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Jenna stood in the open doorway, her face pale in the light of the single bulb hanging in the hallway. “I found Nurse Grey,” she said softly.
Cliff stepped up beside Jenna and stared down at the lifeless body of Nurse Grey.
CHAPTER 11
Jenna bent to feel for a pulse, knowing she wouldn’t find one.
The nurse’s face was pale, her eyes opened wide, her expression frozen in a soundless scream.
Straightening, Jenna glanced around what appeared to be a bedroom with an old-fashioned, white iron bed covered with a hand-sewn quilt.
In the middle of the bed was a laundry basket, a short stack of what appeared to be disposable diapers and a canister of baby formula.
Jenna’s heart skipped several beats as she hurried toward the laundry basket.
Inside the basket was a folded baby blanket like the ones they’d wrapped Blakely in at the hospital. And nothing else.
No baby.
Jenna looked around the small room, checking in drawers, under the bed and in the closet. Still…no baby.
She expanded her search to include every inch of the house. Cliff followed, with his gun held out in front of him.
Jenna holstered hers, more concerned about finding the baby than her own safety.
She finally came to a stop with Nurse Grey at her feet. “She was here. My sister’s baby was here.”
The sound of singing drifted in from the living room. “Hush, little baby, don’t say a word…” Then humming sounded.
Jenna pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and called the detective.
Detective Schwope answered on the first ring. “Special Agent Jenkins, you’re working late.”
“I’m at Lena Grey’s house. She’s dead.”
“The baby?”
“No.” Jenna’s stomach knotted. “Nurse Grey is dead. Based on bruising around her throat, I’d guess she was strangled.”
“Jesus,” the detective said.
“I think my sister’s baby was here. Unfortunately, she’s not here now.”
“Any idea who might have done it?” the detective asked.
“None. But whoever killed Nurse Grey has the baby.”
“I’ll send the crime scene investigators.”
“We’ll need someone from social services as well to place Nurse Grey’s mother in a memory care facility.”
Cliff waited with Jenna until the police arrived and took over.
Back in the truck after what felt like a very long time, he turned to Jenna. “We’re getting a bite to eat, and then we’re calling it a night.”
Jenna frowned. “But—”
He held up a hand. “We haven’t eaten all day, your dog needs to go outside, we have no new leads and we’re running on fumes. We’ll get some rest and start fresh in the morning.” He shifted into drive and left the little cottage, driving back toward Jenna’s home.
