"Sorry, Nickie." He showed her his bare wrist. "No watch."
They walked four blocks in silence. She's punishing me, thought Max. Why do women always use the silent treatment? Because it works so well, he sighed.
"You'd think that someone from the next century would at least have some kinda supersonic alarm clock," she said, chiding him.
"Don't need 'em, we have inner time," said Max. Just keep her talking, he thought. That way she'll forget she's giving me the silent treatment.
"Inner time? Right. Like a little clock stuck in your brain? Like an inner Google Glass? How do you recharge it? Plug yourself into the wall each night?"
She's interested, Max, he told himself. Just keep her going. "They're solar powered. Makes for trouble in deep space, though. Once you get on the dark side of Saturn it's all over."
She smiled in spite of herself and changed the subject. "We need to go to that kitchen store. I thought it would be good to put in some gadgets they might not be using in - Max? Earth to Max!"
Max stood rooted to a spot in front of the dilapidated 24-Hour movie theater next door and gaped at the marquee. "Nickie, look what's playing! We've gotta go!" It took some fast-talking, but Nickie soon stood in the lobby and stared at the luridly painted movie posters in the display windows. NOW IN TECHNICOLOR AND STEROPHONIC SOUND! Max handed her a ticket.
"I feel a little guilty. We really should be working," she said.
"Don't be silly," said Max. "We are working. This is cultural research." The bored usher gave them their ticket stubs. "We'll put our stubs in the capsule."
"But a movie at nine o'clock in the morning? It feels like cutting class to me." They entered the silent, dark theater.
"This is fate – we were meant to go. Besides, this isn't just any movie; it's Shane," said Max.
"Ah, well, then, that makes everything alright," joked Nickie. They stopped at the top of the sloping center aisle.
"Wow," she said looking down at the rows and rows of empty seats. "I hope we can find a good seat. I hate it when I can't see."
"Tell me about it," said Max, stretching his neck.
"Right, what do you do, bring a pillow to sit on?" she teased.
"You asked for it, Smartarm!" He pulled her to the front row and plunked her down.
"Smartarm?" she laughed. "Okay, okay, you've made your point," and she took him by the hand and sat with him in a row in the middle of the theater.
Max couldn't help smiling to himself. I am actually out on a date with Nickie, he thought. Well, kind of a date. At least she's treating me like an equal now.
"I must have seen Shane a million times," he sighed. Yes, she's definitely forgotten about our age difference. "Of course a movie's not as good as the VR version."
"VR?"
"Virtual Reality. In the future we have VRs instead of movies or CDs.
"Oh, yes. Max's Fantastic Future World," she said.
Age shouldn't matter, anyway. If I was twenty-four and she was twenty-seven, age wouldn't even be an issue. "You see, Nickie, in VRs, you attach a cord with a little pincher thing to your finger," he said.
"Ouch."
"No, it doesn't hurt. It just lets you be the main character. To look through his or her eyes, feel what he's feeling, you know?" She has such nice eyes, too. Green with little flecks of brown.
Nickie blushed and broke their gaze. "Uh, yeah, I get it," she said. "Sort of a vicarious experience. Just my luck, the heroine would get shot. No, I don't think I'd like your future, Max," she said.
Nickie placed her arm along one half of the worn, wooden armrest between the seats. Max ever-so-casually laid his strong, tan arm next to her slim, pale one. The warmth from her arm tingled and spread through his. No, age really shouldn't matter, he thought.
As the movie began, an old man wandered down the aisle, settled into the seat in front of Max and began to snore. Giggling, Max and Nickie moved to the back row. Max noticed that she put her arm back on the armrest, leaving just enough room for his.
Anyway, he thought, resting his arm next to hers, when we're sitting, we're practically the same height.
After the morning movie and shopping, Nickie and Max returned to the office at noon, joking and singing "Happy Trails." They found Bird at his desk, watching a CD on his laptop. He quickly closed the laptop. I love that YouTube," he explained. "I'm glad you got it for the capsule, Nickie. Big Red and I love that cat playing the piano." He pointed to the spinning rodent above.
