Free Familiar Lies by Brian J. Jarrett Page A

when he began to trust a pretty girl too much. He wouldn’t be the first man in history to get taken down by a pretty face.
    She sat across the table from him and a waitress showed up right on Ruby’s heels; a chubby thing with thick fat gathering around the eyes and a weak double chin. Ruby ordered coffee and toast with butter. Max said he was fine.
    The waitress headed off for the grill and Ruby got started. “You have any luck with those pics I sent over Thursday night?”
    Max thought of his answer but held it. Instead, he asked a question. “You didn’t give my number to anyone else did you?”
    Ruby looked incredulous. She shook her head. “No. Why would I do that?”
    Max studied her face. Her response had been that of surprise, he felt confident at that. The problem was that Max didn’t know if she was surprised because he’d suggest such an untrue thing or because she knew he was on to her.
    Either way, she now knew he was suspicious of her. He could see it in her eyes. “I’ve just been getting some weird texts, is all,” Max said.
    “No, I wouldn’t give your number to anyone. And I keep my phone with me all the time.”
    “Does it have a passcode set?”
    “Yes, and it has the fingerprint thingy.”
    Max nodded. “We just need to be careful.”
    “What did the texts say?”
    Max ignored her question and returned with one of his own. “What do you know about Gabe? I mean, what do you really know about what he does outside of work?”
    “Not much.”
    “Where does he go? Does he have another job? Maybe he runs another business on the side?”
    “I don’t think so.”
    “Who owns The Hustle?”
    “I don’t know his name. I’ve only seen him a couple of times. He doesn’t talk much to the help if you know what I mean.”
    “What does he look like?”
    “He’s tall, skinny. Wears a suit.”
    “A white suit.”
    Ruby thought for a moment. “Sometimes, I think.”
    Bingo , Max thought. “I think I saw him Thursday night.”
    “Where?”
    Max finally let it all out, despite his reservations. He told Ruby about following Gabe, the house with the basement and the man in the white suit. He watched her face closely for tells that might expose any duplicity, but he had serious doubts that he’d be able to spot them as easily as someone trained for this sort of thing. All he could see on her face was confusion.
    Ruby responded after Max finished. “Okay, back up. You followed Gabe to some crack house and then you went inside?”
    Max nodded.
    “Are you fucking crazy? Here you are telling me to be careful and look what you’re doing.”
    Max thought about it. She did have a point. “Fair enough, but I found proof there; evidence that implicates Gabe and others in something very bad.”
    The waitress returned and deposited the toast and coffee onto the table in front of Ruby. Max thanked her and she gave him a wink that made him just a little uncomfortable.
    Ruby picked up the coffee, took a sip and sat back in the seat, leaving the toast where it sat. “What exactly did you find in the house?”
    “A DVD.”
    “What was on it?”
    “You don’t want to know.”
    “I do.”
    “Trust me, you don’t.”
    Ruby opened her mouth as if to argue otherwise, but paused. “Okay, so maybe I don’t want to, but maybe I should know.”
    “Why?”
    “I’m the one who has to work with this creep every night. You don’t even have to stand in the same room as him. I need to know what I’m working with here. That’s only fair.”
    Max considered and found that he agreed. He told her about Amanda and the terrible things he’d seen the masked cameraman do to her. Ruby leaned forward in her seat as she listened, her face changing along with the details; surprise, disgust, pity. All reactions Max had expected or, he worried, what she already knew he expected and simply delivered with an Academy Award-winning performance.
    “Do you know Amanda?” Max asked. “Or any other girls like her working