“They’re just a couple of regular old hunters,” Sheriff Burney said. “Stumbled upon a bad thing and made the right call.” He glanced toward the log. “Oh boy.”
The four of them watched silently as Martha and one of the crime scene techs gently slid the baby out of the log and placed it inside a black vinyl body bag. The bag was then placed upon a child-sized stretcher.
Sheriff Burney slid his hat off his head. “I feel like we should say a prayer or . . .” He stopped and glanced up as the sounds of helicopter rotors split the air.
“What the hell?” Max cried. Now he was looking up, too. “Did our ride just take off?”
The roar was absolutely deafening as a helicopter suddenly appeared over their heads. It hovered above them, swaying slightly, creating a tremendous updraft that turned snow, ice, and bits of leaves into a swirling maelstrom.
Afton gazed up as a bright beam of light suddenly flashed on, encompassing all of them in its glowing circle. Then she saw the red letters that spelled out CHOPPER 7. The unwelcome intruder was Channel 7 News.
“Go away!” Sheriff Burney yelled as the technicians scrambled frantically to try and salvage what was becoming a messed-up crime scene. “Get the hell outa here!” But his words were drowned out by the frantic beating of the rotors.
High overhead, Afton could see a man with a camera poke his head out the side of the helicopter and begin filming the scene below. Now their entire group was trying to wave the news chopper away, but it held firm. The cameraman continued to film as the coroner and one of the crime scene techs leaned over the stretcher to hopefully protect the baby’s body from the swirling wind.
Afton looked around at the angry faces, the shiny black body bag, and the helicopter hovering overhead like some kind of dark angel. And thought, What a terrible ending to a terrible day.
*
BUT it wasn’t over yet. There was the technical matter of a debriefing at police headquarters. Don Jasper and Harvey Bagin, also with the FBI, huddled with Max and Afton in Deputy Chief Thacker’s office. It was an “I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours” type of meeting. The FBI guys had a laundry list of completed tasks and an even longer to-do list. Then it was Max’s turn to sketch out the meeting at Novamed and their findings in Cannon Falls. He did it quickly and efficiently, as if he’d already written the report in his head.
“This Cannon Falls baby isn’t related to the Darden baby kidnapping, is it?” Thacker asked.
“Doubtful,” Max said.
“Okay then,” Thacker said. “Write it all up and give it to me in triplicate.” He looked across his desk at Jasper. “Better make that quadruplicate. We have a lot of different agencies working on this.”
*
THANK goodness you can type,” Max said. He and Afton were squashed into his cubicle, finishing up the last of their report. He yawned, did a slow neck roll, and said, “Long day.”
“You look like you’re badly in need of a decent night’s sleep,” Afton said.
“I’m okay.” Max pulled a jingle of keys from his pants pocket. “I’ll be home in . . .” He stopped, frowned, and said, “Damn.”
Afton looked up from the computer. “What’s wrong?”
“I was gonna stop over at HCMC. Talk to that kid.”
“Ashley Copeland. The babysitter.”
“Yeah, but it’s probably too late now,” Max said. “They probably gave her a sleeping tablet or something.”
“I drive right by that hospital,” Afton said. “I could pop in.”
Max looked mildly interested. “Yeah?” Then he shook his head. “It’s probably a bad idea. If Thacker got wind . . .”
“You don’t trust me? To interview her, I mean.”
“She’s already been interviewed. I was just gonna make a casual inquiry.”
“Because you’re wondering if she might have remembered something else,” Afton said. “Something new.”
“That’d be about it.”
“I can handle that.”
Max continued to stare at her.
“Really,” she said.
Max considered this for a few moments and then nodded. “After the kind of day we just had, I suppose you can.”
14
AFTON eased her Navigator up to a meter on the street outside Hennepin County Medical Center. The glowing clock on the courthouse tower two blocks away said nine o’clock. Late to be visiting someone. Then again, she knew that hospitals were much more lenient about visiting hours these days. And she did carry a police ID.