Maxar (The Mating Games Book 4) (3 page)

“It’s enough to take a cautionary step.”

“What would that be?”

“I plan to take her off work with pay of course, while we investigate.”

“You usually take more care in your actions. It’s far too soon to take any action at all. She wouldn’t do it. I would swear to it.”

“Wouldn’t do what?” Ernie asked from the door.

Maxar turned red, even Razar had the grace to flush. “We were just wanting to ask you a few questions.”

“Why bother? It sounds like you’ve already come to a decision.” She sent Razar a look that could make a grown man cry. It might have worked if Razar was a man, but he wasn’t human.

“Ernesta, you need to understand we’re in a delicate position here. One of your coworkers has all but accused you of causing the mishaps.” Razar justified.

“Let me guess, shifty conniving Jerry? Maxar, I know you tried to help me and I appreciate it. I’ll just pack my stuff and head back into space.”

“No. Don’t go Ernie. You’ll be vindicated, I know it. Meanwhile consider this a paid vacation courtesy of Razar that won’t use up any of your time off.” Maxar shot Razar an angry look.

“Okay, for now.” She shot Maxar a warm look before turning to leave. As soon as she was out of haring range Razar had his say.

“You should have let her leave. It would have been for the best. When I prove her role in this, she won’t be able to get a job on a garbage scow.”

“When she’s vindicated, you will have to make this up to her in a big way.”

“You’re living in a dream world. It has to be her. No one else had access and opportunity.”

Chapter 3

A Crying Shame

Ernie hated that when she got mad she often cried. Men always looked at that as a sign of weakness. That was just something a woman had to live with. The saddest thing was she had thought things would be different here. A place to start over and get away from all the ill treatment of the past. She’d been a fool to expect fair and equal treatment. Something had gone wrong and the male in charge supports the man making accusations without any proof. Why? Because apparently this was a man’s world too just like Earth.

The time she was off that they paid her she would take to find another job and sort through stuff she hadn’t found the time to do before. Her husband had been gone long enough now she could let him go. She had a dozen boxes to go through he’d been a bit of a hoarder. The man had collected things but he’d always told her that he’d give it all up in a second if she wanted him to. Why would she care if he found things that gave him pleasure? She allowed him a closet to fill to bursting if he wanted but no more than that.

It would hurt, but she was hurting anyway for a different reason. Everything had seemed to be going so well but it was pipe dreams. She picked up her daughter at the child care center. They noticed nothing since it was close to the usual time.

“Shandra won’t be back for a few days. I’m taking a little time off to settle in.”

“Okay. Thanks for letting me know.” Zandal said clueless to how Ernie’s world had been turned topsy turvy.

“You’re welcome. Have a nice evening.” Ernie was thrilled to get out of there without breaking down. She clung to her child who began to fuss. Shandra was affectionate but only when she chose to be. That was alright, they were in the hover car now and it was safe to break down. Shandra would be caught up with the view out the window so she wouldn’t notice a thing.

They got home which made Ernie feel more relieved. Now she could hide away from the world as she fell to pieces. Once Shandra was asleep, Ernie had a date with a bottle of wine. She would try not to go past tipsy since she and Shandra were alone. Tonight it would be leftovers, she didn’t have the fortitude to cook or do anything that required a brain. Not that her brain was what had been hurt here.

It wasn’t like she knew Razar that well because she had only spoken to him a couple times. His mate was different because she was more like a friend even if she didn’t see her often, she liked her. Ernie knew Maxar supported her and that had saved her from a crushed heart. She hadn’t wanted to feel anything for him except what an employee might feel for their boss, but it wasn’t what she felt.

What this whole mess had done was steal her hope that things might ever be different for a woman no matter where she went. Ernie had let herself hope that she could be judged by her ability not her sex. If only her character was considered not just the fact that she was female which clearly meant she was guilty of something bad they just had to figure out what. This was the reason she had left Earth.

