Witch Doctors Inc: SEASON TWO (Ongoing)

Part 4.13

ZILITRON, KADREA
RUBY

Ruby raps on the door.

A woman with pumpkin-orange curls opens it. Her eyes, a deep saffron in colour, blink in the sunlight. "Yes?"

Ruby looks her over. She must be middle-aged, but if it weren't for the worry lines creasing her face, she could be mistaken for someone much younger. Pretty, Ruby observes. But with an ugly frown.

"Miranda Valence?"

"Who's asking?"

Ruby pushes past the woman, finds her lounge, and makes herself comfortable in one of the armchairs. "I'm here to ask you some questions," she says.

"I haven't done anything," the woman insists.

"But you are Miranda Valence?"

The woman hesitates. "Yes, that's me."

"Great," Ruby beams. "Let's get started then."

Miranda's frown deepens. "You're not from the Zilitron Guard. Where's your brooch?"

"Don't have one," Ruby replies. "I'm a private investigator."

Almost immediately, the woman's expression turns hostile. "I haven't said anything," she says flatly.

Ruby raises an eyebrow. "Haven't said anything to who?"

Now there's something else in Miranda's expression, creeping in to replace the hostility. It's fear, Ruby realises. Genuine fear.

"I haven't said anything to anyone," Miranda hisses. "Tell him I have nothing to do with it, whatever it is."

Curiosity tickles Ruby's throat. "Just who do you think I work for?"

"I kept my end of the bargain," Miranda snaps. "Leave me alone."

"I'm not here for you," Ruby tells her. "I'm investigating your ex-husband."

Miranda blanchs. "Your'e here about Adriel? Why? What has he done?"

"He's targeting my friend. Well, not targeting really. More like he's obsessed with her, and it's starting to get a little creepy."

Miranda stares at Ruby for a while. Then realisation dawns. "You're one of his employees. You work for Witch Doctors Inc." Her eyes widen. "Lily?"

Ruby shakes her head. "Nope. But Lily is the friend he's obsessed with. I'm here to find out why."

Miranda takes a seat opposite Ruby, and pours herself a glass of water from a jug sitting on the tea table. Ruby notes that her hand shakes, ever so slightly. "I can't help you," Miranda says, after a gulp of water. "I haven't spoken to Adriel in years."

"But you do remember Lily. You remember agreeing to adopt her when she was little?"

Miranda doesn't answer.

Ruby sighs. "I'm not working for anyone else, I swear. I just want to know why he's so interested in my friend." She rummages in her backpack. "Here - it's a truth potion. I brought it to trick you with, but I can use it on myself instead."

Miranda examines the label. "Looks like a genuine truth potion."

Ruby takes a gulp straight from the bottle. "Would I lie to you?"

Miranda looks at her like she's a three-headed mini hippopotamus.

Ruby scribbles something in her notepad. "Why did Big Boss - sorry, Adriel - want to adopt Lily?"

Miranda takes a sip of water. She hasn't quite relaxed - her shoulders are stiff, and she watches Ruby with cynical wariness, but something milder lingers in her gaze, a gentle worry that speckles the saffron of her eyes.

"We didn't have children," she replies. "And Harmony had passed away in that terrible accident. Robert wasn't built to care for a child. Adriel thought we could provide better for Lily, but Robert took offense to the suggestion. The ironic thing is, those two were the same. It was always work with Adriel, the same as it was for Robert. Everything else came second."

"Did you think it was a good idea?"

Miranda smiles sadly. "Lily was a sweet child. She used to call me Aunty Mandy. I had no shortage of love for her, but I didn't think it was time to give up on having our own children."

Ruby scribbles this down. "Why did the two of you separate?"

Miranda tilts her head. "You have a boyfriend of your own, I suppose?"

"All the boys I know are jerks."

"I see. There will come a time when you do meet someone, and a spark ignites between the two of you. You'll fall in love and marry, and perhaps start a family if you're lucky." She smiles ruefully. "But not everyone is who they seem."

"He's definitely hiding something. Did you find out what it was?"

Miranda shakes her head. "I didn't want to know. I'd married a stranger. That was enough."

"My suspicion is that he's a werewolf."

Miranda Valence actually doesn't laugh. "Is that so."

"Was he weird on the full moon?"

"He was weird on every type of moon," Miranda replies drily.

"You kept the last name," Ruby observes.

"Adriel and I never officially divorced. He didn't want the bad press. A man of appearances, he was." She smiles darkly.

"Why did he like Lily so much?" Ruby prods. "I know Lily, and she's not a likable person."

Miranda raises an eyebrow. "This truth potion of yours was worth the money."

Ruby shrugs. "Truth potions have no real effect on me. This is how I always talk."

Miranda smirks. "Alright." She pours herself some more water. "Like I said, Lily was a sweet child. And she was clever. Adriel liked brilliant people. The only thing I found odd was his attachment to that monstrous animal of hers."

"Animal? Was it a black cat?"

"Yes, that's right. I don't remember its name. Zirconium or Beryl or something. Ghastly creature. It would turn up at our house and just look at me with those big black eyes. Adriel, on the other hand, it had an affinity for. The way they'd look at each other, it was almost like they were having a conversation."

Worry speckles her eyes once more. "Is Lily alright? Has something happened to her?"

"Lily's fine," Ruby assures her. "What else can you tell me about Adriel?"

Miranda pauses. "I really don't know anything more. I'm sorry you came all this way. Let me pack you a muffin for the ride home. You might as well not leave empty-handed."

"That's okay, I've eaten," Ruby says.

"I insist," Miranda says sharply.

She heads to the kitchen and brings back a muffin with a napkin wrapped around it. "I baked them yesterday."

Ruby takes the muffin and goes to take a bite.

"Save it for the ride," Miranda says, gesturing towards the door.

Ruby takes the hint.

"Thanks or whatever," she says, turning her back on the older woman."

"Tell Lily to be careful," Miranda says.

In the cart, Ruby finally has a go at the muffin. It was too bad Big Boss's ex-wife didn't have much to say. She was hoping for a lot more, really.

The muffin disappears in no time. Ruby scrunches up the napkin, then frowns. There's something written on it. She holds it up against the light.

There's definitely something written on it.

Two words, spelled out in black ink.

Project Omega.