Home of the Gray Dog - Segment 02

Chapter 06

Walker reached the door first and quickly opened it. When Sue Beth rushed by, tears streaming down her face, she almost knocked Walker off his feet. Ignoring him as if he wasn’t even there, the little girl ran to Samantha.

         “Oh, please hurry! We don’t know what to do!” Grabbing Samantha’s hand, Sue Beth started tugging her toward the still open door. “Joshua says she’s screaming for her mother and something about an animal. I didn’t mean to make her cry, and I didn’t know she was afraid of them. Please, please, come down and make her stop crying, please.” She managed to say this without pausing for breath, all the while managing to pull a confused Samantha through the door and out into the hallway.

         Walker and Jack got ahead of them and ran down the flight of stairs to the third floor. They could hear hysterical screaming and hurried down the hallway to the rooms where Mike and Itzam now lived. Walker got there first and quickly went into the apartment, Jack close on his heels. Samantha, still dragged along by Sue Beth, followed behind them.

         Joshua ran over to them, his young face red and sweaty from exertion. “Thank goodness you’re here, Mr. Walker.” Behind him, the adults could see Itzam kneeling on top of a small table.

         “Ay, mas xiw,” she screamed, pointing to something just out of their sight in the bathroom. Mike was standing next to the table trying to calm the girl. He failed to do that, even when she turned toward him. Motioning wildly in his direction, Itzam kept repeating, “Kim arin, kim arin.”

         Joshua continued, “My Q'eqchi still isn’t all that good, but I think she’s telling us she’s scared and wants Mike to come help her.” He raised his voice to be heard over Itzam’s increasing loud screams of terror. “We thought Mike and Itzam might like to meet and play with Zorro, so we asked Toby to find and bring her up here.”

         Unobserved until then, Toby Cutler, the mansion’s outdoor maintenance supervisor, came out of the bathroom. In his arms, Toby was holding a fiercely wiggling red fox. “Sorry, boss,” Toby apologized, almost losing his grip on the squirming animal. “We didn’t know the sight of her would scare Itzam so badly. I’ll get Zorro out of here right away.”

         He squeezed past Walker, who was looking at the fox. Neither man could believe one small creature caused all this commotion. Toby left, shutting the door behind him and Zorro. Itzam’s screams slowly diminished in intensity, finally ending in tiny hiccups.

         Jack walked further into the room toward where Mike was trying to convince Itzam to get down from the table. “Hello, kids. Nice to meet you, Mike. I’m Jack. Let me help you with her.” Moving slowly toward the scared girl, Jack reached out and gently picked her up into his arms. Even her hiccups stopped, with only an occasional sniffle to remind everyone of her recent terror.

         Itzam stared wide-eyed into the eyes of the slender blonde stranger who was carrying her to a big overstuffed chair. He sat down in it, still holding her on his lap, and whispering soothing words that, of course, she didn’t understand. However, she relaxed against his chest, sticking her thumb in her mouth for comfort.

         Jack looked over her head at Walker. “Crisis over. I remember when I was a little boy and scared. My dad would hold me, and the monsters would disappear.” He ran a finger down the side of Itzam’s upturned face. “Guess it works for little girls, too.”

         “Okay, Walker,” Samantha said, as she returned to the front door. “Everything seems under control, so I’ll leave you and Jack with the kids for now. I’ve got some work to do before our guests get here tomorrow.”

         She pictured the woman, probably an old lady fussbudget, nitpicking over every tiny detail. However, the architect worried her even more. In her imagination, Felix Depree was a fiery person used to doing things his way, temperamental like artistic people often are, and probably also moody.

          Samantha was dreading their arrival, which was only 24 hours away.

Chapter 07

Around 9 a.m. the next day, Jack headed for Westbrook’s private airport. The mansion’s SUV made good time, even on the dangerous icy roads left over from the previous day’s storm. Jack was an excellent driver, but he found his knuckles turning white after the vehicle started to slide sideways for the second time.

