The Complete Ruby Redfort Collection: Look into My Eyes; Take Your Last Breath; Catch Your Death; Feel the Fear; Pick Your Poison; Blink and You Die. Lauren Child

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       Maybe Mrs Digby will have phoned from Miami or wherever in tarnation she has gotten off to.

      There were several messages for her father from the detective, explaining that they had ‘no more leads’ – several from her father for her mother, unusually bad tempered, complaining about the airline and how there was ‘still no sight nor sound of their luggage’ – one from the drycleaner to say they were ‘having trouble with the tomato stain and would have to send the jacket away for super cleaning’.

      The final message was from Freddie Humbert and basically went on and on about his problems with the bank security system and how he was ‘up to his ears in it’ and ‘wouldn’t be able to attend the museum meetings or indeed play golf for the foreseeable future’. Right at the end he said ‘don’t forget to tell that cute daughter of yours to give us a call – Quent would love to see her.’

      Ruby made a face – a couple of hours with Quent Humbert was all she needed. She was about to erase the message when her father popped his head round the door. ‘Jeepers!’ blurted Ruby, ‘what are you doing home?’

      ‘Oh I’m sorry, got off work early. I didn’t mean to make you jump – you checking the messages? Any good ones?’

      Ruby pressed the playback button. ‘I don’t know, I didn’t listen.’ She headed upstairs to her room and checked her personal answerphone. There was a message. It was from Clancy.

       ‘Hi Rube, where were you today? You didn’t say anything about skipping school. Are you sick? Whatever – give me a call, OK? Hey don’t erase me, don’t erase me… aaaahhhh.’

      It was a Clancy Crew classic joke. Ruby smiled as she erased the message. Darn it though, what was she going to tell Clancy? She hadn’t thought of that when she had promised to keep it zipped. She couldn’t lie to him, she never lied to him, but she had sworn she wouldn’t talk. Hitch was right, code breaking was easy compared to keeping a secret like this. She needed to think. But all she could think was, Darn it! Dad is sure to make me call Quent.

      She picked up her backpack and rummaged for the Spectrum Escape Watch, but it wasn’t there. She was about to panic when she remembered how she had stuffed it into her jacket pocket.

       Now where is my jacket?

      Then she heard her mother calling.

       Geez, now what?

      ‘It’s time to eat!’ called her mother.

      The watch would have to wait – her mother was a stickler when it came to ‘dining time’.

      The meal seemed to drag on for just about ever. Ruby was finding her folks less than scintillating company. Most of what they said she had heard from her history teacher, Mrs Schneiderman – she certainly was in no hurry to hear it all again.

      ‘Don’t you just love the legend of the Jade Buddha, Brant?’ cooed Sabina.

      ‘Love it,’ replied Brant.

      ‘It’s kind of romantic, don’t you think? To look the Buddha in the eye at the stroke of midnight – you know, as it rises up through the floor – and in that moment double your wisdom, and halve your age.’

      ‘Desperately romantic,’ agreed Brant, through a mouthful of steak and tomato.

      ‘I mean, imagine getting younger at the same time as you get wiser.’

      ‘Never to decay or fade away – wouldn’t that be swell,’ enthused Brant.

      They burbled on like this all through the main course and part way through dessert.

      ‘Hey! How about we have some kind of lucky draw,’ said Sabina, ‘you know – put your name in the hat and you get the chance to look the Buddha in the eye on the stroke of midnight!’

      ‘Like a lottery? Buy a ticket, win eternal youth?’

      ‘You got it.’ Sabina could hardly contain herself.

      ‘I think it’s a swell idea,’ said Brant. ‘What do you think, Ruby honey? Swell idea or what?’

      Ruby didn’t answer; she was miles away.

      ‘Ruby?’

      ‘Huh? What?’ said Ruby with a start.

      ‘Your father and I were just wondering if there should be a Jade Buddha lottery with one lucky winner.’

      ‘Lucky winner of what?’

      ‘One lucky winner to look the Jade Buddha in the eye at midnight!’

      ‘Why would they want to do that?’ asked Ruby, genuinely bewildered.

      ‘Ruby, are you quite OK?’ asked her mother. ‘You don’t seem to have heard a word we have said.’

      ‘Sorry,’ said Ruby, ‘just a bit distracted I guess.’

      ‘I’ll say,’ said her mother.

      ‘Well,’ said her father. ‘I think I might just go and call Marjorie and Freddie – they’re gonna love the idea.’

      ‘Oh yes, do, do, do!’ said Sabina. She was quiet for one split second and then exclaimed, ‘I am wondering if it isn’t time we talked about canapés – what do you think Ruby? Maybe serve ice-related canapés, on account of the Buddha being found in an iceberg?’

      Ruby, desperately wanting not to get stuck at the table talking to her mother about the mind-numbing subject of iced finger food, decided to make a swift exit.

      ‘Mom, just gotta walk Bug.’

      ‘But I already walked him an hour ago,’ said Sabina.

      ‘Oh yeah, well, I promised him,’ called Ruby, already halfway down the stairs.

      ‘Who promises a dog?’ said Sabina.

      On the way back from her walk Ruby made a stop at the tree on Amster Green. She wanted to see if Clancy had left something for her. He had. A coded note, folded in two.

      It translated as:

      ‘Are you in some kind of trouble? I saw that butler guy of yours and his fancy car –

      I don’t trust him.’

      Ruby felt a pang of guilt as she carefully refolded the note and put it back in the tree as if she had never read it.

      Back home she rather dejectedly climbed the stairs to her room. She closed the door firmly behind her and her thoughts returned to the watch. She knew it was safe inside her jacket pocket – the only thing was, where was her jacket?

       Mrs Digby had woken to the unmistakable sound of a knife ripping through white designer couch. . .

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