Chapter 5

Pearl noted Gideon had stopped in a driveway.

"This is my house," he said, as he exited the vehicle to get her bags.

Pearl looked around in surprise. But he told me that he didn't live here, didn't he? Plus, the house was what they would have bought together. They had talked about buying something similar, and it almost brought tears to her eyes when she realized that, in reality, he had bought their dream home. The thing that stung the most was that he'd bought it without her, all because she hadn't been here. She hadn't been part of his dream anymore. She hadn't been part of any of those plans because she wasn't a part of him anymore. It was such an odd feeling to know that he'd gone ahead with everything because it had mattered to him, whether she was here or not.

His arms full, he nudged her to the front door.

As he dumped her bags into his spare room, he turned to her. "I need you to stay inside. I'll come back in approximately… Give me an hour."

She gazed at him and then nodded.

"Please," he whispered, "don't run away."

Her eyebrows shot up, as she recognized her own wording. Then she nodded. "It's not as if I have my car anyway."

He gave her a bright smile. "Good point. I'll have it brought over for you, or we can go get it when I return. Right now I have to go talk to your bosses. So I need to know that you'll be here when I come back, and we can talk then."

She nodded.

"Help yourself to food, tea, whatever." And, with that, he was gone.

If she could have thought or guessed that this was how her day would end, she would have laughed herself silly. Absolutely no way this could have happened, even in her dreams. Yet here she was, moved into his house, yet not the way she had hoped.

She slowly walked around the house and explored it. It was beautiful, with three small bedrooms upstairs. Downstairs had a country kitchen and a big open living room with a huge fireplace and the master suite. The furniture was worn but comfortable, very much his style. She smiled as she collapsed on the big couch, wondering what she was supposed to do with her world now. Everything seemed so off, so wrong. Not that it was her fault at this point by any means, but it just didn't feel right. She wondered if anything would ever feel right again.

She still struggled with whatever the hell her coworker had stuffed into that jar. In her mind, she thought it was human waste, and yet she didn't know why or whose, not that she wanted to take a guess. She sat here for the longest time. When she heard a noise outside, she froze, then got up slowly and looked out the window. She couldn't see anything, but that didn't mean much.

She waited, and a couple more odd noises came, but nothing she could pinpoint. Finally she went out into the backyard and still couldn't see anything. As she sat here waiting, she thought she saw a puppy, rough looking, half wet, crying, and digging at something in the very back. She walked over to the corner and realized that it must have got in under the rear fence. A spot was dug out just big enough for this little guy.

He took one look at her and immediately crouched down low in fear.

She murmured to him, "Hey, it's okay, buddy. I understand. I've been in a spot or two like this myself." She reached out to try and touch him, but he immediately backed off, crying with high-pitched yelps.

She sat here for a long time, just waiting for him to calm down. When she finally managed to get close enough to grab him, she picked him up and carried him into the house. He was hungry, cold, and appeared to be completely abandoned. No collar, nothing to say anybody gave a crap about him. But she cared. If nothing else, it was something she could do for somebody else, and, in her world, that was a huge help on a day like today.

Taking him in, she found a little bit of sliced meat, which probably wasn't the best for him, and a little bit of milk and some mixed veggies in the fridge. She mashed everything up, knowing it might probably hit his empty stomach like a rock, and gave him a few bites.

When he gobbled it up, she tentatively gave him a little bit more and a little bit more, not wanting to overstretch his stomach or to fill him up with food that might upset him. But he didn't seem to have any trouble getting anything to go down. When she thought he'd had enough, she gave him a little bit of milk to help wash it down. When he had trouble drinking that unknown substance, she gave him more water.

Then she picked him up and carried him into the bathroom, where she ran a small bath and quickly scrubbed him down using shampoo. When he was clean, she grabbed several towels, scrubbed him top to bottom to dry him as much as she could, and then took him out into the backyard to spend a few minutes to help him dry off.

Somehow she'd found another animal in need, and it did give her something other than herself to worry about. This was a perfect answer to her rotten day.

When her phone rang a little bit later, she caught it up, breathless. "Hello."

After a moment of silence on the other end, Gideon asked her, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She laughed out loud. "You might not be when you get here, but, yes, I'm fine."

"You want to explain that?" he asked.

"No, I don't want to explain anything, just in case you don't like it," she replied. "You will see when you get here, and, if it's an issue for you, I'll find a way to fix it, no matter what." When no answer came, she laughed again. "I promise I didn't destroy your house."

"I couldn't care less about the house," he said, "but you do have me a bit worried."

"No, it's fine,… unless you don't like animals."

