Warnings and disclaimers in first part
Two hours later Trowa was worried that his lips were going to fall off. He had never talked so much at once, in fact, he was certain he hadn’t talked so much in his entire life. None of his questions had paid off, either; no one could recall seeing Kaitlin on the day she had gone missing, or since then.
He was coming out of a salon, dutifully ignoring the hushed comments from the multiple women regarding his physique, when he heard a whistle from the other side of the road. Looking over, he saw Duo waving, motioning for the tall man to cross the street. When he managed to weave his way through the thick midday traffic, the braided man met him at the curb immediately, not meeting Trowa’s eyes, “I need you to take a look at something.”
Hurrying to remain at the smaller man’s side as the investigator rushed down the sidewalk, Trowa searched Duo’s face for any hint of what he would had to look at, discovering that the heart-shaped face was frustratingly neutral, “What do I need to see?”
“Apparently, Kaitlin has a daily habit of stopping at the pharmacy for a milkshake after school. The owners recognized her right away; they thought she might have gotten sick like a lot of other kids since she hasn’t been in. Before you ask, they didn’t have anything to do with her disappearance.”
“How do you know?”
“They’re a married couple that’s been together for almost sixty years. She’s eighty-four and he’s ninety, both with health issues, so they wouldn’t be able to subdue a girl that was healthy and able to take care of herself. They live in a tiny apartment over their store and volunteer at a homeless shelter twice a week. After being mixed up with her former friends, I’m guessing Kaitlin has a well-honed street sense, doesn’t she?”
The abrupt question had Trowa frowning, but he did nod after a minute, “She has a pretty good sense of people and doesn’t trust many.”
“She trusts these people enough to talk to them freely about her school and home life. She’s even told them about the letters she’s written to her favorite uncle, and about the letters and presents he has a habit of sending to her. I’m assuming you’re that uncle?”
“I’m her only uncle. Jackson, her stepfather, has several sisters.”
“She trusts these people, Mr. Barton. If she had the smallest doubt, she never would have shared all of that information. Last of all, I know these people pretty well.”
“You trust them?”
Duo stopped in front of the store, meeting Trowa’s eyes with an intensity that had the tall man holding his breath, “Yes,” he nodded firmly without explaining why he trusted them. “About two weeks ago, they saw Kaitlin speaking to a man after she left here. On the day before she went missing, he was waiting outside for her when she arrived. He came inside with her and offered to pay for her milkshake, but she refused. Mr. and Mrs. Norman said she appeared to be nervous around him, not meeting his eyes or looking at his face, that kind of thing.”
“Can they describe him?”
“They can do better than that. After a break-in a few years ago, they installed a security system, complete with cameras inside the store. I need you to see if you recognize this guy.”
Trowa’s heart was in his throat as Duo led him inside. During the quick introductions to the couple that was the epitome of a loving elderly couple, he could feel his nerves stretching. After they were taken to a small office in the back of the store, he barely heard Duo’s voice over the pounding of his heart, “Thank you, Father.”
“Duo, if you need to, take those videos with you. Katy is a very sweet and smart girl. If you need anything else…”
“I’ll remember to call. If you hear of anything, anything at all that has to do with Kaitlin, you guys let me know, okay?”
Alone with the braided man in the cramped space, Trowa took several deep breaths then swallowed, “Those are your parents?”
Duo’s gaze was on the security footage, hands working the controls with a familiarity that told Trowa he had done this kind of thing before. “No. Father Norman is a retired priest. ‘Father’ is what I’ve always known him as. Are you ready for this?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” the tall man said quietly, stunned he hadn’t passed out yet because his breath was coming so fast, fearing what he would see.
The instant the play button was pushed, the small screen came to life with Kaitlin framed in the center. She was smiling slightly as she came into the store, waving to Mrs. Norman as she took a seat on one of the barstools, ignoring the man that was walking mere steps behind her. Her entire demeanor changed when the man sat next to her, Kaitlin’s face averting quickly as she shook her head at something he said.
Duo’s sense of timing was perfect, freezing the image as Kaitlin stood, the man turning toward the camera as she did so, capturing the man’s face clearly. Trowa studied the screen for less than a second before hissing, “It can’t be.”
