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school the way my parents did me, but I wanted her at home. In retrospect, I see that might’ve been poor judgment on my part, but it didn’t seem so at the time.” He paused and then gestured impatiently toward the floor, as though chiding a dog for leaping up on him. “No matter. It’s too late for regrets. Pointless, anyway. What’s done is done.” He looked at me sharply from under his bony brow. “You probably wonder what I’m driving at.”
    I proffered a slight shrug, waiting to hear what he had to say.
    â€œReba’s being paroled on July twentieth. That’s next Monday morning. I need someone to pick her up and bring her home. She’ll be staying with me until she’s on her feet again.”
    â€œWhat facility?” I asked, hoping I didn’t sound as startled as I felt.
    â€œCalifornia Institution for Women. Are you familiar with the place?”
    â€œIt’s down in Corona, couple of hundred miles south. I’ve never actually been there, but I know where it is.”
    â€œGood. I’m hoping you can take time out of your schedule for the trip.”
    â€œThat sounds easy enough, but why me? I charge five hundred dollars a day. You don’t need a private detective to make a run like that. Doesn’t she have friends?”
    â€œNot anyone I’d ask. Don’t worry about the money. That’s the least of it. My daughter’s difficult. Willful and rebellious. I want you to see to it she keeps the appointment with her parole officer and whatever else is required once she’s been released. I’ll pay you your full rate even if you only work for a part of each day.”
    â€œWhat if she doesn’t like the supervision?”
    â€œIt’s not up to her. I’ve told her I’m hiring someone to assist her and she’s agreed. If she likes you, she’ll be cooperative, at least to a point.”
    â€œMay I ask what she did?”
    â€œGiven the time you’ll be spending in her company, you’re entitled to know. She was convicted of embezzling money from the company she worked for. Alan Beckwith and Associates. He does property management, real estate investment and development, things of that type. Do you know the man?”
    â€œI’ve seen his name in the paper.”
    Nord Lafferty shook his head. “I don’t care for him myself. I’ve known his wife’s family for years. Tracy’s a lovely girl. I can’t understand how she ended up with the likes of him. Alan Beckwith is an upstart. He calls himself an entrepreneur, but I’ve never been entirely clear what he does. Our paths have crossed in public on numerous occasions and I can’t say I’m impressed. Reba seems to think the world of him. I will credit him for this—he spoke up in her behalf before her sentencing. It was a generous gesture on his part and one he didn’t have to make.”
    â€œHow long has she been at CIW?”
    â€œShe’s served twenty-two months of a four-year sentence. She never went to trial. At her arraignment—which I’m sorry to say I missed—she claimed she was indigent, so the court appointed a public defender to handle her case. After consultation with him, she waived her right to a preliminary hearing and entered a plea of guilty.”
    â€œJust like that?”
    â€œI’m afraid so.”
    â€œAnd her attorney agreed to it?”
    â€œHe argued strenuously against it, but Reba wouldn’t listen.”
    â€œHow much money are we talking?”
    â€œThree hundred fifty thousand dollars over a two-year period.”
    â€œHow’d they discover the theft?”
    â€œDuring a routine audit. Reba was one of a handful of employees with access to the accounts. Naturally, suspicion fell on her. She’s been in trouble before, but nothing of this magnitude.”
    I could feel a protest welling but I bit back my response.
    He leaned