Wake the Dawn (22 page)

Ben stared at her. “Ah, Beth. Would that ever take a load off my shoulders.”

Ansel bobbed his head. “All of our shoulders. We no more want her into the system than you do. But this will make her eligible for adoption.”

Esther loved the atmosphere in this home. Good friends, good food, peace and quiet, no one looking for some little thing to disapprove of, no carping—most of all, everyone looking for the best solution to a desperate problem. So unlike her home.

“I’ll start the paperwork for that as soon as I can.” Ben looked to Esther. “You don’t think Bo would let her go, do you?”

“Ben,” Esther said patiently, “almost always the courts are looking for two-parent families.” Why couldn’t he see that?
Two parents, Ben. Read my lips.

He shrugged. “I read about a woman who was finally able to adopt two little sisters she’d been fostering.”

“No matter how good a father you will be, this will not be as easy as you seem to think.”

“I never said it would be easy. I just said Bo and I will not let her leave us.” He stood and went over to pick up Dawn, who’d begun to fuss, putting her up against his shoulder. She quieted immediately.

Esther shook her head at the picture they made. The big black dog looking up to make sure all was well, the man in a border patrol field uniform, toughness personified, holding a tiny little head with black hair that stuck out every which way, nestled against his shoulder. The hand patting the baby’s back brought down a drug addict, used a gun with expertise, but for now comforted a hungry baby girl. Esther’s heart stopped beating. Only for a moment before she could squash the thought. This feeling she had was fast becoming more than just a casual attraction for Ben James.

Chapter Twenty-Two

S
orry! Bo, you have to come with me today.” Ben kissed Dawn on the top of her head, handed her back to Ansel, and headed for the carport. Bo looked over his shoulder and whined. “Bo, come.” Head down, the dog did as ordered.

“I’ll be working on my house today,” Ansel said, “so if you need anything I’m close by.”

“Like what?” Ben paused in the act of getting in the SUV. Bo was already sitting in the passenger seat.

“I don’t know. Just a feeling I have.”

“I’ll keep it in mind. I’m sure he’s sending me out on patrol again, since he said to make sure and bring my partner in today. I don’t think he has much respect for our K-9 officers.”

“He won’t last long here. He’s managed to offend half the town already with his attitude.”

“Anything I need to know about?”

“Nope.” Ansel stepped back and waved.

Ben backed into the turnaround and pulled out to head for the street. He needed a real weekend at home to get some of the cleanup done on his own place. But come Saturday he was sure he’d be over helping Ansel. Hard to believe it was already November, but the frost that glinted in the rising sunlight told its own tale. Winter would soon be roaring down their backs, and they needed to get Ansel’s house sealed in again. Everyone was fighting the same kinds of things, so there were no extra hands to borrow.

Lots of cars in the parking lot at work; was something going on?

“Morning, Ben.” Jenny leaned forward. “You better hustle. He’s got another burr under his saddle.”

“Seems to be a permanent condition.” Ben rolled his eyes and headed down the hall to the meeting room. He was still five minutes early, but a glance at those gathered told him he was the last one in.

“Good of you to make it.” Perowsky was already standing at the head of the room, clipboard in hand.

Ben just nodded and didn’t even mention his earliness. A barb like that needed no response. He took a chair and nodded to those around him. This used to be a time of camaraderie, but not any longer. No one smiled or cracked a joke, or even really greeted each other. Ah, the things they had taken for granted. But then under Chief Harden, they had been a team. Now they were just a group of men and women waiting for orders.

Right at seven thirty the man in front looked up from studying his notes. “I’ll post the assignments for today. It has been brought to my attention that some of you are heavily involved in this drive to fund and build the clinic. That is your volunteer time, it is not to be confused with work time. You are being paid to protect our borders and both keep out aliens and find the ones that have already entered. Do you understand?” He looked around the room and then stared directly at Ben. “Any questions?”

When no one spoke, he continued. “I have a rather unusual announcement here. The autopsy report is back on the bodies found in the van in the river. One woman was lactating and the condition of her uterus indicates that she had given birth within the month. The authorities have requested that we keep watch for an infant body that they believe might have floated out of the van via an open window.”

Ben studied his hands. How many would put two and two together and realize the baby he had brought in might be that baby? But then he’d never talked much about Dawn here, although in a town like Pineville the news would have gotten around anyway.

