by Fiona Roarke
A sound from one of the stalls startled him, because he’d thought he had the bathroom to himself.
A funny-looking, skinny little man dressed in a bright green tuxedo and a green sparkly top hat stepped from the last stall at the end of the row. The intricately carved wooden door banged against the far wall, making a loud racket. A strand of red hair stuck out from beneath the wig the man wore under his top hat. He stomped out of the stall with a fierce expression, glared at Max as if he’d done something horrible, and left the bathroom like a bright green sprinter.
Too bad, so sad. This bathroom was for everyone…well, all the men anyway.
Max shook his head and took one last look at his reflection. Seeing nothing different, he also exited the room. Part of him wanted to find Ruby and try one last time to explain what he suspected had happened with the drunk older women putting spells on him, only to repeat the words in his head and decide he needed some distance. He hoped the enchantment or whatever was wrong with him would wear off soon. Maybe it only worked while he attended this party. Maybe he just needed to get some sleep. Maybe he’d be back to normal tomorrow.
With that thought in mind, he left the gorgeous, palatial, elegant home of Elenora Ellingham and headed toward his much smaller place near the center of town.
He’d gotten a truly amazing deal on his new apartment, an updated loft arrangement with tall ceilings and everything sort of in one room, although a black metal spiral staircase wound up to a loft space where he slept. He had the penthouse apartment on the fourth floor only a couple of blocks from where he worked on Main Street.
There were only eight apartments in his four-story building, two on each floor. The previous tenant had left in a hurry without paying the rent he owed and abandoned lots of stuff. Max had cleaned the place out, using a large container of cleaning stuff that smelled like lemons with a picture of a smiling bald guy on the bottle. It worked great. He kept quite a few worthy furniture pieces, random pictures he liked and such. The smaller portion of the previous owner’s stuff that he didn’t keep went in the trash. There was no elevator, so he got lots of exercise going up and down the central staircase in his building. A bonus, as he saw it.
The one oddity about living in the building was he’d never seen any of the other tenants. His Realtor, Pandora, told him the only apartment available was the top floor, so that meant the building was fully rented once he moved in. But he hadn’t met a single other apartment dweller. Not on the central staircase, not in the large foyer, not in the mail area right behind ground-floor steps.
Perhaps they were all Supes of one species or another and used their magical abilities to transport themselves about town and also to gather their mail. Either way, he didn’t know a single soul he lived with in this building. He never saw anyone, so, in a way, it was like having the huge building to himself. That was fine with him.
Max changed from his costume into comfortable clothes, thinking about Ruby and what would happen if the spell or his affliction never wore off. What if he had to tell her the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth forever? He’d heard that phrase on an Earth television show. Would she give him a chance? Would she run when she found out about his past? Should he go find her and proactively tell her the truth about his regretful history and everything? Would she be interested? Maybe not. He didn’t ever want to see her beautiful face contorted into disdain for his previous life problems. That might be the end of him.
He’d come to Earth to forget all about the incident and start anew. If he couldn’t stop himself from telling Ruby the absolute truth, one day he’d spill all of his secrets. That wouldn’t do.
Where would he go next? Some other colony planet? No. Earth was the nicest of all the colony planets and he wasn’t about to ruin a perfectly good life here by opening his mouth to tell the truth. Even if she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He would have been interested even without the spell. Right?
Max didn’t know how long he meandered around his apartment, trying to come up with a good plan to see Ruby again and talk to her without shooting the absolute truth out of his mouth like lightning strikes out of an angry storm cloud.
The buzzer rang, indicating someone wanted to come up. Who could that be at this hour? Glancing at the wall clock, another gift from the previous owner, he realized it wasn’t as late as he thought. The charity ball was likely still going on and would be for a while.
“Who is it?” Max said into the speaker.
“This is Hank Merrow, the Sheriff of Nocturne Falls.”
The sudden sinking feeling in his belly took him back to the night the Guardsmen on Alpha-Prime had come to his home to arrest him.
Without pushing the button to release the security door downstairs so the Sheriff could come up, Max asked, “What can I do to help you?”
“I need to ask you a few questions, Mr. Vander. Could you release the door?”
Max had a really bad feeling. “Questions? Regarding what?” Was he about to be subjected to police scrutiny for any and all crimes in town? Was he to be blamed for something he hadn’t done, just like back at home?
“Are you going to buzz me in or do I need to make this a more official visit?”
Max pushed out a long sigh of resignation and pressed the button allowing the Sheriff to enter the foyer downstairs. Best to play nice. He didn’t know anything. He couldn’t possibly be in any trouble. Unless telling a beautiful stranger that you loved her and wanted to marry her was a crime. Had Ruby complained to the Sheriff?
Max expected to wait at least several minutes for the Sherriff to walk up to the fourth floor, but there was a forceful knock at his door in an amazingly short time. He moved slowly to answer it, hoping this was something to do with donations to the policemen’s ball or something, knowing that wasn’t even a possibility.
He opened the door a crack. “May I see your identification, please?”
