A/N: I know that some of you may be concerned about Sara taking care of baby Bowen on top of her plate already being very full as she is worrying about Ethan and his hearing. My response to this is to wait and see what happens. Ethan is going to be OK - and just maybe Bowen's arrival will be a welcome diversion. . ..
It was a baby.
Hank had broken free from her grip on his leash halfway down the trail and run straight over to a large clump of bushes close to the front office. He was now sniffing something on the ground and barking, looking back, and waiting for her to catch up.
She wasn't prepared for the sight that met her eyes.
Sara stared down in shock at the wailing bundle half-hidden in the brush. Who on earth would have been so desperate as to leave their child out here in the elements? What if she hadn't run this way tonight? He could have been out here all night – he could have died.
"Hush, it's all right, little one, I've got you," Sara soothed as she scooped him up and tried not to wince at how cool he felt in her arms. "I need to get you warmed up."
As she shifted him in her arms, she saw a small white piece of paper fall to the ground.
"What's that?" she said aloud as she crouched to pick it up.
The paper was actually a business card. Sara shone her light on it and read the handwritten words on the back: 'My name is Bowen. Please call Mary and get help when you find me.'
"Mary?" Sara repeated the name, frowning in confusion as she flipped the card over and read: Mary Shepherd, US Marshal. A phone number was printed on the card as well, but no address. She looked at the baby in her arms. "Who are you? What kind of trouble is your mama in?"
Bowen blinked sleepy eyes at her, whimpering softly.
"Right, the first order of business is to get you warm and somewhere safe – so I guess you're coming with me. I can't leave you here-" she glanced around the darkened body farm. "No, that's out of the question."
She knelt in the dirt and placed Bowen on the ground in front of her. His whimpers increased to wails. "Shh, Bowen, I'm right here – I'm not leaving you. But I've got to get your body temperature up-" Sara unzipped her windbreaker and shrugged it off, then she peeled off her fleece sweater. She dressed Bowen in her sweater, wrapping the long sleeves around his little body. Sara was shivering from the cold by this time as she put her windbreaker back on and wrapped the sleeves around and under her shoulder, improvising a homemade sling with Bowen cradled snug against her torso.
"It's been a few years since I've done this," she smiled down at him, bouncing a bit on her tiptoes as he quieted against her body. "But I think this will hold you until we get home." She snapped her fingers and Hank reappeared at her side. Her fingers brushed his collar, running down to catch the end of his leash.
"All right, boys, let's go."
Sara had been gone too long.
Years ago when they had first gotten together, running had been one of her diversions from work. So when the cases had gotten too intense, and she felt like the world was caving in, she would go for a run and be gone for hours.
But that was part of their old life – when they had each been battling demons and working double and triple shifts – before they got married and had children. Before they left Vegas and moved to Sedillo, where life had gotten way less complicated.
But Gil knew that there were still plenty of evil people in the world who did unspeakable things to each other. They could only do so much to protect their children – and he knew he couldn't leave them home alone to go look for her. So all he could do was sit here in their warm house, nursing his cup of tea and pray she would come crashing through the front door any minute.
When he heard Hank's bark, Gil nearly fainted in relief. He put his mug in the sink and went to the door, throwing it open as their crazy dog ran in to the house. He peered out into the darkness and saw Sara coming up the walk.
"Sara-" he called. "I was getting worried."
"I know. I'm sorry – but something happened and I couldn't run back-"
He stepped onto the porch. "What do you mean you couldn't run? Are you hurt-" the words died in his throat as Sara made it to the bottom of the steps and he stared in shock at the bundle strapped to her chest. "A baby?"
She nodded as she mounted the steps and brushed past him, not wanting to keep Bowen out in the cold any longer. Gil shut the door behind her before he grabbed her elbow and she turned to face him.
"Sara?"
"I found him at the farm – in some bushes – alone."
Gil's eyebrows shot up. "Abandoned?"
"No one else was around-" she replied as she untied the sling, catching the baby as he slipped free. "Would you mind? It was a long walk back and he's heavy-"
Gil held out his hands and she placed Bowen in them with a sigh as she rolled her tight shoulders, trying to loosen them up. Gil looked down on the sleeping child, gasping in recognition. "Sara – I know this baby."
She started. "You do?"
