Chapter Five
The sound of a plate crashed near the counter, and the restaurant quieted for a moment, but then the two-person table near the entrance applauded. Oh, boy. Someone must have overheard Dan’s alien comment. He’d practically shouted they’d come for him.
One thing was clear: Dan was drunk. Normally, she would have dismissed his comment in a heartbeat, but something was different. He’d always made fun of the alien expert, Earl Chee, so why would Dan claim he’d been taken, if he didn’t believe they existed? She sipped more of her coffee, hoping Dan hadn’t taken any drugs. “How much have you had to drink?”
He swiped a hand across his mouth. “A lot, but that was only after the aliens nabbed me.” He swung a gaze around the room as if he expected little gray men to jump out from behind the counter and nab him once more. She almost couldn’t blame his paranoia. The walls were rimmed with alien artifacts, from E.T. posters, to drawings made by the children at the elementary school that depicted spacecraft and little gray men.
Cathy came over with Sky’s salad, her hands shaking. She must have been the one to drop the plate. “I brought over some bread in case you wanted to share.” She sent a furtive glance at Dan and set a glass of water with lemon in front of him. “Hi, Mr. Joe.”
He looked up and jerked back. Cathy’s uniform had the face of an alien on it, embroidered in silver foil. Maybe he thought she was from outer space, or else he was just plain wasted. Dan blinked a few times. “Oh, it’s you.”
Cathy shot a look at Sky before hightailing it back to the counter, her rubber shoes squeaking against the tile floor.
He wiped his damp brow. “It was the damnedest thing. I lost track of time for two days.”
Sky picked up the Roswell coaster and twirled it, needing something to do with her hands. “You passed out again, didn’t you?” Two days was a really long time to be out of it though.
He straightened and crossed his heart. “I swear I gave up the drink a month ago, after I ran over my dog with the tractor.”
Poor Rufus. She’d attended the dog’s funeral. It had been very sad. “Start from the beginning.” She was starved and dug into her meal. Damn. Tomatoes. She picked them out and set them to the side.
“Well, it was around noon, two days ago, when I was out back working on my truck. I know it sounds corny, but I swear the sun got brighter, so I looked up for a split second, and the next thing I knew, I’m in my bedroom, face down with a mean mother of a headache.” His breathing increased as though he were still in pain.
“Go on.” She could have pulled out her iPad from her purse and taken notes, but this story wasn’t one she was likely to forget.
“With my head pounding, I took a couple of aspirin and had a bite to eat. Then I turned on the television, and that’s when I saw two days had gone by, just like that.” He snapped his fingers. “Scared the crap out of me.”
“I’d be scared too. Did you see anyone hanging around outside? Or a spacecraft flying overhead?” Not that she believed there would be, but she had to ask.
He guzzled down half the glass of water. “No. There wasn’t anyone. I was outside one minute, and in the house the next—only two days had passed.”
“Maybe you passed out and someone carried you inside.” There had to be a logical explanation. He tapped his foot and leaned closer, but the stench of alcohol made her sit back.
“No, I tell you.” He looked right then left before pulling down his collar to expose the side of his neck. “Look here. They stuck me.”
She relaxed at seeing the half-inch diameter red ring. “I think that’s some kind of insect sting. You probably went into some kind of anaphylactic shock. Are you allergic to any stings or bites?”
“No, never have been. Besides, there ain’t any bees or wasps this time of year.”
He had a point. “Maybe when you came to, you were so disoriented you dragged yourself inside and don’t remember.”
“If I’d a passed out, I would a woken up next to my truck—which didn’t happen. It’s almost November, and I would have frozen to death, if I’d slept outside for two days.” He pressed his lips together. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”
The temperature hadn’t dropped below freezing since last winter but she didn’t think she needed to comment on that. “I’m sorry, but you need to give me some tangible proof if you want me to do something.” Not that she’d be able to do anything about it even if she had proof.
He fisted his hands and held them out. His knuckles were raw and cut. “I did not have this bruising until I woke up.”
She leaned closer. “Looks like you punched a wall.”
“I thought the same thing, but there’s no damage in the house or on my truck.”
“Are you sure there isn’t some guy with a broken nose?”
“He hasn’t come around if there is, but I have a hankering to beat the shit out of someone or something right about now.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “You need to stop drinking. It makes you ornery.”
He shoved back his chair and stood. “I can’t make any promises.”
“How about letting Doc Roberts check you out? Maybe he can tell what the neck injury is.”
“I know what it was. I had a dream about it, only I wasn’t sleeping.”
“You mean like a flashback?”
His shoulders relaxed. “Yeah, like a flashback.” He grasped the top of the chair as if to steady himself. “All I remember is a sting in my neck, and then being in a big room with a lot of people. I swear I was in some kind of ring, only I wasn’t wearing boxing gloves.”
