Page 52 of Bronx

“Hey, Ruby, it’s me.”

“I’ve been calling you for the last half hour.”

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t really talk before,” I say as softly as I can.

“Why are you whispering?” She sounds concerned.

“I don’t really want Bronx to hear me.”

“You mean you’re actually in the same room with the lunatic you sent over here to kill the other crazy one?”

“What do you mean kill?!” I ask, panicking.

“That nut job you’ve hired parked his car in the middle of my street. Then he approached Ray. Some words were exchanged, and the next thing I know he was beating him to a bloody pulp. If I lived in a better area, the cops would have come and locked them both up.”

“I apologize, Ruby. This is exactly why I didn’t want to involve you in this. I’ve caused you nothing but trouble. I have no idea how Ray knew where to find me.”

“Don’t sweat that part. The whole thing was my idea, anyway. Ray probably called the agency and said it was an emergency or something. Those idiots answering the phones don’t know squat about privacy laws. They probably told him whatever he wanted to know.”

“Still, I should have dealt with him myself, but Bronx didn’t think it was a good idea.”

“He didn’t think it was a good idea? Since when do you listen to opinions from that guy? You barely know him and today I saw firsthand why you shouldn’t bother getting to know him. If you think Ray is dangerous, I’m telling you, that man you’ve suddenly befriended is absolutely lethal.”

“He thought he was helping.”

“I’m not sure if help is how I’d describe what I saw today. Are you in his house, Karma?”

“Yes.”

“You should get out of there. No joke. I think you’ve gone from one volatile situation into another. Since you can’t come back here, why don’t you get you a hotel room?”

“I don’t have the money for that, Ruby.”

“I can lend you the money. I just, you know, need it back when you get your next paycheck.”

Ruby sounds legitimately concerned for my welfare and I shouldn’t ask her this, but I do anyway.

“So where’s Ray now?”

“The hospital.”

“You called an ambulance?”

“Not at first, but it was the craziest thing, Karma. Your new friend punched Ray in the eyes a couple of times, which is exactly what he deserved, but then he put Ray into his car and they drove away. Next thing I know, about ten minutes later, they came back. Except this time, Ray was barely conscious and your guy tossed him out of the car in front of the house like a sack of potatoes.”

“Did Bronx say anything when he did it?”

“Nope, he just tossed him and drove away.”

“Oh my God.”

“Then get this, some of what happened might be online. A teenager was taping the whole thing from her car.”

“Oh no!”

“Oh yeah, it was definitely a hot mess. Kim isn’t speaking to me. My neighbors are probably talking about us behind our backs, and we’ll have to wait until next year for our tulips to recover.”

“I never should have come to your house, Ruby. Please forgive me.”