her. He reached for a legal pad from the desk drawer and wrote Kimberly’s name at the top of the page.
He dug through his notebook for her number and dialed the phone. He’d barely announced himself before she flew into him.
“ Did you find him? What does that woman know? Did he give her permission to live there?”
“ Slow down, Mrs. Simon. I’ll answer your questions, but one at a time. No, I haven’t found him and the tenant doesn’t seem to know anything.”
“ You’d better double check on that. Maybe she and Doris are in cahoots. The old bat would do anything to stay out of a home.”
He flipped a page and wrote Doris’ name at the top before continuing. “I will. Now I have a couple of questions for you.” He flipped to Kimberly’s page and took a breath. “Your mother married Jeffrey Walters when you were twelve, right? And divorced him eight years later.”
“ That’s right.” After an extra beat, Kimberly continued. “But Daddy and I are close. He adopted me after one year, you know. And he honestly cares about Billy, even though there’s no blood connection.”
He moved on. “Have you heard anything more from your father? Mrs. Walters said she would tell him to call you.”
“ I had an e-mail last night, but it seemed fishy.”
“ What do you mean by that?”
“ It was businesslike, short and it seemed, I don’t know, off, somehow. He usually includes something for Billy. A joke, something he’d call ‘guy stuff’ or maybe a link to a website Billy might enjoy. He hasn’t been doing that lately.”
Graham started taking notes. “How long would you say these ‘off’ e-mails have been coming?”
“ I can’t say. I mean, I didn’t pay much attention at first. I don’t save them, so I can’t be sure, but I think at least for the last month.”
She’d calmed down and he relaxed. He moved down his mental list of questions, writing down her answers. “What can you tell me about his business? Any partners, associates, assistants? A secretary?”
“ Daddy is pretty much a loner. He works out of his home office because he spends so much time on the road. I think he used a private temp service from time to time when he needed clerical help, but I can’t tell you which one. He’s had some setbacks lately, and Doris had invested big time in some of his deals. I think that’s why he let her live in the apartment rent-free.”
“ Okay, so do you have any knowledge of what he’s working on now? Doris said he’s in Alabama.”
“ That’s what his e-mails have said, but he never says much while he’s working on a deal.”
“ Do you know what he was working on before the Alabama trip?”
“ No. But before that, I think his last project was something local, near the space coast. He was pretty sure it was going to be a big one. Make up for his losses.”
“ Mrs. Simon, I have to ask you this.” He paused. “Do you know of anyone who might want your father out of the picture for a while?” He wished he’d been able to interview her face to face, to watch her eyes.
“ Daddy? I can’t imagine why. I mean, yeah, some people don’t like land developers, but the truth is, Daddy is pretty damn ethical. He follows the rules and tries to leave things natural where he can.”
Right. Leave a few trees or a pond while you build your golf course and condos and destroy habitat.
He moved on. “Do you have a picture of your father? Something you could fax?”
“ I don’t have a fax machine, but I’ve got a picture of Daddy. I could scan it and e-mail it.”
“ Even better. Thanks.” That should save him trying to wheedle one out of Doris. He gave her his e-mail address. “I’ll watch for it. And please let me know if you hear from him. I’ll be in touch.”
“ Wait!” Kimberly said. “Granger. No. Gravely. Stuart Gravely. That’s the name of someone Daddy worked with on the local deal. I think I met him at a cocktail party when Daddy was looking for
He dug through his notebook for her number and dialed the phone. He’d barely announced himself before she flew into him.
“ Did you find him? What does that woman know? Did he give her permission to live there?”
“ Slow down, Mrs. Simon. I’ll answer your questions, but one at a time. No, I haven’t found him and the tenant doesn’t seem to know anything.”
“ You’d better double check on that. Maybe she and Doris are in cahoots. The old bat would do anything to stay out of a home.”
He flipped a page and wrote Doris’ name at the top before continuing. “I will. Now I have a couple of questions for you.” He flipped to Kimberly’s page and took a breath. “Your mother married Jeffrey Walters when you were twelve, right? And divorced him eight years later.”
“ That’s right.” After an extra beat, Kimberly continued. “But Daddy and I are close. He adopted me after one year, you know. And he honestly cares about Billy, even though there’s no blood connection.”
He moved on. “Have you heard anything more from your father? Mrs. Walters said she would tell him to call you.”
“ I had an e-mail last night, but it seemed fishy.”
“ What do you mean by that?”
“ It was businesslike, short and it seemed, I don’t know, off, somehow. He usually includes something for Billy. A joke, something he’d call ‘guy stuff’ or maybe a link to a website Billy might enjoy. He hasn’t been doing that lately.”
Graham started taking notes. “How long would you say these ‘off’ e-mails have been coming?”
“ I can’t say. I mean, I didn’t pay much attention at first. I don’t save them, so I can’t be sure, but I think at least for the last month.”
She’d calmed down and he relaxed. He moved down his mental list of questions, writing down her answers. “What can you tell me about his business? Any partners, associates, assistants? A secretary?”
“ Daddy is pretty much a loner. He works out of his home office because he spends so much time on the road. I think he used a private temp service from time to time when he needed clerical help, but I can’t tell you which one. He’s had some setbacks lately, and Doris had invested big time in some of his deals. I think that’s why he let her live in the apartment rent-free.”
“ Okay, so do you have any knowledge of what he’s working on now? Doris said he’s in Alabama.”
“ That’s what his e-mails have said, but he never says much while he’s working on a deal.”
“ Do you know what he was working on before the Alabama trip?”
“ No. But before that, I think his last project was something local, near the space coast. He was pretty sure it was going to be a big one. Make up for his losses.”
“ Mrs. Simon, I have to ask you this.” He paused. “Do you know of anyone who might want your father out of the picture for a while?” He wished he’d been able to interview her face to face, to watch her eyes.
“ Daddy? I can’t imagine why. I mean, yeah, some people don’t like land developers, but the truth is, Daddy is pretty damn ethical. He follows the rules and tries to leave things natural where he can.”
Right. Leave a few trees or a pond while you build your golf course and condos and destroy habitat.
He moved on. “Do you have a picture of your father? Something you could fax?”
“ I don’t have a fax machine, but I’ve got a picture of Daddy. I could scan it and e-mail it.”
“ Even better. Thanks.” That should save him trying to wheedle one out of Doris. He gave her his e-mail address. “I’ll watch for it. And please let me know if you hear from him. I’ll be in touch.”
“ Wait!” Kimberly said. “Granger. No. Gravely. Stuart Gravely. That’s the name of someone Daddy worked with on the local deal. I think I met him at a cocktail party when Daddy was looking for
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