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felt about that.
    “Can we get a look at it?” Shane asked as we left the room.
    “You’ll have to talk to the husband,” Reggie answered. “As soon as the scene was cleared, the car went back to him.”
    “Great.” I sighed.

 

    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