Myra screeched to a stop, looked both ways, and made a U-turn as she headed for the Good Samaritan Clinic. “We’ll go there now and help you finish up.” She pressed down on the gas pedal and roared down the road, all the while blowing the horn for the other drivers to get out of her way.

“Good Lord, Myra, when did you turn into Jeff Gordon?” Annie asked as she struggled to remain upright. “I didn’t know you had it in you, old girl.”

“There’s a lot about me you don’t know,” Myra said through clenched teeth as she continued blasting her horn. Even she was stunned at how the other drivers moved to the side to let her pass.

“Did you hire any new people lately, Pearl? Could you be a little more specific?” Annie asked in a shaky voice as she watched the scenery pass in a blur of rain and backwash.

“No. Our last hire was two years ago. Everyone is vetted within an inch of their life. You know that. Number 9643 and Number 9644 didn’t check in for the weekly check, which is mandatory. That has never happened before. I had one of our people check the residence, and both women are gone. I’m telling you, we’re breached,” Pearl cried hysterically.

“What about the women you help? Could one of them have turned on you?”

“Good Lord, no! When I put the call out, one of my people called me just as I got to the nail shop. Both 9643 and 9644 are missing. By missing, I mean they can’t be found. They might be out shopping or visiting a friend, but I don’t think so because they came to me together. If it were just one person, I wouldn’t be so unglued. But not these two. I’m telling you, we’ve been breached,” Pearl shrieked.

“Easy, Pearl, you’re losing it here. Try to calm down. We’re going to help. It might be a good thing for you to tell us who the two women that you think are gone really are.”

“I can’t do that, and you know it. Those names are sacrosanct. That’s why it works. We go by numbers only, not names.” She clamped her lips shut as if to prove her point.

“We’re here, Pearl. Did you leave the lights on?”

“No. Maybe. I don’t know, I was in a hurry. I wasn’t exactly thinking about the electric bill at the time.”

“Did you at least lock the door?” Myra asked as she stepped out of the car in rainwater up to midcalf.

“I don’t know that either,” Pearl responded as she dug around in the pocket of her slicker for a key ring. “Hurry, girls!”

Within minutes, the three women were in the lobby of the clinic, dripping water all over the tile floor. As one, they looked around. “It looks the same,” Pearl said. “The door was locked, so I probably forgot to turn off the lights. I was under a lot of pressure.”