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“No. I wonder why he went scorched earth like that, because Mrs. Carey looks like she can hold a mean grudge.”

Ruby laughed. “You’re right. I’ve served on the garden committee with her for years and she takes no prisoners.”

“Were you looking for me?” Gabriella asked.

“I was.” Ruby’s gaze lifted to Mr. Morton’s house, and then turned to face the way she’d come. “Shall I walk with you? Bob Morton and his wife are watching us from the front window.”

Gabriella glanced up and saw the curtains twitch. “Thanks.”

They walked a little way down the road, and then Ruby clasped her hands together, and Gabriella saw she was genuinely worried.

“What is it?”

“We’ve lost Jerry.” She squeezed her fingers together and glanced over at Gabriella. “I’m very worried about him.”

“I saw him yesterday,” Gabriella said. “Just one street over, actually, walking down to the high street with a little dog.”

“Really?” Ruby stopped and grabbed Gabriella’s arm. “And he was fine?”

“He seemed in good spirits. I told him about a pile of furniture set out on the pavement, and he was going to take a look.”

“He didn’t come home last night, and he was due to have dinner with Teddy Roe. I assumed it was because of the weather, but Teddy Roe said a bit of rain would never have stopped Jerry from a meal with a friend. Then this morning I got a call from someone at the block of flats where he lives to say he didn’t come to get the key from her for her flat so he can feed her cat while she’s away. I went and got it instead, but I can honestly say he would never not turn up for a job like that. Especially because he loves looking after the pets. He feeds them, and takes them out into the little garden at the back of the flats to give them some exercise. I don’t see him not being enthusiastically on time.” She rubbed her forehead. “And I didn’t know he had a dog with him, but I do recall him telling me he was looking after Mrs. McKinley’s Scottish Terrier while she was on the Isle of Wight, visiting her sister, and so the dog’s missing, too.”

“You’ve called the hospitals?” Gabriella wondered if he could have been struck by a car or hurt in some other way.

“I called them all after I got the key. Nothing. No man matching his description was admitted yesterday. I knocked on the door of his little room at the back of the flats, but there was no answer and it’s locked.” Ruby gripped her elbows in distress. “Teddy Roe is wandering the streets looking for him.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for him and Scotty on my rounds,” Gabriella promised. “And I’ll ask James if he’s heard of anything that might be related.”

“Thank you.” Ruby gripped her arm again, and Gabriella patted her hand with her own.

“We’ll find him.” She couldn’t imagine why they wouldn’t. “He was happy and looked well, all dressed up in warm clothes.”

“It was the afternoon when you saw him?” Ruby asked.

“Yes, around two o’clock. I was walking up from the high street and we passed each other. I didn’t see him when I came back down the same street about two hours later.”

“Which street was it?” Ruby asked, and Gabriella told her as they reached the end of the road.

She had to keep going straight, so Ruby waved goodbye and headed right, toward the street where Gabriella had seen Jerry. She had schooled her features a little as they parted company, losing some of the emotion as she strode away.

Ruby had never said what she had done during the war, but Gabriella was sure it had been dangerous, important work.

If someone had hurt Jerry, they better watch out, because Ruby was not an adversary Gabriella would ever want after her.

As it was, she’d gone after Gabriella’s father on Gabriella’s behalf and tracked him down when he’d tried his best to hide his identity.

Gabriella realized she’d forgotten to tell Ruby about the meeting with Mr. Havelock on Friday, and then decided the timing hadn’t been right, anyway.

She got back to work, rubbing her hands together in the cold, and looked more carefully into the alleyways and recesses on the street as she went, hoping to find Jerry.

Gabriella entered the gates of the small park that lay equidistant between her and Liz’s routes and sat down on the bench where Liz had already settled herself, staring at ducks swimming in a pond of dubious looking water.

“Ducks are peaceful, aren’t they?” Liz said, turning to look at her.

“I’ve never thought about it,” Gabriella said. “But I do like the babies.”

“None about now,” Liz said glumly. “They’ve all grown up since the summer.”