Free Alien Nation #3 - Body and Soul by Peter David Page A

staring at Sikes, and Sikes made a face that indicated very clearly that he still had never heard of this Tivoli guy. But in matters like this, it was best to convince George that everyone was playing on the same field so that they could move on.
    Grazer took the opportunity to move on as well. “An infant was found at the scene of the crime. Before you go to Dual, take a look at her.”
    There was something in his tone that prompted inquiring looks from Sikes and Francisco. And all that Grazer could say by way of explanation was, “She’s . . . different.”
    He actually seemed shaken by it.
    Moments later, Matt and George understood why.
    The police station had set up a nursery, a small facility to be used for those situations where small children were brought if they’d been lost. It seemed more humane than making a child stew for hours in the squad room, in the midst of the flow of human sewage that cops were constantly bringing into the station house on their way to booking and processing.
    There were two cribs, a TV and video player, a few games and old toys that had been donated by a local parish. And there was a changing table which, at that moment, was occupied.
    Sikes and Francisco entered quietly, uncertain of whether the baby they were supposed to see was sleeping or not. Then they spotted a woman attendant by the changing table, finishing the diapering of someone. Sikes could see the hint of little legs kicking around.
    “That her?” asked Sikes.
    The attendant turned. She had on a police ID that identified her as Willis.
    She had a look of quiet amazement in her eyes. Instead of saying anything, she simply nodded and then indicated with a tilt of her head that they should come over there.
    They did so, but stopped about a foot away. Their expressions shifted into flat-out astonishment when they saw what was on the changing table.
    The child was not a child, at least nothing in the traditional sense. She wasn’t human. But she didn’t look quite Tenctonese. Her head was abnormally large in proportion to her body, and it was perfectly hairless. But there were no signs of spots either. Her large eyes seemed to be many colors at once, and they studied the two detectives with open curiosity that was tempered with what seemed an overwhelming intelligence. Her gaze seemed to drill into the backs of the detectives’ skulls, penetrate into their private thoughts and examine them, turning them over and over the way that a child would find endless fascination in the most mundane of objects.
    Her arms lay quietly at her sides. Even the mild movement of her legs had ceased. She was perfectly still, and it seemed to Matt, in his imaginings, that he was looking at something not only not from this world, but not from this dimension.
    It almost seemed that the child was glowing. But that was certainly a mere trick of the lighting in the nursery. There was more to it than that, though. It was as if the infant was illuminated from inside by some sort of spiritual light of inner peace. Peace, contentment, knowledge . . . it was . . .
    “Unreal,” breathed Sikes.
    George was no less captivated than Matt, but he made a conscious effort to remain businesslike. He turned to Willis and said matter-of-factly, “Has a doctor examined the baby?”
    Willis shook her head. “We’re waiting for someone from county. Sometimes it takes a day or two.”
    George could not hide his surprise. It seemed obvious to him that a circumstance like this would require top priority for all parties. “A day or two?”
    Willis gave a sad shrug. “The health care cuts . . . they’re shorthanded.” It was clear from her expression that she was not happy about it, but she was resigned to the notion that there wasn’t a damned thing she could do. She turned her attention back to the infant. “She seems in good health.”
    That was an understatement. She appeared not only to be the healthiest individual in the room but quite possibly on the