Deceit. [COMPLETED.]

Chapter 24:

"Theft of a baby."
[JENNY STAMFORD]

'Are you sure about this?'

Robert Stamford nodded.

'So how is she?' he asked, his voice lacking any form of sentiment.

Yesterday a patient had delivered a baby girl. It was dark skinned and had the same beautiful blue eyes as its mother. Doctor Huber was aware of the case and more to the point exactly what had been said by the family. It didn't sit well to keep a lie nor did it sit well with the rest of the nursing staff.

He answered flatly that Miss Stamford was sleeping.

'Good,' said Robert Stamford calmly. 'Then please make her ready. I have an ambulance waiting outside and someone to collect the child.'

It was early in the morning, breakfast had yet to be served and the wards were quiet.

The doctor had two pieces of paper in his hand. The wording on both were concise and legal, one authorising the transfer of a said Miss Jennifer Stamford back to England and the other to organise the collection of a baby. The first was acceptable, the second wasn't.

'Is there a problem?'

Huber was tired. It was his twelfth night shift in a row. Hesitation in carrying out the request had as much to do with Huber's difficulty in being able to process the information as it was about the very nature of what he was being asked to do. He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it. He looked left and right as if searching for the right words.

'Your daughter knows her child is alive,' he said aware that there was no easy way of saying it.

Stamford pursed his lips.

'How?'

In truth it didn't matter the answer. As irritating as it was to hear his daughter knew her baby was alive it made not the slightest bit of difference to his overall plans.

'Women know these things.'

Stamford grunted.

'Is that it?'

'Isn't it enough?'

No it wasn't as Stamford's face illustrated.

With him was a heavy set individual with dark brown eyes who was wearing a neat two piece suit. He had a rounded face, his hair was cropped short and anyone near didn't have to ask what kind of employment he was in, they just knew it wasn't anything pleasant. Huber was aware that this man had not taken his eyes off him since they had arrived.

Stamford exhaled slowly and glanced at the doctors name badge prompting the man next to him to do the same only his gaze lasted slightly longer and Huber could have sworn that he had seen a sneer. It was fleeting and unsavoury causing him to wonder what it was that had caught the man's attention. Huber squared his shoulders and tried to sound authoritative.

'I won't release her just because you have arrived in the middle of the night,' he said. 'There is paperwork to complete. We are not equipped to simply drop everything at a moment's notice. It's just not possible.'

There was no reaction, a weightiness was in the air and despite the high ambient temperature in the wards Huber felt a chill. He puffed out his chest.

'It's not right to lie,' he said, 'especially if she knows she is alive.'

And at that he got a reaction.

Stamford gritted his teeth as he moved a step closer to Huber.

'If you or any one of your staff have uttered the word "alive" to my daughter ...'