"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 René 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."