared for. The thought of Gillian with a baby crossed his mind occasionally. Usually, it was a reminder of the child that was taken from her, and he would mostly feel angry at the unfairness of it all. Sometimes he would think of Emily as a baby and combined with the thoughts of Gillian he would feel broody for another chance at fatherhood. He kept these thoughts to himself for fear of upsetting her but looking at her now he felt such deep longing to have this with her that he was taken aback.
And then she looked up over her shoulder, her eyes wide as she smiled at the sight of him, and he could see the effort it was taking for her to hide her horror at the situation from the little boy. Perfectly composed as far as anyone else could see, and only him because she trusted him enough to let him in. He fell in love with her all over again.
