Chasing Robes & Shadows

Then she reminded herself he wasn't a kid, he was a Uni senior. Twenty-one. Well. Perfect age, same as Peter had been... She thought, 'I'm only five years older than I was.'

Shaw watched Asha greet Roger and Jeanie and then that couple stepped away. She smiled at the challenge that flowed between the pairs of black and golden eyes. Then she saw a change in Asha.

'Fred?' Shaw knew lip-reading could be inaccurate but that was clear. So was the next part. 'My father was Fred.'

Shaw didn't know the full conversation but whatever had caused Mel and Chris to bring up Fred had shaken Asha. She chided herself a bit, but these little signs of vulnerability in both of these too-mature-for-their-years girls cheered Shaw. A routine check after the Broiler incident had found Asha and Aron's parents had been Fred and Janet Washington, talent agents in Hollywood. They'd died about four years earlier in a malfunctioning hot tub, their two children left with sizable inheritances locked away until their Uni graduations and generous allowances until then.

Tracy's parents were Valley locals who now lived and worked at Dinosaur National Monument a couple of hours drive away while their daughter attended Uni, a junior like Asha but a math major. Math and accounting were distantly related but from her college days they weren't majors whose students normally mingled so other than both being students nothing drew a clear line between that petite brunette and this voluptuous redhead. But it was obviously there, Asha's statement of friendship when Shaw had interviewed her had been heartfelt. Beyond even.

As intriguing had been the TV reporter Jayne Jacob's connections via her late parents to the First Presleyterian Church, another dot that demanded connection to Anna's background and the history of that Mustang. That religion didn't have a significant following locally, like many others it picked up scraps of believers who weren't adherents of the local dominant faith. So its involvement might be significant. She'd interviewed the reporter about the Broiler incident and had felt she'd barely had control, the woman might be a decade younger but she was a natural journalist. Background checks showed she'd been Jayne Fraser as a student and had been interviewed and had admitted to being with Peter and Carole but only to the day before their disappearance although that had never made it to the public reports she'd done recently. And the housemates had never seen her on the fateful Friday or Saturday. Shaw still had nothing that would tie her to the 'elf' Anna, the original Anna, and the night of the Church fire beyond Dave's assertion and her disguise that night made Dave's claim easily deniable. But the driver five years back had been a brunette with a great figure disguised as a cat and the reporter who'd made her breakthrough filming near-naked college students for Halloween had been a brunette with a great figure disguised as a cat. Dave swore both were the same person, but the debrief about a drug deal turned kidnapping hadn't been the right time to bring it up.

And Mutually Assured Destruction. If Jayne had been Cat then Dave said she'd also seen Joyce with Peter at the Church. Joyce had as much reason as the reporter to not want the events of that night revealed in the wrong ways so it was a subject that needed careful approach. The younger woman hadn't revealed recognition at the interview but Shaw didn't know if that was authentic or something she'd saved for a more opportune moment. Either was possible given the young reporter's talents.

Her reverie was ended by a commotion in the kitchen behind her and Sam topped the stairs with a large and delicious looking rectangular chocolate cake, applause from a few people who parted to allow her a path through the kitchen and into the dining room. Shaw stepped aside and Sam smiled at her as she went past.

"Gimme a hand, officer?"

Shaw stepped quickly and they each grabbed an edge of what she discovered was a thick piece of cardboard covered with foil.

Deep red letters across the top of the cake spelled out 'Happy 22nd, Leather Boy, don't forget the ice cream! Devil Girl & Everyone!' Teresa followed with a big handful of candles and once Shaw and Sam set the cake down she began placing them and the two women stepped back but stood alongside each other.

"Hey, Sam, another question," Shaw's voice was soft so Sam edged closer and leaned her head a bit, "I know they're 'leather boy' and 'devil girl' 'cuz that Halloween thing, but what's up with ice cream?"

"Oh, um," Sam glanced over as Mel and Chris approached the table and attendees arrived from the other floors, she bit her lower lip for a second, "um, well, it has to do with..."

Shaw snorted as Sam's face went as red as her long and flowing hair.

"Oh, uh... Mel says her ass is Chris's favorite part of her and if they'd met when she was younger he would've bribed her with ice cream until she let him stick his thingie up her butt," Sam blurted the last bit out too loudly, a couple of Chris's soccer teammates heard that and turned and leered, Sam paused and they turned away before she leaned closer to Shaw, who leaned as well, "... then he'd have been sent to jail... and... oh um, you get it? Their joke, like, he buys her ice cream after he sticks it, uh..."

