Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

After I showered and dressed, I walked into the kitchen and started pulling items out of the refrigerator. "Are you interested in a real breakfast? Egg burritos?"

"I'm in," Charlotte said as she sipped from her coffee mug.

I glanced at the machine, pleased to see she'd made a full pot. After I poured myself another mug, I said, "I think we need to regroup and figure out what we know and what we don't know about Lacey's disappearance."

My sister tapped her legal pad with her pen and said, "I'm way ahead of you."

I raised a curious eyebrow. "You are? What have you got?"

She tucked her red locks behind her ear and lifted the pad as she read off her list. "John, her ex, was seen at her place the morning Lacey went missing. The last place she was presumed to be was in her car about a mile from Pointe Meadow. There is evidence a wolf and someone in human form were at the scene when or just after Lacey got her flat tire. Her car has been towed, but according to the records we got from the PPPD, no one has searched it. That's pretty much it."

I stirred the eggs in the pan and said, "Do we think it's possible that John is a shifter?"

"If he is, it would certainly make a lot more sense that he's the wolf who abducted Lacey rather than Kai or the pack," Charlotte reasoned.

"If he's a wolf, then I don't understand why the PPPD hasn't investigated him more," I said. "And why didn't they search Lacey's car for clues?"

Charlotte pursed her lips. "Maybe they're covering for John for some reason."

"But they did arrest him after he was harassing Lacey."

"You're right, it doesn't make any sense." Charlotte tapped her pen again. "Maybe we just need to face facts. Sometimes the answer really is the most obvious one."

"That they're egotistical assholes who are just bad at their jobs?" I sprinkled some shredded cheese into the eggs and stirred.

"Exactly." My sister raised her mug up in a mock toast.

Once the eggs were done, I fixed up the burritos and brought our plates to the table. "What have we decided on?"

"I think we need to find out if John is a shifter." She took a bite of her burrito and let out a moan of pleasure. "Oh my gosh. I had no idea how starving I was. Thank you for this."

Minx came running over and jumped on Charlotte's leg. She looked down at her. "People eat first, baby. Mama will get you some bites after we're done." The little dog continued to paw at her leg.

I laughed. "She thinks she is people."

Charlotte rolled her eyes as I got up and scraped the tiny bit of egg left in the pan onto a small paper plate and then put it on the floor for her. Minx went to town on the nibbles while Charlotte frowned at me. "You're spoiling her."

"Ha! That little dog arrived at this house spoiled," I countered.

"Maybe, but we're working on her manners, and now she'll never leave me alone while I'm eating."

I just shrugged and then grinned at her.

"You need to call Jax," Charlotte said, changing the subject.

"Jax? Why?" With the way he'd stormed off earlier, I highly doubted he was interested in hearing from me anytime soon.

"To find out if he thinks John is a shifter."

"Wouldn't he have told me that after we first met him?" I had trouble believing that if Jax thought John was a wolf that he wouldn't have filled me in.

"Probably, but we should still ask to cover our bases," she said logically.

I stifled a groan and picked up my phone. She was right, of course. But why did she think of this immediately after we'd argued? It was time to rip the bandage off. I hit Jax's name on my phone and waited.

The line rang three times, and I honestly thought he was going to send me to voice mail, but on the fourth ring, he picked up. "Yeah?"

It wasn't the most affectionate greeting, but I'd take it. "Hi. Charlotte and I are brainstorming the case this morning?—"

He let out an irritated snort, which I ignored.

"And we're thinking the most logical suspect is John."

He didn't respond.

I barreled on. "We were wondering if there's a chance that John might be a shifter. Is that something you guys just know when you meet someone, or do you have to find out like everyone else does?"

There was nothing but more silence.

"Jax?" I hadn't thought it was that hard of a question.

"I'm here. I was thinking back to when I first met the pack after I'd been turned, and to be honest, I do think I felt some sort of kinship with them, but I didn't know what it was then. I don't remember feeling anything like that with John, but then I'm sure my senses were clouded since he was manhandling Lacey."

"Does that mean you don't know?" I asked.

"That means I don't know. If pressed, I'd say it's unlikely, but I'm not 100% certain. You should ask Kai. He might have a better feel for those things."

"Okay. I will."

"Is that all?" he asked, sounding impatient.

Was I supposed to say anything else? Was he waiting for me to apologize? Did I have anything to apologize for? I didn't think so. It wasn't as if I'd been accusing him of anything. Still, he'd obviously been upset, so I said, "I'm sorry about our disagreement this morning."

He sighed and then just said, "Me, too. Look, Marion, I've got to get back to work. We can talk tonight, okay?"

"Okay," I said, but he'd already ended the call before I even got the word out.

"Everything better between you two?" Charlotte asked.

"Doesn't quite seem like it, but I'm sure this will blow over. He told me to call Kai and ask about John being a shifter. Jax said he just wasn't sure."

"Then I guess you better get to callin'." She took another bite of her burrito.

I did as she said and got a cool-sounding Kai on the other end of the line.

"Yes, I can tell," Kai said. "And no, John wasn't a shifter."

