They were staying here before they disappeared.”

Licking his lips before he answered, Giorgio talked in a slightly hushed tone. “They were here. Four of them. Three women and one man. I spoke to them a few times, nice guys, not too loud.”

“Did you see anyone suspicious with the kids before they disappeared?”

“No, señor, no one like that. They were just kids on vacation.” He looked at Clay apologetically. “They rented a vehicle to visit one of the Mayan sites. My friend Miguel spoke to them a lot more than I did. He works at the poolside bar.” Giorgio paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Why do you ask? Do you know them?”

Clay answered. “One of the girls, Celine, is a close friend. More like family, really.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I don’t know which one she was.”

“She was the darkest one. Her parents are Mexican. The other two girls are fairer. One blonde and one brunette.”

“Sí, sí, I remember her now.” Giorgio held up his pinky finger. “Very small and slim.”

“Yeah, that’s her. I always joke that a Texas wind is going to blow her clean off her feet one day.” Clay’s face hardened as he turned his gaze fully upon the valet. “We’re here to find them and take them home. Anything you can find out to help us would be very much appreciated.”

Giorgio reached inside his uniform jacket and retrieved his cell phone. “I’ll call Miguel. He may know something that could help you.”

“Did the police speak to him already?”

“I don’t think so. They only spoke to the hotel manager and Carolina from personnel.” Giorgio wrinkled his nose in obvious disapproval. “Like they would know anything. The manager has his nose so far in the air he only ever sees the ceiling, and Carolina doesn’t know half our names, so what could she know about a couple of guests?”

“The cops didn’t dig any deeper?” asked Danny.

Giorgio’s negative answer confirmed what they had guessed already. The police officers who had attended the hotel had paid lip service at best.

“It’s ringing,” said Giorgio, tapping the phone with his index finger. “Hola, Miguel…”

The call was in rapid-fire Spanish and ended quickly. As he slipped his phone back into his pocket, Giorgio told them, “He only knew what they had told him the day before.”

“Which was?” asked Clay.

“The group rented a car so they could visit some Mayan sites off the beaten track.”

“Did they say which ones they were going to?”

“He said they mentioned a site somewhere just north of Chacchoben. That’s a long drive south from here. They could have got lost out there.