‘It was when I came over – while you were making fruit cocktails in the kitchen. Your mom and dad were going through their slides – boy, were you ever right, it was super boring. Remind me not to do that again… I mean maybe I’m wrong, but to me, one picture of snow looks very much like another?’
‘Clance would you just get on with it.’
‘Well, this guy with the moustache was in one of the slides – he’s the guy who spilled that drink all over your mom’s jacket.’
‘But why would this woman in the shower have pictures of a funny-looking guy like that?’ said Ruby
‘That’s the other thing,’ said Clancy, ‘the woman – I’ve remembered where I saw her before, she’s in the background of one of your mom and dad’s pictures.’
Ruby said nothing, she was staring hard at the photograph. ‘So what you are saying is that the man with the moustache, my mom, my dad and the redhead were all at the same airport together.’
‘I didn’t say they were together,’ said Clancy, walking over to the sideboard.
‘No, that’s right, they weren’t together but they are connected somehow, so what’s the connection?’ said Ruby.
‘They were all flying to Twinford?’
‘Well we don’t know that for sure, we know my mom and dad were, and we know the redhead lady is here but the moustache guy, well, he could be in Hong Kong for all we know.’
‘Hey Rube, look at this!’ Clancy held a small diamond encrusted revolver in his hands.
‘What are you doing? Will you put that down!’
Clancy went to put the gun back where he had found it, but it slipped from his fingers and clattered noisily onto the floor.
‘Hey, what’s going on out there?’ shouted the woman.
Ruby jumped, the photos tumbling out of her hands. ‘Let’s get outta here,’ she hissed.
‘Sorry Ma’am!’ called Clancy, grappling to replace the gun. ‘All done! Just leaving!’
The two of them made a dash for the door. Once in the corridor they ran like crazy. They took the back stairs, which led them out into a narrow alley, which joined Derwent Street, then they ran through Twinford Square and all the way along Chance, they ran and ran until they turned the corner of Amster Street and collapsed, out of breath outside the Double Donut Diner.
‘Oh boy… that was… close,’ said Clancy barely able to get the words out. ‘Remind me never… to get involved in one of your… hair-brained schemes… again.’
‘You can talk – it was your hunch, and if you hadn’t been so clumsy then—’ she stopped mid-sentence.
‘—Clancy, where did you get those glasses?’
Clancy looked at his reflection in the window of the Double Donut Diner. ‘Whoops,’ he said, ‘I forgot to put them back on the table – I guess they belong to that lady. It’s OK, though, she will probably think I picked them up by accident, thinking they were mine.’
‘Oh yeah, Clance, that’s highly likely, they are after all exactly as big as your whole entire face – I’m sure she will think it’s a simple mistake. Some spy you are, I would recognise those glasses anywhere… a-n-y-w-h-e-r-e…’ Ruby broke off. ‘I take it back. You’re a genius Clance my old pal, a genius!’
‘What? What did I do?’ stammered Clancy.
‘I just realised where I saw those glasses before – this woman today, she practically ran my mom off the road. Well, she was wearing those glasses.’
‘But why would she try to run your mom off the road?’ asked Clancy.
‘That’s what I gotta figure out,’ said Ruby. ‘Hey look, I gotta go, I need to do some thinking – there’s a lot I’ve been missing Clance, A LOT.’
When you’re out, you’re out
WHEN RUBY FORCED HER WAY THROUGH the yard gate and hurtled up the path she saw the back door was standing open. She bolted through and up the kitchen stairs. ‘Where’s Hitch?’
Consuela just looked at her and said, ‘Why is everyone in such a big hurry?’
Ruby didn’t have the breath to answer questions. ‘Hitch… where?’ she repeated.
‘He’s loading the car,’ said Consuela sulkily.
‘What?’
‘He’s leaving – goodbye – adios!’
Ruby turned and ran, back down the stairs and out to the garage. She found Hitch pushing his case into the trunk of the silver convertible.
‘Where you going?’
‘That’s confidential kid.’
‘What? I read every one of Lopez’s files, spend some time in her brain, but now everything’s confidential?’
‘That’s about it kid. When you’re in you’re in, when you’re out, you’re out.’
‘OK, well you might change your mind when you hear this,’ said Ruby.
‘What is it? I got a plane to catch in less than,’ Hitch looked at his watch, ‘seventeen minutes.’
‘OK,’ said Ruby, ‘it all started this evening when I was eating pizza with Clancy.’
Hitch rolled his eyes heavenwards and pulled on his jacket. ‘Save it kid, it will be a nice story for when I get back.’
‘Nice story? You have to be kidding – this isn’t some fairytale you know.’
‘Kid, I’ve got work to do.’
‘Look buster, are you gonna listen for seventy-five seconds?’ There was something in Ruby’s voice that made Hitch stop short.
‘OK, I’ll listen if you can talk fast – but I’ve only got about sixty now, so when I say fast, I mean fast.’
‘OK,’ said Ruby, ‘as I was saying, it all started this evening when I was eating pizza. Although I guess it all really started before that when my parent’s luggage went missing and then we got burgled and then there’s this maniac in big glasses who bumped into our car on the highway.’
Hitch looked at her like she had gone stark raving mad. ‘What?’ he said.
‘The redhead,’ said Ruby. ‘She keeps sorta appearing…’
‘What on earth are you talking about kid? You aren’t even half making sense.’
‘Well,
