Muses, Mishaps, and Murder!

Chapter 4 Cramped Visit

Story Questions: Do you give your inner critic or imposter syndrome a name?

Story Questions: What was your least favorite job?

Muse Paisley

"Look, I make more than enough to take care of you, and my life was great." Mason tucked his phone away and pointed to the door. "Mom, can we talk later? This is my day off. I'd rather write a new musical than listen to your complaints."

She sat on top of his desk because there wasn't room for a chair. "But we all know you haven't written anything real for weeks." His mother, Lace, mimicked Shanna's voice poorly. She sounded childlike but squeaky. "Doesn't it sound odd that the cult leader, Deb-Dagger's voice, sounds similar? I hope it isn't her."

"Mom, most of the time, Deb shows up as an artificial intelligence hologram, and the program could be run by any gender."

"Shanna's voice is not as easy to imitate as you think." His mother looked up at a security camera. "Who installed that?" She still mimicked Shanna's voice.

"Commander Nickel wants to discover who ransacked my last apartment." Mason stood by the door.

His mother made another terrible attempt at imitation. "I'd be heartbroken if Shanna ended up leading the cult."

"Half the dragon commanders imitate her voice. There are plenty of suspects. Mom, you bragged about your hatred for Quin Salamander after she removed money from your pension and trust, and Dina said worse when she was excluded from Mommy's will."

Lace's voice went back to normal. "Quin's husband set the money aside for us. I earned every credit, and I gave him the care he needed. Sadly, it was at the cost of my family. If I hadn't left your half-sister with your father, she couldn't have been sent to a glorified sweatshop. I failed as a mother."

"Mom, I'll handle it."

"So, you suspect Shanna is your sister, too?" She asked.

"The attempts on my life started when I pretended I was writing a musical about the murders. If Lexi is Shanna, then her life is in danger."

"You haven't seen her physically since you were six." Agent Lace stretched as far as she could on the desk, but she couldn't quite crack her back.

She hopped off. "The government-issued postcards were probably faked, and I still can't get a trace of the real address. Corporate orphanages like to hide their tracks when they lose a child."

"They allowed phone calls. Mom, I refuse to believe that Lexi is gone. The postcards keep coming, and it's her handwriting, but occasionally they send me in the wrong direction. She might not want to be found."

"Another scandal will cause unwanted press for Shanna. I'm happy that her mother's body was gobbled up by a living spaceship because she's too cheap to buy a 3D food printer, but I wish Rob and Dina were with her." Lace imitated explosions and stomach-gurgling sounds. "I wasn't told about the stolen funds until her funeral. I'm sobbing, and in the middle of it, I find out my former friend was a thief, and I feel bad for..." Lace stopped talking. "While I hated Quin, I felt terrible about Vash."

"Shanna adored her," Mason said.

"Vash attended a boarding school, but Mom wanted to celebrate her daughter's birthday with more plastic surgery." Lace sniffled. "Poor girl, she was a sweetheart, but Quin Salamander was worse than your father. Don't get me wrong, I loved your dad, but he was a mess."

"Mom, you're the last person who should be involved in solving the crime."

"Rob, like his mom, Quin, is a greedy snot, and I'd punch his face in if I had the chance..." Mason's mom paused. "Why don't you meet me for lunch? I plan to whine more, and you're avoiding everyone."

"Mom, I keep an unopened bag of barbecue kale chips under my bed, kidding. I was planning to grab something to eat after I trained."

"No, we're having lunch together."

"Okay, I'll see you at noon." Mason pointed to the door.

His mother left first.

I'm not going into the tiny details, but he trained at the firing range, visited the wounded in the ship's hospital, and worked out in the weight training room. Afterward, he changed into a clean uniform.

His hygiene is only worth mentioning because several of the crew members never bathed. Their flesh reeked of rose-scented body spray and strong body odor. Sometimes, I wished that I wasn't able to smell the scents that surrounded my experimental subjects.

Mason left The Flying Clutch and entered the military space carrier the Stingray's main lunchroom. The oasis lacked the bolted-down tables and trash cans filled with remnants of 3D printed slop that Mason was used to seeing.

Windows surrounded the customers, highlighting the greenhouse, park, and terrarium to give the illusion that they were home.

Cafeteria staff ran back and forth to gather fresh produce for salads and soups.

Painted ceilings illuminated the surroundings with glittery embedded lights meant to mimic the warmth of the sun.

Mason sat at one of the picnic tables where the general assigned The Flying Clutch crew to eat.

Everyone bolted, and Mason had the table to himself. I'm positive that he didn't mind the solitude, but I'm sure he hated the taunting.

A man dressed in a black uniform rushed at him. "Stupid temp, you'll leave your stink on us." He flung his hands in slapping motions and almost hit the woman behind him. "Loser, you let Tolbert escape!"

"Sir, I don't want problems with you."

His bully swung at Mason's stomach. "A temp like you has no power to arrest Tolbert. He is a cultist and smuggler, not a mastermind. I could've stopped him."

"You're going to end up in a cast like the last idiot who attacked Mason," a man said from across the room.

"Shut up. No one asked you." Mason's bully's face contorted in anger, but it mostly made him appear to be an overgrown child.

"Don't act tough. You were too frightened to show up." Mason knocked the man to the ground, and he was a better-than-average fighter compared to the incompetent and smelly crew.

"Your mommy protects you. Can she protect me? She is so cute." The man bolted up and shoved Mason. "Temporary ensigns aren't heroes. I bet you are a cultist, and that is why Tolbert Allen escaped. Rob Salamander could've done a fantastic job. After all, the cult is his competition."

"If Rob paid his employees more, they'd refuse the business cult's offer that allowed them to raise their own kids. Tolbert stole billions of emergency ration bars when the grid went down. Deb is so cheap she won't feed her cultists with her money. Both Rob and Ms. Dagger are a nasty kind of evil."