Page 40 of Atlas
“Yes, but I normally talk to Ryan Larson; is he there?”
“I’m afraid not, ma’am. Sergeant Larson won’t be back for at least a few weeks.”
“Is he sick?”
“Nothing serious. He had knee surgery a few days ago.”
Jolene sighed. “But you have access to my file, I assume?”
“That’s correct, but could you tell me more about the threat you called about?”
“It came out of the blue from the mother.”
“The mother?”
“Yes, I worked as a school psychologist, and a year ago, I was instrumental in having a young boy removed from his home. His father, Niklavs Zakis, abused the boy, and now he’s blaming me for everything. His wife, Velna Zakis, texted me that her husband has my new address and that she fears he’s on his way to hurt me.”
“Did you talk to her?”
“No.” Jolene frowned. “Do you think I should call her?”
“Hmm… what is the name of her husband again?”
“Niklavs Zakis. He worked at the recreational center as a handyman for a while. You should be able to find his contact information in my file since your department helped me get a restraining order against him.
“All right, I’ll make a few calls and see if we can locate him. In the meantime, are you at home or work?”
Jolene looked over at me. “I’m staying with a friend for now.”
My face softened. For some reason, it pleased me that she’d called me a friend and not her boss.
“Good. If Mr. Zakis shows up, you know what to do, yes?”
“Call 911.”
“That’s right. But let’s hope it’s all a misunderstanding. As soon as I reach Mr. Zakis, I’ll let you know.”
“Thank you.”
After Jolene hung up, I walked over to her. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, but I wish I could speak to Ryan. He knows my case, and I wouldn’t have to explain anything to him.”
“Will you be all right if I leave you here for a little while as I pick up your things?”
“Yes. Yes, of course.”
“Do you have your house keys? I have some urgent meetings at Solver this afternoon, so I’d better get your things now.”
She went to get me her keys and looked back over her shoulder. “I feel awful about you having to do all this.”
I clicked my tongue. “Stop saying that. As a psychologist, you should know that getting the chance to help someone avoid a crazy person is healing to me.”
“To prove that you’re nothing like your dad.” The statement came swiftly as if she’d already considered that. Jolene was sharp, intuitive, and with a gift of reading people, and I’d better remember that.
I gave her a small nod. “If the police find him; call me.” I grabbed the keys and headed out. Once in my car, I called up a friend of mine from Ireland.
“Ach, I can’t believe it; if it isn’t the high and mighty Atlas callin’ me. How are ye?”