Putting supper in the microwave, she got out the wine deciding to have one glass to relax before Shandra went to bed and she could drink more. The first box of her husband’s things was a shoe box. It contained a collection of various small jewelry items. Wanting to be sure she didn’t give away anything of value, she started with the top item, took a picture and searched for it on Oison’s answer to the internet. The alarm went off letting her know their food was ready. Dropping everything, she went to get Shandra so they could sit down to eat.

“What’s wrong, Mama?”

“Nothing, Baby. Why do you asked?”

“We didn’t read today.”

“Mommy isn’t working the rest of this week so we will have time to read tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Shandra said as she went back to eating. Ernie was grateful little ones were so accepting.

When they were done, she let Shandra play for a while until she had everything cleaned up.

“Time for bed, Kiddo.” Such a good girl she got up and came to her. It only took a few minutes to get her to sleep.

Ernie was ready for her wine which would help her to have an ugly cry. She needed it to reset her system and let her absorb all that was happening. Checking for another job was essential, clearing out her late husband’s belongings would make the move easier. Not all companies paid for moves. Even though Ernie had some money saved up, she didn’t want to use it all up to pay for a job change.

Pulling down her resume, she updated and improved it before downloading it to every job site available. If the right job came up she would leave as soon as she could. The thought of leaving hurt but she had nothing holding her here. Maxar was a dream that would never come to fruition just like equality for women in this universe.

Ernie sat on the computer working going through the box looking to see what she would keep for Shandra. Regardless of what she decided about finding a man in the future, she wanted Shandra to know everything about her father. By the time she was through with the box, the bottle of wine was gone too. She fell into bed sleeping deeply until morning.

“Mama, Mama, get up!” Shandra pulled on her PJs. Sluggish and still half asleep, Ernie reacted to her daughter’s need.

“What is it Baby?”

“Somebody’s outside. I hear them.”

“It’s alright. Go back to your room and I’ll go scare them away.”

“Aren’t you scared, Mama?”

“No, not when I’m protecting you.”

Ernie watched her little girl go back to her room before she got out of bed looking for a weapon. She took a hammer, it was the best weapon she could find and went to the door listening from her side. There was no noises outside at all. She turned on the outside lights thinking it might scare anyone lingering outside away. Opening the door a crack, she peaked out seeing nothing. It looked like Shandra might have dreamed the danger. Relief came over her but to be certain, she stepped outside looking around. When she turned back toward the door, she gasped and stifled her need to scream.

A small animal unfamiliar to her was nailed there bleeding all over her porch. Looking down she saw she had trailed through the blood spreading it around. Ernie thought later that she should have thought things through more carefully but she didn’t. She ran inside slamming the door and locking it. Grabbing the phone she called Maxar’s personal number nearly hysterical. He answered immediately.

“Hello?”

“Oh my god, Maxar.” The rest of what she said was slurred and impossible for him to understand. Even when she tried to slow down she couldn’t.

“Take a deep breath, Ernie. Tell me where you are.”

“Home.” It was all she could say and she was proud it came out clearly.

“I’m leaving right now. Just stay there and wait for me.”

How did he know where she lived? She started to freak out thinking the factory wanted her gone and someone in a position of authority had caused this to be done. Then she noticed the blood again. She had to clean up the smeared blood on the floor and wash her PJs. What if Shandra got up and saw it? Thinking more clearly by the minute, she took off the PJ pants then washed the floor. Stripping, the PJs went into the laundry tub. Running to her bathroom she took a quick shower, dressed, and went to start some coffee.

Something was going on here even beyond the trouble at the factory and someone had put her in the middle of it. It was time to fight back because this time they had put her daughter in it too. A knock at the door told her Maxar was here but she was cautious about checking to be sure it was him. When she saw it was, she unlocked the door opening it for him to step in.

“What the hell? You have a dead bleeding hurmog nailed to your door. Those are a protected species.”

“Are you saying you think I did it?”

“No, of course not. I can’t believe anyone did it. Did you see them or hear them?”

