The Referral Game

was going to abandon the family then I was completely on my own. I folded. That’s when I let Mother and her lawyers handle the divorce. They made sure that Paula got nothing. The odd thing was Paula just accepted the whole thing, signed the papers and left. I haven’t heard from her since. That was two years ago.”
    He finished in a rush and stared at me as if he was looking for my approval. He was sweating and I noticed for the first time just how pale that he was getting. Maybe it was the stress of confiding personal and embarrassing details to a stranger.
    “Mr. Pomeroy I can see that you are serious, but it does seem to me that it would be simpler and less expensive, if you were to advertise in the papers for a few weeks. I’m sure that Paula or someone who knows her would see it. Then she could contact you herself.”
    “No, no,” he said shaking his head. “There isn’t time. I’m leaving the country very shortly and I want this settled before I go. Besides an ad such as you describe would bring questions and publicity that I do not want.”
    While I was chewing on that Pomeroy was seized by a violent coughing fit. He drew a handkerchief from his breast pocket and covered his mouth. As he was putting down from his face I noticed the EP monogram in one corner. I also noticed a large red blotch in the center. Following my eyes Pomeroy quickly put it away.
    “Are you going to be alright?” I asked.
    He barked a short bitter laugh.
    “Well now you know it all. No, I’m not going to be all right. I’m a sick man Randall. That’s the real reason for the hurry. I don’t have long, maybe not long at all and I want this matter set right before I…”
    He let it drop.
    “Bill didn’t mention that you were ill.”
    “It wasn’t public knowledge.”
    “It still isn’t.”
    “Mr. Randall I have two thousand dollars here. We’ll call it a retainer,” he said drawing a thick envelope from his pocket. “Find her quickly and I’ll guarantee you twice that as a fee. In addition I’ll pay any expenses you deem necessary. Anything to find her. Will you accept this commission?”
    I was sorry that he was ill, but I’ll admit the two grand pushed me over the top. Handle this right and I was set for a long time.
    “I’ll do it Mr. Pomeroy and under the circumstances I can understand why it has to be a rush job.”
    He smiled wanly
    He handed the envelope over to me. I pulled the money out, counted it and gave him a receipt. I was ready to start.
    “Now I’ll need a photo of Paula, last known address, family, friends any thing that you have along those lines.”
    “I’m afraid that’s one of the reasons that I need the help of a professional Mr. Randall. I have almost no information on her. I do have a picture of course.”
    He handed me a photo of a girl in her late twenties, early thirties, slender with dark features and a pretty smile.
    “She has no family that I know of and the address that she moved into when she left was an apartment building that has since been razed for a strip mall.”
    “Okay, what about friends?” I asked.
    “I’m sorry Mr. Randall, I suppose we really didn’t know each other all that well. The only name I ever heard her mention was a Susan Maxwell.”
    Do you have an address on her? Even an old one would be a start.”
    “No I’m afraid not,” he replied. “It’s not much is it?”
    “No, but I’ve started with less,” I said. And that was the truth. “If she’s still in the area we’ll find her. Let’s concentrate on what we do know. What about this Maxwell woman? What did Paula tell you about her?”
    “Well, not much,” he stammered.
    “Anything might help Mr. Pomeroy. Please tell me all you can. There is nothing to be embarrassed about.”
    “It’s just that Paula said Susan had been a dancer like her, but that she, Susan I mean, decided that she could make more money as a… as a…. a stripper,” he blurted out finally.
    I tried with mixed success not to smile at his discomfiture. I’ll bet old Silas and mom had been right when they said that Paula had been in the skin trade.
    “Paula told me,” he continued. “That Susan was rather well endowed and billed herself as Maximum Susie. She said that Susan’s ah…physique was a drawback in dance while it was an obvious plus in the ah…adult entertainment industry. But I never met her myself and I don’t know where she lives.”
    I grilled him for another ten minutes, but he was right