“And really, other than my meeting Erin because of Selma, she had nothing to do with the divorce. Nothing.” He nodded, as if agreeing with himself. “The truth of the matter was that Selma couldn’t get over the loss of her twin, Sandra. That was the nail in the coffin of our marriage, though she wouldn’t believe it. I don’t mean to sound harsh, because it was a horrible ordeal that she went through, to lose someone that close to you. But it affected everything she did, all aspects of her life, of our life as a family. It was too much.” He stood, stuffed his hands deep into the pockets of his slacks, and bit his lower lip. “Since no amount of private counseling sessions seemed to have helped, I was hoping that twinless twin support group might be the ticket. I’m glad she joined. But about the girls, what can I do?”

“We just want to double-check some things with you, ask about their acquaintances, anyone you might know who might have been with them that night after they peeled off from the group of friends.”

“I wish I could. But . . . I didn’t talk to them that day, hoped to celebrate their birthday after the fact, when they could come out here. I thought I’d take them to dinner and buy them a drink sometime after the initial celebration died down.” He shrugged. “They’re kids. They want to be with people their age.”

Bentz and Montoya asked about Zoe and Chloe’s friends and, it seemed, Carson’s impression was nearly identical to his ex-wife’s. Neither one had cared for the most recent boyfriends, Zach Armstrong or Tommy Jones. “Oh, they were fine, I guess,” Carson said. “Just not going anywhere as far as I could see. What the girls found so fascinating about them was lost on me.”

Within forty minutes, they’d learned everything they could. As Bentz stepped out on the front porch, Carson stopped him, asking, “Are you doing everything you can to find my daughters?”

A good question. What was everything? The Missing Persons Departments of both New Orleans and Baton Rouge were working together, and the press had been informed that the girls had gone missing. The FBI had been called in, and half a dozen cops from each city were canvassing the area, talking to acquaintances, checking on leads, including the security video taken near Bourbon Street. Bentz and Montoya, homicide cops, were working the case as well, mainly because of Bentz’s experience on the original investigation of the 21 Killer. There was still no proof that 21 was behind this, especially since most believed that they’d locked up the killer when Donovan Caldwell was sentenced, but there was also no denying the crime pattern.

“We’re doing the best we can,” Bentz assured Carson, then asked him to call if he thought of anything that would help.