Free Street Dreams by Faye Kellerman Page B

“hot” incidents. On the plate
     were a couple of alcohol-related domestics, a hysterical wife who had blown up her stove, a bad fender bender that sent a
     couple of people to Adventist (they would be okay), and a missing teen who turned out to be sniffing glue in her boyfriend’s
     garage apartment.
    I finished my shift at eleven, and because the station house was so close to Mid-City Pediatric, I figured I’d take a chance
     and try to find out something about the baby’s blood work. I knew that Koby was my best bet for information, but I didn’t
     want to give the guy the impression that I was stalking him. But if I saw him, well, what could I do? And if I couldn’t get
     any information on the abandoned infant, perhaps I could just hold her in my arms again. Like Marnie the elfin nurse had said,
     babies thrive on human contact.
    After checking in at the front desk, I was allowed to go up to the neonatal ward. Marnie wasn’t on shift, but Koby was. He
     was wearing a white coat over a denim shirt and jeans. He saw me through tired eyes and his face lit up.
    “You are here. I hope it’s me and not hospital coffee.”
    I smiled. “Have you gone home since last night?”
    “Why? I look that tired?”
    “You look fine.”
    “I’m sure I don’t. Two people called in sick. I do a double shift, working with five hours of sleep.”
    “That’s rough.”
    “I can manage. You look lovely.”
    “Thank you. I like the white coat. Very eminent.”
    He smiled. “Almost like a real doctor, no?”
    I felt myself getting warm. “I didn’t mean it that way at all.”
    “I am teasing you because you blush so easily. I find it charming.”
    “To me, it’s just annoying.”
    “You are forced to wear your emotions. I can hide behind my dark complexion. I wear the white coat because I just finished
     up a teaching seminar with a group of nursing students from one of the colleges. USC, I think.” He checked his watch. “I finish
     maybe fifteen minutes ago.”
    “This late?”
    “Night classes … it’s part of the curriculum. I take them on rounds … the hands-on approach. Of course, all it does is scare
     them.” He rolled his eyes. “The hospital likes us to wear white coats instead of scrubs when we lecture. It’s ridiculous—first
     the scrubs, then the coat, then back to the scrubs. I change so much, I should be on a catwalk.”
    I laughed.
    “Your smile is so nice. And what are your plans?”
    “I just got off work. After my stop here, I’m going home.”
    “A pity. I won’t be off until six in the morning. Two camels passing through the night.”
    “Are you going to be up for tomorrow’s lunch?”
    “Yes, most certainly.
Please
don’t cancel on me.”
    “No problem.” I lowered my voice. “I have a favor to ask you.”
    He chuckled. “What can I help you with, Cindy?”
    I patted his shoulder. “You’re very nice. They’ve done lab work on the infant I brought in, right?”
    “You were there when I draw the blood. What’s on your mind?”
    “Is there any marker in her blood that would suggest that she is of one race or another? I’m trying to search for the mother,
     and the only lead I have so far is a blond white woman. The baby doesn’t look Caucasian to me.”
    “That is because she isn’t, and I don’t need a lab to tell you that. She is of mixed blood—black and white.”
    “Why not Hispanic?”
    “The skin tone is different, and the features don’t suggest it. Hispanic infants just don’t look like she does. The thicker
     lips, the flaring nostrils, the broad forehead—suggestive of African blood, but it’s not as pronounced. My own siblings are
     mixed race. It’s not so hard for me to spot.”
    “So if the mother is white …”
    “Yes, it means the father is black.”
    “Thanks, Koby. You’ve been a big help.”
    He smiled, but it was tinged with uneasiness. He appeared to be wrestling with something.
    “What?” I said. “You’re not supposed to be