“No, I was sleeping soundly when Shandra woke me. She was frightened by the sounds at the door. I sent her back to bed assuring her I would deal with any danger for her. Not expecting what I found, I was upset when I called you.”

“Never hesitate to call me when you’re in trouble. I will always come.”

“As sweet as that sounds, you are forgetting I won’t be here much longer.”

“You are innocent and we’ll prove that. Someone is trying to run you away. Don’t let them win.”

“It’s easy to urge someone to stand and fight, Maxar. That wouldn’t be a hard decision to make either if I were alone. I have a young one to look out for which is hard to do if I purposefully put her in danger.”

“Come stay with me.”

“Are you forgetting that you live with your family?”

“Yes, I did for a moment. My house is being built right now.”

Ernie knew what that meant and it made her heart contract. Maxar was getting a mate but it someone other than her. Where had such a thought even come from? Now or in a dozen years it would never be her. “I’m glad for you.” She said stiffly.

“Ernie.” Maxar said as he reached out to touch her but she pulled away. He was standing right in front of her but he was as good as gone. This wasn’t the best time to admit to herself that she had held out hope in some small corner of her heart that they might be a couple. It was for the best anyway all things considered. “Don’t run from me.”

“I’m not running. Where would I go right now anyway? It’s the middle of the night and I have a small child.”

“You know what I mean. Don’t pull away and don’t hide your heart.”

“We aren’t a couple, Maxar. I won’t be pulled in where there is no future. Regardless of what some think, I’m not that kind of girl.”

“I have never thought otherwise. My faith in you is unshaken, the truth will be discovered in the end.”

“So you say, but Razar doesn’t seem to care about the truth. He only seems to want someone to blame.”

Maxar looked away which told her he’d seen that too. “He’s not usually like this. Maybe it’s the pressure, there are other problems too.”

“So you are being sabotaged in more than one area? I rarely go outside of my area.”

“He says that just proves you have help.”

“He really wants it to be me, doesn’t he?”

“It would make it easier to contain future problems but we both know after a small break the saboteur will do more harm than ever.”

“Who could it be?”

“My first thought was Jerry but is he smart enough?”

“Maybe he has concealed his intelligence behind that offensive and lazy shell?”

“If true, that would make him an exceptional actor.”

“There’s no one else in my area I would suspect.”

“Maybe we should sit down and discuss this. Drafting a list of suspects would be wise.”

“Have a seat, I’ll get you a cup of coffee.” Once he sat down she left coming back with two steaming mugs. “Here’s yours.” She placed one in front of him. Hers was set down across from him and she sank into the chair.

“Black, just like I drink it.” He arched a brow at her questioningly.

“I’ve seen you drink coffee before. That’s one of the things I notice.”

“Thank you. It’s just right.”

She knew what he meant. Ernie had noticed early on that Mazlans liked their coffee strong. Adding a teaspoon of instant to the usual brewed fare made it perfect for them. “I’m glad you like it. Now let’s get down to this. Do you wish to write the list?”

“I have a small pad and a pen.”

“You do and you’re the only one I know who carries that.”

“Let’s start with Jerry. He has the mechanical skills to do the damage.”

“I hate to tell you this, but anyone could have cut that part with a laser. It took no skill.”

“That opens our list up to factory workers too. Even the males who bring in the product. This isn’t narrowing down anything. What would be needed to do something like that?”

“Only access to the area, access to a laser, and nerves of steel in case you get caught.”

“Well even you, the supervisor don’t have access to all the areas sabotage occurred.”

“Razar already pointed out it can’t be just one person. Let’s just concentrate on my area. The person would have to be someone who others expect to go anywhere in my area. Regular workers are mostly stuck in their spots. If they are caught moving around too much, others would be suspicious. Neither of the girls, Doxy or Bella, have been to my area in a while when I was there. Jerry has, he was there the day before everything fell apart.”

“Why was he there?”

“Jerry hits on all the girls.”

“Hits on? Physically?”