Chapter Eight

Finn had just settled into Siddeley's cabin and prepared for takeoff when he heard his phone ringing. "A Volkswagen Karmann Ghia has no radiator," he said.

"No shit, Sherlock. It's air-cooled," the voice on the other end of the line replied.

"Ah, Alexa. It's nice to hear from you, and I see you figured out how your phone works."

"Started to."

"So, what have you been up to?"

"I've got a situation for you and I want your take on it."

"Go on."

"My aunt Taylor Carerra's seeing this car Steven Saybrooke. Firstly, we're confused on what model is, because Alex always knew him as a Hugo, but I met him as a Sedan. Second, he doesn't have a public driving record."

"What?"

"He doesn't have a public driving record, as either of the two known models."

"Well, that is something. What do you make of it?"

"Montgomery."

"The second coming?"

"Dodge, I hope not."

"But you fear so."

"Yeah, I do," Lexie said softly.

"If he is in any way connected to Montgomery, whatever you do, do not engage him directly. He will want you dead, or brainwashed, and we cannot underestimate the fact that he may be just as ruthless as our old foe." Finn surprised himself with the notes of firmness in his voice.

"I think I'll have to. This is my aunt and cousin we're talking about, and I've been talking with Alex about this for some time."

"Then I guess my advice is moot."

"Got anything else?"

"Well, I suppose I should say keep doing what you're doing. It seems to be working for you so far. However, I will caution you to be careful. There's a lot going on here that you shouldn't be involved in."

"I figured that going in."

"Good, because it can only get worse."

"Of course. We're dealing with, if we're right, the underboss of the Hugo crime family, the car right under Victor Hugo himself. And on top of that, he could very well be in some equivalent position under the late Montgomery."

"Obviously this Steven Saybrooke character is very well connected."

"Which means going through the legal channels will be a problem."

"Exactly."

"So what do we do?"

Finn rolled back about a centimeter and chewed on his bumper for a moment. Then he said, "You wait there. If anything happens, drive to Axle's garage, and then contact me. I'll get in touch with a few others and alert them to the situation, and then we'll talk strategy."

He hung up and settled onto his chassis with a heavy sigh. Alexa was most likely annoyed by his abrupt end to the conversation, but he needed some quiet time to think about the matter.

"Finn, is everything alright?" Siddeley asked over the intercom. When Finn didn't answer, the plane asked, "Finn, what happened?"

"There's been an incident in Los Angeles, involving Alexa and some relatives of hers," Finn replied.

"A short incident or a longer one?"

"A longer one."

"A records issue, then."

"Yes."

"So, sir, what do you need to do?"

"Continue with the plan. I want to talk to Holley about this in person, and then I'll let you know if I have another plan."

"Alrighty, will do."

"Thanks, Siddeley."

"Of course."

Siddeley signed off, and Finn sank onto his axles with a sigh.

CARS

Holley and some of the remaining residents were chatting idly at the V8 Cafe, occasionally engaging the trickle of tourists that flowed through the town. She spotted Finn just past the town limits and rolled closer to him, and they separated themselves from the others. "What's up?" she asked in a low voice.

"Something's come up in Los Angeles," he replied.

"What sort of something?"

"We've found a car that doesn't have a public driving record, and we have reason to suspect a possible tie to Montgomery based on that."

"Oh, dear."

"If you can run a check on this Steven Saybrooke, that would be great."

"Steven Saybrooke? Isn't that a soap opera character?"

"What?"

"When I have a few days off, I catch my stories at two. One of the characters is named Steven Saybrooke. I'm pretty certain of it."

Finn blinked a couple of times, and in spite of his weariness, he looked alert for all intents and purposes. "So, if this Saybrooke character in fact doesn't exist, you think the car behind it got the name from a soap opera?"

"So far as I can judge, yes. If not from the soap opera, definitely from the internet."

"Then this could be nearly anyone."

"If you suspect a tie to Montgomery, then our pool of suspects becomes much smaller."

Finn nodded. "True."

"But we need to investigate the angle more thoroughly. Finn, you rest, I'll check the records, alright?"

"Mm, alright." Finn nodded, his eyes closed, and he drove off toward the Cozy Cone. Holley watched him for a moment and then returned to the V8 Cafe.

"Everything okay?" Sally asked.

"As well as can be expected for our line of work," she replied.

CARS

At around ten-o'-clock that night, Lexie's internal phone rang, which startled her from sleep and led to a few moments of freaking out before she figured out how to answer. "Yeah?" she asked. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Holley Shiftwell," the voice replied. Lexie relaxed.

"Okay, so what's up?"

"We have a problem. I ran a double-check on Steven Saybrooke and haven't found anything except that he's a soap opera character."

"So, he shouldn't be real, right?"

"Exactly, and he's not. I've found something in the CHROME records to indicate that at about the time this Steven Saybrooke appeared in our lives, Alan deCarteran disappeared."

"de-Who?"

"deCarteran, an agent of Montgomery's and, as we understand, his right tire."

"Which means he's picking up the slack after Montgomery's death," Lexie said.

"Right. Of course, we can't be sure the two incidents are related. We'll have to do some more digging and let each other know what we find. That may be evidence for or against the deCarteran theory."

"Or it might be completely worthless."

"Yes, but it's worth a shot, as Curby Gremlin would say." Lexie swallowed, nodded, and let out a quick, "Yeah." "Good luck," Holley said, and she hung up.

Lexie settled onto her chassis, her gas tank suddenly full of butterflies and her mind more alert than exhausted. Then she called Alex.