Rue: Web of Deceit - Part 26

Criminal Activity

Rue's investigation of the woman calling herself Ava heats up when they get a clue from a very unusual source.

When they wake up the next morning, Rue blindly reaches for the phone that's still in the jeans they discarded in a heap on the floor that night. They fumble around for a moment, blearily opening one eye to check the time and noting that it's just past eight. Rue stifles a yawn as they unlock the device, urging themself to wake up after they note the errors in the messages they send to Rani:   ''Mirning, how are tiu?''   ''Mirring, you*''   ''MORNING**''   A response comes back pretty swiftly, buzzing in their hand as their eyes finally manage to focus, "Yoyoyo, Rue! It's morning, and you know what that means!"   Rue stretches their arms above their head, chuckling at Rani’s text, “How many pancakes have you had so far? Doug and I pretty much ate a burger place last night…”   "Somewhere between some and enough. The exact numbers are irrelevant! Burgers are good too, though. Like savory pancakes with meat and stuff!"   “You are obsessed!! I’ve got to say, the mozzarella sticks were the best, actually… You heading to school soon?”   "Oooh mozzarella sticks! Yup. Mum finally said I can start walking there with Gabby now that I'm officially a teenager!"   “Oh nice! Do you have maths today?”   "Oh yeah, we have "core" subjects every day. Why?"   Rue purses their lips, carefully typing out their next message, “I met Ava yesterday. I can see why you’d like her, but there’s something off about her. I can’t really explain it, but maybe don’t get too close to her?”   "What!? But Ava's the best! What do you mean!?"   They pace around their room, writing and rewriting their response to Rani. Rue wants to tell her about the change of name and the empty apartment - a small part even wants to just be done with it and spill the beans about their own past, but they doubt Rani would buy 'I've seen a ghost's memory about your teacher and she was involved in some sort of dodgy exchange'. Uncertain how a thirteen-year-old would handle any of the information, they instead decide to keep it vague, ''I don't trust her. She's hiding something, though I'm not entirely sure what. I just don't think it's a good idea for you to get close to her... sorry.''   "Oh. Okay, Rue," came the simple response, with no further exposition.   Rue lets out a dejected sigh, taking a moment to get changed before they type out another message, ''I'm sorry, Rani, I just don't want you to get hurt.''   Feeling less than chipper, they walk out of their bedroom and towards the kitchen, rummaging through the cupboards only to discover that they're in dire need of groceries. They open the fridge to take out some of the leftovers from the previous night, claiming the last of the mozzarella sticks as their breakfast.   Rue doesn't receive another response, and their heart aches a little to have disappointed their dear friend, but they can't shake the feeling that it's in her best interest. That vision was far too real, and the threat far too palpable, for them to take any risks.   They wonder for a little while if they'd really done the right thing, taking a moment over their breakfast of reheated cheese to stare out of the window and consider it. They watch as the grey clouds over Bathala begin to spit a light morning rain down upon the city.   Discarding the now empty paper box in the bin, Rue makes a decision. Worried that either Tara or Doug might see them, they retreat to their room before they pull out their phone, writing out two messages.   The first, Rue sends to Ava Grenwald, ''Hi Ava, I was wondering if we could schedule our next lesson soon?''   For the second text, they briefly hesitate, but eventually they figure that if there's anyone who could help them shed some light on this, it would be a detective, ''Hey, I don't suppose you could share any details on an old case from 2005?''   "Hey, Rue," the first response reads, sent from the phone of the enigmatic Miss Grenwald, "I'd be happy to see you again. When were you thinking?"   “When would you be free next?” Rue sends back, the conversation leaving a bad taste in their mouth.   "I know it's short notice, but one of my students cancelled tonight's session if you wanted to do that?"   Their eyebrows raising in surprise, they decide to take the opportunity, hoping to find some more information back at the apartment, “Tonight could work, what time?”   "Same as before?"   “Sounds great, thank you! see you then.”   As they hit send, Rue can hear someone moving around in the other room - Doug, judging by the heavier footsteps. They wonder if they should ask him to come along and stay close to the apartment. Knowing their recent track record for getting into trouble, it wouldn’t be the worst idea to have some backup.   Rue waits a little while longer in their room, their gaze drifting towards the wardrobe drawers and the files hidden underneath them. They had been in such a rush to get everything together at the time, Rue isn’t entirely sure what information they ended up taking back with them. They couldn’t remember seeing anything pertaining to Quade's other victims. Would there be anything in his notes about Ralph? Had Quade known the backgrounds of any of his victims?   