For the next ten minutes, Kit and Billy made the calls. A couple of machines picked up, one woman screamed about being called during the blackout because she had banged into a table trying to locate the phone, and others grunted “Wrong number” and hung up. No one they reached sounded happy-go-lucky.

“So much for that idea,” Regan said when the list had been exhausted. “If we only knew what this guy did for a living. If he wanted to take a comedy class—”

“Those comedy classes are full of people from all walks of life,” Billy said. “And so many of them don’t have the slightest idea how to tell a joke. They know nothing about comic timing.” He leaned forward. “I don’t mean this poor guy doesn’t have talent, but he could have come from anywhere. People don’t realize how hard it is to get up there in front of audiences and make them laugh. Especially on a bad night when the room is full of hostile, angry people.”

“I bet you right now Georgina is laughing at every little witticism Chip Jones utters,” Regan said. “Doing her best to gain his confidence.”

“Fake laughter has always been so obvious to me,” Billy said. “It’s worse than no laughter.”

“But you like what you do, right?” Kit asked him.

“I love it! I’m just trying to help with the investigation. All I’m saying is that this guy could be in any line of work. Some people say they take comedy classes to help their self-esteem. Are they crazy? When no one laughs at your jokes, self-esteem becomes an alien concept!”

“Okay,” Regan interrupted, trying to redirect the conversation. “Kit, your BlackBerry has those information sites, right?”

“Yes.”

“Check and see if there’s a Chip Jones in IMDb. It’s a site that lists people in show business and their credits. If he’s not there, we can rule that out.”

There was no listing for a Chip Jones.

“That settles that,” Regan said as she found a parking space on the street in front of the Gates Hotel. The lobby was a hot, sweaty, candlelit scene of confusion. Overflowing with stranded travelers who couldn’t make it up to their rooms and others who had no way home to the suburbs, it resembled an airport lounge during a snowstorm. People were camped out on the floor. Some were snoozing, others talking, others looked miserable as they quietly fanned themselves.

In the bar, Kit spotted the insurance crowd. They were seated at three tables that had been pushed together in a corner.

Gail waved to Kit. “Come on over,” she called. “I hope you’re not looking for a drink with ice!” She laughed nervously as did a couple of the others who appeared to have already enjoyed several drinks not caring what their temperature was.

At the table, Kit introduced Billy and Regan to her co-workers.

“And,” Gail piped in helpfully, “down at the end are Melanie and Dexter who work with Georgina. It’s so terrible what Georgina does to these guys. Is that sick or what?”