A badge was lifted to his eye level through the narrow seam of space. Yep. Hank Merrow was the Sheriff all right. Max opened the door and allowed the Sheriff inside his apartment. Every nerve in his body rebelled, urging him to run in case someone was trying to put him in jail.
“How can I help you?” Max asked.
“Were you at the Black and Orange Ball earlier this evening?”
“Yes.” And yes, I also told a girl I loved her, but two drunken women put a spell on me… No. Better not say that.
“Did you have occasion to be in the men’s bathroom near the ballroom?”
What? How does he know that? “I stopped in there right before I left, yes. How did you know that?”
The Sheriff ignored his question and asked, “See anyone in there?”
“Not at first, but a guy came out of the last stall right before I left.”
The Sheriff seemed to perk up at that, and pulled a small writing pad out of his front pocket to scribble notes as he asked his questions. This was a very familiar scene and one Max hoped didn’t end with him in jail. He would run far, far away. He would never be put in jail again.
“Did you know him?”
“Nope. Should I?”
The Sheriff shrugged.
“I’m rather new to town. I don’t know many people.”
“You work for Bubba and Astrid, is that correct?”
“Yes.” How does he know that? “Is there a problem, Sheriff?”
The man nodded. For the first time, Max noticed the Sherriff’s stature rivaled his, and Alphas were tall compared to most humans. Sherriff Merrow was a big man. A brawny man. A serious man. A man Max hoped wasn’t about to try to take him in. The Sheriff didn’t seem like a man who’d be easy to escape from.
“Could you describe his man? Would you know him if you saw him again?”
Max thought a minute. “Yes. I can describe him and I’d know him if I saw him again. He was rather disagreeable.”
“In what way?”
“I was standing by the row of sinks when he burst out of
the last stall and gave me a very disgruntled look, like he was irritated that I was there in the bathroom with him.”
“Huh. What did he look like?”
“Short, skinny, grumpy. He wore a green tuxedo with a matching top hat.”
Sheriff Merrow seemed to mull that over, prompting Max to ask, “May I ask what’s going on? What is the problem?”
The Sheriff’s gaze shifted to stare at Max intensely, as if he pondered whether to say anything. “A fire was set in the men’s bathroom at the Ellingham house shortly after you left.”
Max’s spine straightened so fast he heard it crack. “What? A fire! Was anyone hurt?”
“Luckily, no. It was put out before much damage was done.”
The Sheriff watched him for a long time without saying anything. Max was familiar with this tactic, as well, from his time in custody with the Guardsmen. Clearly, lawmen all over the galaxy knew the power of an expectant silence. A lot of criminals probably couldn’t resist confessing to break the silence. Max, however, was not a criminal.
“Good. I’m glad.”
Sheriff Merrow stared. He was really good at it. If Max had been guilty, he would have cracked by now.
He stared back and said, “I didn’t do it.”
“So you say.”
“I did not set a fire, there or anywhere,” he responded in a more insistent tone. Max was about to say goodbye and race from this apartment, this town, this perfect Earth colony town and never look back. The muscles in his legs bunched as if preparing to bolt. He was not going to jail for another arson he hadn’t committed.
The Sheriff inhaled deeply through his nose, then said, “I believe you.”
“What? You do?” Max was shocked. He fully expected to see shackles and the back seat of the Sheriff’s squad car in his immediate future.
The Sheriff allowed a small smile to shape his lips. “I have a pretty good sense of smell.” He tapped the side of his nose. “I don’t smell any fire-making ingredients on you. I don’t see or smell any here in your apartment. If you’d created some sort of alien device, I figure I’d smell it on you easily.”
Max slumped, releasing his muscles and relaxing his body. “Thank you for believing me.”
“I would like you to come to the station and give an official statement and a description of the man you saw. I may have an idea of who the culprit is, but I want to be certain.”
“Happy to do it.”
“Good.”
“Do you want me to do this right now?”
The Sheriff shrugged. “I’ll leave that to you. If you’d rather, tomorrow morning is acceptable.”
Max shook his head. “I have to work tomorrow morning. I’ll come with you now.” Better to get this over with than have it weigh on his mind overnight. The Sheriff turned and walked to his door.
“How did you know I was in the bathroom right before I left?”
“Someone saw you and mentioned seeing you near the men’s bathroom, once we evacuated the house.”
“Who saw me?”
The Sheriff gave him a look over one shoulder that said clearly he wasn’t going to reveal the person who’d tattled on Max. It probably didn’t matter. He had been there, just not guilty of any crimes.
Max didn’t mean to do it, but sometimes looking into the minds of others happened without his conscious intention to do so. He peeked into the Sheriff’s head and a very familiar image came up.
Ruby Hart.
Chapter Seven
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Ruby crossed her arms and waited outside Elenora Ellingham’s lovely home, hoping the fire damage wasn’t too severe. Before she knew what was going on, the Sheriff had bolted past their table on his way to the bathrooms.
A few minutes later, the fire alarm sounded and the acrid scent of smoke intensified. Everyone left the party in a relatively orderly fashion, with only a few dismayed screams, but it was certainly upsetting.
Once all the guests and staff were outside, the Sheriff and several deputies began systematically herding people into groups to ask who had seen what.
