“He co-owns the diner with his nephew Bill. Nice guy,” Darren said to me.
“Oh, is Bill the cook?”
“No, he just owns half the diner. Bill’s son Bixby is the cook. Bill teaches journalism at the local college, where his wife Jill teaches advanced mathematics.”
Jill and Bill. They sounded like they’d be cute together. Their names rhymed and everything. I wondered if they were also my kind or if they were simply helping Martin hide.
Our waitress came back to our table. “Here you go, one Atomic Burger with Spiral Arm fries and a Space Whale burger with Saturn Rings,” she said, placing our plates in front of us. “And two peach milkshakes. Can I get you anything else?”
“No, thanks, Roberta,” Darren said.
“Enjoy your meal,” she said, turning away to go greet another customer who just walked in the door.
We swapped half of our sides with each other so I had half of his spiral cut fries and he had half of my onion rings. Then we began to eat. He was right. The food was very, very good. Now I really wanted to come back and try that pie.
Chapter 17
Darren
We didn’t linger over our meal as we had food in the car. The meat for the tacos was frozen, but I also had milk, cheese, fresh guacamole, and sour cream in the car and it was a warm night. I did pick up two pieces of Boston Cream pie to take home with us, figuring we could eat it with some home brewed coffee which Jeannie could make with her new coffee maker while I hung the blinds.
I’d just handed Jeannie the box with the pie in after she buckled herself in and was about to shut the car door when trouble struck.
“Hey, I thought it was you, asshole.”
I turned to see Thomas China glaring at me, belligerence written large across his features. A strong smell of alcohol wafted from him and I grimaced.
“Major,” I greeted him, keeping my voice neutral.
“Major,” he replied mockingly. “You’re a major asshole, is what you is. Are. Yep, you are that. A big, giant asshole.”
I sighed, turning back to close Jeannie’s still open door. She looked at me worriedly. I gave her a tight smile before turning to face Major China once more. We weren’t friends. The man was an alcoholic and blamed his mistakes on others. I knew he was angry with me for taking his spot when he got bumped thanks to his own stupidity. I’m sure his flight partner was unhappy about it, as well, but I knew Kyle Regis would place the blame where it belonged- square on China’s shoulders. I held my hands up, placatingly. “Look, I don’t want any trouble. I’m just taking my girlfriend home after having a meal.”
“My wife left me because of you, you piece of shit!” he roared, spittle flying.
I heard Jeannie squeak in fright. I seethed inside. How dare he scare her like that! “If your wife left you, it wasn’t because of anything I did. Now, I’m taking my girlfriend home. I suggest you go home yourself.” I moved to walk to my side of the car. China lunged for me, unsteady on his feet. I reacted defensively, throwing my hands out to push him away. He landed on his butt. I left him sitting there and got into my car. I couldn’t leave, though, as he was right in front of me so I couldn’t pull out. He got up, shouting more profanities at me and punched the hood of my car before lurching away. Once he was far enough out of the way, I drove off.
“Who was that?” Jeannie asked me. “He seemed quite angry with you.”
My hands tightened on the wheel. “Yeah, he is. He should be angry with himself, instead though. That was Thomas China. He and Major Regis are the team that was supposed to the mission that Stephen and I just flew, where we met you. Only they got bumped and Stephen and I were the B team so we went instead.”
“Oh. Why did they get bumped?”
I let out a long sigh before answering. “He was driving home from a poker game where he’d had a few too many beers and crashed into my fence. I came out to find Agnes had already called the cops, who notified the base. He seems to think it was me who called the cops on him since it was my fence. I would have taken his keys and drove him home then have a word with our commander since no one was injured.”
“But he could have killed someone!” Jeannie said.
”But he didn’t. He only made it five houses down before he drove into my fence. Our commander would have seen he was punished and sent to counseling for his drinking. He still would have been bumped, though.”
“Won’t the police make sure he learns not to get drunk and drive a car?”
‘No, they just arrest you and if someone posts bail, you get let out. Then you go to court and a judge decides your punishment. You usually lose your license.” I paused as a thought occurred to me. “Shit, I hope he didn’t drive there.”
‘If he did, I bet he gets arrested again.”
“I hope so, and before he hurts someone.” I felt angry with myself. I should have gone into the diner and asked Martin to call the MPs to drag China home to sober up, seeing as he claimed that his wife left him. I felt sorry for him about that, but she obviously had put up with a lot thanks to his drinking if she’d thrown in the towel this time. Maybe if he went to rehab and kept himself sober, they could work things out. “I’ll call the diner when we get home, find out if he’s still there. Maybe Martin called him a cab or something.”
I kept my word as soon as we got home, striding into the kitchen with the groceries and placing them on the counter, then picking up the avocado green phone hanging on the wall by my back door. I placed the call, dialing the number from memory. I’d ordered enough take away from there to take to Stephen’s, that was for sure.
“No, he’s not in the parking lot as far as we can see,” Martin replied in answer to my question. “Maybe he drove here and left after you did. Sorry.”
