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Her expression was somber, eyes tired as if she’d been working a long shift. “We’re stabilizing her.”
“She was kidnapped six months ago. I’m one of the investigating officers.” Ellie indicated her badge. “Can you tell us what happened to her? Was she hurt? Injured?”
The doctor glanced at Jan as if to ask permission to discuss Becky’s medical condition in front of them, and Jan murmured for her to answer.
“There are no signs of physical abuse that I’ve found,” Dr.Conley said. “But she has a fever and an upper respiratory infection.”
“She has diabetes,” Jan said, paling. “She needs insulin.”
“It appears she was given her medication, and her glucose levels are in good shape, but we’ve started her on antibiotics for the infection. I saw the surgical scar—did the diabetes develop after the kidney transplant?”
“Yes, that’s right,” Jan replied. “But it’s been a couple of years now, and the pediatrics team in Chattanooga, where she had the surgery, said she doesn’t need immunosuppressives anymore. We’re hoping the insulin won’t be permanent either.”
“That’s good,” said Dr.Conley, and gave Jan a compassionate look. “And so is her prognosis. She’s sleeping now.”
Jan sagged in relief. “Please, let me see her.”
“Certainly. I think you’ll probably be the best medicine for her.”
Jan gave Ellie a grateful look. “Thank you.”
“Of course. I need to talk to her when she wakes up,” Ellie said. “But go to her now. She needs her mama.”
Jan nodded, clasped her mother’s hand and the two of them trailed the doctor down the hall.
But Ellie’s thoughts were racing as a new connection formed in her mind. She went to the desk again to check some details, trying to let the thoughts settle. “What time was Becky Hornsby brought to the hospital?”
The nurse consulted her computer. “Early afternoon, around one. Our resident chaplain found her in the chapel on one of the pews, wrapped in a blanket.”
“So she wasn’t brought in by ambulance?”
“No. We checked with all the medic services we use and 911, and they had no calls involving a child matching her description. We also checked admitting, and she was never technically admitted.”
Which meant her abductor had somehow snuck her in and left her.
Just then, Derrick strode back to her. “How is she?”
“Her prognosis is promising,” Ellie said. “I need to make a call. Hold on.”
Something Priscilla Wilkinson said was thundering through Ellie’s mind as the phone rang—she’d said Renee had started drinking more heavilywhen Kaylee was sick. If Priscilla had worried her sister was becoming dependent on alcohol, then the illness must have been longer term than the usual childhood coughs and colds. The call connected.
“Helloagain, Reeves. I get it—I might have dropped the ball on the Wilkinson case, and I’m going to help put it right. But it’s Christmas Eve. What more can I do today beyond that sketch?”
“Just one more question for now, Forrester. I’d ask Priscilla Wilkinson, but as you know she’s in the hospital.” Ellie let that sink in a moment. “Did Kaylee Wilkinson have any health issues before she disappeared?”
“Errr… yeah, as it happens. It didn’t really end up in the files because of the presumed drowning, but the kid had a heart transplant about a year before she disappeared. Why?”
“I’ll fill you in later,” Ellie said, and cut the call. Her own heart was pounding.
Derrick arched a brow. “What was that about?”
“I’ve found a common denominator between the girls: Kaylee had a heart transplant, Ava a liver transplant and Becky a kidney transplant.”
Suspicion crept into Derrick’s eyes. “I’ve heard of abductions to harvest organs. But why kidnap children who had transplants?”
Good question. Although it had to be an important piece of the puzzle.
She snapped her fingers. “Let’s find out where the girls had their surgeries. Maybe someone on staff at one of those hospitals saw something. There might even be a surgeon who treated more than one of them. I’ll call Lara and ask about Ava.”
