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vials. “You appear to be a smart man, and I don’t consider myself an idiot, so here goes. For one moment, assume that I’m not lying. That there was indeed a baby switch. What happens when we get the results from these tests?”
    Nick was trying not to think of that nightmare.
    “I’d prefer to wait for the results,” he insisted. “I think once we have those, there won’t be a decision to make. Because I don’t believe there was a switch.”
    “But you’ve thought about it. A lot. I’m sure of that. So have I. If they confirm what I already know in my heart, I’ll ask for custody of William.” She snared his gaze. “But then, Joseph’s father could do the same for him. If his father is anywhere around, that is. Or if he even wants custody.”
    That seemed like her attempt to get him to speculate or confess, but there was no way he could engage in that particular discussion. Thankfully, he didn’t have to put her off. The two sounds happened almost simultaneously. Nick’s phone rang, and the baby started to cry.
    On a ragged sigh, she grabbed all three of the test kits and got out the chair. “I’ll be back.” And she disappeared into one of the other rooms.
    Nick stood, as well, trying to get a glimpse of Joseph and her, but she pulled the door partly shut behind her. He answered his phone while he walked closer.
    “What is it, Cooper?” he asked, knowing that was the only person who’d be calling him. Nick peered into the nursery and saw Kelly leaning over the crib. The baby stopped crying and began to babble instead.
    The room was decorated with butterflies and birds. Bright primary colors. Kelly’s artwork, no doubt. During the background check, he’d learned that she wasn’t just a photographer but an artist, as well.
    “I found a possible glitch,” Cooper informed him.
    Hell. This wasn’t what he needed right now. “Go on.” Nick kept his voice as soft as possible so he wouldn’t alert Kelly. She took out the swab, mumbled something under her breath and then reached down toward the baby. Joseph made a protesting little sound and kicked at the covers.
    “This one might be a real problem, sir,” Cooper continued. “There’s a P.I., a man named Denny Spencer. He was a close friend of Ms. Manning’s late husband, and I think he might have been the one who buried her psych records. Anyway, yesterday he was poking through the police files that were retrieved from the Brighton Birthing Center—the place where both William and Joseph were born.”
    Nick watched as Kelly put the swab back into the sterile holder and laid it on the changing table. So, she’d gone through with it after all. There was no way she could know just how potentially critical, and dangerous, the DNA on that swab was. He needed to get it to a secure place as soon as possible.
    “I don’t think this Denny Spencer’s made too many waves,” Cooper explained. “ Yet. But I think we need to silence him with a payoff. Or else I could set up a few obstacles to keep him occupied elsewhere.”
    “Neither.” Nick left the rest unsaid. If Spencer was a friend of Kelly’s, then it would only make the man more suspicious if someone tried to buy him off. “Put him under surveillance.”
    Kelly murmured something to the baby. Something with a soft, rhythmic cadence. It seemed to settle Joseph because his babblings no longer seemed to be of protest. He appeared to be trying to mimic what she was saying. It was a familiar activity since William and he did the same thing.
    “Keep me informed,” Nick told Cooper. He clicked off the phone in the middle of Cooper’s goodbye and slipped it back into his pocket.
    “It’ll take me a couple of days to get back William’s DNA test,” Kelly whispered from the nursery, snaring Nick’s gaze from over her shoulder.
    “You understand the need to keep all of this in the strictest confidence?” he asked.
    “Of course.”
    Her assurance wasn’t nearly enough. He’d take hers