“If there are no further questions, this meeting is dismissed.” Perowsky strutted from the room without a nod or smile or any recognition to his team. Not that he believed for an instant that they were
his team
.

Ben joined the others around the board to read what he already figured. He was assigned the northernmost zone, but while Perowsky, no doubt, would think this was punishment, that was Ben’s favorite place to prowl. It was the area where he and Bo found the baby. Most likely that emigrant trail was abandoned—though on the other hand, the smugglers wouldn’t know they’d found the baby.

Ben turned to Jonas, the man next to him. “Where will you be?”

“East of you.”

“Keep your eyes peeled. They’ve been using that area. You have your K-9 partner?” He put the slur on the term the way Perowsky had done.

“You think I’d go without my K-9 partner?” And Jonas used exactly the same inflection.

Ben nodded. He and Jonas were the only two with patrol dogs in their region. “Maybe today will be our lucky day. Let’s keep in contact.”

Carol, one of the two women on their team, sidled closer. “You just be grateful you are far away from this office.”

“Bad, eh?” Jonas had developed the skill of hardly moving his mouth while talking.

“I sent in a grievance.”

“Wow. For what?”

“Asking the higher-ups to find us a human being for our new chief. Surely this man is an android.”

It was all Ben could do to not laugh out loud. Instead he headed for his SUV and his waiting K-9 partner.

As soon as his vehicle cleared the outskirts of town, Ben’s mind flitted to Esther and her behavior of the last couple of days. Why could she not admit she suffered from PTSD? It wasn’t like a contagious disease, nor was it something she chose. If she would just talk with him about it, talk to anyone about it, she might get some relief.

After all, he’d been there, too, but probably nothing as severe as hers.
Or maybe women react differently than men do.
Wondering what had caused the disorder to attack her, he became aware of the warm glow that seemed to visit him when he allowed himself to think about her. Yes, they were friends, but he was beginning to realize he wanted their relationship to be more than that. After Allie died he’d been sure he’d never feel this way again.

On the way north, Ben spoke notes and reminders into his cell’s recorder. While he used to be able to call Jenny and ask her to set things up for him, now he didn’t want to get her in trouble, either. “Call Lars and have him set up an appointment with Aptos and Esther—see if we can get him to extend the ninety days. Two: Talk to art department and drafting class re exterior of new clinic. Three: Thank-you notes to Livingston and Ho. Four:…” Bo’s whining stopped his taping.

“You’re right, big dog, we’re almost there.” Ever since they’d turned onto the dirt road, Bo had left off snoozing and kept his nose pressed to the window. It would seem this was his favorite zone as well. Ben slowed the SUV, watching both sides of the road for anything odd. The storm had created a disaster scene that, were it in town, would take years to clean up. Some trees were snapped off ten feet above the ground; others were only held up by the limbs of the surrounding trees. The water table was even higher than usual, leaving more open water than he had ever seen before in this area. No longer did this qualify as a bog. It was now a lake bed.

Chief Harden had believed that their very presence, driving the roads without any schedule, was a deterrent. Surely that would discourage smugglers of any kind. And now they’d need a boat to get through.

At one point he stopped, thinking this was where he’d parked before, but everything was changed and Bo didn’t react. He hit Jonas’s number. “See anything?”

“Water water everywhere.”

“Yah, the water’s almost up to the roadbed here. No wonder the river is still flowing high. Let me know if you see anything.”

“I’m turning around,” Jonas called. “The bottom is going out on the road.”

“We need to get in here on horseback or ATVs.” He didn’t want to turn around and get stuck in the soft shoulders. Now what?

Ben spotted something snagged on low bushes just off the road—a red plastic bag or something. “I’m stopping.” He stepped out of the vehicle and Bo bounded to the gravel, his nose to the ground immediately. Tail waving like a flag, he veered off the road and right to the crimson bit. He sniffed at it and shot Ben a hurry-up look over his shoulder.

“I’m coming.” Once again Ben wished he were in better shape. He’d nearly blown his lungs out keeping up with a woman who spent even less effort to keep in shape than he did. Early-morning runs had ceased to exist, the more he drank. But that was over. He really did have to get back into fighting shape again.

He pulled a plastic bag from the pouch on his vest and scooped the silk scarf into it. He’d bet anything it was foreign-made—but then, what wasn’t anymore? No one with this kind of scarf wore it out into the brush like this, even if it was hunting season. Bo stopped sniffing at the water’s edge and stared out across the lake.

