Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:23 am
begonia9508 Serena would be the obvious answer!!
Xmag Thank you.
rjsasko I’m afraid you’re not going to find any satisfaction with this fic. I happen to believe that Max wasn’t all bad. He didn’t act in a vacuum, he reacted to Liz and her decisions. He made some wrong choices, but he is a teenage boy, under enormous pressure and felt abandoned and betrayed by Liz.
Alana Thanks.
Ella1022 Thanks.
Venus_star2.com I think that Valenti would have recognised Tess, as for Serena?!? I’ll give you a little clue, she’s not an original character.
Applebylicious Thank you so much. I’m so not worthy.
Emz80m Thanks
kittens The granolith is still on earth. And Liz won’t be the only one.
DreamKeeper Thank you for your kind words. They’ll take it so slow you’ll be asking me to hurry it up.
YonkersMe Thanks.
Roswellluver Thanks for reading.
Chapter 10
Isabel flopped down on her bed. It felt like days had passed since she had got up that morning and she was exhausted. She knew that she needed to get her things ready for the following day, but all she wanted to do was curl under the covers and sleep.
So when she heard the soft, yet insistent knock on her door, she tried her best to ignore it.
“Isabel.”
With a groan, Isabel forced herself up and opened the door. “What?”
Max brushed passed her into the room and looked around.
“Is everything ok in here?” he asked.
“Everything’s fine.” Isabel said in an annoyed voice. “Why do you ask?”
“I think somebody tried to break into my room.” Max told her, speaking in a quiet voice so their parents, who were just down the hall wouldn’t hear them.
Isabel’s heart skipped a beat. “What?” She followed Max quietly down the stairs into his bedroom.
“Watch out for broken glass on the floor.” Max warned her. He closed the door gently. “The window’s been smashed, but nothing else has been touched as far as I can tell. It doesn’t look like anybody’s been in here.”
“Do you think it could have been the same person who broke into the Valenti’s.” Isabel asked. “You said she trashed Tess’s room, so why did she break the window here and not take anything?”
Max shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe something disturbed her.”
Isabel paled at his words. “God Max, Mom and Dad were here all evening. What if they had heard something and came in to investigate? They could have been hurt.”
Max put an arm around Isabel in an attempt to comfort her. She brushed him off angrily.
“We have to tell them.” She declared emphatically.
“Isabel, we’ve been through this a thousand times. No.” Max told her, gently but firmly. “We can’t tell them, it’s not safe.”
“Somebody broke in here tonight while Mom and Dad were here. Somebody is after us. What if they decide to use Mom and Dad as hostages or hurt them as a way of sending us a message? Is that safe?” Isabel hissed furiously. “At least if they know they’re in danger, they can be on their guard.”
“Isabel, I don’t want to get into this argument with you right now. If we tell them, they’ll want to be part of this and they’ll be in danger. If we keep them out of the secret, if they’re not involved, then they’re safe.”
“They are involved. They’re our parents. We live in their house.” Isabel reminded them, her voice rising. Anybody who comes after us is going to assume they know about us and that they’re fair game.”
“If we tell them, they’ll insist on coming with us when we have to deal with something. They’ll be worrying about us all the time. It would destroy their peace of mind.” Max told her in a calm and authoritative voice. “We said we wouldn’t bring anybody else into this secret, and that’s that.”
Isabel glared at him stubbornly for a minute, before relenting. “Whatever you say, your majesty.”
Max ignored the barb. “Thank you. Can you help me with the window?”
Grudgingly Isabel turned towards the window and raised her hand. Max took up his position beside her and focused. Within seconds the broken glass flew up and fitted together, forming an unmarked pane.”
Max examined the glass. “It’s as good as new.” He turned to thank Isabel but she had already left the room.
*
Jim Valenti opened his door early the next morning to find three very dusty, sombre, teenage aliens on his step. He ushered them in with a laugh. “Good morning.”
“Sorry to be dragging so much sand in with us.” Isabel apologised. “We were out practising our powers in the desert.”
“How did it go?” Jim asked,
“Not great.” Michael confessed. “We’ve been neglecting them a lot lately.”
Max was about to inform Valenti of the broken window in his bedroom the previous night when they heard a rumbling sound coming from the couch.
Snoring loudly on the couch lay Kyle, still wearing his clothes from the previous day. There was a vomit stain on his T-shirt and Jim had strategically placed a bucket on the floor near his head.
Jim gestured at him helplessly. “He stumbled in at 3am, drunk. He had been out driving. I knew he was upset about Tess, but…”
Max, Isabel and Michael looked at each other awkwardly, unsure of what to say. Jim shook his head and turned back to them. “Why don’t you clean up and then we’ll go look at Tess’s room.”
