Page 54 of Witness 8

She finished the first letter for Todd Ellis. She would need another for Brett Bale.

Knowledge is power.

Maggs was a talker. Ruby had spent many afternoons with Maggs, talking while she cleaned, and sitting for a coffee afterwards. It wasn’t just out of politeness, or loneliness, it was kinship. Two outsiders. Ruby told her about her father, and mother, and that she envied Maggs, in a way.

‘Trust me – you wouldn’t want my life,’ said Maggs.

‘But you have money. And freedom. You can go anywhere and do anything,’ said Ruby.

‘Money can take care of a lot of things in life, but it can’t fill your heart. And it sure as hell can’t mend it when it breaks.’

Ruby thought that if the other residents knew Maggs like she did, they would accept her. They would see her kindness, and the emptiness in her life, and they would want to make her feel better. That’s what Maggs did – she wanted everyone to feel good. Out of all the wealthy clients in the street, Maggs was the only one who gave Ruby a bonus at Christmas, as well as the only person to give her something even more precious – her time and her care and attention.

People in the street were still talking about Maggs, thought Ruby.

She had two men, desperate to hide their relationship with Margaret Blakemore, for very good reasons. Bale already had suspicion on him from the death of his last wife. And if Ellis’s wife found out he’d been seeing Maggs it would cost him at least half his fortune. Ruby had seen one of them kill her friend, Maggs. And the other man was perhaps just as dangerous. Provoking a killer was something not to be taken lightly. But Ruby had no choice.

Ruby needed money. Her mom was getting sicker and needed care.

And Ruby wanted freedom.

‘Ruby,’ came the voice again.

‘I’m coming, Mom,’ said Ruby as she made her way to the small kitchenette. She opened a can of soup, poured it into a pot and heated it on the stove.

As the soup bubbled, Ruby thought about the Jacksons.

Today was a bad day for them. Tomorrow would be much worse.

As she moved away from the stove to fetch two bowls, she heard a crunch. Lifting her right sneaker, she saw the remains of a huge cockroach crushed beneath it. The damn roaches were getting so bad she didn’t even have to go looking for them any more. She could just walk around the kitchen, killing them casually.

She poured the soup into two bowls, giving most of it to her mother. She set the bowls on the little table and sat down to eat.

‘Soup is ready,’ she hollered.

‘I’ll be right there,’ said her mom.

Ruby picked up her spoon and began to eat. The soup was hot and salty, but the beef was still tough. For a moment, she wondered if Mom could eat it. She hadn’t been swallowing very well lately.

She heard thethockof the cane first, the noise resounding within the small apartment, followed by the soft shuffling of slippers across the wooden laminate floor.

Ava Johnson sat down at the little table across from Ruby. She thought her mother’s eyes had aged even since this morning. It was as if they were swimming in milk. They were pale, and unmoving. Her limbs were so thin now. Ruby could close her hand completely over her mom’s wrist. It was as if she was shrinking. Like her flesh was being sucked out of her while Ruby was away at work.

She didn’t speak to Ruby, just stared into her soup with her creamy eyes.

Things would be different soon. Her mom needed more care than Ruby could manage on her own. Making sure Mom was somewhere safe was a top priority.

Even if things went according to plan, Ruby knew she would have to leave New York. Moving from city to city. Town to town. She would enter each new place bearing a new name, and a newstory. And she could spend her days driving in the desert. Far away from West 74thStreet. Far away from her old life.

Far away from the red priest.

But that also meant leaving Mom.

It was all coming together now. This was not just for Ruby.

It was for Mom, too.

‘Mom, did you manage to take a look at any of the brochures I left with you?’ asked Ruby.