Chapter 264

“Why did you run into my car on purpose, Clarissa?” I roared.

The front of Clarissa’s car was crumpled. She reeked of booze and was frantically trying to get out of the vehicle. When she couldn’t, she swore and tried to start her car to run off.

The car came to life, but Moose yanked her car door open and pulled her out of the vehicle before she could flee the scene. He and Bert gave her to the police officers who just arrived at the scene.

“She’s drunk and deliberately rammed us,” Benson told the police.

Moose showed the police his ID. “And this is Daisy Wilson, Alex Wilson’s daughter.”

“Why did this woman ram your car?” One of the policemen asked.

Clarissa's speech was slurred. “The nosy witch was probably following me. She’s been bringing up an old scandal and starting problems for me. She got what she deserved. Now, let me go!”

“The only place you're going is for a blood test,” the officer told Clarissa. “How much have you had to drink this morning?”

“Nothing!” Clarissa lied and tried to get away from them.

The two policemen tried to wrest Clarissa into the back of their car. But she began to scream obscenities and fought harder.

Moose assisted them by picking Clarissa up and placing her inside the police car. He then closed the police car’s door with Clarissa inside.

Next, Bert arranged to have my car towed to a repair shop, and Moose had a loaner car delivered to the accident scene.

Moose and Bert were handy to have around. My loaner car showed up within minutes.

“Oh my,” Benson said when I was handed the key fob to a new, metallic green Porsche 911.

“Oh my, is right!” I giggled. I got behind the wheel and told Benson to hop in.

He got in the car, and I drove us to the dry cleaners and back to the mansion without any more problems. It was fun to drive that car.

I gathered more of my clothes and shoes and put them into the Porsche before going back inside to say goodbye to Benson.

“I’m glad you weren't hurt,” I said. “Please tell Alex I’m fine.”

“I will, and thanks for the ride, Miss,” he said.

Moose and Bert followed me to Victor’s apartment. They checked it out before allowing me inside and set the new, advanced alarm system after locking us inside.

I sent Moose for takeout for our lunch and called Amy to check on her dad.

“He’s tired but getting better,” she reported. “It’s going to take some time for him to heal completely. He’s not young anymore, and the bites were deep.”

I remembered the question Victor told me to ask her. “Hey, I forgot to ask you something this morning. Were the red wolves male or female?”

“Things happened so fast, and I was scared,” Amy said. “But when the wolf used Alpha voice, I could tell she was female.”

“Thanks, sweetie. I’ll tell Victor,” I said. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be better after my beach vacation,” Amy replied. “I told Dad I’m afraid to be at the apartment or in the restaurant now, and he agreed to go to the beach house after he’s released from the hospital.”

“You'll love it there,” I told her. “Did you ask Andy to take care of the restaurant while you're gone?”

“Yep,” she replied. “Andy said he would be glad to do it and that getting away from the city was just what we needed. He’s right. It will be the first vacation Dad and I ever had.”

“I’m glad Victor and I can help. I feel guilty about him getting hurt by the red wolves.”

“It’s not your fault,” Amy insisted. “Those evil wolves are at fault. I’m glad you care enough about me to try to find out who killed Deidre. I wish I was brave enough to help you.”

“Keep me posted about your dad,” I said. “Don’t worry about anything, and start packing for the beach.”

We hung up as Moose returned with several large bags of food. I took my sub sandwich and sat at the counter, watching my bodyguards devour two-foot-long roast beef sandwiches apiece.

When I finished eating, I got an idea. “Can you guys determine if Clarissa is still in police custody?”

“Sure,” Bert replied. “I’ll call the police precinct and use our association connections.”

“If she is, I want to speak to her,” I added. “I need to know where she was last night.”

Bert made some calls and discovered Clarissa was being held until her arraignment tomorrow morning. He also got permission for us to speak to Clarissa for a few minutes.

The men finished their lunch, and we went to Denhurst’s south-side police station. I left the Porsche in Victor’s garage. I texted him about the accident, but my loaner car would be a surprise.

The police at the south side precinct were happy to accommodate me. They led me to a conference room, brought a sleepy, handcuffed Clarissa into the room, and sat her across a table from me.

She put her crossed arms on the table and glared at me. “What do you want now?”

“I need to know where you were last night from about six until ten?” I said.

Clarissa tightened her mouth and refused to answer.

“The police can add more charges to keep you here if we ask them to,” Bert told her.

“Fine!” she snapped. “My husband and I attended a charity event last night at his club. We left home around six and didn’t return until almost midnight …I think.”

“Why aren’t you sure what time you got home?” Moose asked.

“The evening is a little fuzzy after ten o’clock,” Clarissa replied. “I’m afraid I may have overdone it with the champagne. It was an excellent year.”

“Can you prove you were at this charity event?” Bert asked.

“Miss Wilson’s father was there with his new girlfriend,” she replied. “Ask him.”

“We will,” I assured her.

We left and headed back to Victor’s apartment. He texted me he was coming home early, and I wanted to see his face when he got home and saw the Porsche.

His amazed expression when he pulled his car into the garage was worth it.

“Is this yours?” he asked as he checked out the interior.

“For now,” I said. But I may buy it. I love the color, don’t you?”

Victor tossed an arm around my shoulders. “That’s my girl.”

I giggled. “Not that I’m complaining, but why are you home this early?”

“How are you getting along with Moose and Bert?” he asked.

“They’re okay,” I said.

“Good, they will be with you until we catch the red wolves.” He led me upstairs. “How about another self-defense lesson? We’ll use Moose and Bert as the attackers.”

My mouth dropped open. “You're kidding, right?”

“No, I’m serious,” Victor assured me. “If you know what to do, size isn’t important.”

He changed into jeans, and the four of us went into the home gym.

“Bert, rush me,” he told the larger man.

Bert grinned and ran at Victor with his fists raised. Victor waited until the second before Bert reached him before grabbing the other man’s arm and flipping him over his hip.

Bert landed on his back and laughed.

“Use your hip like a ball bearing, and let your attacker’s weight carry him to the floor,” Victor instructed.

I wasn’t convinced it would work, but Victor was. I had to have faith in that. But I would be sure to get out of Moose’s way when he was falling.

“Your turn,” Victor said. “Do what I did to Moose.”

Moose grinned and gave me a finger wave from across the room.

Butterflies stretched their wings in my stomach. I took a deep breath and signaled to Moose that I was ready. But when his bulk charged across the room heading for me, I almost panicked.

At the last moment, I imitated what Victor had done with Bert, and I flipped Moose neatly over my hip. He landed next to me with an “oof.”

All three males clapped and congratulated me.

I did a celebration dance. “I should do it again to make sure I’ve got it down.”

Moose sighed and got up from the floor. “Sure.”

But before he got into the starting position, Victor’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and hurried to answer the call.

“Yeah, Jasper,” he said. Then he listened for a moment with a grim expression before saying, “We’ll be right there.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“The red wolves went to the hospital looking for Amy and Mr. Gray,” he replied. “They attacked a doctor who got in their way.”