The Heir Hunter Read Online Free PDF Page A

do?”
    “Same thing we always do, baby—we build ourselves a family tree. Listen to me—I’ve got a three-thirty flight this afternoon to Chicago with a connecting flight to Albany. I should be out at your place no later than two A.M. ”
    “I’ll be waiting,” said Alex. “Is this a dream, Nick? Twenty-two million and no relatives making a claim?”
    “Well, if there
are
relatives, you and I are going to find ’em, partner. But don’t go out and buy your yacht just yet. Something tells me this ain’t gonna be easy. Who knows who else Koenig talked to? I figure General Inquiry’s a safe bet. He’s probably getting paid off by a bunch of heir-finding companies.”
    “He could make a million off the information alone.”
    “He’s a fool if he didn’t. He has no loyalty to us, that’s for sure. There’s just no way that we could be the only ones who know about this.” He checked his watch. “It’s three-thirty over there. What can you do in the next hour and a half?”
    “A bunch. I’ve got our runners picking up the death certificate and the obituary. A couple of couriers are checking marriage records too. I’m going to the archives as soon as we hang up.”
    “Good girl. We’ll be off to a running start tomorrow morning. I’ll be knocking on your door about two A.M. , okay?”
    “Coffee’ll be waiting.”
    “Make it strong. See you in the morning.”
    They could do it, Nick thought as he hung up. No doubt about it. The tools were in place. The fiche readers, volume after volume of skip-tracing manuals, law books, phone directories, and genealogical texts. The collection of birth and death records data, adoption records, marriage and divorce records. The business was on-line with almost every state-of-the-art database currently in existence for finding people and the dirt on those people. The essential networks were ready, the phone numbers in place to asmall army of private investigators and researchers. The company was equipped to go to war with anybody. Even General Inquiry.
    Nick reentered the bedroom. Rose had his flight bag packed and ready to go.
    “You’re all set, Nick,” she said, zipping the bag closed. “You’ve got three suits and plenty of shirts and ties—”
    “And enough underwear and socks to last through a nuclear winter. You’re a lifesaver, Rose. Hey, I know I said I’d give you the afternoon off, but do you think—”
    “Don’t worry about it,” she replied. “Let’s get to the office and get your things together.”
    Nick nodded and wondered how he had ever gotten along without her. He slung his garment bag over his shoulder and found his keys. He held the door open for her.
    “I can’t wait to see my bonus check after you get this one,” she said with a smile.
    “That’ll be one monster bonus, Mrs. Penn.”
    He locked the door, and they headed for the elevator.
    The McCarthys were a cautious old couple, one of the more wary he had seen that month, but the old man secretly loved the challenge of it. Lawrence Castleton, sixty-four years young, still felt a passion for his business. Founder of Los Angeles-based General Inquiry, he had been in charge of the heir-locating giant since its inception forty years ago. He was a large man, six foot four and close to three hundred pounds, with thinning white hair smoothed back along his head and a large woolly mustache that gave him a grandfatherly appearance. He insisted that all employees address him as Lawrence, and he disliked titles such as
president
, much preferring the term
chief adviser.
He was the living legend of the industry.
    “Mr. Castleton,” said Mr. McCarthy, “it’s not that we don’t appreciate your company contacting us about theinheritance. We’re just looking for some assurance that we won’t be stuck paying any surprise fees.”
    Castleton nodded. A not uncommon concern of prospective clients. “I assure the two of you that you will never incur any expenses whatsoever, and I want