Free How to Start a Fire by Lisa Lutz Page B

Retrieval Inc., an asset-recovery firm based in Boston. Sometimes individuals purchase stocks or bonds and lose track of their investments. It appears that your late brother made a few small investments in some mutual funds in the early nineties. What I do is help distribute that money to the family.”
    “Please, come in.”
    Kate sat in Leanne’s living room for the next two hours drinking stale coffee and waiting for Ms. Olmstead’s tongue to loosen. Kate knew that each relative would claim to be the sole living heir, so she sat back, drank the viscous brew, and listened patiently. That was what had happened with the aunt in Memphis—she didn’t start talking until after she’d poured herself her third hot toddy. Kate had waited her out; people always told you too much if you gave them enough time. Nobody kept secrets anymore. Although Kate was pretty good at it.
    “He was a mean son of a bitch, but every once in a while, you saw his sweet side,” Leanne said as she got to reminiscing about her brother. “When I was ten I outgrew my ice skates and begged and begged for a new pair for Christmas. But Santa decided I needed socks and underwear. I cried for an hour after I unwrapped my gifts and then I was sent to my room without supper. We were broke back then. I should have known better. A few days after Christmas, I found a pair of used figure skates outside my bedroom door. They were wrapped in a brown paper bag with a bow that he probably took out of the neighbor’s trash. One size too big, but I got some wear out of them. Later at school, I heard Jennifer Glass had a pair of skates stolen from the rink just a few days after Christmas. I put two and two together. I even thought about giving them back to her, but a week after that, I saw her at the rink with a shiny new pair. Even nicer than what I had.”
    “Did your brother have many girlfriends?”
    “He went through an awkward stage. Lots of acne, too skinny. No girl would give him the time of day way back when. But when he got older, his skin cleared up, and he filled out a bit. The last time I saw him, he was almost handsome. You could see some girls looking at him.”
    “You remember any of his girlfriends?”
    “I met a few, but I only remember the one that stuck. Audrey.”
    “Who was Audrey?” Kate asked.
    “His wife. His ex-wife.”
    “Where is she now?”
    “I think she died a few years ago.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that.”
    Kate had a check ready in the amount of $4,352.24. She remembered jotting down numbers again and again, searching for that perfect note of randomness.
    “This is for you. We have a complicated process for calculating distributions. But I hope it helps.”
    “Thank you,” Leanne said.
    “Now, where can I find your niece?” Kate said.
     
    Kate phoned Mr. White from the Motel 6 and provided all the information she had on Evelyn Baker, formerly of Sunriver, Oregon. White said he’d get back to her as quickly as he could. Kate paid for another night in the motel. After toggling through the depressing television options, she turned off the TV and returned to a biography of Winston Churchill that she’d purchased from a used-book sale at the library. She’d been looking for transcriptions of his speeches but instead found this biography written by his nephew, who mentioned that Churchill did a mean gorilla imitation.
    In the morning, Mr. White called.
    “Got an address for you. Butte, Montana.”
     
    Kate gave herself three days to reach Butte, Montana. Yellowstone National Park beckoned. She felt like she was cheating on Anna and George by visiting the national park alone; it had been on the list she and Anna had made in college of places they wanted to go. Kate always wondered where she would have gone without Anna whispering adventures in her ear. She had to admit feeling a bit aimless traveling without her. Kate bought a guidebook and followed the outer loop of the park, starting in Gardiner, Montana. It was