Never Play Another Man's Game Read Free Page A

able to stay far behind her because I had the advantage of knowing exactly where she was going. Ruby parked where I had told her to and went into the mall.
    I followed her inside and waited for her to sit down in the food court. From the second floor, I could see down into the dining area. Ruby sat alone for five minutes; she did nothing to signal anyone. She looked a lot like I remembered. But now, she looked more like the older sister of the petite Asian woman of my memories. She wore jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. On her shoulder, she carried a large leather purse. The jet-black wig she wore had been on the second Styrofoam head the night before. It must have been an expensive wig because I would have never noticed it was faux hair had I not been inside her house.
    I opened the matching disposable prepaid cell phone I had bought and dialled Ruby. I watched her react to the ring tone I set and then I watched her fish around in her purse for the phone.
    â€œHello?”
    â€œMeet me in the pet store on the second floor. Ask to hold the Shih Tzu.”
    â€œWilson?” Out of her mouth, my name still carried the slight trace of the accent she could never seem to shake.
    I hung up and watched her realize that she was no longer speaking to me. She looked angrily at the phone and then put it away in the big bag. A few seconds later, Ruby was on her feet and on her way to the escalator. The second floor of the mall had stores on opposite sides with railings overlooking the floor below between them. I watched Ruby from the other side of the mall as she walked. She kept checking her blind spots, but I was never in them — I was walking in front of her the whole time on the opposite side. I watched through gaps in the crowd as her pace slowed. Ruby pulled out another cell phone, this one from a pocket, and began texting with one hand. Whatever the message was, it was brief. Ruby slid the phone back in her pocket and picked up the pace again. When she went into Petropolis, I went into a health food store on the other side of the mall. Through the glass, I watched her talk to the sales associate. The young girl walked away from her and Ruby looked around the store aimlessly until the dog appeared. Ruby was led to a bench next to a door leading to the back room of the pet store. Ruby held the dog for five minutes. I used the time to watch the store. I didn’t see anyone else giving the pet store any attention. Five minutes is a long time — if Ruby had a tail they would have at least done a few walk-bys. The old woman gave up on the dog and the meet when the puppy peed on her. I watched her hand the Shih Tzu back to the sales associate and stand up, obviously frustrated. The young saleswoman opened the door to the back room and took the puppy back to its cell. Ruby was still looking at the stain on her shirt when I took her by the arm and led her into the back room after the dog.

CHAPTER THREE
    T he sales associate came back around the corner — this time without a dog in her hands. I kept my hand on Ruby’s bicep and my eyes on the rest of her. My left hand produced a fifty, and the clerk took it without stopping.
    â€œThanks, Becky,” I said.
    â€œAnytime.”
    The girl walked out to the sales floor leaving Ruby and me alone.
    â€œYou can let go of me now,” Ruby said. Her voice set off the dogs in the cages around us. There were high-pitched barks and pathetic yelps everywhere.
    I pulled Ruby to another door. The back door of the store had a warning sign taped to it. Without a key, opening the door would set off an alarm and attract mall security. Becky had left the key in the lock — the reason why I had to pay fifty instead of twenty. We went through the door and ended up in a hallway. The hall ran behind every store in the second floor of the mall, and the businesses used it for taking garbage out. I pulled Ruby to the freight elevator and touched the down button. The door opened