If only Ben had some idea where they could pick up the trail again. He eyeballed the expanse of water. Diagonal would be the most direct; if they had a boat with a shallow draft, they could go a long way. He called into the office. “Jenny, how about asking His Lordship if he could request a flyover, chopper to keep it low. Perhaps some interagency assistance with the air force base?”

“You found something?”

“I did, or rather Bo did. A bright red silk scarf snagged on a low bush. Nothing else in the area. Bo tracked someone to the water’s edge, then sat and stared across the water. I’d sure like to know every place on the shoreline where people have walked since the storm.”

“I’ll make the suggestion, but…”

“I know, the cost. Wish we had some of those drones they have in Afghanistan. Silent and can fly at night.”

“Right. I’ll try.”

“Or I’ll talk with him when I get back.”

“Or both.”

Ben shook his head as he clicked off. “Come on, Bo.” Interagency cooperation? How about a little cooperation within the station?

“But, sir…”

“So you found a red silk scarf caught on a bush. It probably blew out of a car window. Women all over the country wear red silk scarves made in China or wherever. That’s not enough to go on.”

Out a car window?
On a dirt road that went nowhere, except to the border. Then another thought struck. Had Perowsky read the reports and heard that Bo found the baby in that same area? A baby, a scarf, other than catching a snakehead with his cargo in tow, what did he expect? Ben realized it was a good thing he had learned to keep his face from revealing his emotions, thanks to the marines.

“Have you ever driven up there, sir?”

“No, that’s your job.”

Ben nodded. “Yes, sir. That it is.”

Perowsky leaned forward, loosely clasped hands on the desk blotter. “Look, James, this whole sector was way, way over budget before and it’s not going to happen on my watch, so just do as you’re told, and we’ll all get along better.”

Ben stared at the man behind the desk, who had not a wrinkle in his class A uniform. He started to say something then nearly bit his tongue, clamping his teeth so hard and fast. His heart almost jumped out of his chest; the fight-or-flight adrenaline kicked in instantly. His eyes slitted, but he raised his chin and gave a curt nod.

Once out in the hall, he kept himself from sending a fist through the wallboard and strode on out the front doors, straight-arming the latch bar. He threw his jacket on the seat, called Bo out, and the two of them took off running down the street. Anything to work off the adrenaline.

When he was still shaking after a mile or so, he slowed to catch his breath, resolving that from now until it was too cold to breathe safely, he would run every day. Heck, a kindergartner could outlast him.

Back in his rig and officially off the clock, he made the phone calls he’d put on his prompts list when driving.

Yes, the art and drafting departments would be delighted to produce the building workup.

Lars was not nearly as delighted. “It’s gonna be a waste of time, but I’ll set up a meeting for the first possible date. You realize, Ben, that Aptos is badgering his cronies to commit to large amounts of money also?”

“I know. Even though Hazel was real cautious about revealing financial assets, I got the feeling there is more money right here in Pineville than anyone realizes.”

Lars snickered. “Not sure what some of them are saving it for, but we can be real thankful old Aptos is spearheading this. Who’d have thought that nearly dying would make such a change in that man? Far as he’s concerned, Esther walks on water and the clinic earned every dime he can raise. He and his wife were both altruistic, but most of the town doesn’t even know all they did. They were always adamant about not being recognized. Strange isn’t it?”

Ben nodded and then realized Lars couldn’t see him. “That’s for sure.”

Ben sat at the meeting table feeling frustrated. Esther on his right looked just as frustrated. Lars sat at his left with an I-told-you-so smugness. Behind them, maybe twenty or thirty people sat around listening. This was an open meeting, but not too many people seemed interested this time around.

Across from them, the spidery Mr. Aptos sat back, adamant. “The challenge stays. If I was to take the pressure off, this might just slide right back into the apathy we’ve seen for years. People understand a challenge, and I don’t see nothing wrong with it.”

Ben and Esther swapped looks.

Aptos even looked rather pleased. “Some of them are hoppin’ mad, but that’s good, too. Gets ’em charged up to do something, you see, and the energy keeps building. Pineville folks are real good at getting hot and bothered and then doing the right thing. I should know; I’ve lived here all my life. I’d say I’ve become an expert on Pineville.” He leaned forward and smacked the flat of his hand on the table. “Let’s just do this and let the Lord lead as the ninety days draw to a close.” His grin closely resembled that of a leprechaun Ben had seen in a picture. But the light in his eyes held nary a hint of deviltry.