A Very Jaguar Christmas (15 page)

“Sounds good to me.” Leidolf returned to his car.

Demetria got back in the driver's seat while Everett sat in the front passenger seat, and she headed the car back to the interstate.

“Corey, tell us all about your sister and brother,” Demetria said.

“And what you want for your birthday,” Everett said, which earned him another smile from Demetria. If he were Corey, that's what he would be interested in.

While Corey was giving his birthday list and talking about his brother and sister, Everett called Howard and asked him to check on Paddy O'Leary and Belinda. He didn't know if the two had the same last name, but it was a start. He thought it was odd that every time Corey mentioned the man, he gave a first and last name, as if they went together like that always. Which made him think Belinda had called him that in anger.

Then Everett called his mother about the birthday party, letting her know what Corey wanted and asking her if it was okay to have it at her day care.

“Is that all he wants for his birthday?” His mother chuckled. “Sounds like you and your brother and sister's birthday lists. I'm glad you're getting somewhere on this and that he's back to being a little boy again. And yes, I'd love to throw him a birthday party here. We often have them for the children who stay with us. Have you had any news about his parents?”

“We've got a wolf here helping us now, and he personally knows the family.”

“Ohmigod, that's wonderful. Since you're returning to Dallas, bring him over for dinner. Is he an Arctic wolf too?”

“Red wolf.”

“Oh, wonderful. He's got to shift for us.”

Everett smiled. “I don't think so, Mom.”

She let out her breath. “All right. But don't be shocked if I ask.”

He laughed and they ended the call. At least for now, they were making sure Corey was having fun so he wouldn't have time to be homesick for his family.

When they arrived at his mother's house, Everett wanted to make arrangements for the boy's care so he could help look into the situation with Belinda and Paddy O'Leary. His mother had baked homemade chicken pot pies for them, so they sat down to eat dinner first.

Maybe his mom and Demetria could take care of Corey while he and Leidolf did some searching. Everett had already done Internet searches for private investigators named Cameron MacPherson. Tons of Cameron MacPhersons were listed on Facebook, and one was an athlete in the news. Many more private investigators were listed either by personal names or by location names. Many did government, insurance investigations, and missing persons investigations.

Mary turned to Leidolf. “My son says you wouldn't want to do it.”

“Mom,” Everett warned, knowing just what she was up to. He wondered if Dad would have shaken his head at her, if he'd been here. Probably not. He pretty much let his wife have her way because he was gone so often on “fishing trips,” as he called him. They all wondered if he'd ever get tired of all the covert operations and retire for good.

Demetria smiled at the two of them, unsure what was going on.

Leidolf chuckled. “What's that? Shift?”

“Oh, would you?” Mary was so hopeful that Leidolf laughed.

“For you, yes.”

Everett just shook his head. He should have warned Leidolf that his mother might suggest it.

After they finished dinner, Mary showed Leidolf to a spare bedroom, and though Everett hated putting the leader of a pack of wolves out, Leidolf didn't seem to mind. Maybe he was even proud of showing off his wolf self. He came back out to see them. Beautiful red coat. Beautiful wolf.

“What a handsome wolf,” Mary said, her eyes alight with excitement.

Demetria was smiling just as much. “Beautiful.”

Everett frowned.

“You look like my granddad,” Corey said.

Leidolf licked his cheek.

Then Corey hugged him around the neck and released him. Leidolf returned to the bedroom to shift and dress. When he was back and ready for business, they all settled in the living room. Mary had set up a dinosaur puzzle for Corey to put together on the coffee table.

Then Everett called Rafe Denali, putting the call on speaker so Demetria and Leidolf could listen in. “Hi, I'm Everett Anderson, the man who's trying to find the Arctic wolf pup's family.”

“My brother, Aidan, sent me the video of you. Unbelievable,” Rafe said.

“Right. Just as unbelievable as your wolf kind are to me. So I was wondering… Since you have PIs working on this, do any of them know this PI, Cameron MacPherson, from doing business?” Everett asked.