"Animals?" he repeated. "What on earth are you talking about? I just called to see if you wanted me to pick up some food."

"Did you talk to my bosses?"

"I sure did, at least one of them. I'll track down the other one."

"Have fun with that," she murmured. "Anyway, food would be good. You had some leftovers, but I may have just used up a bunch."

An odd note filled his tone as he asked, "You used up a bunch?"

"As I said, it's complicated."

"Doesn't sound very complicated at all. It sounds like something's been going on while I've been gone."

"Yes," she agreed immediately. "Something did go on while you weren't here, but I don't want to say anything because I don't want to give you something to get upset about before you get here." He groaned at that, and she added, "I'm not being mysterious."

"In that case you're failing," he countered immediately.

"Well, fine, pick up some dinner, and you'll see when you get here." With that, she ended the call and planned to go back to rubbing down the puppy. She found him curled up in the towel, sound asleep. As she picked him up, he gave several tiny whimpers. She hugged him close and whispered, "It's okay, buddy. Not sure who you belong to or where you came from, but at least your world has changed today."

He gave several more whimpers, as he snuggled in her arms, but she just relaxed inside on the couch and held him close. Within minutes, he fell asleep. She felt such a sense of peace, a sense of joy that he would trust her. She didn't know what the protocol was for an animal like this, since it was obvious that he didn't have a regular home or a place where anybody gave a crap because he didn't have any food or a collar.

Of course maybe he was lost, and somebody was out there looking for him. She hoped not because, as far as she was concerned, he was hers. If Pearl needed anything right now, it was somebody and something to love. Asking this little guy to love her back was probably too much at this point, but she would take anything the puppy had to give.

She woke with a start, unsure of where she was and what she heard. Hugging the puppy, she quickly oriented herself, recalling the events that led up to her being here in Gideon's house. She gradually became aware of the sounds that had woken her. She set the puppy gently on the couch, as she got up to investigate. A young family was spread out on the sidewalk, calling back and forth to each other, as they posted something on the utility poles.

With a sinking feeling, she realized what they could be doing. Her glance over at the sofa revealed the still sleeping little pup, clearly exhausted. With a reluctant look outside, she saw how fervently the children were working. Opening the door, she called out to the nearest one, a boy of around eight, and asked what they were doing. When he showed her the flyer he carried, the pain in her heart was immediately healed by the tremble in his chin. as he explained that they were missing their puppy, who had dug under their fence and was out overnight.

With a smile, she waved over the mother and told the boy to stay right here. Back inside, she took a moment to snuggle the clean, dry, and contented little pup, whispering her thanks for making her day a little brighter. Then she slipped outside to reunite him with his delighted family.

*

Gideon quickly drove to one of his favorite restaurants, picked up the takeout order he'd called in, his mind reeling, wondering what the hell Pearl had been up to. She'd only been at his place a few hours, and already something was up. Yet she sounded happier somehow, an element of joy in her tone, a sense of peace and relaxation that hadn't been there before. That was a good thing. If she hadn't destroyed anything, he was pretty sure he could live with whatever this was, and she may well need something because, as far as he was concerned, she desperately needed a new job.

He'd only managed to talk to her immediate supervisor, but Maria had explained quite a bit more about the antics that this Betty person had been up to. The manager had been nervous, saying she had reported it to her supervisors, but nobody ever did anything about it. Gideon had calls in to the next level supervisor, someone Maria seemed afraid of, likely because that person had the ability to make things happen, the potential fear that Pearl's job would be lost, even Maria's.

As far as Gideon was concerned, Pearl's job quite possibly needed to go anyway, especially if this was the crap going on in that place.

When he pulled into his driveway, his phone rang. He answered it to find Grant Hollick, the missing boss he'd been waiting to speak to. When Grant asked what the call was about, his tone was brisk, as if time were a serious issue, as if Gideon were completely disrupting him, saying he didn't have time for such nonsense.

"I see," Gideon replied. This guy wasn't interested in being helpful. "In that case, I'll see you down at the base for questioning tomorrow morning."

Dead silence came on the other end. "What are you talking about?" he asked too quickly. "I'm a busy man here. I don't have time for these games."

"No? Apparently you don't have time to look after your employees either, and now it's gone past anybody hiding anything," Gideon declared. "So I will see you at the base tomorrow morning. Nine o'clock sharp, please."

"I can't meet at nine. I have an appointment."

"I suggest you change that appointment," Gideon stated, his tone inflexible. "I will see you there in the morning. Otherwise, we can send an MP car to pick you up."

"I'm hardly a criminal, young man. Do you know who you're talking to?"

"Yes, I do. I left a message for you to call me, remember?"