"She hasn't been in touch with me yet," Harry says, frustrated. He takes a hand from the steering wheel to again check that his phone is in his pocket. It is.
"I'm not sure they have phone service on the ship." Jo says. "How did you leave it with her the other morning?" Jo is sensing that Harry wants to talk.
"Not sure. Not sure why she left. Do you? Do you know why she left? I mean really, there were other options. Why did she want to leave? Did she mention anything to you?" asks Harry.
"Ruth? She loves this job Harry. She must have been embarrassed about how it all played out. I mean, all of sudden here is the chairman of the JIC, Mace, on the grid accusing her of being a traitor! I could see how much it pained her right there. I died of embarrassment for her. We all knew it was false, and here she was escorted out the building by security, my god Harry!" says Jo, her voice raising in disgust of it all.
Harry slams his fist on the dashboard in frustration as he too remembers the incident. "Bastard, if I ever see him again I'll kill him!" Harry is glad that he has Jo in the car and that they are talking. He needs to see it all from a woman's point of view.
Jo continues "She was shaking Harry! In tears! She probably thought it was an embarrassment to you too, that she would never be able to get her job back. Maybe she felt leaving was the only option to her. To just get away from the craziness. You know how she is. She's such a private person and all eyes were on her. I'm sure she died a thousand deaths in that one minute it took for security to clear her out!"
"But why Ruth? Why did they have to go after her?" asks Harry, truly questioning.
"What?" Jo shrugs. "Why Ruth? They knew they could get to you through her! Come on now Harry, you're not going to deny that you're in love with her!"
"Come on now Jo, we had one date. You could hardly call that a love affair," says Harry.
"I'm definitely not calling it a love affair," she blurts, almost laughs, "but I think it was obvious, at least to us on the grid, that there's a strong bond between you two. And that one date? I'll tell you Harry, she was thrilled. Not that she said anything about it, but that's Ruth, keeping the personal life out of work. But smiling at her desk, glancing into your office, checking the clock on the wall, making sure she would be on time. And you the same way, staring out at her, god you were like high school kids! She was shocked to hear some whisperings around the office about her dinner with you. You know Ruth, she's the most talented analyst on the grid, works hard every day, and smart! And all those languages Harry! She's indispensable! And now with one dinner date she gets it in her head that all she has accomplished is out the window and she's going to be known as the office girl shagging the boss!"
Harry is speechless. He hasn't thought of it all like this. He gulps. He had dismissed Ruth's concerns about office gossip. He thought she was exaggerating it or over analyzing it.
"She told me that people were talking. But what the hell Jo! People talk whether it's true or not so what's the bloody difference!" it's a statement, not a question.
"Harry" says Jo as she points to the pavement. "Pull over right here. The witness's job is two doors down on the right side here. We'll catch her coming out of work and make the approach right here. I'll get in the back seat with her and you drive. We shouldn't give her an opportunity to flee."
Harry likes Jo. She is smart. She is young. She is a great spook. Harry knows that Jo will convince this woman to change her statement to the police, to recant any threats that Ruth had made. The duffle bag in the back seat contains cash. Harry knows the number one motivator for any informant, contact, or witness is money. They will appeal to this woman on a personal level and then sweeten the deal with cash.
"I just want her to call me," says Harry.
"What will you say to her when she calls?" asks Jo.
He hadn't thought of that. What would he say to her?
"I don't know. I just want to hear her voice," he says. He's surprised at his blatant honesty with Jo. "I need to hear her voice. I need to hear that she's alright."