Her apartment.

“I have an apartment down by the river,” Victoria breathed, “Nobody else knows about it. It should be safe to talk openly there.”

I leaned back into my chair. I know I shouldn’t trust a strange woman who just comes in off the street. Who knows what her motives or agenda might be? Still, there was something about her. Her beauty captivated me, of course, but it was more than that, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. This woman intrigued me like no other.

Against all common sense and my better judgment, I found myself saying yes. “Oh well,” I thought to myself as I pushed back my chair and rose to my feet, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

I said, “I’ll drive. I hope you don’t mind, but if you’re that worried about someone spying on you, it’ll be a little less obvious if we take my car.”

She acquiesced gracefully with a nod. I almost shook my head in wonder. Even a simple thing like a nod is study in poise and elegance coming from her. I held the door open for her. The old-fashioned gesture wasn’t my normal style, but it simply came naturally around her. As she passed by I caught a brief whiff of her perfume. The scent was sensual, exotic, and sent fingers of desire shooting up my spine.

I had the feeling this was to be a meeting I wouldn’t soon forget.

We drove together to an apartment complex near the river. I knew that rent anywhere along the river wasn’t cheap. An apartment here usually meant one of two things; she either was money, or she knew money. She unlocked the door and we rode the elevator six floors up to her apartment.

When we got in I was surprised by how sparse the place was. There was some very distinguished furniture and a picture or two that hung up on the wall, but not much more than that. She sat down on the sofa, and for the first time since I met her she seemed to relax. It was like watching a sunrise. As the cold night vanishes when the soft rays of the sun color the sky, a trace of color came into her skin to dispel the perfect poise of her manner. She looked more beautiful now than ever.

I said, “You got me out here. Do you want to tell me why now?”

“Yes,” she said. “I want to hire you to find someone for me. I want you find Victoria Reef.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

“I want you to find me.”

I couldn’t hold back a sarcastic remark. “You’re sitting right there. Case closed. That will be four hundred dollars.”

She smiled wryly at my comment. She got up and stood so close in front of me that I could almost feel her body heat. Her lips were scant inches away from mine and she looked directly into my eyes.