         Arriving in one piece at the airport, he parked by the small terminal and went inside to wait. Only one person was already there, a young man behind the single counter. He was concentrating on the computer in front of him and looked up when Jack coughed to get his attention.

         “Yes, sir, may I help you?”

         “Hello, I’m Jack Notting and meeting a private flight from San Francisco. Can you tell me its ETA?” Jack looked through the wide window behind the clerk that showed the deserted tarmac. “I must be a bit early.”

         After checking the computer once again, the clerk nodded to himself, having found the information requested. “It should be coming in any minute now. There was a small delay leaving in San Francisco, but…” He stopped and turned to also look out the window. “There it is now.”

         Coming in out of the clouds was a sleek Learjet 45. The twin-engine executive jet landed softly and rolled over the tarmac closer to the terminal. Jack thanked the clerk and walked out the back door to meet the plane’s passenger. He was thinking of what Samantha told him the architect would probably be like. She pictured him temperamental and moody. He added his own ideas to hers of an effeminate man wearing trendy clothes and possibly carrying an ornate cane as an affectation.

         The man descending from the plane couldn’t be Felix Depree. He was probably in his early 50s, over-six feet-three, and reminded Jack of pictures he’d seen of Paul Bunyan. His clothes were far from trendy. In fact, his well-worn jeans and plaid wool shirt increased the impression of the mythological lumberjack striding toward the terminal.

         “All he needs is Babe, the blue ox, to complete the picture.” Jack smiled when this thought crossed his mind, then the smile disappeared. What was loping behind Felix wasn’t a blue ox, but it appeared as big and as dangerous. When the two men finally met, Jack cautiously held out his hand in greeting, being sure to keep an eye on the animal. It sat down, tongue hanging out to one side. To Jack, the animal looked like it was sizing him up for dinner.

         The huge man laughed, after introducing himself as Felix Depree. “Don’t be afraid of Valentine. She’s harmless, just a big old teddy bear of an Irish Wolfhound.” As if understanding those words, Valentine jumped up and placed a huge paw on each of Jack’s shoulders. Before he knew what was happening, Jack lost his balance and fell backwards onto the ground. He stared up into the face of the gigantic dog and received a friendly lick from the animal.

         Felix was laughing uproariously, but said, “Let the poor guy up, Valentine.” Jack didn’t find his situation all that amusing and was grateful when the dog was pulled off him. Felix helped Jack to his feet, apologizing while still laughing at the behavior of his pet. “You’ll have to forgive her, Jack. She just likes people and gets excited when meeting strangers.”

         Jack forced a smile. “I understand. Just to let you know, though, we have a few small children at the mansion. Yesterday, an animal about a tenth the size of Valentine terrified one little girl.” The memory of Itzam’s reaction was still fresh in his mind.

         “You can stop worrying.” Felix took a leash from the suitcase the jet’s pilot had brought out and placed beside him. “I’ll keep her away from the kids if you want.” With that, the two men, followed by the dog, walked around to the front of the terminal to where Jack earlier parked his SUV. Felix put the dog and suitcase in the backseat and joined Jack in front. Both men glad to get out of the cold February weather.

         The trip back to the mansion was uneventful except for Valentine constantly snuffling the back of Jack’s defenseless neck. This made it difficult to concentrate on driving over the icy roads, but Jack managed it somehow.

Chapter 08

“Did she arrive yet?” Jack called out at seeing Samantha coming into the entrance room. He had settled Felix and Valentine into one of the small bungalows and arranged to return in an hour.

         Now he only had Miss Perry to meet and greet. The lawyer had phoned the night before to let him know she would be renting a car. Admitting to being a bit nervous about flying, she preferred the larger city airport 50 miles away to the smaller local one and didn’t mind the long drive on the country’s back roads. According to the schedule she had given him, she should have arrived by now.

         “No,” said Samantha, joining him at the front desk. “I’ve got Keith on the lookout for her.” The 32-year-old desk clerk, Keith Stockwood, was new to the mansion, but steady and even-tempered. He already had his test under fire with the recent murder of an elderly bigamist guest. Samantha knew he could handle even an officious lawyer.

