Alien in the House

walkway attached. The walkway was lit on the inside, and the glass meant it was very visible from the street. But that meant we could see well while climbing up cold, slippery, metal ladders.
    “Now, see,
that
is why he’s coming with us,” I said to Lorraine and Claudia. They didn’t look convinced.
    White went under the bottom of the fire escape and proved that white men could indeed jump. One leap and he had the bottom of the ladder. Easily. His weight brought the sliding portion down, and he held it in place.
    “Mister White, you’re the man.”
    “I felt the need to show off, Missus Martini. No one’s acted like I was important for at least a few minutes and my ego was getting terribly abused.”
    “I’ll fawn over you some more in a bit. Who’s going first?”
    “I’d like to,” Oliver said. “Chivalry and all that.”
    “You got it.”
    Oliver started up, then me, with Vance, Lorraine, and Claudia following, and White bringing up the rear. All of us other than Oliver were in evening dress. So much for not scaling buildings in our formalwear. Found myself hoping there were no other reporters hanging around.
    Also found myself wondering why I’d been stupid enough to not take a coat. It wasn’t the coldest winter—we had no snow, for example—but it was still cold enough, and I wasn’t dressed for being outside. The few minutes I’d been out earlier I’d been inside the police van and preoccupied.
    Vance and White were in suits, so they were probably fine, but by the time we reached the top, the girls and I were shivering. A-Cs originated on a world that had two suns, so they handled heat really well—to this day I’d never seen one of them sweat. Well, other than Jeff right before our wedding. However, cold was a different story.
    “It’s freezing up here, so let’s make it snappy. MJO, do you see anything that says how many other people might have been up here, and where they went when they left, and Vance, do you want to share what the hell you think is going on?”
    White started to take his jacket off, presumably to give it to one of us, but before he could, someone opened the door to the roof.
    We all froze, literally and figuratively.



CHAPTER 39
    J EFF STEPPED OUT, carrying coats. He was wearing a trench coat that made him look, if it were possible, even more handsome. I did love seeing him in coats, one of the advantages of being in this part of the country. “You all really need to plan a little better.”
    I was shocked that Bellie was silent. Shot a glance at Oliver—he had one hand holding her feet and one on her beak.
    Jeff handed the coats out and helped me into mine while White and Vance helped Claudia and Lorraine into theirs. No one mentioned that all the women’s coats were the same. I was just thrilled that the Elves had deigned to branch out and let us have fancy coats when we were dressed up. Once the girls were covered up, White and Vance put on the coats Jeff had brought them as well.
    White’s was also a trench—apparently they were Official Elf Issue For Cold But Non-Snowy Weather. Vance’s was obviously his—a very trendy topcoat that I knew I’d seen in the
GQ
Fall Fashion issue. It looked great on him, but I knew it would look better on Reader. Reader, however, would undoubtedly have an Elf-Approved Trench. If he were joining us. Which I hoped he wasn’t. I didn’t enjoy him mad at me. And I knew he was mad at me already and would be madder to find me and the others out here.
    Once everyone was covered up, Oliver let Bellie go. She screeched with joy and flew to Jeff’s waiting hand. “Bellie missed Jeff!”
    “Jeff missed Bellie,” he shared with much love in his tone.
    “She’s the sluttiest parrot in existence,” I muttered. My teeth were only chattering a little now. Jeff put his arm around me while Bellie moved onto his shoulder and started nuzzling him. “How’d you know we were here?”
    “You mean aside from the fact that I’m tracking you and could emotionally feel what you were doing? I looked out the window. Fortunately, it was when I was being put on the spot yet again and everyone was faced toward me, so I don’t think anyone else saw the six of you acting like Spiderman.”
    “I’m so proud of the reference. How’d you find our coats?”
    “That’s what the Operations Team is for.”
    “Okay, how’d you get out here?”
    He sighed. “They all think I’m in the bathroom again.”
    “Well, at least it’s a