Broken Hearts - Love & Sacrifice #0

Part 5

"Am I disturbing you at home?" Drew's call came on her personal cell phone as Claire prepared to leave the office. The detective wouldn't have called her in the evening unless it was important.

"I wish." If another layer of paper landed on her desk, she would need to call Emergency Services to dig her out before she suffocated. "What's going on?"

"It's about Kevin Roswell. We charged him for uttering dead threats and assault on a police officer, but he posted bail before we could add assault causing bodily harm to a child to the list." His tacit warning wasn't lost on her.

The angry stepfather was a threat and Drew didn't want her to underestimate him, but what struck her the most in the conversation were the added charges. Claire had stayed in the room while the doctor had examined and talked to Aaron. The child hadn't said much, but what he said incriminated his stepfather. The foster parents had been informed that an officer would visit them tonight to talk further with Aaron. The fact new charges were added so quickly meant Aaron had provided enough physical and verbal evidence.

"Roswell isn't the first man who wants me dead, Drew." And he won't be the last. To receive threats was an integral part of her job. "I take you will ensure Aaron's safety until his stepfather is apprehended?"

"Yes, but I thought you'd also want to know Chen and Muller found Aaron's mother unconscious on the kitchen floor when they went back looking for her husband. It looked like a drug overdose, though we're not ruling out Roswell's involvement yet." The latest developments affected Drew's investigation as much as her case. "She was admitted to the hospital, but the prognosis isn't encouraging."

Though he married Aaron's mother, Claire discovered that Roswell never adopted the boy. Martha's death would change Aaron's status. The child would become a permanent ward of the province therefore making him eligible for adoption.

"Thanks for the heads up, Drew." While she didn't wish Martha to die, Claire needed to prepare for such eventuality. "Keep me posted, would you?"

"Of course. Good night, Claire."

Leaning back in her chair, Claire fidgeted with her phone. Many years ago, she and Blythe tried to adopt a baby, but the birth mother changed her mind at the last minute, breaking Claire's heart. From then on, she had devoted her life to protect children. Maybe the time had come to give adoption another try before she and Blythe were too old.

Blythe would make such a wonderful father.

In seventeen years of marriage, he never said anything but she had been aware of the secret yearning burning in his heart. At this stage in their lives, it would make more sense to adopt an older child. She suspected her husband would prefer to teach their son or daughter how to ride a bike or skate than change diapers.

Tonight she would broach the painful subject she had avoided for years.

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