         Jack frowned. “That’s strange. She must be running late. Oh well, at least we have Felix here.”

         “So?” Samantha asked, curious about the architect. “What’s he like? Is he anything like I imagined him?”

         “You’ll have to judge for yourself, Samantha. I’ll be going back to the bungalow in an hour, and I think you’ll like him and his friend.”

         “What friend, Jack?” Samantha, who had been starting to walk away, stopped short. “I didn’t know there would be two of them. The maids only prepared the bungalow for one person. They should have let me know so we could…” She stopped suddenly, realizing her voice was rising in anger.

         The fact she got flustered over something so minor surprised him. Usually Samantha handled unexpected situations calmly. Lately, though, she seemed to have changed. Jack was determined to find out what was wrong and made a mental note to have a talk with Walker about her.

         “It’s okay, Samantha,” he said, trying to calm her down. “I already took care of his friend’s special dietary needs on the way from the airport.” Jack didn’t have a chance to say anything else before Samantha walked away from him, muttering under her breath at the inconsideration of people on her overworked staff.

         One hour later, Jack drove back to the bungalow where Felix and Valentine were staying. He wondered how the people in the mansion would react to the large gray dog. He needn’t have worried. For the first visit with Walker, Felix decided to leave Valentine behind, happily chewing on a big bone Jack had “liberated” from the mansion’s kitchen.

         Upon arrival to the mansion, Jack took Felix immediately up to the fourth floor where Walker was waiting for them.

         “Walker, do you know if Miss Perry has arrived yet?” At his boss’s negative response, Jack started getting worried. He knew how dangerous the icy roads in the area could be to a stranger since even he had trouble driving earlier in the day.

         “Why don’t you try calling her cell phone?” Walker asked. “You have her number, don’t you?” When Jack nodded, Walker pointed toward the front of his apartment. “Go use my office and track her down. I’m sure Felix and I can find something to talk about until you get back.”

         Jack agreed and left, only to return in a few minutes. “She doesn’t answer her phone. She must be too far from cell tower, or her battery is dead.” He sat down, but continued to get up now and then to return to the office and try again.

         Meanwhile, the other two men got down to business and discussed exactly what Walker wanted in this new building. Six more hours passed, still without any sign of Delia Perry. Around noon, Walker had asked Geoffrey, the mansion’s chef, to have lunch sent up, and the two men continued their plans over coffee and a large selection of sandwiches.

         Jack had finally left just before their lunch to check with Samantha and Keith Stockwood for any messages from Miss Perry. None had come in, and he kept on trying her cell without any success. Finally, about five in the afternoon, with the sun beginning to set, Jack received a page to return to Walker’s apartment. When he got there, he found Walker alone. Felix had just returned to the bungalow to feed Valentine, deciding to walk the short distance rather than wait for Jack to drive him back.

         “I think we’d better get over to the hospital,” said Walker, the minute Jack walked into the apartment. “They just called, and Miss Perry is there.”

Chapter 09

The trip from the mansion to the hospital took just a few minutes since only about a mile separated the two buildings. More than ever, Walker was glad he had commissioned the construction of the hospital with its excellent trauma center on his many acres.

         After Jack parked the SUV in the nearly full parking lot, the two men hurried through the front door into the emergency room waiting area. When the admitting desk clerk saw the founder of the hospital, she immediately phoned Dr. Ellison.

         Walker paced back and forth while waiting for the doctor to arrive. “I wish they’d told me how serious the woman’s injuries were.”

         “What did they say?” asked Jack, most of his attention on the door to the ER, looking over every time someone came or went through the swinging door. “Is it serious? What happened?”

         Walker ran his fingers through his dark hair, frustrated at the length of time it was taking Dr. Ellison to get there. “The nurse who called would only say they found a sheet of paper in her purse with directions to the mansion. She only told me to get over to the hospital and ask for Dr. Ellison.” He looked at Jack in irritation. “Where the hell is she?”

         “Here, Walker.” The 45-year-old head of the ER trauma team came up behind the two men, arriving from the direction of the elevators. “I was just settling Miss Perry in up on the medical floor.”

