Fourteen Days(48)

“You’ll just have to force the evidence on him. And don’t stop ’til you get through—no matter how hard it gets. You have to at least try, Rich. This is what she wants you to do. This is why she’s still here. This is the only way to get rid of her forever. I’m sure of it.”

He listened stubbornly, but knew she spoke the truth. And the idea of coming home and not being scared witless was a very tempting proposal. He rubbed his face, worn-out from all the tension, all the excitement. Even someone with impeccable blood pressure would have struggled to cope with everything he had gone through over the past week. And now he was about to push his stress levels even further. But Richard knew he had to do it, knew that he had to speak to this man. With or without a clean bill of health. No one else was going to do it for him. He couldn’t exactly ask Karen to step up; she had already done so much for him. And it was his mess after all, his problem, his ghost. “All right,” he said, defeated. “I’ll do it. I’ll talk to the guy.”

She smiled proudly. “That’s great. It’ll be fine, I’m positive. Have a little faith.”

Frowning, he shook his head at the prospect of actually going through with it. “But if I get arrested, or sent to the nuthouse, you can explain everything to Nicky, all right?”

Nodding, Karen grinned. “No problem. I’ll even bail you out of prison myself.”

Richard didn’t return the smile; instead he just sat, staring down at the phone number on the poster, sighing loudly. He pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and dialed the number. Before he pushed the green ‘call’ button, he turned to Karen. His stomach was knotted tightly. “I can’t believe I’m doing this. This is stupid. Really stupid.”

“It’ll be fine,” she said quietly.

He pushed the button and held the phone to his ear. Then, out of the blue, he frantically pushed the ‘end’ button. “How should I tell him?”

“Just ask to meet him or something. Don’t tell him too much over the phone, he may hang up on you.”

Richard nodded, then pushed the ‘call’ button for a second time, setting it to loudspeaker. He gawked at the phone as he held it, and then at Karen, his body filled with dread. He listened anxiously as the call connected. After several rings, he was gladly about to hang up, but then the muffled sound of a man’s voice came through the phone’s tiny speaker. Richard’s mouth suddenly dried up, spreading instantly down to his voice box. Clearing his throat noisily, he spoke. “Oh, hello. Is this Carl Jones?”

“Yes—speaking,” Carl replied.

“Well, you don’t know me, but…” he paused to gather himself. “I really need to speak to you in person about something.”

“Speak to me about what?”

Sighing loudly as he saw Karen’s encouraging eyes, he replied, “It’s about…” He closed his eyes. “…it’s about Christina Long.” He then shook his head, waiting for a response.

The line went silent for several seconds, until finally Carl spoke. “Is this a joke?” he quietly asked, as if saddened and exhausted.

“No, it’s not. Can we meet?”

Carl paused again. “Who is this?” he asked, his voice sounding firmer.

“My name’s Richard Gardener. I live in Bristol.”

“How do you know Christina?”

“Please, I don’t want to do this over the phone—can we meet up?”

“Do you know where she is?”

Richard looked at Karen and shrugged, mouthing the words, “What should I tell him?” She returned a shrug, along with a look of terror. Returning his attention to the phone, he replied, “No, I don’t, but I really need to speak to you. I don’t want to talk over the phone. I’m not some weirdo, I swear. Please—just give me five minutes of your time. That’s it.”

Silence filled the room as they waited nervously for Carl’s answer.

Fifteen seconds passed. Richard wondered if Carl had disconnected. “Hello? Are you still there?”

“I live on Riverside Park. The new houses. Number 134. I’ll be home all day.”

“Great. I’ll be over right away.”

“Okay,” Carl said, barely audible. “I’ll see you later.”

He hung up before Richard could say another word.

Richard let out a long breath of relief as he pushed the ‘end’ button on the phone. “That went well,” he sarcastically told Karen.