eighteen,' Lance continued, 'he decides he can't stand the woman and reneges. To say she didn't take his rejection kindly is an understatement.' In many respects, she had every reason to be angry. But burning down the mansion and killing innocents went beyond anyone's idea of fair retribution. 'So she led the raiding party to the mansion?'
'Along with half a dozen drunken buddies, yes.'
'Did she get jail time?'
'Oh yeah. They threw the book at her. Got out after ten years on good behavior, and apparently she is a very nasty piece of work.'
'She got a name?' Not that he really needed to ask, as he had a damn good idea who the woman was.
'She's now known as Iyona Myna. Got married some ten years ago, divorced two years later. I believe she has a daughter from a previous relationship who's also living in Ripple Creek at the moment.'
'Betise.'
'That's the one.'
Duncan rubbed his hand across his jaw. He now had a possible suspect--two actually. Except for one thing. The wolf attacking the women was silver. ' Don't suppose you know what coat color she was?'
'No. But she's from the golden pack, so you'd presume gold.'
Logic would predict so, but nothing in this case was going the way logic said it should. 'Any idea who
Betise's father is?'
'A couple of the gossip magazines suggested Iyona was pregnant when Tray rejected her. They also suggested Tray wasn't the father. I haven't found anything to confirm or deny this yet.'
The timing was about right for Betise to be that child. 'Don't suppose you found any interviews with
Tray?'
'He died the night of the fire.'
So Iyona had gotten her revenge, even if she had killed many innocents in the process. 'Let me know if you find anything else.'
'I will.'
Duncan hung up and leaned back in the chair. If Betise was indeed Tray Sinclair's daughter, then her comments about the Sinclairs owing both her and her mother made a little more sense. But if she was after some form of blood recognition or compensation, why not go through a DNA test to prove paternity? What she was doing now--trying to hook a Sinclair through marriage--was surely going the long way around things. And while none of Zeke's get were related to the Bitterroot Sinclairs, there were others in the pack who were. Moons, if she wasn't careful, she could very well end up mating with a half brother, though he suspected it wouldn't really bother her. He glanced at the time and wondered how
Neva was doing. Was she keeping her distance like she'd promised? He frowned and rose, walking to the window. The snow was still falling, the night's chill evident through the glass. He hoped she wasn't still out in it. Hoped she was warm and snug in bed.
He closed his eyes and reached for her, but there was nothing in the mental lines beyond a buzzing warmth. Wherever she was, she was too far away to hear him. Worry snaked through him, and he half wished he'd followed the desire to demand she stay put in the house and not run after Betise.
The door behind him opened, and Zeke stepped in. 'Thought you might be here,' his father said.
'Martin handed those samples he took from Betise over to my friend in forensics. I suggest you mention them to our head ranger when you talk to her.'
'I will.' Even though the mere fact they'd taken samples wasn't likely to impress Savannah. 'You talked to Rene yet?' Zeke asked.
'Yes. And I've talked to Lance.'
'Then you know about Iyona?'
'Yes.' Duncan closed the curtains then turned around and leaned back. The chill of the glass was still evident through the thick material. 'Did you get anything of interest out of Detrek?'
'Not much more than what Lance probably told you. Apparently, Betise and Tray had a huge argument several days before the night of promising. Detrek had no idea what the argument was about, and from what I gather, really didn't care. He didn't like Iyona and said he was sorry he ever promised his son to her.'
'Did he say anything about Iyona being pregnant?' Zeke nodded. 'He said the bitch had been trying to pass off a pup as Tray's, but he'd sent her packing.'
'Surely Iyona could have proven it with DNA tests.'
'She could have, and the fact she didn't even try speaks volumes, in my book. Fact is, Tray was sterile.
It was apparently something they'd discovered only a few weeks beforehand.'
'You'd have to hazard a guess that's probably what they argued about.'
'Probably.'
Zeke moved across to the bar and poured himself a drink, then raised the bottle in query. Duncan shook his head.
'I suspect Iyona or her bastard are probably responsible for the attack on Rene, but what about the murders? Do you think they're related?'
Though he'd never seen Betise's alternate shape, she certainly had both the height and the wide shoulders to suggest she'd be big in wolf form. But having the right body type didn't make her a murderer. 'The biggest problem is the fact that the murderer is a male--'
'That's only being presumed,' Zeke cut in. 'No one knows for sure.'
'Savannah might.' After all, she'd survived an attack by the killer, and she'd obviously seen something, or the killer would not have gone after her in the hospital. 'Our head ranger isn't likely to tell us anything, especially when she considers our pack the main suspects.' Zeke paused, black eyes glimmering with sudden amusement. 'Of course, she has a twin, and the golden tribe share an extremely powerful psychic connection. It's very possible your Neva experienced her sister's attack and saw what her sister saw.' Your Neva. The words seemed to echo through Duncan, and he had to curb a smile, because in reality, there was no reason to smile. She was his nothing until she looked deep into her heart and acknowledged what lay between them. And right now, she was too scared of his reputation to even dare try.
'I hadn't thought of that,' he admitted. 'I'll talk to her when I see her again.'
Zeke took a drink, then said, 'If your connection with her is strong enough, you might be able to touch her mind and share her memories.'
'That takes trust.'
Zeke's half-smile was sympathetic. 'Many bridges to mend, huh?'
'Maybe a lifetime's worth.' There was no bitterness in his voice. With the benefit of hindsight, he did regret his actions. And yet he knew, given the same circumstances, the same information, and the chance to do it all again, he'd probably make the same choices.
'What do you intend to do?'
He knew his father was talking about Neva rather than the murders. He shrugged and moved away from the chill of the windows. 'I really don't know. I'm committed for at least another two months in Eagle. I can't walk out on Dave without giving him time to find and train a replacement, and I need to find myself another job.'
'You have the ski lodge your mother left you. You could always return and manage that. And I've heard that they're thinking about setting up a search and rescue team here in Ripple Creek.'
He nodded. He'd heard the same from Dave. 'I'll worry about it when I have our current problem solved.
I'm heading over to the hospital to talk to our head ranger, then I'll see if Neva remembers anything. I'll let you know if I get anywhere.'
'I gather Neva didn't warn you about the rangers' raid tonight?'
'No.' Nor was he surprised. Her allegiance lay with her sister, not with him. Maybe one day that would change, but not today, or tomorrow or even next week. Zeke took a long drink, then said, 'I don't know why Savannah's so damn convinced it's one of us.'
'Because they found black hairs on several victims. It wasn't a human who killed those women. It was a wolf, and we're the only pack with black hair.'
'And silver coats. If the murderer was in wolf form when he attacked, how could the rangers find black
