Mother Puncher Read Online Free PDF Page B

from the door and gestured. “Go ahead, man,” he murmured. “It’s your show.”
     Ed ran his fingers through his hair and stared at the door, listening to the sounds of a crying baby on the other side of it. The kid wasn’t screaming. Just crying softly, maybe already muffled against his mother’s soft breast.
    “Fuck,” he whispered. He tapped his hip pocket to be certain the small digital camera was still there and then reached out and opened the door as quietly as he could. He didn’t want the mother to try running. Not through this house, this dark, this neighborhood. She would likely drop the kid and God knew he didn’t want any of that kind of shit on his head.
    He peeked inside, saw nothing, looked back at Drizzle and pointed with his chin. Then he opened the door wider and stepped into what had once been an attic apartment, the first room being a living room/kitchen combo. Besides a bathroom, he was fairly certain there was only one other room and knew he was right when he saw a light flick on beneath a door right in front of them.
    “What are you doing?” an exhausted woman asked. “Stop doing that. You’ll attract attention.”
    “I’m bored,” a younger female voice said, much louder than the first had spoken, clearly wanting to be heard.
    “You’re bored ?” the first woman spoke again. “You have a brand new baby sister and you’re bored ? I swear, Virginia, sometimes I don’t know what’s wrong with you.”
    “Whatever,” the girl said.
    Ed dreaded opening the door but after taking a deep breath that was exactly what he did.
    What he saw stopped him in his tracks.
    The woman—the mother—was sitting naked in a plastic kiddie pool filled to the top with bloody water, a naked baby clutched to her chest. She screamed when she saw Ed, instinctively covering the baby’s ear with her free hand. The teenage girl was perched on a window sill to the right, about ten feet away.
    “Holy shit,” Drizzle said, peering over Ed’s shoulder at the scene.
    “Ma’am,” Ed said awkwardly. “I’m Ed Means. I’m a federal appointed Mother Puncher.”
    “Oh my God!” the teenager shouted, a little too dramatically. “How did you find us?”
    The woman ignored her daughter and tried to sink lower into the pool, attempting to cover her breasts while keeping the head of her baby above water.
    Though it usually wasn’t necessary when he was at the hospital, Ed pulled out his wallet and showed the woman his official badge. “Maybe you want to hand the infant to your daughter, ma’am?”
    “ You !” The woman suddenly snarled, her face warping into something resembling a gargoyle. “ You bastards ! You bugged my house didn’t you? You fucking trolls !”
    Ed looked at Drizzle, who shrugged.
    “You’re not taking my baby, you fucking Feds ! Get out of here! Get out , you immoral monsters !”
     Glancing at the teenager, Ed said, “Maybe you want to grab your sister for me, Miss?”
    “Okay.” The girl crossed the room to the pool and leaned over. “Give her to me, Mom. Come on. Give me Jessie.”
    Her mother glared at her, eyes blazing with betrayal. “ You ! You fucking Judas ! You called them, didn’t you?”
    “Of course not!” the teenager did a pretty good job of looking surprised. Even offended. “Why would I do that?”
    “You never wanted me to have this baby. You even said so! You were disgusted when I told you I was pregnant!”
    “It’s not right, Mom,” the girl said, her brows furrowing. “You shouldn’t have had her. I told you not to, but you didn’t want to listen. And now you think you’re above the law!”
    The two of them began screaming at each and then the baby joined in and pretty soon Ed knew he’d have to take a lot of aspirin to get rid of the headache that was coming on. He