THE RUBY REDFORT COLLECTION: 1-3: Look into My Eyes; Take Your Last Breath; Catch Your Death. Lauren Child

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      ‘Because she didn’t want to get into trouble with Spectrum,’ said Ruby. She paused. ‘And you see now I find myself in exactly the same position. What do I do? Should I tell LB how Lopez is not the goody-goody they think she is or what?’

      Clancy was torn. He understood the problem: never rat on a friend or ally – that was his rule. He would rather die a thousand horrible deaths than betray a comrade.

      ‘I can see another problem,’ said Clancy.

      ‘Yeah and what’s that?’ said Ruby. ‘You are going to be in the same trouble yourself if you tell Spectrum how you know what you know.’

      ‘You’re not wrong there my friend, I just gotta get some proof and then they’ll listen.’

      ‘And if you can’t?’ said Clancy.

      ‘Then I just have to convince them with the old Redfort gift of the gab.’

      ‘Good luck with that,’ said Clancy.

      When Clancy and Ruby walked into the living room they were greeted by a smiling Mr and Mrs Redfort, who were sitting on lawn furniture while Hitch set up a brand new slide projector. Hitch gave her a look which Ruby took to mean, “better you than me”.

      ‘I’ll make some popcorn,’ she said, and she and Clancy disappeared into the kitchen. Clancy chatted excitedly while Ruby set up the popcorn popper.

      ‘Hey you two,’ called her mother, ‘almost ready!’

      ‘Just coming,’ said Ruby, adopting the face of a condemned man.

      ‘Hey Clancy,’ came Brant’s voice. ‘Come and tell us what you have you been up to – we haven’t seen you for a while.’

      Clancy reluctantly slipped off his stool and went into the living room.

      While Ruby waited for the corn to pop she felt around in her pocket, pulled out the keyring and started sliding the rainbow coloured letter tiles up down and across. Maybe it transforms into something cool, she thought. But no, it really did seem to be just some dumb old puzzle. She had made a word: ‘FLY’.

      Big deal, she said to herself.

      From the kitchen she could hear Clancy doing his best to fake enthusiasm. ‘Wow, Mrs Redfort that looks like a great portrait of your shoes.’ And, ‘nice close-up of your thumb’ And, ‘Gee, Mr Redfort, that’s a very snowy picture of snow.’

      ‘Isn’t it?’ beamed Brant Redfort, proudly.

      ‘And what’s that one, Mr Redfort?’

      ‘Oh that’s the tile floor of the airport.’

      Ruby started making the drinks; she took a long time about it. As she turned the blender off, she could hear her mother saying, ‘And this is us at the airport, just before that funny little man with the moustache spilled his drink over me.’

      ‘Oh, there he is honey,’ said Brant Redfort. ‘Boy, was he in a hurry.’

      Ruby turned the blender on again. How am I gonna explain Clancy to Hitch? she wondered. But maybe I don’t have to, Clance won’t blab, Hitch need never know. Ruby poured the liquid into highball glasses and put them on a tray. The conversation hadn’t gotten any more interesting.

      ‘And who are these people?’ asked Clancy, in a desperate attempt to sound interested.

      Bad move, Clance my old pal, said Ruby to herself. ’Cause now they’re gonna tell ya.

      ‘Well,’ started Sabina, ‘that couple there, they’re the Zimmermans, and that’s Mr Rodrigez and let me think, oh yes, the blonde couple must be the Summers, and the redhead in the background there, did we meet her honey?’

      ‘No, darling,’ replied Brant

      Oh boy! Poor Clance. Better get him outta there before he loses his mind.

      Ruby entered the room, all smiles. ‘Fruit cocktail anyone? Hey, where’s Hitch?’ she said looking round, ‘I thought he wasn’t leaving until eight?’

      ‘He looked at his watch and suddenly decided that he had to go out and fix something in the yard,’ said Clancy pointedly. ‘It seemed kinda urgent.’

      ‘I’ll bet it did,’ said Ruby, glancing up at a slide which showed her mother and father looking into each others eyes while biting into the same strudel.

       Chapter 25.

      Some likely suspects

      RUBY GOT UP VERY EARLY THE NEXT MORNING, walked into the bathroom, looked in the mirror, made a face at herself and said, ‘Ruby my old pal, you look terrible.’

      Her mind was buzzing with thoughts – she had not been sleeping well.

      She went downstairs. Hitch was in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee. ‘Hey,’ she said, ‘that was a neat trick you pulled last night, disappearing at the last minute.’

      ‘Well, it wasn’t planned. I got a strange signal on my watch – flashed up for just a second. Didn’t make any sense – like a call from beyond the grave.’

      ‘Huh?’ said Ruby.

      ‘It was a signal from a non-existent agent,’ explained Hitch

      Ruby paused before dropping some bread into the toaster. ‘Meaning, an extinct agent?’

      ‘Yeah, he’s dead all right – though there’s not a soul in Spectrum who doesn’t wish he wasn’t. I had to check it out, though of course it was nothing.’

      ‘This dead agent, he wouldn’t be this guy Bradley Baker would he?’

      Hitch flinched, almost imperceptibly but Ruby caught it. ‘It’s confidential,’ was all he said.

      Ruby let the subject drop. She was thinking about another extinct agent – just what had happened to poor old Lopez?

      But all she said was, ‘Well, call it what you like but I figure you were saved from a fate worse than Chinese drip torture.’

      ‘I’m glad you survived it kid. So you know I’ve got to ask you – you going to have anything to report tomorrow?’

      ‘Maybe,’ said Ruby. ‘I just need to check out a couple more things before I know for sure – but I’m close.’

      ‘That’s not what Froghorn said – he seemed to think you’d struck out.’

      ‘Yeah well, you know Froghorn – always likes to rain on someone else’s parade.’

      Ruby’s toast popped up and Hitch slid it on to a plate.

      ‘Looks like you’re out of time kid – LB wants to see you today.’

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