While they waited for Isabel to finish cleaning herself up, Max filled Valenti in on the events at the UFO museum the previous evening and his broken window.
“Sounds like the first thing we have to do is find this grl.” Jim mused. “Do you think she’s human or alien?”
“I have no idea.” Max admitted. “We’re hoping that if we touch some of the things in the room, we might be able to get a flash from them and that will tell us more about her.”
As he spoke, Isabel joined them. “Ready?” she asked.
Jim opened the door into the bedroom and drew gasps from the teens. Gingerly they made their way inside, climbing over upturned furniture and trying not to stand on items strewn haphazardly over the carpet.
“Wow, this place has been ransacked.” Isabel said.
Jim watched as they worked silently and diligently. They picked up each item one by one and held it in their hands. Anything that was broken was placed into one sack, anything fit for donation to a charity shop was placed in another. The books and notebooks, anything with writing on it were placed in a separate box. Gradually Tess’s possessions were cleared from the room and order was restored.
After an hour, Isabel rose to her feet and stretched her back. “Nothing.”
Max shook his head and threw the CD he was holding onto the desk in frustration. “There’s nothing here from the break-in and nothing from Tess. We’ll go through her papers later but I didn’t see anything that looked interesting in it, it’s mostly school work.”
“I’ll take these and donate them to the charity shop.” Isabel said picking up one of the bags.
“Well thanks for cleaning out the room.” Jim said as he helped them carry the bags out to the car. “I’ll take a drive around town and see if I can find anything about that .”
He watched them drive away and went back inside to wait for Kyle to wake up. Almost at once there was a knock at the door. He opened it to find a tall man, vaguely familiar standing on the doorstep.
“Jim Valenti? I’m Cole Brown, Lucas Brown’s son.” He extended his hand and Jim grasped it and shook it vigorously.
“It’s good to meet you.” Jim told him. “I was sorry to hear that your fathers passed away. He was the best cop I ever met.”
“Thank you. He always said the same thing about you.” Cole replied.
“Come in.” Jim ushered his visitor inside the house and into the kitchen, avoiding the living room where Kyle lay, passed out.
While Jim a fresh pot of coffee, the two men talked briefly about the Cole’s father. Eventually the talk turned to Cole himself.
“Albuquerque is a nice place and all but I’m more of a small-town kind of guy.” Cole explained. “So when I was offered the position of Sheriff here, I jumped at the chance.”
Jim almost choked on his coffee. “You were offered the position of sheriff?” He echoed. “I didn’t realise that the city council were looking for anybody new.”
“Well it’s still pretty hush hush. “ Cole told him conspiratorially. “Apparently there’s been some problems with the guy they got to replace you and they thought there was nobody else within the department that they felt capable of the job.”
“Hanson never mentioned anything to me.” Valenti said, almost to himself.
“Anyway, I accepted the offer.” Cole said, getting down to the reason he came to see Valenti. “I need to appoint a Deputy-Sheriff. I’ve talked to the guys they’ve suggested but none of them have the necessary experience. There’s a lot of youth in the department and they need somebody with experience to show them the way and I need somebody with local contacts and knowledge. How about it?”
Jim blinked in surprise. “You’re offering me a job.” He said incredulously.
“It’s less money than you were making before and more paperwork.” Cole continued. “It won’t be as interesting as being Sheriff but at least you’ll be back where you belong.”
Jim frowned. “Did nobody in the council fill you in on why I lost my job in the first place? They’re not going to allow me to come back.”
“Jim, you were exonerated of any wrongdoings. They invited you to rejoin the department.” Cole argued. “I can understand why you didn’t want to go back as a deputy, and that your pride is a hurt. But pride ain’t going to pay your bills or put food on the table. I don’t mean to be patronising but this is the best offer you’re going to get. Unless you want to join Hanson as a security guard at Metachem?”
Jim was silent. Cole sighed, afraid that he had offended him. He stood up. “Have a think about it for a while. Here’s my card, give me a call.”
He handed Jim a business card. “I won’t be starting for another few weeks so there’s plenty of time to make up your mind. Thanks for the coffee.”
He stood for a moment as though he wanted to say something else, but instead simply nodded and left. He was climbing into his car when he heard the door of the Valenti’s opening and Jim hurried out after him.
“I’ve had a think.” He said “And I’ll take the job. Thank you.”
*
“So, no luck?”
Max shook his head at Liz's question. “Unfortunately no, we probably waited too long and it had gone cold. But we might get something from Tess’s papers and notebooks that will help.”
Max, Isabel and Michael had driven to the diner to have breakfast with Liz and Maria and fill them in on the recent developments.
