Obsessed.

(TWO) RUBY

One - RUBY

     Kathleen Brewer always went for an early morning jog. For a woman in her fifties, she was in great shape. Fit as a fiddle, her husband always said. The same could not be said for him though. While she was out at seven in the morning jogging around the field, and past the park, her husband was laying in bed waiting for her to come back and make him breakfast.

It was 7.10 as she jogged past the rundown tennis court at the edge of the park and Kathleen decided to take a detour and go through using the path down the side. As she came out the other end she bent down to tighten her shoelace. Placing her water bottle on the floor, something  bright pink caught her eye.

She finished up tying her shoelace and went to investigate. It was a phone. The screen was smashed and wouldn't turn on. She looked at the protective case to see if it gave any clues to who it may belong to. On the back of the phone, and now on her hands, she found blood.

     Half past eight arrived quicker than Harvey had expected, and his wife was still not home from her morning jog. He got out of bed and made himself coffee and toast, then tried calling her, but he got no answer. Assuming she had just got caught up talking to one of her friends along the way, he thought nothing of it and sat in front of the TV, watching whatever came on.

But when half past nine arrived and Kathleen was still not home, he began to worry. The house phone rang. "Hello?" Harvey answered.

What he heard on the other end of the phone was horrifying. It was a police officer, informing him that his wife had been at the police station, telling them everything she could about the young lady's body she had found on the park. There wasn't much she had been able to tell them, though, but she was shaken up pretty bad and they asked him to come pick her up, to assure she got home safe.

He didn't even change. He rushed out of the house in his pyjamas and dark blue dressing gown, got in his car and got to the police station as fast as he could.

Once there, he burst through the doors and found his wife sitting with a female officer, who had her hand, sympathetically, on Kathleen's thigh. "Kath!" He exclaimed. "Oh, sweetie, are you okay?" He held his wife's shaking hand.

"Yes, I suppose. Given the circumstances." Kathleen said timidly. "I just want to get home."

"Of course. Just give our team a ring if you think you remember anything. Anyone acting suspiciously or anything at all. If you need any counselling, what you saw was hard for even a hardened police officer to see, we can arrange for you to see someone." The female police officer said, in a light, polite voice. She smiled towards Harvey. "You get her home safe, sir."

"Of course, I will." He draped his arm around his wife as she stood from her seat. "Come on, love. lets get you home."

     A knock on the door brought Linda from her kitchen to the hallway. Through the glass in the door she could see two police officers, one male and one female. Confused, she opened the door. "Can I help you?"

"Are you Mrs Linda Carter?" The female officer asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm Officer Diane Smith and this is my colleague Officer Dean Colley... I'm afraid we have some bad news. May we come in?" She asked.

"Of course." Linda said, immediately worrying. "What's going on? What's the problem?"

"I'm afraid it's your daughter, Ms Carter. Ruby." Dean Colley said, and sighed. "Her body was found this morning by a jogger on Mayfield Park. I'm so sorry."

    It took a while, but Linda eventually composed herself enough to speak to the police officers. "Can you tell me when was the last time you spoke to your daughter?" Officer Coley asked.

"Umm, I think it was three days ago. She mentioned something about going for a friends birthday party."

"You spoke on the phone?" 

"No, she came over." Linda suddenly looked even more horrified. "If I'd have known that would be the last time I'd se her... I would have at least told her I loved her when she left!"

"I know this is incredibly difficult, but something she said may help us with this case. Did she mention where the party was being held?" Officer Smith spoke softly.

"No. But I know which friend." Linda sniffled.

"Can I have their name please?"

"Yes. It was Lily. I'm sorry, I don't remember her surname." 

"It's okay. Here, give us a call if you happen to remember anything. One last question though... Did she seem upset or nervous about anything when you saw her? Scared?"

"No, she seemed incredibly happy. And was excited for this party. She was getting to see all her old friends she hadn't seen for a while. But she didn't say who was going to be coming." Linda looked down at her tightly clasped hands. "I'm sorry I cant be much more help." A tear landed on the tablecloth.

"No, you've been a great help. Thank you Ms Carter. And again, I am so sorry for your loss. If you need or remember anything just call us." Officer smith said, with a sympathetic smile.

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~Ginni~

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