A Most Placid Death — James Paddock

In the beginning it was easy and quite lucrative. When wealthy couples, childless and sterile, want to start a family by way of a quiet and private adoption and are willing to spend what it takes, why not help them out? Put together a team and have one of them dress like she belongs, then walk out of the hospital with a newborn tucked in her bag. It worked perfectly in Tampa and then Orlando, followed by Miami a few months later. An easy hundred grand per child split among the four team members. The system worked perfectly, until the youngest member of the team overheard a young man talk about his girlfriend who was on the edge of giving birth, living in a shack in central Florida. This will be easier than a hospital, he declared to the leader of the team. An easy baby snatch! It can't get much simpler than this. When DuPont Investigations enter the picture-that is Parker and his so totally awesome sidekick, Randi Leigh, as well as the babysitter bodyguard, Stormy Stine-it turns out to be NOT so simple.