It was too late for a drop-in visit, so I settled for making a phone call when we got back to the office. Shane sat across from me as I dialed Robert Welch, Lisa’s husband. He answered on the first ring, his voice hopeful. I frowned. After all these months, he was still waiting for the call. The one that would change his world forever.
“Hello, Mr. Welch. I’m Isabel Stone from Stone Private Investigations. Your father-in-law has hired me to look into your wife’s disappearance and…”
That was as far as I got.
“Look here, lady, I don’t care who hired you, and I don’t want anything to do with it. I’ve already said everything I’m going to say to the police. Don’t call me again.”
Click.
I held the phone away from my head and shrugged at Shane, who was tapping a pen on the desk. I knew he’d overheard the brief conversation. Lowering the receiver back into the cradle, I sighed and rested my head on my hands.
“Ok, partner. What did you really smell in that bag?”
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the pen toward the cup. It landed inside with a thunk. Wiping his hand down his face, he hesitated before he answered. It was a gesture I knew all too well, one that meant I probably wasn’t going to like what he had to say.
“I smelled vampire,” he finally admitted. “I think.”
“You think, super nose? Or are you sure?”
He sat back. “I’m pretty sure.”
“Do you know whose scent it was?”
I knew that most vamps had a smell unique to them, and they could often recognize each other by the scent alone. Of course, Shane was a newbie and didn’t know many other vamps. At least as far as I was aware.
He shook his head. “I didn’t recognize it. But if I could get a stronger whiff, like maybe from the car, then who knows?”
I frowned. “I don’t think the husband is going to let us get anywhere near that car.”
“So what are our options?”
“I can think of one, but you aren’t going to like it.”
“Why?” he asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
“Look, if I’m going to call in a favor this big on your hunch, I want to be sure it’s not a waste of time. So are you positive you scented vampire?”
“Yes, one hundred percent. Who are you going to call?”
“Ghostbusters,” I said sarcastically. Opening the file that held the photocopied info on the car, I picked up the phone. “I’m calling Tyger.”
Shane slammed his hand on the cradle. “No, you’re not.”
Patrick Wallis, aka Tyger, was one of my oldest friends. We’d been inseparable until we turned twelve and his lifestyle drove a wedge between us. By lifestyle, I didn’t mean a sudden desire to dress in Prada and sing show tunes.
Currently, Tyger was the leader of a local motorcycle gang and had been in and out of jail more times than I could count. When I first took over the office, I was hired to look into a string of burglaries in the upscale side of downtown Charleston. Tyger was arrested for the crimes, but I eventually caught the real thief, a rival gang member trying to get him put away so he could usurp his leadership position. Tyger was grateful, and for a few days, I was really glad I’d been able to help him. That was, until the thief had been beaten almost to death while out on bail. I didn’t have any proof that Tyger was behind it, but I believed down to my toes he was. Calling to ask him for a favor was a risk. And from the look on Shane’s face, not one he wanted me to take.
“Shane, it might be the only way to get our hands on that car. If you have any better ideas, I’m all ears.”
I left it hanging in the air between us. If Shane was really on to something, then this might be our only lead. We could get a hold of the car or we were sunk before we began swimming. I could see from his expression that he was weighing the options.
Finally, he made a dismissive motion with his hand. “Fine. Make the call.”
The only number I had for Tyger was the bike shop he owned. They were closed, so I left a message asking him to call me.
Behind me, Shane pulled out the rolling white board and cleaned it off. Together we reconstructed, as best we could, a time line of the day Lisa Welch disappeared.
We worked until the scent of dry-erase markers started giving me a headache and the end result was less than impressive. The police had tracked Lisa’s day from eight AM, when she took her kids to school, up to four PM, when she called her neighbor. She said she was “running late” and asked if they could pick the kids up from the bus and keep them until she got home at five.
Lisa Welch was never seen or heard from again.
I stepped back, looking at the time line.
“Okay.” I pointed. “She had lunch with her sister Marlene from eleven forty-five ‘til about one-fifteen. Marlene told police Lisa was agitated about something, but wouldn’t say what and didn’t mention anything about her plans for the rest of the day. Lisa paid for lunch, and they went their separate ways. Lisa’s car was found abandoned at eleven that night at the Old Town Mall.”
“Do we have copies of the financials?”
I rifled through the stacks of papers Reggie had allowed us to copy and tossed Shane the bank and credit card statements.
“The police say there were no unusual charges on either the bank card or her Visa.” I continued tapping the dry-erase marker on my chin as Shane leafed through the statements.
“Apparently, she didn’t pay for lunch either. At least, not with either of these accounts. Where did they eat?”
I checked Marlene’s statement. “The Brand Steakhouse. Maybe she paid cash?”
“Pricey place. When was the last time you paid for a seventy-dollar meal with cash?”
“Good catch,” I stated, impressed. “It might be worth checking with the sister.”
“Maybe Lisa had a credit card the husband didn’t know about. Especially if she were hiding something.”
Shane was right. I’d seen that before. It was pretty common with cheating spouses for one to have a secret account. Heck, some had whole secret lives, including houses and cars.
“I’ll call Marlene in the morning,” I offered.
“No offense, but after the reaction you got from the husband, maybe I should take a stab at this one. The file says she waits tables down at Club Rouge off Peach Street. I could go work my charm on her.”
I gritted my teeth. He was right again. Something about him had total strangers ready to spill their life stories to him. Even before becoming a vampire, he’d been charismatic. When you added the otherworldly aura, it was downright unsettling. At least to me. Everyone else found him irresistible.
“Fine,” I agreed reluctantly.
Shane flashed a dimpled smile and tossed me the marker he’d been holding.
“Don’t wait up,” he hollered over his shoulder as he walked out of the office.
Watching him leave, I hoped I was doing the right thing sicking him on Marlene. The poor girl probably wouldn’t know what hit her.