“Whoever did it, really trashed the room though. There was hardly anything left intact.” Isabel said. “Furniture, books, CDs, perfumes, everything was smashed.”
“It sounds like the person was more angry than looking for something.” Liz suggested.
Michael swallowed the last of his coffee. “None of this makes sense and it won’t until we find this intruder.” He noticed Jeff Parker approaching the table. “I better start work, see you guys later.” He stood, gave Maria a quick kiss and made his way into the kitchen.
“We better go too.” Max said as he and Isabel stood up. He smiled at Liz. “I’ll see you tonight.”
Jeff handed Maria a breakfast roll and coffee. “What’s tonight?” He asked Liz.
“Max and I are going to the movies.” Liz informed him.
Jeff shot a glare at Max’s retreating figure but said nothing.
“Your Dad doesn’t seem to like Max very much.” Maria pointed out. She rose from the table. “I’m going to go across the road and see how Brody’s doing this morning. Talk to you later.”
*
Maria found Brody sitting at his desk staring off into space. His clothes were dishevelled and his usually spiky hair was limp and greasy. He didn’t hear Maria’s knock at first, but jumped up when he finally noticed her standing in the doorway.
“Maria, come in. I was so sorry to hear about your house.” He said as he brought her into the office and pulled out a chair for her to sit on. “How are you?”
“I’m fine. My wrist is a little sore. I brought you some breakfast and some coffee.”
Brody took the proffered food from her and set them down on his desk. “I had intended to come and see you last night but… something came up. If there’s anything I can do, please let me know.”
“Thanks. Everyone’s been really kind to us.” Maria told him. “It’s just hard to believe that everything’s gone.”
“I know you don’t like when I offer money, but I mean it, if there’s anything I can do, please let me know.” Brody told Maria.
Maria reached across the desk and put her hand over Brody’s and squeezed it gently. “Thank you, that means a lot to me.”
Brody returned the pressure on Maria’s hand gently and held it his own.
Maria could plainly see that Brody was doing his best to act as though everything was fine. It was clear, however, that he hadn’t slept much the night before or eaten a lot in the last few days.
“Are you going to eat your breakfast?” Maria asked. Brody gave an embarrassed smile and pulled his hand away. He made no move to eat the food though.
“Brody, is everything alright? You don’t look so hot.” Maria prodded gently.
“I’m fine.” Brody said reassuringly. Maria gave him a dubious look so he picked up the coffee and took a sip. “This is good, thanks.”
Realising that he wasn’t going to talk to her voluntarily Maria decided to broach the subject herself. “I can see that you’re not fine. Something’s bothering you, talk to me Brody, is it something to do with Sydney?”
Brody shook his head. “No, Sydney’s fine. She’s coming to stay with me soon.” At that he burst into tears.
In alarm, Maria rushed to Brody’s side, wrapped her free arm around his shoulders and tried to soothe him. Brody held her tightly and cried.
After his tears had subsided he pulled away from Maria in embarrassment. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s ok, please tell me what’s wrong.” Maria implored.
Brody took a deep breath. “Lately, I’ve been getting that feeling, the one that tells me I’m about to be abducted again. And it’s different this time, like I’ll be gone for longer.”
Maria wanted to say something to comfort Brody but couldn’t think of the right thing.
“Last night, I lost two hours. I was sitting in front of my TV waiting for CSI to start and the next thing I knew it was over and the programme after that was over as well. Sydney is supposed to be staying with me for the summer. I can’t look after her if I’m going to be disappearing for days.”
“Brody…” Maria began helplessly, but she didn’t know how to continue.
“I can’t go through that again. The last time it happened, I lost my company and my marriage broke up. If I tell Minette that I’m about to be abducted by aliens again she’ll sue for custody and I’ll never see Sydney again.”
He wrung his hands in despair.
“I was forced to resign from my last job and give up the company I had created. None of my friends will have anything to do with me now, they all think I’m a half-brained loon. I don’t want to loose everything again. I like Roswell, I like running this museum.”
“You are not going to loose everything again. There are lots of people around here who’ve been abducted by aliens and nobody blinks an eye at them. I’m not going to stop being friends with you just because you have to go away for a few days. We’ll find somebody who can look after this place for you.” Maria said emphatically, glad to finally have something she could reassure him about.
The pair sat in companionable silence for a while as Brody regained his composure. Maria made him eat the breakfast she had brought over and to her relief Brody wolfed it down hungrily.
“I haven’t eaten a lot lately.” He admitted sheepishly.
Maria smiled brightly. “I’ve just had a great idea. Isabel Evans has just started working here, she’s really organised and efficient. You saw how well she organised everything at Christmas. Plus she knows all about your abductions, so she wouldn’t need any explanation if you suddenly disappear.”
