Daddy's Gone a Hunting

26

By noon on Friday Mark Sloane knew he had made the right decision to join his new law firm, Holden, Sparks & West. Specialists in commercial litigation law, they represented international real estate firms, investment companies, and worldwide banks. In a litigious world, they had a formidable reputation. Their three floors of sleekly modern offices were a visible sign of their success.

Mark had been back and forth enough in the last few months so that he had no sense of being a total newcomer. He already knew that the receptionist, the first employee to be seen through the glass doors after he walked down the hall from the elevator, was the mother of three high school boys. He was very pleased that he would be one of the top aides to the president of the firm, the renowned Nelson Sparks, and work on the most important cases with him. A partnership in two years had been promised.

But he was not aware that from his first visit he had become a man of intense interest to the single women in the firm and had been the subject of lively discussion among them.

He liked his new office, which looked over East Forty-second Street and Grand Central Terminal. And above all, he was glad to be in New York. Maybe I got that from Tracey, he mused as he stood at the window and observed the panorama below of one of the busiest streets in the world. Coming to New York was always his sister’s dream. She talked about it to me so many times. I wonder if she ever would have made it big in the theater. So many try and it doesn’t work out… And then somebody gets blessed with stardust.

Enough of that, he decided. Time to begin to earn my keep here. Very considerable keep, he acknowledged to himself, as he settled at his desk and picked up the employee telephone book. He had long ago realized that for him the best way to get to know everyone in a company was to match their names to the positions they held. He had already been working on achieving that goal, but now that he was here, he intended to complete the learning process fast.

But despite his eagerness to delve into his new job, he was a bit distracted by the realization that he could now begin his real search for Tracey, or at least bring some closure to his mother about her disappearance. At four fifteen that afternoon he did a search on the Internet for the name of the detective on the case, Nick Greco.

The information he wanted came up immediately. Greco had a website for his own private detective agency. He was sixty-four years old, married with two daughters, and lived in Oyster Bay, Long Island, his profile stated. He had retired as a detective first grade in Manhattan after thirty-five years of service and opened his own investigative agency on East Forty-eighth Street in Manhattan. Just a few blocks away, Mark thought. Almost without knowing he was doing it, Mark dialed the phone number listed on the site.

To Mark’s surprise a live receptionist answered the phone instead of one of those annoying, automated voice instructions. Press one for this, press two for that, press three…

When Mark asked for Greco and the receptionist requested the reason for the call, Mark realized that his throat was dry. He tried to clear it but it felt hoarse and rushed as he said, “My name is Mark Sloane. My sister, Tracey Sloane, disappeared twenty-eight years ago. Mr. Greco was the detective from the district attorney’s office who handled the case. I have just moved to New York and would like a chance to talk with him.”

“Hold on, please.”

Seconds later, a firm male voice said, “Mark Sloane, I would be very pleased to meet with you. Not being able to solve your sister’s disappearance all these years has continued to be a great frustration to me. When can we get together?”