“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, itwasthe 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 trulywashis 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 abouthispast andhisstory.
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.
Would he let her read the message in the package that had been sent? Maybe. He said he loved her and wanted to marry her. Surely that would garner her a peek at the mystery message, wouldn’t it? Perhaps.
Max hoped this wouldn’t take too long. He did need to get up early in the morning for work.
Sheriff Merrow sat him down in a chair next to a woman he introduced as Deputy Jenna Blythe. She was still in costume from the party. She was dressed as a bunny, complete with pink nose, whiskers and floppy ears.
“Deputy Blythe will take your official statement and then give you some mugshot books to look at and see if you recognize anyone.”
Max did his best not to crack a smile at the interestingly dressed deputy, sure she wouldn’t appreciate it. “Sure. Great. Thanks.”
Sheriff Merrow disappeared into an office at the back of the room. Deputy Blythe handed Max a book filled with pictures of criminals. He had a flashback to his criminal picture taken the night his life had changed forever. He shook his head to banish the memory.
Max studied each of the pictures in the book, but none of them looked like the grumpy man in the green tux and top hat. “I don’t see anyone even close. Do you have a sketch artist? Maybe I could describe him and you could draw a picture.”
Deputy Blythe nodded. “We don’t have anyone permanently on staff, but there is a local artist we can consult with for that purpose. I’ll have to set it up.”
