Chapter 5

cardigan stared at her. "a private investigator? i don't know you. you must work for one of the bigger firms--R&G?"

"first try! oh, you are a good detective." she grinned, taking another bite from her scone.

"why did he hire you?"

she gave the impression of rolling her eyes. "you know better than that, cardigan."

he took his time, gathering his thoughts while sipping his coffee. "when did you last hear from him?"

"10 days ago. i finished the job and settled up." she regarded him coolly. "what is this about, cardigan?"

"you know better than that, charles," he mimicked. "look, i need to talk to him. why don't we help each other out? do you know how i can get in touch with him right now?"

she shook her head. "you forget, cardigan. my case is over--successfully over, i might add. i don't need any help."

"look charles, you...." he broke off suddenly. "you called him 'james.' on the phone this morning, and right here just a while ago. you called him 'james,' not 'livermore.' what's going on between you two?"

she raised her mug. "you're seeing things, cardigan. he's just a client who likes to be called by his first name." she drained her cup. "if you tell me what this is about, maybe i can help you."

cardigan took a chance. "he's missing. nobody has seen or heard from him in 6 days. his landlord let me in to look around. there's no evidence that he moved out, though he seems to be a man of few possessions. no bills, no phone, no cable TV. his place is clean--too clean--as if he's always ready to run if need be. all i found was a tablet with your name and number, and a doctor's appointment for the other day, which he didn't make."

"missing?" she shook her head. "that doesn't make sense. he would want to stay put more than ever now, i would think." she stood up. "tell you what, cardigan. let me follow up on a couple of things and i'll see what i can find out for you. you can buy me dinner tonight. deal?"

cardigan grinned. "deal. here's my card."

she stuck the card in a pocket in her purse, looking back over her shoulder as she walked away. "just dinner, cardigan."