Brody grinned at Maria. “Perfect.”
Within minutes, Maria had located Isabel amongst the other trainees and brought her back up to the office.
“I need somebody I can trust and somebody who understands that I’m not crazy, to run the museum on the days I can’t be here or the days I take off while Sydney’s visiting me.” Brody explained to Isabel. “It’s more responsibility, but the pay’s better and ‘assistant manager’ will look better on a resume than ‘tour guide’. What do you say?”
“You mean I get to be Max’s boss?” Isabel asked in delight. “I say, hell yes.”
*
Nancy Parker knocked gently on her daughter’s bedroom door and entered carrying a load of freshly laundered clothes.
“This should keep you going for a few days.” She laughed as she put them down on the bed.
Liz smiled appreciatively. “Thanks Mom.”
Nancy watched her for a few moments as she applied her make-up. “You look really nice dear, are you going somewhere special?”
“Thanks.” Liz cast a critical glance at herself in the mirror and was satisfied with her appearance. “I’m just going to the movies with Max.”
Nancy smiled. “That’s nice. It’s good that you can be friends again.” She waited to see if Liz would contradict her.
Liz stood up and pulled on her jacket. “I won’t be late.”
“Liz, wait.” Nancy fidgeted with her wedding ring nervously. Liz crossed her arms impatiently, waiting for her mother to speak. “I was talking to Amy earlier and she mentioned that Maria had told her that she was sleeping with Michael.”
“I’m not sleeping with anybody.” Liz told her.
“That’s good. But I want you to know that you can talk to me if you were or about anything and I’ll listen, even if you think I won’t approve.”
“I know.” Liz sighed.
“I’m not sure you do.” Nancy insisted. “You never talk to me or your father anymore. There have been several occasions this year where I know you were upset or bothered about something and you never said a word to us. Your father and I are here for you Liz. We can help.”
“I’m fine.” Liz insisted.
“You’ve just lost a very close friend, it’s natural to be upset. But bottling it up isn’t going to help anybody. You need to talk about it, maybe a counsellor would…”
“I don’t need to see a shrink.” Liz yelled, she bit her lip and continued in a calmer voice. “I’m fine, I talk to Maria about things. Now if that’s all, I have to go?”
Nancy stalked over to where Liz was standing. “One more thing. The other night you told us you were going to bed and then you sneaked out and went over to the Deluca’s.” Nancy said in an angry tone. “Do you have an idea what went through your fathers mind when he went to find you there and the house was on fire. He’s been having nightmares ever since. Now, we let it go because you were so upset, but I’m warning you Liz. One more stunt like that and you’ll be grounded.”
With that she brushed past Liz, a moment later the door of her parents bedroom slammed. Liz chewed her lip, suddenly feeling very ashamed of herself.
She met her father coming up the stairs.
“Hi Lizzie. You look nice.”
Liz threw her arms around him. “Thanks Dad. I’m really sorry about the other night, I didn’t mean to scare you like that.”
Jeff kissed her forehead tenderly. “Just don’t do it again.”
Liz smiled and continued down the stairs. At the bottom she turned and realised that her dad was still standing on the steps watching her. “I love you Dad.”
“Love you too Liz. Have a good night.”
She nodded and made her way out into the diner. Max and Isabel were at a table with Maria and Michael. They waved when they saw her coming in.”
“Hi Liz. You look amazing.” Max told her.
Liz blushed. “Thanks. Hi guys, how was your second day at the museum Isabel?”
Isabel smiled smugly. “It was great. I got a promotion.”
“Congratulations.” Liz said in surprise. “What are you now?”
“I’m the boss of Max.” Isabel told her
Max pulled Liz's arm. “Lets go before she starts another power trip. Good night guys”
“Have a good time.” Maria yelled after them as they exited the diner.
Out on the street, Max smiled shyly and handed Liz a napkin he had folded into the shape of a flower. “I didn’t have a chance to get you anything.”
“It’s great, thanks Max.”
Their hands brushed lightly against each other as Liz took the flower from Max. A tingle of electricity shot through them at the slight contact. Liz looked up and met Max’s eyes. He smiled back at her, wishing that they could stay like that all night.
Liz broke the spell. “We should go.”
“Sure.” Max put his hand on the small of her back, guiding her towards his mother’s car. He opened the door of the car and helped Liz in, then hurried around to the other side.
“What’s that?” Liz asked pointing to a piece of paper folded under the wiper and flapping gently in the breeze. Max shrugged and reached his arm out to get it.
It was a white envelope. Liz and Max exchanged worried glances.
With a deep breath Max slit the envelope open and pulled out a single folded piece of paper. He unfolded it.
Liz leaned over to read it. “Oh my God.”
