“But when the earthling came in asking about aliens in town and everything, Adele was on duty and she saw all the camera footage. She saw you kiss the earthling and she’s been a little strange since.”
Cam said, “Thanks for telling us, Alice. I’ll talk to Adele and see what else she’s done in the name of love. She should never have swiped the photo of the Moogally visitor to give to a human for any reason.”
“You aren’t going to fire her, are you?” Alice asked. “Please don’t fire her because of me.”
Cam put a hand on her shoulder. “Your name won’t come up, I promise. But I can prove that a picture from our surveillance was given to a human outside of this facility and Adele had access to that file. She’ll have to face the consequences of her actions, whatever they are.”
Alice pushed out a long sigh. “All right. But keep in mind she was just a girl with a crush on a guy.”
Diesel saw Cam roll his eyes. Not surprising forMr. I’m-never-getting-married.
“Thank you, Alice.” Diesel said. “I appreciate that you stepped up to do what’s right.”
Alice nodded and left the room.
Cam said, “I’ll take care of this. Also, I’m sorry your girlfriend was threatened.”
“Thanks, Cam.” His brother walked out, too.
He expected Nova to be right in with Gage. When seconds stretched into a minute, Diesel figured she must have had to fetch Gage from downstairs.
Fine with me.Diesel could use a couple of minutes to himself. He reseated himself behind his desk and noticed that Pete had left his picture of the Moogally resident behind.
Little did he know he’d had the real deal. Diesel smiled.
He reached for the picture, but before he touched it there was another quick knock at his door. He expected Gage with a report, ready to explain the detailed DNA analysis Diesel had requested on one of the apples thrown at Juliana’s doorstep. The report was moot now. Adele had been responsible.
Diesel didn’t even have a chance to tell the knocker to enter when someone slipped inside, and it wasn’t Gage.
“Juliana?”
Chapter Nineteen
Juliana raced toward Alienn, hoping she wouldn’t get pulled over for speeding, and terrified that Diesel wouldn’t even see her so she could warn him. Perhaps she needed to sneak inside his office and wait it out. Would he even be in there? Could she get past his sharp-eyed receptionist? She’d be the biggest challenge.
As Juliana pulled into the parking lot of The Big Bang Truck Stop, she saw Mr. Harriman race out of the convenience store and leap into his car. He sped away as if his life depended on how fast he departed the area.
He was likely here trying to prove aliens existed in a last-ditch effort to put what he wanted in the Finder’s book. He was probably racing away to file the alien story and ruin everything.
Juliana needed to go in and wait for Diesel in his office so she could explain Mr. Harriman had likely stolen the article from her and she was sorry. She just had to sneak inside.
She parked at the side of the building, turned the ignition off and worked through a quick plan. Juliana rifled through her purse and found some large sunglasses, slipping them on. In her trunk, she grabbed a straw hat she’d used once during a day in the sun picking strawberries. She also had a flowered scarf in the back seat that she wrapped around her neck in her best effort to be incognito.
Juliana strolled slowly to the doors of the convenience store and walked in. The clerk was a young man she’d never seen before. He greeted her politely. She didn’t speak, just lifted her hand, waved her fingers in a regal way and moved toward the back of the store in a leisurely fashion, picking up a few things from the shelves and putting them back as if uncertain what she intended to buy.
She made her way to the hallway where Maxwell the Martian resided in his box, sliding quickly down the hall when she didn’t see or hear anyone around. Her big plan was to slip quietly into Diesel’s office and wait for him to arrive. She could tell him about her stolen article, but more than that, she wanted to assess his feelings for her. Was he finished with her just like he had been with Adele after a couple of days, like in the letter she’d written? Or had those letters been phony? Juliana wished with all her heart for the latter.
She peeked around the corner. Miraculously, Nova’s desk was empty, but she heard voices approaching from somewhere. Juliana darted toward the hallway leading to Diesel’s office and knocked quickly, not waiting for or expecting an answer.
Juliana didn’t even have her hand off the doorknob when Diesel said, “Juliana?” She jumped at the sound of his surprised voice, spinning in place to see him seated at his desk.
“Diesel.” She almost asked him what he was doing in here. Duh. It was his office.
He stood and came around the desk. She backed up into the door, unsure of what to expect. Would he be angry? Would he throw her out?
In two strides he loomed over her, not smiling exactly, but not frowning either. He leaned close and whispered, “Why did you turn in the bank robber story when Pete so desperately wanted an exposé on aliens to put in his Finder’s special edition?”
Juliana swallowed hard. “Even if you don’t want me anymore, I didn’t want your family to be hurt. And…well…I guess I didn’t want you to suffer either.”