Now he got her curious. “Can you describe the room?”
“Everything is fuzzy, but there were mirrors with flashing lights bouncing off them.”
Okay. This was way out of her league. “What about Earl Chee? He’s an expert on aliens. Maybe he knows what happened.”
“That old coot? You’ve got to be kidding. What happened to me was real. Someone is out to get me.”
She’d play along. “Who?”
“If I knew, I’d find him and show him not to mess with Dan Joe.” He straightened his shoulders and strode out, knocking into one of the tables on his way.
Guilt descended. Sky wanted to help him, but alien abductions weren’t in her job description. All the time she’d worked at the station, she’d never come across a manual for investigating anything alien. As much as she wanted to believe him, he most likely got drunk and stumbled around in his own house. Just in case someone had drugged and beaten him, she’d make sure that she or another officer would take a look into what Dan had said.
For years very little ever happened in Savory that she would consider out of the ordinary. Now, a man had been decapitated, Mary was missing, an incredibly hot security agent came into town looking for a missing Senator, and one of their very own claimed to have made contact with aliens. If that wasn’t enough to spin her head, some guys ransacked her house but stole nothing. It was worse than trying to stop a major jailbreak without a gun.
Cathy refilled her coffee. “Do you think Mr. Joe was abducted?” She tilted her head to one side and smirked. “He’s back on the bottle again, I see.”
“It’s possible.”
Dan had started drinking again after Pearl had broken up with him, and that was how he’d ended up running over his dog. Supposedly, they were back together now, so she’d have to ask Pearl what was up with Dan.
Exhaustion touched every muscle, but Dan’s story had temporarily rejuvenated her. She pulled out her iPad and her fingers flew over the screen. Pearl had knitting club for another hour, so tomorrow would be soon enough to question her. Dan might not see the need to find support with his old flame until he’d exhausted his regular channels.
Just as she waved for the check, the bell rang over the door. Instead of taking note of the new arrival, she faced away from the door. The last thing she needed was someone else approaching her, claiming to have witnessed an exorcism or something.
Hell, maybe EBE’s café, which stood for Extraterrestrial Biological Entities, had damned the town to weird events.
“This seat taken?”
She didn’t need to look up to know he had walked in. Her luck, she hadn’t showered after cleaning her house or put on makeup. Sky glanced up and her smile disappeared before it re-formed. “No.”
From the tension rippling across Kane’s face, something had happened, and she bet his tale wouldn’t be about aliens.
He dragged his chair next to her. “I like to watch the entrance.” Their shoulders touched, and her traitorous body reacted. He smelled freshly washed, and his slight scruff made him look particularly rugged.
“Me too.” She scooted to her left to give him more room and to keep her thoughts where they should be. “Did you find the Senator?”
“Negative. I asked around and between all the busybodies, I’m convinced he hasn’t been back.”
“What about Pat and Clay?”
“Betty made contact with them. They told her that after they spoke with Overton, they took off for a vacation up north and haven’t been in contact with him.”
“Are you worried?” Dumb question, but she didn’t want to presume.
“Hell, yes. He’s been missing for far too long.”
She waited for him to tell her more, but Cathy rushed over with her chest stuck out so far she practically fell over. “Can I get you anything, Kane? I bet a big guy like you would like our Area 51 special. It’s made with hazelnuts and has dripped caramel on top.”
Kane? Usually Cathy called her customers by their last name.
“Got any plain coffee?”
“Oh, sure. How silly of me. A man who looks like you wouldn’t want to put sugar in his perfect bod.”
Dear God in heaven help me. Sky held up a finger to Cathy and then faced Kane. “How about we go for a walk instead? There are a lot of ears here.”
Cathy’s chin dropped. Not that Kane belonged to Sky, but they were working together.
He shrugged and gave Cathy a weak smile. “Next time.” If her lips frowned any more, they’d touch her jawline.
Sky gathered her leather jacket and backpack then dropped money on the table before following him outside. The couple waved goodbye, and Sky bet the fact Kane and she left together would be news within the hour.
They passed Rosalie’s B & B and the used bookstore before reaching the town square. On the far side of the block was Thomas Park.
He nodded to the small park bench. “Is here good?”
From the seriousness of his tone, something was wrong. “Sure. What’s happened?”
“I’ve been lying to you.”
Her legs gave way and her butt hit the seat hard. “About what?”
She hoped it wasn’t that he had a girlfriend, or that he was leaving tonight. Her stomach churned at both scenarios.
“The Senator is the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee.”
She leaned back against the seat, relieved he hadn’t stated her worst fears. “I know.” His brow cocked. “I Googled him, but what does that have to do with why he’s here?”
