Act Normal, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 9

dawned on me. I'd have to find her a place to live, help her furnish it, and show her around. Shit, I'd have to take her shopping. After all, she was from another planet. Jesus! What had I gotten myself into?

  The trip to Tawakoni went quickly. I'd been there so many times that I drove there pretty much on autopilot. When I saw the oil tank in the distance I started to get goose bumps. Aside from Kulchz, I'd never been up close to an alien. I had to keep telling myself she was human, just like me. It would be like being with a person from Mongolia. She'd just be a little different. After parking the car around the back of the tank, I opened the squeaky door, and walked toward the ladder that descended down into Kulchz' domain.

  Mo opened the door when I gave a knock. Except for him the room appeared deserted. I took a deep breath and said, "Okay, don't keep me in suspense. Where's my guide?"

  Mo smiled and pointed to staircase in the distance. "She's in the guest quarters. She'll be right down."

  I took a seat where I could keep an eye on the door to the guest quarters. After a few minutes the door opened slightly. I swallowed hard. I don't know why I was so nervous, but I could hardly stand the suspense. Finally, the door opened fully and out walked a tall woman no more than twenty-five years of age. Her hair was light brown and from a distance it looked like her body was well proportioned. I knew as she came toward me, she'd be a very distracting companion.

  She extended her hand, "Mr. Turner. Kulchz has told me all about you. I can't wait to get started."

  "How was your trip?" I asked. "Did it take a long time to get here?"

  Smiling, she said. "It didn't seem long at all. They just laid me down in a life support pod, injected me with DS, and when I awoke we'd landed. It just seemed like I had a good night sleep."

  I shook my head. "Wow. That's amazing."

  Mo handed me a briefcase. "In there you'll find her birth certificate, driver's license, passport, social security card, and some cash to set her up a bank account. We've already created her life history. You both need to read and memorize it. On her way here she was fully briefed on our situation and her role in helping you do your job."

  "So, what's your name?"

  "Tehra," she replied. "At least that was my name on Tarizon. Here I'm officially Maureen T. Connolly. I'd prefer you to call me Tehra, though, when we are alone. It will make me feel more at home."

  A tingling sensation overcame me. She seemed so sincere and so anxious to please me. I really liked her and knew I was going to enjoy her company.

  "Sure, Tera it is."

  "Teh-ra," Mo said. "T-e-h-r-a."

  "Gotcha. Tehra. Okay. Very good."

  Mo helped escort us to my car and then we were alone. It was so strange knowing I had a woman from another planet sitting next to me. I didn't know what to say. I finally blurted out, "So, what do you think about this assignment? It must be very difficult being sent to Earth."

  "No. Actually, I've been looking forward to it. I was born in Texas, you know."

  "What!" I said turning my head to look at her.

  "Yes, I was born in Grand Prairie. My father came here as part of the repopulation project many years ago. I lived here until I was seven years old. That's how I learned to speak English so well."

  "Oh, that's right. I forgot about that," I said. "A lot of Tarizonians have been born on Earth."

  "Yes, that's right. I'm anxious to see how Earth has changed in the last fifteen years."

  "So, that means your birth mother is here."

  She stiffened. "Yes, I suppose."

  "Will you visit her?"

  "No. No. I can't. She thinks I'm dead."

  "Oh. That's too bad. I bet you miss her."

  "No, my mother is back on Tarizon. I miss her."

  "Right."

  Tehra's birth mother seemed like a sore subject, so I made a note not to bring that topic up again. I couldn't imagine being in her shoes knowing that my birth mother was a few miles away, but not being able to go see her. As much as she protested, I knew that must hurt.

  "There's a hotel near my office. I'm going to get you a room there for a week or two until we can find an apartment for you. There's no need to rush things. We'll have plenty of time to look around and find something permanent."

  "Can't I stay with you?"

  "Ah. . . . Well. My wife doesn't know about the Tarizon Repopulation Project, so as far as she's concerned you will be my new intern. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to bring my intern home with me."

  "Oh, of course not. What am I thinking? A hotel will be fine."

  "Since it's close to the office, I can pick you up in the morning and take you home at night. During the day we'll take some time off to shop and get you whatever you need to be comfortable."

  "She smiled. That sounds great."