Sam paused a few heartbeats.

"And that girl LOVES ice cream," Sam finished, her face even redder. Shaw tried to not let her laughter become a fit as the pair from before, and a few more, all looked at her and the girl whose face was as redder than her hair. Fortunately everyone's attention was drawn first to the windows as someone ran up the driveway, followed by two others who Shaw recognized as Bobby and Anna from the Broiler night. Then everyone turned to look at the side door at the sound of an accented voice.

"There'll be trouble if you've cut the cake," a brunette with accented English entered by the side door. She had an open overcoat over a dark blue business suit with a knee-length skirt, calf-high boots with low heels. She pushed through the crowd and wrapped Chris in a bear hug and pressed her mouth hard onto his as his arms went around her and grabbed her ass. Shaw was surprised at Mel's obvious grin at the scene, before Maria released Chris and repeated the greeting with Mel. Shaw's eyebrows jumped slightly at that.

"Now that Maria's here," Mel said as Teresa finished lighting the candles, "the party can start!"

The crowd cheered and broke into the birthday song with the inclusion of the 'you belong in a zoo' phrase. After it was over Mel gave Chris a big hug and kissed him hard on the lips and Shaw smiled as that ridiculous skirt popped up and had there been anyone with remaining doubt about the demon's choice to avoid underwear that was cleared. She saw the 'other' redhead Asha put her hand over Dave's eyes but she smiled as she did it. That was rich, given Asha had taken every opportunity to swing that long skirt and show off her own lack of underwear and that shaved pussy.

"Hey," Dave snorted.

Shaw looked over and saw Bobby and Anna had also entered but stood behind much of the crowd, Bobby well taller and even Anna above many. She shook her head. Anna was in a red and black cheerleader's uniform, Bobby in a football jersey in matching colors. Both had 'WHS' and a stylized falcon badge. She was happy for that last part because the colors and initials matched the high school she'd taught at and Peter had attended. Fortunately the mascot stopped the coincidences.

Shaw noticed that Sam had slid behind her to her other side and the candle-lighter's cute brother had worked through the crowd to stand on her other side. He stood as close as he could without actually touching.

She didn't move away.

"I do not believe it," Shaw said to Maria as they both held paper plates with slices of cake, "that they got this cake from Bill 'n Ada's? That place is a---"

"Shithole," Maria beat her to it, they both laughed, "but this is about the best chocolate cake I've ever had."

"Everything those two say," Shaw's voice slowed as she chose each word carefully, Maria was indeed about her age, "sounds crazy. But. Sounding and being, two different things."

Maria chewed her last bite of cake slowly.

"I manage the photo lab for the Fine Arts College at the Uni, Chris took a course on developing film I taught when he was a sophomore couple years ago, how I met him. He's hell of a photographer. Both of 'em come up and develop pictures. I went with them to the Uintas, where they got those pictures... Had just split from my husband, thought it'd be a lark."

"Oh, hell of a trip, musta been."

"Yeah, I'd rather regretted I hadn't jumped him during that course," Maria smiled and Shaw's mouth dropped slightly open but Maria quickly went serious, "so was my chance. She, uh, shares. I try not to deal with... their obsession."

Then her face broke into a broad grin.

"I'm just here because they're both the most awesome fucks I've ever had!"

Maria winked at her.

"Need a drink, Joyce? You seem a bit, um, quiet."

"No," she finally managed, "I'm fine."

She watched Maria walk into the kitchen and trade hugs with Sam and Teresa before she opened the fridge.

"Detective," Shaw turned and saw Dave, "Mel and Chris wanted me to get you. Down the basement."

She nodded and dumped the paper plate her cake and ice cream had been on into the bin, rubbed her hands on her thighs. She saw Bobby in the living room with Terry and a couple of others, the cute, sandy-haired young man's eyes lingered and she let hers do the same before she followed Dave around a corner.

Shit, Joyce, for real? Well, there's apparently a precedent in this house. Let's see what's in the basement.