In big black writing it said: “I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE.”
*
Xmag Thank you.
rjsasko I’m afraid you’re not going to find any satisfaction with this fic. I happen to believe that Max wasn’t all bad. He didn’t act in a vacuum, he reacted to Liz and her decisions. He made some wrong choices, but he is a teenage boy, under enormous pressure and felt abandoned and betrayed by Liz.
Alana Thanks.
Ella1022 Thanks.
Venus_star2.com I think that Valenti would have recognised Tess, as for Serena?!? I’ll give you a little clue, she’s not an original character.
Applebylicious Thank you so much. I’m so not worthy.
Emz80m Thanks
kittens The granolith is still on earth. And Liz won’t be the only one.
DreamKeeper Thank you for your kind words. They’ll take it so slow you’ll be asking me to hurry it up.
YonkersMe Thanks.
Roswellluver Thanks for reading.
Chapter 10
Isabel flopped down on her bed. It felt like days had passed since she had got up that morning and she was exhausted. She knew that she needed to get her things ready for the following day, but all she wanted to do was curl under the covers and sleep.
So when she heard the soft, yet insistent knock on her door, she tried her best to ignore it.
“Isabel.”
With a groan, Isabel forced herself up and opened the door. “What?”
Max brushed passed her into the room and looked around.
“Is everything ok in here?” he asked.
“Everything’s fine.” Isabel said in an annoyed voice. “Why do you ask?”
“I think somebody tried to break into my room.” Max told her, speaking in a quiet voice so their parents, who were just down the hall wouldn’t hear them.
Isabel’s heart skipped a beat. “What?” She followed Max quietly down the stairs into his bedroom.
“Watch out for broken glass on the floor.” Max warned her. He closed the door gently. “The window’s been smashed, but nothing else has been touched as far as I can tell. It doesn’t look like anybody’s been in here.”
“Do you think it could have been the same person who broke into the Valenti’s.” Isabel asked. “You said she trashed Tess’s room, so why did she break the window here and not take anything?”
Max shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe something disturbed her.”
Isabel paled at his words. “God Max, Mom and Dad were here all evening. What if they had heard something and came in to investigate? They could have been hurt.”
Max put an arm around Isabel in an attempt to comfort her. She brushed him off angrily.
“We have to tell them.” She declared emphatically.
“Isabel, we’ve been through this a thousand times. No.” Max told her, gently but firmly. “We can’t tell them, it’s not safe.”
“Somebody broke in here tonight while Mom and Dad were here. Somebody is after us. What if they decide to use Mom and Dad as hostages or hurt them as a way of sending us a message? Is that safe?” Isabel hissed furiously. “At least if they know they’re in danger, they can be on their guard.”
“Isabel, I don’t want to get into this argument with you right now. If we tell them, they’ll want to be part of this and they’ll be in danger. If we keep them out of the secret, if they’re not involved, then they’re safe.”
“They are involved. They’re our parents. We live in their house.” Isabel reminded them, her voice rising. Anybody who comes after us is going to assume they know about us and that they’re fair game.”
“If we tell them, they’ll insist on coming with us when we have to deal with something. They’ll be worrying about us all the time. It would destroy their peace of mind.” Max told her in a calm and authoritative voice. “We said we wouldn’t bring anybody else into this secret, and that’s that.”
Isabel glared at him stubbornly for a minute, before relenting. “Whatever you say, your majesty.”
Max ignored the barb. “Thank you. Can you help me with the window?”
Grudgingly Isabel turned towards the window and raised her hand. Max took up his position beside her and focused. Within seconds the broken glass flew up and fitted together, forming an unmarked pane.”
Max examined the glass. “It’s as good as new.” He turned to thank Isabel but she had already left the room.
*
Jim Valenti opened his door early the next morning to find three very dusty, sombre, teenage aliens on his step. He ushered them in with a laugh. “Good morning.”
“Sorry to be dragging so much sand in with us.” Isabel apologised. “We were out practising our powers in the desert.”
“How did it go?” Jim asked,
“Not great.” Michael confessed. “We’ve been neglecting them a lot lately.”
Max was about to inform Valenti of the broken window in his bedroom the previous night when they heard a rumbling sound coming from the couch.
Snoring loudly on the couch lay Kyle, still wearing his clothes from the previous day. There was a vomit stain on his T-shirt and Jim had strategically placed a bucket on the floor near his head.
Jim gestured at him helplessly. “He stumbled in at 3am, drunk. He had been out driving. I knew he was upset about Tess, but…”
Max, Isabel and Michael looked at each other awkwardly, unsure of what to say. Jim shook his head and turned back to them. “Why don’t you clean up and then we’ll go look at Tess’s room.”
