Dallas, Texas

"Hello, Cliff? It's Bobby", answering the phone in the foyer, Bobby didn't know what to expect from his brother-in-law, they rarely spoke other than when it had to do with Pam but he couldn't think of much more they had to say to each other now that Pam had been gone almost four months.

"Bobby, hi", greeting him, Cliff paused for a moment before asking a question, his uncertainty obvious in the tone he used. "This is a bit of a strange question, but has a girl come to see you about Pam or my mother?"

Repeating the question in his head, he took a few seconds to register what Cliff was asking him, because none of it sounded familiar to him.

"No, why?"

"Well, she came to see me, told me she was doing some sort of report but then told me it wouldn't be published, I don't remember her name or where she said she was from but I can't help wonder what her angle was."

Explaining himself, what Cliff described didn't really make a lot of sense. Firstly, if anyone were going to do a report on Pamela's life then it would surely be about her marriage to him, Bobby Ewing of Ewing Oil, not her and her regular, not publicly well-known family. Secondly, if anyone were going to do a report on Pamela's life he expected he would be contacted, just as Cliff had, but he hadn't.

"I haven't heard anything, but I can see why you'd think I might, I was Pam's husband."

"That's what I thought."

Agreeing with him, Cliff sounded puzzled, which was understandable.

"What did this girl look like?"

He was fairly sure he wasn't forgetting something like what Cliff was referring to but he asked for a few more details anyway, just to make sure.

"Young, probably no more than twenty, likely a college girl, about 5′4″, blue eyes, dark hair."

Painting a picture of any number of young women, Cliff's information didn't jog any particular memories for him.

"And she asked what sort of questions?"

"About my mother leaving, what Pam was like, what our lives were like growing up, that sort of thing."

Noting that the visit seemed to have been focused on Pamela Barnes rather than Pamela Ewing, he found the entire situation quite peculiar. Pam had rarely had anything to say about her mother and had never been a big talker about her early life, so for a stranger to her to even know, let alone be asking such personal questions was odd.

"She didn't say who she was?"

"Not beyond her name, which I can't recall, and that she had some questions for me."

Sounding just as confused as he was, Cliff probably had even more reason to be curious, this girl had actually sought him out, that had to mean something.

"I can't say I've experienced anything similar. Perhaps your secretary might be able to tell you if she left a name or number."

"She didn't."

"Perhaps she'll contact you again."

"Perhaps…" trailing off, Cliff fell silent.

Thinking over the details again, he didn't know what to make of the situation. Pam had been beautiful, personable and had had a lot more social connections than he knew of, but none of that explained why someone would be asking such intimate questions of Cliff.

Assuming she was exactly what she had said she was, he suggested the only thing he thought made sense. "You could enquire with a few of the newspapers and magazines to see if they know anything, even if it's an idea that's been scrapped."

"I might just do that."

Pleased Cliff was listening he prompted him to look at the other possibility. "Could she be family?"

"Bobby, you know my family. I really don't think so." Sighing, Cliff sounded like he'd already been down that track and returned with nothing.

"Digger didn't have any other siblings?"

"No."

"And your mother?"

Considering his own life, he knew that things weren't always as simple as mothers, fathers and children. If someone dug into the records, they'd see that Charlie was his legal daughter and Lucy was his niece who was under his father's guardianship; sometimes the people acting as parents weren't always the same as those who biologically held the same titles.

He didn't expect the girl was Cliff's mother, that would be preposterous considering her age, but there was a possibility she was related to Cliff and Pamela somewhere along the way on their maternal side.

"I was always told she was dead, and if she isn't, why isn't she here asking me these questions herself? Alternatively, if she is dead and this girl knows it, then why not say so? Why the story about a report? None of it makes any sense."

Hearing how perplexed Cliff was, he understood what he was feeling. It didn't come together in his mind and he was sure to Cliff it was even more frustrating.

"I'm sorry Cliff, I don't know."

Sighing, Cliff resigned himself to the mystery, "that's ok; I just thought I should check with you in case you knew of something more."

"The only other thing I can suggest is that she could have been a friend of Pam's if you say she was college aged, but that doesn't explain why she'd be asking about your mother, or why she wouldn't start off with that detail."

Proposing a different explanation, he didn't really believe what he was saying; Pam had had friends and none of them had any reason to pretend they were anything more or less than just that. The girl had to have another reason for contacting Cliff, and it could have been as she said, that she was writing a report, although again, even that made very little sense.

"No, it doesn't. Thanks anyway."

"Sorry I couldn't be more help. Will you call me if there are any updates?" Intrigued now, he did wish to hear how the situation developed.

"Sure", agreeing, Cliff said his goodbyes and they ended their call.

To be continued…