Page 28 of Freeing Ruby

“I can vouch for the fact that you didn’t. There’s no way you could have put that there.” For one thing, she couldn’t have snuck past me in the night to open the door. And obviously, she couldn’t have gone outside to pick up a dead raccoon off the street.

“My father thinks I’m making this up. Nothing we say will change his mind.” She opens the fridge door, closes it, then opens the freezer. “How about waffles today? I feel like having something different.”

“Sure. That sounds great. Can I help?”

“That’s okay. I’ve got it.”

I end up sitting at the little kitchen table with my coffee and keeping her company while she toasts the waffles. When the food’s almost ready, I look in the fridge for the maple syrup and hold up the bottle to her. “We have enough for this morning, but you’re about out of syrup.”

“We can’t have that,” she says with a laugh. “I need my syrup.” When the waffles are ready, she says, “Butter’s on the counter.” She points at a covered white ceramic dish. “I’m getting low on eggs and bread, too. I’m not used to feeding two. I’ll have to place a grocery order soon. If there’s anything specific you want, just let me know, and I’ll add it to the list.”

Before she sits down to eat, Ruby puts Pumpkin’s food in his bowl and sets it on the floor. He literally pounces on the food, scarfing it up like he’s starving.

“Are you sure you’re feeding him enough?” I ask, laughing.

“He always eats like it’s his last meal,” Ruby says. “He was a stray kitten when I got him. He has food scarcity issues.”

“How did you end up with a stray kitten in the first place?”

“It was Darren’s doing actually. He found Pumpkin in the parking lot one morning, hiding underneath his car. The kitten had clearly been on his own for a while. He was filthy. His fur was matted, he had infections in both eyes, and he was skin and bones. Darren brought him up to me. He said he thought I could use a friend. He was right. I found a vet who did house calls. The rest is history.”

After we eat, I help with clearing the table and washing the dishes. I wash this time, Ruby dries.

“Mind if I grab a quick shower?” I ask her when we’re done.

“Go right ahead.”

I grab my toiletries from my kit and a change of clothes and head to the bathroom. Despite being outdated—with its pink tiles on the wall and white steel tub—it’s clean and uncluttered. I strip off my PJ bottoms and T-shirt and step beneath the hot spray. Five minutes later, I’m out of the shower, after a quick scrub and a hair wash. I dress quickly in jeans and a T-shirt.

When I return to the living room, I find Ruby seated in the armchair, looking at her phone. “Everything okay?” I ask her.

She nods. “I’m reading.”

It’s a little after eight o’clock, so I figure Shane’s in the office by now. I call him with an update.

“Miguel, how’s it going?” he asks as he answers my call. “Jake tells me the security system has been installed.”

“Yes, thanks. We had a couple of interesting developments overnight.”

“Such as?”

I tell him all about the rock throwing last night and the roadkill on her welcome mat this morning. “Someone’s definitely terrorizing Ruby.”

“I see. I’ll call Edward and give him an update. Keep me posted on any further developments.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

As soon as I end the call, Ruby asks, “Do you think he believed you?” She sounds a bit skeptical.

“Of course.”

She frowns. “My turn to get ready, and then I need to get to work.” After she gets dressed, Ruby disappears into her art studio.

At ten, there’s a loud knock on the door. I peer through the peephole to see a very pissed off older guy standing there. “Ruby? Someone’s at the door.”

The man knocks again, this time harder. “Ruby, open the damn door, right this minute!”

I turn as Ruby enters the room. She rolls her eyes. “That’s my father.”

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