Chapter 30

Mila stared at the piece of paper in her hand doubtfully. She was certain she’d written down the address exactly as her lawyer had recited. She looked up at the dingy office with the gray door again, then glanced at her driver hopefully.

“You think this is it?”

“It says Private Investigations on the window, so yeah, this is probably the place,” he said blandly.

Mila got out of the car and steeled herself to go in. She entered the office to find it fairly bare with the exception of several large filing cabinets and two mahogany desks with ergonomic chairs and laptops. Each held stacks of manila folders and various papers, and the one toward the back had a grouchy looking man sitting at it.

“Can I help you?” he grunted, sizing her up.

Mila gulped. “Yes; are you Joel Messina?”

“Yeah,” he said, sitting up a little straighter.

“My lawyer recommended you. He said you’re good at finding people.”

“That’s true. Who is it that you need found?”

“My mother’s old housekeeper. Her name is Mei, but my mother fired her for… well, it’s not important. What’s important is that my mother is dead now, and I want to hire her back.”

“What else can you give me? Last name? Address? Next of kin?” he asked, scribbling on a notepad.

Mila spread her hands expansively and shook her head. “I don’t know. I think she’s Chinese, and I think she might have a sister, but I was really sick last time I saw her, so I don’t know. I think she might be working for a rich guy who lives outside of town, in a huge mansion just off the interstate.”

“To the north of here?” he sounded surprised.

“Yes,” she replied.

“Not too many houses out that direction. Would you recognize it again if you saw it?”

“I think so…” she said hesitantly.

“All right. Here’s my schedule of fees. I work on a cash basis up front for new customers, you understand,” Joel said, handing her a sheet of paper.

She nodded and reached for the backpack slung on her shoulder. She dug out the appropriate retainer fee and handed over the money. He smiled slightly and pocketed the cash.

“Do you have time this morning?” he asked. “We could take a ride out the direction I think you mean and see if anything looks familiar.”

“Oh, yes,” she said, greatly relieved. “We can take my car if you like.”

“Sure,” he said, grabbing his sports coat off the back of his chair. He locked the office on his way out and whistled when he saw the black sedan parked at the curb. They got in and Joel gave instructions to the driver.

It was nearly forty minutes before they cleared the town, and another ten before the private detective asked the driver to slow down. Mila’s heart thumped with excitement as they headed down the long driveway. This definitely looked familiar.

They pulled up at the front door and Joel asked, “Is this the place?”

“Yes, yes, I think so! You are a genius!”

Joel chuckled. “Listen, you can’t just go barging into this place. Why don’t you let me see if anyone’s home? I happen to know the guy who lives here.”

Her eyes widened. “You do?”

“I’ll be right back.” She watched him spring from the car and bound up the steps to the door. He rang the bell and waited. Mila’s excitement spilled out of her when Mei opened the wide door.

“Mei! Mei!” she called happily.

Startled, the woman retreated into the house, slamming the door as she went. Puzzled, Mila slumped back into the seat.

“Sorry, kid,” Joel said, loping back down to the car. “I guess she didn’t want to see you.”

Mila could not hide her disappointment as the detective slid back into the car. She glanced up at the house again, surprised to see the door opening again and Mei reappearing. Mila got out of the car and raced to hug her old housekeeper.

“Mei, I’m so glad to see you! It’s me, Mila,” she whispered. The woman patted her awkwardly for a moment, then pulled away.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

“I want to offer you a job. I want you to come back home and work for me. You can live with me if you want to!” she offered quickly. “My mother is dead… and… I just… Oh, please, Mei, please come back with me!”

“I don’t know.” The woman glanced nervously at the two men in the car.

“Please say you’ll at least think about it. Then call the house when you know, okay? Please?” Mila asked.

“Okay,” Mei said, nodding slowly. “I will call you.”

“Thank you,” Mila said sincerely. She got back into the car and instructed the driver to return them to their appropriate venues. Then she turned to the detective and said, “You do really fast work. Thanks a lot!”

“My pleasure,” he grinned. “If only all my cases were so easy!”

Mila smiled and turned to look out the window. At least now she knew where Mei was. Now she knew where she could find a friend. It was worth a lot more than the fee she’d paid the detective. Technically, it was priceless.