Derek looked at me with a grimace, then stepped aside. Taylor did the same.
On the bed was a small laundry basket. The kind used for bath towels and nothing else. I stepped forward, not sure what I was going to see.
A baby was thelastthing I expected.
It was wrapped up in a bunch of plush towels. Like a little white nest. A tiny bundle of human was buried inside, with only its face and one hand exposed. It blinked at me, mirroring my own confusion.
“Uh,” I said. “There’s a baby on the bed, Chief.”
“Thanks,” Derek replied. “I didn’t notice.”
Taylor wordlessly handed me a handwritten note.
Please find a good home for my boy. He deserves more love than I can give. I’m so, so sorry.
I read the note twice, then glanced at the baby. He was staring up at me expectantly, as if to say:you’re the adult, not me. I’m just a baby.
“I stayed late to shower, because I was planning on heading straight to Tracy’s Bar,” Taylor told me. “When I left, I founditsitting in front of the door to the station.”
“Him,” I corrected. “The note says it’s a boy. And leaving a baby on a doorstep? I thought this kind of thing only happened in old movies.”
“I know, right?” Taylor said. “This is nuts. You can’t just abandon your baby like that.”
“Safe Haven laws are still on the books in most states,” Derek lectured. “Anyone can legally surrender an unwanted newborn without fear of arrest or prosecution. It hasn’t happened in Riverville to the best of my knowledge, but it’s not unheard of.”
“We brought him inside,” Taylor said. “I haven’t told the other shift about him yet. Billy would probably want to eat him or something, weirdo that he is.”
The baby made a cooing noise, and began to wriggle in the basket. I reached inside and took him in my hands. He was so small that when I wrapped my hands around his belly, my fingers touched.
Cradle the head, I remembered from when my nephew was born a few years ago. I kept one hand underneath his little head and lifted him into my arms. He was wearing a diaper and nothing else.
“Look!” Taylor said. “There’s an envelope underneath him.”
Derek opened the envelope. “It’s a birth certificate. His name’s Anthony.”
“Anthony,” I whispered to the little guy. His eyes moved around like he was trying to examine every part of my face at once. I grinned at him, and he returned the smile.
“Shit,” Derek sighed. He gestured with the birth certificate. “He was born two months ago.”
“Why’s that a problem?” Taylor asked.
Derek clenched his jaw. “In California, you’re required to surrender a baby within seventy-two hours.”
Taylor glanced at the birth certificate. “He was born in Texas.” He pulled out his phone and started typing. “How much you want to bet the law is different there… Yep. Texas Safe Haven laws allow for the surrender of a baby up to sixty days.”
“The mother could get prosecuted for this.” Derek sat on the bed and sighed. “She thought she was doing the right thing, but didn’t realize the law is different from state to state.”
“Okay, so there are laws surrounding this,” I said. “What do we do now, Chief?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “My sister works in Social Services over in Fresno. I left her a message asking what the procedure is.”
“There’s nobody else we can call?” I asked.
Derek narrowed his eyes. “I’d rather talk to her than whichever bureaucratic idiot is on-call tonight. Which is why it’s best if we keep this from the guys on second-shift. The last thing I want is Billy causing trouble.”
Taylor and I nodded immediately. Neither of us wantedhiminvolved.
Suddenly, little Anthony’s face twisted in concentration, like he was trying to solve a math problem. He relaxed, then began to cry softly.