Disappointment washed over me, and I mentally cursed the universe for making my life just a little harder. "Thank you, Kai. I really appreciate it. If you hear of any other shifters in the area, can you let me know?"

"Why would I do that?"

I could see this wasn't going to go anywhere productive, but I had to be honest with him. "There is reason to believe Lacey encountered a wolf before she disappeared. All I'm trying to do is track down who that might have been so I can ask some questions. I can't leave any stone unturned."

"Just ask questions. Sure." The skepticism was dripping from his tone.

I supposed I couldn't blame him. If I'd spent my life trying to combat stereotypes and misinformation, it'd make me wary, too. "Thank you." I ended the call and stared at Charlotte. "I'm not making many friends by investigating this."

"That's not your job. Your job is to bring Lacey home."

"You're right, but I hate that this is making me identify with Stone and Wallis just a tiny bit. They were assholes, but at least now I know why they were sniffing around Jax and Kai."

"Those donut-heads wouldn't know justice if it slapped them upside the head. Forget them. They're idiots who more than likely deserve to be behind bars themselves."

I chuckled because that was likely true.

"Knock, knock!" Trish said as she walked in the front door.

"We're in the kitchen," I called and stood to get her a cup of coffee.

When she appeared in the doorway, there was a smile on her face and her eyes were lit with happiness.

"You're in a good mood. Anything we should know about?" I asked her as I handed her the cup of coffee. I gestured for her to take a seat.

Once we were all settled at the table, she took a sip of the coffee, sighed in satisfaction, and said, "Thanks for this."

"Sure. Now, tell us what's up," I said.

"It's Ty. We just had our first weekly meeting yesterday, and I'm just elated. It went so well. We talked and cried and hugged and even have dinner plans with Kennedy and Carson next week." Her eyes misted with tears. "I can't thank you enough, Marion. I just know you're the one who put him up to this, and I want you to know how much I appreciate it."

I blinked at her. "I didn't put him up to anything, Trish."

"Oh, come on. You expect me to believe that he's suddenly done this turn around without a push from you?" She let out a small bark of laughter. "Please. I know my son. When he digs in, he really digs in. It's okay. I know you're behind this."

Irritation curled in my gut, and I wanted to lash out at Trish. She was infantilizing her son, who was a grown man, and it annoyed me to no end. I cleared my throat. "I really didn't. All I know is that he's been seeing a therapist who's been helping him work through his abandonment issues. But that's all work that Ty has done that has nothing to do with me. I wish you'd see that Ty is his own man and capable of making his own decisions."

"Oh, I know he's a man now," she said, waving an unconcerned hand. "But it's obvious the effect you've had on him, and I just wanted to thank you."

It was hard to argue that I hadn't had an effect on him when I'd been his parental figure for the past five years, but that still didn't mean I deserved any credit for the progress they were making in their relationship. In fact, it sounded like they were doing better than Trish and I were. I decided to ignore her comment and got right to the point as to why I'd asked to see her.

"Listen, I asked you over because Charlotte and I are working on a case, and there is reason to believe that a wolf is involved. Obviously I don't think Jax is involved, nor do I think Kai or the pack had anything to do with it. I'm wondering if you know of any other wolves in the area that we should be taking a look at."

"For what case?" she asked, looking suspicious.

"Lacey Riley's disappearance." There was no point in not telling her.

She frowned and shook her head. "I'm not comfortable with this."

"Why not?" Charlotte asked. "We're just trying to track down possible leads in hopes that we can find her."

"Because wolves are not treated fairly by the law. You both have to know that. Sending law enforcement to them is dangerous."

"You think I'm dangerous?" I asked her, trying to ignore the ache in my chest. Why did all the people I loved suddenly think I was a monster? "Why would you think that? You were my best friend, and my boyfriend is also a wolf. Honestly, Trish, it hurts me that you'd say that."

"I'm not trying to hurt you," Trish said as she stood. "But I'm not comfortable with this. I think I better go."

"And all I'm trying to do is find a woman whose life is on the line!" I called after her.

But she didn't turn around. As the door slammed shut, I wanted to scream.

"She's hiding something," Celia said from behind me.

I spun and found the blond ghost standing in my kitchen. "Why do you think that?"

"I just do." Celia stared longingly at the coffee pot. "I miss my java."

"I would too if I were dead," Charlotte said, commiserating with her.

Celia let out a long sigh. "I miss a lot of things. Oh well. At least I can still spy on people." She flashed a mischievous grin. "I'm going to follow Trish and find out what she's not saying."

Jax's objections to her spying on Kai came flooding back, and I almost asked Celia to leave it alone. But a woman's life was on the line, and it was clear that Trish wasn't going to help us. "Okay," I said with a nod. "Report back as soon as you learn anything."

"Aye, aye, Captain." Celia gave me a sloppy salute and then disappeared again.

"Does that ever get disorienting?" Charlotte asked me.

"It used to, but I'm immune now," I said with a half-hearted chuckle. "At least she never pops into my bedroom."

"Not yet, anyway," Charlotte said with a laugh.

I groaned, praying the ghost didn't become a pervy peeper.