Flashback (Kendra Michaels #11)

“What do you mean?”

“I happen to remember that the house was occupied by only one renter for that entire year.”

“You remember that off the top of your head?” Lynch asked.

“Only because it was so unusual.” June leaned back in her desk chair and sipped from a tumbler of iced tea. “The house was rented by a corporation. Sometimes companies will rent places when they know their employees will be in town for extended periods of time. It’s less expensive than a hotel. But this corporation paid their rent a year in advance, plus another fifty-five-hundred-dollar security deposit, all in cash.”

“Cash?” Kendra asked.

“Yes. And a couple of months before the end of the rental period, they dropped off the keys at our office in the after-hours box. The house was spotless. It was as if no one had ever been there. I tried to contact the corporation to return their deposit, but there was no valid address or working phone number. We tried every search we could think of, but the corporation just didn’t exist anymore.”

“What was the corporation’s name?” Lynch asked.

“That’s one thing I don’t have at the top of my mind.” June leaned forward and typed on her desktop keyboard. “We normally protect the confidentiality of our clients, but since this one doesn’t exist anymore…” She squinted at the screen. “It was called the Dayton Group.”

“Never heard of it,” Kendra said.

“Nobody has, before or since.”

“Do you happen to remember anything about the person who signed the rental agreement?” Kendra asked.

“No, sorry. That was handled by someone who hasn’t worked here for years. But I believe it was a gentleman.” June looked between the two of them. “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you so interested in this place?”

“Two women took an interest in that house last month,” Kendra said. “We don’t know why. The women have gone missing.”

June’s eyes widened.

“We don’t know if it has anything to do with that house,” Kendra quickly added. “Just covering all the bases.”

“Interesting. Well, we don’t own it anymore. Our company sold off most of its properties around ten years ago, when the housing market spiked. We concentrate more on property management these days.” She stood. “Speaking of which, I have to go look at a place right now.”

They thanked her for her time and left. On the sidewalk outside, Kendra walked in silence for a moment while she processed what they’d just been told.

“Just plain weird,” she finally said.

“The vanishing corporation, you mean?”

“Yes.”

“There could be any number of reasons why it was done. Both crooked and legitimate. After all, a corporation could be a conglomerate or a single person. Any industry you can imagine. An energy company, a drug dealer, a classical violinist, or someone who sells watercolors along the Embarcadero.”

“You’re really reaching now, Lynch,” Kendra said.

“Maybe not. You’ve just got to harness your imagination and then give it free rein.”

“Suppose you do that, Lynch,” Kendra suggested and added slyly, “Or is it too much of a challenge for you?”

“Not at all.” He met her gaze. “You really want to find this guy?”

“Of course I do. He’s a strong lead.”

“Possibly. Or he might be another victim. We’ll have to take a look and see.” He grinned. “But I’ll do my best to track him down for you.”

“And then prove how clever you were to do it?”

“I’d hate to deprive you of a challenge.”

“I could survive it.”