Dave said quick goodbyes to Roger and Jeanie. Shaw had learned they had a three month old daughter who was with Jeanie's parents. This had been their first night out and they'd already hit their limit, a situation she never expected to be in. She followed Dave down the stairs and at the bottom heard that strange voice of Anna's to their left, Dave turned, nodded and she followed him into a large storage room lined with shelves and a number of bulk food-storage bins and equipment to grind flour and the like. She'd been told the house belonged to an aunt and uncle of the twins. Those two had fallen far from the tree but apparently the extended family followed the local faith's instructions to stockpile food and supplies.

The one item out of place was some sort of strange and colorful computer on a shelf in the far corner. It appeared to be powered off.

"Detective Shaw?" Anna's flat voice almost had feeling in it, Shaw thought, the pale woman's brows knitted more deeply as Dave closed the door behind himself.

"What's up, Mel? Chris?" Shaw said and she and Anna looked at each other then at the pair. Mel had somehow done up the bottom most button on her blazer, Shaw wasn't sure it wasn't even sexier that way. Then Anna looked around at the walls and she tilted her head a couple of times.

"Anna, relax," Chris's voice was soft, "we don't mean any harm. We just have some questions. Have you ever seen either of these two?"

Mel pulled two enlarged pictures and held them up as Anna and Shaw looked. The detective saw they were blow-ups of Peter's and Carole's pictures from the paper after their disappearance. The housemates had provided one of Peter, on some outing they'd all attended, Carole's had been her sorority photo, both pictures only months old at the time of the disappearance. Shaw studied Anna's face. Although her voice didn't convey emotion, her face did.

She worked to tamp down her reaction but Shaw was certain there had been one, although she shook her head and straight brunette hair that fell between her shoulder blades shook.

"Why'd you take his last name, Anna? Seemed kind of, oh, obvious, not to mention keeping his car," Chris kept his voice calm as he glanced at Shaw. She admired his control, she'd whispered the confirmation about the car in his ear at some point. She glanced, saw Dave had taken a step away from the door, his face hard and angry. Anna stayed silent.

"One more picture," Mel's voice stayed low as she shifted a container on the shelf next to the RedFruit and pulled out something that looked like a flat, black, no, dark gray piece of glass about the size of a telephone book but thin. Very thin. Shaw had never seen anything like it. But she guessed Anna had as the tall cheerleader's eyes went wide before she blinked multiple times and her mouth moved without speaking before her head swung and she looked around the walls again. Mel tapped the screen with a finger and it lit up with the picture of the two golden-eyed aliens that they'd shown her the previous evening. Dave looked at the picture and Shaw saw his mouth quirk into a quick smile, they must've shown him this picture, like the detective he'd seen the original Anna.

"We wondered, Anna," Mel's turn, her voice low, raspy, pitched to go straight to the crotch in normal times, "this room. We figured out it's a Faraday cage. Dunno why, but it is. You know how the people in this state love to store enough food for the apocalypse..."

"It's a bomb shelter too, with EMP shielding. Way over the top. But it blocks padlet signals, so...," Chris said.

Anna's eyes flared and she ran straight into Dave, who grunted hard with the contact. Shaw stepped back as the big woman went past, Dave had an inch and with his bulk some weight on her but she used an arm and simply threw him against the door where he grunted again but stood. She grabbed Dave's shoulders and lifted him but he grappled and wrapped his leg around hers as she tried to throw him.

"Anna," Shaw shouted, "stop!"

Shaw had more by reflex than by thought dropped, drawn her gun from her left ankle and positioned herself where she had an angle on the big, angry woman. Or was she an alien?

"Bobby told us how strong you are," Chris said, "sorry Dave, we didn't know THAT strong."

Anna glared at him then at Shaw, who stood with a two handed grip. Shaw guessed she was judging the distance. She was fast. Shaw did what she would almost never do and cocked the hammer. Hair trigger.

"Please, Anna, relax. We're just talking," Shaw tried to calm her, "it's only a .38, but hollow points. At this range, messy. You're strong, not bulletproof."

I hope, thought Shaw, on that last point.

Anna relaxed then removed her grip on Dave's shirt and let him stand, half turned and elbowed him hard in the abdomen, slammed him against the door again and he slumped but held his position and growled but it turned into a short cough.

"Enough, alien bitch!" Mel's growl was brutal, Anna stared at her open-mouthed, Shaw successfully fought the urge to turn.

Anna obeyed as Shaw motioned her to sidle away from Dave and Chris strode behind the policewoman. Mel stayed to her left while Chris went over and pulled Dave upright, the latter's breath heavy and rough.

"Shit, broken ribs," Chris said as he tapped Dave's abdomen and the man winced, "need to get you out..."

