Free The Same Mistake Twice by Albert Tucher

with the case.
    When in doubt, she thought, go back to the yearbook.
    There must be some kind of rule about that.
    She opened it and found that James had a tiny underclass picture. She studied it, but it refused to summon a single memory. He looked vaguely familiar. That was probably his epitaph.
    She made herself think. James Zakrewsky seemed to have had no local ties at all, and yet he had attended Driscoll High School for a while. He must have lived in town, or been able to make it look as if he did. Diana knew every inch of Driscoll. The town didn’t offer many ways to come up with a spurious address.
    But one possibility did occur to her. The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
    She went back to her car and drove to the Regina Motel. The clerk, a gaunt middle-aged man named Sven, sat behind the desk. He didn’t seem to have moved an inch since the last time she had seen him weeks earlier, and she had never seen anyone else in the chair.
    “Hey, Di,” he said in his low-key way.
    Early in her career she had used the Regina often, before she learned to keep some distance between her business and personal lives. The motel was just blocks away from her home. These days she went there mostly for a few veteran clients. She suspected that some of them knew more about her than they let on, but as long as they respected boundaries, she would pretend that her professional identity was intact.
    She opened the yearbook to the page she had marked and turned it toward him.
    “This one of your flock?”
    Diana kept her tone free of mockery. She had no use for religion, but she didn’t mind Sven’s beliefs. He lived them.
    “James,” said Sven. “I wondered what happened to him.”
    “Did he live here?”
    “Sometimes, when he had the money. I would have let him crash, but the boss wouldn’t go for it.”
    “But you let him use this address for mail and stuff, right?”
    “Sure. He needed to go to school, didn’t he?”
    “No argument there, Sven.”
    “I was disappointed when he didn’t finish.”
    “I think somebody didn’t give him the choice.”
    Sven looked sharply at her.
    “What happened?”
    “I’m not sure yet, but I’ll let you know. That’s a promise.”
    “You found his girlfriend yet?”
    “News to me. What was her name?”
    “Patty something. From what he said, she worked at the mall, I think maybe in the multiplex.”
    “You didn’t meet her?”
    “James never brought her into the office.” Sven grinned. “It might hurt my feelings that they were cohabitating.”
    “Nice kids.”
    “I’d say so.”
    “Was she a dropout?”
    “Not necessarily. She was a few years older than James.”
    Another lead at the mall. No wonder downtowns were in trouble. It meant another trip through the endless traffic.
    She walked past the familiar stores to the multiplex. It was almost time for the late afternoon matinees. She asked the ticket clerk for the manager. The young woman didn’t appreciate being summoned away from her private thoughts.
    “He’s busy.”
    “It’s important.”
    The clerk didn’t look impressed, but she picked up the phone and pressed an in-house button. She spoke briefly and hung up.
    “He’s busy.”
    “Try again, please.”
    Diana tried to look as if she wouldn’t go away. It must have worked, because the girl picked the phone up again.
    The manager appeared. He was forty, a little soft, with a well-tended mustache that didn’t help. He reminded Diana of clients who saved their twenties to see her every couple of months. They were always gentle and considerate, and she wished she could like them better.
    He saw her and froze with his mouth hanging open. She wondered what his problem could be. Maybe he just hated confrontations and was fighting an urge to flee.
    After a long moment he recovered.
    “How can I help you?”
    “That depends.”
    “On what?”
    “Were you working here ten years ago…?”
    “Todd. Todd McNally.”
    Diana knew she had