I swore and hung up. I pinched the bridge of my nose, then came to a decision. If he was driving about, I could not in good conscience let it lie. I picked up the phone and called the base, letting the CQ on duty know the score. He swore, promising to call the MPs and ask for them to liaise with local law enforcement to try to find his car and get him off the road. I knew they’d find a record of his vehicle and registration, so I’d done all I could do. I just hoped it was enough. I hung up the phone to find Jeannie had put the groceries away.
“I put the meat in the fridge instead of the freezer,” she said. “I figured it needed to defrost before cooking it for tacos.”
“It does,” I told her. “Good thinking.”
She smiled widely at my words of praise. Her smile was contagious and I grinned back. I needed to make sure she kept smiling. It made everything feel so much brighter.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get your coffee maker out of the box and set it up.”
She squealed in excitement. “Then I shall read the instructions and make us some of my Folgers coffee! Mrs. Olson says it is the best coffee in the world!”
“Mrs. Olson, does, huh?” I said, still grinning.
“Yes, but it’s not the one from the prairie show. It’s a different lady, with blonde hair. Folger’s is mountain grown and specially blended.”
“I see.” I was trying hard not to laugh as Jeannie parroted the ad back so earnestly. “What about the Kona coffee? That is grown on the sides of a mountain, too, you know.”
“That was good coffee,” Jeannie nodded. “But that was a volcano, not a regular mountain.” She frowned. “Do you think they are as good as each other?”
“I don’t know. I liked the Kona a lot, but the Commissary doesn’t sell it. I usually use Maxwell House.”
“Oh. I hope you like this Folger’s. The man’s voice said we would.”
I couldn’t help myself at that point. I did laugh, then. “Okay, the man says we will, so I’m sure we shall.” I bolted from the room to go get the coffee maker out of the car before Jeannie could say anything else.
I came back to find her waiting for me in the kitchen. She looked at me suspiciously. “Did I say something strange?” she asked.
> “No, no,” I assured her. “I was just amused. Which ad was it?”
“Mrs. Olson was having car trouble,” Jeannie said. “Her neighbor was fixing her car for her and his wife made terrible coffee so Mrs. Olson told her it was because she bought bad coffee and gave her a can of Folgers.”
“I see. Well, it was good of her to make sure he got a good cup of coffee after fixing her car.” I took the coffee maker out of the box and sat it on the counter next to my percolator. I removed the instructions from the carafe and took the tape off of the plastic coffee basket. Plugging it in, I called over my shoulder, “There’s some sample coffee filters in the bag with the instructions. We forgot to get any, but I can pick up some tomorrow on my way home.”
“Oh! Thank you,” Jeannie said, picking the bag up from the counter and pulling out the booklet of instructions.
“Leave the warranty card, I’ll fill that in tonight and put it in our mailbox in the morning when I go out.”
Jeannie nodded, already engrossed in reading the instructions. I left her to it. I had to still get the blinds out of the car and fit them. As I closed the front door behind me, I spared a thought for Major China, praying he’d either walked home or called a cab, or, if he’d been stupid enough to get behind the wheel again, that they stopped him before tragedy struck.
Chapter 18
Jeannie
Mr. Coffee’s patented technology certainly worked very well with Folgers special blend. The coffee was delicious, smooth and not overly bitter. I decided it was just as good as the Kona coffee, though different. The pie from the diner paired with it wonderfully and we were able to enjoy both the coffee and pie while sat in the living room, thanks to Darren’s handiwork hanging the blinds. He said that Agnes wandered out onto her porch and stared towards the house as he did it. I think she must not have a television or stereo or anything else. If she did, surely she would not be so bored as to have to stare like that.
After we finished our dessert, Stephen showed me how to use the dishwasher. He didn’t actually turn it on since it wasn’t full. He simply showed me how to place the dishes inside so they wouldn’t get broken and could get the right amount of soap and water on them. I was relieved to see it was a GE dishwasher. I had learned about GE today, as well. The short informational segment featuring them had shown a dishwasher, a light bulb, and a wedged shaped device for getting wrinkles out of clothes. They informed me that GE brought good things to life and I must say, from what they had shown, it seemed to be true. He also showed me how to put the detergent and rinse aid in the machine and turn it on. All I had to do was load the breakfast dishes in it in the morning and switch it on and it would wash and dry all of the dishes for me. Truly amazing. These humans were nothing if not innovative.
Then it was time for a shower and bed. Darren made himself up a bed on his sofa, letting me have his bed.
“I’ll see about replacing one of the couches with a sofa bed on payday,” he said.
I looked at the bed as he spoke. It was plenty large enough for the both of s, but I knew from him deciding to share with Stephen instead of me back in Hawaii that he was resistant to that idea. I decided the wisest course of action was to say nothing, hoping that as we continued to get closer, he would see the wisdom of us simply sharing the bed, even if it was just as two friends. At first, anyways.
A loud pounding on the front door woke us both up. A glance out the bedroom window showed that it was still dark outside, so we hadn’t been asleep all that long. I stumbled out of the bedroom to find Darren already answering the door as a red light strobed into the room where it leaked in around the edges of the blinds.
“Are you Darren Nelson?” a man in a uniform barked as soon as Darren opened the door.
