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Nevertheless, I kept my steps light as I stopped in front of the first picture that caught my eye. It was Atlas. She had to be about six or seven and was beaming at the camera, showing off her missing tooth as she held up an award for perfect school attendance.
I moved around the house, studying every single picture I could find of her and watching her grow before my eyes into the young woman I’d met less than a month ago. Some of the memories were with her parents, but most of them were of Atlas solo.
It became clear to me by the last photo that she had been well-loved. Almost to the point of obsession—as if the Becks knew the precious gift they’d been given.
At some point, love stopped being enough, though.
It was evident in the most recent photo I found of her. She was wearing a burgundy and orange Ossella University T-shirt and standing by her car, hugging her mom. There were boxes in the back seat and a sad smile on her lips. Her father was noticeably missing from the photo, and judging by the angle of the shot, it was a selfie.
I moved my investigation upstairs, but not before swiping one of her high school graduation photos for myself and stuffing it inside my back pocket.
Finding Atlas’s bedroom was easy enough.
It was the first room to the right of the stairs, the closed door bearing her name in sky-blue letters and a Keep Out sign. Not wanting to be caught slipping, I checked the bathroom and the other two bedrooms first.
The master bedroom at the end of the hall clearly belonged to her parents. The rumpled bed looked like it might have been slept in recently but was now as empty as the room.
“If you’re here to rob the place, you won’t find anything valuable,” a quiet voice spoke from behind me. I whirled around to find the small outline of a woman lurking in the shadows of the dark hallway. “Just old ghosts.”
Light flooded the space between us a moment later, revealing a woman at least twenty years my senior, clutching a framed photo in her swollen hands. Her brown skin had a gray pallor, while her unruly hair framed her sunken cheeks. Kind brown eyes stared back at me. Behind her, the door to Atlas’s bedroom was now cracked open.
“Kareena?” If Atlas’s mom was surprised I knew her name, she didn’t let on. She only nodded. “I’m Rowdy,” I said foolishly. “Rowdy Wray.”
“Hello, Rowdy Wray. How can I help you?”
“I—” I had no idea what to fucking say. I must have really been off my game to have been caught sneaking around. Although, in the past, whenever I’d broken into someone’s house in the middle of the night, it wasn’t to snoop. “I’m sorry to disturb you.”
“Oh, that’s all right.” Atlas’s mom waved me off. “As long as you forgive my appearance. I would have worn my best pajamas, but I didn’t know I’d be having company.” Kareena gave a weak smile, and I chuckled despite the awkward situation.
At least now I knew where Atlas had gotten her love for sarcasm.
“I know your daughter,” I blurted nervously. My palms were sweating for some reason, and I was frozen to the spot.
I could see the surprise in Kareena’s eyes at my announcement. And then her gaze narrowed suspiciously. “Forgive me, but…” Her head tilted curiously. “Howdo you know my daughter? Are you one of her professors?”
“No.” I chuckled. “I’m her boss.”
“Boss?” Kareena blinked. “I wasn’t aware my daughter was working. What do you do?”
“I’m a mechanic. I own a shop in Idlewild. Your daughter is my receptionist.”
“Idlewild,” she echoed flatly.
“Yup.”
“So my daughter isn’t at school?”
“Nope.”
“And you’re her boss?”
“Correct.”
I waited patiently while Kareena let the information sink in. There was a calm passivity in her tone when she finally spoke. “Well, if my daughter is there, what are you doing here, Rowdy Wray, the mechanic?”
“Background check,” I answered plainly. It wasn’t a lie since I was absolutely here to fill in some blanks.
“I see.” Kareena’s gaze turned shrewd. “Must be some mechanic shop.”