“No. The men who work for me are strictly undercover. They're Special Forces and the like, so they do more than just collect information. Although I've shared the name of the couple with them, they have never heard of them. The MacPhersons were human before this, and my PIs didn't come in contact with them then either. Now that they're wolves and can't control their shifting, the MacPhersons may no longer be in the business. Or they might have to operate more discreetly. They probably wouldn't have a shingle hanging out in front of an office,” Rafe said.

“They still could do a lot of searching via the Internet,” Everett said.

“True. But can you imagine them trying to meet with clients, but not being able to during the phase of the full moon?” Leidolf raised a red brow. “One of the PIs hadn't been turned.” Leidolf identified who he was to Rafe and how he knew the MacPhersons. “Unless he's been turned since then, he's still strictly human.” Leidolf gave Rafe the first names of Corey's “uncles,” the other men who had been with the private investigative agency. “I don't recall their last names. Gavin was the man who hadn't been turned.”

Demetria asked Corey, “Is Gavin a wolf now?”

Corey nodded.

“Gavin's a wolf.” Demetria explained that Corey had a brother and sister and about how he had met Belinda and Paddy O'Leary. “Corey said he doesn't know his address because he moved around a lot.”

“So you're sure the boy wasn't stolen?” Rafe asked.

“No, from what Corey says, he was a stowaway,” Everett said.

Corey was happily putting the stegosaurus puzzle together. Everett's mother was well prepared to have him there. She had all kinds of toys for him to play with, plus animated videos to watch and coloring books—enough to keep him happy and occupied for hours.

“Can you tell us what Belinda's house looked like?” Demetria asked Corey.

“It had a red door.”

“Was it a brick house? Wood siding? White, red? Two-story? One-story? Stairs?”

“Two-story.” Corey continued to put the pieces of the puzzle together as he talked. “I had to walk up the stairs to go to bed. Don't remember about the rest. Snowman on the door. Red door.”

“Was the door red, or was it covered with red paper with a snowman printed on it?” Demetria asked.

Corey twisted his mouth in thought and looked up at the ceiling, then back at his puzzle as he tried the wrong piece in a slot. “Red with a snowman on it.”

Demetria continued to press Corey for details. “Paper, or was the door painted red?”

“Paper, I think.”

“Did the yard have trees? Lots of space around it? Or were the houses really close to one another?”

“Close. I saw a kid peeking out a window next door. He was really close. He didn't come out to play with me. Belinda rushed me inside. She said the boy was mean and I wouldn't want to play with him. But they had a huge backyard.” Corey spread his arms wide. “And lots and lots of trees. Like a forest.”

“Did Belinda take you out to eat anywhere? A pizza place or a burger place?” Mary asked.

Demetria glanced at Everett's mother and she smiled.

“Nope. We couldn't eat out.” Corey wrinkled his nose. “She didn't cook good. I didn't like her food.”

“What did she fix?” Mary asked.

Corey shrugged. “Stuff with red stuff all over it. But it tasted yucky.” He looked up at Mary. “It burned my tongue. My mommy doesn't put all that spicy stuff on food. And no meat. She said meat wasn't good for us when I wanted some. I told her my mommy said it was good for us.”

“She was a vegetarian?” Demetria asked. “Did Paddy eat her food?”

“He didn't come home till real late. And he smelled like hamburgers. I wanted one too. Then he grabbed a brown bottle out of the fridge, frowned at me, and stomped up the stairs. I know it was called stomping 'cuz Nick does it when he doesn't get his way. He stomps and Mommy tells him to stop his stomping. Belinda yelled at Paddy O'Leary, ‘Won't she take you in tonight?' And then he slammed the door upstairs. We get in big trouble if we slam the doors.”

Demetria frowned. “Was he mean to you?”

Corey shook his head. “As soon as she made me go to bed, they started fighting in another room. He said they were going to get in trouble over me. He said he was leaving her if she didn't get rid of me. I was scared. But the next morning, he was snoring in another room, and she left me at the day care. Then you and Everett came and got me. I was glad. When do I get to see my mommy and daddy?”

“As soon as we can find them.” Demetria gave him a hug. “What does Belinda look like? Color of eyes? Hair?”

“All brown.”

“What about Paddy?”

Corey looked at Leidolf and pointed a puzzle piece at him. “Like him.”

“Red hair? Green eyes?” Demetria asked.

