I put the word out to the bride network. Now we had hundreds of eyes searching for the culprits using the names, photos, and descriptions Walt provided. Janus even hung up a homemade wanted poster in the pub. If they're out there, we'll find 'em.

Four days later, while we ate breakfast, I got a call on my com-viewer.

"Mavis? This is Emilia," said the voice.

Emilia was a Martian bride originally from Central America. "What's up?" I replied in between chews, putting my device on speaker.

"My husband works at the spaceport, and he thinks he saw those two men going up in the space elevator."

My eyes widened. "Really? Does he know when exactly?"

After distant, garbled voices, where Emilia talked to someone else at her end, she came back on. "He said two days ago, first thing in the morning. And they seemed desperate to go."

Turning to Walt, I said, "We may have gotten a break."

Walt, having eavesdropped on the conversation, snapped up his com-viewer and placed a call. "Seth? Someone sighted them. Can you meet me at the spaceport?"

Intercepting Walt on his way out for a quick kiss, I told him, "Be careful." He dashed out wearing his sheriff badge and a stunner pistol while Ming waited for him with her car out front.

My gut churned all morning, and I kept picking up my com-viewer, hoping for a call. The nervousness as I waited for news didn't help with productivity sorting through public business records.

I jerked as my com buzzed and I snatched it up. "Walt?"

"Mavis..." The long breath and pause that followed set me on edge.

"Did you find them, Walt?"

"Sort of, but they're long gone. They took jobs on an asteroid mining ship. It'll be out for six months, then return to an Earth space station."

"Now, ain't that convenient!"

"I know," he said. "The marshals sent out arrest warrants, but it doesn't help us."

"Do you think someone arranged for them to get out of Dodge?"

"I would bet on it. And we both know who it was."

As I hung up, a tremble shook me. This was bad. Those two low-lifes might get away with arson, and more importantly for us, won't point out the real villain. Now our records sleuthing became even more important to implicate Fleming Barnes.

*****

"It's almost time!" Janus yelled up the stairs.

We all huddled in front of a big viewscreen down in the pub. There weren't many customers yet, being the evening lull period between the after-work crowd and the later night customers.

This was the first of a vid-blog series by Jyn's blogger friends, Jordan, who anchored the show and his husband, Amos, who did the camera and editing work behind the scenes.

A rotating image of terraformed Mars appeared on the screen accompanied by epic-sounding intro music, then zoomed in on Ares Central. The show host appeared, a light-skinned man with shoulder-length sandy-brown hair tied back in a ponytail and neatly trimmed beard. Green eyes sparkled in the lighting.

"Good evening, fellow Martians," said the man with an inviting smile, "and welcome to another thought-provoking episode of the Martian Chronicles. I am your host, Jordan McVee. Today, we begin an eye-opening series we call the Martian Brides."

I grinned, since he had adopted the series title I had suggested — kinda catchy, if I did say so myself.

Jordan launched into a brief explanation of Mars demographics, stressing the gender population imbalance, and the emigration program to bring women in for all those single men. Then he introduced the first guest. I had volunteered to appear on the show, but Jyn told me in no uncertain terms, 'no way'. A legal thing, sure, but probably mostly because she was afraid of me pitching a full-blown hissy fit on-air. Couldn't say I blamed her.

The camera zoomed out, and I noticed my kitchen in the background, fortunately clean and uncluttered.

"To start us off," Jordan said with a motion, "I am here in the Olympus Cooperative with Martian bride, Riya Singh. Welcome to the show, Riya."

"Thank you," Riya demurely replied with a warm smile, glancing down. She could pull off the sweet and innocent look because she was actually sweet and innocent. Not something I could do.

I lifted my hands toward the ceiling and yelled, "Woo hoo! Go, Riya!"

"Tell us, Riya, how you came to Mars."

"Well..."

For the next ten minutes, Riya told of the horrible conditions she endured in Mumbai — the riots, famine, roving rape gangs, dead bodies rotting in the streets, and the loss of family members. Genuine tears traced her cheeks, and I doubted there were any dry eyes among the blog viewership. This girl had gone through a hell worse than I imagined.

"And did you know an arranged marriage to an unknown man awaited you here on Mars?" Jordan asked.

"Yes. It was in the contract. But, you see, I had to escape..." An erupting sob stole away her words.

Damn, this was riveting stuff.

"How did that work out?" Jordan asked in a gentle voice.

"Not good. My new husband beat me..." Another sob shook Riya.

"Who was your husband?"

"Damion Barnes."

Jordan lifted an eyebrow. "Son of Fleming Barnes, the Mars Land Bank chairman?"

"Yes."

"What happened next?"

"I ran away. My friend Mavis helped me and took me in on her Olympus farm. I thought I was safe, but Damion came after me. He had a gun and tried to take me away. That's when he was arrested." Riya wrapped arms around herself, closing her eyes, and shuddered. Reliving these memories was difficult for her, and I found myself sending psychic vibes of support, even though the actual interview happened a few days ago.

While Riya composed herself, wiping away tears, Jordan explained Damion had been convicted of various crimes and the marriage was annulled.

"Then there was the fire," she said. Dramatic images of the Olympus roaring wildfires appeared on the screen before returning to Riya's now resolute face. "It almost took me. Someone in a Land Bank flyer set it — I can only guess who might have ordered it."

Cue dramatic music. Riya just accused Fleming without actually saying it. As Jyn cast a sly smile, my imagination visualized Fleming sitting on the edge of a comfy chair, red-faced and seething, while blowing steam out of his ears. That was a happy thought for me.

