“Speaking of that, your victim’s father, Carol Durand’s ex-husband, is Sebastien Durand. Divorced more than fifteen years ago. French citizen. Lives over there. I got the idea he’s way out of the picture. But I have contact information I can put in the report. Couple had no other children.”

“Did Ms. Durand know where her daughter was Monday night?”

“Let’s see. I asked all the questions you requested.” More pages being turned. “She said she did not know where her daughter was Monday evening. Last time she spoke with the girl was two weeks ago. Everything sounded okay then. Job, money.”

“No mention of a boyfriend, anyone she was seeing?”

“Asked that question, too. The mother didn’t know.”

“Didn’t know if she had a boyfriend, or didn’t know who he was?”

“The second. When I asked if she had a boyfriend, she said, ‘I’m sure she does. She’s very pretty.’”

“Very pretty?”

“Yeah. When I asked if she knew the boyfriend’s name, she said, ‘No. I guess I should. She’s dated several boys.’ I got the impression her daughter didn’t share much in that way. It’s that way with a lot of kids. My own daughter won’t tell me a thing.”

“We’re just hoping for a place to start.”

“Ms. Durand said a few other things. Said she thought her daughter was well liked at the company where she worked. Apparently, your victim was an artist.”

Mahler waited to see if Warringer would say more. Then he asked, “Did it sound like the mother’s coming out here?”

“We talked about it. My impression is she’ll try to take a flight tonight. Probably a red-eye from Philly. Be out to you tomorrow morning.”

“That’s good. We’d like to have a longer talk with her.”

“By the time you see her, she’ll have had a little time to get used to it. Be readier to talk. I don’t know about you, but I find they do better the next day.”

“Yeah. Shock’s worn off a bit.”

“One other thing, if you’ve got a minute—”

“What is it?”

“Ms. Durand said this thing that raised a red flag. When she told me about her last call with her daughter, she said, ‘As far I could tell, Elise wasn’t in any trouble.’ When I asked her what she meant, she said her daughter suffered from bipolar disorder. In the past, Elise didn’t always use good judgment, went out with the wrong kinds of men, took drugs.”

“But the mother thought that wasn’t happening now?”

“In the phone call, her daughter sounded as if everything was going well. But now, with this…homicide, the mother wonders if she was wrong.”

“Okay, thanks. You can never tell in the beginning what’s important.”

For a moment the line was silent.