The Royal House of Niroli: Innocent Mistresses. Robyn Donald

that you had to eat at least three of your young to prove you were tough enough.”

      To his surprise she laughed. “Old policy. The newspaper revamped with a kinder, gentler policy. Now we just have to eat three police detectives.”

      “Touché,” he said, laughing also. He couldn’t help but notice that Lily, though reputed to be cold and heartless, had eyes that danced with merriment when she laughed. With her auburn hair and green eyes, she seemed more Irish lass at the moment than big-city reporter.

      He changed his mind instantly when she opened her mouth. “So, what about the baby? Will the Johnsons keep it?”

      “That’s to be determined by DHR,” he said, stepping back into his official role.

      “What are you doing here? I thought criminal action was your bailiwick?”

      “It is. There’s nothing more criminal than abandoning a child.”

      “Abandoning?”

      He narrowed his gaze at Lily. She acted as if he’d said the baby had been abused.

      “I thought it was left here at the Johnson home. During a big party. That doesn’t seem to constitute abandonment. I mean, it isn’t as if someone left him out in the freezing cold in a Dumpster or—”

      “That baby was abandoned as surely as if the mother dropped him in an alley like an unwanted kitten.”

      “I beg to differ. I—”

      To Mel’s surprise, Lily halted in mid-sentence. She bit her bottom lip again, as if to force herself to shut up.

      “Why does it seem to me that you’ve got a personal stake in this baby?” He was only playing a hunch, but his hunches were one of the reasons he was considered one of the top three detectives in Washington, D.C.

      “It’s just a terrific human-interest story.”

      “I thought politics was your beat.” He felt that strange tingling that made every one of his senses come alive.

      “It is. The Johnsons are political.”

      “An unwanted baby isn’t exactly what I’d consider your normal turf.” He paused. “What are you doing here, Lily?”

      She hesitated. “I’ll tell you, Mel. I got this tip from a friend. A close friend. I was asked to pursue the story, as a personal favor.”

      He nodded. That made a little more sense. “Well, there’s no story here yet.”

      “Level with me. The baby’s okay, right?”

      There was worry in her voice though she did her best to hide it. “Yes. He seems fine. The Johnsons have called a doctor to check him out. It would appear the infant will have every benefit that money can buy. At least for the short amount of time the Johnsons can keep him.”

      “What do you mean? They want him, don’t they?”

      “You may know the Johnsons, but you aren’t familiar with the law. A person can’t just find a baby and keep it because she wants it. The baby will have to go through the system.”

      “But the Johnsons would make terrific parents.”

      “That’ll be for DHR and a judge to determine. I’m afraid the baby is going to spend the first few months of his life in an institution.” He heard the bitterness in his tone even though he’d thought he was long over it. He saw that Lily, too, heard it. She gave him a speculative look but said nothing else.

      “Could I speak to the Johnsons?” she asked.

      “Give me your card. I’ll leave it with them. Right now, I can honestly tell you that they’re interested only in the baby.”

      Lily smiled. “That’s good to know.”

      “Yeah,” Mel said. “It is.”

      He took the business card she offered and watched as she strode down the walk with long, bold steps. She was tall, slender and athletic. Just the kind of woman that could rock his world.

      He turned back to the house and found that he wasn’t alone on the steps. The black cat was sitting beside his feet, tail twitching. The cat watched the departing newspaper reporter with green-eyed intensity.

      It seemed he wasn’t the only one with hunches on a cold March night.

      Chapter Two

      Lily Markey forced her shoulders up and back and walked away from the Johnson house with her head high and her stride purposeful. It took all of her inner strength to do so.

      Of all the luck! Mel Haskin! What trick of fate had put a homicide detective on a baby case? And damn it all, he acted as if he was taking the abandonment personally!

      She got in her car and slammed the door, locking it against a March wind that had grown a lot colder since three hours ago, when she’d made her first visit of the evening to the Johnson home.

      She closed her eyes and leaned back against the headrest, trying to ease the tension in her neck. She’d dropped off the baby just as she’d promised. And David had been found. He was safe. Inside that big house with people who wanted him. People who would give him a future and every advantage. He would never be in danger of being hit or used as a pawn in an ugly domestic power game.

      Her hands gripped the steering wheel, and she waited for the anxiety to pass. When she felt steadier, she started the car and drove away.

      She’d done the best thing. She’d done the only thing. She’d done what was right for David, and for his mother. But it wasn’t over yet. Not by a long shot.

      David was safe. Now she had to make certain that the frightened young woman who’d entrusted her newborn to Lily had a shot at a decent life, too.

      MEL SAW THE LOOK of happiness on Preston Johnson’s face and knew that the judge had ruled in favor of leaving the baby in the Johnson home.

      “He made it clear it wasn’t permanent,” Preston said. “But each hour we keep this baby strengthens our case, don’t you think?”

      Mel kept his opinion to himself. The legal system didn’t always seem to work in a rational or kindhearted, way. Based on what he’d seen of the Johnsons, he’d vote to leave baby David here until college age. But he wasn’t in charge. He was just a cog in the big system.

      “Judge Patterson told us we had to appear Monday morning,” Preston said. “We’ll be there.”

      “Yes.” Rose Johnson stood. “Thank you, detective. And if you do find the mother, maybe you could…”

      He knew what she wanted. Maybe he could put in a word and say what a good home the baby would have. “I’ll do what I can,” he said. “I’ll be in touch.”

      He checked the room once more. The Johnsons and their friends, the Currys, were involved with the baby. Even the strange cats, the black and the calico, were acting as if a little prince had dropped from the sky. Maybe there were still homes where people loved children and pets.

      He hurried back out into the night. He had work to do at his office. And he also wanted to make a few calls. In his years on the streets he’d developed a few contacts, but what good would they do him in this case? Someone had delivered this baby, but he was willing to bet it wasn’t a teenager who’d gone through the labor process alone. The baby had been cleaned, the navel properly attended. And there was the expensive blanket and basket. No, this baby came from money.

      And now his interest was piqued.

      LILY SAT in the chair beside the bed. She put a hand on Susie Bishop’s forehead and was relieved to discover she was cool to the touch. No fever. That was good. Of course, nothing could ease the pain in Susie’s expression as she opened her eyes.

      “They wanted my baby?” Her