Sean, still dressed like a room-service waiter, was rooted to his spot by the window, like he was waiting for a delivery or something. It made me wonder if someone was on the way here. Someone important. Both of them were acting a little skittish, the way you do when you’re expecting trouble or you get sent to the principal’s office. Not that I had any personal knowledge of that.
Miss Ruby was bad enough, and the thought of someone higher up than her suddenly appearing was really making me squirm. Malak told Boone that Miss Ruby was number three in importance in the cell. That left only two people higher up the ladder.
I had managed to gather up all the cards and had sat back down at the desk, my head bobbing onto my chest. The library was a big room and Miss Ruby paced a lot and spoke in a low voice. Something about ashes and martyrs, which sounded like a bunch of terrorist mumbo jumbo, and then talk about cents and graphs, which made me think they might be working on an expense account or something.
I tried really hard to concentrate on what they were discussing because I knew it could be important. But I wasn’t as smart as Angela about this stuff. A few seconds later their conversation grew a little more animated and they began to argue.
“If you think you’ve got a better idea, why don’t you call and ask him?” she said. “In fact, I’ll call him right now and you can ask him yourself. Then we’ll see how Number One likes being bothered by one of his foot soldiers.”
I sat up straighter and tensed. She’d said call him. Now I knew that Number One was a man.
Miss Ruby patted all of her pockets. Like someone does when they are trying to find their lighter or their phone. The phone that was currently in my pocket. Everything slowed down and I got tunnel vision as Miss Ruby marched toward the desk. I had been caught off-guard and had no time to switch the phone back. This wasn’t going to end well. For me.
Miss Ruby stomped across the floor in her fancy cowboy boots. Her eyes roamed over the desk and she spotted “her” phone. As her hand reached for it, I felt like time froze in place.
Outside a dog started barking.