Young Writers Society

December 21, 4140

3:00 pm

Jud leaned back further in his chair as Cati turned to speak to him.

“They do remember that I hear everything, right?”

“Love is not disturbed by the progress or issues of those who should not be eavesdropping.”

“You say it like I have a choice, Schudea.”

He winced at the name, turned towards them and was starting to spit on their shoes, when a chiding sound escaped with a wheeze.

“I did not realize it would cause you such offense.”

“My. Name. Is. Jud. It’s only three letters and it’s simple enough to figure out.”

Cati picked their glass of whiskey up from the table and felt around in the ice bucket to dilute it further. Jud might not have been able to read minds but he knew how to read people. No matter where they came from, no matter the language they spoke or how much they tried to hide, Jud could still read them. He thought about it at moments like this, remembering that he (like the others) became a detective for a reason.

“You have a very specific skill set.”

“Oh?”

“A modern day, space, time, dimension Sherlock Holmes, perhaps?”

Roth’s comments ran through his mind as he tried to remain focused on the facial expressions across from him. The wrinkles on the old alien’s face disguised a few of the smaller motions but the overall sentiment remained the same.

“Want to try cutting through the tension with a knife? Or maybe a machete would be more appropriate?”

Both sets of eyes turned towards the wall where Jud’s collection of weapons floated. There were few knives among the small phaser weapons and large caliber rifles, more appropriately called a small cannon. Still none of them would be effective to helping the mood of the room.

“Perhaps we should just get the boys in here and start discussing the gem smuggling case.”

“You’re going to let her little friend stay? And furthermore read in on this?”

Jud sighed and took another drink before answering.

“It’s not like he’s going to leave.”

He took a stack of files from under the desk, pushed a small piece of tortoise shell enclosed in a glass case, and the wall of weapons flipped over to a presentation board. The globe bar was open for another drink, but he reached for another compartment underneath, pulling out a bag of magnets and markers.

“Is there any particular reason you hide those better than your whiskey?”

“You know how pens disappear in an office building. I’m not taking any chance with these little guys.”

Leo and Glenn stumbled through the door, bringing the smell of a cheap liquor with them, leaving their breath and circulating through the room. Their current status would not be of much help to the case, no matter what great information Leo might have when he was sober.

“A lot of good these two drunk skunks will do.”

Glenn fumbled for the chair beside Cati.

“We’re not that drunk, ma’am. And even if we were, I don’t think that it’s any of your business.”

Jud moved to arranging the photographs and pieces of evidence on the board.

“Cati isn’t too concerned about you but Leo is our new star witness.”

Leo tried propping his feet up on the desk but Jud swept them off as soon as they landed.

“I didn’t realize you had a witness at all before I showed up.”

“Okay, Leo is our only witness. Our only confidential informant. And the only person besides Harry to have worked in these deep circles before.”

“Are you sure you’re okay to work with me, Jud? No harm, no foul for the incident in the office this morning?”

Jud would have liked to punch the little punk right then. And how did this guy get here to working for them, from being the kid breaking into their office in the morning. For the normal person, it might be moving a bit fast and they wouldn’t have even talked to someone considered a criminal in the first place.

Well a “normal” person in some other city.

Delta was an entirely different part of Zinnia. Everyone here was a criminal in some way. From the jaywalking to the first-degree murder, it was accepted that everyone was a criminal.

And Jud had nothing to fear because he could read people.

“Leo, we’ve hired a lot shadier people than you to do more secure jobs. I think this will all be fine. Besides, Harry hired you and who doesn’t trust her?”

Everyone was soon reminded of Glenn’s existence as he cackled in the corner after Jud’s big statement about trust. Jud saw Cati’s eyes move to bore directly into his skull and even Jud started to wonder what the boy was thinking. Harry was not the most honest person on the planet but people could always trust her, a relation that should not have been matching up.

“Who doesn’t trust her? You might as well be asking ‘Who does trust her?’ How do you honestly think Harry became such a high ranking military official in her 20s?”

Glenn looked between them all and dug another cigarette out of his pocket.

“Look, I know y’all have been friends with Harry for a pretty good length of time but she’s not the goody two shoes you might know today.”

Jud coughed at the description of Harry being innocent.

But if Glenn is calling her behavior mild now, how bad must she have been before?

“Could we please just talk about the case before anyone else breaks in here to kill us? I’ve been threatened more times today by your friends than I do in a month by the Fiacre family.”

Jud turned back to the emptiness of the display board, took a small knife from a sheath on the wall, and stepped backwards until his back met with the opposite wall. All the eyes on the room were on him, waiting for whatever movement Jud might make. He tossed the blade around in his hand a few times and watched how they all seemed to back further into their chairs.

Giving a small wink to Cati, he lifted his arm back and threw the knife through the center of Mrs. Anderson’s picture.

Jud returned calmly to his seat and added another ice cube to his drink before saying, “So Leo, know anything about her?”