Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Miguel

Detective Cartwright sits in the chair beside me. “Ruby’s father has filed a complaint with the police department accusing you of giving his daughter a dangerous mix of drugs and alcohol.” The man pulls a small black notepad and a pen from his jacket pocket. “Why don’t we start at the beginning? Tell me what happened tonight.”

I tell him everything, from the moment the coffees showed up until we arrived here at the hospital.

He makes notes, saying nothing until I finish.

“So, you’re claiming that Ruby’s drink was spiked before it arrived at your apartment?”

“Yes.” Then I give him the basic rundown, starting with when I was assigned to Ruby’s case. “And you suspect her neighbor?” The detective consults his notes.  “Darren Ingles?”

I nod. “He had both opportunity and motive.”

“I see. Well, how about we start with Ruby’s apartment?” He stands, gesturing for me to join him. “I’d like to see the crime scene. I’d also like to search her apartment.”

“Go,” Shane says. “I’ll be here. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything about Ruby’s condition.”

I rise. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”

* * *

Detective Cartwright follows me to Ruby’s apartment building. We both park in the rear lot and walk in together through the rear entrance.

“Her apartment’s on the second floor,” I say, motioning toward the stairs. “Do you mind if I check her mailbox first?”

Cartwright nods. “Go right ahead.”

He follows me down the center hallway to the mail room at the front of the building. I glance inside her mailbox and find a single sheet of white paper folded in thirds. I gesture to the note. “This is how her stalker sends her messages.”

Cartwright grabs a pair of latex gloves out of his jacket pocket and pulls them on. He reaches in, grabs the sheet of paper, and reads it. He shows it to me.

I WARNED YOU

“Warned her about what?” Cartwright asks.

“Getting rid of me. The last message she received said ‘Get rid of him.’ Meaning me.”

The detective studies her mailbox. “These boxes aren’t adequately secured. Anyone could slip something in them.” He glances toward the stairs. “Let’s go see the apartment.”

We head upstairs to Ruby’s apartment. I let us in and disarm the security system. Cartwright heads right for the coffee table and starts taking pictures. There’s spilled coffee on the table, along with the tipped over cup. The spill has dried for the most part, a large milky brown stain spreading across half of the surface of the table.

“Ruby’s cat knocked over her cup, spilling most of the contents. He probably saved her life. She didn’t take more than a few sips before she was overcome.”

I start to reach for the toppled cup, but Cartwright stops me with an outstretched arm. “Don’t touch it.”

With gloved hands, he lifts the cup to peer inside. Thanks to the plastic domed lid, there’s still some liquid remaining in the cup. “Hopefully it’s enough to analyze,” he says as he pulls an evidence bag from his jacket and slips the cup in. “And we can get some fingerprints off this as well.”

“My prints are on her cup,” I warn him. “Darren’s too, as he brought the cups to our door. Plus the prints of the delivery person and whomever handled her cup at the coffee shop.”

Cartwright nods. “I’ll need to get a statement from the neighbor. If we have his corroboration that he brought the cups to this apartment, there’s reason to add him to the list of potential suspects.”

I like this guy. He seems to be following the facts and not jumping to conclusions, in spite of whatever Foster might have said to him, accusing me. Cartwright seems open-minded, and he’s giving me the benefit of the doubt.

“Do you mind if I search the apartment?” he asks.

I nod. “Go right ahead. Neither one of us has anything to hide.”

“Then have a seat,” he says, indicating the sofa. “Don’t get up, and don’t touch anything.”

I do as he says, hoping to get this over with as quickly as possible. I want to get back to the hospital to find out more about Ruby’s condition.

Cartwright starts in the kitchen, methodically searching every drawer and cupboard. He’s still wearing gloves, and the whole situation is surreal. I feel like I’m in a cop show.

He proceeds to search the rest of the apartment, starting with the living room, then on to Ruby’s bedroom, the bathroom and linen cupboard, and the art studio.

Finally, he returns to the living room and pulls off his gloves. “Nothing.”

“I told you.” I motion in the direction of Darren’s unit. “The apartment you should be searching is right next door.”

“Well, let’s go pay your neighbor a visit.”

We proceed next door, and Cartwright knocks, but there’s no answer.

“Looks like no one’s home,” the detective says. “I’ll apply for a search warrant.”

“Am I free to go? I need to get back to the hospital to check on Ruby.”

Cartwright nods. “Yeah, go ahead.” He narrows his eyes. “I don’t think I need to say it, but—don’t leave town, okay.”

“Yeah, I assumed as much. Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.”

As soon as Cartwright leaves, I return to Ruby’s apartment to check on Pumpkin. He’s still under Ruby’s bed. “Hey, buddy,” I say as I reach under the bed to scratch his chin. “You okay?”

He stares at me for a long moment, blinks, and starts purring.

“How about a snack before I take off?”

Pumpkin follows me to the kitchen, and I put a bit of food in his bowl and give him fresh water. “I’ll be back to check on you,” I tell him.

