Wish Upon a Star

‘Why not? That was where she left the baby.’

‘Because she wanted it to be found! But that doesn’t mean that she wants to be found. Think about it, Jake! If she wanted her pregnancy to be made public then she would have turned up at an antenatal clinic. It’s far more likely that she’s avoiding people. Maybe she lives there, maybe her parents live there, but at the moment I think she’s huddled in an alleyway somewhere, trying to work out what to do,’ Miranda reasoned as she crossed the road and walked away from the flats. ‘I don’t believe she’s in the flats.’

‘You’ve missed your vocation.’ Jake watched her with fascination as he kept pace. ‘Have you been watching crime programmes in your spare time?’

‘I don’t have any spare time. I have work time and sleep time.’ Miranda stopped dead, her frown slightly impatient as she tried to focus her mind. She looked around her, searching for inspiration, trying to think like a frightened teenager. ‘What would you do, Jake? Think. You leave your baby somewhere where you know it’s going to be found because you want it to be found.’

‘Do you?’ Jake scratched his head, trying to follow her train of thought. ‘Miranda, perhaps we should leave this to the police. They have—’

‘The park.’ Miranda grabbed his arm and hurried along the road. ‘I bet she’s in the park.’

‘This place has a park?’ Jake glanced around him doubtfully and Miranda looked at him impatiently.

‘It’s where all the teenagers hang out. I’ve seen them.’ She was half running now, her torch winking in the darkness. She pushed open the gate and paused.

Jake peered into the soupy darkness. ‘She’s not here.’

‘You don’t know that.’ Miranda let the gate go and walked further into the park. ‘This is just the play area for the little ones. Further in are bushes and trees. That’s where the teenagers hang out. It’s where they go to smoke.’

‘How do you know all this?’

But before she could answer, Jake grabbed her arm. ‘Over there.’ He kept his voice low and pointed. ‘To the right. Do you see it?’

Miranda followed the direction of his gaze and nodded. ‘It’s a person. Sitting on the ground. Oh, Jake, I’m sure that’s her—’

‘It might be nothing. Just a drunk. Miranda, you stay here and I’ll go and see who it is.’

‘No way. How is she going to react to being approached by a six-foot-two man she doesn’t know?’ Miranda shrugged him off and hurried across to the figure. ‘Hello?’ She swung the torch and the light suddenly illuminated a blotched, miserable face.

‘G-go away.’ The girl’s voice was weak. ‘I wanna be on my own.’

Miranda immediately dropped the torch and went down on her knees. ‘I’m from the hospital. A midwife. We found a baby near here. Was it yours, sweetheart?’

Perhaps it was the endearment or just the relief of being found, but the girl started to sob quietly and the sound had a desperate quality that tore holes in Miranda’s heart.

‘Don’t cry.’ She slid her arms round the girl and held her. ‘Please, don’t cry. We’re going to help you. I promise we’ll help you.’

‘I didn’t know what was happening!’ The girl choked and sobbed, her words at times almost unintelligible as she talked. ‘It hurt. It hurt so much and now the police are there.’ The girl hiccoughed and wiped her nose on her sleeve. ‘And I know the baby’s dead and I’ll go to prison. I killed her.’

‘You won’t go to prison. And she isn’t dead. You haven’t killed anyone.’

The girl was so distressed that she wasn’t listening. ‘She came out all blue and messy and I knew she was dead so I left her on the bags. I didn’t know what else to do.’

‘She isn’t dead. Babies sometimes look a bit funny when they’re born, that’s all,’ Miranda soothed, still holding the girl. ‘She’s beautiful and she’s safely in hospital and that’s exactly where you should go now. There are people there who will help you.’

Jake crouched down next to her and the girl shrank away, noticing him for the first time.

‘Is he a cop?’

‘No, he’s a doctor. What’s your name?’

The girl sniffed. ‘Angie. Is the baby really OK?’ Her voice was small and she sounded very, very young. ‘I didn’t want anything to happen to it. I was terrified when I thought it was dead.’

‘She—The baby’s a little girl. Angie,’ Miranda’s voice was gentle. ‘Come to hospital with us now and we can make sure you’re all right. Then someone will come and talk to you about the baby and you can decide what you want to do.’

‘I can’t keep her.’ There was a note of panic in Angie’s voice and Miranda hugged her.

‘You’re not in a fit state to make big decisions like that at the moment. You need help and I’m going to see that you get it. How old are you?’