"Who wouldn't? She had a pretty bad year when she turned sixteen. Then, of course, someone broke into the school records. Nothing was missing, but we suspected it was Georgia."
"Why did you suspect her?"
"She calmed right down after that."
"So she might know who her parents are?"
"She might, if she is clever enough. We only had an email address as a way to contact someone in case of an emergency."
"That's all? The names of her parents were not in her records?"
"No, the nanny brought her, and that was the last we saw or heard from anyone in person."
"Who paid her tuition?"
"It came by courier every year, in cash. That's another thing. The parents didn't include an allowance for her, so the head mistress raised the tuition, and gave Georgia spending money every week. In all my years, I never saw anything like the way those parents treated Georgia. They need to be set down."
"I agree."
"Do you know who her parents are?"
Carl ignored her question. "Miss Walker, did the girls have computers?"
"Oh yes, they all have laptops and they know how to use them too. I never learned much, not like they did. Two of the girls got to hacking, but the headmistress took their laptops away as soon as it was discovered. Children are a lot more ingenious than we were growing up."
"Indeed they are. Let me see if I have this right. Georgia might have gotten the emergency email address, and a friend might have found out who the email belonged to?"
"It's possible. I don't know for sure, but it's possible. Georgia was a quiet child, even when she was little, and if she found out who her parents were, she wouldn't have told anyone."
"Does Georgia have any distinguishing marks?"
"Just a little mole on her shoulder - her left shoulder, I believe. Our swim teacher was concerned about it. It was black and she feared cancer, but the doctor said not to worry unless it started to grow. Other than that, I don't remember any marks. Little scars from falling down like all children get."
Carl smiled. "I have a few of those myself." He paused finally, to take a sip of lukewarm tea. "Miss Walker, Georgia's identification was found at a fatal car accident."
"Oh my, is she dead?"
"Possibly. Unfortunately, no one has come forward to claim the body, so we can't be sure. I was wondering if you would mind taking a look. She has some injuries that are a little upsetting, but you're the only one we have found who can tell us if this girl is Georgia."