“You know who it is?”
“I know who it looks like, but it can’t be him,” the green-eyed man insisted.
“Is this guy supposed to be dead?” Duo tapped the screen, his nail ending at the man’s face.
“No, but he’s the closest thing to it.” Trowa could clearly remember the last time he had seen that man from his seat in the crowded courtroom. “He’s in prison for the next twelve years. His last appeal was seven months ago; I went to make sure someone was there to remind him of what he had done to Catherine and Kaitlin.”
“Who is this man, Mr. Barton?” Duo’s gaze was direct for once, focused only on Trowa.
Trowa wished he was able to appreciate the smaller man’s full attention, but he was numb as he shook his head in denial of what his eyes were telling him, “It’s Kaitlin’s father, her real father, Kendrick Holmes.”
The ride to Duo’s house was made in silence, Trowa attempting to come to terms with the fact that Catherine’s ex-boyfriend was out of prison, against all odds. He was still trying to reason it out when the truck stopped and Duo got out, nimbly helping Trowa out of the cab and steering the tall man into the main section of the house by bypassing the office completely.
The only furniture available to sit on was a large recliner he was pushed into, sinking several inches into the well-used cushion. Seconds later a glass was shoved into his hand and he unthinkingly downed it in one swallow, coughing at the abrupt burn in his chest and throat.
Aware of himself again, he frowned at the man hovering over him with a large bottle in one hand, “Tell me you aren’t an alcoholic or something so I don’t feel guilty about doing that,” Duo gave him a lopsided smile, revealing how unsure of himself he felt at that moment.
Finding the gesture endearing, Trowa shook his head, “I’m not an alcoholic, though I rarely drink. I’ve never really seen the point of it.”
“The point of drinking is so you can forget for a little while,” the other man stated soberly. “I’m a fan of drinking. The only drawback is that it doesn’t always work,” he added, refilling the glass Trowa held.
“You aren’t drinking now,” Trowa pointed out when Duo set the bottle on the floor near Trowa’s feet.
“I’m working,” the braided man explained as he sank gracefully to the floor, sitting with his legs crossed. “Tell me about Kendrick Holmes.”
Tongue loosened by shock and liquor, Trowa began to talk, “Catherine is older than I am by five years. Our life at home wasn’t easy; our mother was always working and our father wasn’t an easy man to get along with. The old man got his point across with his fists more than his words, but it didn’t take a genius to see he really didn’t like me.”
Looking forward to the burn this time, Trowa took another gulp and let his eyes unfocus, recalling how it had been to live with the man he couldn’t force himself to call ‘dad’. “I was twelve when he told me that he hated me, that he wished I had never been born. Catherine was a different story; he liked her, most of the time. She always made sure he had what he needed, took care of him, and got him beer and food when he wanted it. That didn’t save her from him when he started to notice she was growing up. She was fourteen when he raped her the first time. It went on until she was seventeen and met Kendrick, who was twenty-one. At first, Kendrick was a total gentleman to her, showered her with gifts and took her out all the time. He was nothing like the old man, sweet and gentle, giving her all the romance her seventeen year old heart craved. Of course, as soon as she turned eighteen and graduated, she moved in with him. Four months after that, he proved he wasn’t as different as the old man as she thought, hitting her when he came home and she didn’t have dinner ready for him. A few weeks later, he came home drunk and beat her and forced her to have sex with him, telling her it was her own fault for being so stupid. That was the night she got pregnant with Kaitlin.”
Shaking his head at the foolishness of young love, Trowa drained the glass, not objecting when Duo leaned forward to fill it a third time. He was leaving a lot out of the story, but Duo had only asked about Kendrick, not about the tortuous home life Trowa had endured after Catherine had moved out. “As with any domestic abuse case, Catherine assured herself that it was a one-time occurrence, but he continued to come home drunk, especially after Kaitlin was born. Don’t misunderstand me, Catherine is a very strong woman, able to take care of herself, but she refused to leave him because that meant moving back home and being subjected to the torment from our father. She thought she was hiding the abuse pretty well until Kaitlin began to run away. Catherine couldn’t understand why her daughter became so distant so suddenly and try to run away until they did a rape kit at the hospital the last time Kaitlin took off.”
