Twist

The next evening, I waited two hours after the house lights were out before making my move. After using my new key, I slipped inside and quickly punched in the code to disable the alarm system, then crept down the hallway and into the nursery. I could see the baby's form under its quilt, sleeping soundly from the look of it.

Before I could slide a hand under Harry to pick him up, the lights in the room came on and I looked up to see a cop pointing his revolver at my chest. A man who must have been the kid's father was behind him, a heavy scowl on his face.

I automatically threw my hands up into the air. "How'd you know I'd be here? Josie couldn't have told you, she didn't know what I was up to." As the cop cuffed me, the father said, "We knew Josie had visitors while we were out, so we decided to check up on her."

"It couldn't have been the baby monitor, we never turned it on. However you found out, you still couldn't have been sure. You took a real chance, leaving your kid in his crib like that."

He pulled aside the quilt and I saw the teddy bear staring back at me with his large glassy eyes. "No chance at all. It's only fitting that you were about to grab the informant."

I stared at him with disbelief. "What are you trying to tell me, the bear talked?"

"In a manner of speaking." He turned the teddy bear over, and I could see a complex electronic box tucked underneath the fur. "It's a monitoring device many people are beginning to use to check up on their nannies and baby-sitters when they're not around. There's a miniature camera behind the bear's left eye, and a microphone in his bow-tie. We've got every step of your plan on tape."

As the cop led me out of the room, I brushed past the mobile and accidentally turned it on.

"'Rock-a-bye Baby' played as I walked out, and somewhere in the house, I swear I could hear little Harry laughing.