SH Medical 07 - The Detective's Accidental Baby by Jacqueline Diamond

fries at an open-air table in front of a hamburger joint. The girl hadn’t joined them this afternoon. Good.
    Next stop: the medical center.
    Situated on high ground about a mile inland from the beach, the facility had been known as Safe Harbor Community Hospital when Lock was growing up. An out-of-state hospital corporation had bought it a few years back and remodeled it into a center for women and children, adding further upgrades before launching a world-class fertility program last year. Lock subscribed online to the Orange County Register, so even while living in Arizona he’d kept current about his home county.
    He drove past the six-story buildings and parked. From his briefcase, he extracted the file folder. Despite Mike’s warning, he had no fear that signing it would make him liable for anything. Either he was the dad or he wasn’t. Thanks to modern science, paternity was easily determined.
    Besides, he didn’t believe there was another man in the picture. If there were, Lock would have spotted him while investigating Erica. Nope, he was the guy. So sign the damn thing.
    Instead, he returned it to his briefcase and went into the lobby. At the front desk, he asked the receptionist to page Erica Benford.
    “She’s in a meeting,” the woman said promptly.
    “She’s expecting me.” If she wasn’t available, surely she’d have called. He’d given her his cell number.
    “The time of the staff meeting was changed,” the receptionist explained. “We’re not supposed to page anyone unless it’s urgent.”
    Lock didn’t appreciate having to wait. Maybe he should leave and let Erica find him. But he had only this stranger’s word for the fact that she was unavailable.
    And he’d been looking forward to seeing Erica. Usually, with the women he’d dated, he instinctively pulled away when the relationship grew too intimate. He’d never before met a woman who withdrew further and faster than he did.
    “Sherlock!” A hale, masculine voice yanked him from his thoughts. “Good to see you.” Alec Denny, his shaggy brown hair slanting across his forehead, thrust out his hand, and they shook. “What brings you to the hospital, or is it some hush-hush detective business? Patty’s always telling me I’m too nosy.”
    Lock hoped his colleague’s outgoing husband could help. “I just need a moment with Erica Benford. We have an appointment, but I hear she’s in a staff meeting.”
    “I’m on my way there now. Dr. Tartikoff’s making an announcement. Come on. You can catch Erica when it’s over.”
    “It isn’t restricted to staff?”
    “Whatever he plans to say, there’ll be a press release for the media, so it won’t be a secret for long.” The embryologist started across the lobby, and Lock swung into step beside him.
    He was glad to take action, and appreciated the opportunity to learn more about Erica’s boss. Although he’d seen Dr. Tartikoff’s photo in the paper, it didn’t give much sense of the man’s personality.
    They passed a glass-fronted gift shop filled with balloons, stuffed animals and flowers, and traversed a corridor. Rounding a corner, they reached a set of double doors just as a pretty, dark-haired woman was pulling them shut.
    “Sorry. Lost track of time,” Alec told her. “Lock, this is our public relations director, Jennifer Martin. Jen, Detective Sherlock Vaughn.”
    Jennifer cast a questioning glance at Lock, but didn’t challenge his admittance. She nodded a greeting before closing them inside.
    The wood-paneled auditorium buzzed with conversation, its steeply raked seats packed with men and women in scrubs, white coats and pastel nursing outfits. Lock scanned for Erica, but before he could locate her, an auburn-haired man strode onto the stage below. From his confident movements to his faintly amused air as he surveyed the audience, there was no doubt he must be the famous Dr. T.
    This was the guy who dominated Erica’s life, Lock mused. Charisma and power