Page 11 of Freeing Ruby

I shake my head. “It’s not Darren.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Darren wouldn’t hurt a fly. He’s—I promise you, it’s not him.”

“In this business, I’ve learned that sometimes the ones you least suspect are the ones who pose the most danger.”

I slide the pizza back into the oven and set the timer. “It’s definitely not Darren.” I laugh. “He’s an accountant, not a stalker.”

“Tell me what this person does—the one terrorizing you.”

“He throws rocks at my window at night when I’m in bed—tiny rocks, more like pebbles, nothing big enough to break the glass. Just big enough to make noise and keep me up at night.”

“Anything else?”

“He leaves things on my welcome mat in the night. I find them in the morning.”

“Things? Such as?”

“It varies.” I shrug. “Sometimes it’s a bouquet of dead flowers. Sometimes it’s notes. But sometimes it’s a dead animal. Roadkill mostly, I think. Squirrels and birds that are half-decomposed.” I shudder. “Those are the worst. The smell, and the blood.”

“What kind of notes?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are they handwritten or printed?”

“Printed, off a computer, in a large bold font.”

“What do they say?”

“They say things like ‘we should be together,’ ‘I love you,’ and ‘you’re mine.’ Stuff like that.”

“Do you still have any of the notes?”

“No. As soon as I get one, I tear it up and throw it away.”

“What do you do with the dead animals?”

“I put them in trash bags and leave them outside my door. Darren takes the bags to the trash chute for me.”

Miguel frowns. “Darren again.”

“It’s not Darren.” I sigh, not understanding why Miguel is so fixated on my neighbor. “He’s a nice guy. He’s the closest thing I have to a friend.”

“What about the apartment manager? Do you ever interact with him?”

“Not if I can help it. His name is Rick, but I hardly ever see him. My rent gets paid automatically each month, so unless something in the apartment needs fixing, I never have any reason to talk to him. And believe me, that’s a good thing. He’s awful.”

Miguel frowns. “What do you mean, he’s awful? Has Rick ever done or said anything inappropriate to you?”

“He’s just an awful person. He’s been in my apartment a few times since I moved in to fix things, and he always insinuates that the problems are my fault. He resents having to fix anything—clogged drains, loose outlets, leaky windows. He’s nosey, and he’s in everyone’s business. He says no to everything. Some of the tenants wanted to decorate their doors, and he said no. No one likes him.”

“Do you talk to any other neighbors besides Darren?”

“No.”

I finally muster the courage to meet Miguel’s gaze. “Do you think this is all in my head?”

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