“I’m sure you did,” Marlee told the couple as Brice lifted his lids and met her gaze. “However, some of the adoption agencies also do adoptions off the books. Meaning—”
“We know what you mean,” Brice interrupted her. “What do you need from us to know if Nate is the missing baby or not?”
Marlee didn’t let herself breathe a sigh of relief just yet. Brice asking what she wanted didn’t mean the couple would cooperate. “A DNA sample for one. Since the infant I’m looking for never saw a hospital, they don’t have any records. However, his father and two other siblings submitted their DNA for comparison.”
Naomi wiped at a tear that ran down her face. “We tried for so long to have a child. When we learned we couldn’t, we weighed our options. Finally, we decided on adoption. Then we began researching all the different agencies. We went with the one with the best rating. You have to be mistaken.”
“I hope I am,” Marlee told them honestly. “I really do. If I am, I begin my search all over again.”
Naomi sniffed, anger filling her face. “If you aren’t, then you’ll take Nate away from us.”
“To return to his rightful family,” Brice told her and wrapped an arm around his wife to draw her close. “You wouldn’t want to do that to a child, would you, sweetheart? Keep him from his parents?” he asked in a soft voice.
Marlee’s heartstrings tugged. Not just for the couple, but also at the idea that she’d probably never have anyone to talk to her in such a manner. She had set out on her path without looking back or regret. Like her mother said, she had a destiny. And she was going to follow it.
Naomi turned toward Brice, resting her head on his shoulder. Marlee hoped they didn’t push back. She had evidence to bring to the authorities, but it wasn’t as much as she usually did. With the fact that the Harpers knew the sheriff and the chief of police, there was a chance the authorities wouldn’t help her. In which case, Marlee would just continue to gather evidence.
“I have this, if it helps.” She pulled a file from her purse and set it on the coffee table. It held a copy of all the evidence she’d gathered so far. Including everything on the Family First Adoption Agency.
Brice stared at the file for a long moment before he leaned forward and spun it around. Then, after a deep breath, he opened it. Naomi was the first to reach for a page and begin sifting through it.
Marlee sat silently, watching as the couple went through page after page. A few items in there didn’t have proof, just Marlee’s gut feelings. Anyone without investigation experience didn’t often understand those hunches. She could only pray that Brice and Naomi would.
It felt like years passed before Brice handed the last paper to Naomi, and she put them together and returned them to the file. The couple then looked at each other, their hands locked together. Once more, Marlee realized that she would likely never have someone she could turn to like that. It set off an ache inside her that she hadn’t felt before.
“We’ll help,” Naomi said as she turned her head to Marlee. She wiped at her eyes again. “The agency gave us hospital records. Do you need those?”
Marlee nodded, relief surging through her. “That would be helpful, yes.”
“What do we need to do?” Brice asked.
Marlee really hoped that Nate wasn’t the child she was looking for. She had spoken to other couples like this, and they were all devastated. But there was something different about this couple. “Can you bring Nate to the hospital tomorrow? We can set up a time to meet. I have the forms needed so the hospital can conduct their tests and get the samples we need.”
“We can do that.” Naomi was once more back in control of her emotions. “Now that you’ve told us these things happen, I want to have everything in the folder we got from the agency confirmed.”
Marlee got to her feet, feeling worse than she normally did at these meetings. “I am sorry. My job is to get the children back to their families. Trust me when I say that one of the hardest parts is taking a child from people like you.”
At that moment, a cry sounded through the baby monitor. Naomi jumped up and made her way to the stairs. Brice stood and said, “I’ll see you out.”
They were both silent as they walked to the door. Marlee paused once she opened it and then looked back at Brice. “No matter how this goes, please believe me when I say I’m sorry.”
“I can see it in your eyes.” Brice blew out a breath. “How long have you been surveilling Naomi and me?”
There was no need to lie now. The truth of her arrival in Clearview was now known. “About a week. When the baby was kidnapped, I started keeping tabs on any male infants going up for adoption in the area. I then began investigating you, your ranch, and your family.”
“What about the agency?” he asked. “I looked into them myself. Thoroughly. Even the evidence you gave us to look at doesn’t say much.”
Marlee looked away. “Maybe now isn’t a good time to talk about that.”
“When is a good time?” he demanded. “I think I have a right to ask these questions.”
Marlee shut the door to keep the cold out and met his gaze. “You absolutely do. I said that because you won’t like what I have to tell you.”
“I haven’t liked much of what you’ve said since you arrived. What makes this any different?”
She deserved that. Marlee didn’t take it personally, though. “The government watches adoption agencies, but like all things, if someone wants to do something nefarious, they can. Thousands of children and babies are kidnapped every day in the US alone. Most of them are never found again or even realize they have been taken from their families. Some are located, but I only bring back bodies to those families.”
“How many do you return to their families alive?” Brice asked in a soft voice.
“Not nearly enough.”
He sat there for a moment in silence before he asked, “Can you meet us at ten in the morning?”
She nodded. “Absolutely.”
As Marlee walked from the house, Brice said, “Perhaps next time, try not to use someone’s friend to get answers. You should’ve come to us first.”
Her steps halted as she thought about Cooper and the way he’d smiled at her. Then she recalled how cold his expression had gotten when she asked about his friends. Marlee looked over her shoulder at Brice. “I was completely out of line going to Cooper. I’ve never done anything like that before. I just thought … I’ve been doing this for long enough to know better than to do what I did. That’s why I came here tonight, Mr. Harper. I’m trying to sort through the mess I’ve made of things.”
He nodded slowly. “Be careful out there. The roads ice up quickly in weather like this.”
And with that, he shut the door.
Chapter 9
Banging on his door woke Cooper. He pushed up on his arms and looked at his phone beside the bed to find that it was just after five in the morning. He twisted to get out of bed and grabbed his head as it throbbed in time to the pounding on his door.
“All right, all right!” he shouted angrily. “I’m coming. Just stop knocking.”