into the drycleaners. It was likely he would have kept a ticket and it was more than likely that he would have stuck it on the refrigerator door – she’d seen him do that many times with other things. Ruby got up and went into the kitchen.
She scanned the refrigerator – it was covered in receipts and lists, postcards and coupons, all stuck in place with magnets.
There it was:
She crossed off number 5 from her list of unknowns – she had the advantage.
Crisp and lean
SHE WAS PRETTY SURE SHE KNEW where ‘Crisp n Clean’ was located – she had seen their sign, which had neon lettering and a neon laundry detergent box that spilled neon bubbles. It was somewhere on the east side of town. She rarely went to that particular district but she had passed it once or twice and the brightly coloured sign had lodged in her mind. The ‘C’ of Clean was broken so it read ‘Crisp n lean.’
Ruby felt there was no time to lose, not if she was right about the woman who had visited her mother’s gallery earlier that day – and she was sure that she was. She grabbed her school bag and called out, ‘Hey Mom, just popping over to see Clancy, I promised him some help on his French assignment.’
This wasn’t an actual lie, she was going to pop in on Clance. She had promised and Ruby Redfort always made a point of keeping her promises.
‘OK honey! Your father and I will be at the very last and final museum meeting before the big launch – we can’t wait, it is so exciting. I am wondering, mmm, what do you think? Should I wear the yellow dress or the silver? I look fabulous in yellow but then again silver is a statement, don’t you agree? Oh my, of course! I should wear jade, it would be perfect! Only thing is I don’t have a jade dress…’
Her mother’s voice drifted away as Ruby slipped out of the door.
Ruby could see Froghorn: his car was parked across the street and he was watching the house. Or at least he should have been watching the house, but instead seemed to be involved in some chit-chat with Consuela.
He was leaning, his hand on the hood, trying to look cool. What a potato head, thought Ruby. Unnoticed, she climbed on her bike and set off for the east district. She almost instantly regretted that she hadn’t swapped the sparkly red clogs for some practical sneakers – they made pedalling difficult.
A few miles from home, she found herself in the industrial district and after riding up and down several wrong streets she finally came upon the one she was looking for. The light in the window of Crisp n Clean was on but the back of the shop was dark and after several minutes of knocking it became obvious that everyone had gone home for the night.
Drat!
Ruby parked her bike down the alley that ran down the side of the building, and looked for a way to get in. About ten feet above her head was a little window. It was small but then so was Ruby; if she could reach it there was a good chance of her wriggling through.
She looked around and saw right at the far end a mass of old crates and cardboard boxes – she began to drag them underneath the window. It wasn’t long before she had constructed a sort of cardboard tower, but was it going to take her weight?
Lucky I skipped dinner.
Ruby took a deep breath. The box construction was very unstable, but strong enough for her to climb; however, as she pushed herself through the opening, the makeshift staircase gave way and toppled back into the alley.
Don’t worry about that now, thought Ruby, as she tumbled onto the hard linoleum floor. Just find that dumb jacket and get outta here. The room was full of sewing machines and reels of cotton, clothes piled up waiting to be mended. It seemed likely that the cleaned items would be downstairs near the front of the shop. It wasn’t easy to see, the lights were off and she didn’t want to alert anyone by switching them on. She did, however, have her mini flashlight – it would have to do. She would need to be careful – she didn’t want to draw a crowd.
Ruby trawled through the racks of clothes. There were quite a few powder blue ladies jackets. Must be a fashionable colour. She had to look at the label in the back of each one before finding her mother’s – the Oscar Birdet.
This is what all the fuss is about?
She slipped it from its hanger and peered into the tiny fitted pockets. Empty? But there had to be something, surely she hadn’t been wrong about this.
She slipped her fingers into the left hand pocket – nothing – and then the right.
Something.
Something cold and flat.
She drew it out.
And almost invisible.
She could scarcely feel its weight in her palm. So that’s what they’ve been looking for – no wonder no one found it. It looked like a letter K, a K with holes punched through it. What was it? And where to put it? She instinctively felt like she should keep it with her – not in her bag. And not in her jeans pocket: it looked delicate, made of glass.
Ruby thought for a moment, then, taking the barrette from her hair, she slipped the glass “K” on to it and clipped it back in place. It was barely visible in her thick dark hair. She had always felt that the most obvious place was often the safest place to hide something. RULE 3: PEOPLE SO OFTEN DON’T SEE WHAT IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEIR EYES.
Then she folded the jacket and stuffed it into her bag. Might as well make my mother happy. Now, better get outta here.
She looked at the back door – it would be a lot easier to leave that way than by the tiny upstairs window. She turned to go and then she remembered the watch. She didn’t want to leave it here, not when she was so close.
Better be quick. The mending room was upstairs – she headed up to the first floor and let the flashlight dance around the room. It wasn’t obvious where to start looking. She thought for a moment. The cleaners were bound to have a drawer for found items.
What was that?
Ruby froze.
Was that a car pulling up at the back of the building? No it was nothing. Boy, Ruby, get yourself out of here before you have a heart attack. Just get the watch and get out!
There was a desk in the corner – maybe there. She tip-toed over to it and began opening the drawers. And there it was, a brown envelope with Redfort scrawled on it. She opened it and took out the watch.
Got ya, she whispered, fastening it around her wrist. Suddenly, Ruby heard the sound of breaking glass. She stood stock-still – and then she heard a key turn on the inside of the door. Someone was coming in and it was high time she got out.
She slung her bag over her shoulder and pushed herself back out through the small window. She leapt headlong