“The Senator and his committee appropriate funds for a lot of black operation projects—secret stuff if you will—that the government won’t give details about to the committee. It’s why I was asked to guard him. I used to be with Special Forces.”
So he was more than a private investigator. That made sense. She buttoned up her jacket. The sun had set and the cool air had taken hold of the town rather quickly. “Can they do that?”
He chuckled, but the tone held no joy. “They can and they do. Apparently, Senator Overton was fed up with all the secrecy and said his committee wouldn’t fund this one particular project unless he was given more details.”
“Good for him. I’ll shake his hand when I meet him.”
“Me too.”
“Do you know what this secret project is?” she asked.
“No and neither does my source, other than this building or factory is near Page and requires this special funding.”
She smiled. “You’re making this up, right?”
He held up three fingers. “Scout’s honor.”
Sky twisted to the side to watch his face. “Why not tell me before? Didn’t you think this information was important?” And here she’d thought he was so honest; so much for being her fantasy man.
Somehow, Kane Cornell managed to look uncomfortable without moving. “It was a need to know basis. I thought I’d find the Senator right away and not have to involve you.”
Aha. She could see where this was heading. “So now Mr. Solo needs help?”
“I work with others when needed, but yes, I could use some assistance.” He held up a hand. “I won’t have you do anything that would be dangerous.”
“I’m not afraid of a little danger, but why me? I’m just a beat cop.”
“Perhaps, but you’ve been spot on since we’ve met.”
She had? “I appreciate that.” Especially since her boss never gave her compliments.
“I do need a favor from you.”
Here it comes. She hoped he wouldn’t ask her to do something illegal. If so, he was in for a rude surprise. “What?”
“I want to check out the caves that Pete, the NRA hat guy, told us about. Since the Senator showed an interest in visiting them, he might have gone out on his own.” He held up his hand. “I know you said there isn’t anything in any of the caves, but the Senator didn’t know that.”
All he needed was her tracking skills. “I will admit the rock twists and turns can fool a person. The Senator wouldn’t be the first person to get lost and die in the caves.”
“Jesus. Why didn’t you say so when we were at the RV Park? I would have headed out there immediately.”
Because Pearl had called and told her Mary had gone missing. “Just waiting for you to ask.” She smiled sweetly.
“It’s too late now to head out, but how about if I pick you up first thing tomorrow morning?”
Now that he’d asked nicely, she couldn’t turn him down, and from the way he twisted his hands together, this was important. “Fine, however the Senator could have gone up to Page to look at the caves. Nothing is prettier than when the sunlight streams in from the top of Antelope Canyon. The Navajos run tours there.”
“The Senator wasn’t here to sightsee, so our trip needs to be a private tour. No one can know. Just you and me.” He dipped his head, and her stomach dropped.
* * *
Kane and Sky had spent all afternoon searching for the Senator, most of which entailed him watching Sky’s butt wiggle in front of him as she wove her way through the caves. Even though the view was no hardship, and he was enjoying it more than he would admit, Kane needed to focus on his job and not on the imp of a brunette. The shifting sand made maneuvering difficult, yet the woman walked without ever losing her balance.
After an hour of cave hunting, she’d braided her hair and managed to tie the damn thing into a knot to keep it from flying all over the place, even without a rubber band or anything. Amazing.
She spun around. “The Senator was never here.”
Kane stopped short to keep from running into her. “How do you know?” After four different caves, he was hoping to find some evidence the man had been there.
“The sand would have been disturbed. Other than some animal prints, no human has been in here in a while.”
He studied the evenly ridged curves of the sand. “That’s not what that old Navajo man said. He claimed nightly winds were enough to blow away footprints, and that he’d seen someone who looked like the Senator go toward the caves.”
“Jimmy is half blind and will lie to get a dollar.” She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes for a second. “I’m starving and beat.”
Now she’d think he was a jerk. “I’m sorry. I should have been more considerate. Your house was broken into yesterday, and I’m asking you to give me a tour when you probably didn’t sleep a wink.” He stepped toward her. “Now that I know where these caves are located, I can search on my own.”
Without any distraction.
She smiled and never looked prettier. “You’ll have to pay Jimmy double if you come by yourself.”
He laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind and hit the bank before I return. Let’s go. Dinner’s on me.” He shouldn’t have blurted that out. She’d probably think this was a date. Dumbass. He motioned her to lead.
She took two steps and stopped. “Wait a sec.” She dropped to her knees.
“What is it?”
She hovered her hand above the ground. “The sand is a different color and is flatter than the rippled area around it.”
“Meaning?”
“Give me a sec. It might be nothing, or it could be something.” She dug through the soft sand about three or four inches down, grabbed something, and then lifted out a metal sculpture. She sucked in a big breath. “Oh my God.”