A Saucerful of Death Read online

  “I have a coffee maker,” Stephen said, looking amused. “It’s the same model as the one you got, actually. But, yeah, bring your cans of coffee if you want. You should try some of mine, though, since you like coffee so much.”

  “Why, what kind is it?”

  “Juan Valdez. It’s grown in Colombia, on the mountainside.”His grin grew wider.

  My breath hitched. Another premium mountain grown blend. Yes! I had to try it! Now I just needed to figure out how to get a cup of coffee to Darren in the mornings without it spilling all over the car.

  * * *

  Chapter 25

  Darren

  Luckily, The Space Coast Inn had a room I could check into right away. Stephen placed the milk and other perishables in a bag to take to his house. There was no telling just how long this crap show was going to last and I didn’t want to come home to a stinking refrigerator and food that had gone to waste. Jeannie insisted I go ahead and make my taco salad and she was right. So I made up my lunch for the next day and grabbed the yogurts to keep in the fridge in my room for a snack after work. I was already having to watch my budget and now I also had the added cost of having to pay for a hotel room.

  “But why do I have to put my clothes in a suitcase? I only have these few things, anyway,” Jeannie was saying to Stephen.

  “Well, it’s to get into the habit, you see.”

  I went over to the closet and began pulling out uniforms and clothes to wear, enough for a week. It was best to be prepared and if this went on longer than that, I could drop my uniforms off at the dry cleaners and Stephen could wash my jeans and things at his house.

  “He’sight,” I called out to Jeannie. “A human woman can’t morph clothes. That’s why we started buying you a few things here and there, remember? It’s best to get into the habit of living as a human so you don’t slip up at the wrong time and accidentally reveal yourself somehow.”

  “Or make people suspicious,” Stephen added.

  “Or make people suspicious,” I echoed in agreement.

  Jeannie nodded in understanding, then placed her few items of clothing in the small suitcase Stephen had laid out for her.

  “She needs a vanity case,” he told me, watching Jeannie add all the make up she’d gotten in as well. “My mom always carries her makeup and toiletries in one.”Jeannie disappeared into the bathroom, no doubt to get her shampoo, body washes, and creams.

  “Well, when I bought this set, it was just me using them, so I only bought two suitcases.”

  “Just something to take care of later,” he said.

  I didn’t bring up that it would need to be much later. Samsonite was expensive and if I was going to buy a vanity case, it needed to match. Instead, I handed him a gallon size freezer bag. “Have her put the shampoo and stuff in this when. Oh, and there are smaller sized ones in the kitchen drawer she can use to keep her make up together. I’ll go grab one for her.”

  A few minutes later and we were all packed, ready to go.

  “How are we going to get out? They have the driveway blocked,” Jeannie asked, her tone indignant.

  “Oh, I think I know,” Stephen said. “Out back, right?”

  “Yes. Out the back gate and down the beach. There’s a public parking lot a ways down, dividing the private part of the beach from the public area, along with a barbecue pavilion and showers and toilets. There’s also a bus stop. We can catch the bus and then get off and call a couple cabs.”

  Stephen nodded. I can set an alarm to get up at four and catch a cab here to fetch my car. I bet they’ll have given up for the night by then.”

  “But won’t you need to rest more than that?” Jeannie asked.

  “I’ll be okay. We’re trained to skip sleep as needed and make it up later. I can just go to bed early tomorrow night.”

  I knew he wouldn’t. He was simply placating Jeannie, trying to stop her from worrying so much. He would be fine. It was just for one night.

  I left the lights on and the radio playing as we slipped out the patio door and past my pool to the back gate. I looked up and down the beach. There was a lone guy throwing a frisbee for his dog. Bill the cat was nestled in against my back fence watching with interest.

  “You need to go home,” I told him. “Your dad is looking for you.”

  Bill yawned in disinterest, but got up and stretched before meandering towards home.

  “Okay, the coast is clear,” I said. I felt a bit ridiculous, sneaking out of my house like this. It felt like a scene from a movie. One of those old comedy suspenses maybe, with Cary Grant.

