A Noir Interlude (In Space)
The dame breezed in like anyone should be happy to see her. She wasn’t wrong; her shiny scales lent color to the room like the Painted Sunset she was named after, and her cheery demeanor was enough to warm the bitterest heart. There was a note of concern nestled between those browridges, though. She had a request for me.
“Do you know who left cracker wrappers in the bathroom sink? It’s Zhee’s turn to clean it, and he’s annoyed about the mess.”
I was on the case.
She led me down hallways that hummed with the song of a distant engine, ferrying us through the blackness of space, and to a little spot I was personally acquainted with. A different sound filled the airwaves here.
“This sink isn’t rated for crumbs! Careless! On the floor is one thing, but in the sink? Who’s eating food in the bathroom??”
Purple exoskeleton gleamed while the cranky fellow gestured with pincher arms and stamped with various bug legs. They made quiet little clicks on the floor. One of his pinchers held a gravity wand suitable for small cleanup jobs. By the look of the backed-up sink, it wasn’t the best tool for plumbing.
He caught sight of me and pointed at the little trash can. “Is that yours? It’s somebody’s crunchy food, not mine.”
I dutifully opened the lid with the foot pedal to take a look. Nope, not my chow. I told him so as I let the lid close. Gotta keep things contained in case of gravity fluctuations.
While the cranky fellow complained some more and I vowed to get to the bottom of it, a clue ran past the door.
A little furry clue, chasing something that crinkled.
I was out the door and hot on the trail in a flash. Crinkling sounds and soft paw-thumps led the way to the kitchen, where I found an entirely different clue.
Eggskin the cook, fastening the lid onto a larger trash can with the air of someone making sure it was done right this time.
“Oh hey, we’re going to have to make sure this is closed properly,” they said, dusting off scaly yellow-green hands. “The cat got into it. There was nothing in there to cause digestive concern, thankfully, but…” Eggskin trailed off and pointed behind me.
Quiet pawsteps, feline pride, and the shrink-wrap plastic that had once held the captain’s favorite eel jerky. Now that plastic was carried like a prize. Which it probably was.
I’d cracked the case.
I thanked Eggskin for their help, and returned to tell Paint and Zhee that the mess was an unfortunate accident, with no one to blame. No one able to apologize for it, at any rate.
Anyways the culprit was a buddy of mine. I managed to trade the jerky wrapper for a proper cat treat, and I threw it away in a trash can that was fully secured. Zhee was almost done cleaning the bathroom, and it wouldn’t do to have this mess start all over again.
~~~
These are the ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book.
Shared early on Patreon! There’s even a free tier to get them on the same day as the rest of the world.
The sequel novel is in progress (and will include characters from these stories. I hadn’t thought all of them up when I wrote the first book, but they’re too much fun to leave out of the second).