"We've got a new one for you to watch," said Max. He inserted a CD of Shane and fast-forwarded to the final scene. As the actors spoke, Max mouthed the words in unison.
"And we'll never see you again?" asked the heroine, Marion.
"Never's a long time, Marion. Tell him, tell him I was sorry," said Shane, motioning to her husband.
"No need to tell him that. Please stay, please…take care of yourself," said Marion.
Nickie sighed and turned it off. "It was worth the trip to the vintage video store to find this," she said.
"It's not bad for a cowboy story," said Bird.
"You don't like westerns?" asked Nickie.
"I don't like cowboys," said Bird, fingering a braid.
"I think it's sad," she said wistfully.
"Well, we've had a pretty bad history of not getting along," said Bird.
"No, I mean the movie's sad. She's so torn between needing to stay with her husband and wanting to leave with Shane," Nickie said.
"No contest! Take Shane!" said Max. "And take this CD to the vault. Then let's us rustle up some grub, ma'am, I'm starvin'!"
"Watch who you're ordering around, dude," said Nickie. "Besides, I'm having lunch with my dad today."
Powers and Gloria appeared at the doorway with stacks of colored paper in their arms. They dumped them on the table in front of Bird. "Nickie, darling, here are the fliers for your little celebration. They need to be posted right away," said Gloria.
"I told you, Gloria, I'm doing Facebook and Twitter to get out the word – geez save a tree, why don't you?"
Gloria smirked at her and fiddled with the dozen chipped plastic bangles jangling on her scrawny wrist. She reminded Max of the old-fashioned ring-toss game at the Kansas Moon Fair.
"Where's my dad?" Nickie asked Powers.
"Yeah, where's Ted?" Max whispered to Bird, realizing he was supposed to be following him.
"I haven't any idea," said Powers.
"He'll be along soon," Gloria answered. "We have a date for lunch."
"You have a date? For lunch today?" snarled Nickie.
"Yes, dear. Of course, you can join us if you like. But I guess you'd just feel like a third wheel, now wouldn't you?" said Gloria
"No, he told me-"
"Oh, here he is now, Nickie! Ted, come here, darling."
Ted straggled in, looking confused and tired.
"Ted! Blast, man, do you call that a ship-worthy suit?" gawked Powers.
"Dad, what happened to your pants?"
"I fell down an elevator shaft," Ted said.
"Dad…"
"I've been thinking about it all morning. Just walking the streets, thinking. I could have been killed."
Powers gave Max and Bird a meaningful look, then pretended to drink from an imaginary bottle.
"I know what you need, Teddy. A nice lunch, how about that? Remember our date for lunch?" asked Gloria.
"Did we?" said Ted, faintly. "I thought NIckie and I-"
"Yes, I invited Nickie but she didn't want to be a third wheel," said Gloria. She took Ted by the arm and led him away.
"I can't believe this is happening," said Nickie. "He imagined he fell down an elevator shaft. An ELEVATOR, Max!"
"Well, it could have happened, Nickie."
Powers rolled his eyes.
"Don't patronize me, Max." She fought back tears. And Gloria's just taking advan-" she paused, looking at Powers. "He's such an easy target now that he's, he's…"
"Looney?" offered Bird.
"Clooney? Never heard of him!" Powers burst out. "I don't know anyone by that name! Never heard of him!" He gave them a wide-eyed stare and sprang away to his office.
"Speaking of loony," said Max, watching Power's bob down the corridor. "And what's that bandage on his nose?"
"Let me guess," said Bird. "Nautical accident.
Chapter 18
Max waited until Nickie returned to her cubicle, then he confronted Bird. "Where were you when Ted was roaming the streets?"
"I stayed with him at the athletic club, then he headed back here and when he circled the block for the twenty-ninth time I could see a pattern emerging. I just left him to circle and checked up on him from the window at each revolution. Takes him seventeen minutes to go around the block each time."
"Bird, you were supposed to keep an eye on him!"
