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Cherry sniffed. “I’ve put up with a lot over the past ten years—Larry’s sexist jokes, his habit of having friends over after hours and leaving this place a mess. The angry ex-girlfriends and unhappy clients. But I’m not going to spend another second here without getting paid.”

“When were you supposed to get your pay?”

“Last Friday. I have the check for me and the guy who cuts the grass made out and left on his desk.” She nodded toward the back of the room. “All he had to do was sign them.”

“Has he ever missed payroll before?”

“Maybe a day or two, but not this long,” Cherry conceded. “I left a dozen messages warning him I was out of here if he didn’t come in and sign the damned check.” Cherry picked up the box, her expression grim. “His loss.”

Bryce considered the various options. It was possible that Larry Sutton had moved on to a new case and was too preoccupied to deal with his office. It was more likely that something had happened during his previous job that had driven him into hiding. He might even be out of town.

The question was whether it was the same client who had hired him to spy on Livia. And if her friend was in equal danger.

“Before you leave, I need Larry’s home address.”

Cherry glanced around the office. “This is it.”

“Here?”

“He crashes in the attic when he’s between girlfriends.”

Bryce glanced toward the door at the back of the office. She assumed that led to the staircase.

“Have you checked up there?”

Cherry looked offended by the question. “Of course I did. He hasn’t been around. I cleaned out his fridge last week.”

Bryce swallowed a sigh. It was sounding more and more like Larry had skipped town. “Do you have an emergency contact?”

“You’re looking at her.”

“No family?”

“None he ever talked about.”

Bryce felt another surge of frustration. She’d tracked down trained assassins with less effort.

“What about girlfriends?”

Cherry shrugged. “What about them?”

“Do you have any names or numbers?”

“I’m his secretary, not his wife.” The woman grimaced. “Thank God. I would have beat him to death with a skillet if I’d been married to the bastard. Now I need to go find a new job.”

“Do you mind if we look around?”

“Knock yourself out. Have a nice day.”

Without a backward glance, Cherry headed out of the office. Bryce followed behind, latching the door as the woman disappeared down the sidewalk. She didn’t want to be caught by surprise while they were searching the place. Whoever Larry was hiding from might decide to pay a visit. Especially if they knew Livia was here.

“Do think something happened to Jacob?” Livia asked, her tone indicating she was more frustrated than sad at the thought her ex-boyfriend might have been hurt. “I mean, he not only ghosted me, but he’s disappeared from his job.”

“I suppose it’s possible considering the implication that he worked with the sort of people who might be willing to get rid of someone who crossed them,” Bryce said, although she wasn’t ready to leap to any conclusions. “But Cherry seemed more convinced that Larry was just laying low. Until we know for certain one way or another, I think we should assume that he’s alive and well.”

“True. He’s obviously a sleazeball. I doubt he’d care that he left his staff without a paycheck.”

“Let’s check out the attic.”