Hot Rocks

Jack fussed with the knot of his tie. “How do I look?”
    “You’re a fine-looking man, Jack, but I still don’t want to date you.”
    “Ha!” He gave Max a slap on the back. “I like you, Max, damned if I don’t.”
    “Thanks. Now just keep quiet and let me handle this.”
    They were still several paces from the door of a modified split-level when it opened. The woman who stepped out was in her middle thirties and wearing a faded sweatshirt over faded jeans. The anthemlike theme music from Star Wars poured out the door behind her.
    “Can I help you with something?”
    “Yes, ma’am.” Max reached for his ID. “I’m Max Gannon, a private investigator. I’m looking for Laura Gregory.”
    She looked hard at the identification, with a glimmer of excitement in her eyes. “Oh?”
    “It’s nothing untoward, Mrs. . . .”
    “Gates. Hayley Gates.”
    “Mrs. Gates. I’ve been hired to locate Ms. Gregory and verify that she’s the Laura Gregory named as a beneficiary in a will.”
    “Oh,” she repeated as the glimmer spread to a sparkle.
    “My associate and I . . . I’m Bill Sullivan, by the way.” To Max’s annoyance, Jack stepped forward, took Mrs. Gates’s hand and pumped it heartily. “We were hoping to speak to Mrs. Gregory personally to verify that she is indeed the grandniece of the late Spiro Hanroe. There was a bit of a family schism in the previous generation, and several of the family members, including Mrs. Gregory’s parents, broke contact.” He lifted his hands in a shrug. “Families. What can you do?”
    “I know just what you mean. Excuse me just a minute.” She stuck her head back in the door. “Matthew? I’m right outside. My oldest is home sick,” she explained as she eased the door closed but for a crack. “I’d ask you in, but it’s a madhouse in there. You can see Laura sold the house.” She gestured toward the house next door. “Put it on the market about a month ago—rock-bottom price, too. My sister’s the realtor who listed it. Laura wanted to sell it fast, and the fact is, she moved even before it sold. She was planting her summer annuals one day and packing dishes the next.”
    “That’s odd, isn’t it?” Max commented. “She mention why?”
    “Well, she said her mother in Florida was ill, seriously ill, and she was moving down there to take care of her. She lived next door for three years, and I don’t remember her ever mentioning her mother. Her son and my oldest played together. He’s a sweet boy, her Nate. Quiet. They were both quiet. It was nice for my Matt to have a friend next door, and Laura was easy to get along with. I always thought she came from money though.”
    “Did you?”
    “Just a feeling. And she worked part-time at an upscale gift shop at the mall. She couldn’t have afforded the house, the car, the lifestyle, if you know what I mean, on her salary. She told me she came into an inheritance. It’s funny she came into two, isn’t it?”
    “Did she tell you where in Florida?”
    “No. Just Florida, and she was in a tearing hurry to get going. Sold or gave away a lot of her things, and Nate’s, too. Packed up her car and zipped. She left . . . I guess it’s three weeks ago. Little better than that. She said she’d call when she was settled, but she hasn’t. It was almost like she was running away.”
    “From?”
    “I always—” She cut herself off, eyed them both a bit more cautiously. “Are you sure she’s not in trouble?”
    “Not with us.” Max sent out a brilliant smile before Jack could speak. “We’re just paid by the Hanroe estate to find the beneficiaries and confirm identification. Do you think she’s in trouble?”
    “I can’t imagine how, really. But I always figured a man—ex-husband—somewhere in the background, you know? She never dated. Not once since she’s been here. And Laura never talked about Nate’s father. Neither did Nate. But , the night before she listed the house, I saw a guy come by. Drove up in a Lexus, and he was carrying a box. All wrapped up with a bow, like a birthday present, but it wasn’t Nate’s birthday, or Laura’s either, for that matter. He only stayed about twenty minutes. Next morning, she called my sister and put the house on the market, quit her job, and now that I think about it, she kept Nate home from school for the next week.”
    “Did she tell you who her visitor was?” Jack made the question conversational, as if they were all out here enjoying the