“Kendrick was doing to Kaitlin what your father did to your sister,” Duo guessed, eyes sad.
Still able to recall the horror he had felt upon learning the news, Trowa nodded, “Catherine filed charges against Kendrick that night, along with a restraining order. Instead of moving back home, she moved into a domestic abuse shelter for women and began rebuilding her life, believing they were safe from Kendrick and our father. In the first six months she had to change shelters twice because Kendrick found them. When they moved into an apartment, he stayed clear long enough for the restraining order to expire, then broke in with the intention of killing Catherine and taking Kaitlin with him. During the time they had been apart, Catherine had taken a number of self-defense classes and had gotten a permit to carry a concealed weapon. He was coming after her with a knife when she shot him in the leg. Later, in court, she was asked why she hadn’t killed him. Her response was that he had already taken enough from her and her daughter and she didn’t want to waste one minute separated from Kaitlin because of someone as insignificant as he was. He was charged with breaking and entering, attempted murder, and assault. The security guard in the apartment building was also an off-duty cop that worked part time; Kendrick hit him in the head with the butt of a rifle, so that added assault of an officer to the list of charges. He’s supposed to be in prison, Mr. Maxwell. Kendrick had been arrested on a number of charges in the past; the judge told Kendrick he was going to go away for a long time,” Trowa finished dully, realizing he was well on his way to drunk.
“What about appeals or parole?”
“His last appeal was the last time I was in town, five months ago. He isn’t eligible for parole for another ten years because of the severity of the crimes he committed. There’s no way he can be free.”
“Out and free are two vastly different things, Mr. Barton.”
“Trowa.” The other man’s baffled face had him explaining, “Call me Trowa. It’s the least I can do for the man helping me find my niece.”
“You don’t owe me anything; I’m doing the job you hired me to do. You’ll call me Duo from now on.”
“It isn’t just a job to you,” Trowa blurted, stunning himself. With the other man staring at him with those oddly colored, penetrating eyes, he shook his head in hopes of clearing it. “I could see it when you were on the phone before; this is more than a job for you. You get personally involved with every missing persons case, don’t you, Duo?” he tried the name out, pleasantly surprised how it sounded coming from his mouth.
“Some of them are just jobs. When it involves adults I don’t have a problem keeping it professional; most adults go missing on their own to escape their lives. Kids…kids are different. Kids don’t usually have a choice in what happens to them.”
“What do we do now?”
Trowa blinked when the other man chuckled, a low sound that penetrated the fog of alcohol and had his body responding. “You are going to take a nap while I make some phone calls, then we’ll get some lunch while I tell you whatever I learn.”
Under normal circumstances the tall man would have argued, but his limbs and eyelids felt heavy so he didn’t put up much resistance, “Where do I take a nap?”
“The only bed is the one in my room and you don’t want to go in there. That’s where everything else in the house ended up. The chair leans back if you’re already comfortable,” Duo explained, standing and leaning over Trowa.
Thankfully, Trowa’s limbs were too heavy to act on his first impulse of pulling the other man into the chair with him, clearing his throat when Duo reached between the seat and the side of the chair to pull the lever, reclining Trowa’s chair before standing straight again. With the scent of the smaller man in mind, he muttered, “I wouldn’t mind sleeping in your bed.” Louder, so Duo would hear, he gave a nod, “This is fine. This is a very comfortable chair.”
“I’ll be in my office when you wake up. Try to get some rest…Trowa.”
Any thought of expressing his gratitude was lost as Trowa’s eyes fell shut of their own accord, falling asleep quickly with the sound of his name falling from Duo’s lips over and over again.
Waking up, Trowa didn’t have a sense of confusion most people spoke of when waking in a strange place. His job kept him traveling so he was used to sleeping in places other than his own apartment. His did pause for a minute as he discovered a light blanket over him, although he didn’t have to guess at its origin.
Looking out the window he discovered it was still light, the sun beginning its descent toward the horizon, so he hadn’t slept for long. It had been long enough for most of the liquor to run its course, leaving him stone sober and embarrassed about everything he had told the bounty hunter in response to a single question.