He nodded. "Paulie came with the university students to the farm today – he wanted to talk about plans for spring – he was watching this baby for one of the students on the tour. He was thrilled to be playing with a baby again – I even held this little guy for awhile-" Gil bounced Bowen gently as he began to stir.
"Did he say which student – did you meet her – or him?"
Gil shook his head. "No, although he did say the student was Bowen's mother-"
Sara reached out and stroked the back of the baby's head. "What the hell is going on?"
"Did you find anything with him?"
"Just this." Sara fished the business card out of her pocket and held it out to her husband.
"Mary Shepherd, US Marshal," he repeated the words aloud thoughtfully. "Do you think Marshall knows her?"
"Isn't his partner Mary?"
"I think so – we've never met her."
Sara grinned. "That would be quite the coincidence – and what a way to finally meet her – shall I call her?"
"I think you better – the message said to call for help – and we don't exactly know what to do about this little guy, do we?"
"Well, we're no strangers to parenting, Gil."
He quirked an eyebrow at her. "But we have no idea what kind of trouble he's in – or where his mother is."
"You're right – I'll make the call. What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to give him a tepid bath – continue warming him up slowly. I'll take his temperature too, see if he's in the danger zone for frostbite."
Sara leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. "Such a good daddy."
"Says the world's best mama."
She smiled and placed a hand on his arm. "Gil – I hope – you aren't upset with me? I mean, I know we have a lot on our plate right now with Ethan's hearing but I couldn't walk away and leave this little guy out there in the elements-"
"Sara."
She fell silent at the sound of her name falling from his lips.
"I would never ask you to walk away from a child in distress – it's not who you are – it's not who we are. You brought him home because you knew we could care for him until help arrived. I'm not upset with you – quite the contrary actually. This is just one reason I fall more in love with you every day."
She pressed her lips to his, pouring all her heart into the kiss, not breaking away until she felt Bowen squirm between them.
"I love you too, dear husband."
"This is Mary."
"Hi – my name is Sara Grissom – I found – I know this is going to sound crazy – but I found a baby tonight with your business card on him – are you – are you missing a baby?"
Mary set down her fork and moved away from the table, locking eyes with Marshall as she stepped into her home office. Marshall murmured excuses to Jinx and Brandi before he followed, closing the door behind him, coming up behind his partner to listen in on the conversation.
"I'm sorry – did you say you found a baby with my business card for identification?"
"Yes."
Her eyes met Marshall's and held as she continued talking. "And who are you again?"
"My name is Sara Grissom. My husband and I operate a body farm that is owned by the university – I'm sorry, but do you know a Marshall Mann?"
Mary nearly dropped the phone in shock. She covered the speaker and hissed at her partner, "Who the hell is Sara?"
Marshall's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Sara Grissom? She and Gil run the body farm in Sedillo – I've told you about them. Is that her on the phone?"
"Yeah – she's talking some crazy shit about-"
"Let me talk to her," he insisted, holding out his hand.
Mary frowned at him, trying to think of a reason to refuse but in the end she handed over the phone. Marshall had the connection with the woman – perhaps he could get this sorted out quickly and she could return to her pie.
"Sara? This is Marshall-"
"Marshall, thank God! I was hoping that the Mary on the business card was your partner – though the last name is Shepherd and I could have sworn you told me your partner's last name is Shannon-"
Marshall's eyes fluttered shut and Mary straightened to attention next to him. Was it possible that a genuine threat to one of their witnesses was happening? She opened her mouth to question him, but he held up a hand, signaling her to wait and she crossed her arms, closing her mouth with a snap.
"What's going on, Sara? You told Mary you found a baby? Where?"
"When I was on my run tonight – I was passing by the farm, and I heard crying. I found Bowen-"
"Wait – the baby's name is Bowen?"
"Fuck!" Mary swore as she went and opened the office door. "Brandi! Give me your cell phone!"
"Where's yours?"
"Marshall's on it-"
"Where's his?"
"I don't know – come on, it's an emergency!"
Marshall was covering his ear as he paced back and forth, listening to the details of how Sara found Bowen abandoned at the farm, brought him home, and then how Gil had filled in more blanks once she had arrived there.
"Here, Mary, you can use mine," Peter handed her his phone.
"Thanks," Mary nodded as she nearly slammed the office door in his face, her fingers already dialing. "Come on, come on, pick up."
It went straight to voicemail.
Marshall was looking at her with a quizzical expression and she shook her head as she hung up and dialed Stan. He resumed his pacing and she tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for their boss to answer.
