“Everything is fine, sir,” I tell him. “If you have a minute, I’d like to talk to you.”
He blinks at me, surprised, but invites me inside. “Of course. Come in.”
I enter a tiled foyer with an impossibly high ceiling and gleaming walnut floors. Overhead, a crystal chandelier dangles like a giant diamond earring. To my right, a console table holds a massive vase. I can smell the fresh-cut flowers from where I stand.
“You’ll have to excuse the boxes,” he tells me.
For the first time I notice several corrugated boxes stacked against the wall ahead. “You’re moving?” I ask.
“I just accepted a chief-of-pediatrics position in Phoenix.”
“Big change.”
He grins. “Nicer weather.”
I smile at his daughter. “Are you excited or bummed?”
She attempts to smile, but doesn’t quite manage. “I’m ready.”
“She’s a trouper,” he says affectionately.
“When’s the big move?” I ask.
“Two days and counting.” Smiling, he puts his arm around his daughter’s shoulder and hugs her against him. “We can’t wait.”
Silence falls, a thin ribbon of tension slicing through it. “We were just making dinner,” Atherton says. “I’ve got grilled chicken breast and some burned sweet potato fries.” He smiles, but I can tell he’s perplexed by my presence and growing concerned. “Still trying to get the hang of cooking, since it’s just the two of us now.”
“You’re divorced?” I ask.
A shadow passes over his features. “My wife, Jane, passed away last year.”
I wince. “I’m sorry,” I tell him.
“We’re doing okay now.” He hugs his daughter again. “Aren’t we, honey?”
The girl tries to match his smile, but fails, and ends up looking at the floor. “Yeah.”
“I won’t keep you,” I tell him. “I know you were involved with Baby Doe at the hospital and I was in the neighborhood so I thought I’d stop in and update you on my progress finding the baby’s mother.”
“Ah. Of course.” But I can tell he isn’t sure why an update warrants a personal visit from the chief of police as opposed to a phone call or e-mail. “We can sit in the living room if you’d like, Chief Burkholder.” He looks at his daughter. “Honey, you want to bring the three of us some of that coffee I just made?”
The girl has barely taken her eyes off me since I walked in. “Sure, Dad.” Reluctance rings clear in her voice, telling me the last thing she wants to do is leave me alone with her father.
“None for me, thank you,” I say quickly.
He ushers me to a spacious living room where a fire crackles in a stone hearth. “I take it you’ve found the mother?” he asks.
“Not yet, but I’m working on a few leads,” I say vaguely.
“I heard she’s Amish. Is that true?”
“I thought so at first, but now I’m not so sure.”
Chloe returns with coffee. She hands one of the mugs to her father and sets the other on the coffee table in front of me. I don’t know if her father notices, but her hands are shaking.
“The social worker seemed confident that she’d be able to find a foster family in the next couple of days,” I tell him. “She’s looking for a couple or a family to permanently adopt her.”
“It sounds like a happy ending for everyone.”
I acknowledge the statement with a nod. “We’re still hoping Baby Doe’s mother will come forward.”
He shakes his head. “I suppose these young mothers just don’t know about the Safe Haven law.”
I look at Chloe, including her in the conversation. “That’s the law that was enacted to protect new mothers from prosecution, if they’re unable to care for their baby and drop it off in a safe place.”
“It protects both the mother and the baby.” Atherton’s brows go together. “Since this particular mother didn’t relinquish her baby to a doctor or police officer, she could be in trouble. Will she be charged?”
I hadn’t wanted the conversation to go in that direction; the last thing I want to do is frighten Chloe. “That’ll be up to the county attorney, but I don’t think so. I suspect this girl is young. Maybe even a minor. I think she may have recently suffered a devastating, personal loss and felt she couldn’t deal with a new baby all alone.” I look at Chloe. “Bottom line is, she did the right thing. She took her baby to a safe place. I think she even waited and made sure someone took in the baby. As chief, I’ll do everything in my power to help her.”
Chloe looks away, but I tilt my head, catch her gaze, and maintain eye contact. Her face is flushed, her forehead shiny with perspiration. “I know it sounds odd, considering the circumstances, but I think we’re dealing with a courageous young woman. I think she cared for the well-being of her child, but needed some time to pull herself together and put all of this into perspective. I believe she’s going to do the right thing and come forward.”