Born In Death

“I’m not looking to hassle her, just find her. Apparently nobody’s seen her for a couple of days. I’m a friend of a friend of hers.”

“Who’s the friend you’re a friend of?”

“Mavis Freestone.”

“You’re a friend of Mavis’s.” The woman narrowed her eyes.

“That’s right. Mavis had a baby shower today. Tandy didn’t show, and Mavis is worried. We came by to see if she was here. She’s not. Looks like she hasn’t been since Thursday. Have you seen her since?”

“Well, hell. Come on inside. Me and Max are roasting in these coats.”

“Max?” Eve looked down at the dark eyes framed in a puffy red hood.

“Yeah, Max is my son, and the only thing worth spit I got out of the ex. Come on, pal of mine,” she said to the boy. “Let’s go inside. Zeela,” she added to Eve. “I’m Zeela Patrone.”

“Dallas. Lieutenant Dallas.”

Zeela unlocked the door, led the boy inside. Then she crouched down, gri

He giggled as she stripped off the coat, unwound the scarf, pulled off mittens. Under it all, he was sturdy and dressed in some sort of overalls with a bright plaid shirt.

“You go play in your room for a few minutes, okay?”

“Can I have juice?”

“Soon as I’m done.”

Then he tugged her hand, whispered in her ear. “I don’t think so, handsome. Get your trucks, why don’t you, and we’ll have a race with them when Mommy’s done talking to the lady. That’s my boy.”

When he toddled off, Zeela smiled, rose. “Kid’s a fricking miracle. Not a chromosome of his old man’s, far as I can tell. Sweet and fun and smart. Somebody decided to cut me one huge break. He asked me if maybe the tall lady could stay for a tea party.”

“Appreciate it, but I have to pass. Tandy Willowby.”

“Yeah. No, I haven’t seen her. That’s the thing. She was supposed to baby-sit Max Friday night.” Absently, Zeela tu

“She didn’t show.”

“No. I called up there, then I went up. No answer. I gotta say, I was pretty steamed.” As she spoke, she hung up the outdoor gear on little pegs by the door. “Figured she forgot or was too tired. Max was bummed because he likes her a lot. We were both looking forward to Friday night, and she let us down. I decided to be pissed. Now I’m trying to decide if I should be worried.”

“How well do you know her?”

“We got to be friendly over the last few months. I’ve been there, done that – the having a kid on my own deal. Have you checked with her midwife? She could’ve gone into labor. She’s close to due.”

“My partner’s up in Tandy’s apartment, making inquiries about that. Did she tell you anything about the baby’s father?”

“Not much. Just he was back in England, and wasn’t part of the picture. No rancor, so I figure they’d just split amicably like.”

“She ever mention his name?”

“I don’t think so. Don’t remember anyway. Most she told me was that somebody’s bc didn’t do the job – happens – and she got pregnant. He wasn’t looking for permanent or family, she wasn’t sure she was ready to take it on by herself. Then she decided she was – the family thing. She decided to come to New York. Fresh start, new scene. That’s about it.”

“How about other friends, men she was seeing?”

“She was friendly. Mavis came by off and on. I met one of the women she works with, and sometimes she’d walk out with Ms. Pason from across her hall. They went to work about the same time most days. But as for men, she wasn’t into it. Not now.”

“Did you get the sense she was worried about anything, anyone?”

“No, just the opposite. She was revved up and ready to be a mother. But now I’m starting to worry. This city can eat you up. I don’t like thinking it could’ve taken a bite out of Tandy.”

Nothing,” Peabody reported when Eve returned to Tandy’s apartment. “I know she has the same midwife as Mavis, so I contacted her. Randa Tillas. She states she hasn’t seen or heard from Tandy since her appointment on Monday. She was fine, right on schedule. Checked with her boss. She had Friday off. She’s slated to work tomorrow, noon to six. They’ve lightened her hours.”

“She show for work Thursday?”

“Right on time. Worked a full eight, last full day for her. She got in at just after nine, left at six. Nothing out of the ordinary during the day. She had three breaks. A full hour for lunch – maternity be

“How did she get to and from work, as a rule?”

“Boss said she takes the bus. I got the route. The Thursday driver’s off today. We can track him down at home, or talk to him tomorrow. He’s on.”

“We’ll take him at home.”

“I’ve contacted the health and birthing centers nearest her work and her residence. Nobody by her name has checked in.”

Eve rubbed her eyes. “Okay, we’ll spread out from that. And we’ll check if any MTs did a run with a pregnant woman matching her description.”

She glanced over as Roarke came out of the bedroom. “I’ve checked her ’links and her comp,” he told her. “No outgoing on the ’links since Wednesday evening when she talked to a Zeela Patrone, this building.”

“Yeah, I’ve gotten her statement. Tandy was supposed to run herd on Patrone’s kid Friday night. Didn’t show, didn’t contact her to cancel. Incomings?”

“Nothing Thursday. Friday evening, from the same neighbor’s little boy. Came in at about seven in the evening, obviously coached by his mother. ‘Are you coming down to play with me’ sort of thing. Another transmission from the mother just after eight, faintly irritated. Asking where Tandy was, did she forget. Transmissions from Mavis today, from our house. Nothing else.”

“And the comp?”

“Nothing that seemed useful. She surfs baby boards, pregnancy and childhood sites. E-mails Mavis. She has Mavis’s e-address in her book, along with the addresses of her midwife, the downstairs neighbor, her work, her coworkers. Precious little, really,” he replied. “There’s nothing on there, Eve.”

“And nothing that shows that indicates she’d rabbit,” Eve added. “If there was an accident, they’d have contacted her medical group. A woman this organized would have that data in her bag. Listed in her memo book, on her pocket ’link. Why does someone snatch a woman that close to giving birth?”

“For the baby,” Peabody finished.

“Yeah, for the baby.” A grim and nasty thought, Eve decided. But there was more grim, more nasty. “Or because they’re some sicko who rapes and/or kills pregnant women. We’ll do a run through IRCCA, see if we have any like crimes. And I want a full background run on Tandy. Things look this quiet, this normal, this settled, there’s often something shaky underneath.”

“Does Mavis know who the father is?” Roarke asked.

“No. But we’re going to find out.”

“I’ll contact McNab,” Peabody began. “He can meet us at Central.”

“No. I need to do that, work this out with MPU. We’re stepping on toes here.”

She stopped a moment, lined up the steps in her mind. “Go back to your place, go ahead and do the search for like crimes. If Mavis is up to it, go there and ask her if she knows anything about what Tandy did back in England, what she might have said about the baby’s father, her family, that kind of thing. We’ll do the data run on Tandy, but Mavis may know more than she thinks. Keep her calm, you’re good at that. Let her know I’m talking to the people I need to talk to.”