Chapter 2 Caught

An excerpt from The Titanium Mysteries Book 1: What Is She Doing Here?

Zeta walked as quickly as she could. She wasn’t able to run anymore. Not since the accident. But she still tried to walk as fast as she could. There was something about the way Phillipe had said he couldn’t tell her and the way he had been acting that made her try to hurry. But she wasn’t fast enough. She heard the sirens and gasped.

Still she couldn’t move fast enough. She hoped Phillipe was alright, but she wasn’t so sure now. She kept walking. She heard the emergency vehicles get closer. Not only they were too fast for her, they also could fly. She could never fly. She was just an elf. What on Titanium was going on? Titanium was the only planet she had ever lived in. It was the next planet further out from the sun from Platinum.

Phillipe’s words echoed in her head.

She knew she would read his notes more carefully once she was safely at home. But when would she get home? She heard someone running behind her.

“Stop! Come back here!” It was a male voice.

Zeta sighed and stopped walking. There was no point. He would catch her. She turned around slowly to face him. He stopped in front of her and held up his badge. She could see he was a detective and an elf. She blinked.

“Ma’am, I need to ask you some questions.”

She nodded her head and bit her lip.

He blinked. Was there something wrong with him? He had never found any suspects attractive before. “Please don’t be afraid. Just answer truthfully.” He raised his tiny scanner that was attached to his right middle finger to her face. “I see you’re Zeta. You’re a writer.”

Zeta nodded her head.

“Why are you here?”

“I was hired by Phillipe to ghostwrite a book for him. We just had a meeting today. He wanted me to come in person to make sure I got his notes.”

Detective Julian nodded and took some notes. “I see.” He looked up at her. “So, how long ago did you see him?”

“Oh, about 15 minutes ago.”

“So, just before he died.”

Her eyes got big and round. “What?”

“Yes, Phillipe is dead now. How long have you known him?”

“Only for about a month.”

“That long?”

“Well, I’ve heard about him before that, as I’m sure most everyone has.”

“Yes. He was a quite popular entrepreneur. How did you get your ghostwriting job?”

“I was networking to find some work. I offered my skills as a writer. Then a mutual acquaintance of ours introduced us. Phillipe said he was looking for a ghostwriter to help him with a book. He didn’t think he could write well enough for his story to be told and be interesting.”

“Ah, yes, I’ve seen some of the things he’s written and have heard him speak. He’s not good on his own.”

She shook her head. “No, he isn’t. But I can understand what he means.”

“Did he like your work?”

“Yes. He said it was the right style he was looking for. He told me based on my other writing that he thought I would do a good job.”

Detective Julian took more notes on his tiny computer. “So, that all happened just within a month?”

“He just hired me last month. He’s been showing me around his place and chatting with me. He wanted to make sure I understood him before he showed me his notes.”

“Okay. Very good.”

She could see a few police officers roaming the grounds taking pictures and notes on the scene. She blinked.

“Thank you for your time. You may go now. But don’t leave the planet. If my partner or I need to talk to you some more, we will contact you.”

She nodded.

“Take care.”

“You, too.” She watched him turn away from her and walk away.

He didn’t stop until he approached a woman. They talked. Zeta was too far away to hear what they were saying. She blinked. They were both elves as she was. Phillipe was human as far as she knew.

Not that Zeta or Phillipe had ever mentioned it. It was obvious she was an elf due to her pointed ears. His were round. But she knew that vampires and were creatures could appear to be human. Many were thought to be human until it was discovered by DNA testing or they changed or attacked people.

Zeta shook her head. It was best to leave. She turned back and sighed. She almost couldn’t believe Phillipe was dead. He had been kind to her even though he had found her attractive. Now, he was gone and she had his notes. Would the detectives want the notes?

Probably, but for now they were hers. She wanted to get home and read them right away before handing them over to the police. She was curious as to why Phillipe was so jumpy and couldn’t tell her out loud why she needed to get out quickly. She just hoped she was quick enough.

She resumed walking and thought about Detective Julian. He seemed to find her attractive as well. She sighed. Why was she so attractive to guys? She didn’t do anything to attract them. In fact, she spent much of her time ignoring those who wanted sex from her. She had to be rude and not talk to them. Otherwise, they would think they could do whatever they wanted with her.

She just wasn’t interested in anything casual. She preferred friends. She didn’t care to date. She sighed again.