Private Sydney (Private 12)

‘I want a lawyer!’ he yelled, face engorging.

Mary put more weight on his biceps. ‘What did you do with the baby?’

He refused to answer. ‘Sigrid is telling the truth,’ I said. ‘She never was pregnant. The baby you took isn’t your grandchild.’

As realisation hit, the man looked winded. He’d murdered Louise Simpson for nothing.

‘My daughter, Majella, has her. Oh God. She thinks that’s her child.’

Chapter 103

MARY SECURED THE man with cable ties while I scoured his pockets and extracted a wallet. Evan Piper was his name. The baby was at his daughter’s Mosman home.

I phoned Mark Talbot. ‘We’ve got Louise Simpson’s murderer, and the woman who took her identity,’ I told him. ‘I’ll explain the specifics later, but we have detained them and have a recorded confession. They’re at 17/22 Rolfe Street, Manly. I’m going for the baby.’ I gave him the Mosman address. He was sending a team here and heading to the daughter’s house.

I moved over and sat Sigrid Hall up but I refused to release her ties. She was a liar, a con woman and had committed the cruellest act, letting couples think their unborn children had died of an incurable condition. She’d also stolen an innocent woman’s identity, and money. She may not have foreseen the danger she was putting Louise in, but she still had blood on her hands.

I phoned Johnny and told him to back Mary up. No one was to leave. The police were minutes away.

Then I sped all the way to Mosman. Majella Piper believed the baby was hers. She wouldn’t just give Zoe up.

I pulled up outside the house just as Detective Sergeant Kristen Massey, in plain clothes, was climbing out of her unmarked car. She let her hair out of its ponytail, stripped down to a singlet and unselfconsciously slipped off her skirt. She grabbed some khaki shorts from inside the car and stepped into brown Blundstone boots. A sweat-stained cap finished the look.

‘We don’t know how suspicious the woman will be.’

‘So what’s your plan?’ I deferred to her.

‘She may open the door to me like this. You’re my husband in case you’re wondering.’

‘Good to know.’

Kristen knocked and a young woman answered.

I took the detective’s hand.

‘Hi there. We live down the street and have been admiring your roses. Can we ask what you feed them with? Ours keep dying.’

The sound of a baby crying came from inside. The woman looked around, then back again. ‘I’d love to help you but I’m sorry, I have to go.’

‘Wow,’ Kristen said. ‘How old’s your little one?’

‘Eight weeks.’ The woman didn’t seem at all suspicious. If anything, she was bursting with pride.

‘That is so exciting. We’re expecting ourselves. Ten weeks.’

I touched her belly as if confirming the fact.

Majella seemed to hover for a second, then said with a grin, ‘She’s due for a feed. Wait there.’

Kristen moved her leg forward even though the door was ajar. Majella was soon back, with the baby clasped tightly at her chest.

She exposed its face.

‘She is so tiny,’ I said. ‘What’s her name?’

‘Elspeth. It was my grandmother’s name.’

‘You are a cutie,’ Kristen cooed. ‘Can I hold her?’ She reached over and took Zoe before Majella had the chance to object. I admired the baby, placing myself between the two women.