  Walking through sand carrying suitcases and a sack of groceries is not easy, let me tell you. By the time we got to the bus stop, our shoes were full of sand and Jeannie was complaining of her legs aching. Mine did, too. I made a note to start jogging on the beach. I needed to be in better shape, not to mention Mars is full of sand. If I managed to get on the list for consideration despite all this fiasco, the physical tests would no doubt include endurance working, walking, and running on the stuff.

  We emptied our shoes just in time for the bus to pull up. We climbed on. Luckily, this time of day and during low tourist season, the bus was otherwise empty. The driver didn’t even glance at us as I asked how much and then dropped the fare in. When I thought we’d gone far enough, I pushed the button to signal a stop once I saw one in front of a Seven-Eleven. We got off and I ambled over to the payphone, keeping the ball cap I’d put on down low.

  “Hi, yes, I need a cab,” I said, calling the number I’d written down. It was always best to be one hundred percent prepared and phone booths were well known to have phone books with torn out pages. I told them where to pick me up and where I was going.

  “Well, okay, Jeannie and I will just go buy a couple of sodas and call ours once you’ve gone.”

  “It’d probably be better if you walked a bit, went a couple streets over, then called one,” I said.

  “We passed a K-Mart,” Stephen said. “Just a few blocks down, I think. Okay, Jeannie, when we go past those dumpsters, can you go behind them, and change how you look? In case the press are looking for you? You were in the car with him so they might be.”

  Jeannie nodded.

  “I’ll be fine,” I told them both. “It’d look odd if you both waited here with me and didn’t get in the cab.”

  “It’ll look odd going to K-Mart with a suitcase, too,” Stephen pointed out reasonably.

  ‘I’ll take both with me, you can get hers from me tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, okay, call me with your room number. I’ll pick you up.”

  Jeannie listened to this exchange smiling. “You two are such good friends,” she said happily.

  “I will,” I assured him. We were close friends. That’s how I knew he really wanted me to call so he knew I’d gotten there with no problems along the way. I could easily catch the shuttle bus to work from the Inn, it stopped right outside. I could have given him the suitcase after we both reported for duty.

  “Okay, then,” Stephen said to Jeannie, ‘let’s go.”

  I watched them walk away. As hey got to the end of the building, Jeannie went down the side for a moment. Seconds later, she reappeared, this time as a brunette with olive skin and wearing a completely different outfit. If anyone was looking for her, they’d not recognize her. I wouldn’t have, that was for sure.

  “You call for a cab?” a woman’s voice asked as the cab she drove rolled to a stop.

  “Yes, that’s me,” I smiled. She got out and opened the trunk for my luggage and I put my bags in, then climbed into the back seat as she closed the lid. So far, so good. I just hoped our luck held.

  Chapter 26

  Jeannie

  Stephen’s condo was in one of those glamorous looking glass and steel highrises. He had a covered balcony that ran the entire length of his balcony and the walls of the house on that side had floor to ceiling windows, all designed to take advantage of the beautiful ocean view.

  The in
terior was designed with entertaining in mind. A leather sectional sofa with a long, low coffee table in front of it sat before a fancy looking stereo system in a glass and steel cabinet, next to which was a drinks cabinet that certainly appeared to be well stocked.

  “It’s not as big as Darren’s place, so, no, ah, fancy cocktail bar or breakfast bar, either, for that matter,” he said.

  I could see that easily for myself. The kitchen was a U shape, with the stove and bottom cabinets against a half wall between the kitchen and living room so you could see out. There were no overhead cabinets on this side and the extractor fan hugged the ceiling under a brushed stainless steel cover. A dining area was to the left of the kitchen and boasted a table that could seat six and two tall plants, one in each back corner. Something was missing, though. I looked around the living room once more.

  “No TV?” I asked.

  “It’s in the bedroom. Mine, I mean. You can watch it if you want, there’s a chair in there and everything, so it doesn’t have to be weird. With you having to be, I mean get, in my bed or anything.”

