Chapter 9

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Danny followed Jack through the suite that was crowded with uniformed cops and CSI's. They had obviously given up trying to look useful since the feds had arrived and were lingering around and chatting with one another in the hallway. As they headed down the hall and saw a uniformed officer walked up to Jack and handed him a cell phone. "Here's the phone that the maid took."

"Thanks." Jack took the phone and started scrolling through the incoming calls.

Anxious for something to do Danny asked, "What do we know so far?"

He watched as Jack looked down the hall to see if anyone had exited the elevator yet. When he saw that the doors were still closed he looked back at Danny and replied, "It seems Teri was back up to her old tricks. According to the maid it sounds like she duped someone for money – again." He finished examining the cell and handed it to him. "Take this and track down all the calls made and received."

He accepted the phone and asked, "Am I looking for anyone in particular?"

"Something tells me Josh Abrams is going to be one of the callers," Jack replied.

Danny was about to ask why Jack suspected Josh when the elevator doors dinged and out walked Ruby accompanied by Peter Crawford. He had met Ruby last month when she came up to New York to visit Martin. Even though he still secretly hoped that Martin and Sam would finally get over their shit and realize that they were meant to be together, he had to admit that he really liked her.

Peter was talking to her with animated hands as they moved down the hall when Ruby spotted him and walked directly to where they stood. When she neared she gave a gentle smile and said, "Hi, Danny. It's good to see you again. Although, I wish it was under better circumstances."

"Me too," Danny replied before making introductions. "Ruby Carmichael, this is Jack Malone. Jack, this is Ruby Carmichael."

Jack extended his hand and greeted, "Nice to meet you, I've heard nothing but good things."

"Same here, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," Ruby replied as she shook his hand.

Jack released his grip and said, "I'm guessing Peter's debriefed you." She nodded her head. "I've already interviewed the hotel maid," he began as he started to update Ruby on everything he learned, which Danny found beneficial as well.

Once he was finished Ruby said, "I'd like to see the body now if that's alright."

"Sure," Jack replied.

She pulled a pair of latex gloves out of her jacket pocket, looked at the two open doors leading to two different hotel suites and asked, "Which room?"

Jack pointed to the door to the left and said, "She's in there."

Ruby nodded and headed inside as she slipped on the gloves. She walked in ahead of them and Danny suddenly wished he had thought to go in first as a sort of warning to Sam. While she and Martin both claimed they had moved on, it did not escape his attention that beyond knowing the names of the people each other was seeing, they never talked about their lives outside of work when the other one was around.

It was then that he realized that Martin was nowhere in sight and he wondered if his friend hadn't planned it that way so as to avoid having to introduce his ex to his next. But it was a mute point because before Danny knew it, Ruby had walked into the bedroom and come face to face with Samantha Spade.