"No way," Dave groaned, "not yet."

"Anna," Mel's voice again soft, raspy, syrupy, "did you, did your people, take Peter and Carole?"

Anna closed her eyes for a count of three then looked around at everyone in turn.

"That picture? How?"

"We have our contacts," Mel said, "from the crashed satellite."

"No, it isn't," Mel huffed in surprise at Anna's assertion and the woman's snapped words, "those are the golden criminals. From the first expedition. They destroyed the ship and killed everyone. We never had that picture."

"Holy sh... What?" Shaw wished someone HAD robbed that bank or a convenience store or anything really while she was on the way over. Anna would've beaten the shit out of everyone and she'd be joyously clueless. In fact, she and the rest of the department would've laughed their heads off when the call came in. A tall brunette with pale skin and huge tits and dressed as a cheerleader beats up a house full of college students at a birthday party.

"Yes, detective, I'll be happy for you to investigate and find them. It was easy for us to know who was responsible because golden eyes are very, very rare for us and they were the only two. We were, are, the second expedition and have no gold eyes with us. They were ten years ahead of us. I wasn't born yet, but we got the messages, the panic while we were still on the way. The messages said those two had sabotaged the ship and were trying to escape."

"Escape? To where?"

"Here. Earth. They sabotaged the navigation computer so the rockets misfired and the reactor so it'd explode. They sped past Earth but those two ejected with probes. We found what's left of the ship, the pieces are in a long, elliptical orbit around the sun. July of 1963 by your calendars. If your astronomers saw anything, probably thought it was a comet."

"Okay, then, we bought the padlet at a yard sale," Mel's voice started as a little girl's chirp as Anna glared at her, then back at the gun, "whatever. We have it. It had that picture on it. Did you take Peter? Nothing about him."

"Of course not, however you got it. That means they're here. Somewhere. They're mass murderers. There were fifty of my people on that ship. Well, forty-eight we care about."

"Anna, we don't know anything about that or them, other than this picture and a couple others there's nothing about them or your people," Shaw heard the hitch in Mel's rasp that indicated that likely wasn't true but hoped Anna wouldn't notice, "but we'll help you. Bring them to justice. But."

"Peter was my lover," Anna's voice was low, "before I came here. Well, more specifically, he was my teacher."

Now it was everyone's turn to gape. Shaw shifted aim just off her target and carefully reset the hammer and kept it just off of the woman's chest.

"Yes, we took him and Carole. They... they were going to reveal our plans, we thought. But also, well, also Anna, the Queen, she loved him, she never admitted it but I think he reminded her of Ian. But we couldn't leave them down here. I took Anna's name to honor her."

"He taught you to fuck humans?" Mel's question.

"Yes, devil girl, he did. Quite well, I think Bobby will tell you," Anna smiled, a happy expression as she said the name, "and more. How to, be, human."

"Bob---"

"And one more thing," Anna stopped Mel's statement, "I learned from him how to use their love. Peter... well, Anna loved him. But he loved her too. And Vicki, Vicki loved him. He was torn. He... and Carole... but Queen Anna and Vicki too. Some Brittany whore too but that was just because she was a slut, he didn't love her. But I learned that. Just like Bobby loved you, demon."

Chris smiled and nodded slightly at that, Shaw looked at him then at Mel. Her smile was soft.

"He did. No more. Now Bobby loves you something fierce, Anna," Mel told her and Chris nodded his confirmation, "and Peter did a good job. Or you're a good student. But who was Vicki?"

"Vikrangia," or something like that was the word Shaw heard, "Vicki. My mother. Yes, like the gold eyes but well, her eyes aren't golden. I kinda took Peter's name too because, well, she was going to ask him to marry her. Then he'd have been my stepdad."

That left the room in stunned silence.

"Kinda weird when your mom steals your boyfriend, but...," she shrugged.

"Tell me about it," Mel said with a laugh, Chris snorted but no one else reacted.

"Oh hell, Anna," Shaw said, "I saw your... the other Anna. Queen Anna? She was with Peter at Halloween. Months before you took him. The port wine stain, her cheek."

"Yeah, green... and a gray eye, she sneaked down to Earth a few times, usually on Halloween. She wasn't like me. Not one of us new ones. But she wanted to meet Peter, we'd had issues with Carole, she wouldn't follow the plan to let us take him sooner. So the Queen wanted to meet him."