Page 4 of Long Gone

“How broke?”

“His business account was practically empty, and he was on the brink of bankruptcy.”

“So he fled?”

“One would think so, but Clarice is convinced he would never have willingly left her or their children. He was very involved in the kids’ lives. In fact, they first grew alarmed when he missed his son’s basketball game.”

I heaved out a sigh. “She wouldn’t be the first wife to be duped.”

“And it’s possible she was,” he agreed with a good-natured nod. “The consensus among his family, friends, and business partners is equally split between him taking off and being murdered.”

And they were probably torn on what to hope for. That he hadn’t purposely abandoned them and left them with a mess or that he might come back someday.

“Any secret bank accounts?” I asked.

“If he had them, Clarice doesn’t know about it. Maybe you can find out.”

“Maybe. Any large money transfers leading up to his disappearance?”

“I have no idea. To be honest, I haven’t looked into any of the finer details myself. Clarice came in this morning, and I only know what little I told you. That and what I know from the news reports.”

I nodded. “Did you represent Clarice when Hugo first disappeared?” If Hugo had left to avoid prosecution, it wouldn’t have been a bad idea for Clarice to hire an attorney to protect her interests.

“No, I only know her socially. I think she came to me because of my last case.” We both knew he was referring to the one that made the news a few months ago. “I know you’re not officially a P.I.,” he continued, “but?—”

“I am,” I interrupted. “A P.I. I took the exam a couple of weeks ago when I took a day off to deal with some personal business in Little Rock.”

His eyes widened. “Does your father know?”

“No one knows,” I said. “Well, other than the licensing board of Arkansas. And now you.”

A huge grin spread across his face. “What prompted you to take the exam?”

I wasn’t about to tell him that Ava’s mother had made the suggestion in a roundabout way. She’d been right—investigating was in my blood. There was no way any reputable law enforcement agency would hire me after what had happened in Little Rock, so becoming a P.I. was the only way I could legitimately investigate. But building a client base would take some time, and my plan was to work at the law office in the interim. “I miss investigating.”

“That’s only to our benefit,” he said, smiling broadly, then his smile dimmed. “As for your hourly rate…” He made a face. “I presumed you weren’t licensed.”

Which meant he’d planned on paying me my current hourly rate, which was at least a fourth of what a P.I. would charge. But I was itching to investigate something, and I could likely use this case for my reference list. Ava Peterman’s kidnapping was still pretty hush-hush, so I couldn’t use her mother, Vanessa.

“I’m fine with taking my current hourly rate for this case. And if this investigation is successful, we can renegotiate for future cases.”

He looked pleased with himself as he said, “I think we can work something out. Let’s get started.”

Chapter 2

Since Clarice had just shown up that morning, Mitch didn’t have a file on Hugo Burton, but she knew he wanted to bring in a P.I. and had already said she’d be available to talk early afternoon should he find one quickly. He got up and wrote her name and number on a Post-it note, then handed it to me. “This is your sole responsibility for now. No more filing until this is done.”

That was the cherry on top.

I took it from him, excitement rushing through my veins. “Thanks.”

I headed out of his office and back to the filing room to grab my purse. Becky was standing just outside of the open door, her arms crossed over her chest. Her head was tilted forward so she could have the illusion of looking down at me even though I was probably three inches taller.

“Where have you been?” she demanded as I got closer.

“That’s not really your concern.”

“It is when I need a file and you’re not here to get it.”

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