Chapter 260

“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-car garage, checking the limousine’s tire pressure.

“I’ve got a tow bar. I’ll bring Miss Gray’s car here to the garage and give it a good look-over,” Joe promised. He climbed into his pickup truck and drove down the driveway.

I put an arm around Amy’s shoulders. “Let’s go inside and have a cup of tea while we wait to find out about your car. I’m sure Joe can fix it.”

Benson saw us enter the house. When he saw the looks on our faces, he hurried to us to find out what was wrong.

I told him everything that happened with Amy‘s car that day, and he ushered us into the parlor for hot tea and macarons.

“I’m going to need to walk instead of driving if I keep eating all these sweets,” Amy said as she reached for a chocolate-coated macaron.

I picked up a cookie. “These are too delicious to resist. We should go for a run. It’ll burn off some of these calories.”

“That sounds good,” Amy agreed. “I haven’t shifted since my birthday. I'm dying to try it again. But I want to know about my car first.”

I selected one more macaron. “After we finish our tea, we can walk out to the garage and talk to Joe before going to the garden to shift.”

We finished our tea and used our anticipation of a run to resist the temptation to eat more macarons.

Instead of eating the last six cookies, I wrapped them in a napkin and took them with us to the garage for Joe.

One of the garage bay doors was open. Amy’s car was now inside the garage in the middle bay. Joe was beneath it with a drop light.

“How’s it going?” I asked.

Joe slid out from under Amy’s car on an auto-creeper. “The passenger side brake line came off the caliper, and you lost most of your fluid.”

“Did it come loose, or was it cut?” I asked. “Could it have been done on purpose?”

“I can’t tell if it’s a defect or tampering,” he said. “But give me an hour, and I’ll have it fixed so it won’t happen again.”

“That’s great,” I said and handed him the macarons.

“Thanks, Joe,” Amy said.

Amy and I headed for the garden. She was quiet. I could tell she was thinking about something that didn’t make her happy.

As we reached the rear of the mansion, she stopped walking and hung her head.

“Daisy, I’m not sure how much of this kind of stuff I can take. My car was stolen and probably sabotaged, so I would crash and maybe get killed. It’s too much.”

“I understand,” I told her. “You’ve been going through a lot lately. But I’m going to keep going and find out what happened to Deirdre.”

Amy shook her head. “As much as I want to find out what happened to my birth mother, I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Nothing is going to happen to me,” I assured her. “I’ll be careful, and I’ll have Jayden to help me.”

“Having him help you makes me feel a little better,” Amy said.

We reached the rose garden and undressed.

“So, I shift by calling for my wolf?” Amy asked.

“Right, tell Lorilei to come forth, and in your mind, let go of your human self. Watch.” I breathed deeply and said, “Diana, come forth.”

In the space of a second, I morphed into the green-eyed brown wolf. Since she wouldn’t be able to hear me until she shifted, I shook my shaggy head at Amy.

“Okay, here I go.” Amy winced and called for her wolf.

Her human form transformed into the pretty blonde wolf with the silver tufts on her back that was a sure sign of Omega blood. Her sky-blue eyes blinked at me. “Did I do it?”

“Very well,” I said. “Diana, I want you to meet Lorilei, Amy’s wolf. We’re all going to be great friends.”

“Hello, Lorilei,” Diana said. “Let’s show Amy and Daisy how to run.”

“I thought you’d never ask, Diana,” Lorilei giggled merrily before she took off running for the field.

Diana and I followed, racing around the field until we were exhausted.

“You’re not mad because I don’t want to play detective anymore, are you?” Amy asked. I feel like a rat allowing you to risk yourself alone.”

“I’m not mad, but I can’t stop the investigation now,” I said. “I won’t be bullied by anyone. That’s what this person who killed your mother and is threatening us is—a bully and a coward.”

“Thank you,” Amy said. “But stay safe.”

“I’ll be fine,” I insisted. “Look! I just saw a bunny over there at about nine o’clock.”

“I see its ears,” Amy said. “Let’s chase it, girls.”

We took off after the bunny, chasing it into the woods.

“Do you ever feel bad about scaring small creatures?” Amy asked.

“It keeps them in shape to evade other predators,” Diana explained.

“I’m ready to check on my car,” Amy said. “But let’s do this again soon. There’s no place to run in the city.”

By the time we dressed and walked to the garage, Joe had the repairs to Amy’s car finished.

“That new brake line should last a while,” Joe told her. I checked your master cylinder and all the lines. Your emergency brakes are still good. I’m glad they didn't fail you too.”

Amy thanked Joe and got into the car. “I have to get to the restaurant. Call me later.”

I watched Amy drive away and went to my car. Jayden may have found out something about the other tracker found in Amy’s car. Whoever placed that second tracker may have sabotaged her brakes.

That’s why I didn’t blame Amy for bowing out of the investigation. I would feel better if she did stay out of it from now on. The killer was escalating and would try anything to keep from going to prison.

Jayden answered his cell, and after I told him about Amy’s brakes, he agreed to meet me at Victor’s apartment.

He was waiting when I got there. I pulled my car into Victor’s garage next to his pickup and texted Victor to let him know I was there. Then I let Jayden inside, and we went upstairs.

“What did you find out?” I asked as I collapsed on the couch.

“It’s an expensive tracker used by other PI firms like mine,” Jayden said. “But there was a small barcode on this one that told me it belongs to Weston Investigations.”

“Why would they put a tracker on Amy ‘s car?”

“Somebody hired them to do it,” he replied. “ I know Frank Weston, the owner of the agency. He told me he was contacted by email and paid by wire transfer to place a tracker on Amy’s car.”

“Anybody can have a detective place a tracker on somebody’s car?” I said. It seemed absurd to me.

“The email stated her husband was cheating on her and was at Gray’s restaurant with his latest lover. The anonymous woman paid a large sum of money to know where Amy’s Mercedes was at all times.”

“Amy was right to get out of this mess,” I mumbled. “Why aren’t they coming after me this hard?”

Jayden looked at me with one eyebrow raised.

“Amy doesn’t want to help investigate anymore,” I explained. “She’s frightened.”

My cell phone interrupted our conversation. But the caller ID told me it was Amy.

It must be important for her to call while she and Mr Gray were preparing for the early rush.

“Hey, we were just talking about you,” I said.

“Daisy, help me!” Amy screamed into the phone. “Hurry, send help. They’re going to kill us!”