Hank Summers office wasn't in the corner, but it was right next to the corner. It was only slightly smaller than Alaska. There was a bar and bathroom to the right as you walked in. The desk was big and oak and bare. On the wall were plaques for Associate of the Year and Most Property Sold. There were pictures of Hank Summers getting the plaques and Hank Summers playing golf. There were no pictures of Buffy or Dawn or even Heather Summers.

Summers came around the desk and shook my hand.

"Mr. Spenser, so good to see you again."

Jacky took a seat at one of the client chairs . Junior went to the bar and made himself a drink, then sat on a barstool. I sat in another client chair and moved it back a bit. It was probably nothing, but I didn't want either of the Waxes to be able to move behind me without me seeing it.

Summers went back behind his desk.

"So have you made any progress?"

"I'm not sure. I went to California and talked to Lt. Samuelson, then I went to Sunnydale and talked to Joyce and Dawn, the Sunnydale Police Department, some of her friends and faculty from school, even the school librarian."

"Sounds like you were thorough."

I shrugged modestly. "I try."

"But you haven't found anything."

"Not sure yet, I thought I would ask you some questions."

"Me? But what could I add?"

"Well, that's what I'm here to find out."

Summers spread his hands. "Can't say I know much, but I'll try."

"Joyce told me she tried to call you at your home and your office in LA the day Buffy left home, but she didn't hear from you until right before you hired me."

"Well, I've been in New York."

"Which you apparently failed to tell her."

"None of her business anymore, Spenser. We're not married."

"No, but you're the father of her children."

"Joyce is a better parent than I am. I admit that. She doesn't need my help."

"And the children?"

"What about them?"

I decided that a guy didn't have to be too bright or too decent to be Associate of the Year for Sunset Development.

"So you didn't check your LA messages when you were in New York."

"Not until about five days ago."

"That's when you found out about Buffy running away."

"That's right."

"And you decided right then and there to find someone to look for her."

"That's right, I called Lt. Samuelson. He was really helpful with the Hemery mess. I thought maybe he could help, or knew someone who could."

"And he told you about me."

"He did, but so far you don't seem to be doing very well."

"Well, as I said, I try. Do you mind if I check your messages?"

"What do you mean?"

"Pretty much what I said. I would like to listen to your messages at work and at home. Probably also look at the home caller ID, and the incoming calls log at the LA office for Sunset Development."

"I don't think my associates would want you doing that," Summers said, waving his hands vaguely at Jacky and Junior.

"We don't mind at all," Jacky said. "Me and Spenser have already made a deal. He just wants to find your kid. He ain't interested in our business. Besides, if you were stupid enough to make and take phone calls that would reveal our business with you, then Mr. Milo will be wanting to do business with someone a little smarter. And nobody cares for our severance package."

Jacky looked at Summers. Summers looked down, then back up at Jackie.

"Of course I didn't, Jacky. I haven't done anything that would cause you problems."

"And Spenser looking for your kid has nothing to do with our business either, right? And you want him to find your kid, right? So you should have no problem being honest with him," Jacky said.

"No Jacky, no problem at all."

"So, can I listen to your messages?" I asked.

"Sure, but I erased most of them."

"Then I'd like to look at the Caller ID."

Summers looked at me, then looked down. I barely heard what he said next.

"…..She called me."

"Who did?"

"Buffy," Summers said. He was looking at his desk. He wouldn't look at me. "Buffy called me."

"When?"

"The day she ran away from Joyce's. She called me from the bus station in Sunnydale, and then again from the bus station in LA."

"Where?"

"We used to live in the Valley. The station was there."

"Did you try to call her back?"

"How? She was calling from pay phones. Besides, I didn't hear the messages until days later."

"Bullshit," I said.

"What?"

"I call bullshit, Hank," I said. "I could believe that you didn't check your messages at home, but no way do I believe you don't check your office messages on a daily basis."

"You lying to him, Hank?" Jackie asked.

"No Jacky, of course not…I….yes…alright. I listened to the messages that day. But I was still in New York. I couldn't have done anything about it."

"You could have taken the next flight back to LA. You could have called Joyce and told her where Buffy was."

"No, you don't understand. I was in the middle of something important here." Summers looked at Jacky. Jacky shook his head.

"I'm not completely heartless, Hank." Jacky jerked his head towards Junior. "Besides, I'm a family man myself. We'd have let you go."

I looked at Junior. He looked every bit of dangerous as his old man. I wondered about the family life of sharks. But I suspected Jacky at least would have gone across the country to find his son if he'd run away from home.

"Business wasn't the real reason why you didn't go to LA was it?" I said. "And it wasn't the real reason why you didn't call your ex. Your new wife didn't want a 17 year old girl staying with you. And you didn't want Joyce to know about your new wife, much less see her. How old is she again?"

"Twenty two."

Junior snorted.

"How old?"

Summers still wouldn't look at me.

"Nineteen," he said.

"Let me guess, you met her on an island in the Caribbean."

"Crown Prince Club's got another facility in the south Pacific," Jacky said.

"Pop," Junior said. "He don't need to know that."

Jacky jerked his head towards me. "He don't give a shit. He just wants to find Summers' kid."

"So you got a new wife, one you like to think you've rescued from a life of debauchery." Hank Summers' face turned bright red but he still wouldn't look at me. "But this new wife doesn't want to have to compete with your high school daughter, particularly a runaway who's a high maintenance refugee from the Valley. And you don't want either your daughter or wife number one finding out about where you got wife number two, because you have just enough sense to be embarrassed about it. Am I right so far?"

Summers didn't say anything. His face just stayed red and he looked at the desk.

"She probably called you several times a day at first, then once a day as she ran out of money, then maybe every other day. But she kept calling, and you kept on listening and then erasing. Then, the phone calls stopped coming. That's when your minimal parental instinct kicked in, and you got worried. You called Joyce, then you called Samuelson, then you hired me. That about right?"

Summers stood up, his head down, and started towards the bathroom by the bar. Junior stepped in front of him.

"Do I have permission to listen to your phone messages, what there are of them, and see your caller ID and phone logs?" I asked.

"Sure whatever," Summers said.

I nodded to Jacky, who nodded to Junior. Junior let Summers pass into the restroom. The door slammed, and I heard the sounds of vomiting.

Junior looked at the door.

"Father of the fucking year," he said. "What a piece of work."

"Yeah," Jacky said, looking at me. "But he's our piece of work."

"And you can have him," I said.