“You know, it’s a good idea,” Martinez said. “Even if she’s not up there, you can snoop around the room. I’ll stay here. If she comes back and wonders where you are, I’ll tell her you’re in the bathroom.”

“Yeah, I think she likes you better than me anyway.”

“That’s because I smile when I talk to her.”

Webster nodded, stood up, and quietly made his way up the narrow staircase, remembering that Ruby had hibernated on the third floor, her space being more an attic than a room. When he opened the door, he slumped with disappointment. All of Ruby’s influence had disappeared, and in its place was an insipid guest room. It had ivory walls, a blond oak-planked floor, a Persian-style rug, and a double bed dressed with a dusty rose comforter and a matching quilted headboard. Crammed into the square footage were also a TV sitting in an oak bookcase, and a couple of nightstands. Harmless, characterless. Ruby hadn’t been there for a long time.

Out of habit or boredom, Webster went through the drawers, checked under the bed and furniture, slipped his hand under the pillow, lifted up the covers, stuck his arm between the mattress and bed frame. And what did he expect to find? A gun? A hidden computer file? A stash of money or drugs?

All he found were a couple of dust balls.

By the time he made it back down, Alice had returned with the coffee.

“Did you get lost?” she asked him.

“Just looking for the little boys’ room.”

“On the third floor? Ever hear of a powder room?” She rolled her eyes. “You were snooping.”

Webster smiled boyishly. The woman wasn’t as pickled as he had thought.

Alice said, “You won’t find anything of hers in it. I redid the place. Never felt so good about anything in my life. Clearing out her garbage was instant therapy. That girl has been trouble from day one.”

“In what way?” Martinez asked.

“What way?” Alice shook her head. She had returned with a glass of something amber and iced in a crystal tumbler. “Lying, drinking, stealing. And those are her good points.” But her face held tremendous pain. “You know, it’s getting there that’s so hard. Once you make the commitment to separate, the rest is easy. I should have done it a long time ago.” She moistened her lips with her drink. “Now that she’s gone…it’s calmer. Things don’t bother me too much. Even his tramps.” She cocked her head at nothing in particular. “Nah, even he don’t bother me.”

“He” was obviously the husband.

“When was the last time you saw Ruby?” Webster asked.

“When was the last time you saw her?” Alice parried. “That was my last time.”

“That was about six months ago,” Martinez said. “She hasn’t contacted you since then?”

“Nope.”

“Not even to say hello?”