Before I leave, I grab Ruby’s phone and charger and stuff them into a bag. I know she’s going to want her phone. After locking up the apartment, I head for the stairs, hoping to run into Darren, but no such luck. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s gone into hiding.

As I’m getting into my car, my phone chimes with an incoming message from Shane.

Shane – She’s in stable condition. They’re monitoring her vitals.

I hightail it to the hospital and walk into the ICU waiting room, where I find Shane. “Any word?” I ask as I sit beside him.

He shakes his head. “Nothing more since I texted you. Foster isn’t being very forthcoming.”

A little while later, Allen Foster walks into the waiting room and heads for the coffee machine.

I follow him. “How’s Ruby?”

Allen turns to glare at me. “None of your business. Why haven’t the police arrested you yet?”

“Maybe because I didn’t do it. Answer me—how is she?”

He ignores me as he waits for the machine to fill his cup.

I’m tempted to grab him and shake the hell out of him, but I know that won’t get me anywhere except perhaps in a jail cell.

“Allen!” Edward McCall races into the waiting room, out of breath and flushed. “How is she? Is she okay?”

Foster’s eyes narrow on Edward, then he turns them on me. “Both of you, get out of here. You have no business being here.”

“How can you say that, Allen?” Edward says. His expression falls, and he looks genuinely hurt. “You know how much Ruby means to me. She’s like family.”

“Well, she’s not your family!” Allen practically spits out the words. “She’s my daughter. And I say you’re not welcome here.” Then Allen looks my way. “Both of you, just leave.”

Allen takes his cup of coffee and stalks out of the waiting room, heading back toward the intensive care unit. I start to follow him, but Edward grabs my arm.

“Don’t waste your time, son,” Edward says. He pats my back.

“I need to know she’s okay.” My stomach knots.

Edward shakes his head. “Don’t worry. She’s going to be okay.” He squeezes my shoulder. “You just have to have faith.”

Edward gets some coffee and takes a seat by a window.

I return to sit with Shane. “It’s my fault she’s hurt. I was supposed to protect her, and I let her down. She put her trust in me, and I let someone hurt her on my watch.”

He shakes his head. “You couldn’t have anticipated this.” Shane pats my back. “We need to plan for what happens after she’s released from the hospital. She can’t go back to her apartment. It’s not safe.”

“I could take her to my apartment. Our building is secured.” Shane owns the building I live in. Quite a number of McIntyre Security employees live here, including many of my friends.

“Better yet,” Shane says, “how about I lend you two the use of a three-bedroom apartment in my building, free of charge? You’ll have plenty of space, and she’ll have room to paint.”

“Thanks. That sounds perfect. I’ll talk to Ruby about it. She’s going to be upset that she was taken from her apartment. I don’t know how she’ll take to the idea of moving to another apartment.”

A middle-aged African-American woman dressed in a nurse’s uniform walks into the waiting room and addresses me. “Are you Miguel Rodriguez?”

I shoot to my feet. “Yes. How’s Ruby?”

“She’s doing well. She’s asking for you. She’s about to be moved to a private room. Her doctor wants her to stay just overnight for observation.”

“Can I see her?”

“As soon as she’s moved, I’ll let you know the room number.”

The nurse leaves, and I blow out a heavy breath. Finally, some news. Now that she’s awake, Foster won’t be able to prevent me from seeing her. I resume pacing, too antsy to sit still.

It’s almost an hour later before the nurse returns to hand me a slip of paper with Ruby’s new room number.

“She’s eager to see you,” she says, winking at me. “I can see why.” She smiles before turning away.

Shane stands. “When you see her, talk to her about moving to my building. Once she agrees, let me know and I’ll arrange for her belongings to be moved to the new apartment. I’ll make sure it’s ready by the time she’s released.”

“I can’t thank you enough, Shane.”

“You don’t need to thank me.” He lays a hand on my shoulder. “I had a feeling you were the right man for the job.”

By the time I get to Ruby’s new room, I find Allen Foster standing outside her door, talking on his phone. When he spots me coming, he ends his call and pockets his phone. “What are you doing here?” he asks.

“What do you think I’m doing? I’m here to see Ruby.” I gesture to her door.

Foster shakes his head. “You’re wasting your time. Ruby doesn’t want to see you.”

I’ve reached the end of my patience with this guy. I don’t care that he’s Ruby’s father. “Let her tell me to my face.”

As I start toward her door, Foster moves in front of me, physically blocking me. His face tightens into a grimace. “I’m not telling you again.” He practically growls the words. “If you don’t leave right now, I’m calling security and having you forcibly removed.”

“I’d like to see you try. I’m not leaving until I see Ruby.”

“Miguel!” Ruby’s muffled cry comes from inside the room. “Miguel, is that you?”

“I’m here, Ruby! I’m coming.” I glare at Foster. “Let me pass.”