request look legitimate, but nobody's going to check. Took less than a minute."
"You're a doll. Thanks so much. I'll be in touch and we'll have lunch. I'll pay."
Darcy laughed. "I'll take you up on that."
I put the phone down and paged through the telephone book, looking up the area code for Marcella, California. It was actually in the 805 area, the same as Santa Teresa. I tried directory assistance, giving the operator Guy Malek's name. There was no telephone listed at the address I'd been given. "You have any other listing for Guy Malek in the area? G. Malek? Any kind of Malek?"
"No ma'am."
"All right. Thanks."
I trotted down the hall to the fax machine just in time to see a copy of Guy Malek's photo ID slide out. The black-and-white reproduction had a splotchy quality, but it did establish Guy David Malek's SEX: M; HAIR: BLND; EYES: GRN; HT: 5-08; WT: 155; DOB: 03-02-42. He looked ever so much better than he had in his high school annual. Three cheers for him. I confess I felt smug as I sat down at my desk, the little show-off in my nature patting herself on the back.
I called Tasha's office and identified myself to her secretary when she picked up. She said, "Tasha's in a meeting, but let me tell her it's you. She can probably take a quick call if it's important."
"Trust me, it is."
"Can you hold?"
"Sure." While I waited, I laid out a hand of solitaire. One card up and six cards down. In some ways, I was sorry everything had come together so fast. I didn't want Donovan to think he was paying for something he could have done himself – though in truth, he was. There's a lot of information available as a matter of public record. Most people simply don't have the time or the interest in doing the grunt work. They're all too happy to have a PI do it for them, so in the end everybody benefits. Still, this one was almost too easy, especially since I wasn't sure the family would believe their real interests had been served by my discovery. I turned the next card up on the second pile and placed another five cards down.
Tasha clicked on, sounding terse and distracted. "Hi, Kinsey. What's up? I hope this is important because I'm up to my ass in work."
"I have an address for Guy Malek. I thought I'd better let you know first thing."
There was half a second's silence while she processed the information. "That was fast. How'd you manage?"
I smiled at her tone, which was the perfect blend of surprise and respect. "I have my little ways," I said. Ah, how seductive the satisfaction when we think we've impressed others with our cleverness. It's one of the perversities of human nature that we're more interested in the admiration of our enemies than the approbation of our friends. "You have a pencil?"
"Of course. Where's he living?"
"Not far." I gave her the address. "There's no telephone listed. Either he doesn't have phone service or it's in someone else's name."
"Amazing," she said. "Let me pass this along to Donovan and see what he wants to do next. He'll be delighted, I'm sure."
"I doubt that. I got the impression they'd all be happier if Guy turned up dead."
"Nonsense. This is family. I'm sure things will work out. I'll have him give you a call."
Within fifteen minutes, my phone rang. Donovan Malek was on the line. "Nice work," he said. "I'm surprised how quick it was. I thought the search would take weeks."
"It's not always this easy. We got lucky," I said. "You need anything else?"
"Tasha and I just had a chat about that. I suggested we have you go up there in person. She could contact him by letter, but people sometimes react oddly getting mail from an attorney. You feel threatened before you even open the envelope. We don't want to set the wrong tone."
"Sure, I can talk to him," I said, feeling puzzled what the right tone would be.
"I'd like a firsthand report about Guy's current circumstances. Are you free sometime in the next two days?"
I checked my calendar. "I can go this afternoon if you like."
"The
"You're a doll. Thanks so much. I'll be in touch and we'll have lunch. I'll pay."
Darcy laughed. "I'll take you up on that."
I put the phone down and paged through the telephone book, looking up the area code for Marcella, California. It was actually in the 805 area, the same as Santa Teresa. I tried directory assistance, giving the operator Guy Malek's name. There was no telephone listed at the address I'd been given. "You have any other listing for Guy Malek in the area? G. Malek? Any kind of Malek?"
"No ma'am."
"All right. Thanks."
I trotted down the hall to the fax machine just in time to see a copy of Guy Malek's photo ID slide out. The black-and-white reproduction had a splotchy quality, but it did establish Guy David Malek's SEX: M; HAIR: BLND; EYES: GRN; HT: 5-08; WT: 155; DOB: 03-02-42. He looked ever so much better than he had in his high school annual. Three cheers for him. I confess I felt smug as I sat down at my desk, the little show-off in my nature patting herself on the back.
I called Tasha's office and identified myself to her secretary when she picked up. She said, "Tasha's in a meeting, but let me tell her it's you. She can probably take a quick call if it's important."
"Trust me, it is."
"Can you hold?"
"Sure." While I waited, I laid out a hand of solitaire. One card up and six cards down. In some ways, I was sorry everything had come together so fast. I didn't want Donovan to think he was paying for something he could have done himself – though in truth, he was. There's a lot of information available as a matter of public record. Most people simply don't have the time or the interest in doing the grunt work. They're all too happy to have a PI do it for them, so in the end everybody benefits. Still, this one was almost too easy, especially since I wasn't sure the family would believe their real interests had been served by my discovery. I turned the next card up on the second pile and placed another five cards down.
Tasha clicked on, sounding terse and distracted. "Hi, Kinsey. What's up? I hope this is important because I'm up to my ass in work."
"I have an address for Guy Malek. I thought I'd better let you know first thing."
There was half a second's silence while she processed the information. "That was fast. How'd you manage?"
I smiled at her tone, which was the perfect blend of surprise and respect. "I have my little ways," I said. Ah, how seductive the satisfaction when we think we've impressed others with our cleverness. It's one of the perversities of human nature that we're more interested in the admiration of our enemies than the approbation of our friends. "You have a pencil?"
"Of course. Where's he living?"
"Not far." I gave her the address. "There's no telephone listed. Either he doesn't have phone service or it's in someone else's name."
"Amazing," she said. "Let me pass this along to Donovan and see what he wants to do next. He'll be delighted, I'm sure."
"I doubt that. I got the impression they'd all be happier if Guy turned up dead."
"Nonsense. This is family. I'm sure things will work out. I'll have him give you a call."
Within fifteen minutes, my phone rang. Donovan Malek was on the line. "Nice work," he said. "I'm surprised how quick it was. I thought the search would take weeks."
"It's not always this easy. We got lucky," I said. "You need anything else?"
"Tasha and I just had a chat about that. I suggested we have you go up there in person. She could contact him by letter, but people sometimes react oddly getting mail from an attorney. You feel threatened before you even open the envelope. We don't want to set the wrong tone."
"Sure, I can talk to him," I said, feeling puzzled what the right tone would be.
"I'd like a firsthand report about Guy's current circumstances. Are you free sometime in the next two days?"
I checked my calendar. "I can go this afternoon if you like."
"The
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