So... We all know how Gaby is feeling - but what about Dino...?
Enjoy
Lucy
Chapter 5
Dino looked up and down the road outside the airport, where the hell was Gaby? He had managed to wrap up the negotiation the night before and left a message on the answer machine at home telling her when to pick him up, but there was no sign of her.
Opening his cell he called her number, hearing it ring a couple of times before getting a recorded message, ‘Out of Service’. Dino swore, Gaby had probably forgotten to charge her cell… again, she could be so dumb sometimes… He tried the house line and got the answer machine, giving a frustrated sigh, he dialed the office.
A bright young voice that he didn’t recognize answered the phone, confused by his request to speak to Gaby.
“I’m sorry sir, there is no-one of that name here, would you like to speak to Mr Thorne?” Dino was about to tell the young woman off for not recognizing him, when he realized that she must be new and accepted her suggestion. A moment later, he heard Terry’s voice on the end of the line.
“Jesus Terry, where the hell is Gaby? I left her a message to pick me up at the airport and there’s no sign of her.”
Terry swallowed, “Sorry Dino, I didn’t realize you were on your way back, I would have arranged something… Give me 30 minutes, I’ll come for you.”
Dino pulled a face, “Sure, ok, but I still don’t understand why Gaby let me down. Cass never would have done that.”
Terry put the phone down slowly, what the hell did Dino mean by that last remark? More to the point, what was he going to tell him about Gaby’s decision to go to Argentina?
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A short while later, Terry was returning to the office with Dino next to him, informing him about several cases that had just come up, Dino was grumbling about Gaby’s non-appearance and not really listening. Terry watched him carefully, suddenly realizing how Dino’s attitude must have seemed to Gaby. Not once did his partner inquire how she was, or if something was wrong, merely assuming that Gaby had made a mistake.
Terry remained silent for a moment, trying to work out what he was going to say. Dino was not only his partner, but also his best friend and they had been through hell and back together. However, he could now partly understand why Gaby had left, though he still couldn’t work out what had happened.
Taking a deep breath, Terry decided to keep it short and simple. “Dino, Gaby’s left… She’s not here.”
Dino turned slightly in his seat and narrowed his eyes, his voice dropping, becoming quieter. “What do you mean she’s left…? Where has she gone?”
Terry sighed, “Gone home, to Argentina…”
Dino began swearing under his breath, Terry waited for the questions, waited for Dino’s temper to change from anger to concern. Hoped for it to change even, then at least he would know that maybe his friend would be able to reconcile his differences with his partner, but it was not to be.
If anything, Dino became even more angry, “Great, she could have told me, or sent a message. I guess I may as well come to the office, have a look at this case you were talking about, maybe I need to go back out.”
His casual dismissal of Gaby’s disappearance stunned Terry, what the hell had happened between him and Gaby to result in such a lack of feeling? More to the point, why had he and Jackie not seen what was going on, Terry fell silent, feeling guilty that he had not picked up on anything.
At the office, Dino ploughed into the files on his desk, frowning at the last one which was proving to be tricky. Noticing that the file had not been updated in three days, he went through to the office next door, now occupied by Paula.
“Do you have the update for the Ortega file? It seems to be missing.”
Paula hesitated, “I’m not sure where it is, I’m still trying to catch up with Miss Santigo’s work.”
Dino turned to her, his voice cold but still polite, after all it wasn’t Paula’s fault that Gaby had left the office in a mess. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll find it myself.” Slowly he leafed through the e-mails that had come in, finding the updates that he needed, annoyed to see that some of them were over five days old.
“Something wrong?”
Looking up he saw Terry watching him carefully, “Trying to find the updates for this file, Gaby is d**ned inconsiderate leaving like this, her office is in a mess. Cass would never have done this when she went for a break.”