As Steven feared she would, Janelle called the police to report that "their" child had been abducted. His biggest concern was that he might be asked to take a lie detector test, which he would adamantly refuse. Although he knew they weren't admissible in court, he wasn't sure he could pass if asked whether he knew where the child was.
After rambling on the phone with the police, Janelle got up and changed the dressings covering her incision. She was in the bathroom when the police arrived, giving Steven the opportunity to inform them, without Janelle hearing, that he wasn't the biological father. He knew this was something she would never be able to hear without pitching a fit. He also knew this might cause the police to focus on him more.
The police confirmed that some kind of paperwork would have been handed over.
He recounted his story about a man and a woman, mentioning that he wasn't sure of their race because he hadn’t been paying attention, but guessed they were likely white. Maybe he should have said they were Hispanic, he thought, to cast suspicion on the family of the woman whose unborn child Janelle had killed and to divert suspicion from himself.
When Janelle came out of the bathroom and was asked who she thought might be behind it, she named the woman and her family. "My second thought was someone at the hospital, but I don’t know anybody there, so I don’t know who would do that," she added.
"If it was the woman who used to be your neighbor, how would they know you were pregnant if they moved away a long time ago?" one officer asked.
Janelle shrugged. "Perhaps they were driving by and saw me when I stepped out to get the mail or something. I’ve been trying to make a point of staying out of view after what happened last time."
"With the old neighbor?" the officer inquired.
"Well, with whoever was connected to them that posed as a UPS delivery guy and kicked my last child out of me. It’s got to be connected, and I can't believe this isn't connected either."
The officer glanced at Steven and then back at Janelle. "So you were asleep when they came by and grabbed the child, correct?”
“Yes, and I’m usually a light sleeper too.”
Damn you, Janelle, thought Steven.
“But then having your gut cut open really drains you.”
“I hear you. My wife had a C-section last year. Anyone else come to mind who might do this?"
Janelle shook her head. "No, I can’t think of anyone else. The people who ended my last pregnancy were never caught. I’m terrified at the thought of you guys not being able to catch whoever took our baby, whether it’s the same person or not."
Steven shifted uncomfortably, annoyed. More than anything, he wanted to remind Janelle that it wasn’t "their" baby, but he knew Janelle didn’t want to hear it, wouldn’t accept it, and that saying so at this time wouldn’t make him look good.
Again, the police officer glanced at Steven and then back at Janelle. "Your husband here says he isn’t the biological father."
"No. But we’re married, so what’s mine is his, and what’s his is mine. Besides, he’s the one who suggested using a surrogate in the first place."
Again, Steven wanted to call his wife out on her delusional bullshit, but knew that this wasn’t the ideal time. He wanted to shake his twisted wife and point out that he never agreed to a "surrogate," but held his tongue, knowing it wouldn’t look good.
The police officer looked confused. "Okay, so what about this surrogate father, as you put it?"
"There’s no way. He never knew I was pregnant."
The police officer’s eyebrows shot up momentarily in surprise and confusion over the weirdness of the situation. Finally, he said, "Okay, well, we’ll check into it."
"That’s it?" Janelle asked with frustration.
"All we can do is follow up on every lead you gave us. Just in case it’s about a ransom demand or anything else, we suggest you stay by the phone and call us if anything suspicious occurs."
Much to Steven's relief, nothing came of the investigation into Janelle’s child over the upcoming months. Meanwhile, she berated him for not helping her recover from surgery and for not seeming to care about finding the kid—the kid she undoubtedly would have abused or grown tired of and given up anyway. Steven attributed the sluggish investigation to covering his tracks well and the fact that Janelle was who she was. Law enforcement was very familiar with his wife and no doubt thought that finding the child and bringing it back to a woman like her was a very bad idea.
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