Chapter 3
“YEAH,” ATLAS grumbled into the damned phone.
It was his day off, he was worn out, and he had spent half the night listening for strange sounds with a stranger in the house.
Not that he expected Bazel to do anything untoward, but his police training wasn’t something he could just turn off, even when he wanted to sometimes.
“Is that how you usually answer the phone?” It was Chris, and she sounded too danged energetic for words.
“What time is it?” He blinked and sat up.
“Seven thirty.”
He groaned. “Then yes. When someone calls at this ungodly hour on my day off, absolutely, that’s the telephone greeting you get. Is this an emergency? Or can I hang up and you can call at a more civilized hour, like noon.”
“Don’t give me that. I know you get up every morning at about this time to take Evie for a walk.
So stop being huffy. If you saw the paperwork on my desk, you’d run ten miles to get away from it, so you have nothing to be grumpy about.
” He could tell she was grinning, and if she wasn’t a friend, he might have grumped at her again, but it wouldn’t do any good.
“I have appointments later this morning, and I was going to stop by to check on Bazel.”
“I expect the state police will be doing the same thing. They are going to want to ask him questions, most likely ones he doesn’t know the answers to.
” The guy had been pretty much kept in the dark and prevented from seeing the people involved.
Atlas figured that was by design, and that anyone he might have seen was very low-level and expendable.
“I think we’re dealing with a pretty sophisticated operation.
This isn’t some trucker picking up people and bringing them north in the hope of making some money. ”
“No, it’s not. These are people who prey on immigrants.
They sell them on the prospect of a better life and get them to pay to come here.
Then they ship them all over the country and make them work off additional costs.
Basically they’re slaves. They often don’t speak English, and they’re afraid they’ll be sent back to where they came from.
The terrible thing is that the pretty ones are used for worse things than domestic help.
” Chris’s voice broke. She was a great person, but she had seen a hell of a lot of what one person could do to another.
Sometimes Atlas wondered how she could do what she did, day in and day out.
“I take it you’ve encountered this before?” How did he not know this?
“In various forms. Especially at Super Bowl time. Lots of people are brought into the country because there is a huge gathering of men, and some of them will use the services of pretty young girls. But it can happen anytime. Though I will admit that Carlisle is not exactly a hub of this kind of activity. Like you did, we sometimes find them as they’re being transported.
” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, I want to speak to Bazel, and if the troopers show up, call me. I want to be there when they talk to him.”
“I’ll do what I can.” He ended the call and figured he might as well get up.
He sat on the side of the bed. “Okay, Evie, it’s time to go out.
” He turned to her bed, but it was empty.
Atlas pulled on his robe and left the room.
At first he wondered if she might be downstairs.
But as he passed Bazel’s room, the door was open a crack.
He peeked in, finding Evie on the floor next to the guest bed, which was unusual. She usually slept in the room with him.
Bazel’s head of dark hair stuck out from under the covers, which rose and fell slightly.
Otherwise he didn’t move. He had to have been exhausted, and Evie seemed to be watching over him.
She was an amazing dog with great instincts.
Not only did she have an incredible nose, but Evie had a huge heart, and seemed to know what she needed to do.
“Come on,” he whispered. Evie lifted her head and quietly trotted out of the room and down the stairs, with Atlas following her.
Once downstairs, he let her out before making up her breakfast. He also started coffee for himself and made a little extra in case Bazel wanted some.
He let Evie inside, and she went right to her dish.
Atlas poured himself some coffee and sat in the living room, watching a local morning news program.
Once she was done eating, Evie came in and sat on the floor near him.
“You’re an amazing girl,” Atlas told her as he gently rubbed her head.
He got very few moments in his life where things were this quiet.
Work was often very hectic. With limited K-9 resources in the department, he and Evie were often on call.
In fact, he had half expected Chris’s call to be the department asking them to come in.
“It looks like we’re going to have a quiet morning.” At least he hoped so. His last two days off had been cut short, and on Friday, he and Evie had a training session. So it was going to be a busy week.
