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  Knead Some Space

  Roswell Mysteries, Volume 1

  Harley Gordon

  Published by Harley Gordon, 2019.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  KNEAD SOME SPACE

  First edition. September 16, 2019.

  Copyright © 2019 Harley Gordon.

  Written by Harley Gordon.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Knead Some Space (Roswell Mysteries, #1)

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  To whoever planned the Area 51 raid. You inspired the stars out of me.

  THIS IS AN ARC COPY. Which means it hasn’t gone through it’s final round of editing. If you got this by mistake, please email [email protected] to get the correct copy

  Chapter One

  Novah Miller shivered as customers pushed inside Do or Donut, her donut and coffee shop. Controlling her shield against the wave of emotions was always hardest at the beginning of her day. In an hour or so, she’d grow numb to the anger, excitement, sadness, boredom, and the myriad of other feelings of other people she constantly had to fight off.

  Sometimes, when her wall faltered, she couldn’t tell the difference between her own emotions and those of everyone else.

  For the time being, Novah did her best to ignore the barrage of sentiments and focused on selling donuts and coffee.

  The galaxy donuts and alien head cake pops were her best sellers and she was out of them before Talia showed up that afternoon to help with the lunch shift.

  Too many people wanted donuts for lunch. Though Novah didn’t judge. Some days she ate them for every single meal. They were the greatest creation ever invented and no matter how many hundreds, thousands she made, no matter how she went home every day smelling of sugar and fried dough, she never grew tired of eating them or of trying to come up with new flavors or themes.

  Losing herself in flour and sugar was the only thing that would soften the emotions swirling around inside her and around her. Focusing on her work helped her ignore the ghosts flitting about in the corners of her vision.

  Talia bustled in from the kitchen, wrapping a galaxy apron around herself and tying the back.

  “How was breakfast?”

  Novah smiled at the same question Talia asked every day. “The usual. Busy for a couple hours and now, nothing other than occasional tourist.”

  Tourists came from leagues away to come to her science fiction and fantasy themed shop. While Novah designed it this way because she loved it with all her nerdy heart, Roswell, New Mexico was certainly the best place to open a place like this. It catered to all the conspiracy theorists and those hoping to be abducted and those who loved all things alien.

  And to those who loved delicious donuts.

  Talia patted Novah’s back. “Go ahead and get ready for your meeting with your crazies.”

  Novah winced. She hated that term. “We’re not crazy.”

  Talia snorted. “You aren’t, but most of them are.”

  “Not crazy. Just...enthusiastic.”

  To be fair, some of the members in her group did take things a little too far sometimes, but everyone was entitled to their beliefs.

  Talia grabbed the box of coconut Chubacca donuts from the counter behind her to add them to the glass case. “If you say so. But like I’ve told you a thousand times, leave me here to handle the donuts while you handle conspiracy theories and plot your invasion of Area 51.”

  “We’d never try to get on that base. We’re not suicidal.” Novah grinned. “Besides, anything that was ever at Area 51 of alien or supernatural origins is long gone. They wouldn’t be so foolish and obvious. It’s a con.”

  Talia waved her purple plastic tongs in the air. “Enough. You know I can’t handle it when you start in on all that garbage.”

  Novah winked at her best friend. “Just because you’re ex-military doesn’t mean you know all the government’s secrets.”

  Talia huffed and adjusted the basket of lightsaber pretzel sticks on the counter by the register. “Because I’m ex-military, I know how bad of an idea it is to try to discover the government’s secrets.”

  “We’re not after their secrets. Or, I’m not anyway.”Novah held back a shiver.

  The last thing she wanted to do was get involved in the government.

  “I know. You’re after the secrets of the world.”

  “Nope.” Novah popped the end of the word. “The universe.”

  Talia rolled her eyes. “Right. Excuse my mistake. I should know better as many times you’ve told me.”

  “You are my best friend.”

  Talia wrinkled her nose. “I was clearly desperate when I agreed to that.”

  Novah chuckled as she wiped down the glass case, cleaning all the fingerprints smudged across the surface. “The damage is done now. It’s too late. And we’ll get you into the group soon.”

  Talia shuddered. “Never. It’s bad enough I’m stuck in this ridiculous town surrounded by little green men smiling at me everywhere I go. There’s no way I’m going to start investigating them.”

  Novah groaned at the familiar argument. “For the millionth time, we don’t investigate aliens.”

  “I’ve met your little crew. There are some of them who definitely want to prove aliens exist.”

  Novah moved on to the few tables she had scattered around the rest of the shop, cleaning crumbs and sticky stuff and coffee rings from them. “Is it the craziest idea that we aren’t alone in the universe? That seems arrogant to believe that out of the countless planets and galaxies, that we’re the only inhabited planet.”

  “Oh, I believe we’re not the only ones. But I don’t think we’ll ever meet.”

