Chapter 341

I knew as I followed the man to the back door how he was getting inside Lucy’s home. It hadn’t been a dog I heard squeezing through Buddy’s door.

It was a wolf.

Why hadn’t I thought of it before? If a large dog like Buddy could squeeze through the dog door, so could a small wolf.

Without making a sound, I reached the bottom of the stairs. I stayed close to the foyer's walls to keep the man from spotting me and made my way to the kitchen.

Peeking around the doorway, I saw what I expected.

I took several photos of the neighbor pushing the vase through the dog door before shifting. As planned, he was leaving with the decoy vase. We could track the vase with the GPS tracker and tell the police.

But before the wolf put his head through the dog door, a sound behind me made him turn. Amy had followed me downstairs. Her surprise at seeing the small wolf made her gasp.

The wolf bared his teeth and snarled at us. But his small size made him no problem for Amy and me, especially if we shifted to defend ourselves. I was confident I could defeat his small human form, too.

He must have been thinking the same thing because he turned and began to force his body through the dog door. He yelped in pain as his ribs scraped the sides of the small opening.

Once on the other side of the kitchen door, the wolf shifted human. He grabbed the vase and his clothing, which he left on the doorstep, and ran for his property.

He leaped the fence and disappeared into his house while I continued taking photos.

“I can’t believe it!” Amy declared. “He used his wolf to steal from Lucy. We need to call the police.”

I had already dialed the number. The policeman who took the call promised to send a patrol car immediately. As soon as I hung up with the police, I called Lucy and texted Tony.

They were both in their way.

Amy let the police in the front door and sent them to me as I organized and sent my photos of the thief to Victor.

Amy stood by me while I explained everything to the police officers. They were amazed and impressed until they asked me my name.

“I’m Daisy Wilson,” I replied before trying to show them the photos I had taken of the burglary.

But they shook their heads and said they didn’t have time to waste.

“Is this some kind of stunt?” one officer sneered.

“Of course not,” I objected. “This is a very serious situation. This man illegally entered Lucy Basil’s home and stole from her several times. He also stole a priceless artifact that belonged to The Association.”

You must arrest him and get the artifacts,” Amy said.

Both cops looked down and shook their heads. “I don’t know,” one mumbled. “We heard about Daisy Wilson on TV. I don’t think we should take your word for anything.”

My face flamed as my temper flared. But I knew I had to remain calm.

“I’m telling you the truth, and I have photographic evidence of the crime,” I said. “You can’t ignore one of our kind using their wolf to commit crimes.”

“We know the law,” the other cop snarled. “We don’t need you to tell us what’s a crime.”

Amy hurried to my side. “Mrs. Basil just arrived. If you don’t believe Daisy and me, you can ask her why we were here.”

Amy hurried to meet Lucy outside and told her what happened and how the police were treating me. They both hurry back inside.

“I’m Lucy Basil, and this is my home,” she said. “These girls risked their own safety to reveal the identity of a thief who has been terrifying me. How dare you not believe them?”

The cop shook his head. “Ma’am, Daisy Wilson has a history of being untruthful and using people. We’ve heard nothing about stolen artifacts. She probably planned the robberies as a publicity stunt.”

“You must stop believing opinion news shows and social media,” Lucy snapped. “I want to speak to your supervisor right away!”

A police lieutenant arrived a few seconds after Tony. They took control of the situation.

“I asked Miss Wilson for her help when a priceless artifact went missing from this house,” he explained. “The Association didn’t want any publicity until after the artifact was recovered.”

“Daisy told you who stole the artifacts,” Lucy added. “Why aren’t you going next door to retrieve the stolen items?”

“The Association would be grateful for your assistance, officers,” Tony said. “The items stolen were very valuable. One item is priceless and irreplaceable.”

The police lieutenant nodded to the other officers, and they went out Lucy’s front door and walked next door.

The two policemen covered both entrances of the neighbor’s home before bursting into the house.

They brought Lucy’s neighbor outside and placed him in the police car. Then, the lieutenant asked Tony and Lucy to join him inside the thief’s home to identify the stolen property.

While Amy and I waited for Heather to pick us up, we heard the two officers place the neighbor under arrest. We also listened to the man admit he took the antiquities to give to his cousin in another country to sell.

Amy and I took Heather for a late lunch and told her everything that had happened.

“You two are so brave,” Heather said around a bite of cheeseburger. “I would have been scared to death.” She giggled. “And the guy was naked.”

My phone buzzed as I was sipping my chocolate shake.

“It’s a text from Tony,” I told the other girls. “He said The Association got its mask back, and Lucy can claim her things soon. The thief is pleading guilty.”

“So it was a good day’s work,” Amy said with a grin. “I’m glad it’s over, for Lucy’s sake. She’s so sweet.”

I agreed with Amy. Lucy would sleep well tonight for the first time since her ordeal began.

The three of us went shopping after we finished eating, and Amy and I bought Heather a spectacular pair of black heels that she tried on but couldn’t afford to thank her for her help.

They dropped me at the mansion in time for me to try on my new purchases before Victor returned for dinner. I was modeling a new cocktail dress for Jennifer when he popped his head in the bedroom door.

“You look gorgeous,” he said. “Do you want to go out for dinner?”

“We can’t.” I gave him a crooked smile. “Benson said the cook was preparing something special. It would be rude to go out to eat.”

“Then I’ll meet you in the living room,” Victor said. “I heard what you did for Tony’s mother. The story has to make the evening news.”

“I’ll be right down,” I said and asked Jennifer to help me out of the new dress.

She unzipped the back and then took the dress from my hands. “I’ll hang it up with the rest of your new things. Go on downstairs to your handsome fiancé.”

“Thanks, Jennifer,” I said as I slipped a sheath dress over my head and slipped sandals on my feet.

I followed Victor downstairs and joined him on the living room couch. He had a glass of sweet white wine waiting for me on the coffee table.

Victor turned on the TV with the remote, and we sighed with relief when the top story had nothing to do with us. The second story was about the antiquities thefts at Lucy’s.

The newscaster told the story of a clever thief who was foiled by Denhurst police officers.

They showed footage of the neighbor being perp-walked into the police station. There was no mention of me or Amy.

Victor was shocked. “The police took all the credit.”

“Yeah, they did,” I said, trying not to show how upset I was. “And after Tony and Lucy had to convince them I wasn’t lying.”

Victor squeezed my hand. “We need to find a way to tell people what really happened.”

I shrugged. “The important thing is The Association got its artifact back, and Lucy’s name has been cleared. Her whole life is restoring those artifacts.”

My feelings were hurt. Yet, I didn’t want to make a big deal out of not getting credit for solving the case.

“It isn’t fair to you,” Victor insisted. “We need to set the record straight.”

“How?” I asked.

Victor reached for his phone. He dialed a number and put the phone to his ear. “Shane, it’s Victor. I’ve got a story I’d like you to cover.”