Footsteps from above drew his attention. He waited for Bazel to come down, and the fact that he was practically swimming in the clothes Atlas had found for him was a reminder that he needed to take him shopping at some point to get clothes that fit.
“Are you hungry? I can make breakfast. Do you like eggs?”
“Yes,” Bazel said as he tentatively sat in one of the side chairs. “Thank you.” He sat still, his arms wrapped around him, making himself as small as possible, like he wanted to disappear. “I sorry I being….” He paused, and Atlas let him finish. “A problem.”
“You aren’t. There is nothing to be sorry for.
” Atlas really thought there was a story behind Bazel’s journey and how he acted, but at this point, there was no way he was going to be able to get him to tell it.
Not that it was any of Atlas’s business, but he was a police officer, which made him curious about everything and everyone.
“Come on.” He had to find a way to get Bazel out of his shell just a little bit.
He went to the kitchen and started a simple breakfast. He got Bazel to make the toast and pour juice. Atlas also offered him some coffee, which Bazel really seemed to enjoy.
“This is good. Different from home, but good.”
Atlas loved really good coffee. It was his main vice, and judging by the soft way Bazel moaned when he drank, it could be his as well.
“I’m glad you like it.” He kept his attention on the stove and the eggs he was making.
It didn’t matter that he might find Bazel attractive with his big dark eyes, floppy light brown hair, and high cheekbones.
Just the thought was wrong, and he needed to stop having it.
He scrambled the eggs and added some cheese.
He thought of making sausage but didn’t know if Bazel ate pork and wasn’t quite sure how to ask at this late moment.
So once the toast was done, he added some to each plate and brought them to the table.
He also got out some of the jam his sister made and added it to the table before sitting down.
“I hope this is okay,” he said.
“It’s good.” Bazel ate quickly, cleaning every bit of food off his plate. Then he took the dishes to the sink and stood, looking around as though he didn’t know what to do next.
“Is something wrong?” Atlas asked.
Bazel nodded. “I stay here but not pay. I need to help.”
Atlas nodded slowly, understanding what Bazel was saying. He had some basic pride, and it hurt for him to be taking charity. Atlas could understand that, but he didn’t know what to have him do. He didn’t want to ask him to do the dishes and stuff like that.
Evie went to the back door and sat in front of it. Atlas went to let her out, and Bazel followed him, stepping outside into the yard. He stood at the edge of the patio while Evie ran off into the yard. Then Bazel turned in a circle, smiling as he gestured around. “I can make pretty for you.”
“You want to work in my yard?” The previous owners had done some things with the backyard, and Atlas had done what he could to keep it up, but he just hadn’t had the time it required.
Most of the plants were still there, but weeds had been given a chance to take hold.
Mostly Atlas mowed the lawn and did the basics, so things had gotten a little rough around the edges.
“I make it beautiful.” He seemed really excited. Atlas didn’t want to take advantage of the guy, but he showed him where the various gardening tools were. Bazel grabbed a shovel, a rake, and some clippers from the garage and hurried back outside. “I promise, you will like.”
Damn, the guy seemed happy, and Atlas returned inside, leaving Evie lounging in the shade in the backyard while he took care of the dishes and then went upstairs to shower and get dressed.
By the time he was done and came back downstairs, Bazel was still outside, so he went to see what he was up to.
Atlas found the beds at the edge of the patio raked free of leaves and the weeds gone.
Some of the plants had been cut back, but the flowers stood tall.
Evie trotted over happily while Bazel, down on his hands and knees, skillfully pulled out weeds and cleared the soil of the remains of last year’s growth.
“See, I tell you it be pretty.” He barely looked up as he worked.
Already the yard was coming back to life.
“I study plants back home before I have to leave.” A cloud passed over Bazel’s features, but it passed pretty quickly.
“Thank you,” Atlas said before going back inside to get his own chores completed.
“YOU WHAT?” Chris asked once she arrived and asked where Bazel was.