“Mm-hmm.” Cody didn’t sound as pleased as I’d expected.

“What?”

“If Loretta’s telling the truth, Thad and Mike came into the bar looking for Ray D. They claim no one’s seen him for months; no one knew how to get in touch with him.” Cody reached over and tapped the matchbook I was holding. “But Thad and Mike appear to have left with a phone number.”

“So someone’s lying,” I said.

“Maybe.” He shrugged. “Or maybe they got the number from someone who wasn’t there today, and Loretta didn’t see it.”

I flipped open my notepad and glanced at the list I’d made of all the patrons Loretta remembered being in the bar that afternoon. “Are we going to question all of these people?”

“If we have to.”

It had already been a long day of questioning witnesses, and we had all the other bars to revisit. It made my head ache. “I didn’t realize regular police work would be quite so tedious,” I admitted.

Cody smiled. “You watch too many movies.”

“You don’t watch enough,” I retorted. “I can’t believe you haven’t seen Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure! It’s a classic.”

“If you say so.”

“Yes, Mr. Laconic. I do.” I studied his profile. “So what did you think of Stefan Ludovic?”

He stopped smiling. “Didn’t like him; don’t trust him.” He glanced at me. “For someone who claims not to like ghouls, you gave a pretty convincing performance to the contrary.”

Ooh, alpha-male jealousy! A tingle ran down my spine, culminating in a burst of pleasure at the base of my tail. “What are you talking about?” I scoffed disingenuously. “I barely spoke to him.”

“Uh-huh.” Cody’s expression turned wry. “Thing is, I can’t figure out if he was being helpful to pull rank in the Outcasts or just to impress you.” He drove across the bridge and crossed into the left lane, signaling for the turn to downtown Pemkowet. “Or maybe it’s something else altogether. Maybe he’s trying to throw us off the scent.”

I shook my head. “I get the impression he’s clever enough for it. Loretta, not so much.”

“Good point.”

It felt good to earn Cody’s nod of approval—not in a needy, daddy-issues kind of way, just in a general-validation way. “So far, we don’t make too bad a team, do we?”

His lips twitched. “I have to admit, I liked the way you stood up to Al.”

That had felt good, too, but I couldn’t help wondering what would have happened if Stefan hadn’t intervened.