Page 62 of Witness 8

‘A bouquet of lilies.’

‘Okay. Which address would you like to use for delivery? Would you like to use 1819 West 74thStreet, or 14 Henderson Place?’

Ruby picked up a pen, wrote down Esther’s address on Henderson Place and said, ‘Cancel.’

‘Order cancelled,’ said Alexa.

The noise from the fly filled Ruby’s ears. Then the hissing and whispering began.

The red priest wanted to talk.

23

Ruby

The diner’s coffee was hot and cheaper than Starbucks, but, more importantly, it was next door to Althea’s apartment building. Ruby had long ago followed Althea home. She had been a target for Ruby, and, like her grandmother always said, knowledge is power.

Ruby took a refill from the waitress, and sat in the window booth.

She’d left the Jacksons’ a few hours ago, after they got back from their appointment. Then she’d taken a bus to the Bronx.

On the way, she’d made the call to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

There were no set response times as far as she was aware. But Ruby figured they would respond as soon as they could get a couple of officers free.

‘May I have your name, please?’ asked the ICE officer.

‘It’s Esther Hanson,’ said Ruby.

It had taken ICE an hour and a half to respond. Not bad, considering. Ruby watched the ICE van pull up at Althea’s building. Saw the officers climb out of the car and make their way inside.

Ruby finished her coffee and waited. She guessed maybe twenty minutes. Five to get to Althea’s apartment. Another five to get inside. It brought back memories of Ruby staring out of her childhood bedroom window on West 74thStreet as the copspulled up at her house. Neighbors, or perhaps even a couple passing their house on the street, had heard noises. Screaming, probably, coming from her mother. The cops came to the house. One in the living room with her mom. One outside on the street with her dad.

And her mom lied every time. It was a fall down the stairs. A slip on the icy sidewalk. A misjudgment in her squash game and she got a ball in the eye.

The cops knew she was lying. And sometimes they would press her. Ultimately, they knew unless she co-operated there was nothing they could do. They couldn’t arrest her husband if she didn’t make a complaint about him.

So, after a while, around twenty minutes usually, they just left.

Twenty minutes after the ICE officers went into Althea’s building, they were back on the street with Althea’s uncle, her aunt, her mother and her two little cousins. The van filled up with Althea’s people – ready to go to some processing center. Ruby didn’t really know what happened when undocumented immigrants were taken away. Nothing good, she guessed. And she was unlikely to ever see any of them again.

Althea stood on the sidewalk, shaking with fear and shock. Ruby understood fear all too well. She could not say that she understood what Althea was feeling, but Althea was smart and Ruby could well imagine what she was thinking. For almost two years, Althea’s family had lived in fear of the ICE agents. The fear dissipates. Althea was careful and there was no reason for anyone to report them.

What had changed in Althea’s life?

She had been fired and accused of theft, but no cops had been called. A few days later, Esther visits Althea. She sits in the apartment, meets Althea’s family – and the very next day ICE agents are at their door.

Fear leads to mistrust. But, even without the mildest paranoia, it would be a logical conclusion to associate Esther’s visit with someone suddenly calling immigration. At the very least, Althea would not be able to rule that out. She would strongly suspect Esther was the one who had taken her family away from her.

America could be cruel.

The Statue of Liberty stood tall, with its back to New York City.

Ruby left five dollars on the table for her coffee and the tip, and made her way to the subway.

It took forty-five minutes to get to Henderson Street.

Ruby didn’t do anything at first. It was still light. She wanted to wait until it got darker. But not late. Knocking on a door when it was fully dark made it more likely she wouldn’t get inside, and it might attract more attention from the neighbors. While she waited for the sun to dip behind the buildings, Ruby made circles of the block. Watching the windows of the houses opposite Esther’s. Making sure no one was watching her.