Brian Pemberley was longing for his grandkids, as he had moved to Seattle from New Orleans, where his family was residing.
Four years ago, he lost his wife, as now, he was feeling lonely. Every afternoon, he was walking to the French Quarter for a coffee, and he was seeing this beggar with her child.
Her child was wrapped with ragged blankets, and she was saying, “Please, sir, I need money to buy food for my baby, sir…”
As he was annoyed by beggars, he was feeling sad for the baby, and gave her $20.
“Bless you, sir, bless you!” She said, as she snatched the $20 from the cup in front of her.
As he continued to his walk, he heard the beggar, as she said to a woman, “Please, miss, it’s for my baby! I don’t have money for food…”
Brian had seen the beggar on the next day too, as her child was on the same condition, wrapped with ragged blankets.
Something was off about the baby, as the baby was doesn’t moving, and always in a state of sleep.
Another day had arrived, and again, he gave the woman $20. And he had caressed the cheek of the baby. He was thinking that the baby was a doll, but it turned that it was really a child.
“Here now!” Shouted the beggar. “What are you doing touching my baby? Are you some pervert?” She screamed.
“This old man is touching my baby!” She continued.
“I’m a poor woman, but no one touches my baby!”
“Get out!” she shouted angrily. “Get away from that baby!”
As he was moving away, he had saw that the beggar took her iPhone from her bag. He had thought that how come a beggar could afford an iPhone, as she was begging for food money for her child.
He decided to wait behind a corner, observe the beggar. Then he saw that a black SUV had pulled up, and picked the woman and her child in with their belongings.
He went to the police station and stated, “There’s something definitely wrong there. That baby never moves, and the woman never touches it!”
“And the baby looks nothing like her at all. I just have a feeling something is wrong.”
Then the officers had called, Jean Riete, a detective on the force.
“These people are professional beggars. On their own, an adult beggar makes about $30 a day, with a child, they go up to $300…” Jean said.
“You do the math — that can work out at around $6,000 to $9,000 a month, especially in cities like ours with high affluence of tourists. A child, especially a baby, is worth a lot of money on the streets.”
Brian asked then, “But…They exploit their own children?”
“Sometimes, but often the baby is ‘rented’ out by its parents or even stolen.” Jean answered.
“So let’s go take a look at this woman and her baby tomorrow morning, OK?”
On the next day, as Brian was on his route again, he saw that two officers and detective Jean was moving towards the beggar.
“Ma’am, may I see your ID please?” Said Jean to the beggar.
An officer had looked at the baby and shouted. “Sir, this baby won’t wake up, I think there’s something wrong with it!”
As detective Jean had picked the baby, carefully, said, “Cuff this woman and call an ambulance.”
“Detective, is that baby alright?” Asked Brian.
“I don’t know, sometimes these creeps drug the children so they won’t cry.” Said Jean.
As the ambulance arrived, and took the baby, Brian wanted to go with them.
At the hospital, the doctors had examined the little boy, and later it turned out that the baby was mathcing with a disappeared child from Eunice. The parents of the boy were on their way to the hospital.
As the doctors stated, those horrible people were giving sleeping pills to the baby, and the baby was fine now.
When Billy’s parents had arrived, they were crying with happiness as they had found their lost baby. The parents were grateful towards Brian, and wanted him to be the grandfather to their son.