"I did, Max. Every seventeen minutes. Personally, I'd get dizzy, but," he rolled his chair forward until his knees almost touched Max's, "it's my opinion that this whole pace is dizzy. I don't know how this company stays in business."
"You know more about how this company runs than you pretend, Bird." Max opened Bird's desk drawer and pulled out the hidden shipping records printout. "Now tell me what you know and don't leave anything out."
Bird smiled meekly. "Okay, you caught me, Max. But I planned to share everything I found out with you. I just haven't found out much yet."
"So what do you know?"
"Well, I noticed that Ted checks the daily shipping record several times a day and seems confused about it. Shakes his head a lot. So I thought I'd take a look into it."
"And?"
"It doesn't add up, Max. The daily records are much higher than the monthly tallies show. And the yearly shipping account books are low, too."
"So someone's altering the tallies. Why?"
"I don't know. Somebody wants it to look like the company is doing a lot worse than it is."
Max rolled back and forth in his chair and considered this new information. "Could be tax fraud. That's probably why the IRS is interested. If the company isn't making much, they don't have to pay as much in taxes. And that money could be pocketed by the partners."
"Or just one partner. And how does that affect Ted getting killed?" asked Bird. "I went into the Records Room and just got started looking at the books but I heard somebody in the hall and had to sneak out. I think I'll try again right before closing time."
Max rose. "No, you go follow Ted and Gloria to lunch and I'll take a look at those books."
Once on the first floor stairway landing, Max opened the door a crack and peeped through. No one in sight. He moved soundlessly into the hallway toward the door marked RECORDS. His hand on the doorknob, he -
"Max!"
He jumped and faced Nickie, guilt written all over him.
"There you are!" she said. "I've been looking all over for you."
"I…I knew that. I was just looking for you!" said Max.
"Oh, I wouldn't be in there. Besides, you need a key to get in," she said.
So how did Bird get in there to see the shipping records? Max wondered.
"Anyway, I need some help on the loading dock with the flat screen TV and some of the other big stuff we ordered for the capsule. Are you free?"
"I'm all yours," said Max with a smile. That Bird, he thought. Where did he get the key?
That afternoon, Max returned from the dock to find Bird poring over the pieces of a Where's Waldo puzzle, half-assembled on his desk.
"Where's Ted?" asked Max.
"Nope, Where's Waldo," said Bird.
"You know what I mean."
"He'd already left for lunch with Gloria and I couldn't catch up to them."
"What?!"
"Max, you have to admit, it would have been a little conspicuous if I scrambled right after them. Besides, you detained me a minute, too. Anyway, he's not back yet." He held up a puzzle piece. "Look at this piece, Max. Do you think it's part of Waldo's shirt?"
"What do you mean, he's not back? It's almost four o'clock!"
"Well, there's lots of ways to kill an afternoon. Maybe he and Gloria went to a movie. I hear Shaaaaane is playing locally," said Bird, smirking. He looked at the picture on the cover of the puzzle box and discarded the piece. "No, I think that's one of the Egyptian's robes."
They heard Nickie's voice in the background. "Don't say anything to Nickie about her dad still being out with Gloria. She's kinda sensitive about that."
"Discretion is the key," said Bird.
"Oh, yeah, and speaking of keys, where'd you get it?"
"Get what, Max? You know, I've noticed that you tend to be a little vague lately. Could be summer doldrums, could be loooove."
"The key for the Records Room!"
"Oh, that, well, that can be explained. I made friends with Estella in Shipping. Nice lady. You know her, she's the one with the short gray hair. Well, actually it's sort-of a bluish, purplish color, and she sings Cuban songs."
"No getting involved – no socializing, Bird!"
"Max, I'm not involved! I just asked her for the key so I could file some records for Nickie. It's no big deal. You could ask anybody down there – they all have keys."
"Never mind, I'll take care of it myself!"
"Sure, Max, you go. If you want to do it the hard way."
Max halted. "What do you mean, 'do it the hard way'?"