         “Good evening, Harriet,” said Walker, calming down quickly. If the patient was on the medical floor instead of in the intensive care unit, her injuries were most likely minor. “Thank you for having the nurse phone about Miss Perry. We worried and waited for her to show up all day.”

         “I understand, but we only just realized she was coming to see you.” Dr. Ellison walked over to the first row of plastic chairs and sat down, motioning for the two men to do the same. “This afternoon, a couple driving down Lakeland Road out on the other side of Westbrook noticed a car at the side smashed against a tree. There were skid marks on the road leading up to the tree, so we figured she lost traction on the icy road and crashed.”

         Jack interrupted, “I almost did the same thing a couple times, Walker, on the way to the airport.”

         “Well,” the doctor continued, nodding to acknowledge Jack’s comment, “the man stopped his car and got out to check. He found Miss Perry slumped over the steering wheel, unconscious. His wife used her cell phone to call the paramedics, who brought her here about an hour ago.”

         At that point, Dr. Ellison stood. “Why don’t I take you up to her room, and I can fill in the details on the way?” The men agreed and followed her to the elevator. Once on and going up to the medical floor, she turned to face them. “The woman was lucky in that she only had some rather large lacerations, mainly on her legs. She did suffer a concussion, and I’d like to keep her overnight. She can leave for the mansion tomorrow morning if…” and she paused, “if she promises to use a wheelchair for a few days to let her legs heal.”

         Walker quickly said, “We can arrange for her to stay at the mansion instead of by herself in a bungalow. Right, Jack? Can you find Sam when we get back and arrange it? I would, but lately she’s been biting my head off every time I try to talk to her.”

         “Coward! Sure, I’ll handle it.” As the elevator doors opened, the three got off and headed down to the left, past the nurses’ station, and entered a private room at the end of the long corridor. Instead of the pinched-nose, blue-haired, elderly female Samantha had imagined, lying on the hospital bed now sleeping peacefully was a much younger, Eurasian woman. She appeared to be in her late 30s or early 40s. A bandage wrapped around her head with long black hair hanging down from beneath it. A light sheet covered her slight figure with the bottom raised to keep its weight off her legs.

         “Samantha is zero for two,” said Jack, with a grin. Walker glanced at him, unaware of
Samantha’s imagined descriptions of Felix Depree and Delia Perry. “Never mind, Walker, inside joke.”

         Walker decided it wasn’t worth following up and returned his attention to the doctor. “Harriet, she seems to be in good hands. Will you call me tomorrow to let us know when you’re ready to discharge her?”

         With that, he and Jack quietly left the sleeping woman and returned to the ground floor with the doctor. The ride back to the mansion was quick and uneventful. When they arrived, Walker returned to his apartment while Jack went looking for Samantha.

         Knowing the uncharacteristically foul mood his friend had been in recently, Jack dreaded the upcoming conversation. He would have to speak with Walker about this recent change in Samantha, but first things first. Miss Perry needed to have her room made ready, and he hoped Samantha would graciously welcome this woman on whom the future of Walker’s orphanage rested.

         When Jack found Samantha talking with a couple guests in the almost empty dining room, he quickly told her of Walker’s request to change Miss Perry’s sleeping arrangements. She surprised him by taking it calmly, saying good-bye to the two elderly women, and leaving him openmouthed at her unexpected graciousness.

         Perhaps, he thought, smiling in relief, she’s resolved whatever was bothering her. He would soon find out that his relief was premature, but for now he relaxed and enjoyed seeing his good friend back to her normal pleasant self.

Chapter 10

By 10 a.m. the next day, Felix had joined Walker and Jack in the fourth floor apartment. They already had made quite a bit of progress listing Walker’s requirements for the orphanage before the phone rang.

         “I’ll get it,” volunteered Jack, knowing it probably was someone from the hospital calling. Picking up the phone’s receiver, he found himself talking to Dr. Ellison. “Good morning, Doctor.” A pause while he listened, then, “That will be perfect. Someone will be over in a few minutes then.” There was another pause, this time longer, before he said, “Yes, there’s plenty of room in the back of the SUV for it.” Finally, “Okay, we’re on our way. We’ll meet you at the ER’s front door. Bye for now.”

