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“Soon,” he says crisply, and then continues with his questions

When is the last time you saw Miss Martin?

Did you know she was pregnant?

Could this be a prank so on you?

“A prank?” I growl “Who fucking leaves a baby on a doorstep as a prank?”

Officer Brandis blinks in surprise and has the grace to actually blush He gives a slight cough “I’ to think of all the questions I need to ask so I don’tI’ve not run into this scenario before”

I blow out a long breath, running h my hair “I’m sorry I snapped This is just a little stressful as I think you can iine”

“Absolutely,” he says with a grateful ss

A car pulls up behind the patrol car, and a woiving only a cursory glance at the back of the ambulance

“Mr Bay?” she inquires, sticking a hand ina notepad under her other arm

“Yes,” I say as we shake

“I’ives me a quick pump and releases uess, and her no-nonsense tone is actually reassuring to me “I’m from the Department of Child Safety”

“Nice to meet you,” I say lamely

Louise looks to Officer Brandis “If you don’t et some basic information and then I want to follow the ambulance to the hospital I’m the child’s advocate and will need to be there when he or she is examined”

“It’s a she,” Officer Brandis says proudly, as if he’s cracked the investigation wide open He refers to his notes “Mr Bay found the baby on his doorstep at approxiedly written by a Miss Lida Martin of Mia”

Louise gives him a curt nod and looks back to me “Mr Bay…is there any reason to doubt the baby is yours?”

I shrug, not in a careless way, but completely bewildered “I don’t know I had an intimate relationship with Lida We had protected sex, but…”

“That’s not foolproof, now is it?” she asks kindly