And waited.

And waited.

Two weeks went by. He couldn't wait anymore. After placing a call to Kelly, Jared had to wait another thirty-six hours before the call was returned.

"I'm working on it," Kelly said. "I was away on business."

Jared couldn't tell from the sound of Kelly's voice whether he conveyed optimism, pessimism. Whether there was hope, whether he was grim. Through the receiver, Kelly sounded as if he'd never actually talked to Jared before.

"Do you have anything to report?"

"Couple of things. I'd rather not say yet. Not sure they're helpful."

"Anything is helpful. Anything you got."

"Okay then. Personally, I don't think she's in this country."

"What?"

"Yeah. Either that or she's dead."

Now Kelly sounded chipper!

"What makes you think," Jared asked slowly, "she's not in this country?"

"Social's not been touched. Driver's license neither."

"Finney said she could've gotten herself a new driver's license."

"Yes. But unlike your little friend Finney, who didn't do his job, I called the DMV in every state. She hasn't."

"In every state?" Jared was impressed.

"Even Alaska and Hawaii. And if she was working somewhere, her social security taxes would be taken out. And they haven't been. So how is she making money?"

"Maybe she's waitressing."

"You been at Prudential too long, Mister Financial Officer. Waitresses also pay into their social security. They get two bucks an hour, and six cents on the dollar goes to the social. There hasn't been even twelve cents added to your wife's retirement account. Believe me. She's not working. How long can she live on the money she took? By now surely it's all gone."

"She could've changed her name." Jared was thoughtful. "You should look into Hawaii."

"Why? Because he was from Hawaii? But Finney already checked it out a year ago. He found nothing there. I'll check again if you want."

"Yes, check again." But there were other things that were bothering Jared. "Can you keep in touch with me? I need a weekly report on what's happening. Even if it's nothing, I need it. Five-minute phone call is all I ask. Agree to call me every Thursday evening, or afternoon."

"Weekly? I'm not in my office weekly. I'm heading to San Francisco tomorrow."

"For me or fora"

"Partly for you, yes."

"You think she's in San Francisco?"

"I didn't say that. I said I was headin' there. I gotta check some stuff out. Hang tight. I'll call you. This is the thing, Mr. Stark. You waited too long to call me. Her trail has run cold. People don't remember who they saw or spoke to a year ago. I'm havin' a hard time jogging people's memories."

"I understand. We have to work with what we've got."

"No kidding."

"Do you remember I told you he had a Ducati bike? That's not something you forget. Apparently he loved that bike. He wouldn't have sold it. He'd have kept it."

"True."

"I'm saying people might remember the bike even if they won't remember much else."

"What people?"

"I don't know." Jared stammered. "Whoever you're talking to."

"Right now I'm talkin' to you, and you know nothing. You know he drove a Ducati. Does that bring you any closer to where she is? Do you know how many Ducati Sportcla.s.sics were sold in this country last year alone? Forty-seven thousand. Twenty-one thousand in his color."

"Oh."

"Exactly. Like I was saying. Hang tight. I'll call you Thursday."

"They got on a ship!" Kelly said when he called the following Thursday. "I got a sailor to remember and another midshipman to corroborate. They purchased a trans-Pacific fare from San Francisco to Wailea."

"They went to Hawaii?"

"Looks like it."

"Why wouldn't they fly?"

"A thousand reasons. Easier to get aboard a ship with no questions asked. Only the driver is asked for a license and sometimes not even the driver. In his case, he wasn't asked, because there's no record of him getting on the ship. No record of her at all. But two people who are still manning the ticket office to the cruise lines remembered the bike, and vaguely remembered the guy on it. They remembered him, they said, because he looked so d.a.m.n young. They asked for his license to check his age."

"When was this?"

"Last summer sometime."

"Huh. So now what?"

"Now? Well, clearly and unbelievably I'm going to have to go to Maui." Kelly chuckled into the phone. "I'm a little excited. I've never been to Hawaii."

"It's not a vacation, Kelly."

"I know. Still, you can't help but notice the scenery even when you're working."

Jared wouldn't know about that. He hadn't noticed the scenery since last summer.

3.

