“Were their phone numbers bad too?” Debbie asked.
“They were disconnected once the men left the area. Those are copies for you. I”—Zeta choked on the words—“I thought you might be able to find Sarah. I didn’t think she’d be… Well, I worried about it, but I thought she might just be with Lloyd. Not that I really liked it; he wasn’t good for her. But I wish she was with him rather than dead.” Zeta wiped away fresh tears. “Otis’s unaccounted for, right?”
“He’s not dead, as far as we know,” Allan said, although if Otis was responsible for Sarah’s death and turned up in Cunningham pack territory again intending to kill, Allan sure wanted to end the man’s career as a werewolf hunter.
“You said the car Lloyd was driving was stolen? The blue Impala?” Zeta asked.
“Yeah. Do you know what he was driving before that?”
“A blue Ford pickup. He apparently liked blue vehicles.”
“So what happened to it?” Debbie asked.
Zeta shrugged. “The day before the three of them vanished, he was driving the Impala. I figured he traded in his truck for the car.”
Another stolen vehicle?
“Do you know what Otis was driving?” Allan asked, hoping they’d get another good lead.
“A red Camaro.”
Immediately, Allan thought of Franny. But the guy she knew had a different name. Still, Allan didn’t like the coincidence.
“He had this hunter look about him. He wore camo gear a lot, except when it got snowy. Then he was wearing a white parka. So I’m thinking—to fit the look—pickup truck, antlers in the back or a rifle hanging in the window. But a red Camaro?” Zeta shook her head. “It didn’t fit the picture.”
She glanced at her watch and continued, “Listen, I’m so sorry about what happened to Sarah. I wish the police could have saved her. Or that I could have convinced her the two men were bad news. But I’m glad you’re looking into this. If you ask me, Otis did it. I’ve got an audition in half an hour, so I need to get going. If you need to ask me any other questions, feel free. I’ll help any way I can to bring him to justice.”
“You’ve been a great help,” Debbie said.
“Yes, we couldn’t have asked for more,” Allan agreed, “although I have one last question. What did the PI drive?”
“A black sedan.”
The investigator had to be a wolf working for Devlyn Greystoke, another wolf from Colorado, leader of the pack, and his cousin. Allan didn’t have his number, but Tessa, his SEAL team leader’s mate, was distantly related to Devlyn, so she should have the information. Allan would have to call her when Debbie wasn’t around. At least he was glad to know that the driver of the black sedan was on their side.
“If you learn Otis did it, will you let me know?” Zeta asked.
“Sure.” Debbie and Allan rose from the couch and said their good-byes, then headed out.
“What do you think?” Allan asked as they got into the hatchback.
“I wonder if Otis ditched that car. It would be easy to spot if he was following anyone. If the one Lloyd was driving was stolen, maybe the red Camaro is too. We’re in the area where these guys lived. Can we check out Sarah’s place? Even though the men gave false addresses, we know she didn’t.”
“It’s worth a shot.”
“Okay. Here’s Sarah’s address. What did you think about this Vaughn Greystoke, PI? Think he is for real?”
“Sounds like it. I’ll see if Paul can run him down.”
“You looked like you might know of him.”
“I might know of Devlyn, but I’ll have to let Paul check into it. We both would know of him if he’s the man I’m thinking of.”
“But you don’t know Vaughn?”
“No.”
“Okay, what about the red Camaro? I’m sure it had no bearing on Franny’s accident, but still, if Otis was driving it, and he killed Sarah and then ran Franny off the road, that seems like a coincidence we can’t ignore.”
“Agreed. Lori can get with Franny on it. I’ll ask if she can check with her since they’re good friends.” Allan couldn’t help but be annoyed with Franny if she knew more than she had been letting on.
When they arrived at the apartment complex, the manager showed them in, complaining the whole while. “I have to steam clean the carpets. It was paid up for two months, so I didn’t know Sarah wasn’t coming back. Not until the private investigator came and wanted to look her stuff over. Don’t you guys talk to each other?”