  Novah frowned. “That’s depressing.”

  “What do you think would happen if our worlds did collide? You read all the scifi books and watch all the scifi movies. It may be fiction, but fiction writers have been steadily planting fear for aliens in our heads for decades.”

  Novah chuckled. “Now who’s the conspiracy theorist?”

  “It’s not a conspiracy when it’s human nature to be afraid of anything other.”

  “Yeah.” Which is why Novah kept the secrets about what she could do to herself.

  No one knew.

  And until she could prove her abilities were real, or find others like her, it had to stay that way.

  Talia shooed Novah off. “Now go. Get your little corner ready. I’ll man the front. I really can’t wait until we hire another worker. Jeremy is way too much of a flake.”

  Novah shrugged. Jeremy struggled with time management, but he made good donuts, so she hadn’t fired him yet. She and Talia did need help though.

  “Sadie will be here for the meeting. She always helps afterwards.”

  “Right.” Talia drew out the word. “Let’s rely on child labor.”

  Novah eyed her friend. “You are extra snarky today. Everything okay?”

  Talia rubbed the back of her neck with a wince. “I’m fine. Just didn’t get the best sleep last night.”

  “Nightmares?”

  �
�Sort of. The fear of them has started keeping me awake.”

  Novah wished she could do more with her empathic powers than merely feel them, she wished she could soothe the pain her friend carried around with her constantly.

  Sudden murderous fury swept through her, making her body light up with heat and fire, making her hands tremble. The rage took over everything, making Novah want to kill. She tried to erect her walls, but every brick she built crumbled as life-threatening fear joined the anger inside her, warring for control.

  Novah heard Talia calling her name like she was trapped underwater, but she couldn’t respond. Her body frozen, her breath stalled.

  Until a sharp gasp finally filled her lungs with air and the noises around her rushed back with such strength, she stumbled, catching herself on the counter.

  “Novah. What’s going on?”

  “Someone’s been murdered.”

  Chapter Two

  Novah wished she could stuff the words back in her mouth when Talia gaped at her in confusion and shock.

  “What did you just say?”

  Novah cleared her throat and shook herself. “Nothing. Sorry. Just a weird flashback to a dream I had last night.”

  It was the only explanation she could think of with the anger and fear still rippling through her.

  Talia eyed her with concern. “Right. A dream flashback. I’ve certainly had those. Want to talk about it?”

  Novah felt Talia’s suspicion, but it was too late to backtrack. “No, it’s okay. Let me get things set up.”

  “All right.”

  Novah turned her back on her friend and hurried over to the corner she held the We Want to Believe meetings.

  She had no idea what that experience was, no one but she and Talia were in the shop at the moment and the emotions hadn’t come from her. Novah had never felt emotions so strong before.

  Sirens sang outside and she stumbled to a stop as she wheeled the whiteboard over from the closet.

  Did she just feel the murder of someone? The anger had definitely been strong enough. And the fear.

  A middle aged white man covered in blood walked into the shop, the tendons in his throat visible from what looked like getting his throat ripped out from some kind of animal.

  But the rage Novah felt definitely wasn’t from an animal.

  Was this even the ghost of the death she just experienced? If it was a death. Maybe it was just a really bad argument. Like some kind of domestic disturbance. She had to work on her walls.

  Nova avoided the ghost’s eyes, not wanting him to know she could see him yet. Not in front of Talia.

  Especially with Talia looking between the flashing lights outside and Novah with narrowed eyes and a furrowed brow.

  Novah tried to keep her hands still and expression placid as she finally got control of her block, reuniting her with her own emotions which were mostly freaked out.

  She’d never experienced a death before. Usually she just dealt with the aftermath, usually years past the moment of them dying.

  What did this mean?

  Novah wanted to duck out of the shop and go see what was going on down the street, but the last thing she needed was to raise Talia’s suspicions any further.

  Talia may have been Novah’s best friend, but she was not one who believed in the paranormal. And there wasn’t really a way to prove what Novah could do.

  Once upon a time, she’d tried to share her abilities with people, but they all thought she was crazy, so she learned to hide it.

  Even from those closest to her.

  There was no point asking the ghost what happened. They never remembered their deaths. If they did, they wouldn’t be trapped.

  Poor things.

  She could mostly control her empathic abilities, but there was no way to turn off the ghosts. She could only ignore them and pretend they weren’t there.

  Novah kept her ears perked in case the ghost said anything important as she finished setting out all the files and tacking photos onto the white board.

  Today, they were studying chupacabra sightings. A few of the ranches right outside the city had recently been plagued by sheep disappearing and then found dead. In very similar manner to how the chupacabra was supposed to kill.

  She had no idea if it was real or not, but they were going to look into it and see if they could figure out the truth one way or another.

