Page 17 of Wild Idol

“About 7:30 PM, I think.”

“When did you notice it was missing?”

“I didn’t. Everett was leaving. When he stepped outside, he noticed the car was gone. I called the county right away.”

“What time did you report that?”

“I’m sure you’ve got a record of it, but I’d say it was about an hour ago.”

“You’ve got a video doorbell,” I said. “There’s a good chance you captured the theft.”

“Oh, I know it captured the theft. I know exactly who did it, too.”

She had our full attention.

10

Sable pulled up the clip on her phone. We huddled around as she played it back, her sweet perfume filling my nostrils. There were thousands of fans that would kill to get this close to her.

The woman had electricity. You could feel it just being around her.

The clip started with a blonde woman walking through the gate from the courtyard to the circular drive. She clicked a key fob, and the Lambo’s lights flashed. She’d climbed into the sports car, started it up, and drove away.

There was no mistaking it. The woman was Sable.

I was so confused for a moment.

JD and I shared a look.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but you just got in the car and drove away,“ I said.

“That’s not me,“ Sable replied. “I was upstairs playing pool with Everett. That’s Emily Fowler.”

My brow wrinkled. “How do you know that?”

“Because I’ve been dealing with that bitch for the past several months. She’s been stalking me. Broke into the house twice. I’m sure she just walked in through the back door, grabbed the keys, and walked out the front door. We had the music blasting upstairs, playing pool. I didn’t hear anything.”

“Emily Fowler?” I said for confirmation. “Have you filed a police report?”

“Yes. Several. She fancies herself a celebrity impersonator. Actually, the only person she impersonates is me. And apparently, she does a pretty good job of it. From what I’m told, she even had surgery to look more like me.“ Then she added aside, “I don’t think she looks exactly the same, and she’s a little heavier, but…”

I shared another look with JD.

“Surely you can pull her prints from the wreckage and get a positive ID.”

“The victim was burned beyond recognition,“ I said. “We’ll be lucky if we can identify the body at all.”

“What about DNA?” Everett asked.

“I’m sure the lab will find a way, but it could take a while.”

“I can guarantee you it’s her,“ Sable said. “Nobody else looks that much like me.”

“She’s been showing up at a lot of celebrity events, impersonating Sable,” Everett said. “She’s actually been able to fool quite a few. Hell, she was signing autographs at the mall last week.”

“It’s crazy what some people will do for fame,” Sable said. “I have to admit, it’s got its perks, but it doesn’t take long for the attention to get annoying. It’s impossible to go anywhere in public without getting swarmed. I really should up my security, but this is the first time I’ve had any real problem with fans. It’s not like I’m Chloe C or something. The thought of 24-hour security bothers me. I like my privacy. I don’t want a bunch of people hanging around.”

“You might have to reevaluate,“ I said. “I think you’re at the level of fame where you need to consider full-time security.”