         “I take it Miss Perry is ready for us?” Walker stood, in preparation for leaving with Jack.

         “Who’s Miss Perry? One of your staff?” asked Felix. Walker explained who the children’s advocate lawyer was and about her accident the day before. When he finished, Felix suggested, “Why don’t I go with Jack instead of you? He can drop me off on the way back. That way, I can get Valentine so my little puppy can meet you.”

         He looked innocently at Jack when he heard the younger man’s snort of disbelief and then wry comment, “If Valentine is just a puppy, I’d dread seeing her when she’s fully grown.”

         Walker failed to hear Jack’s strange comment and simply said to Felix, “That sounds like a good plan to me.” He followed the two men to the front door and then to the elevator. “I should find Sam anyway and see how the kids are getting along.” He started down the stairs, two steps at a time, while Jack and Felix took the easier and quicker way down in the elevator. They beat Walker to the first floor but only by a few seconds.

         On the short drive to the hospital, Felix quizzed Jack for more information about Walker, his likes and dislikes, how involved he usually got in construction plans, and did he truly have unlimited resources to build a first-class orphanage. When they pulled up in front of the emergency room, he had a much clearer picture of Walker and already had ideas in his head for what the orphanage would look like.

         “There they are,” said Jack, driving the SUV up close to the ER door. Waiting for them was Dr. Ellison standing beside a wheelchair and talking to its occupant. The bandage had been removed from around her head. Her straight black hair reached just to her shoulders and framed a small delicate face. Large brown eyes, slightly slanted at the corners, currently crinkled in laughter at something Dr. Ellison just said. A dark green blanket covered her injured legs to protect them from the winter cold.

         When Jack got out of the vehicle to help Delia Perry, Felix beat him to it. With the huge architect’s longer stride, he reached the two women before Jack did. “Miss Perry? I’m Felix. Let me help you into the van.” Without waiting for her permission, Felix picked the surprised woman up in his arms, blanket and all, and walked back to the SUV.

         “Come on, Jack, open the door for us. Miss Perry must be freezing out here,” he yelled. Jack still stood beside Dr. Ellison and the empty wheelchair, a bit stunned at this turn of events. Felix looked down into Delia’s eyes while waiting for Jack to return to the SUV. “We’ll have you snug and warm soon.” When Jack got there and pulled the passenger side door open, Felix carefully placed Delia on the seat and buckled her in. “There, all set.”

         Jack returned for the wheelchair and pushed the chair to the back of the vehicle. After loading it inside, he called out, “Get in, Felix,” when he saw Felix still standing by the open door next to Delia. “You’re letting out the car’s warm air.” With that, he waited for Felix to get in the backseat and began the trip back toward the mansion.

         “To save a second trip, why don’t we stop and pick up Valentine now?” Felix was leaning forward, near Jack’s right ear when he made this suggestion. “There’s plenty of room back here for her.” He turned to Delia. “I should have asked you first. Are you afraid of dogs?”

         She smiled at the large man with the friendly face who was only inches from her own. “Not at all, Felix. We have a Bichon Frise named Sparky.”

         “We?” he asked.

         “My two children and I. Gideon is eleven and Catherine just turned seven.”

         Jack joined the conversation at that point. “Is your husband taking care of them while you’re here? Should we let him know about your accident? I forgot to ask you this earlier. I’m so sorry for the oversight.”

         Delia reached out and patted Jack on his arm. “Don’t worry about it. My children are with my ex. We were divorced a couple years ago. I phoned him earlier this morning from the hospital, and he’s agreed to keep them until I get back.”

         At hearing this, Felix leaned back in his seat with a big grin while thinking, Ex-husband, I like the sound of that.

Continued in next segment

Home of the Gray Dog - Segment 03  (18+) Chapters 11 through 15 #1131309 by J. A. Buxton