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hands of a collector.”
    “How did you find out that it’s not in Los Angeles? The lot owner is supposed to be intensely private and tight on security.”
    “Like all good entrepreneurs, we keep track of our resources.” Sofia began to ask a question, but Joe forestalled her. “In our business it’s imperative to keep track of anything that could be useful to us.”
    Quint opened his mouth and looked as if he were going to continue explaining. A sharp look from Joe stopped him. Sofia was puzzled but didn’t speak. It was an interview after all, though she was more than a little intrigued by their interest in the car. The 500K was something only serious car collectors would actually keep track of. Why would lawyers care? Was this a suit to get the car back perhaps? Were they going to ask her to do interviews? She thought she could handle that fairly well. It might even be a little exciting. Wait, what was she doing? She was here as practice, not to take the job.
    Helena broke Sofia’s supposition. “For your interview to be successful, you will need to find out exactly where the car is now.”
    Were they proposing what Sofia thought? She alone would track down the car? She took a breath and said “I see, and this would be accomplished by searching title records, auction rosters and I imagine property tax documents?” She hoped she sounded matter-of-fact, not desperately hopeful like she felt. One look at the three faces in front of her gave the answer.
    “Well, most of that work has already been done.” Helena said, “You will need to extract the information on the exact location through conversations with collectors.”
    “You mean interviews.” Sofia asked though she didn’t think wealthy collectors would just drop everything to be interviewed by a law student.
    “Ah, no” said Joe, his slightly curly salt and pepper hair lifting in the breeze that meandered through the open doors. Despite the wind, Sofia was boiling. This was sounding more and more confusing. She had to get the location without records and without interviews, the two things law school had actually prepared her to do. She wished they would just come out with what they wanted her to do. On the other hand, if they were dragging it out, maybe she didn’t want to know. Sofia glanced at Quint for support. He had promised that Joe and Helena were not psychotic. Quint cut a look at Joe who nodded.
    Quint started slowly as if trying to find the best phrasing “You see Sofia, a lot of the background work has already happened. So, we know generally that the car is in Miami and this type of car collector, the ones who are interested in this kind of vehicle, are thin on the ground here. Most collectors in Miami are young, party types who want the latest and greatest.”
    “Chick magnets.” Joe put in derisively. Helena cleared her throat significantly. Joe affected innocence. “Sorry, but it’s true.”
    Sofia acknowledged this distinction and Quint continued. “Direct interviews wouldn’t do much good because whoever has the car is obviously trying very hard to keep it under the radar. Interviews would just tip them off that they’re being investigated.” Quint sat back. Sofia’s mind was working a mile a minute, the complexity of the situation becoming clearer.
    Helena rose; her green silk palazzo’s swishing in rhythm with her step. She walked to the bar and picked up the bottle of wine. She continued the explanation, “That’s the reason we stopped searching records. We don’t want the owner to have time to move the car.”
    Sofia asked, “How would they know if records were being searched?” It’s all public information isn’t it?”
    Sofia gratefully accepted a fresh glass of wine. Helena returned the bottle to the ice and settled on the sofa explaining, “If you were the collector what would you do to hide that kind of item?”
    Clearly the interview has begun , Sofia thought. Casting around her mind she vaguely remembered a