While they waited for Isabel to finish cleaning herself up, Max filled Valenti in on the events at the UFO museum the previous evening and his broken window.
“Sounds like the first thing we have to do is find this grl.” Jim mused. “Do you think she’s human or alien?”
“I have no idea.” Max admitted. “We’re hoping that if we touch some of the things in the room, we might be able to get a flash from them and that will tell us more about her.”
As he spoke, Isabel joined them. “Ready?” she asked.
Jim opened the door into the bedroom and drew gasps from the teens. Gingerly they made their way inside, climbing over upturned furniture and trying not to stand on items strewn haphazardly over the carpet.
“Wow, this place has been ransacked.” Isabel said.
Jim watched as they worked silently and diligently. They picked up each item one by one and held it in their hands. Anything that was broken was placed into one sack, anything fit for donation to a charity shop was placed in another. The books and notebooks, anything with writing on it were placed in a separate box. Gradually Tess’s possessions were cleared from the room and order was restored.
After an hour, Isabel rose to her feet and stretched her back. “Nothing.”
Max shook his head and threw the CD he was holding onto the desk in frustration. “There’s nothing here from the break-in and nothing from Tess. We’ll go through her papers later but I didn’t see anything that looked interesting in it, it’s mostly school work.”
“I’ll take these and donate them to the charity shop.” Isabel said picking up one of the bags.
“Well thanks for cleaning out the room.” Jim said as he helped them carry the bags out to the car. “I’ll take a drive around town and see if I can find anything about that .”
He watched them drive away and went back inside to wait for Kyle to wake up. Almost at once there was a knock at the door. He opened it to find a tall man, vaguely familiar standing on the doorstep.
“Jim Valenti? I’m Cole Brown, Lucas Brown’s son.” He extended his hand and Jim grasped it and shook it vigorously.
“It’s good to meet you.” Jim told him. “I was sorry to hear that your fathers passed away. He was the best cop I ever met.”
“Thank you. He always said the same thing about you.” Cole replied.
“Come in.” Jim ushered his visitor inside the house and into the kitchen, avoiding the living room where Kyle lay, passed out.
While Jim a fresh pot of coffee, the two men talked briefly about the Cole’s father. Eventually the talk turned to Cole himself.
“Albuquerque is a nice place and all but I’m more of a small-town kind of guy.” Cole explained. “So when I was offered the position of Sheriff here, I jumped at the chance.”
Jim almost choked on his coffee. “You were offered the position of sheriff?” He echoed. “I didn’t realise that the city council were looking for anybody new.”
“Well it’s still pretty hush hush. “ Cole told him conspiratorially. “Apparently there’s been some problems with the guy they got to replace you and they thought there was nobody else within the department that they felt capable of the job.”
“Hanson never mentioned anything to me.” Valenti said, almost to himself.
“Anyway, I accepted the offer.” Cole said, getting down to the reason he came to see Valenti. “I need to appoint a Deputy-Sheriff. I’ve talked to the guys they’ve suggested but none of them have the necessary experience. There’s a lot of youth in the department and they need somebody with experience to show them the way and I need somebody with local contacts and knowledge. How about it?”
Jim blinked in surprise. “You’re offering me a job.” He said incredulously.
“It’s less money than you were making before and more paperwork.” Cole continued. “It won’t be as interesting as being Sheriff but at least you’ll be back where you belong.”
Jim frowned. “Did nobody in the council fill you in on why I lost my job in the first place? They’re not going to allow me to come back.”
“Jim, you were exonerated of any wrongdoings. They invited you to rejoin the department.” Cole argued. “I can understand why you didn’t want to go back as a deputy, and that your pride is a hurt. But pride ain’t going to pay your bills or put food on the table. I don’t mean to be patronising but this is the best offer you’re going to get. Unless you want to join Hanson as a security guard at Metachem?”
Jim was silent. Cole sighed, afraid that he had offended him. He stood up. “Have a think about it for a while. Here’s my card, give me a call.”
He handed Jim a business card. “I won’t be starting for another few weeks so there’s plenty of time to make up your mind. Thanks for the coffee.”
He stood for a moment as though he wanted to say something else, but instead simply nodded and left. He was climbing into his car when he heard the door of the Valenti’s opening and Jim hurried out after him.
“I’ve had a think.” He said “And I’ll take the job. Thank you.”
*
“So, no luck?”
Max shook his head at Liz's question. “Unfortunately no, we probably waited too long and it had gone cold. But we might get something from Tess’s papers and notebooks that will help.”
Max, Isabel and Michael had driven to the diner to have breakfast with Liz and Maria and fill them in on the recent developments.
“Whoever did it, really trashed the room though. There was hardly anything left intact.” Isabel said. “Furniture, books, CDs, perfumes, everything was smashed.”
