‘Maybe he didn’t need to go,’ said Del.
Elliot ignored her. ‘Buswell stood there and growled and later when the man spoke to the guy who had rented him the place, the guy told him that someone had actually died in there from slipping on a bar of soap.’
‘They died from slipping on a bar of soap?’ said Ruby.
‘Yeah,’ confirmed Elliot.
‘Actually in that bathroom?’ she asked.
‘Not exactly in the bathroom but about an hour later in the emergency room at St Angelina’s, but it was the soap that did it.’
‘So why wouldn’t the ghost haunt the emergency room at St Angelina’s hospital?’ asked Del. ‘Why would it travel all the way back to the bathroom of its apartment?’
‘Because I guess it felt more comfortable there,’ said Elliot.
‘And how did it even get there?’
‘I don’t know, I’m not a ghost expert, maybe on the bus?’ said Elliot.
‘Oh man, that is the lamest story,’ spluttered Del. ‘Rube, is that lame or what?’
Ruby had stopped paying attention and was instead thinking about the evening at the Scarlet Pagoda; would Bug have followed her down that corridor, would his fur have stood on end? Red had certainly experienced something weird, something she couldn’t actually explain. But still she nodded at Del and said, ‘It’s the soap they should be scared of, not the ghost hanging out in the bathroom.’
On her way back from Del’s, inspired by the story of the soap ghost, Ruby turned her mind to the poetry ghost. She decided to call in at the City Library and see if she could borrow a copy of Mr Okra’s favourite book, A Line Through My Centre. However, as it turned out, this was easier said than done.
‘I’m afraid we don’t have a copy. We used to many years back but it’s long since disappeared and no one thought to replace it,’ said Mr Lithgo. He knew a lot about the books the library held, unsurprising because he seemed to have been there since the first stone was laid. Mr Lithgo made calls to the various smaller Twinford libraries, but none of them had ever owned a copy. ‘It was never considered very important and, I have to say, it is very rarely requested.’
Next stop for Ruby was Penny Books, a second-hand store that dealt in any kind of literature; popular, unpopular, in print or out of print.
Ray Penny shook his head. ‘I can do my best to track down a copy, but it may take a while.’
‘Call me as soon as you find one, would you?’ said Ruby. ‘I’ll come right over the second you call.’
‘Will do Ruby,’ said Ray. ‘Sounds real important.’
WHEN RUBY GOT HOME SHE WENT DOWNSTAIRS to Hitch’s apartment and found him sitting at the table looking at some blueprints – she had no idea what they related to.
‘Look, I’m sorry about yesterday,’ she said. ‘I know it was irresponsible.’
Hitch raised an eyebrow.
‘OK,’ added Ruby, ‘I know it wasn’t too smart either.’
Hitch blinked a slow blink.
Ruby sighed. ‘OK, if it means so much to you, then I know it was super dumb. . . and. . .’
‘Look, before you begin with the grovelling, I have to tell you, I agree with Agent Gill and Doctor Selgood, and before you ask, no, I haven’t told anyone about your latest dumb-clutz behaviour. Those two Spectrum items you stole have been returned and Hal in gadgets said he’d fix them both on the quiet.’
Ruby said nothing.
‘You still think you being removed from training is unfair?’
Ruby shrugged, it was the sort of question that wasn’t a question.
‘Whether you do or whether you don’t it doesn’t really change my mind,’ he continued, ‘it’s just that I happen to know a few agents who caught the fearlessness bug and they all have one thing in common.’
‘You’re gonna tell me they’re dead, right?’
‘I don’t have to, you know it. Anyone with a grain of sense knows that if you keep playing Russian roulette, one day you have to run into a bullet. The odds begin to stack against you.’
They neither of them said anything for a minute, until Hitch took a small silver case out of his top pocket.
He slid it across the table. ‘It’s to keep you out of harm’s way,’ he said, ‘or at least so I have a way of tracking you when all else fails. You can’t rely on just one thing, the Escape Watch is not enough. And besides. . . LB might decide to recall it.’
‘You think she’d do that?’
‘I don’t know. Just take the gift, OK?’
She opened the box. ‘A barrette?’ said Ruby. She picked it up – it was a blue barrette and attached to it, very realistically, was an enamel black and white housefly. ‘What does it do?’
‘It transmits a signal, helps me locate you, plus it has a tiny radio transmitter so we can communicate. I had Hal in gadgets make it up for me – it’s a prototype, he hasn’t had a whole lot of time to test-run it, but well, it’s better than nothing at all.’
‘I’ll wear it if it makes you happy,’ said Ruby, sliding it into her hair and checking her reflection in the dark window glass, ‘and it looks OK I guess.’
Just then, some toast popped out of the toaster. Hitch went over, looked at it, raised an eyebrow and slid it over to Ruby. Ruby looked down.
Redfort, Hitch, return to HQ immediately.
‘You think they know about. . . my recent. . . activity?’ said Ruby.
‘No idea,’ said Hitch. ‘Could be something else entirely.’
‘Maybe they saw the light, realised they’d made a big mistake and are ungrounding me,’ said Ruby.
‘Yeah, that’s right kid,’ said Hitch. ‘You stay hopeful.’
There was an air of unease in the briefing room and everyone at Spectrum seemed to be sitting on the edge of their seats.
‘What’s going on?’ asked Ruby. One thing was for sure – it didn’t seem to have anything to do with her.
‘I honestly don’t know,’ said Hitch, and for once Ruby believed him.
This time the briefing was led by Agent Dixie Deneuve, from Spectrum 9. She wore a suit and she looked serious; no time for light humour, nor even the faintest of smiles.
‘Is that a made-up name?’ hissed Ruby.
Hitch gave her a look which suggested she zip it.
The room went silent.
‘A highly classified prototype has gone missing from the Department of Defence development base,’ said Dixie Deneuve. ‘As yet we have not even a trace of a clue as to who could have perpetrated this act.’ She took a sip of water before continuing. ‘This item was being developed by Spectrum scientists in collaboration with the military, and was stored in a secure military location. Its disappearance is highly embarrassing for us. All Spectrum divisions have been alerted.’