When a female deputy dressed like a popular cartoon bunny complete with floppy ears, pink nose, and painted whiskers on her face started questioning her, Ruby had to wipe the smile off her face.
“Ms. Hart, did you see anyone near the men’s bathroom by the ballroom in the past half hour or less since the evacuation?”
Ruby hesitated. She had seen someone. She hated to rat out the gorgeous blond guy who said he loved her and wanted to marry her, but he had been near the bathroom during the time in question.
“I did see someone. I can’t believe he had anything to do with it, though. He seemed really nice.”
“It’s possible the fire was an accident, but we have to ask everyone and question everything,” Deputy Jenna Blythe explained. “So tell me who you saw.”
“I saw a guy named Max Vander. My understanding is that he works for Bubba’s Psychic Readings, if you understand my meaning.”
The deputy’s raised eyebrows told Ruby she knew Max was an Alpha alien from another planet. She whistled to get the attention of Sheriff Merrow, who questioned another group of people nearby. His head jerked up and around and he joined them. Deputy Jenna asked Ruby to repeat what she’d said about seeing Max near the bathroom. She did, albeit reluctantly. As soon as the words about Max crossed her lips the second time, she totally regretted it. Telling Sheriff Merrow what she’d seen made her feel like a big tattletale.
Then again, it was the truth and she didn’t think Max had set the fire. Why would he? Even so, now that she’d put the police on his trail, maybe he wouldn’t love her anymore. Maybe he would give up on wanting to marry her.
The Sheriff excused himself and got into his squad car. Was he off to question Max because she’d tattled?
Ruby had been thinking about tracking Max down to discover if he had a tattoo beneath the wide band on his right hand. If he found out she was the one who’d tattled on him, it wouldn’t help her case. If she were truly honest with herself, the largest reason she wanted to see him again was because he was attractive and interesting. Whatever might be wrong with him, he certainly must have an intriguing story. Ruby loved stories. Good ones. Bad ones. Unbelievable ones were the best.
Sometimes people she tracked down had very elaborate stories to explain why they’d done the things they had. Sometimes they were greedy. Sometimes they were vengeful. Sometimes they were just foolish. In her personal experience, more often than not the story was fairly routine or boring, but everyone had history, everyone had a story.
Ruby suspected Max’s story—if that truly was his real name, considering his reluctance to tell her—would be an interesting tale.
Tomorrow morning, she planned to visit the main branch of Bubba’s Psychic Readings and request a certain blond alien for a reading.
If she visited Max in his own work environment, it might be easier to size him up and perhaps she’d loosen him up enough to learn something about his past and his story.
A little thrill rode up her spine at the thought of seeing him again. Interesting. She’d never felt that before.
Ruby’s talents as a witch were rather limited. As a child, she’d practiced endlessly, but the craft as a whole and spells especially never came easily to her. She was hard pressed to do the simplest of things. It took lots of patience and concentration to merely make an unlit candle flame to life without using a match or lighter. Her tutors called it the basic skill of the craft 101. Ruby apparently needed to go back to 100.
Her grandparents, and the endless stream of tutors sent to educate her, agreed she didn’t try hard enough. She was too fanciful. She was too easily distracted. Her mind wandered too much when she needed to pay attention. Her future as a grand sorceress was abandoned long before she found out the truth of her own past, her own story.
She would never be a good witch. So what. During what her grandparents referred to as her misspent youth, she learned that
she loved good mysteries. Better than that, she loved solving them. Ruby had the inquisitiveness—and, luckily, the innate spirit—to discover and solve puzzles, riddles and mysteries.
She offered her paranormal investigative services to the bunny taking her statement. Deputy Blythe smiled and nodded, but as she was swamped, with several other partygoers to question, Ruby didn’t push it.
At home that night, Ruby paced and pondered the evening. Who would set a fire in the men’s bathroom at the annual charity ball? What purpose did it serve?
So far, the only purpose she saw was implicating Max as a suspect because she opened her big mouth and blabbed. Maybe she should go to the Sheriff’s office and tell them again she didn’t think he was guilty of anything.
She’d seen him leaving the men’s room. That didn’t mean he was up to anything nefarious. Not to mention she’d love to figure out this mystery. Who would set a fire at the annual charity auction and why? Ruby was determined to find out. She would start at the Sheriff’s office and ensure Sheriff Merrow knew she didn’t believe Max had committed any crime.
The red-hooded cape and too-short skirt were changed out for more practical clothes. Black jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt along with her favorite blue coat. The weather had turned chilly. She loved the fall season as the weather turned crisp and cold and the color of the trees changed from vibrant green to the warm colors of autumn. She inhaled the pleasant scent of turning leaves as she left her apartment on foot.
Ruby headed for the Sheriff’s office to give a better statement and hopefully defuse the tattling on a man she wanted to get to know better. Not a good idea to finger him for a possible crime the night before she was going to seek him out to possibly solve her big case.
She simply wanted to get him to take that ring off of his right hand and satisfy her curiosity. And if the amazing happened and he had the tattoo, then she’d be able to collect on the second half of the payment for delivering the message.