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ripped open the top, and dished out a bowl of kibble while Clyde ran around the far end of the yard. She would almost swear she could feel his heavy footsteps. Not wasting a moment, she slipped the huge bowl of food out on the patio and closed the door quickly. In an instant, Clyde ran for the door and began gobbling the food, wagging his huge, feathery tail.
    “I’d better keep you well-fed.” She watched him chow down. “You are a pretty thing, aren’t you?”
    She wondered if she’d find anything about this dog in Pearl’s files. It would be just like Garrett to pull her leg for a good laugh at her expense. She went to the library where Pearl paid her bills and kept her records.
    The vandals had strewn files from the cabinet across the top of the desk. Jill gathered and sorted the papers into stacks. It was actually a pretty organized toss, as if a giant had picked up the room and given it one good shake like a snow globe.
    To her chagrin, she found a whole file on Clyde, at least an inch thick.
    “Great.” Jill flipped through the vet records and pictures. Apparently, Clyde was a nationally ranked companion dog. He had several awards of achievement in the file to prove it, and Pearl was his owner.
    Jill leaned back in the chair and slapped the folder closed. Why didn’t you tell me?
    She’d focused on her career since she moved to Savannah, but Pearl never seemed to need anything and Jill certainly never thought Pearl’d be gone.
    Maybe Jill hadn’t asked the right questions. Now she needed answers.

Chapter Five
     

    At two o’clock, Jill stepped in a private room with the funeral director at her elbow. An icy fear wrapped around her heart. She slowed as she walked further inside, looking everywhere but toward the coffin in the middle of the room. Flowers, lots of them, lined the edges of the room. An icy flash of loneliness chilled her as she moved slowly toward the inevitable.
    She held her breath, closed her eyes, and took that last step. When she opened her eyes her clamped lips stifled a sigh.
    Seeing Pearl laying there lifeless made Jill’s heart break a little more with every breath she took. A quick look over her shoulder confirmed that the funeral director had left her to be alone with Pearl.
    Jill laid her hand on top of Pearl’s.
    “Oh, Pearl, I miss you already.” She leaned forward, closer to Pearl. A peaceful feeling came over her, warming the iciness that had taken over just moments ago.
    “I didn’t get to tell you about the Kase Foundation event. It went off without a hitch. Just like you said it would.”
    Her voice broke. “I can’t believe you’re not here for me to tell you about it.”
    Jill blew her nose into a lace-edged hankie she’d taken from Pearl’s drawer. Hot tears slid down her face. “Paula Deen showed up just like you said she would. I told her about your blue ribbon pie. She was really impressed.”
    Jill leaned over the edge of the bronze casket, hoping somehow Pearl could hear her or knew how she was feeling right now. Help me, Pearl. I still need you.
    Between sniffles she continued. “I met Clyde today. Why didn’t you tell me about him, or the break-in?” She drew in a stuttered breath. “You’re the most important thing to me—family.” Jill kissed Pearl on the cheek. “I’d have come home in a hot minute.”
    Jill blinked. Pearl’s voice rang so clear in her mind it seemed like Pearl was speaking to her. “I didn’t want to worry you. I was fine, honey,” Jill heard, and the voice sounded so much like Pearl that Jill turned around and then touched Pearl again to be sure she hadn’t fooled death and was still alive.
    “I love you. How I hope you know that.”
    Age—death—was something even Pearl Clemmons couldn’t avoid.
    “I thought you’d be here forever.”
    Jill clung to her memories like she would a life raft in the ocean. She lowered herself to the floor and sat there unable to leave for the longest time. Finally, she got up and