ree264 wrote:so unless we have no phone number, no dice
Well, allow me to explain. With the information we have here, we can use the old work phone and the Boston phone directory to locate her workplace. Then, we can use Google maps or something to locate all dry cleaners in the vicinity and add them as suspect locations. If we have her home phone, we can similarly locate her house and then check locations around that, and more importantly, locations between the two. With that, we have a list of possible cleaners.
Now, as to the pickup method, we would need someone in Boston, and we have maybe one person. They would need to begin systematically checking dry cleaner locations for Joan Lawson's dry cleaning, and if they get a wrong location, they could seem very suspicious. Once they find the location, however, they would need to say that they were there to pick up her clothes for her. If she is an irregular customer, and they have low security, you can probably get away with that. Any other situation, and you might be screwed. Picking up someone else's clothes without their permission IS stealing, and therefore illegal.
Finally, it's all moot since the only possible info we could get would be something she left in her clothes when she dropped them off. It would need to be noticed by the person who invoiced the clothes originally, and then deemed by them important-looking enough to keep in storage till the customer came back. It MIGHT be what we are supposed to do, but it seems like a pretty big long-shot to me. It is also far more dangerous if we mess up, since we will have someone there in person and stealing is a much easier thing to get caught doing.