  I giggled. He really was cute. It’s no wonder he was so popular.

  He began walking down the very short hallway. “This is. My room, “he said, opening a door. “I have my own bathroom. And this is the room they call a half bath. It’s just got a toilet and sink, see? Then this here,” he said, opening the third door, “is the other bedroom. It has a bathroom with a shower in it. No tub, I’m afraid.”

  I blinked at what I saw in the room.

  He flushed. “I need to clear out some of this stuff,” he said referring to the boxes. And I forgot about the bed.”

  By that, he meant there wasn’t one. He glanced at his watch. “If we had my car, there’d still have been time to go to the furniture store,” he muttered.

  “It’s fine,” I said. “I can sleep on the sofa or go mostly formless.”

  “No, no, don’t do that!” He looked mildly alarmed at the thought. “That was rather unsettling, sorry. Plus, hey, you’re supposed to be a hundred percent human, right? We don’t turn into playdough or whatever.”

  “Then I’ll take the sofa.”

  “Just for tonight,” he promised me. “Furniture store tomorrow, as soon as I come home.”

  “Deal.”

  “Right, so, is this going to be your new look or you going back to being the Jeannie I know? I like this form, it’s very nice, but if you’re going to keep it, you need a different name for when you look like that.”

  “Oh, I’ll go back to my usual self. But, I think I’ll remember this one for when I need a disguise. What would be a good name?”

  “Kind of look like a Barbara,” he said, looking me up down. “Yup, definitely a Barbara. Barbara Smith.”

  I liked it. He was so good with names! It was not at all like when I struggled to come up with a last name and could only think names related to coffee. Speaking of coffee, he said he had the same machine as the one Darren and I bought. I wandered in the kitchen. Yes, there it was, next to the sink, a small can of red coffee with a man in a hat with a donkey standing in front of a mountain depicted on it.

  “It’s still a bit early for bed, it’s only just gone a little past eight. So, you want some coffee? Maybe try some of mine, see if you like it? We can watch some TV if you want,” Stephen said.

  That sounded good. Coffee always gave me a boost and I found I could really use one. “I’d love one.,” I said, pulling the plastic lid off the can of coffee and taking a sniff. Of the rich aroma. His coffee certainly smelled good.

  He took the can from me. “I’ll make it,” he said. “If you look in that jar on the counter, you’ll find some cookies. We can have them with the coffee.”

  I looked at the jar he mentioned. It was mostly a shiny off white color and was made to look like a fat mushroom. The cap was a warm brown and lifted off to reveal the cookies hidden inside. “Chips A’Hoy!” I squealed. “Made my elves, you know.”

  Stephen chuckled. “You know, not everything they tell you in an ad is true.”

  I turned to him, stunned. “They lie? But, what would they gain from that? If people buy and find they’ve been lied to, no one will want to buy from them anymore.”

  “Well, maybe not so much lie,” he hedged. “More like tell a story. For example, elves are imaginary.”

  “Oh! That explains why they did not use real elves.”

  “Well, yeah,” he said, switching on the coffee maker.

  “Darren said they would not have good coffee. I thought we could make his Maxwell House but I don’t know to get it there without it getting cold or spilling.”

  Stephen looked thoughtful, then walked over to his refrigerator. He opened the cabinet over. It, pulling out a red cylinder that had a plastic cup for a lid. “I can take it to him in this Thermos,” he said. It keeps drinks hot.”

  “And it has a cup,” I marveled.

  “Yup. I can bring it back in the evenings and you can fill it back up in the morning.”

  I clapped my hands. Another thought came to me. “But what will he eat?”

  “There’s a small fridge. I guess he could eat of the yogurts he took?”

  “I suppose.” It was a good thing the Thermos was big. He’d need all of that coffee because those yogurts weren’t very big. My poor Darren.

  “Don’t look so sad,” Stephen said. “This is only temporary. Before you know it, he’ll be back home.”

