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“There’s one thing though.” He looked at me and smiled. “You really don’t remember me, do you?”

“Excuse me?”

Jared slapped his knee and chortled. “Man, I was thinking all this time that you didn’t want to mix personal stuff and business, but I can see now that you have no idea who I am.”

This was starting to feel a bit too strange for my taste. I’m not used to people I don’t really know well talking to me in such an informal way. Beggars can’t be choosers though. I’d have to play along for the moment.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand. I know who you are.” I tried to sound as professional as I could. I even smiled through my teeth. “Have we met before?”

“Yeah, we have.” He stopped laughing. “All right. We know each other from way back.” He looked at me and added: “And when I say, ‘way back,’ I mean all the way to when we were kids. Well, me at least.”

That wasn’t helpful at all, and I ventured another guess. “Did we go to the same school? I think I would’ve remembered you.”

“No, we didn’t.”

Jared stood up and went to his desk. He picked up a photograph in an expensive-looking silver frame and brought it over.

“This is my mother,” he said.

I held the photograph. The woman looked vaguely familiar. She could have been anybody, but I felt that Jared expected me to recognize her.

“I see.”

“She used to work in Maple Grove House,” Jared said, waiting for some sort of a-ha reaction from me. “Susan Shannon?”

“Oh, the cook?” I asked and looked at the photo again. “Of course, Susan. I remember her.”

I remembered the name but had totally forgotten what she looked like.

“So, you must be …” I tried to guess because I couldn’t remember how many children she had.

“Little J,” Jared finished.

“Of course, Little J,” I said looking at him and slowly recognizing the little rascal I used to see around our house when I was a teenager. Susan had one son. It was coming back to me now. Little J and my little brother used to play in our garden. They were kind of friends, I think.

How could I miss this in my so-called research? His last name was still Shannon, for God’s sakes. Why did none of my acquaintances mention that to me?