The Runaway Child

There was silence from the fiftieth state. The Thursday phone calls never happened. Jared kept calling Kelly's office, but since Kelly didn't have an a.s.sistant, it was difficult to get much information. He left one message, two, a dozen. After a month he stopped calling. Michelangelo had joined Little League, Asher was pitching with the big boys, Emily was practicing cello three hours a day for the state solo auditions, and playing all out for another volleyball state championship. Jared found it difficult to work past 3:30. Which was inconvenient to the CEO of an investment conglomerate, since the stock market didn't close till four. To compensate Jared came in earlier. He got Maria to agree to take Michelangelo to school, just so he could go to the Little League practices during the week and drive Emily to her games on Friday night, and be there for them even in his diminished capacity after school. Every day was filled to the brim with life while he waited and waited.

The trees morphed from fluttering green to deep yellow by the time he heard from Glenn Kelly. There was Lillypond and a two-week trip to Florida to visit his ailing parents, and a week's adventure drive to the Keys. Maria went back to Slovakia for the summer. School began again. Fourteen weeks had gone by since Jared had heard a word.

At 4 p.m. on a Thursday, in October during Halloween season, Jared's phone rang. It was Kelly.

"Oh my G.o.d."

"Sorry, mate, I know it's been a long time. I told you to hang tight. Did you listen?"

"Where are you? The connection is terrible." Jared could barely hear him.

"Yeah, sorry *bout that."

"Where are you?"

"Australia."

"Australia! In the name of G.o.d, why?"

"Why? Why? Because I got credible information that's where they went."

"To Australia?" Jared was incredulous. "What for?"

"That part I don't know."

"Where are they now?"

"I don't know that either. But I had tracked down one of his sisters finally, now living not in Wailea, where he's from, but Honolulu, and she told me that she remembered them talking about sailing to Australia. Can you imagine that?"

If Jared didn't know any better, he could've sworn Kelly sounded impressed by their chutzpah. A sailing voyage!

"Kelly, I can barely understand a word you're saying. What's the matter with you?"

"Nothin', mate. Absolutely nothin'. But look, problem is, Australia's a big country, with twenty million people spa.r.s.ely spread around. It's taking me a while to locate just two. I'm not optimistic. I've beena""

"Gone over three months and you haven't found them!"

"All righty, no need to shout."

"You're not on my retainer for three months of vacationing in Hawaii and Australia, Kelly."

"I never said I was. Will a month be fair? You already gave me two weeks up front. Another two weeks and we'll call it even?"

"Call it even on what? What did you find out?"

"The sister thought they wanted to start their own business. Some kind of bushwalking tour. So I've been keepin' away from big cities. That narrows it down a bit, but the red center is one big hunk of s.p.a.ce."

"You haven't found thema" Jared became utterly disheartened.

"I haven't given up, despite the challenges. I've been up and down the eastern seaboard, I've been in the bush, and way up near Cairns in the bamboo forest. What a country, by the way. You wouldn't believe it. What a country! Makes me not want to go back."

"Makes you not want to go back where? To work?"

"Yeah. Who wants to work when there are things that simply take your breath away."

"Well, I'm sure. And I do appreciate the tourist report. When are you actually coming back?"

There was a five-second silence. Jared thought Kelly hadn't heard him, the connection was that bad.

"Look, mate," said Kelly. "I gotta level with you. I'm not coming back."

"Please don't say that."

"I'm going to rummage around the country, see if I can find them along my own travels. There are many places I haven't seen. Do you know that I'd never been out of the country before this?"

"That's swell, Kelly. But what's your plan? To be on my permanent retainer?"

"No. Just Western Union me the money you owe me until today. Forget the bonus."

"You think? Forget the bonus for finding her? Only if you think that's reasonable."

"Don't be sore with me, mate. I told you from the outset, this wasn't foolproof. You signed a piece of paper. I thought you understood. I never guaranteed my work."

"Are you really not coming back?"

"What for? I can work here. Off the books. I don't get much, but then I don't need much. I work as a security guard, a bartender. I have other skills. I go to where the tourists are, work for a few weeks, move on."

"Congratulations. I'm pleased you've got your life figured out."

"Don't be sore. If I find them, I'll get in touch. It'll be on my dime. You won't have to pay. If I find her, I'll call you."