Two pictures of the shady, good for nothing suspects appeared on the screen with names below. "The Marshal Service have accused these men of the arson, but they remain at large," Jordan explained. Then he turned to Riya with a knowing grin. "So, I understand there is a better ending for you, Riya?"

The smile that rose on Riya's face was like morning sunshine after a cold, dark night. She glanced off-camera and then back again. "I met Kiran here in Olympus. He is everything I could want, everything Damion was not." Riya leaned forward as if to tell a secret. "I have not told this to anyone, but... We are getting married. He just asked, and I said yes!"

That was worthy of another "Woo hoo!" as I jumped up, hands up high. Warm fuzzies collected around my heart. There were big smiles and celebrations all around.

"On that happy-ever-after note," Jordan said as the camera focused on him, "we end this installment of the Martian Brides. Come back next time for more heartfelt accounts. This is Jordan McVee for the Martian Chronicles, signing out." The screen faded to the blog logo, then went blank.

Questions will be asked, putting Fleming on the defensive. Apparently, Jyn had the same take as she grinned from ear to ear. "Oh, that was good," she chortled. "Really good."

The Martian Bride Network SoNet site lit up like fireworks, everyone congratulating Riya. I did as well, but I also had a bone to pick with her.

After first finding a more private place near the dart boards, I called Riya.

"Mavis," she chattered, "I'm so excited!

"How come you didn't tell me before?" I asked in a more accusatory tone than I intended.

"I'm sorry," Riya replied with an airy gasp. "I didn't want to distract you, but I couldn't hold it in anymore. And I had to tell the world."

"It's okay. That kind of distraction is real good, and we're all so happy for you. Oh, by the way, awesome interview!"

"Thank you, Mavis. I owe it all to you."

We chatted a while more, then before ending the call, Riya added, "Oh, the first baby chickens have hatched, and they are so cute! Kiran helped me set up a heated brooder pen."

"Bet Godzilla is struttin' his stuff now," I said with a laugh. "Talk at ya later."

Over the next week, more of the gals appeared on the video blog, each telling a different story. Jyn and Jordan were happy for different reasons as the viewership soared. Elena came on the next show, looking glamorous as ever, and Sofia appeared later. Jordan also asked Amalhi to appear, but she said no. To be fair, some gals who got good husbands also were also interviewed, including Janus, Robyn, and Ming.

Two things came out of the vid-blog that helped Walt and me with our legal issues: the gals praised me, which made me all warm inside; and the people who brought us women to Mars looked bad. We could use all the public support we could get. But the best part was making Fleming look like a jerk. When the reporters asked him uncomfortable follow-up questions later, he was madder than a three-legged dog burying a turd on an icy pond.

*****

On the eve before our first arbitration appearance, we gathered around the table in Jyn's room. The mood was tense.

"What do we have?" Jyn asked Sofia.

"It took a lot of digging," Sofia replied, "but I can financially link Fleming to Relocation Services LLC, which is the company that the Broker owned that placed the emigrating women with prospective husbands--"

"You mean sold us like livestock," I said, interrupting.

"Essentially, yes. Fleming is the principal partner in a shell company called the Ares Investment Group, and he made money on every bride sold."

Walt chimed in, looking at me. "And when some brides left their marriages, the husbands complained and wanted their money back. So, Fleming retaliated against you, Mavis, for facilitating it."

I gulped. We had all thought that, but having Walt say it out loud made my heart drop.

Jyn shook her head. "Making the accusation is easy, but proving retaliation is much more difficult. What else did you find, Sofia?"

"Fleming's shell company also owns Starbridge Land Sales LLC, which buys up land claims on the verge of foreclosure." A sly grin came to Sofia's face. "They tried hard to conceal that, but couldn't hide it from me."

"There's got to be some conflict of interest there," Walt said, "since Fleming is also the chairman of the bank foreclosing?"

"We might run with that," Jyn replied, leaning back in her chair. "Anything more on our arsonists?"

Walt shook his head. "I'm afraid not. They are long gone, and we can't even link them directly with the Land Bank, much less Fleming himself."

Jyn drew her lips tight and leaned forward, placing elbows on the table. She looked at Walt and me. "I have to be honest, getting the Arbitrator to dismiss the lawsuit with this is a longshot at best. But remember, this is just a preliminary hearing. Even if we lose this round, the fight's not over. Let's get some sleep so we'll be fresh in the morning."

*****

Sliding under the covers, I retreated into the emotional security of Walt's arms, backing up to him as he spooned me from behind. A gentle kiss on my neck sent happy shivers down my spine. But despite Walt's close presence, a gloomy, dark cloud invaded my mind.

"Do you think they will take our farm?" I whispered, putting words to my deep worry.

Walt let out a long breath that warmed my neck. "I don't know," he finally answered. Not the words I wanted to hear, but he always had been refreshingly honest with me. "I hope not, but Jyn didn't seem hopeful."

"It's everything we have..."

"No. Not everything. We have each other."

With those words, sunlight pushed away my mental clouds. "Mmm, yeah."

"Whatever happens, we will be okay. I believe that." His arms tightened across my body, pulling me even closer. "What's that saying? When life gives you lemons, make lemonade?"

"Yeah," I huffed, "but if life don't also give you sugar, it kinda sucks."

Walt placed another neck kiss, causing another shiver. "You are my sugar, Mavis."