Hoping the personal things he had said would never be brought up, the tall man searched for the bathroom, finding one under the stairs to the second floor. Deciding he needed to locate the other man, he used the bathroom in a hurry, rinsing his mouth out with mouthwash left on the counter. Done in the bathroom, he was nearing the curtained-off room when there was the sound of a car outside.
Curiosity had him glancing through a window in the kitchen, frowning at the shiny convertible that parked beside his rental sedan. The man that climbed out gracefully made him frown harder, not liking the man based on his appearance alone. His dislike grew more intense as the tall platinum blonde went around the house instead of going to the front door, telling Trowa Duo knew this man in some way.
Moving so he wouldn’t be seen through the plastic curtain, Trowa waited, intensely curious to learn who this man was with his polished good looks and waist-length hair. As the door opened in the next room, he tried to imagine anything the roguish bounty hunter would have in common with the pretty boy, other than both of them being attractive enough to be models.
“Duo, it’s so good to see you again.” Trowa wrinkled his nose at the cultured voice, low and perfectly matching the man it belonged to.
The braided man’s caustic response was a surprise, “What do you want?”
“I wanted to see you. It’s been almost two months since I saw you last. How are you doing?”
“I’m doing just fine, now go away.”
Obviously ignoring the hostile tone of unwelcome, the blonde continued speaking as if Duo had given a positive reply. “I saw a car parked out front. Is it a new client, a friend staying, or a new lover? Since there’s no one in here, I’ll assume it’s not the first option. I know how…strict you are about letting clients have free reign in your living space. You always made certain they didn’t leave the consultation area in our office, didn’t you?”
The last comment had Trowa’s mouth dropping open. This man had once shared an office with Duo? This polished, groomed, walking ad had been Duo’s partner? It couldn’t be.
“Who is at my house is none of your damn business, Zechs, personal or otherwise. We don’t work together anymore, we don’t sleep together anymore, and you can’t ask me questions and expect me to answer them. Go. Away.”
“You were the one that decided to end our relationship, Duo. I was never happy with your decision.”
“I don’t care. You made the choice for me when you went through my files looking for clients you could steal from me, while I was in bed sleeping down the hall. I was even nice enough to let you think you had gotten away with it, didn’t I? You were lucky I didn’t shoot your balls off for lying to me.”
“I never lied. I asked you to share your files with me and you refused. You didn’t trust me,” the last was added in a near whine. “You installed cameras in an office we shared without telling me.”
“I installed cameras in an office space I paid for. The lease was in my name, meaning I didn’t have to inform you of any changes. As it turned out, installing cameras was a good idea.”
“You’re being foolish. I wouldn’t have had to peek if you had simply shared your files with me.”
Trowa heard the heavy sigh, concerned when his heart began to pound at the noise. “We’ve been through this more than once. You got what you wanted when you took the files for my richest clients. I got what I wanted when I kicked your ass out of my life. I have work to do. Don’t let the doorknob go up your ass when you leave; I just had it cleaned.”
“There’s no need to get nasty, lover. I only wanted to see how well you were doing. You haven’t found my replacement yet, I see.”
“Don’t call me that and stop feeding me the line of bullshit. Why are you really here?” Duo’s voice was cold and Trowa could imagine the daggers of ice staring the other man down.
The long moment of silence finally ended when the blonde spoke casually, “I heard you have a new client.”
“What’s that got to do with you? I get new clients all the time and you don’t come sniffing around like a mutt after a bitch in heat.”
“Usually there’s no reason to. Duo, you know I’m better at handling the high-end clients. Not to offend, but you’re too…basic to take care of the special care clients like these require.”
Trowa stiffened, listening carefully to how the braided man answered, “Zechs, you’re sniffing the wrong tree to piss on this time.”
“Darling, you really have no idea who you’re working for, do you? You didn’t even do a background check? You must be out of practice. Word around the precinct is that you have a Mr. Trowa Barton for a client, researching his missing niece’s whereabouts. Mr. Barton might not realize his money is motive enough for someone to kidnap a member of his family.”
