Page 1 of Tail Me No Lies
ChapterOne
Ruth
“You’re goingto need more solvent if you want to dispose of a body,” the alien woman behind the counter said.
“Hardy har har,” Ruth replied in a dry tone, setting the second jug of paint solvent on the counter. “You’re hilarious.”
“Yes,” Serene agreed in a bright tone. She gave a toothy smile, tail dancing behind her.
In the two years since Ruth left Earth and settled on Corra, Serene was her only friend. They lived in a small rural community, the kind people generously calledclose-knitwhen they meantinsular. The locals gave newcomers the cold shoulder and a generous helping of side-eye. After two years, Ruth thought people would have warmed up to her by now, but no. She could have stayed there for the rest of her life, and she’d still be an outsider.
Except Serene was a newcomer too. When she was very young, her family fled her war-torn planet to settle on Corra. Why they set up a country general store in the middle of nowhere, Ruth couldn’t say. Those details were fuzzy. What was clear, however, was that despite Serene having lived there nearly her entire life, she was still regarded with suspicion. She basically pounced on Ruth when she arrived. Being her friend wasn’t an option.
“Everyone knows that this far out in the country, you dump a body at a pig farm.” Look, Ruth’s mood was foul, and she had considered the best way to get rid of a body. Pigs seemed the way to go. She’d need way more acid to do the job properly. Like, a lot more. The town was too small to do anything discreetly, and even if she were besties with the woman who ran the general store, people would notice.
“Oh, what’s apig? Are they dangerous?” Serene asked.
“An Earth livestock animal. They’ll eat anything,” Ruth answered, neatly ignoring her impulse to launch into a lecture about wild boars versus domesticated swine, pet pigs, and how the flesh was similar enough to humans that it could be used for research purposes. As much as Ruth would love to distract herself with some agricultural trivia, Serene didn’t want to know all that. Instead, she said, “I need the solvent because someone vandalized the professor’s house.”
Serene’s tail stilled and her ears went back. Before she could say anything, the bell above the door jingled as a customer entered.
A Corravian man entered, covered in dust. “Did my order come in?”
Ruth didn’t recognize him, but he recognized her, judging by the way his entire posture stiffened when he saw her. “I did not know you kept company with undesirables, Miss Serene,” he said, his voice dripping with disdain.
Was everyone in town against her?
“No,” Serene said, slapping a hand on the counter. “We are not doing this. Leave. Get out of my store.”
The man drew his shoulders back.
Before he could protest, Serene said, “You can drive to the next town over, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you encounter the same problem, seeing as how that’s my cousin’s store. Should I call him now? Tell him that a male who insulted my friend requires special treatment?” she asked in a deceptively sweet tone.
The male shuffled his feet. “I’ll come back tomorrow.”
“That suits me just fine.”
Serene said not another word as the rude man left, staring daggers at his retreating. When the bell above the door jingled, she muttered, “Someone needs to snatch the ears off his head. Prick.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” Ruth said, even though her heart ached with gratitude. Her friend stood up for her. Two years on this planet, two years of being the constant outsider, always mistrusted, whispered about, always feeling alone, and now she had someone in her corner.
Serene’s ears twitched. “I have never liked that male. He is too…” She waved a hand as if searching for the correct word.
“Ignorant? Judgmental? Willing to believe what others tell him?” Ruth kept listing negative qualities.
“Tall,” Serene said.
“Tall?”
“Yes. Always looking down on others.” Serene’s ears twitched again. “Tell me more about what thissomeonedid to your house. Or should we save ourselves the time and agree it was Geral?”
“Who else?” Ruth shrugged her shoulders, desperately trying to act like it didn’t bother her. The truth was she woke that morning to discover her security system had been disabled and a massive painted black spider on her front door. It rattled her more than she wanted to admit.
Ruth pulled out a small tablet, called up the images she took that morning, and showed the screen to Serene. The crude spider was a lopsided circle with six string legs, adorable like a child’s drawing.
Or like the drawing of an alien who’s never seen an Earth spider.
“What is an ebony widow?” Serene asked.
