Chapter Three
Ruby arrived home a little after dark. She paid the driver and climbed from the cab with her bag in hand.
After filling out the proper paperwork at the morgue, she’d spent the next three hours at the police department being questioned by a seasoned detective with a bad attitude.
Detective Richard Hall was the lead investigator assigned to her father’s case. He’d informed Ruby that Charles Atwood had been last seen gambling at Barone’s Gentlemen’s Club on Bourbon Street the night before. He’d been shot shortly after leaving the club.
Ruby had also found out that Cameron was at Mrs. Fleming’s, the next-door neighbor, where Charles had left him before going out the night before.
Mrs. Fleming had often taken care of Ruby after school as well in her younger years, and Ruby trusted her with her life.
Rushing up the steps to her two-story home on Royal Street, Ruby unlocked the door and slipped inside.
Her heart seized as the silence quickly enveloped her. She would never again see her father’s smiling face or hear his booming laughter.
Blinking back the tears that threatened once more, Ruby numbly made her way to her bedroom, dropped her bag on the floor, and threw herself across her bed.
Who would want to kill her father? He was the gentlest soul Ruby had ever known.
She rolled to her back to stare up at the ceiling. Why would her father return to gambling after ten years of walking the straight and narrow?
Her stomach abruptly growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since the day before. But the thought of food nauseated her.
Slowly rising, she made her way to the bathroom to rise her overheated face.
Ruby stared at her reflection in the mirror above the sink. Dark circles adorned her red-rimmed eyes—eyes that appeared foreign to her, as if they belonged to someone else.
No matter how much her mind screamed in denial, her father was gone, and life without him would never be the same.
After repeatedly splashing her face with cool water from the sink, Ruby pulled her hair back into a ponytail, took a calming breath, and left the bathroom.
She approached her father’s bedroom with trepidation, stopping in front of his door with her hand on the knob.
Not yet, Ruby silently acknowledged, releasing her hold on the knob and turning away. I’m not ready.
The thought of going through her father’s things, breathing in the smell of his cologne that always permeated his room was more than Ruby could handle at the moment.
She trailed off toward the front door and stepped out onto the small covered porch.
The familiar scents of New Orleans enveloped her in a blanket of comfort as they always did. Lights and sounds merged together to mingle with the laughter and murmuring of voices coming from both sides of the street.
Ruby studied the mass of smiling tourists chattering away as they moved along the sidewalks like ants in search of their next hill.
She shook off her thoughts, melding into the constantly moving throng of people to reach Mrs. Fleming’s porch.
Rubbing her sweaty palms along the front of her jeans, Ruby reached up and pressed the doorbell. The door opened a moment later.
“Ruby,” Mrs. Fleming crooned, pulling Ruby into a warm hug. “I have been so worried about you. You haven’t answered your phone.”
Hugging the elderly woman back, Ruby kissed her weathered cheek. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Fleming. I’ve had a lot going on.”
“I know you have, dear.” Mrs. Fleming pulled back to gaze into Ruby’s eyes. “Cameron is in the TV room. He doesn’t know about your father, yet. I figured it would be better coming from you.”
Stepping inside and closing the door behind her, Ruby squeezed the old woman’s hand. “I can’t thank you enough for always being here for us. I don’t know what we would have done without you.”
“Nonsense. Your grandmother was like a sister to me. We were neighbors for years, until she passed away. It’s been nice having you and your brother next door. Agatha would be so proud if she could see you now.”
“Ruby!” Cameron cried, running across the room to throw his little arms around her waist. “You’re home.”
Staring over his head into Mrs. Fleming’s eyes, Ruby held him tightly against her. “I’m so happy to see you, Cam.”
He pulled back, a huge grin on his face. “How long do you get to stay for?”
Ruby found it hard to speak around the lump forming in her throat. “For quite a while. Now, go get your things so we can go home.”
Cameron ran off down the hall to gather his belongings, his little body bouncing with excitement.
“If there is anything you need,” Mrs. Fleming murmured, touching Ruby on the arm, “don’t hesitate to ask.”
Ruby nodded, not trusting her voice.
The sight of Cameron rushing up the hall saved Ruby from falling into a fit of tears and throwing herself into Mrs. Fleming’s arms. “I’m ready.”
“Remember what I said,” the elderly lady said, opening the door for the siblings. “I’m only a few feet away at all times.”
Ruby turned to face her as Cam bounded down the steps. “Thank you again, Mrs. Fleming.”
Quickly catching up to Cam, Ruby unlocked the door to their home and followed him inside before closing it behind her.
“Daddy?” Cameron called, dropping his backpack on the floor near the kitchen. He turned to face Ruby. “When’s Daddy coming home? He left me at Mrs. Fleming’s all night.”
Unable to prevent the tears that abruptly flooded her eyes, Ruby inched forward, lowering to her knees in front of him. “I have something to tell you, Cam.”
Tilting his head to the side, Cameron’s face grew pale with anxiety. “Why are you crying?”
Unable to think of an easy way to say what needed to be said, Ruby inhaled a shaky breath and took hold of her brother’s hands. “Daddy isn’t coming home, Cam. He’s gone to heaven to be with Grandma.”
“He died?” Cameron whispered, his eyes growing round in disbelief.
Ruby pulled him forward, embracing him tightly. “Yes. I’m so sorry, Cam.”
She could feel his tears against her shoulder as they seeped through the material of her shirt, and her heart shattered all over again.
A fierce protectiveness rose inside Ruby. No matter what happened to her from that moment on, or what sacrifices she would have to make, Cameron would want for nothing. She would take care of him until her last breath.
“You’re not going to leave and go back to school are you, Ruby?”
“No, love. I’m not going to leave you. Not ever again.”
His little arms tightened around her, telling her how much her words meant to him.
No, Ruby wouldn’t return to school. She would stay in New Orleans, take care of Cam, and find the man responsible for killing her father.