The Father Hunt

My hand didn't want to go to my pocket. It had pulled those damn pictures out too many times for too many people. But it obeyed orders and out came lie seven photographs. "The quickest way," I said, "is for you to take a look at these and tell me if you recognize anyone." As I stretched an arm to hand them to her the phone rang, and she put the pictures on the desk. When she finished telling someone what to do and hung up she picked them up and started looking. At the fourth one-I always had it in the middle-she widened her eyes, looked at me, looked at the photograph again, and said, "It's… not Vance… Vaughn, that's it. Carlotta. Carlotta Vaughn." The blue eyes aimed at me, a little narrowed. "I saw her name not long ago, in an ad in two papers. The ad said something about alias somebody."

"You knew her?"

"Yes. She worked for that Floyd Vance. Or with him,

I didn't know which." –

I had two strong conflicting impulses simultaneously:

to give her a good hug and kiss her on both cheeks, and to pull her nose for not answering the ad a week ago. I put one of them into words. "Miss Sebor," I said, "you are the most beautiful woman I ever laid eyes on and if I knew what color you like I would buy you ten do/en roses. With our client's money, of course."

She smiled, more with her eyes than her mouth. "My shopping service hasn't worked much on florists, but it would be interesting to try. Apparently I've dealt you an ace."

"Four of them. You've answered a question that I was beginning to think would never be answered. If you will-"

"Is Carlotta Vaughn your client? No, of course not, not if you placed that ad. You're trying to find her?"

"No. She's dead. I'd like to tell you about it, but you're busy and it's a long story, and as our client says, it's very personal. If you'll answer a few more questions I'll be extremely grateful. Was it in-"

The phone. That time it took longer; she was telling someone what not to do. She finally finished it and returned to me. "I'll ask you a question, Mr. Goodwin. I liked Carlotta Vaughn, and she impressed me as a very competent young woman. I didn't see a lot of her-we had lunch together a few times-but I saw enough of her to be impressed. I was trying to get my business started and it was hard going, and I tried to persuade her to go in with me, as a partner, but she wouldn't. I liked her very much. You say she's dead. Would she approve of what you're doing?"