Under the Table(33)
Sometimes Ruth’s free spirit and the way she ranked her priorities were enough to make Zoey homicidal.
“So, this guy isn’t even a judge for New York City?”
“He’s not even a resident of the state. Lives and works in some sleepy little town in New Jersey. Allenhurst? Allenwood? Allentown?” Ruth gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “Something Allen, I forget.”
No wonder Zoey was often tired. Ruth was exhausting. Why be bothered with retaining the pertinent information regarding the man who wanted to put you in jail when you can line up a date for something three months away?
“I did find out the judge’s last name is Hollister. Randolph Hollister. Even his name sounds uptight.”
What Zoey should’ve done was remind Ruth that she wasn’t out of the woods yet, that this man was still gunning for her. But she settled on “What are you going to do now?”
Ruth stood up and took off her sweatshirt. “Right now, I’m going to go take a Silkwood shower. That police precinct was grungy as hell. Did you call work for me?”
Zoey shook her head, dumbfounded. “It’s barely daylight. I was going to wait for HR to open.”
“That’s okay,” Ruth said, heading for the hallway. “I’ll call them myself. I need a day off. Why don’t you get dressed and grab us some coffee? And breakfast. I’m starving.”
Zoey watched her sister stroll out of the room, resisting the urge to jump out of her chair, run down the hall, and commit a sneak-up strangulation. Why was Ruth always able to adopt a laissez-faire attitude? An even better question was, how could Zoey become more like her?
After a shower and some clean clothes, Ruth returned to the living room. She curled up next to Zoey on the futon, laying her head on Zoey’s shoulder. Ruth had been more rattled by the whole ordeal than she was letting on.
“Maybe you should call Blake?” Zoey suggested, breaking the silence.
“Maybe” was Ruth’s response.
Why was Ruth hesitant?
“Chances are if Randolph Hollister was part of the bachelor party, Blake is going to get wind of the story anyway.”
“Then I guess I won’t need to call him,” Ruth said with a yawn. “I’ll be getting his advice whether I want it or not.”
“Why don’t you want to get Blake’s advice? He has to have some tips.”
Ruth gave a heavy sigh. “Because he would jump right in to try and save the day, usually with some well-meaning lecture at the end. About how if I would cut back on the partying and take myself seriously, I could really be going places. And he would refuse to take money, which would piss me off all the more.”
If Zoey had half a brain, she would steal Ruth’s phone and make the call herself. Currently she wasn’t feeling strong enough to withstand Ruth’s wrath for butting in. The mere way Ruth said “piss me off” was enough to make her cringe.
“Oh, the horror,” Zoey said instead. “A nice, handsome guy that’s actually a good friend and wants the best for you. I can see where that would cause a problem.”
“Now you’re getting it.” Ruth laughed weakly. She paused, then added, “Blake is a great guy, but he’s a doofus. He never dances. He drinks only bottled beer that he has to watch the bartender open ’cause he’s worried someone will slip him a Mickey. And believe me when I tell you, he never puts that bottle down unless it’s right in front of him.”
Not drinking random liquids poured into glasses and left alone in crowded nightclubs didn’t seem stupid to Zoey—it sounded downright logical.
“And those suits!” Ruth continued, having built up a full head of steam. “I mean seriously, who wears a damn suit to go to the movies? Or bowling?”
“Only you could take issue with a man who likes to wear a suit.”
“Abbie and Erin swear this summer they are inviting him to the beach to see what he shows up in. His legs are probably all pasty white.”
“Haven’t all of you seen him without his suit? I mean, even you hooked up with him once.”
“I have to admit; his birthday suit is fine,” Ruth conceded before adding, “but the sex was so polite. ‘Is touching you here all right? Are you sure about this?’ I’m one step from coming all over the place and he’s asking me if I’m having a good time. Maddening.”
There was nothing left for Zoey to say. Blake had done exactly what every man is supposed to do. But Ruth would never understand that if she didn’t already. What Blake apparently didn’t understand was that if Ruth didn’t like something, not only would he know it, but everyone for an entire city block would know it as well.
Chapter 13
Zoey refused to sit on the sidelines and watch the crisis with Ruth play itself out. She looked up all the courts in New Jersey and the judges who presided over them until she found Randolph Hollister. While Ruth was at work the following day, Zoey took the train to New Jersey and a cab to the courthouse where Randolph Hollister was officiating over Tuesday’s traffic court. She sat among the sea of scofflaws and lawyers waiting their turns to plead out on speeding tickets and running red lights. It was a huge line of the guilty and the presumed innocent. She waited, then stood with everyone else when the bailiff called the court to order.