Things We Do in the Dark(56)

She appraises him. “It doesn’t matter what I say, does it? I’m always going to be the villain in her story.”

“You’re the villain in everyone’s story. Ma’am.”

A pause. “You know how I found out she died? My sister sent me a condolence card, with a clipped newspaper article folded inside, about the fire. Flora was always such a cold bitch, even when we were kids.” Ruby reaches for the chips and resumes eating. “Is it true that Joey was working as a stripper?”

“For about a year.”

“Was she any good?”

“She was incredible,” Drew says, because he knows it will bug her.

It does, and her face darkens. “So you’re going to sit here and tell me that you weren’t fucking the stripper who lived in your apartment?”

“We weren’t living together by then.” Drew leans forward. “And you seem awfully interested in your dead daughter’s sex life, ma’am. Why is that?”

Ruby doesn’t respond.

“You abused Joey her whole childhood.” He speaks evenly, trying to keep his emotions in check. “You should not be getting out of prison.”

Ruby’s lips flatten into a thin line. “I spanked her, so what. Nothing that happened to her was anything different from what happened to me. The police and the courts made a big deal over nothing. When I was growing up, it was normal to discipline your children. My mother used to do it with a belt. You know what they say. Spare the rod, spoil the child.”

“What about punching them? Kicking them? Breaking their arms? Their ribs? Burning them with cigarettes?” Drew is fighting to stay calm, but he’s not managing it very well. “What about allowing pedophile boyfriends access to a child? Your child? Is that normal?”

Ruby’s eyes flash, and she pushes the now empty Lay’s bag aside. “You think you knew her, but you didn’t. I was so easy to hate back then, and she was so easy to feel sorry for. Well, what about me? Do you have any idea how hard it was to raise a kid in Toronto as a single mother on a customer service rep’s income? Do you know how hard it was when I first moved to Canada? This was the seventies. I would walk down the street and people would call me chink, slant-eyes, yellow girl … I had to blow someone to get my first job. You have no idea what it’s like to be a single mother, so don’t you dare judge me.”

“Ma’am, my mother was a single parent after my father passed away, and Black to boot. And she raised her three Black kids on a teacher’s salary, and somehow managed to never hit us. Not once.” Drew is breathing hard. “Added bonus? We’re all still alive.”

“Eat shit.”

“You first.”

“Look at you. Such a handsome, angry man.” Ruby’s voice drops to a purr. “So committed to your self-righteousness. I can’t pretend I understand why. You knew Joey for what, a couple of years? You weren’t even fucking her, and yet this bothers you so much. You poor thing, you have so much guilt. It must keep you up at night.”

“You really are a monstrous human being.” Drew can’t hide his disgust. “You beat her. Your boyfriends molested her. I looked up your dating history from the murder trial transcripts. You had two boyfriends before Charles Baxter who are now on the sex offender registry. You pimped your daughter out, and now she’s dead. You don’t think that’s all your fault?”

“She was more like me than you think.”

They stare at each other. Drew has run out of things to say. Actually, that’s not true. He’s just sick of hearing her lie. As if sensing he’s growing tired of her, Ruby smiles.

“Aren’t you going to ask me what my plans are when I get out?” She sips her water. “Everyone else has.”

Drew is about to snap that he doesn’t give a shit what she does once she’s out. But he actually does care, because the idea of her living any kind of normal life is just offensive to him. “What are your plans when you get out in two days?”

“I’ll be spending some time in Maple Sound with my sister,” Ruby says breezily, and it’s clear this is her prepared answer. “Her boys are grown, and she’s been alone ever since her husband died. I’m told Maple Sound has turned into somewhat of a tourist destination, with lots of cute stores and cafés. My mother lives there, too. It’ll be so nice to spend time with family.”

Drew can’t help but snort. “Bullshit.”

At this, Ruby throws her head back and laughs. “I knew you wouldn’t buy that. Everyone else did, though. I’m sure Joey told you what a nightmare our family is. Especially my mother.”

“Well, you had to get it from somewhere.”

Ruby ignores that. “The real answer—and I feel like I can be honest with you, considering our personal connection—is I’m hoping not to be in Maple Sound too long. Me, in that bumfuck town, living with two of the worst bitches I can think of?” She shudders. “Anyway, my plan is to move back to Toronto and buy myself a little house. Somewhere right in the heart of things, so I can enjoy the pulse of the city. Maybe I’ll get one of those electric cars. I can’t wait.”

“With what money?” Despite himself, Drew’s curiosity is piqued. “You think you can get paid for interviews? Or some publisher will pay you to write a book? As a convicted murderer, you can’t profit off your crime.”