“Yeah. Only…Paddy O'Leary's hair was…redder.”

“Do you remember what the truck looked like?” Everett asked. “What color was it? Did it have two doors or four doors?”

“It was black with wolves painted on it, and it had a big cover on the back. I smelled fish in it. It wasn't pretty like my dad's car. It's shiny blue.”

Then Everett began questioning about his dad's car.

“Big. Lotsa doors. Lotsa seats.”

“Did it have black seats? Was it light colored? Gray?” Everett asked.

Corey shrugged.

“What difference does the color of the seats make?” Leidolf asked.

“Asking for more details sometimes helps someone remember something else that might really help with an investigation,” Demetria said. “What about Belinda's car?”

“White.”

“Did it have a door to the backseat, or did it only have doors to the front seats?” Everett asked.

“It had a door to the backseat. She didn't have a kid seat to sit in. I told her my mommy wouldn't let me ride in the car unless I sat in one. She said it was okay just for a short ride.”

“Too bad he didn't see the license plate and memorize it,” Rafe said, and everyone turned to look at the phone Everett was holding.

Demetria had forgotten the wolf was listening in on the details.

“I saw it.” Corey smiled. “We played games in my dad's car. Who could see the most different license plates for different states. I won lotsa times. I looked at hers, and she had a star on it. I asked her what it was, and she said that means Texas.”

“What was on your mommy and daddy's license plate?” Everett asked.

“It has a mountain on it. And Mommy said the little words said Evergreen State.”

Demetria looked up license plates on her cell phone. “Washington State. The Evergreen State. They must still have the license plate from when they were living in Seattle.”

“What about the trailer? Color?” Everett asked.

“White.”

“I found Pat O'Leary in Dallas. No Paddy. But I don't think it's the guy.” Leidolf showed a picture of the senior vice president of a firm to Corey, but he shook his head.

Rafe said, “There's no listing for a Belinda O'Leary either.”

“Nothing on searches on Facebook. The guy probably doesn't mess with stuff like that,” Leidolf said.

Mary was typing on her laptop keyboard. “There are a couple of P. O'Learys. Both in the Dallas area.”

“What do they do?” Leidolf asked.

“Don't know. It just shows address listings for them,” Mary said.

“As much as I hate to bring him along, what if we take Corey with us and see if he recognizes one of the two homes?” Everett asked.

“It's the one with the red door,” Corey said, as if that was a surefire way to locate it.

Everett smiled and ruffled the boy's hair. “What do you think, Demetria?”

“I agree with you. It would probably be the best way to ensure we have the right place, if he can recognize it.”

“Wish I could be there with you,” Rafe said. “Let me know what happens. I'm feeding my PI team all the particulars of the case.”

“Thanks, Rafe. Out here.” Everett pocketed his phone.

“Why don't we take two cars?” Leidolf said. “That way, if Corey can verify one of the places is correct, Demetria can take him home while we speak with the couple who found him.”

“Sounds good. I'll call Howard to let him know where we are with this, in case we need backup.” Everett explained who Howard was to both his mother and Leidolf.

“All right.” Leidolf tucked his phone away.

They looked at Demetria. “Okay with me. Thanks so much, Mary, for the delightful supper, as usual.” She'd had so many meals there that she felt like she was almost family.

Corey looked longingly at the puzzle he was working on.

“It's going to be time for bed when we get back, but you can work on the puzzle again later,” Demetria said.

“Remember, the birthday party is tomorrow,” Mary said. “You're going to need a good night's sleep so you can play with all the other kids.”

Demetria hoped Corey wouldn't shift again around the jaguar kids.

“And, Leidolf, I don't know what arrangements you've made, but I want you to stay here. I promise I won't ask you to shift again,” Mary said.

“Thanks, but—”

“No buts. You're in Texas now, and we aim to be downright neighborly. We all need to stick together, you know.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

Mary beamed. “Good.”

Demetria was glad Leidolf was fine with it. She wanted to be with Everett tonight, but he might have been thinking of putting Leidolf up for the night instead. She was glad he didn't. She knew they would have talked about the case, and she would have been left out.

Then Demetria buckled Corey back in the car seat, and she and Everett took the lead while Leidolf followed them in his car.