“Gavin and Warren went yesterday evening with crime scene technicians and searched the address that was listed for Lorelei Sebastian. No teeth were found there so there’s a good chance she’s still alive. The problem is, no one was even sure she was ever at that address. The landlord basically had no records of any use and couldn’t tell who’d lived there in the last several years.”

“What about the neighbors?” Gwen’s eyes were wide. “Someone must have known something about this woman.”

“It’s not the type of neighborhood where people know each other. Most of the houses are rental properties and the tenants turn over pretty quickly. If she was hiding out there, like Francine and Jeanne seemed to do in the Eastville Projects, she got what she wanted because she certainly wasn’t noticed.”

“You would think they’d remember someone named Lorelei. It’s a pretty uncommon name.”

“She might not have used her real name.” Val sighed. “This woman might as well have been a ghost.”

“Bottom line is, there’s no trace of Lorelei Sebastian.”

“At least this gives Gavin probable cause to start an investigation on her,” Val said. “Plus, there’s a little more to it. There was a life insurance policy found with Jeanne Coleman’s documents hidden in Francine’s ceiling. The beneficiary was Lorelei. So far, no one has tried to claim the money.”

Gwen stood up from the stool and paced a few feet in one direction and then turned and went in the other. In the tiny room she had nowhere to go, and simply leaned against the counter and sighed. “And Jeanne Coleman herself? What do those papers say about her?”

“She’s why the trail is still hot. A lot of her personal information was found, but much of it was out of date. An expired driver’s license, several bank statements for accounts that were closed about a year ago, but a recent application for a passport was there.”

Gwen’s eyes opened wide. “Why in the hell would a recluse have an application for a passport?”

“That’s exactly the point.” Val stopped short here. She didn’t want to tell Gwen about Gavin’s reaction. He had hit the roof when Val told him that she and Gwen were involved with the investigation at Francine’s apartment. She had cringed as he lectured her on acceptable and unacceptable professional behavior. He didn’t hold back on his opinion, letting her know how dangerous her involvement was with Jack and Thomas. “They’re going to get you fired,” he insisted.

“Did they check behind the section of drywall in the linen closet?” Gwen asked.

“Yes, nothing was there. They think that was the original hiding place and the documents were eventually moved to the ceiling in the bedroom closet. That’s why that section of wall was replaced twice.”