She returned alone, carrying the cold cigarette in one hand, a three-by-five glossy in the other.

“This is about four years old, but Katrina hasn’t aged appreciatively.” Touching her own cheek. “Good genes. It was taken at a cousin’s wedding. Katrina served as a bridesmaid. After much complaining about the dress.”

Pretty girl with a heart-shaped face wearing a big-shouldered sateen gown the color of mortified flesh. Ill-fitting cap sleeves rode too high on smooth arms. A high, square bodice kept its promise to flatter no one. Katrina Shonsky’s fair hair was upswept and tasseled by curls that resembled brass sausages. Her lips were shaped into something resembling a smile but the rest of her face radiated disdain.

“So,” said Milo, “you’re pretty confident she’s off on one of her trips but you reported her missing just to be safe.”

“I know she didn’t travel far, because she didn’t take her passport.”

“You’ve been to her apartment?”

“Talked my way past the landlord and went through the entire place. Straightened up, while I was there, Lord knows the dump needed it. Her passport was right in a dresser drawer. If she took clothes, she didn’t take many, Lieutenant. But Katrina’s capable of hopping off with nothing but her purse and a credit card.”

“Do you co-sign for her card?”

“I do not. No more of that, Katrina abused my credit limit. She now has a Visa with a one-thousand-dollar-a-month maximum and is expected to pay her own bills. And I have to say for the most part, she’s done so.” Crossing her fingers.

“No passport, no clothes,” said Milo. “Doesn’t sound like much of a vacation.”

“Some of those places she goes to,” said Monica Hedges, “all you need is a bikini and a wineglass. It’s also possible she used her employee discount for a wardrobe.”

“She works in fashion?”

“She sells clothing at La Femme Boutique in Brentwood. Overpriced tacky, if you ask me. I told her I could probably get her a position at Harari or one of the places on Rodeo through Royal. He was in garment manufacturing. Owned a huge company that did contract work for some pretty big couture names.”

She played with her unlit cigarette, reached for a white onyx lighter. Milo got there first.