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

Affairs To Be Taken Care Of

"Menhir was killed in a high frequency blast. The newspaper where I first heard the news of his death leapt to a few early conclusions to say the least." Hitch said to the room of Spectrum agents. LB stood off to the side, her face pale and drawn, not saying anything. In fact, Ruby noticed from her front row seat, she hadn't heard LB speak more than a sentence since they had returned. She seemed tired and stressed, not at all like the the powerful leader that couldn't be fazed Ruby had seen just a month before. But the situation was dire. Someone knew about the Menhir conversation. There had been plenty of opportunities while they waited to talk to Menhir. They hadn't at all been in a secure environment. Menhir could have been killed in any sort of way possible. Hitch had suggested that Menhir's death had been a red herring, but when Ruby had told him to not sound so much like Froghorn, he came up with the better suggestion. The person who killed Menhir had not heard about the discussion till it was over, and confronted Menhir, ensuring he would never talk. Ruby nodded as if she agreed, but kept her own theory close to her chest. The murderer must have known about the conversation. He was probably listening or watching. But what scared Ruby the most was the possibility that the murderer had not took the opportunity to kill Menhir then because he didn't want Hitch and Ruby to be at the scene of the crime. There was the advantage that they would be exposed to everyone to who they really were if they were detained in Switzerland for questioning, but the murderer must have realized that killing Menhir then would immediately get Spectrum on the case, suspecting foul play. Worse, Hitch and Ruby would have been able to asses the crime scene, get a shred of evidence that could point a finger at the murderer. So he or she had patiently waited for the opportunity, when there was no one around, for the murder to covered up, no suspicion of foul play. It was clever. Very clever. If the Count had not been locked up in a maximum security prison half way across the country, Ruby would have known immediately it was him. But for the first time it wasn't, it couldn't be, and Ruby didn't have a clue where to begin looking. Hitch delivered the next part of his briefing.

"The blast ripped Menhir's eardrums out. Disorientated, with his brain damaged, Menhir fell into a lake and he drowned." The Spectrum crowd murmured. It was a perfect crime. Ruby sighed. This time there was no code to crack, no puzzle or obstacle that required to be blown out of her path. It was the cold hard truth and there was no opposing it.

"Debrief over." Announced LB, and all the agents rose in unison, the whispering of the crowd growing to an almost roar. Ruby joined Hitch at the line shuffling out of the conference room. Outside, a smiling Dan waited for them. They all walked back to the carpark. Hitch walked briskly, as if he had urgent business to attend to. Ruby and Dan adopted a more casual, slow walk.

"Why wouldn't you let me come to Switzerland?" asked Dan. Ruby sighed. Dan had asked this question a billion times.

"Because it'll look suspicious. A London visitor, with three Americans? I would be suspicious. Besides, Hitch, Clancy and I just managed to get out before the police started poking their noses around. What would have happened if we had been questioned?" Dan said nothing, then said, his face unreadable,

"You and Clancy must be very close then." Ruby spun around,

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked accusingly. Dan stopped and raised an eyebrow.

"I've seen the way he looks at you Ruby. There must be something."

"Don't be ridiculous Dan." Ruby dismissed him readily. Dan very briefly had a look of disbelief on his face, then it quickly changed to very convincing look of acceptance.

"Alright." Nothing more was said of the matter, but Ruby was plagued by Dan's words. Was he worried? Annoyed? Jealous? Ruby couldn't see a reason for him to be so...nosy. What did her own feelings have to do at all with the case? They were looking for the key to the case. Yes, if they unlocked it, a lot could be done, the case solved, then Ruby could sit down and meditate and discuss this with Dan and Clancy, but for now... Ruby trailed off, thinking of the case. Dan meanwhile, was frowning upon the fact that Ruby couldn't see how much Clancy loved her, he was so devoted, willing to do anything and everything and nothing else in the world mattered to him as much as she did. Clancy came from an family with high expectations, a busy and non attentive father and vain mother, he did have a few good friends, but was picked on by bullies like Vapona Bugwell. Ruby was a glistening gem in his dull, colourless world, it would take a fool, a blind man not to see his affection. Hitch knew this, Dan could tell, but he made no move to get Ruby to see the truth. He probably found her obliviousness ironic and wanted to see if she could figure it out herself. Dan sighed quietly. Ruby was a bright spark, she was beautiful, she was a genius, she was a character on an earth of dull, forgetful people. She stood out from everyone else. To Dan, all he had seen in his life were the blurry faces of who he was told were important people, and was instructed to mind his own business, and he never stopped to look at what was there because he was so afraid of it. But now he had finally stopped at the one person who was oblivious to someone else's and his own love. Dan knew from the moment he saw Ruby, there would never be anyone else he would find that was quite the same.
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Chapter up! Sincere thanks to @oliviarosewood for the fabulous cover, it makes this story seem a bit more polished. Once I finish this I will go back to edit my grammar and spelling errors, cover up plot holes et cetera, but that will be a slow process, nothing much will change. Just 27 days to go till the last book is released folks!