Get your breathing under control, Ruby.
Listen.
Her heart thumped.
Silence. No banging or yelling. Has he gone? She looked through the peephole. He was coming off the last step, heading towards her door.
Yes, it’s him.
He looked at a piece of paper in his hand. His demeanour changed.
Ruby backed away from the door.
Tap, tap.
“Hello. Sorry about all the noise; went to the wrong unit,” the man said, pausing. “Thought it was three but really it was eight. Bit of faded ink I think. Anyway, I threw the address away as I was told to. Maybe I should have read it better.” He paused again. “But I have something for you. Something you were expecting. Could you please open the door?”
Something for me? Don’t think so.
Her phone was on the kitchen bench. She used the emergency call app.
“What service, please,” the operator asked.
“Police,” Ruby said. She must have sounded rushed or panicked or frightened, because the operator urged her to calm down.
“Yes, I will stay calm. There’s a violent man in the stairwell trying to break into people’s—”
Bang. Bang.
No longer gentle taps.
“I have your details on the screen. Are you in unit eight?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“The police are on their way.”
“Thank you.”
Where was her bag? She raced into the bedroom for her bag, rummaging through to find that business card.
Bang. Bang. Thud.
Now he was trying to kick the door. Ruby felt a little more secure, knowing the police were coming.
“Go away. The police are coming.” Should she be telling him this? She was confused.
“I only want to deliver something. Please open the door.”
She peered through the peephole.
This man was off his face. His face was even more distorted than faces usually were when viewed through peepholes.
Please someone help me.
She clutched her arms.
“Please go away. The police are coming.”
He stood still, as if analysing what he’d heard, as if normality was returning. He waved an envelope around and walked up to the peephole.
Ruby backed away.
He spoke loudly. “I was told to deliver this to you. You were meant to pay me for delivering it.” An envelope appeared under the doorway.
Ruby stared at the envelope.
“You’re going to open the door and make the payment.”
Bang. Bang.
“Okay. If that’s how ya going to play it. So be it. I’ll be back. The police won’t stay here forever.”
One last bang and he was gone. She hoped.
Ruby backed up, fell into the lounge chair, and dropped her bag beside the chair.
She stared at the door. It was throbbing. No, that was her head throbbing in time with her heartbeat. She reached for her bag and rummaged through again, this time searching for the sample pack the doctor had given her. She grasped the pack, removed two tablets, and washed them down with water.
