"And Nick Gladstone was a friend of mine," she continued. "He helped me find a missing child when I was first starting out. I owe him."
The executive suite on the 24th floor of the Denver hotel provided the private detective team with a living room, two bedrooms, a large dining room, and a kitchen. None of them liked to cook, so kitchens were only used to make coffee, but the dining room table already held six laptops, a printer, and two opened briefcases.
Carl came away from the window and sat down on the other end of the sofa. "I remember that case. We found the little girl abandoned in an old Chevy pickup truck north of Denver. That was right after Jackie helped me dump my worthless drug company on my worthless ex-wife."
"Was she still alive?"
Carl answered, "Unfortunately, ex-wives are never polite enough to die."
Michael chuckled. "I meant the little girl."
"Oh. Little Alicia was found alive and hopping mad. She was…" A knock on the door interrupted him and Carl got up to answer it. "Food, at last." He disappeared into the foyer, opened the door wide, and then closed it behind a waiter pushing a cart. "In there," he said, pointing to the living room. "How long before our guest arrives?" he asked Jackie. "I'm hungry."
Jackie looked at her watch. "He said half an hour, and that was almost half an hour ago." She watched as the waiter looked at the cluttered table, and then searched for someplace else to set out their lunch. "How about the coffee table?" Jackie asked.
The waiter nodded and began to transfer the tray of sandwiches and condiments, a pot of coffee, and four cups to the coffee table. He carefully laid out the silverware on a fan of cloth napkins, and then left the suite.
"Yummy," Michael said, sitting up straighter. He looked at Jackie and slowly began to reach for a sandwich. As soon as she shook her head, he jerked his hand back.
"What do we know about Austin Steel?" Carl asked.
Michael cleared his throat, "Single white male, six-one, in good physical condition, attorney, Bachelor's degree from Colorado University and an honor graduate of Harvard."
"Austin's father and Nick were good friends," Jackie added, "and when his father died, Nick mentored him and paid for his education. Austin has worked for the Gladstone Corporation summers and holidays since he was fifteen, and is now the corporate attorney."
"Age?" Carl asked.
Michael eyed the sandwiches again and sighed. "Twenty-eight."
"Never been married?" Carl asked.
"Not yet, but he's been looking," Jackie answered.