  She seemed a little scared so I said, "Don't worry. I'm not going to just drop you off at the hotel. I'll go in and get you situated. We can have some dinner and watch a movie or something."

  "A movie. I haven't seen one of those in years. That will be fun."

  She had a little girl look in her eyes that made me smile. I felt good inside for the first time in months. I wondered if she was really excited about her new assignment or was it just a job for her. "So, how did you get this assignment?"

  "Oh, I volunteered. Everyone wants to go to work on Earth. It's so beautiful here."

  "So, you knew what you'd be doing before you volunteered."

  "Of course, the Repopulation Project is important. Who wouldn't want to be a part of it."

  I nodded. "So, what's Tarizon like? I guess you know my son is there."

  "Yes. They told me that," she replied. "Don't worry, I'm sure he's fine. They treat visitors very well on Tarizon."

  "So, is it like Earth?"

  "It used to be a lot like Earth. At least that's what I've been told. Unfortunately, about eighty years ago there was a series of super volcanic eruptions that buried Tarizon in ash. The air is so polluted you can't see our sun except at the poles. The air is starting to clear there. I hear it's nice in Lortec and the Beet Islands."

  "Wow. So, how does your population survive if the air and water supply is contaminated?"

  "We've built gigantic domes over our cities. The air and water are filtered."

  "What about the people outside the city?"

  She sighed. "Life is difficult for them, but they've learned to adapt to the environment."

  I could tell the conversation was making her uncomfortable so I let it go. There would be plenty of time to learn about Tarizon. My immediate problem was Rebekah. How was I going to explain to her that I'd be tied up all evening? When we got to the Harvey Hotel, I got Tehra a room and while she was washing up called Rebekah.

  "Hi, honey. Sorry I didn't call sooner but my cell phone ran out of juice."

  "Really? Where are you?"

  "I'm out in East Texas trying to track down a witness. I won't be home until late."

  "What witness?"

  "A man who claims to have seen Mr. Wenzel and his children out on I30 the night they disappeared," I lied.

  "Why didn't you send Paul out to track him down?"

  Paul Thayer usually tracked down our witnesses. I hadn't called him in on this case because I was afraid he'd learn something I didn't want him to know. "Paul was busy and I got a lead on this guy and couldn't afford to let it go cold."

  "So, how late will you be?" Rebekah asked.

  "After midnight. Don't wait up."

  There was silence. Finally she said, "Okay, drive carefully."

  The phone went dead. I wasn't sure whether she believed me or not, but I couldn't think of a better excuse for not coming home. The next few weeks were going to be dicey trying to get Tehra settled without Rebekah suspecting something was up. Rebekah had a jealous streak and easily became suspicious if my routine changed. She was also very sensitive to my mood changes and was bound to notice the effect Tehra was already having on me.

  After Tehra had freshen
ed up we went to Bennihana's and had dinner. She watched the chef cook with great delight. When he was done she dug in, ate everything quickly, and asked for more. I was amazed at her appetite and asked her if she usually ate that much.

  "No, I'm just so hungry. This is the first meal since I came to Earth."

  "So, how long did it take you to get here? I know you said it seemed like a pretty quick trip, but it must have taken a while."

  "They told me once it would take nine Earth months to get to here."

  "So you haven't eaten in nine months!"

  "Not solid food."

  "Damn. No wonder you're hungry."

  She smiled and took another bite of shrimp. An hour later we left Bennihana’s and drove to a movie theater at LBJ Freeway and Webbs Chapel Road and saw Lethal Weapon 3. She loved it and made me promise to take her to another movie soon. When we got back to the hotel, I took her to her room to say goodnight.

  "Will you stay with me tonight?" she asked.

  "No. I'm sorry. I'd like to, but I have to get back to my family."

  She seemed disappointed, but didn't put up a fuss. "Okay. So, I'll see you tomorrow."

  "Oh, yes. I'll buy you breakfast and then take you to the office and introduce you to everybody. We've got lots of work to do, but I'll take time out to show you around Dallas. We'll even go to Grand Prairie so you can see if it's changed any."

  She smiled. "That would be nice."

  "Okay, then," I said. "Goodnight."

  I felt like a school boy on his first date. Tehra was so sweet and innocent. It was going to be fun having her around, but I wondered how she'd adapt to her new role as my intern. Would she be able to convince people she was a native of north Texas? For the first time I started to worry about how Paula