Trowa hadn’t thought of the money being a factor and cursed himself for not realizing it sooner. He was hoping the blonde wasn’t right when Duo replied in a calm voice, “It isn’t an issue. Mr. Barton isn’t a high-profile person, Zechs. He’s a normal guy that works his ass off for the money he has. He likely doesn’t even give it a second thought. It’s doubtful that even his family is aware of his estimated value. I’ll make you a deal, you get the hell out of my office and I’ll give him your business card. He can choose to call you or not.”
There was a sound that Trowa guessed was a chair scraping against the floor. “I had hoped we could be civil about this, Duo, but apparently that isn’t your way. I was going to ask you for a second chance; we could work as partners again and I wouldn’t mind being with you in a…personal way again.”
“Zechs, you screwed me over as a partner and you suck in bed, not in a good way. I need more than five minutes to get finished. I don’t like your new nose better, either, but I’m sure you paid for it with my former client’s money. Now get the hell out before I escort you out with the pistol in my drawer.” Trowa couldn’t tell what the loud thud was, but it made him jump in surprise. “As far as being civil, I was as civil as I’m capable of. If this was still the stone ages, I’d be the meal providing hunter and you’d be the bitch at home weaving baskets. I’m not civilized; you should remember that before crossing me again.”
“You really are a brute, Duo.”
“I survived basic training when I was fifteen, Zechs. I stayed in the military for nine years before retiring. It’s not wise to insult someone with so much experience in killing. I guarantee that if I decided to dispose of you, no one would ever be able to link me to your death, if your body was ever found, that is.”
The threat, delivered in a tone lacking emotion, apparently had results as the door slammed. Less than ten seconds later, Trowa could see the blonde running around the house, expression terrified. Once the man was gone, the engine of the convertible screaming from a sudden acceleration, Trowa turned to make his way to the living room, taking one step when Duo’s voice stopped him. “I appreciate you staying out of sight, Trowa, but you can come in now.”
Red-faced, the tall man pushed the plastic curtain aside, “It wasn’t my intention to eavesdrop.”
“Yes it was. If it hadn’t been, you would have gone back to the living room instead of hiding close enough to hear everything. If I hadn’t wanted you to hear what was being said, I would have let you know.”
“I really am sorry I didn’t tell you about my financial situation. It didn’t occur to me that it could be a factor,” the green-eyed man watched Duo warily as the small man paced the office like a caged animal.
Cobalt eyes fixed on him as Duo suddenly stilled, “I was aware of your money, Trowa. Remember, I checked your bank statements for anything that didn’t fit. You’ve been receiving payments from your employer every two weeks for the last seven years and you don’t spend much. Nothing unusual and nothing that would get much attention from someone that doesn’t know you intimately or that doesn’t do an in-depth search like Zechs obviously did.”
Trowa’s intended questions were forgotten when the other man crossed the room and stood mere inches away from him, gazing up at Trowa with steady eyes. Just when he got his lungs working again, Duo nodded, “You’re about the same size as Zechs, maybe even an inch taller. Come here,” Trowa’s arm was grasped in a firm grip as he was led to the visitor’s chair. “Sit down and put your hands where it wouldn’t look suspicious.”
Several places to put his hands popped into his mind instantly. “What?” he inquired before he acted on the idea of pulling the smaller man into his lap.
“If you were Zechs and wanted to hide something, where would you put it without me noticing?”
“You think he hid a bug or something.”
“Probably a listening device, but if Zechs could get a pen-sized camera in here, he would. They don’t have a long range, but that wouldn’t stop him from trying to find out as much as possible about you, or my other clients.”
Thinking of all the spy movies he had ever seen, Trowa stared at the other man, “Wouldn’t he try to get his hands on you first? That way, it would go everywhere you do.”
“He didn’t get that close, Trowa, but good thinking. Where else?”
Relieved the tall man hadn’t been able to touch Duo, Trowa let out a soft sigh, “Where was he in here and where were you?”
“He sat down first, without touching anything. When the usual insults began, he moved toward the other desk, then stood in front of the window before leaving.”
Realizing it was almost impossible to think rationally with Duo so close, Trowa leaned back in the chair, fingers itching to grip the slender hips and pull Duo into his lap. Discovering Duo and his former male partner had been lovers was engraved in Trowa’s brain in glowing neon print, distracting him. “Go sit down; I can’t think while you’re…hovering,” he amended after a slight pause.
