“What home?” Mason asked.
“The Hidden Home Welfare Society.”
“Where was that?” Mason inquired.
“In a little town in Louisiana. They made a specialty of caring for children whose parents couldn’t keep them.”
She paused for a moment as though trying to get the facts straight in her mind.
“Go ahead,” Mason said.
She said, “I have to tell you a little something about that home, Mr. Mason, things I didn’t know at the time but found out afterwards. It was a baby brokerage home.”
“What do you mean by that?”
She said, “There’s always been a great demand for children to adopt. Childless couples are always on the lookout. Well, this home didn’t care how it got its children. I found out afterwards that most of the women who were employed on the premises were expectant mothers. They’d have children and leave. Some of them would arrange to pay for the child’s care and maintenance, and some of them couldn’t.”
“You, of course, made arrangements for the care of this child?”