2
"She's gone!" Esteban looked upset.
Jack tried to keep his cool as unease writhed through him.
"What do you mean, gone? When did she go out?"
"She didn't just go out, she left. Men came and packed up all her things, and she left. Her apartment is empty."
"You sure she left on her own? Could she have been kidnapped or something?"
Esteban shook his head. "Oh, no. She left me a nice note and a very generous gift. I will miss her."
"Then where'd she go?"
A shrug. "She did not say. I know she was not jumping her rent because she is paid up until the end of the year."
Had she been frightened off, or was this one of those my-work-here-is-done things?
Jack ground his teeth. He still had so many unanswered questions.
"She was a nice lady," Esteban said.
"Yeah, she was." He clapped him on the arm. "And you were a good friend to her. I know she appreciated it."
Jack left a beaming doorman behind and headed for First Avenue. He needed another taxi to take him to his rental car. He had two more stops to make before he returned it.