“It sounds like the person was more angry than looking for something.” Liz suggested.
Michael swallowed the last of his coffee. “None of this makes sense and it won’t until we find this intruder.” He noticed Jeff Parker approaching the table. “I better start work, see you guys later.” He stood, gave Maria a quick kiss and made his way into the kitchen.
“We better go too.” Max said as he and Isabel stood up. He smiled at Liz. “I’ll see you tonight.”
Jeff handed Maria a breakfast roll and coffee. “What’s tonight?” He asked Liz.
“Max and I are going to the movies.” Liz informed him.
Jeff shot a glare at Max’s retreating figure but said nothing.
“Your Dad doesn’t seem to like Max very much.” Maria pointed out. She rose from the table. “I’m going to go across the road and see how Brody’s doing this morning. Talk to you later.”
*
Maria found Brody sitting at his desk staring off into space. His clothes were dishevelled and his usually spiky hair was limp and greasy. He didn’t hear Maria’s knock at first, but jumped up when he finally noticed her standing in the doorway.
“Maria, come in. I was so sorry to hear about your house.” He said as he brought her into the office and pulled out a chair for her to sit on. “How are you?”
“I’m fine. My wrist is a little sore. I brought you some breakfast and some coffee.”
Brody took the proffered food from her and set them down on his desk. “I had intended to come and see you last night but… something came up. If there’s anything I can do, please let me know.”
“Thanks. Everyone’s been really kind to us.” Maria told him. “It’s just hard to believe that everything’s gone.”
“I know you don’t like when I offer money, but I mean it, if there’s anything I can do, please let me know.” Brody told Maria.
Maria reached across the desk and put her hand over Brody’s and squeezed it gently. “Thank you, that means a lot to me.”
Brody returned the pressure on Maria’s hand gently and held it his own.
Maria could plainly see that Brody was doing his best to act as though everything was fine. It was clear, however, that he hadn’t slept much the night before or eaten a lot in the last few days.
“Are you going to eat your breakfast?” Maria asked. Brody gave an embarrassed smile and pulled his hand away. He made no move to eat the food though.
“Brody, is everything alright? You don’t look so hot.” Maria prodded gently.
“I’m fine.” Brody said reassuringly. Maria gave him a dubious look so he picked up the coffee and took a sip. “This is good, thanks.”
Realising that he wasn’t going to talk to her voluntarily Maria decided to broach the subject herself. “I can see that you’re not fine. Something’s bothering you, talk to me Brody, is it something to do with Sydney?”
Brody shook his head. “No, Sydney’s fine. She’s coming to stay with me soon.” At that he burst into tears.
In alarm, Maria rushed to Brody’s side, wrapped her free arm around his shoulders and tried to soothe him. Brody held her tightly and cried.
After his tears had subsided he pulled away from Maria in embarrassment. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s ok, please tell me what’s wrong.” Maria implored.
Brody took a deep breath. “Lately, I’ve been getting that feeling, the one that tells me I’m about to be abducted again. And it’s different this time, like I’ll be gone for longer.”
Maria wanted to say something to comfort Brody but couldn’t think of the right thing.
“Last night, I lost two hours. I was sitting in front of my TV waiting for CSI to start and the next thing I knew it was over and the programme after that was over as well. Sydney is supposed to be staying with me for the summer. I can’t look after her if I’m going to be disappearing for days.”
“Brody…” Maria began helplessly, but she didn’t know how to continue.
“I can’t go through that again. The last time it happened, I lost my company and my marriage broke up. If I tell Minette that I’m about to be abducted by aliens again she’ll sue for custody and I’ll never see Sydney again.”
He wrung his hands in despair.
“I was forced to resign from my last job and give up the company I had created. None of my friends will have anything to do with me now, they all think I’m a half-brained loon. I don’t want to loose everything again. I like Roswell, I like running this museum.”
“You are not going to loose everything again. There are lots of people around here who’ve been abducted by aliens and nobody blinks an eye at them. I’m not going to stop being friends with you just because you have to go away for a few days. We’ll find somebody who can look after this place for you.” Maria said emphatically, glad to finally have something she could reassure him about.
The pair sat in companionable silence for a while as Brody regained his composure. Maria made him eat the breakfast she had brought over and to her relief Brody wolfed it down hungrily.
“I haven’t eaten a lot lately.” He admitted sheepishly.
Maria smiled brightly. “I’ve just had a great idea. Isabel Evans has just started working here, she’s really organised and efficient. You saw how well she organised everything at Christmas. Plus she knows all about your abductions, so she wouldn’t need any explanation if you suddenly disappear.”
Brody grinned at Maria. “Perfect.”
