Three months passed. No luck in finding the purse. Dave was getting worried. He'd never been this far behind. The client was unhappy. He had no leads. They were looking in the dark. He didn't even think there was a chance anymore. All the previous leads had gone cold and stale long ago. Dave and his team were just flailing, trying to show that they were working. But they weren't getting anywhere.
it'd been a decade since he'd felt this way. Every other target he had found with ease. His referrals were immaculate. This job would tarnish his
reputation
. He would probably have to do jobs for lesser clients for awhile. Until he built his reputation back up.
Why the fuck were they looking for a purse? Fuck if he knew. His clients didn't always make sense. They paid him to find people, and objects, and he did that. He didn't question why.
Dave was drinking a coffee. He had quit the black sludge when he turned 41. He got back on it two months into the job. now he drank it all day and all night. Right now it was evening. Probably the seventh or eighth cup if he were to guess. The
sun
came through the west window. The east wall was cast with dancing shadows of tree branches.
He should be enjoying this Dave thought. Instead he was ruminating. Grinding his jaw. Couldn't think about anything else. The purse. The purse. The purse.
it would be a long night. He would not go home to his wife. He'd spend the night reviewing the initial documents. They had gone down so many rabbit holes that he had to now take a step back. Go to the beginning.
"Boss. Shouldn't you just do that tomorrow then? If you want to start fresh I mean."
"Mm."
"I get it if you found a new lead. And you want to chase it down all night. But this sounds like. You need a reset."
"I guess it is a reset."
Dave looked at the sun filtering through the leaves on the branches against the wooden wall. He felt his jaw clench just a little less.