Cal stepped out of the building, his head bowed as he looked at his cell phone. It was only when a car’s rude blaring caused him to glance up. Traffic was in its usual frenzy with irate drivers leaning on their horns in an effort to scatter others out of their way. Fascinated at the skirmish, he watched as drivers revved their engines with their foot to the floor before abruptly slamming on their brakes after gaining mere feet. It was like watching a game of chicken. He loved it.
He wiped the sweat off his brow. Thanks to the heat, he’d be spending another day indoors enjoying his air conditioning. After living on the streets since he was about eight, he’d come to hate the oppressive summer heat. He glanced once more down the street before turning in the opposite direction to head to his car. Something triggered in his mind in that split second. He spun back around only to duck his head when he realized what he was seeing. Luck had never been part of his life; he’d had to work hard and dirty to get everything he had. So he was a little puzzled but over the top excited with what presented itself. He leaned against the building in an attempt to use the natural design of the pillars to hide behind.
It’s her!
Three people were standing at the far end of the block and appeared to be in the midst of a heated discussion. One of them reminded him too much of his old life. What he didn’t understand was what she was doing with a man like that. She’d never given him the time of day.
The two men glared at her with angry expressions. It made him smile because she was obviously in hot water, something he relished seeing. The best part was he now knew where she was and would soon know where she lived—not that he was going to share any of that, at least not any time soon. First he had to figure out what she was up to.
Maybe it was a touch of paranoia he thought she’d glanced his way. Concerned if she spotted him it would give her the upper hand, he quickly ducked around the end of the building. A heartbeat later, he looked again only to discover that all three of them were gone.
~~~~
“You have some explaining to do.” Graham quirked an eyebrow at her.
“I do?” She dropped her gaze to the glass of wine in front of her. “Same thing as before. I needed a secure network. I was contacting a woman who is going through a bad time. End of story.”
“And yet you called in sick because?”
“Because I wasn’t feeling well.”
“So you come into the office and now Bill feels he has to call me every time you show up when I’m not here. Are you sure that’s all?” Why he’d brought her to the little pub down the street from the office, he wasn’t sure but he did know it was time to clear up a few things. She’d been reluctant and not only because he wanted some answers. She kept saying she had to get home, someone was waiting for her. Probably that Chance guy she’d been mumbling about the morning after she’d gotten drunk in his office.
She met his gaze. “Yes. I’m not selling company secrets. You can check my computer or put me through a polygraph test. I had some errands I had to do and I said I was sick because it was easier then explaining. I thought I’d clear it up when I got in.”
Graham observed the tightening of her facial muscles, especially under her left eye. If he hadn’t been watching her closely, he’d have missed it.
“Please explain to me why a guy in bad need of a shower and laundry services is living in an apartment I’m sure the city doesn’t know exists?”
“Are you threaten—”
She waved off his reply. “No. I’m trying to understand why you made that place for Bill. I thought—never mind, it doesn’t matter. But it’s nice. He’s got a bed, a bathroom, toilet, shower—which he obviously needs someone to show him how to use.”
“Huh.” Graham nodded his head as he thought about her words.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Guy and I have been trying to get him to take a shower but he won’t. It never dawned on us that he doesn’t know how to use it. Or maybe it’s something else.”
“Okay. So why have you set him up so well? I get the feeling he doesn’t pay rent. You guys are looking after him. Why?”
“Because he’s a good guy. He deserves a break. And because we can.”
Her face softened and she smiled in acknowledgement. “That’s nice. So what’s his story?”
“He’s been on the street since he was young. As far as we can tell he left an abusive home. At some point he joined the army. We don’t know how or why but he ended up back on the street. He’s seen a lot in the forty or so years he’s been out there. He never talks about it. We’re not even sure of his name.”
“And you tried to get him help and he refused it.”
Surprised by her insight, he took a swig of his beer. Bill had been one of those people they’d noticed right away. He wasn’t the only homeless person in the area but he definitely was one of the honest ones, one that Graham and Guy too, had felt drawn to. It had started simply enough when they had witnessed him eating food out of a dumpster. It made them realize how good they had it. And they had learned he was a war vet which made it all that much more important to them to help him. They were still searching if he had any family.
“So why are you helping women who’ve been abused?”
It was as if the lights went out. Though her friendly expression never wavered almost as though it had frozen in place, her eyes darkened and became distant and veiled. A telltale sign that his comment had hit home was her hand shaking ever so slightly as she picked up her glass—and the fact that though she’d been sipping her wine, this time she downed half of it. “Same as you. I wanted to help someone. The website seemed like an ideal way to do it; I could give them a safe place to vent, to talk, to learn, to find help. Kind of like what you did for Bill.”
He doubted that. There were a lot of questions he wanted to ask her but he didn’t know where to start and he was quite sure she wouldn’t be all that forthcoming. Besides, if he hadn’t accidentally seen a few of the nasty texts she’d received, he might have wondered more about her involvement. But knowing more kept him from asking deeper questions. They sat in silence for a while but it wasn’t the awkward silence that always seemed to hang between them. Graham drank his beer and casually glanced around the few other patrons at the pub. He was glad it was a quiet Friday afternoon.
“Are you glad you moved out here? You must find it very different from Alberta?”
She tilted her head. “Actually, I used to live here. So I’m used to the gross, wet summer heat and the cold winter snaps, but yeah it is different from Alberta. They have longer, colder winters, usually. Later spring. But they have the Rockies. So—” She shrugged.
“Don’t tell anyone but I’ve never been there.”
“You should go sometime. It’s a really unique province, prairies on one side and mountains on the other. Kind of desert in the southeast and forest, swamp in the north. The south doesn’t get near as much snow as the north. Well, not usually anyway.”
“Sounds like you enjoyed living there?”
“I did. All of the large cities have a river running through them. Downtown Calgary is a bit crazy but then what city’s isn’t? The river valley is gorgeous.”
“Miss it?”
Her eyebrows drew together and then she glanced at her phone. “Oh my god, I’ve got to get going. Jesus, I did it to him again.” She dug in her purse and tossed down some money before jumping to her feet. “Sorry.”
She ran out the door before he barely made it to his feet. He quickly pulled out some money only to realize she’d left enough for the full bill. He ran after her but by the time he reached the office, she was pulling out of the parking lot. She either didn’t see him waving or deliberately ignored him. He was tempted to follow her but knew that would be pointless. Friday afternoon traffic could sometimes be more crippling than a weekday rush hour. Sighing, he returned to the office. As he walked by her desk, he glanced at her computer but kept going. When he reached his door he remained there. Did she or didn’t she?
It was something he knew would piss him off to no end but he told himself he was only trying to protect her. He suspected she had as much firsthand knowledge as the women she tried to help and he needed to protect his company. He sat at her desk and logged onto her computer. This time she’d forgotten to clear her tracks, which made it so much easier to hack into her website.
The information he read and the stories the women told made him nauseous and sick, reminiscent of a morning after a heavy binge. He’d read about incidents of abuse but thankfully, it had never been a part of his life. He’d never been exposed to it and certainly had never been this close to it. It was too unbelievable for words. He had to close his eyes at one point or he thought he’d throw up. About to log out, he noticed there was a message center. Guilt started thumping at his chest, shouting that he was making a big mistake when he opened her emails. What he read though stopped his heart almost completely.
The real problem was what was he supposed to do about it?