I got nothing to do with it.'
'How long's he been missing?' I said.
'Three days.'
'That's all, and you're coming to me?'
'My daughter misses him.'
'You said he took off on her. She says maybe not. Anyone want to amplify that?'
Shirley looked at her father. Her father shrugged.
'He's a bum,' Ventura said.
'I give him odd jobs here and there, keep him off welfare. But he's a bum. I figure he took off with some bimbo will work him for what he's got and leave him when he's empty.'
'That's not true, Daddy. Anthony loves me.'
Ventura didn't say anything.
'No problems in the marriage?' I said.
'Oh, no. He woulda stood on his head for me.'
'So what might have happened?' I said.
She looked at me blankly. She showed her top teeth. They were shiny and even, like they'd been bonded. The tip of her tongue poked out under her teeth and moved along her lower lip. Her eyes looked a little random.
'I don't know. Maybe there was an accident, you know. Hit and run, or something.'
I nodded.
'Cops?' I said.
Ventura grunted.
'No cops,' he said.
'Simple missing person? Why not?'
'You know better,' he said.
'You got people,' I said.
'Why on family business, a wandering husband, only three days gone, would you go to Hawk?'
'We're talking about my kid here, you know? I want the best.'
'For a missing hubby? Hawk? And he won't do it without me?'
'You want the job or not. Most people be happy to get it.'
I stood up and turned my back on them and looked out my window, down at Berkeley Street where it crosses Boylston. I like the view. You could see up Boylston a good way, and down Berkeley, toward the river. Lot of attractive women worked in the Back Bay, many of them walking about this very corner, and I was trying to stay abreast of this year's fall fashions. I didn't like Ventura. His daughter appeared to be a nitwit. I didn't believe either one of them. I didn't need the money. There was no reason to take the job… except that it was the kind of work I did. And there was no one waiting in the hall for the next appointment.
'You got a picture of him?' I said, still looking down at the street life below me.
'Yes,' Shirley said.
I turned around and sat back down at my desk. Shirley took a wedding photo out of her purse. There she was in the white gown and veil and elaborate tiara. There he was in his pearl gray tux with the black satin shawl collar. He had a sharp narrow face, with a sharp nose and narrow eyes. His black hair was longish and smooth and thick with mousse, brushed back on the sides, and falling in a darling curl on his forehead.
'Adorable,' I said.
'When did you see him last?'
'Monday morning when he left the house,' Shirley said.
'Same time as usual?' I said.
'Yes. Anthony was very responsible about his work. He felt the responsibility of being Daddy's son-in- law.'
I looked at Ventura. He didn't say anything.
'And you didn't have a fight before he left?'
'Oh, no.'
'What's the address?' I said.
'Address?' Shirley looked at her father.
'Why you need to know where she lives?' he said.
'Just thought it might be a nice place to start.'
'I don't like people knowing any of our addresses.'
