Page 28 of Top Secret Vampire

“Your mother and aunt live in the area?”

“They’re both in Mystic Harbor. Mom lives in the house she and Dad bought right after I was born, and my aunt bought the place next to hers. She’s proprietary about my mom and . . . Okay, I already mentioned that my aunt doesn’t seem to like me much.” Rising, I strode into the foyer.

I opened the door to find Detective Carter standing on my small, covered porch.

“There you are,” he said. “I received a message that you had a crime to report?”

“Come on in.” I waved toward my office.

We all sat, and I explained.

“You found no evidence after the person departed?” he asked Wolf, who shook his head. “Then I’m not sure what I can do about it. I noted cameras on the house.”

Wolfram grunted. “They were installed after I chased the person away.”

“Well, let me know if you see anyone else snooping around. As for the social media hacking, I’ll question Tracy, of course.” A frown filled the detective’s face as he took notes on his phone. “I’ll see if she’ll voluntarily surrender her phone for a forensics’ analysis, though I could obtain a warrant if need be. Plus, I can ask the social media providers for information about who might’ve posted instead of you. They’d have access to an IP address. That sort of thing.”

“I deleted the posts.”

“There will still be a record. I’ll tell you right now, if Tracy did this, it might be a challenge to prove. I’m not giving up. Not one bit, but I want to be honest with you.”

“I thought this would be the case,” I said. “I’ve done damage control, and I believe I’ve mitigated any major problems. I don’t want to let it go, however. If she did it, I hope we can prove it and see she’s punished.”

“Believe me, she will be.” He stood. “I’ll keep you informed about my investigation.” His gaze shot to Wolf. “You as well, I assume?”

“Yes, please,” I said as Wolfram nodded.

He left, and we opted to mistify to the garage who’d called to say my vehicle was ready to be picked up. I’d filed with my insurance company, but I had a high enough deductible that I’dhave to eat most of the cost of replacing the tires. At least they weren’t new.

After we’d picked up my SUV, we drove to Mom’s house to quiz her about Wilber and Flint, though I doubted she’d have much information about my old professor. My aunt was there, but while she pursed her lips as Wolf and I took a seat at the kitchen table, she didn’t say more than a mumbled greeting.

“Coffee or tea?” Mom held up the coffee pot.

“I’ll have coffee,” I said. “Thanks.”

“Tea, please, my lady,” Wolf said.

“My lady.” Mom blushed. “I like that.”

Aunt Beverly rolled her eyes. I might’ve spied humor there—or I might not have.

“What brings you by today?” Mom asked after she’d served our drinks and placed a pretty dish full of cookies in the middle of the table and sat herself.

“Wolfram works for Monsters, PI,” I said, sipping my drink. “And he was assigned to my case.”

“Wonderful.” Mom clapped her hands and gazed at Wolf raptly, slanting her eyes my way and wiggling her eyebrows after.

Got it, Mom. He was a hot guy, and she wanted to make sure I saw it as well. Couldn’t miss it.

“We have questions about people here in town,” I said. “You remember Wilber Blight, don’t you?”

Mom’s smile wavered. “Hard not to after what his mother did. Oh, most people in town didn’t know all the details like Bev and I did. Or they’ve forgotten. The nerve of his mother doing something like that.”

“What did she do?” This was news to me.

“Well.” Mom peered around the room as if someone might be standing nearby, eager to overhear what she had to say. Although, if she had a resident ghost like me, she might not bewrong in that. “She was an accountant and managed the books for many of the businesses in town. I told you all this, didn’t I? Although, what she was doing was discovered while you were in college. I’m sure I mentioned it at least in passing. It was all hush-hush back then, but I do like to share tidbits of gossip. I mean, her husband was a prominent physician. Imagine the scandal if it got out? But Beverly here was part of the group questioned, and she has the inside scoop.” Mom dimpled a smile her sister’s way. “Maybe you should tell them about it. I’m sure you remember the details better than me.”

“I don’t gossip,” my aunt said, taking a long swallow of her coffee. Her sharp gaze fell on me, and I got the idea she might be open to gossiping any day of the week with my mother. With me? Not on any day ending in Y. She lifted a cookie from the plate and took a bite, slowly chewing. “These are perfect, Alice. I don’t know how you do it. It amazes me every time. Your cookies are always delicious.”

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