“Sounds wonderful, but you’ll have used up all your vacation time by then.”
“So I’ll take more.”
“And if your boss objects?”
“I’ll quit.”
She grinned. “Mmm. I’d like that. San Francisco’s too far away.”
“My thoughts exactly.” He kissed her again, softly, deeply. His mouth was just leaving hers when the flight attendant came by with lunch.
Beneath the lighthearted teasing, Lauren had been very serious. San Franciscowastoo far away. But she couldn’t think about the future. Not yet. There was still too much to be done to ensure that she had a future at all.
Bright and early the next morning, Lauren and Matt showed up in the office of one Timothy Trennis. The office was done in obvious taste and at obvious cost; the man was in his early forties, neatly dressed and pleasant-looking. When he saw them, his mouth dropped open. His eyes were riveted to Lauren’s face.
“Susan?” he asked uncertainly.
“Almost,” Lauren said gently, “but not quite. I am looking for her, though. We thought maybe you could help us.”
Timothy continued to stare at her, then slowly shook his head. “The resemblance is remarkable. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Susan. I could have sworn—” He seemed to catch himself, and his cheeks reddened. “But you’d know, wouldn’t you?”
Lauren nodded. “It’s very important that we reach her. Do you have any idea where she might be?”
“Is she in trouble?” he asked with genuine concern.
Lauren looked hesitantly at Matt, who took over. “She may be if we don’t find her. Someone else is looking for her. It’s critical that we find her first.”
“It’s that Prinz guy, isn’t it?”
“Do you know about him?” Lauren asked.
Belatedly, Timothy gestured for them to sit. When they’d done so, he lowered himself into a chair near his desk. “Susan and I dated for a time. I always knew she had greater ambitions—ambitions that went beyond Kansas City, I mean. When she decided to move to Los Angeles, I wasn’t surprised. We kept in touch for a while, so I knew she was seeing Prinz. I made it my business to find out about him, and when I tried to caution her subtly, she pretty much severed all contact between us.”
“When was the last time you heard from her?” Matt asked.
Timothy thought about that for a minute, making rough calculations in his mind. “It had to have been more than three years ago.”
“And there’s been nothing since then?”
Timothy shook his head.
“Is there someone shemighthave contacted? Someone she’s kept in touch with—family, maybe?”
“If there is, I don’t know about it. Susan rarely talked about family. There was an older sister, and her mother. The father died when she was a child, and the mother remarried. Susan detested her stepfather. She left as soon as she could.”
“Do you know where the mother lives?” Lauren asked.
“Susan grew up in a small town in Indiana. Whether the mother’s still there is anyone’s guess. I don’t even know her married name.”
“How about the sister?” Matt queried.
“The sister was older by five or six years, took off after high school and got married. Susan never mentioned her. I simply assumed they’d lost contact, too.”
Matt looked at Lauren. “Another strikeout.” He fished the scrap of paper from his pocket. “What about, uh, Alexander Fraun? Do you know him?”
Timothy nodded. “Susan worked for him. He owns a pair of dress shops in the area. Nice-enough fellow. You could try him. He may have information I don’t.” As Lauren and Matt stood up to leave, he added, “I hope you find her. I always wished her happiness.”
Lauren smiled warmly. She liked this man and felt he’d given them the first positive picture of Susan Miles to date. “We’ll tell her that when we find her,” she said.When,notif.Pessimism had no place here; there was too much at stake for all of them.