"This is Chief Inspector McQueen-"
"Stan, it's Mary."
"Mary! How are you?"
"We've got a security breach-"
"Who? Where?"
"Grace Ling and her son Bowen. I just got a call from some lady out at a body farm-"
"Sara Grissom?"
"Geez, you know her too?"
"Of course – she and Dr. Grissom are very nice people."
"I'm sure – anyway, she found Bowen abandoned in the bushes tonight with only my business card on him for identification-"
"And Grace?"
Mary glanced at Marshall, who shook his head. He covered the speaker and whispered, "She was part of the student tour from the university today – she left on the bus with the rest of the students." He uncovered the speaker and continued talking to Sara.
"She's in the wind, Stan. I tried her cell, and it went straight to voicemail."
"Okay, I'll talk to my friend Captain Brass and have APD be on the lookout for Grace. Delia and I will head over to the campus and see if we can get any information about the tour and Grace's last known whereabouts. Tell Marshall I want him to go out to Sedillo, talk to the Grissoms, and pick up Bowen."
"I'm going with him-"
"No, you're not. Stand down, Inspector."
"Stan, Grace and Bowen are my witnesses-"
"Technically, you and Marshall are both listed as the inspectors of record."
"Semantics. I'm going-"
"Have you forgotten that you're still on maternity leave for another week? Because I haven't – you have your own baby girl to take care of-"
"She has her father, her grandmother, and her aunt is back in town now too. I can't sit on the sidelines – don't ask me to. I need to find Grace. She put my name on that card – not Marshall's."
"Fine – but you follow your partner's lead – I'm putting him in charge. You follow his orders and if he tells you to go home and rest, I expect you to do it. Understood?"
"Yes, Sir."
She hung up the phone to see Marshall studying her. "Stan says I can go."
He grinned. "I heard."
She turned away and opened the door, waving Peter's phone in the air. "I'm done – thanks again, Peter."
"No problem." He took the phone from her and put it back in his pocket.
She wet her lips as she looked around the table at her family. "Listen, I – um – I have to go with Marshall. Something's come up at work-"
Brandi rolled her eyes. "Really? We kinda figured that one out all on our own."
Jinx bumped her elbow and shook her head at her youngest before looking at Mary with big eyes full of concern. "Be safe, Sweet Pea."
"Can you – would one of you mind staying with Norah until I get back? It may be awhile-"
"How long is 'awhile'?" Peter asked.
Mary and Marshall exchanged glances.
"I'll send her home to get some rest by tomorrow afternoon at the latest," Marshall vowed.
"I can stay tonight, but I have classes to teach tomorrow-" Jinx volunteered.
"Peter and I can come over in the morning and stay until you get here – can't we?" Brandi offered, looking at her boyfriend for confirmation.
"Sure."
"I appreciate it." She gave them all nods and moved towards her bedroom to collect her weapons and US Marshal identification.
Norah stirred in her crib and Mary paused in the act of opening her gun safe. She crept over to the crib's side and stared down at her daughter, fast asleep and blissfully unaware of the evils of the world. She heard footsteps behind her, but she didn't turn around. She knew who it was. Years of working side by side and she knew the sound of his breathing – the pattern his footfalls made on the pavement next to her as they chased criminals and rescued witnesses.
"This is the first time I've had to leave her for work."
"Mary, you don't have to come – I've got this."
She reached down and traced the delicate curve of Norah's cheek. "I know you do. But I need to do this – for me – for her – it's time to get back to being a badass law woman."
He chuckled as he came and stood beside her, looking down at his goddaughter. "You're always going to be that – you don't need to have a gun strapped to your hip to be a badass. It's in your very nature."
She grinned as she shot him a sideways glance. "It's just – who's going to protect her when I'm not here?"
He reached out and very gently placed his hand on hers on the crib rail. "She won't be alone. Her family will be here – and you'll be back. You would never walk out on her. You're not your father."
She gasped as she raised her eyes to his. "How did you-"
He tapped his temple. "Room renting, remember? I'll be in the car."
She waited until she heard the front door close before she leaned down and pressed a kiss to Norah's cheek. "Mama has to go catch some assholes. I'll be back soon, Bug. Be a good girl for Nana and Auntie Brandi."
