When I called Amy and told her about the letter the next morning, she hurried to meet me at Victor‘s apartment.The emotions that showed on her face as she read the letter were raw. The letter made her biological mother more real. I saw love and admiration on Amy’s face, but I also saw loss and grief.It wasn’t fair that my friend would never get to know Deirdre. But we could get justice for her death and remember her as being a loving and wonderful person.“I can’t believe she wrote this,” Amy gave me a watery smile. “Her handwriting was so elegant.”“It’s a lot like yours.” I poured more tea into our cups. “You won awards at school for perfect penmanship.”“Hers is better,” Amy insisted before popping a chunk of peanut butter cookie into her mouth. “Do you think I could keep the letter?”“I’ll ask Amelia.” I sat down next to Amy on a stool in Victor’s kitchen. “She didn’t say she wanted it back. Are you up for a road trip today?”Amy selected another cookie. “Yeah. I want to meet an
We sat on the diner’s cement stairs while the police looked for Amy’s car. I called Jayden, and he was on his way to talk to the police and take us home.I texted Victor to let him know what happened. After I assured him I was alright, he said he would see me tonight. I couldn’t wait to get this day behind me. I felt terrible about Amy’s car.Amy sat next to me with her face resting on her fists. The loss of her car had hit her hard. She loved the Mercedes and was proud of her first car.“I’m never going to see my car again, am I?” she moaned. “My stuff was in it too, like that letter from Deirdre. Now it’s gone.”“If you don’t want to investigate Deirdre’s disappearance anymore, I can do it with Jayden and let you know what I find.”“I’ll help as much as I can,” Amy insisted. “I need to know what happened to Deirdre. But I can’t believe somebody stole my car.”I thought it was an odd coincidence, too. I remembered the feeling of being watched when we were leaving Carrie and Doug’s ho
“Amy, quick, try the emergency brake,” I suggested, trying to stay calm.Amy pulled on the emergency brake, and the car slowed. She pulled harder, and it stopped after we rolled onto the grass alongside the road.After she put the car in park, we hurried to unbuckle our seatbelts and get out of the car.Then we stood a few feet away, staring at the Mercedes, unable to believe what happened.“It’s a brand new car!” Amy declared. “How do the brakes fail on a new car?”“I don’t know,” I said. “Let’s walk to the mansion for help.” I knew nothing about car mechanics. But I knew someone who works for Alex who knew everything about cars.“Do you think somebody did something to my car after they took it from the diner parking lot?” Amy asked as we walked up the driveway.I shrugged. “It’s possible. Let’s find Joe. I’ll ask him to retrieve your car and check it out.”Besides being Alex’s chauffeur, Joe is an excellent mechanic and keeps all our vehicles in top shape.We found Joe in the multi
Jayden and I rushed to Gray’s restaurant in his car. As he parked behind the restaurant, we heard Amy sob through the open kitchen door.“Stay back and let me go in first,” Jayden ordered. I knew it was for the best, so I obeyed.But soon after going inside, Jayden motioned for me to follow. I stepped through the doorway and couldn’t believe what I saw.Mr. Gray’s kitchen had been trashed. The floor was covered with broken plates and glasses mixed with silverware, canned goods, and smashed vegetables.The microwave had been knocked to the floor, the door hanging crookedly, and the prep table was lying on its side.Where was Amy?I spotted her crouched near the dishwasher and went to her. “Amy, what happened?”“There were two of them, Daisy,” she sobbed. “Two red wolves were here, and they tried to hurt me. But Dad stepped in and tried to fight them off.”She sobbed hysterically again. “Dad is hurt. Help him.”I didn’t see any blood or wounds on Amy, so I stood and looked for Mr. Gray.
The scent of the red wolves was undeniably coming from Victor’s apartment. But were they still in there? We held our breath and listened.My eyes widened at the distinct sound of footsteps approaching the front door.Instinctively, I backed up a few steps and flattened against the wall. I motioned for Victor to do the same.He shook his head. Someone had broken into his private space. He was angry and wouldn’t hide from them.I listen to the footsteps, getting closer to where Victor stood. He did too. He flung the door open, hitting an intruder with the hard oak door.“Ouch, son of a …” Jayden said. “Victor, it’s you. You hit me on the head with the door.”“Sorry, I thought you were an intruder,” Victor explained. “My door was open, and I could smell the same wolves that were at Gray’s restaurant.”“I know. That’s why I’m in your apartment,” Jayden said. “I arrived a few minutes ago. I smelled the strange wolves, and the door was open. So I was checking it out.”“Are they still here?
Nothing was showing on the security cameras. ‘Error!’ flashed across the screens when he tried to access recorded footage.Victor ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “Somebody overrode the system. We can’t trust it until I get somebody here to check it out.”“That sounds like the tech-savvy car thieves who took Amy’s Mercedes.” I walked over and put my arms around him. “Was somebody in the garage?”“I’d bet on it,” he replied. “We shouldn’t drive our cars until they are checked out.”“I apologize for bringing this problem into your life,” I said. “And I’m sorry for what happened at Gray’s restaurant last night. I’m afraid the only way to fix it is to help get the intruders locked up.”Victor put his arms around me and kissed my temples. “I should have helped you from the beginning of your investigation. I never thought you would get close enough to the murderer to set them off like this.”I nuzzled his throat. “That sounds like a compliment.”He laughed. “It was, but now you m
“Why did you run into my car on purpose, Clarissa?” I roared.The front of Clarissa’s car was crumpled. She reeked of booze and was frantically trying to get out of the vehicle. When she couldn’t, she swore and tried to start her car to run off.The car came to life, but Moose yanked her car door open and pulled her out of the vehicle before she could flee the scene. He and Bert gave her to the police officers who just arrived at the scene.“She’s drunk and deliberately rammed us,” Benson told the police.Moose showed the police his ID. “And this is Daisy Wilson, Alex Wilson’s daughter.”“Why did this woman ram your car?” One of the policemen asked.Clarissa's speech was slurred. “The nosy witch was probably following me. She’s been bringing up an old scandal and starting problems for me. She got what she deserved. Now, let me go!”“The only place you're going is for a blood test,” the officer told Clarissa. “How much have you had to drink this morning?”“Nothing!” Clarissa lied and t
We arrived at the hospital at the end of visiting hours, but Victor told Amy and Justin to stay while he and Jayden spoke with hospital staff in the hall outside of Mr. Gray’s room. Mr. Gray and Justin eyed Moose and Bert with curiosity while Amy giggled.My security team was in professional guard mode. They stood, ready to defend us, on either side of the door, and everyone felt safer.They allowed Victor and Jayden to enter the room when they were finished in the hallway, but they stopped the two men with him until Victor told them it was okay for them to come into the room.“This is Dr. Knef and Marco Toro, the hospital’s head of security,” Victor told us. “Mr. Toro told us the red wolves were confronted by another doctor when they entered this floor. He was badly mauled.”“Will he live?” Mr. Gray asked. His voice was stronger than I expected, even though he looked exhausted.“Yes,” Dr. Knef said. “He was lucky. The attack was interrupted when a nurse saw what was happening and cal