Shaking his head, Michael added, "So much for democ- racy. How long before dinner?”
Isabel looked up at the wall, which held a clock with a picture of a cowboy on its face. When they arrived, the clock had been worn and broken. Now it kept perfect time and looked new.
Max knew Michael was right. They had to be more careful.
"Just under an hour and a half," Isabel said.
"What's the game?" Michael asked.
"Fizzbin," Max replied. "Fizz-what?" Michael said.
"We'll explain as we play," Isabel said as she dealt out the cards.
Liz put her last dinner order down in front of the last two of the latecomers. The locals all ate early, Bell explained, but the people who commuted to Pueblo came in later. From what Liz saw, a lot of people commuted to Pueblo. There didn't seem to be much work in this town. She also noted that there wasn't a single woman or girl who came in alone.
They just didn't wander around by themselves in Stonewall. And now Liz knew that it was for a good reason. Someone was preying on the women in town. For a moment, she felt a flash of shame for letting Maria walk to the garage by herself. Liz had been shaken by her vision of Jimmy's future and had been too absorbed in her own thoughts to even think about the danger to Maria. She had felt better when she called Johnny's and the girl who'd answered had said that Maria had arrived fine. Liz had felt even better when Maria had come back with Michael in tow.
Maria came in with a frown on her face, and one look at Michael's face told Liz why. Another fight. Liz had asked, but Maria hadn't wanted to talk about it, and soon enough the dinner rush started.
Jimmy had watched Liz throughout the rest of the shift, but had not said anything to her. Liz was glad for that, then ashamed of herself. She was ashamed that she had avoided looking at him. But she didn't want to see what was in his eyes. She could feel the pain well enough with- out seeing it.
And she didn't want him to see what was in hers.
One of the reasons she had left with Max was so that they could be together and find some semblance of peace. So they could live together without fear… and without shame.
But that was not the only reason. They had also wanted to stop living only for themselves… living only to protect their precious secret. The secret of the alien-ness that had lived inside of Max, Michael, and Isabel. It now lived inside Liz and would probably one day take up residence in Kyle as well. They had left Roswell so they could use their secret and their powers to help other people. Like Tom Joad in The Crapes of Wrath, Liz herself had said. Doing good deeds and avoiding the law.
And she had believed in that idea.
And two days later she was avoiding the gaze of a boy whom she could not help.
Can't or won't? a voice in Liz's head said.
Shame.
There was danger here. Liz could feel it. She had sensed it very clearly when she'd had her vision of Jimmy at his sister's funeral. She had sensed it very strongly when she had seen the room that was not quite a room. And she had heard it in the girl's screams… a lost, terrified sound that she knew would visit her in her dreams for some time.
Whatever had Jessica was going to kill her. And he was very dangerous. No, not he, Liz thought. It's a they. She didn't know how she knew that, but something in the vision told her that it was a they… a very dangerous they.
Liz forced herself to look at Jimmy. He was clearing the last empty table. As if he felt his eyes on her, he turned to return her look a few seconds later. He smiled at her. It was a grim smile that didn't belong on his innocent face.
Liz smiled back. Then she felt something move inside her.
She had been afraid to look at Jimmy before, but she had done it. There was something else Liz was afraid of, very afraid, and it wasn't whoever had Jimmy's sister and the other missing girls in this town.
It was shame. She couldn't face it, and then she knew she didn't have to.
Almost immediately, the cloud started lifting. She walked over to Jimmy and put a hand on his shoulder. Though she was relieved when no visions came, she knew she would face them when they did come… without fear.
Liz knew she had made the right decision.
"Come on, Parker. We've got side work to do," Maria said.
Max saw Liz through the window. He felt a moment of relief when he saw that she was there. He knew his worries were probably baseless. She would be safe inside a crowded diner. He was sure of it. Yet, he was still relieved to see her.
As soon as he did see her, though, he realized that something was wrong. Something was bothering her. Almost as soon as he realized that, she was heading for the door. She was there as he stepped inside.
"Hi," she said, her voice even.
Max leaned down to kiss her and said, "Hi." He couldn't ask her what it was now. That conversation would have to wait until they were alone.
"You guys can sit down over here," Liz said, pointing to a long table near the center of the empty diner.
A woman Max recognized from yesterday came out from the kitchen. A smile appeared on her face, and she said, "Girls, are these your friends?”
Liz and Maria nodded together.
"Well, sit down," the woman said, gesturing to the table.
"I'm Bell," she added when they had all sat.
Liz stepped forward and said, "This is Max, Isabel, Michael, and Kyle," pointing to each one as she spoke their name.
"Pleased to meet you," Bell said.
Then she turned to Liz and Maria and said, "You sit down too.”
Liz started to protest, but Bell shushed her with a wave. Looking at Max, Bell said, "They have been on their feet for nearly twelve hours straight. Best help we've ever had here." As Liz and Maria sat, Bell took out a pad. "Now what can I get you kids?”
After she had taken their order, Bell disappeared into the kitchen. The door shut behind her and drowned out any sounds from the kitchen.
Once Liz was sitting, Max could see that she was tired. Maria, too. They had been working a double shift. Max felt a pang. He had done nothing to help their cause, while Liz and Maria had worked twelve hours in a row. Kyle, too. I'm some leader, he thought.
Then he noticed that Liz kept glancing at the boy from yesterday, the one with Down's syndrome. He was sitting in a booth next to the window, staring out and down trie street. "Do you want to invite him to sit with us?" Max asked Liz.
She shook her head. "I already did. Bell says that he likes to sit by himself at the end of the day and look for his sister.”
"How long has she been gone?" Max asked.
"Almost a week," Liz said. There was something in her voice and face that told Max there was something else, something she wasn't telling him. Instead, she turned to Kyle and asked, "So how was work at Johnny's?”
Kyle and Michael told the girls the same story Max had heard on the walk over.
"So Gomer is dangerous?" Maria asked, when they were finished.
Kyle shrugged and said, "Since Michael had a talk with him, I think he's mostly in danger of wetting himself.”
Though Kyle smiled when he said that, Max could see that their friend had been shaken up by his experience.
"So you did do something worthwhile today, Michael," Maria said.
Michael shrugged at that, and Max could see that he was uncomfortable. It looked like everyone was on edge today. Max was surprised. Stonewall hadn't looked like much of a town… the fact was, it still didn't look like much. But it was definitely dangerous. Women were missing. Crazed tow truck drivers were thrown into fits of jealous rage. Some- thing was going on here. Up until now, Max had thought the biggest danger they faced in Stonewall was being out of money. Max decided that he, Michael, and Isabel would have to keep an eye on the others.