"It's just that this morning I figured out how to hack into last month's bank records." Bird smiled and scooted his chair up to his laptop and wiggled his fingers tantalizingly over the keys. "I love these ancient machines." His fingers flew over the keys. Columns of numbers scrolled down an Excel spreadsheet on the screen. "See there, Max. Every ten days a new withdrawal. Sometimes five thousand dollars, sometimes eight, but always every ten days."
"Who made the withdrawals? Powers?" said Max.
"Ted. See there? Ted, in every case."
"Where's the money going, back into another account?"
"Nope. It just disappears, Max."
"Okay, so Ted's using the company's money for something other than company business. How long had this been going on? Bird, bring up the May and June statements."
"Can't do it, Max. they erase after one month. The hard copy is in the Records Room."
"Which is where I was going in the first place, Bird!"
"Oh, yeah! How about that!" Bird laughed.
Max was weighing the consequences of smacking him when Nickie returned.
"Hi guys. Have you seen my dad?" Max gave Bird a warning look.
"He was just here…and then I think he left. Don't know where," said Bird, but it was too late. Ted and Gloria passed their cubicle.
"Thanks for listening, Gloria," said Ted. "I'm sorry I went on and on but-"
"You're just getting back now?" said Nickie.
Ted looked at his watch. "Wow, I didn't realize it was so late. I'm going to have to stay late again tonight, Nickie."
"But Dad –"
"I know, honey, and I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you." He reached in his pocket and handed her a wad of money. "Here, why don't you and Jen go to a movie tonight." He turned and walked toward his office.
"But Jen is – thanks. Thanks a lot, Dad." She stood there for a moment, clutching the crumpled bills in her hand. "Max, do you think you can stand to see Shane for the million and second time?"
"Yeah!" whooped Max. Bird leered at him. "Uh, Nickie, why don't you grab some fliers and we can post them on the way?" He turned her by the shoulders and gave her a little nudge out the door.
"Now weren't you the one who said 'no socializing!' just a minute ago?" asked Bird, sauntering forward. "And what about that ol' Policy of Non-Involvement?"
"This is business, Bird. Research or culture study or…stop laughing, Bird! And follow Ted. I don't want you to lose track of him again today."
"Twenty four hours, still?"
"Right. I'll come and relieve you tonight at midnight," said Max, hurrying
out.
"Study hard," called Bird.
That night, after Max saw Nickie safely to her door, he looked for Bird. He looked in the hallway. He looked in the stairwell. He looked in the street outside the building. No Bird. He pulled out his phone and called him. Straight to voicemail.
He raced to the motel and burst into the bathroom. "What are you doing here? You should be watching Ted!"
Bird sat low in the bubble bath, a washcloth draped over his face. "I did. I followed him home where he ate dinner and went to bed," said Bird. "But first he went for Chinese take-out. Do you want to know what he ordered?"
"Urrrghhhh! You make me so mad, Bird!"
"Moo Goo Gai Pan."
"We know he's embezzling, he might leave town!"
"Won ton, pork-fried rice, tea, fortune cookie. I didn't get close enough to read the fortune."
"Bird!"
"Relax a minute, Max. He was there when you took Nickie home, right? And that must have been…" He leaned over the side of the tub and checked his Swatch watch. "About one o'clock! I thought you were going to relieve me at midnight!"
"I…I took a lot of time looking around the building for you," said Max.
"A whole hour and a half looking for me? Very conscientious, Sergeant!"
"We're not talking about me, Bird!"
"Must have been a good date, huh?"
"Shut up, Bird!"
"Ah! The feminine earth meeting the masculine sky! Don't you just love nature?" said Bird splashing him.
Bluebell gave a deep, loud snort from the other room.
"What's wrong with her?" said Max, peeping through the door.
"Nothing. It's that late night Japanese soap opera. She's hooked on it. Tonight Sumi-san marries her surgeon," said Bird.
Max shook his head, got the sonic wand out of the drawer and aimed it at his teeth and gums.
"So, you're not going back to watch Ted?" asked Bird.
"Well, if you think he's okay, I guess I think he's okay," Max yawned.
"Oh, yeah, you're pretty tired aren't you, cowpoke? Yep, romancing's hard work. Need your rest to rope in that little heifer!"
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