“Yes, ma’am. She’s looking for leniency in the shoplifting crimes.”

“Is there anything else you can tell us about Georgina?” Regan asked. “Melanie, did you know her very well?”

Melanie clasped her hands. “Not really. She hadn’t been working with us very long.”

“Did she ever talk about her family?”

Deep in thought, Melanie curled her lip. “Just once. I was in the break room at the office putting a cake I’d made for my grandma’s birthday in the refrigerator. I was going to her house straight after work. Georgina came in for a cup of coffee and asked me about the cake. When I told her what it was, she looked kind of sad. Usually she had a tough expression, if you know what I mean. She said her grandmother was the only one she was close to in her family, but she’d died when Georgina was twelve. Georgina’s father had died when she was a baby, and her mother was always chasing around after different guys.”

Regan nodded. “Did she say anything about brothers and sisters?”

“She said she was an only child.”

“Do you know how old Georgina is?”

“Twenty-seven,” Dexter answered.

“What was your impression of her?” Regan asked him.

He shrugged. “I have to say I’m shocked. I would never have suspected this of her.”

“Okay. Can I get the number of that detective in Atlanta?”

“Sure.” He reached in his pocket, pulled out a slip of paper, and handed it to Regan.

“Thanks. If there’s anything else that either of you think of that might be helpful, please call me.” Regan gave them her number. “One more thing,” she said. “Kit knows what Georgina looks like. But Billy and I don’t. By any chance do you have a picture of her?”

“Yes!” Melanie cried. “I took one with my cell phone during the cocktail party earlier.” She slid her shoulder bag off her arm and scrambled to get out her phone. Flipping it open, she quickly pulled up the photos she’d taken only hours before. “Here she is!”

Billy and Regan peered at the picture. The offbeat yet attractive Georgina was standing next to Dexter with a big smile on her face.

“Here’s another!” Melanie cried.

It was a closeup of Georgina. There’s definitely something weird going on behind those eyes, Regan thought. “Melanie, thank you. That’s a big help.”

“Can I come with you to look for her?” Melanie asked imploringly.

“I’m afraid not,” Dexter said quickly. “Your safety is my responsibility. The boss wouldn’t be too happy if something happened to you.”

“I’ll tell you what you can do,” Regan said to Melanie. “I’m going to see if hotel security will let me take a quick look at her room. You can come with me and see if anything up there triggers your memory. Then if you would be willing to sit in the lobby of this hotel and let me know if Georgina comes back, that would be great.”

Melanie looked askance. “But then it would be too late! She wouldn’t bring the guy back here. Especially if she dumped all the others on the side of the road. She’d get caught.”