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stove?” she asked Will.
    Mr. Jesperson grabbed the kettle of hot water and poured it into the sink. Katie tested the temp with her hand until it had cooled enough. “That’s perfect,” she said. She laid Jennie on the counter and stripped the clothes from her tiny body, then plunked her into the water. The child gasped then giggled and began to splash the water. “I shall need a towel and washcloth,” she said.
    “I’ll check the bathroom upstairs.” Mr. Jesperson left the kitchen and his footsteps pounded up the stairs.
    “I need to head home for a bit to calm John,” Addie said. “Edward had another seizure and is calling for me.”
    “Oh, of course!” Katie said. Addie’s stepson had epilepsy, and he was especially clingy to his new mother after a seizure. She smiled good-bye at her friend and rinsed the baby. Already, the stench of urine was fading.
    When she first heard the creak behind her, she assumed Mr. Jesperson had returned with the linen items. She flicked a glance behind her and saw a man in a brown tweed suit. A handkerchief covered his face like some kind of bank robber. It took a moment for her confused brain to recognize this man was smaller than Mr. Jesperson and his suit was a different color.
    “Get the kid and come with me,” the man said, his voice muffled by the cloth covering most of his face. His dark eyes glittered above the red handkerchief.
    Katie gasped and stepped between him and the wet baby. She seized a frying pan and whirled to face him. “Get back!” She swiped the air with the frying pan and barely missed the man’s head. His hand went to his pocket, and he withdrew a gun that appeared no bigger than a toy. Before she stopped to think, she swung the skillet again and it connected with the man’s wrist. The pistol dropped from his fingers and skittered across the floor. The baby jabbered something unintelligible behind her, and Katie glanced back just long enough to assure herself that the baby was still sitting in the water.
    The man dived toward the gun, but she threw the skillet at him. It hit him in the head and knocked him to the linoleum. “Mr. Jesperson!” she screamed.
    The attacker sprang to his feet and ran for the back door as Mr.
    Jesperson’s footsteps pounded down the stairs. The man left the kitchen door gaping open behind him, and Jesperson skidded into the room.
    He glanced toward the baby splashing in the water. “What’s wrong?”
    “A man,” Katie gasped. “That way.” She pointed to the open door.
    “He tried to take Jennie.”
    Mr. Jesperson dashed through the door. Katie turned back to hang onto the side of the sink. Her knees were wobbly, and her hands shook now that the danger was past. The gun still lay on the linoleum. She normally tended to run rather than fight, and her reaction had surprised her.
    Mr. Jesperson came back inside. “He’s gone.” He picked up the towel and washcloth he’d dropped and laid them on the counter.
    “What happened? Tell me everything.”
    Katie recounted everything from the moment she realized the house held an intruder. “There’s the gun,” she said, pointing it out to him. She dipped the washcloth in the cooling water and with a trembling hand, quickly finished rinsing the baby.
    He stooped and picked it up. “A Derringer.”
    She shuddered and rinsed the soap from Jennie’s tender skin. “It’s an evil little thing.”
    He nodded. “It might be small, but it could have killed you. Are you sure he wanted the baby? What did he say?”
    “He instructed me to pick up the baby and come with him.”
    “He might have wanted you.”
    “I’m quite certain his intent was to take her, and he wanted me to come along to care for her.” She lifted the dripping child from the water. Jennie howled until Katie wrapped her in the towel. As she turned around, she spied a pap feeder. A nice one in blue and white. “That’s what we were looking for,” she said, pointing to it.
    “Looks like a gravy