Duo gave him an odd look and backed away, sitting behind his desk with a smirk, “This is where I sat the entire time. Does that make it easier to concentrate?”
Trowa didn’t answer, understanding it would be easier to concentrate if Duo left the room entirely. Closing his eyes, he tried to imagine how he would act if he were Zechs. “He’s arrogant and thinks his opinion is better than anyone else’s. He believes he’s more important than anyone else, even those he works for. He wants people to think he has more than he does and is constantly attempting to better himself through the spending of money, but he knows he’s flawed. He’s probably in debt up to his blonde roots and needs money but doesn’t want anyone to know how desperate he is, so he acts careless. On the inside, he knows that nothing he does will ever be as good as you could do it, so he does stupid things.”
Falling silent, he opened his eyes and found Duo staring at him, clearly stunned, “Are you sure you don’t know Zechs? Where were you when I was rash enough to get involved with him?”
Acknowledging the compliment with a small smile, Trowa shrugged, “I was also in the military, in intelligence. They taught us how to size up a potential enemy in a number of situations. I was only there for two years before I got out.” Running his hands around the edge of the seat, Trowa wasn’t surprised when he found nothing. Standing, he took a slow look around the room, imagining seeing it through the eyes of a jealous and selfish man. “If I was him and I had a camera, I’d want it where I could see you. A listening device would be easier to place, so I’d use two, at least.”
At the second desk, he turned his back and leaned against it, gripping the edges. “Here’s one,” he noted as Duo lifted an eyebrow, feeling the irregular shape with his fingertips. “What do you want me to do with it?”
“I’ll take care of it,” the braided man stood and came toward him with even strides, kneeling in front of Trowa and looking up with a smirk, “You have to move your hand so I can see it.”
Releasing the death grip he had on the desk, Trowa was awed he didn’t whimper at the vision of Duo kneeling in front of him. Reminding himself he was there to find his niece, not to try seducing the long-haired investigator, Trowa shifted and put distance between them, searching the room again. “How long did he stand beside the door when he came in?”
Duo glanced up, clearly surprised, “Ten, maybe fifteen seconds. Would he really put one there?”
Inspecting the door, Trowa nodded and pointed at the base of the door knob, where he could see the small listening device, “Would you have looked there?”
“Probably not. Zechs is a jerk, but he’s smarter than he gives himself credit for. If he could focus more effort on other people instead of himself, he could be a great investigator.”
Not bothering to hide his curiosity, Trowa stepped back as Duo removed the bug, crushing both under the heel of his boot. “Why did you end things with him? You had to know he was looking through your files; you had already decided to break up with him before he got caught on camera.”
“I’m not going to ask how you know that because I don’t want to know,” the smaller man stated before shrugging. “He kept pushing me to stop taking cases for people that couldn’t afford his prices. He also wanted me to stop going on bounties, saying there were high-paying clients that wanted me on their permanent payroll. I spent a lot of my life taking orders from people and I didn’t want to do it anymore. I like taking the jobs I want and turning down the ones I don’t have an interest in. Also, I didn’t trust him. I knew how badly he wanted money and I knew he would eventually do whatever it took to get that money.”
“He still cares about you.”
It was easy to see the shock his statement prompted. Duo froze for a minute before giving a short bark of laughter, “Did that really sound like the kinds of things you would say to someone you care about?”
“My job in the navy included voice analysis. There was sincerity there, Duo, although he covered it well with sarcasm and disdain. It doesn’t matter though, does it?” he asked on a moment of insight. “You cared for him once, but if you can’t trust, you can’t care that much.”
“Trust is a big issue for me,” Duo agreed with a nod. “If I manage to trust someone and they break that trust, I won’t trust them again.”
This was something Trowa could understand. He had the same problem when he first moved out of his father’s house, although he had eventually been able to overcome the worst of his issues. Recalling how wary he had been of everyone for many years, he met Duo’s eyes, surprised to see the other man watching him closely, “Your life must be very lonely, Duo.”
“Sometimes it is, but I can trust myself. I’m not so certain about everyone else.”
“You can trust me,” Trowa stunned himself by saying.
Duo’s answer wasn’t a shock, “I don’t know you.”