  And once she had some privacy, she needed to look into the death down the street. With the echoes of those horrible feelings still twisting in her chest, she needed answers.

  The ghost left after saying nothing, walking through the window instead of bothering with the door.

  Novah hoped he’d return so she could talk to him, see if he remembered anything about what happened to him. Because his death didn’t look like it came from human hands. It looked like an animal got to him. Or possibly a werewolf or vampire.

  If they existed.

  So far, she only had proof of herself. But she couldn’t be the only one in the world. There had to be others.

  She’d spent enough of her life alone. She didn’t want to be any longer. She wanted to know she wasn’t a freak, alone in the universe.

  Members of Novah’s group trickled in and Novah shoved all her worries and stress away as she greeted them, a platter of donuts in her hands and a carafe of coffee already waiting at the table they always gathered around.

  Novah greeted her friends, on her favorite day of the week, ignoring Talia’s rolling eyes and sarcastic huffs in the background.

  Talia may have been Novah’s best friend, but she connected with these people in a different way.

  Dorothy squeezed Novah’s shoulder as she scooted by to take her usual seat out of sight of the window as she pulled her laptop from her bag and started typing away, her purple hair in messy curls around her pale face. Dorothy was their oldest member at 82 and had lived in Roswell her whole life. She was ten when the UFO crashed and had seen a lot of strange things over the years living here. She was also amazing with computers and research.

  Ben arrived next, immediately grabbing two bright green donuts from the plate before he flopped into one of the plush navy chairs set a little away from the table. He was working on his thesis about conspiracies, so he’d started attending their meetings for research purposes. He always liked to play devil’s advocate, but he believed. He just wanted the truth, not rumors and ghost stories. He was in his early twenties and Hispanic with black hair and chocolate eyes.

  Frank limped in, his knee apparently acting up. He was in his mid sixties and had recently retired. One of their flyers caught his eye and he came mostly out of boredom since he declared he loved free donuts and hated golf. He usually said little, just listening and watching and occasionally scoffing under his breath.

  Diana came in right on Ben’s heels, her arms overflowing with files and papers, her blonde hair in a messy topknot on the side of her head. She was actually on time this week. Diana was in her late twenties with two young kids in elementary school. This was her chance to geek out over aliens and vampires with likeminded adults and get a break from her life.

  The last one coming today was Sadie, a quiet and sweet fourteen-year-old who spent a lot of time at the Do or Donut. She never said much, but Novah had met her parents a few times. Her foster parents. And they didn’t seem very nurturing or close. They were strict and expected a lot from the girl. But she loved science fiction and astronomy, so the donut shop was her favorite place to hang out and escape. She had the most creative ideas and theories.

  There were a few others who came and went, but these five were Novah’s regulars. Talia too, since she was always there, listening, but she’d never admit she was a part of it.

  It wasn’t a very popular group yet, but they were still pretty new. And Roswell wasn’t exactly hurting for conspiracy groups. They stood on street corners, proclaiming the government’s guilt sometimes. They were all over the local radio stations and on podcasts and blogs.

>   Novah waited until everyone was settled before she cleared her throat to begin. But before she could, the door to the shop opened with a whistle of the X-Files tune, and a handsome Hispanic man in a suit and sunglasses strode inside.

  Diana’s jaw dropped. “He looks like Men in Black agent.”

  Chapter Three

  He did look like a MIB agent.

  His black suit fit his tall and lean form well and his sunglasses hid what color eyes he had. His hair was black and short, styled carefully at the top of his head, shaved at the sides. He had golden skin and a very sharp jawline. He was incredibly pretty.

  “Can I help you?” Talia asked.

  “Yes. Are you the owner?” His voice was low and rumbling.

  “I am. So is Novah over there.”

  Novah rose and approached her friend and the pretty, mysterious man who still hadn’t removed his sunglasses. “Were you looking for something specific?”

  “Yes.” He pulled out a badge. “I’m Agent Smith. I’m here investigating an incident that happened right down the street.”

  Agent Smith? Really?

  It took everything Novah had to keep from glancing over her shoulder at her group.

  “What incident?” Novah pretended like she had no idea anything had happened.

  “Have you noticed anything suspicious today?” Agent Smith asked. “Anyone unusual who came into your shop? Heard anything when you were perhaps outside taking out the trash? An argument? A scream? Vicious barking?”

  Novah’s brows furrowed. “No. Nothing. Sorry. It’s been pretty regular here today.”

  Other than her moment of fear and rage.

  But that wouldn’t help him and he wouldn’t believe her anyway. She was already the crazy woman who believed in the supernatural and ran a scifi-themed donut shop. She wasn’t going to make it worse.

  “Did you know Rachel Diaz?”

  Novah’s stomach lurched and she gasped. “Mrs Diaz? Yes. We know her. Is she okay?”