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 wouldneverbe 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.
