“Right. She was wearing fancy perfume, and her clothes were expensive. Quality. I thought she might be his wife.”

“Did he seem happy to see her?”

“No, he was mad she was there. He told her he had nothing to say to her. She said she had plenty to say to him.”

“Had you seen her before?”

“Once. She came to the hotel earlier in the summer. He’d had another bad game, and I heard her yelling at him. And then I heard them having sex.”

“How did you hear that?”

“I was in the room next door with another guy. The walls are really thin. I could hear them.”

“Can you tell me what she was saying to him?”

“It was a long time ago, but I remember because she was so mean to him. She said she pays him to win, and she can’t afford to lose. That everything was riding on this season.”

“Could you hear what he said?”

“Not clearly. His voice was a low rumble. She was screaming though.”

Sam got up and went to the murder board to remove the photo of Willie in his uniform. “Have you seen this man before?”

Ginger studied the photo.

“I have,” Amber said softly. “He was a regular of mine.”

Sam had to fight to keep her expression neutral. “When was the last time you saw him?” she asked.

“The other night after the game.”

“How long were you with him?”

“A couple of hours, but then he said he had to go home. He never spent the night.”

“Did he say anything about what had happened at the game?”

Amber shook her head. “He wasn’t there to talk.”

Sam expelled a deep breath as she pushed yellow pads across the table to them. “Will you please write down anything you can tell me about either man? How often they visited the motel, what they might’ve said or done, what kind of sex they liked to have. No detail is too small.”

Amber glanced at Ginger, who nodded and handed her friend a pen.

“While you’re working on that, I’d like to contact your families. Is there anything you can tell us that would help us to find them?”

“I was abducted from a mall in Columbia, Maryland three years ago,” Ginger said bluntly. “My parents are Justin and Deanna Moreland.” She recited the phone number in a clear, calm voice.

“That’s how I know you,” Sam said, putting the pieces together. “Your parents have never stopped looking for you. They recently distributed a photo of what you might look like today, and it was spot-on.”

“They’re looking for me?” Ginger whispered, her chin quivering.

“They’ve never stopped. Your abduction was big news.”

Tears rolled down her face. She swept them away, almost as if she was annoyed with herself for the emotional reaction.

“Do you remember your family, Amber?”