Ruby Redfort Fanfiction: Look Into His Eyes And Take Your Last Breath

Facing The Facts

"LB married Bradley Baker, they were more than sweethearts." Ruby announced, slamming the folder down with some force on Hitch's desk. Hitch's dark eyebrows raised. Then his eyes swiveled to the folder, then to Ruby's face. His eyes narrowed.

"Where'd you get this?" Ruby stared at him.

"Don't pretend I'm dumb Hitch. You programmed the fingerprint software to accept me so I could go down to the archives." Hitch relaxed and laughed.

"No flies on you. And?" Ruby sat down in the opposite chair in the Spectrum canteen and took a few seconds to gather her thoughts.

"LB was married to Bradley Baker. Bradley Baker died in suspicious circumstances on a flight back from Switzerland. LB seemed to think that Bradley Baker was missing, rather than dead. I know its not at all like LB to grasp at straws, so she must of had some sort of idea what happened. I need more details on the flight from Switzerland. Who saw him last, who was on the flight, that kinda stuff." Hitch nodded and pointed to the file.

"It said Baker was flying back from a health check in Switzerland. To get the full details we'll have to ask Buzz." Ruby laughed.

"Are you kidding? Buzz would not give you anything like that, on her honor as an agent. " Hitch winked.

"Perhaps not that, but as a favor to a special friend maybe. You watch." He rose and walked over to Buzz's round table. Leaning against it, he seemed to summon all his charm and flashed an irresistible smile and began to talk. For about a minute, Buzz hardly looked up at him. Then she seemed to relax. Bit by bit she was sucked into Hitch's compliments and smooth speech. Five minutes later, Hitch dumped a folder into a wide-mouthed Ruby's arms.

"I can't believe it. You could have asked Buzz for anything while we were on a case and you only put your charm in to effect now?" Hitch half grinned.

"Never doubt the power of charm and persuasion ever again." Ruby huffed and sat down. She flicked through the file, scanning, not reading. Hitch frowned.

"I do all that hard work and you're scanning?" Ruby raised a hand for silence. Then she whistled in triumph. Then a smile spread across her face.

"One other person on the flight." Hitch grunted, as if to ask why that was of any relevance.

"He was a Spectrum 8 agent." Hitch groaned.

"Your point is?" Ruby pushed the file towards him.

"Agent Froghorn." Hitch read. Then scowled.

"There must be a file error. Froghorn's far too young." Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Agents are called by their last names. So not Froghorn Junior, but..." Hitch felt the urge to slap his forehead.

"Froghorn Senior."

"Exactly!" exclaimed Ruby proudly.

"So what does this mean?" Asked Hitch. "What does this have to do with the case?" Ruby nodded.

"It says Froghorn the elder died in the crash. Maybe Froghorn the younger will know a thing or two about his father's death." Hitch snorted.

"Yeah. We'll just walk up to Froghorn and ask him what his father did or said before he died. He would have been ten years old when it happened!"

"Point taken." Said Ruby thoughtfully. "We've hit a dead end." Hitch gestured to the file.

"Keep reading why don't you? I'll pick you up when feel like you've got something." Ruby half nodded, already immersed in the facts. She read all the way through lunch and only finished an hour before she was due to return home, at five. Then she sat back in the almost deserted cafe and processed her thoughts like someone would let food go down. Then she bolted upright. There was a way to get more information. It was a long shot, and would cost money, but Ruby was sure her parents would come to terms once Hitch managed to work his magic. Ruby buzzed Hitch on her watch and took the exit in Spectrum leading into a department store elevator. Stepping out into a rainy street, she saw Hitch's car pull up on the curb.

"Kid?"he questioned as she leaped into the passenger side.

"We need to go to Switzerland." she said as the car purred back into traffic. Hitch didn't react.

"How?"

"I'm sure my parents will approve of a long weekend ski holiday once they realize it's also educational."

"And where are we learning at?" asked Hitch.

"Switzerland's leading physical and mental health clinic. The most expensive one there is. We are looking for a man called Charles Menhir." Hitch kept his eyes on the road.

"That's a pretty big gamble kid. If you mess up I'm sure this Menhir guy won't hesitate to contact LB and make a complaint." Ruby shrugged.

"What choice do we have? And we ain't ever gonna know if ain't ever gonna try."