Page 27 of Freeing Ruby

“I know.”

I’m stunned by a mix of compassion and sorrow in his gaze.

I stare up at him. “You heard the pebbles hit my window tonight, right?” I know he did, but I need to hear him say it. I need confirmation that I’m not the only one hearing these things.

He nods. “I did.”

“So you believe me?”

“Yes, I do.”

Relief floods me. “Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me, Ruby. This is why I’m here. Now I just need to catch the bastard.” He glances at the clock on the wall. It’s nearly midnight. “Do you think you can sleep?”

“I’ll try.”

Miguel walks me to my bedroom and watches from the doorway as I climb back into bed. “Call if you hear anything else—or if you need me.” And then he heads back to his own bed.

Pumpkin comes out from beneath the bed and joins me, trilling as he curls up beside me.

I scratch behind his ears. “He believes me, Pumpkin.”

I drift off to sleep feeling safer and more secure than I have in a long time.

Chapter 11

Miguel

I don’t get much sleep that night. I lie awake for hours wondering if the asshat was going to throw more rocks at Ruby’s window. If he does, I’m going to nail him. What kind of loser throws rocks at a girl’s window in the middle of the night for the purpose of scaring her?

I wish I’d been able to grab him last night in the parking lot. If I had, this assignment would be over almost as soon as it began. Ruby would probably be relieved to get me out of her apartment. As for me—I guess I’d be glad to give Ruby some answers and put an end to her torment. I’d move on to my next assignment, of course. But I’d be disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to know her better.

I check my watch—it’s six-thirty. Normally, I’d get up about now and put in a quick workout in my apartment, but I can’t do that here. No equipment. If it looks like I’m going to be here a while, I should ask Ruby if she’d mind me bringing some free weights over.

I’m still lying on the sofa when I hear a muted thud coming from outside the apartment door. I get up and walk to the door so I can peer out the peephole. I see nothing. But I can’t discount the sound I heard, so I turn off the security system, unlock the door, and open it just a few inches with the chain still in place.

On the welcome mat below is one of those cheap plastic shopping bags, filthy and dripping wet. That sure as hell wasn’t there last night when I returned from my reconnaissance out in the parking lot.

I release the chain and step out into the hallway and look left and right. There’s no one out here.

Then I look down at that damn plastic bag. I’ve got a bad feeling about this. A really bad feeling. Crouching, I pinch the end of one of the bag’s handles between my index finger and thumb and carefully lift. Putrid air wafts up into my face and just as I feared, there’s something dead in the bag. From the little I can see, it looks like roadkill—a raccoon. It’s old roadkill. The carcass is already mostly decomposed. I consider saving the bag and its contents, but the chance of getting any meaningful forensic evidence out of this mess is low.

I hear a soft gasp behind me and look back to see Ruby peering outside her apartment from several feet back from the door.

“There’s something dead in that bag, isn’t there?” she asks.

I nod. “Roadkill. Looks like a raccoon.”

She steps back. “I’ll grab a trash bag. Would you mind throwing it down the trash chute?” She points toward the end of the hall.

“Sure. Just let me take a couple of pics.” When I pull my phone out of my back pocket, she disappears from sight.

She brings me a heavy duty black trash bag, and I bag it up. After I dispose of the bag down the chute, I head back into the apartment and lock the door behind me. I find Ruby in the kitchen making coffee.

“I’ll call my boss and let him know about the rock throwing and the package left at your door. What about your dad? Do you want me to call him with an update?”

Ruby’s expression tightens and she shakes her head. “He’ll just say I planted it.”

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