Gargantuan_ A Ruby Murphy Mystery - Maggie Estep [60]
“Where’d Ruby go?” I ask Attila, wanting to cover my embarrassment at what a lousy bodyguard I am.
“Still off with Violet, I guess,” he says, dismounting.
“With who?”
“Violet, wife of Harry.”
“Oh,” I say. “Whatya gonna do now?”
“Eat,” he says happily, giving me a big smile. He hands the gray horse off to a girl with a ponytail.
I watched Attila “eat” the other day. Five cornflakes and half a protein bar. Which I assume he vomited up shortly after putting it down.
“I’ll join you,” I tell the jockey.
I follow Attila toward the backside cafeteria. We walk over to the counter where a brassy redhead—who sort of reminds me of an aged version of my wife—greets Attila.
“Where’ve you been, Johnson?” she says, offering a coy smile. “I’ve been waiting.”
“Hiya, Dora,” he nods to her, “can I get a poached egg?”
“Anything you want, baby,” Dora purrs. “How you like your chances on Oat Bran Blues this afternoon?” she asks, resting her fists on her formidable hips.
“You know,” Attila shrugs, “we got a chance.”
“You got a chance? You gotta give me more than that, baby, I work hard for my paycheck.” She keeps one fist on her hips while waving at the surroundings with the other.
“Then for you, I’ll win it,” Attila says. Dora grins at him.
Attila and I find a table and sit down. I watch him contemplate his poached egg and container of skimmed milk.
“You sure you’re not hungry?” he asks me.
“Nah, I’m good.” I lie because the fact is I’m starving but I feel uncomfortable about eating in front of this guy who subsists on air.
Attila stares at me for a moment then finally takes his spoon to the poached egg. He consumes the thing in two bites then takes a swig of milk.
“How you gonna stay alive on that kind of diet?” I ask him.
“I’m used to it,” he shrugs. “You got a cigarette?”
“Cigarette? No. I haven’t smoked in close to a year.”
“Me either,” he says.
“And what, you’re gonna start back now?”
“Just wanted a drag,” he says. At which I find myself launching into a lecture on the nature of addiction. How one drag will lead to one cigarette will lead to two will lead to two hundred. After a while, I catch myself and shut myself up. Attila is looking at me with wonder.
“Thanks, Sal,” he says eventually, “I’m not gonna take it back up. Just a little nervous about this race today.”
“Oh yeah? How come?”
“Wanna win it,” he shrugs.
I’m getting the feeling there’s more to the story here, that Attila is nervous about something other than the race. He’s not forthcoming though and truth is I’m finding it hard to talk to the guy at all and am relieved when we leave the cafeteria and head over toward Henry Meyer’s barn to look for Ruby.
The temperature seems to have dropped and the wind’s gotten wilder, throwing straw and trash around. Everyone on the backside is moving quickly, ducking from the wind. Attila and I walk in silence and I feel myself sighing with relief when we get to the barn and find Ruby there, standing outside one of the horses’ stalls, nuzzling with the beast like it’s a damn kitten.
“There you are.” Ruby turns to grin at us.
“I’m gonna take a nap in Henry’s office,” Attila tells her. “Wanna join me?”
I suddenly get embarrassed because there’s something deeply sexual in that question and I look away, pretending to be fascinated by the horse Ruby was snuggling with. Actually, he’s sort of a sweet-looking horse, has his ears pointed forward in a friendly way and has very gentle-looking eyes. I start to pet the horse and have become somewhat absorbed in this when I realize Ruby’s talking to me.
“Huh?” I say.
“I was saying we’ve got to go over to Aqueduct in about a half hour. Henry and Violet already shipped Muley over a while ago. You want to give us a ride?”
“Oh, sure, yeah, I was planning on it,” I tell her.
“Thanks,” she says. “You like him, huh?” she asks.
“Like who?”
“Jack Valentine.”
“Who the hell is that?”
“The horse, Sal, the one you’re petting.”
“Oh, him,