Where's Melli?

At last, due to great demand (okay, okay one guy named Steve in Cardiff) I present the mystery of the dueling covers. On your left, I present the US cover art to The Baker's Boy, and on your right, I present the UK version of the same book. Now those of you with keen eyesight and acute powers of observation, may be able to discern that something is missing from one of them. What's that you say? The pimple above Jack's left eyebrow. Wrong. MELLI IS GONE!! To the best of my knowledge this strange and inexplicable abduction occurred somewhere over the mid-Atlantic. Was her plane hijacked by terrorist? Did she mysteriously change her identity at some point during the in-flight movie? Was she abducted by aliens? Or did she in fact never catch that ill-fated flight? Is she currently somewhere in a suburban Chicago hospital recovering from a sex change operation? We NEED to know. Where has Melli gone?

Melli's last confirmed sighting was at a book-packing plant in Queens NY. She was wearing a blue, low-cut dress, and her mood was said to be "playful." One observer noted that, "After a long run of bad luck, Melli was finally getting back on her feet again. She was looking forward to her trip to England...she'd even taken to riding her horse on the wrong side of the street." Another source who does not want to be named said, "Yeah, the Mellster looked happy enough, but I got the feeling that deep down she was nervous. Jittery. Kept looking-over her shoulder." Earlier that same morning, we have unconfirmed accounts of a dark-stranger waiting outside the plant's west gate. Not much is known about the man at this point except that he was seen scrubbing his hands vigorously with a Kentucky Fried Chicken wet-wipe.

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Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to find Melli. Where is she? Did she get on that plane? Did she have a change of heart or hair color? Who is that dark stranger? Did he order extra crispy or original? If you believe you have the answers to these questions file your report with your nearest operative. Remember: the truth is out there.

ATTENTION: For late breaking case information, please access File MX1245AC-1

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