She reached over and patted the woman on the shoulder. “What kind of person does that?” she said, feeling genuinely furious at a man she’d never met.

Maria looked up and gave her a stern look, bringing her crying under control. “I don’t know what has happened, but I know this: my Jaime is a good man. Or at least he was a good man. He was probably taken in by some harlot.” She composed herself, straightening her shoulders, a proud expression coming over her face before it crumpled again and more tears came.

Quinn felt helpless. And torn. On one hand, she was really upset that the Realtor had not done his due diligence and made sure the property was empty. He told her he had done a walk-through and everything was fine! But she was human, too, and it sounded to her as though this woman—Maria of the many tears—was in a worse predicament than she was. Maria had nowhere to go, an absent husband, a mouthy teenager, and a young daughter to care for. At least Quinn could hop on a plane and go back to her organized and semisuccessful life. She had options.

But Maria . . . well, Quinn had yet to hear any options from her. And it sounded like another round of tears might be on the way. “Don’t cry. We’ll figure this out,” Quinn said, thinking quite the opposite as she visualized money being thrown out of a car window. “Have you filed a missing person report?”

Maria used the end of the dish towel to blot her tears. She pushed her hair out of her eyes, forcing the curls together and then wrapping it all into a twist behind her head and tucking the end inside itself. It made her look even older.

“I tried. But they said since he took clothing and toiletries, it appears he left on his own free will, and adults have the right to do that. I just can’t believe this is happening to us,” she said. “This is the only home my children have ever known, and now we have to leave? And my father. He’s too old for this.”

Quinn’s heart sank. “Your father? He lives here with you?”

Maria nodded. “Of course. Well, I mean, he’s not here right now. He’s at the beach. But he lives here, and my mother did, too, until she passed.”

The surprise must’ve shown on Quinn’s face, because Maria looked indignant.

“Here in Hawaii, we don’t send our elders away. Most families have multiple generations living in the same house. This won’t just affect me. I have a lot of people depending on me. It’s not going to be easy to just up and leave.”

Quinn sighed. That part she couldn’t help with. But she could be charitable. “How much time do you think you need?”