The CIA officer presents a more perilous situation. We don’t know what he’s working on, and we would never ask. But if his identity is compromised, then the list of potential reasons for tracking his family expands. Of course, security isn’t cheap. Increasing his security level means additional salaries.

Trevor remains silent, watching me.

“Karsyn is on the ground. What does he say? Does he want additional resources?”

“Says he’s good for now.” Trevor’s lips twist. I know that look. He disagrees.

“What?” I prompt.

“Karsyn doesn’t think our client can afford to increase security.”

I shove my laptop into my bag. Frustrated. Our client isn’t our only concern. If we were better funded, we could throw money at a case like this and not worry about profitability.

“What do you want to do?” I ask again.

“He checks back in two days. Let’s see how things are going. If he’s truly compromised, the CIA may pull him and his family out before we could get additional staff out there.”

Two days will give me time to review the financials for that project. Arrow is doing well. Our original funding came from our Napa-based partner. We’ve been profitable since opening our doors, which is virtually unheard of. But it’s conceivable that we are at one of those growth junctures where additional investment would be advisable.

“How’d your meeting go this morning?”

I let Trevor know I had business in San Diego this afternoon, but I didn’t share details.

“Sullivan’s daughter wasn’t home when he got home last night.”

“He can’t locate her?”

“Police think she ran away and will show up. But he’s a wealthy guy.” That’s all I need to say to Trevor.

“He hired Arrow?” The unstated question in his skepticism is why.

“If she’s a runaway, he wants discretion. And he wants to find her as quickly as possible.”

I pull my backpack over my shoulder and head to the door. Trevor follows, talking to my back.

“If she’s a runaway, is this the case for us?”

Trevor’s insightful question weighs like a stone.

Trevor and I both came from less-than-ideal home lives. I headed straight to the Naval Academy. He signed up for the Navy on the day he turned seventeen. We both understand wanting to get out of a bad situation. We are under no delusion that home is the best place for all teenagers.

His question underlines the questions that have been running through my mind since Jack Sullivan left our offices. Was Jack dating someone Sophia didn’t like? Did he bring women home regularly? Was he a crap dad? Abusive? What, exactly, would she be running away from? Or was she running to something, something like perceived freedom, maybe drugs, alcohol, or a lover?

Trevor doesn’t want us expending resources if Arrow isn’t the best solution. Typically, we protect people. Our fledgling security company has never taken on a case like this. But we know how to locate people. We have a successful track record locating adults with much more skill than a teen.