Paulie was running late – again. His wife had expected him home hours ago, but it was mid-term and he had so many things to do before he could leave his office for the evening. Staff evaluations, student exams, and the board wanted another update on the body farm. He had really struck gold four years ago when he had convinced his Uncle Gil to move out here and run it, but between arranging donors and backers, updates for the board, and fundraisers, it continued to be a headache – and he didn't even have the joy of running it on a daily basis. Today when he had been out there, he had again been awash with envy at how peaceful and content his Uncle Gil had seemed. Of course, the man had shared his worry about Ethan's hearing loss but overall life in Sedillo seemed almost pastoral.
Paulie definitely envied them their peace and quiet.
He had just finished editing the last document on his computer and turned off his desk light when there was a tap on his office door.
"I'm sorry but whatever it is, it will have to wait until tomorrow. I'm leaving for the night-"
"Mr. Paulie Brown?"
"Yes," he frowned and looked up at the formal tone of voice to see a stout, slightly balding man standing in the doorway. "Can I help you?"
"My name is Chief Inspector McQueen with the US Marshal Service. I'd like to ask you a few questions about Grace Ling and her son, Bowen."
"Has something happened to them?"
"Please, if you could just answer my questions-"
"Not until you tell me what's going on!"
"Sir, please." Stan held up his hand as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss details with you-"
"Wait – US Marshal Service – is Grace is danger?"
Stan gave a slight nod. "We have reason to believe her life may be in danger – anything you could tell us about her activities today would be very helpful."
"Well – I don't know much. I mean, she came with us to the body farm – and she brought her baby with her – Bowen, right?"
"That's unusual, isn't it? To bring a baby on a field trip to a body farm?"
Paulie nodded. "Yes, she was pleading her case with her academic advisor, Mr. Holgate, when I arrived on the scene, and I told him to let her bring the boy along. I have young children myself, you see, so I understood her situation-"
"Situation?"
"Her sitter had canceled at the last minute and she didn't have anyone else to leave him with – she's a single mother, you know."
"Yes, I do know. How did Grace seem – anxious – worried?"
Paulie leaned back in his chair, steepling his hands together. "She was focused on Bowen during the bus ride – both ways – though on the way back she seemed upset. She was clutching him very tightly and wouldn't let anyone come near her – it was strange, now that I think about it. On the way down, she was talking to those around her, smiling, at ease. Quite different on the ride back."
"But you didn't talk to her?"
He shrugged. "Not really. I watched Bowen while she was on the tour so she could take notes and explore the farm. Her baby was the most well-behaved child I've ever seen! He never cried, not even at the end of the day when I knew he had a poopy diaper!"
"Did you see any strangers at the farm – uh – people that weren't part of your group – anyone who might have been watching Grace?"
"Our group was the only one scheduled today – there were a few other tourists walking around – and a Chinese guy-"
"What Chinese guy?" Stan demanded.
"I don't know – some Chinese guy in a business suit. He was yakking on his cell phone most of the time. He didn't seem to be there to explore the body farm – so I think that's why he stood out in my mind – that and the fact that we see so few Asian people in New Mexico."
"Could you describe him for me?"
Paulie blinked in surprise. "Aside from being about five ten, one hundred eighty pounds?" He shook his head. "Sorry, I didn't get a close enough look at him. All I can tell you is that he was Chinese."
"Did you see him talking to Grace?"
Paulie shook his head. "No, but I was talking to Dr. Grissom and taking care of Bowen – so I wasn't paying attention to Grace or the other students while we were at the farm."
Stan nodded grimly. "And you didn't see this man after you returned to the university?"
"No."
"What happened to Grace when you got back?"
"I honestly don't know, Inspector. I was the first one off the bus and I rushed back here to my office to finish up my paperwork – and I've been here ever since. Now tell me, where's Grace? Is she in danger?"
"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Brown. If you remember anything else or you hear from Grace, please give me a call." He stepped forward and dropped a card on the man's desk.
"Wait!"
Stan turned at the man's outburst, pausing in the doorway.
"Grace is a four point o student with a very bright future in criminalistics – can't you tell me anything? Is she alive?"
"Our investigation is still ongoing, Mr. Brown. We'll be in touch."
"Is that government speak for 'we don't know'?" Paulie demanded but Stan had already left, and the question hung in the air, unanswered.
A/N: Up next - the triple terrors realize there is a baby in the house and Mary meets the Grissom family. Drop me a line in reviews!