LITMIR.BIZ

       Chapter Three

      Protests rose from all sides of the conference table after Graham’s pronouncement. “We need to go back to the judge and try again,” Michael Dance said.

      “I can talk to Child Welfare and Protection,” Carmen said. “Ask them to take another look.”

      “Unless we have CWP on our side, we’re not going to get anywhere with this,” Randall Knightbridge said.

      Walt raised his voice to be heard over the clamor. “There’s still something we can do, even without a warrant,” he said.

      Conversation died and everyone turned to look at him. “What do you have in mind?” Marco asked.

      “I think we should do what Hannah suggested and infiltrate the group.” Walt said.

      “You mean, send someone in undercover to determine if the baby is really there?” Carmen asked.

      “And maybe find out what really happened to the child’s mother,” Walt said. “Hannah said her sister was afraid for her life—maybe there’s more to this story that we need to find out.”

      “It’s not a bad idea,” Graham said. “I’ve thought of it before, if only to get a better sense of what Metwater is up to.”

      “It could backfire, big time,” said Simon Woolridge, tech expert and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. “If Metwater figures out what we’re doing, he could take it to the press and gain a lot of traction with his claims that we’re harassing him.”

      “He won’t find out,” Walt said. “Not if we do it right.”

      “By ‘we’ you mean who?” Graham asked.

      Walt squared his shoulders. “I could go,” he said. “I’ve done undercover work before.”

      “They’d recognize you,” Marco said. “We were just at the camp this morning.”

      “I’d dye my hair and grown out my beard, and dress differently. They wouldn’t recognize me as the lawman they saw one time.”

      “How are you going to know you found the right baby?” Carmen asked.

      “Hannah Dietrich could come with me. I could say she’s my sister.”

      “That won’t work,” Simon said. “You two don’t look anything alike.”

      “Say she’s your wife,” Randall said. “From what we’ve seen, couples sometimes join Metwater’s Family together.”

      “I could do that,” Walt said. “If she agrees.”

      “You heard her,” Marco said. “She’ll do anything to save her niece.”

      “Talk to her,” Graham said. “See what she says. But she has to agree to follow your lead and proceed with caution. And if you get in there and learn there’s a real danger, you get out. No heroics.”

      “Yes, sir.” He didn’t want to be a hero. He only wanted to make things right for Hannah and her niece.

      * * *

      HANNAH HAD LOST the plot thread of the movie playing on the television in her hotel room an hour ago, but she left it on, grateful at least for the background noise that helped to make the room a little less forlorn. She glanced toward the porta-crib and the diaper bag in the corner of the room and felt a tight knot in her chest. Had she been naive to believe she would be bringing Joy back here last night, before heading back home to Dallas today? Now she was trapped in this awful limbo, not knowing when—or even if—she would see her niece.

      A knock on the door startled her. She punched the remote to shut off the TV and moved to the door. A glimpse through the peephole showed Walt Riley, dressed not in his khaki uniform, but in jeans and a white Western-cut shirt. With trembling hands, she unfastened the security chain and opened the door. “Has something happened?” she asked. “Do you have news?”

      “Hello, Ms. Dietrich,” he said. “Can I come in? There are some things we need to talk about.”

      “All right.” She stepped back and let him walk past her into the room. She caught the scent of him as he passed—not cologne, but a mixture of starch and leather that seemed imminently masculine.

      He crossed the small room and sat in the only chair. She perched on the edge of the bed, her stomach doing nervous somersaults. “Were you able to get the warrant to search the camp?” she asked.

      “No.” He rested his hands on his knees. Large hands, bronzed from working in the sun, with short nails and no jewelry. “The judge didn’t feel we had sufficient grounds to warrant a search. Metwater has complained we’re harassing him, and the court is taking that complaint seriously.”

      “What about Child Welfare and Protection? Would they support you? Or go to the camp to look for Joy?”

      He shook his head. “CWP says there aren’t any problems at the camp. They would have no reason to be there.”

      She felt as if she had swallowed an anvil. The weight of it pressed her down on the bed. “What am I going to do now?” she asked.

      “We’ve come up with a plan.”

      She leaned toward him. “What is it?”

      “It’s your plan, really. We’ll send two people in, posing as a husband and wife who are interested in joining the Family. That will give us the opportunity to determine, first, if there is even an infant matching the description of your niece in the camp, and if her mother is there or not. We also hope to determine the circumstances surrounding your sister’s death.”

      “I want to go. I want to be the woman.”

      “We’re not talking a quick overnight visit,” he said. “It could take weeks to gain their trust and learn anything of real value.”

      “I’ve taken a leave of absence from my job. I have however much time it takes.”

      “You said you’re a chemist? Is your employer willing to let you off work indefinitely?”

      “I’m very good at my job and I’ve been there a long time. I have savings and not many expenses. And when Joy comes to live with me, I intend to take family leave to spend

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