Within minutes, Maria had located Isabel amongst the other trainees and brought her back up to the office.
“I need somebody I can trust and somebody who understands that I’m not crazy, to run the museum on the days I can’t be here or the days I take off while Sydney’s visiting me.” Brody explained to Isabel. “It’s more responsibility, but the pay’s better and ‘assistant manager’ will look better on a resume than ‘tour guide’. What do you say?”
“You mean I get to be Max’s boss?” Isabel asked in delight. “I say, hell yes.”
*
Nancy Parker knocked gently on her daughter’s bedroom door and entered carrying a load of freshly laundered clothes.
“This should keep you going for a few days.” She laughed as she put them down on the bed.
Liz smiled appreciatively. “Thanks Mom.”
Nancy watched her for a few moments as she applied her make-up. “You look really nice dear, are you going somewhere special?”
“Thanks.” Liz cast a critical glance at herself in the mirror and was satisfied with her appearance. “I’m just going to the movies with Max.”
Nancy smiled. “That’s nice. It’s good that you can be friends again.” She waited to see if Liz would contradict her.
Liz stood up and pulled on her jacket. “I won’t be late.”
“Liz, wait.” Nancy fidgeted with her wedding ring nervously. Liz crossed her arms impatiently, waiting for her mother to speak. “I was talking to Amy earlier and she mentioned that Maria had told her that she was sleeping with Michael.”
“I’m not sleeping with anybody.” Liz told her.
“That’s good. But I want you to know that you can talk to me if you were or about anything and I’ll listen, even if you think I won’t approve.”
“I know.” Liz sighed.
“I’m not sure you do.” Nancy insisted. “You never talk to me or your father anymore. There have been several occasions this year where I know you were upset or bothered about something and you never said a word to us. Your father and I are here for you Liz. We can help.”
“I’m fine.” Liz insisted.
“You’ve just lost a very close friend, it’s natural to be upset. But bottling it up isn’t going to help anybody. You need to talk about it, maybe a counsellor would…”
“I don’t need to see a shrink.” Liz yelled, she bit her lip and continued in a calmer voice. “I’m fine, I talk to Maria about things. Now if that’s all, I have to go?”
Nancy stalked over to where Liz was standing. “One more thing. The other night you told us you were going to bed and then you sneaked out and went over to the Deluca’s.” Nancy said in an angry tone. “Do you have an idea what went through your fathers mind when he went to find you there and the house was on fire. He’s been having nightmares ever since. Now, we let it go because you were so upset, but I’m warning you Liz. One more stunt like that and you’ll be grounded.”
With that she brushed past Liz, a moment later the door of her parents bedroom slammed. Liz chewed her lip, suddenly feeling very ashamed of herself.
She met her father coming up the stairs.
“Hi Lizzie. You look nice.”
Liz threw her arms around him. “Thanks Dad. I’m really sorry about the other night, I didn’t mean to scare you like that.”
Jeff kissed her forehead tenderly. “Just don’t do it again.”
Liz smiled and continued down the stairs. At the bottom she turned and realised that her dad was still standing on the steps watching her. “I love you Dad.”
“Love you too Liz. Have a good night.”
She nodded and made her way out into the diner. Max and Isabel were at a table with Maria and Michael. They waved when they saw her coming in.”
“Hi Liz. You look amazing.” Max told her.
Liz blushed. “Thanks. Hi guys, how was your second day at the museum Isabel?”
Isabel smiled smugly. “It was great. I got a promotion.”
“Congratulations.” Liz said in surprise. “What are you now?”
“I’m the boss of Max.” Isabel told her
Max pulled Liz's arm. “Lets go before she starts another power trip. Good night guys”
“Have a good time.” Maria yelled after them as they exited the diner.
Out on the street, Max smiled shyly and handed Liz a napkin he had folded into the shape of a flower. “I didn’t have a chance to get you anything.”
“It’s great, thanks Max.”
Their hands brushed lightly against each other as Liz took the flower from Max. A tingle of electricity shot through them at the slight contact. Liz looked up and met Max’s eyes. He smiled back at her, wishing that they could stay like that all night.
Liz broke the spell. “We should go.”
“Sure.” Max put his hand on the small of her back, guiding her towards his mother’s car. He opened the door of the car and helped Liz in, then hurried around to the other side.
“What’s that?” Liz asked pointing to a piece of paper folded under the wiper and flapping gently in the breeze. Max shrugged and reached his arm out to get it.
It was a white envelope. Liz and Max exchanged worried glances.
With a deep breath Max slit the envelope open and pulled out a single folded piece of paper. He unfolded it.
Liz leaned over to read it. “Oh my God.”
In big black writing it said: “I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE.”
*