Darren blinked sleepily back at him, a surprised look on his face. “Yes? I mean, yes, I am. Has something happened?”
”I’m going to have to ask you to please step outside, sir, and place your hands on top of your head.”
I gasped, realizing this was a police officer and he seemed to believe Darren might be a criminal!
“May I ask what for?”
I was so proud of Darren. He spoke so calmly. I would have panicked, wondering why it was happening to me and fearing someone had pinned something terrible on me for unknown reasons.
“It’s so I can check you for weapons and contraband, Major, before taking you in for questioning.” The officer sounded apologetic and the look on his face was also one of regret.
“Jeannie, you stay here, okay? I’ll call Stephen when I get to the station and we'll get whatever this is sorted,” he called out to me, glancing over his shoulder. I couldn’t help it. He was being so brave and here I was, scared as anything.
What if he didn’t get it straightened out? Would they make him go break rocks at Leavenworth? My nebulous fear morphed into blind terror. What if they were questioning him about me? I stumbled back into the bedroom, leaving the door ajar so I could listen in.
“Good girl, Jeannie,” I heard him say softly. “Sorry, my girlfriend has been on edge all evening after a scare earlier this evening.”
“With Major Thomas China?” the officer asked.
‘Yes. Oh, did you guys catch him?”
“I’m afraid that’s why I have to bring you, Major. He’s dead.”
My hands flew to my mouth. Dead? Had he killed anyone else with his driving? I hoped not, but surely they didn’t hold Darren responsible for China getting in his car and driving off. We’d left him standing in the parking lot and Darren had called both the diner and the base to get someone to track china down so he couldn’t get in a car and drive, or pull him over and make him top if he was already driving.
“I was afraid of that,” Darren said.
“Please,” the officer said, “Don’t say another word until you get a lawyer. I think this is horse shit, but the warrant was issued so I have no choice but to bring you in. Come on out, let me search you, put on the cuffs and get you in the car, then I’ll read you your rights, okay? Believe me when I say I don’t want to bring a national hero like yourself in like this. Just pipe down and call a lawyer when you get to the station.”
“Well, damn,” Darren said. “When you said questioning, you meant I was a suspect and I’m being actually arrested.”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Jeannie,” he called out again. “This might take a bit longer than I expected. Wait for Stephen, okay? Don’t answer the door to anyone else.”
I burst into tears and ran from the bedroom. Flinging my arms around him, I sobbed. “I know you didn’t do it. We came straight home and you set up my new Mr. Coffee so we could have mountain grown coffee made by their patented technology so the coffee always tastes fresh!”
“Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to step back and let him come on out,” the officer said.
I looked at him, narrowing my eyes as I saw Amanda and Agnes standing on the sidewalk, looking over the fence wearing looks of excitement.
“Okay, but can you make them go away?” I pointed.
He glanced over his shoulder and sighed, seeing the two women. “I’m afraid they aren’t trespassing, so they have a right to be there, ma’am.”
I glared at the two women. No doubt they would spread some vile stories they made up in their imaginations about this event. Daren hugged me back before gently disentangling himself. “I need to go before they have to force me,” he said gently. “Those biddies would love nothing better.”
I nodded, knowing he was right. They were not nice at all. I sniffled. “Okay. I’ll lock the door and wait for Stephen. He’ll be bringing you back,” I said, feeling stubborn. Darren had nothing to do with China’s accident and Stephen would help them see that he didn’t. I bet Stephen would know to go get Martin and Martin, who would tell them how we drove off and China was fine, then we called but China had decided, on his own, to go drive none of us had known he’d had there. Then the police would let Darren go because they w
ould know he was innocent.
Darren kissed me on the forehead. “You do that. You do it the second I step outside.” Then he stepped through the door and the officer grabbed him, pushing him against the side of the house. I couldn’t bear to watch so I did as he told me. I closed the door and locked it. Then I sank down onto the floor and cried until I was out of tears.
* * *
Chapter 19
Darren
On the far side of the parking lot for The Starlight, in a dim corner, there was a Goodwill donation box. It seemed that Major China was found dead there, draped over a coffee table where he’d been flung by a car hitting him. An officer from JAG had shown up, looking very annoyed at being called out at the middle of the night. This was going to be a high profile case, as it involved two famous members of the astronaut corps, so the brass wasn’t messing around.
The JAG lawyer got them to release me on bail, seeing as no one from the diner saw me hit China, plus the fact that I not only had called to make sure he was being safe and not putting anyone else at risk, not to mention that the officers who brought me in had looked at my car and noted I had no front damage. My car was impounded anyway, though. The lawyer took me home, where Stephen was sat comforting Jeannie.
Poor Jeannie. She’d looked so terrified. I bet at first she thought the worst, that they’d discovered she was an alien and they were arresting me while taking her off to a secret lab or something. Not that this wasn’t horrible. It most definitely was, but at least what was happening to me was simply a case of the police doing due diligence while investigating a death from a hit and run driver. I knew that the evidence showed I couldn’t have been the one to hit him so they’d move the investigation on, having eliminated me.
A Saucerful of Death Page 7