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

flowed from the surgeon who, he recalled reading, had been educated at Harvard and Yale. Probably descended from a long line of elite doctors and professors.
    “You’d never guess his mother was a housekeeper and his father spent years in a Russian prison camp as a dissident, would you?” murmured Alec, standing beside Lock at the back of the room.
    With renewed respect, Lock watched the man raise a hand for silence. Unnecessarily, since the babble dropped off quickly.
    “First, let me say that what I’m about to announce has the full blessing of our hospital administration.” Dr. T indicated a man in a business suit sitting in the front row. All Lock could see of him was thick black hair and shoulders worthy of a quarterback. “So if you have any complaints, see Dr. Rayburn.”
    A ripple of laughter ran through the room. Next to Lock, Alec grinned, obviously enjoying the show.
    “Now that I’ve covered my gluteus maximus, here’s the deal.” The surgeon paused for effect. “Oh, wait. Do we have some unexpected visitors with a point to make? Let’s bring them out.”
    A lusty wail from the wings was followed by the creak of a baby carriage. Out rolled a double stroller pushed by a pretty, brown-haired woman. Bailey, Dr. T’s wife. Lock had met her when she’d dropped by the agency after having lunch with Patty.
    The doctor bent to pick up a little, curly-haired girl in a pink romper. Riding high on her daddy’s shoulder, she stared at the crowd wide-eyed, then buried her face in his neck. A ripple of “Aws” ran through the audience.
    “Reminds me of my Fiona when she was a baby,” Alec said fondly.
    Small arms encircled her father’s neck as if she were clinging on for dear life. Such trust. Lock could almost feel the warmth of her tiny body.
    “Believe it or not, there’s a reason I brought the twins on stage, other than the fact that I dote on them,” Dr. T continued. “In the fertility program, we get excited about the latest technologies, all those fascinating gadgets and hormones and medications. We tend to lose sight of what it’s all about—helping patients have babies. Lots of babies. The more the merrier, or should I say messier? But that’s my wife’s department.”
    Lock didn’t join in the chuckles. He was too caught up staring at the little girl, who’d summoned the nerve to raise her head again and peer out at the audience.
    He could have sworn she was staring directly at him across the room. Sending him a message.
    Suddenly Lock understood what he had to do. And it didn’t involve signing that waiver.

Chapter Nine
    Although she’d been looking forward to Dr. T’s announcement, Erica found her nerves stretched tight. First, due to an emergency surgery, the meeting had been postponed from one until three, which should have left plenty of time to make her appointment with Lock. Then the operation ran longer than expected, and while Owen had been able to inform the administration of the delay, Erica could hardly excuse herself from the O.R. to make a personal call.
    When she’d tried to reach Lock a few minutes ago, his phone had gone to voice mail. She hoped he would find her message asking him to drop off the waiver. That would be best, anyway.
    She couldn’t miss the staff meeting, which was mandatory for all personnel not immediately required for patient care. Not only that, but Erica knew her presence mattered to Dr. T. Although he hadn’t confided the final details, she’d played a key role in helping him toss around ideas and refine his plans. She was honored to be part of his core team.
    “I’ve been bugging a lot of you over the past few weeks,” Owen continued, adjusting his squirming daughter against his shoulder. “You’ve raised some interesting ideas and shot down others. So in a sense, what I’m about to reveal is a group effort. Like it or not, you’re all a part of it.”
    They were? Erica understood the importance of building teamwork across the entire