“You and Gwen take the bedrooms,” I insisted, gesturing down the hall.
“Hey, I get Basia, but why me?” Gwen protested.
“Because you’re the bride-to-be, and you’re also the only one who can sleep through anything,” I responded. “Gray and I will take the couch and recliner so we can keep watch for any intruders.”
“Fair enough,” Gwen said and disappeared into one of the rooms.
I exchanged a glance with Gray, and she headed for the recliner. It squeaked ominously as she sat and reclined, but at least it didn’t collapse. I took the couch and discovered it was three inches too short for me to stretch out fully. Plus, it smelled dusty. I got a couple of extra sheets for me and Gray and we settled in, the room lit only by a dim lamp and the moon through the curtains. The ocean murmured outside.
Ginger made a circle on the floor between Gray and me and promptly lay down. They way she curled up caused the foil to bunch around the vet’s adhesive tape. It looked uncomfortable for the dog, so I removed one strip and loosened the other. She adjusted her position slightly and promptly relaxed and went to sleep. The quiet felt strange after the chaos.
“It’s weird, but I did read something once about the CIA doing experiments on animals to help them spy,” Gray suddenly mused, keeping her eyes closed.
“I’ve read that somewhere, too,” I said. “I remember seeing an article about fish being fitted with microcameras and birds with microphones. There was also something about robotic dragonflies. Now, of course, we have drones, so maybe they were onto something.”
“They also tried bugging dolphins,” Gray said.
“Of course they did,” I said. “Dolphins are smart enough to unionize.”
We shared a laugh and then Gray shook her head. “It’s crazy to think someone out there may still be experimenting on animals, trying to turn them into intelligence assets. I suspect the old research was revisited because of the huge gains in microminiaturization and biomedicine. The CIA may not be sponsoring it any longer, but someone appears interested.”
“Do you think Ginger is part of an intelligence community research program?” I asked softly.
“No. I think she’s something…different. Special. And I think someone wants her badly enough to threaten us…maybe even harm us…to get her back. That must mean something, although I’m still not sure what. But with all the advances in robotics, it just doesn’t make sense to invest in animals as a means of transporting or inserting listening devices. Today, there are dozens of ways to do that much easier. Plus, you don’t need all the language training she’s clearly had. This is different in some important way we don’t yet understand.”
“Well, whatever they are doing, she’s scared and hurt,” I said. “I just hope that she doesn’t have to go back to a place where she feels abused.”
“I agree.”
The couch creaked as I shifted and then sneezed. “Well, I’m going to try to catch a bit of sleep.”
“Me, too. We’re safe enough for now. We’ll do some more research in the morning and make some decisions.”
“Sounds good.” I reached down and stroked Ginger’s ear. “Stay close, okay?”
She yawned and rolled over, tucking her back up against the couch. I let my hand hang down so it touched the top of her fur, and in minutes, I drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Twenty-One
Lexi
Something woke me. A prickle on the back of my neck. A shift in the room. Ginger’s cold nose against my arm.
I immediately lifted myself on my elbows and looked around, heart thudding. I glanced at my watch—4:27. We hadn’t been asleep long, just a couple of hours.
Ginger was standing up, staring at me. Fully alert.
Then I saw it. Her foil had shifted completely. Probably while she slept. Her shoulder blades were now bare and exposed.
“Shoot, shoot,” I uttered, adrenaline slamming into me. I reached out and quickly re-covered her shoulders with foil, smoothing it down.
Gray jerked awake beside me. “What’s wrong?”
“The foil,” I said. “Her GPS chip was exposed. I don’t know how long it’s been uncovered.”
“Damn.” Gray jumped from the recliner with impressive speed and looked out the window just as two dark SUVs and a police car with a wash of red and blue lights pulled into the driveway, blocking Gray’s car in.
We froze.