Momentarily closing their eyes, Rue feels a little silly as they mutter into the air, “If you can give me any more info on this Ava person, now would be a good time to share…”   With a deep breath, Rue finds themself in a darkened building. It's night out and they seem to have caught Ava on her way out of the building. She seems irritated by the interruption.   "You're leaving?" Rue says, though it's not their voice. It must be Ralph, or at least a memory of his.   "Well, I can't very well stick around here, can I?" She says, condescending and with a sharpness in her tone that takes Rue by surprise.   "You know about those kids, don't you?" Ralph continues, causing the woman's expression to shift to a dangerous stare that sends a chill down Rue's spine.   "I have no idea what you're talking about," she says, sternly, with an expression that says 'drop this, or else'.   "Jesus, Grace. What did you do!?" Ralph exclaims, Rue feeling the force of the words in their diaphragm. Ava, or Grace, for her part, seems intensely annoyed at this part, and takes a few steps closer, speaking in aggressive whispers so as not to alert anyone else hanging around so late.   "If I was, in some way, connected to any sort of... unpleasantness related to the school or its students, do you really think I'd be stupid enough to talk to you about it?" She says, her words dripping with spite, "And, do you really think I wouldn't take steps to protect myself from nosy idiots like you? Or did you forget about all those photos on your hard drive?"   Ralph takes a step back as the petite woman seems somehow to tower over him, he can barely mutter a single phrase, "Y-you're a monster..."   Rue has just enough time to see the woman's lips curl into a sickening grin before they're thrust back into their own body once again. Their heart is racing by the time they find themself back in their room with a thin sheen of sweat on their forehead.   ''Well... I asked for that, I guess," they let out a mirthless chuckle, running a shaky hand through their hair as they feel a familiar headache coming on.   Though Rue wasn't entirely sure how to deal with these visions yet, they believed in what they'd seen without a shadow of a doubt. Perhaps that was foolish, but there was a part of them that instinctively knew that what they'd seen was true - it was just too bad they could not use it as actual evidence.   Knowing that the memories were true also left them with another problem in the shape of the photos that Ava - or Grace - had referred to. It was a problem that Rue had chosen to ignore when they'd seen the first memory, but it was rapidly becoming unavoidable.   Having taken a few painkillers, Rue attempts another online search, one that they were certain they won't like very much: 'Salanas Central School + Ralph'   It doesn't take Rue long to piece together a sordid tale that makes their heart drop into their stomach. The headlines don't quite garner the same attention of the missing kids, but are no less disturbing.   "26/02/2005: LOCAL SPORTS COACH SECRETLY X-RAY VISION PERVERT."   "05/03/2005: X-RAY PERVERT RALPH WARD IMPLICATED IN MISSING CHILDREN CASE."   "07/03/2005: RALPH WARD BEHIND BARS AFTER HOME SEARCH."   "23/07/2005: SIX MONTHS IN JAIL FOR X-RAY PERVERT RALPH WARD."   Their head is spinning as they read the articles one by one until they come across a photo of a frankly sad looking man, their own eyes reflected back at them through the image.   The temperature in their room slowly starts to rise, their powers responding to Rue’s repulsion as the lamp on their bedside table goes flying across the room and lands on the floor with a clatter. Rue hunches over and presses the palms of their hands against their eyes, grinding their teeth to keep themself from shouting at a ghost.   “You’re disgusting…”   Their eyes open, and they can see them again, their head pressed against a wall-mounted mirror as they look into those same eyes once again. The face of Ralph Ward stares back at them, eyes puffy as his mouth sneers at himself, "Disgusting..." he mutters, and Rue can feel what he feels. The self-loathing, the fear, and the lack of control. The- "NO!"   Rue tears themself out of the vision, pulling themself back to the apartment with sheer willpower alone, "Fuck you!" They growl as they feel the vision try to take over again, "You want me to feel bad for you!? Go fuck yourself!"   There is another pull, but Rue remains in control, pushing hard against the sensation.   “I’ve seen enough.” They say, their voice laced with venom. To their relief, the pull subsides, leaving behind a throbbing ache that the painkillers will hopefully take care of soon enough.   Picking the lamp up from the floor, Rue takes a moment to compose themself. Knowing that there’s nothing they can do about it now leaves a bitter taste in their mouth, and so they urge themself to focus on the things they can hopefully still change.   For the second time that day, Rue leaves their bedroom and turns towards the kitchen where they can smell coffee and hear Doug rummaging around the fridge.   To be continued...