  “You really think so?” I blinked through tears.

  “If they catch the other person, it might be even sooner than we think.”

  “But they’re not looking.”

  “Oh, look, the coffees, ready. Grab two cups, will you?” he changed the subject.

  I wasn’t willing to let it go. “Maybe we could find out who did it.”

  “What, like be Ragamuffin and Mrs. Queen or Roycefield Greene?”

  “Whose that?”

  “Detectives, I’ll look, they might be on tonight.”

  I puzzled over his words. “On what?”

  ”TV. They’re shows.”

  That sounded fantastic! We could watch and learn how they found out who did what.

  “Yes! Let’s watch detective shows!” I told him.

  Chapter 27

  Darren

  I was glad for the coffee that Jeannie sent because if I hadn’t had any, I don’t know that I wouldn’t have lost my mind. The room had a small coffee maker but no coffee or the fixings. Stephen told me Jeannie was determined to send me breakfast each morning, so there’d be coffee and from tomorrow onwards, muffins. It seems she’d spied an ad for Duncan Hines blueberry muffins while watching TV last night. Stephen promised to buy her some boxes. That sounded good, but the coffee? If all of the casual labor I was going to be assigned was of this caliber, I was going to need it. Hell, I was going to have to hit the O Club for a beer after today was over and done with.

  Today’s task should have been simple. They were to go to supply, get white paint, and repaint the curbs in front of Building 16098. Then tomorrow, stencil in the names the parking spots belonged to. Simple, right? I already had one airman have to go back to the barracks to change his uniform. You guessed it. He’d gotten paint all over his damned self. The remaining two? They spent more time chatting than they did painting.

  “I’ll handle, it, sir,” the NCO working with me, Staff Sergeant Michaels, said.”I’ll make sure they finish this section before they’re relieved for the day.

  I grunted. There really wasn't a reason for me to hang around, except for maybe the fact that I had nothing else to do. I pursed my lips. “See that you do,” I said. We exchanged salutes and I left him to it. Any longer and I probably would have dumped the paint over them myself. Gah!

  I looked at my watch. Ten thirty. I sighed. This was going to be a long day. Still, I could always do a small Commissary run, pick up a few things to stick in the mini fridge. Some bread, a little jar of mayo, some ham and cheese, yes, those would do nice
ly to make some brown bag lunches. I could go down to the park and eat at the picnic tables. I wondered if I could talk Stephen into meeting up for lunch, as usual, just miss out on the food court, naturally.

  I came to a shuttle bus stop and looked at the schedule. I had a six-minute wait. That wasn’t so bad, I decided, leaning against the pole. While I waited, I thought about the rest of my day. Except for checking in with the staff sergeant to see how things were going, I really had nothing else to do today. Tomorrow was a different matter, as I had a three o’clock JAG appointment. I didn’t hold out much hope for that, though. The DA had all the evidence to the contrary, yet seemed intent on binding me over for trial. In fact, that was what tomorrow’s meeting was mostly about, going over my court appearance the next morning. I didn’t suppose for one minute that my luck was going to improve and that the judge would toss the case out for lack of credible evidence.

  The shuttle bus arrived and I got on, quickly finding a seat. I knew the stares I was getting wasn’t due to my being on the news. That would have had whispering accompanying it. No, all eyes were locked onto my rank insignia. Majors did not generally avail themselves of the free shuttle buses. Dependents from housing without their own cars and airmen of lower rank, also typically without a vehicle, did. I didn’t care. I sat down like a boss and pretended I didn’t notice their looks of astonishment. By the time I got to the Commissary, I began to think that I should ask Stephen to pick me up at four when he went to get his car so I could drive mine back. The only problem with that was, though I knew he’d be a pal and do it, was that Patrick Air Force Base and my house were in opposite directions from Stephen’s condo. Maybe I could crash on his couch until four. I decided to ask him when I went back to HQ, we’d agreed to meet so he could take the flask back to Jeannie. Then, I remembered to my chagrin, that my car had been impounded.