She went very still, her eyes stark with dread. "Dear heaven. Do you think someone killed Jake? Maybe he was murdered because he talked to me about the rumors of an alien lab."
The guilt and dread in her eyes bothered him. He walked around the counter and gripped her shoulders very tightly.
"All we know for certain is that Jake has disappeared, possibly for the same reasons that those other hunters vanished from the streets. Whatever is going on, it started before you began your series of reports on the alien abductions, remember?"
She relaxed a little. "Yes."
"That means that nothing that has happened is in any way your fault."
"But what is going on?" she whispered.
"I don't know yet, but I think the timeline can be narrowed down to something that happened about six months ago."
"How do you know that?" she asked eagerly.
"Jake's service records covering the last six months of his employment with the Guild have vanished. I think that someone, presumably Jenner, made sure they disappeared."
"That was right around the time that I went to work at the Curtain" she said. "Shortly after that, I picked up the rumors about Underground Exploration's sweetheart deals with the Guild. A couple of months later, I heard the first reports of homeless men in the Quarter being abducted by aliens." She handed the peanut butter and banana sandwich to Elvis. "We have to find out what happened to Jake."
"Yes."
"I want justice for him and for all the others who disappeared."
"We'll get it."
"It's all so damned unfair." She wiped her eyes with a tea towel. "He was just a burned-out hunter trying to get by. He loved making that miniature dressing room for Elvis. I think he could have had a life if the Guild hadn't abandoned him to the streets."
Fontana said nothing.
Sierra suddenly lowered the tea towel. "Good grief. Aliens."
"Not you, too. I've got enough problems on my hands. If you are about to tell me that you actually believe the aliens have returned to Harmony—"
Her expression lit with zeal. "I saw them."
"What?"
She tossed the towel down onto the counter and dashed out of the kitchen. She went into the small front hall. When she returned, he saw that she had her notebook in hand. She flipped it open.
"This is the picture of the aliens moving around behind the ultraviolet beam that you asked Hank to draw for us," she said.
She unfolded the sketch and put it on the counter. Two diverging parallel lines indicated the energy beam. There were also a couple of stick figures representing the aliens.
"What about it?" he asked.
"The heads of the aliens." She was practically glowing with excitement. "What do they remind you of?"
He studied the bulbous, slightly elongated shapes. "Fish heads?"
"That's not what they look like to me," she said.
He looked up, aware of the energy shimmering in the air around her. "What?"
"Motorcycle helmets," she said.
Chapter 17
KAY STARED, GOGGLE-EYED. JAW ALMOST ON THE FLOOR.
"You're going to the Crystal Ball tonight? With Fontana?"
"Well, it's not as if I'd go on my own," Sierra said. She lounged on the corner of Kay's cluttered desk. They had the newsroom to themselves. Matt was out chasing down a story about a rez-screen star who was rumored to have checked into rehab for the twentieth time. Runtley was in his office, and Phil was in the men's room. Everyone else was out to lunch.
"Okay, I'm seriously impressed," Kay said. "That is so exciting. Everyone who is anyone in Crystal will be there. Just think, you'll be hobnobbing with all the most important, most influential movers and shakers in town."
"This isn't going to be a social event for me. It's purely business. Donovan Corley will be there. Fontana promised to introduce me to him. With luck, I'll be able to zing him with a couple of questions about UEX's deals with the Guild."
"Oh, that should go over like a rat in a punch bowl. Sierra, the Crystal Ball is the social event of the year. You can't just barge in and grill powerful men like Corley while they're swilling champagne."
"Why not? I've had a hunch from the beginning that Corley and his company are somehow involved with the juice dealing."
"Is that so? Why?"
"There are a couple of reasons. First, those cozy deals UEX has with the Guild."
"So what? A lot of big companies have sweetheart contracts. It's understood that if you want to extract valuable resources from underground, you have to give the Guild a piece of the action. That's true for all the organizations, not just the Crystal Guild."
"Second," Sierra continued, undaunted, "ghost juice started hitting the streets within weeks after UEX abruptly halted what was supposed to have been its biggest exploration venture into the rain forest to date. I don't think that was a coincidence."
"You still believe there's a conspiracy going on, don't you?"
"Yes, I do."
"Look, even if you get a crack at Corley tonight, you don't really think he's going to confess to being a drug lord, do you?"
"I just want to see his reaction when I ask him a few questions."
"If I were you, I'd worry more about getting a dress," Kay said. "You can't wear one of your business suits and a pair of pumps. You're Fontana's wife. You have a responsibility to look good."
"I realize that. I made an emergency call to a certain fairy godmother, and she came through for me."
"You've got a fairy godmother now?"
"My cousin, Tamsyn. She's the fashionista in my family. Lives in Cadence, but she knows where to shop in every one of the city-states. She gave me the name of a boutique on Amber Lane and made a phone call. I'm supposed to ask for Doris."
"Amber Lane? I can't even afford to park on that street, let alone shop there."
"Fontana said that the Guild would pick up the tab. Business expense."
"Think Fontana has any idea of how expensive things are in Amber Lane?"
Sierra smiled. "I doubt it."
"Oh, wow," Kay breathed, "this is simply too cool for words."
Runtley stuck his gleaming head through the doorway. "What's going on here?"
"Sierra's going shopping," Kay said.
Predictably, Runtley turned a vivid shade of purple. "I don't pay my reporters to shop in the middle of the afternoon."
"Got to buy a dress for tonight," Sierra explained smoothly. "Turns out I'm going to be covering the Crystal Ball."
Runtley's eyes glittered. "Fontana got you a press pass?"
"Well, actually, I'm going as his wife."
"Oh, yeah, right," Runtley said. "I keep forgetting. I want photos."
Phil sauntered toward them from the direction of the men's room. "What's going on?"
"I'll tell you what's going on," Runtley said, glowing with triumph. "The Curtain is covering the Crystal Ball. You're the official photographer."
"Woo-hoo," Phil said. "Just like a real newspaper, huh?"
Chapter 18
THE CRYSTAL PAVILION WAS AN OVER-THE-TOP TRIBUTE to the twin forces of architectural exuberance and the generous financial backing of the city's wealthiest and most powerful citizens, businesses, and organizations. The interior of the grand ballroom was a glittering, decadent fantasy of sparkling mirrored walls and gleaming marble-and-amber floors. A glass dome arched high overhead. The countless lights of a couple dozen massive chandeliers illuminated the expensively dressed crowd.
Sierra paused in the hallway outside the ladies' room. Her gown was a deceptively simple column of dark green that flowed from throat to ankle, a perfect example of understated elegance. An ingenious arrangement of hidden pleats and a discreet slit allowed freedom of movement. Just the right amount of skin was on display. Tamsyn's contact, Doris, had not failed her.