Forcing himself to look around the room for the camera he assumed would be in an elevated position, Trowa didn’t look at the other man as he spoke softly, “Isn’t it easier to trust someone you don’t know?”
“It’s easier to trust someone that’s earned it.” Duo moved behind him and Trowa soon heard the small man settling into his chair, “What are you doing?”
“Looking for a camera. You did say he might try to put one in here.”
“There’s no way a camera could see my papers unless it was closer to my desk and positioned just right. In the end, it would be a waste of money and time; those things aren’t cheap.”
“I don’t think your client information is what he wants, not this time.”
“What else is there?”
“You,” the tall man stated simply. Hearing the snort of disbelief, he decided he needed to explain, “He wants to know more about you, who you talk to or how you react to people is…interesting to him. If he can’t have you, he wants to be more like you.”
“Why would he want to do that?”
Spotting a glare above the window frame, Trowa asked a question of his own, “How many of those clients he stole came back to you once they realized what had happened?”
“All but one, but she was more interested in him than the actual work that got done.”
“That’s part of the answer; you’re a better investigator than he is. What kind of work do you do for a repeat client? I’ve been wondering,” he inquired idly as he leaned against the window where he would be out of view of the camera, pointing up at its approximate location.
To Duo’s credit, he didn’t even glance in the direction Trowa indicated, eyes remaining on the tall man as he lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug, “They’re all small business owners. Before hiring new employees or purchasing from a new vendor or company, they call me and I run a series of background checks. By the time I’m done they know whether or not to use the company or hire the person based on hard facts instead of guesswork.”
“Are you thorough?”
“I can find out the last time someone’s dog farted if I look hard enough; it depends on how fast the client needs the information and how much they want to pay. For instance, if someone was hiring a new delivery boy they might want to know if he had ever been fired for stealing, so it would be a basic check. If they were planning to spend thousands of dollars on a new wing or switch to a new vendor, however, they would want to know more.”
Jackson’s heated words came back to Trowa, “We never discussed what your rate was.”
“You haven’t signed a contract so I didn’t feel a need to discuss it. Has Zechs made you curious what you’re paying for?”
“Not really. You know I would pay anything to get my niece back home where she belongs. Money doesn’t mean much to me; I can always make more. I only have one niece, Duo.”
“I’m aware of that. Come here and I’ll let you see a basic contract for this kind of thing. I’ll also show you the ones Zechs likes to use, with the prices he chose.”
Realizing the braided man hadn’t said an amount out loud had Trowa smirking. If Zechs was watching from nearby, highly likely, he still wouldn’t know how much Duo charged, even if he could read lips. Leaning over the desk the tall man studied the form with the name Zechs Marquise at the top of it, blinking when he got to the final amount on the agreement, “Fifteen hundred dollars a day, plus expenses? Can many people afford this?”
“It depends on how badly they want the missing person found. The better they pay, the harder he’ll work. Expenses can be anything from meals to hotel rooms to cars. Remember that Zechs prefers to have the best, so those expenses can run into the thousands by themselves.”
With a sound of comprehension, Trowa scanned over the contract bearing Duo’s name, gaping when he got to the final price, “Are you serious?” The long-haired man merely smirked, and rightly so. Duo’s fee for finding a missing person was a rate of one hundred fifty dollars, plus expenses. There was also a clause stating that if the missing person wasn’t located, the client wouldn’t be charged anything at all. “What do expenses cover?”
“Usually gas and sometimes a hotel room; the way I look at it, I have to eat and would do so whether someone else was paying for it or not, so I don’t add meals or anything unnecessary. There are times, though they’re rare, that I have to pay for information; I’ll split that cost with the client if they can afford it.”
“Have there been times when a client is so grateful that they pay you more?” Trowa was certain there had to be; help of this magnitude was priceless.
“It’s happened. I’m not a fool or a saint, Trowa. I take the money, but only if they have it to spare.”
“What if they make you take it but they can’t afford it?” he asked, feeling he already knew the answer.
Duo’s face turned red as he looked at the surface of the desk, “I find a way to give it back.”
“Duo,” Trowa waited until the other man looked up with a wary expression, “where do I sign?”