Wrong Number 2 Page 5

  What would she do if she had Jade and Deena trapped in her house?

  I’ve changed my mind, Deena thought. I want to get out of here.

  Jade always has the craziest plans. Why do I always go along with them? Why do I always get suckered in?

  This was a major mistake. I want to leave—fast.

  But before she could tell Jade, the front door opened. Linda Morrison peered out at them.

  She’s gained a lot of weight since the last time we saw her, Deena realized. Morrison’s blond hair had dark roots now and was pulled back into a ponytail. Her face seemed puffy, older.

  “Yes?” she asked, her voice flat and unfriendly.

  “Miss Morrison?” Jade began in a businesslike voice. “I’m Louise Smith and this is my associate, Darlene Mathers. I called this morning about representing your property?”

  “Oh, yeah. Right,” Morrison replied. “Come on in.”

  Deena held back for a second, her heart pounding. Then she followed Jade into the house.

  The small living room smelled of bacon. Deena could see the remains of breakfast on a small table against the far wall.

  Papers and magazines were piled on every surface. Deena could see a thick layer of dust on the windowsills. Not much of a housekeeper, Deena thought.

  “Just push some of that stuff on the floor and sit down,” Morrison instructed. “I haven’t had a chance to straighten up lately.”

  “This is a good-size room,” Jade commented, studying the cluttered living room. “We can get someone to come in and clean up.”

  “Whatever,” Morrison replied with a shrug.

  Jade pulled out a notebook and pen. “Now, I’ll need some information from you before I can list the property,” she said. “First of all, how long have you had the for-sale sign up?”

  “A couple of days,” the woman replied. “But you’re the first person who’s noticed it.”

  “It’s been my experience that sales by the owner don’t attract very many buyers,” Jade said smoothly. “By dealing with my agency, you’ll reach a lot more people. I’ll place advertising, have an open house . . .”

  “Unh-unh.” Morrison shook her head. “I don’t want a lot of strangers coming through here.”

  “Fine,” Jade replied quickly, making a note on her pad. “We’ll show it by appointment only, then.”

  Deena gazed at Jade. Where did her friend learn all these real-estate terms? She sounded so professional, Deena started to relax.

  “When are you planning to move out?” Jade continued.

  “As soon as possible,” Linda Morrison answered. “Tomorrow, if I could.”

  “I see,” said Jade. “And can you tell me why you’re in such a hurry?”

  “What business is that of yours?” Morrison snapped. She narrowed her eyes at Jade.

  “Uh—just wondering,” Jade said smoothly. “In case I would need to reach you out of town.”

  “Is that right?” Morrison said. “By the way, you haven’t showed me your business card yet.”

  “My business card?” Jade’s confident expression faded. “Are you sure I didn’t give it to you?”

  “Positive,” Linda Morrison answered sharply, holding out her hand. “I really must insist on seeing it.”

  Oh, wow, Deena thought, her heart sinking to her knees. We’re dead!

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  Linda Morrison crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m waiting,” she said coldly.

  “No problem,” Jade replied. She opened her purse and began to rummage through it. “It’s here somewhere,” she murmured.

  Now what? Deena asked herself.

  What do we do? Jade can’t stall her forever, pretending to look for a business card.

  She turned her eyes to the front door. Should we just make a run for it?

  When Deena glanced back, she found Jade smiling. “Here it is,” she declared. She pulled a small white card from the bag and handed it to Linda Morrison.

  Morrison held it close, staring at it suspiciously. “Louise Smith, Real Estate,” she read. “Okay.”

  Deena gaped at the card and then at her friend. Where had Jade found the business card?

  Jade reached out for the card, but Linda held on to it. “Now, my associate and I will need to take some measurements in here before we can list the house. Don’t let us disturb you,” Jade said with a smile.

  “Go ahead,” Linda Morrison told her. “I’ve got some things to do in the back of the house anyway.”

  “Come on, Darlene,” said Jade.

  Deena sat there, still dazed, waiting for her heart to stop thundering.

  “I said, come on, Darlene!” Jade repeated.

  “Oh, right,” Deena said, forcing herself to snap out of it.

  Jade pulled out a metal tape measure and began to measure the walls. Linda Morrison disappeared into the back.

  As soon as she was gone, Deena grabbed her friend’s wrist. “Where did you get that business card?” she whispered.

  “It’s my aunt’s,” Jade explained. “No problem.” She glanced toward the hallway. “We don’t have much time,” she whispered. “There’s got to be something here that will help us. Why don’t you check in that pile of stuff on the table. I’ll go through the desk.”

  Feeling like a burglar, Deena began to sort through a stack of papers on the edge of the coffee table. There were old phone bills, supermarket coupons, advertisements for takeout pizza, and half-finished crossword puzzles. Nothing to explain why Linda Morrison could have been at the Farberson house the night before.

  At the bottom of the pile she found a notepad filled with doodles and diagrams. Deena was flipping through the pages, when she heard Jade gasp.

  “I’ve found something!” Jade whispered excitedly.

  “Huh? What?”

  “Look at this! From the bottom desk drawer.” Jade held up a key chain. “Two house keys!” she announced. “And the keychain is labeled Farberson! What do you have there?” Jade asked, gazing at the notepad in Deena’s hand.

  “Just some drawings,” said Deena. “I don’t know what they—”

  “That’s Farberson’s house!” Jade cried. “Look at the address!”

  Deena lowered her eyes to the bottom of the page. To her surprise, Jade was right—884 Fear Street. She was holding a crude diagram of Farberson’s house.

  The downstairs was drawn in one square. It showed the kitchen and dining room and living room. The living room where they had found Mrs. Farberson’s body a year ago.

  The upstairs was drawn in a second square. It showed four bedrooms. Deena recognized the bedroom where they had hidden in the tiny closet on that terrifying night.

  “Why do you suppose she has this?” Deena whispered.

  “I don’t know,” Jade replied with a shrug. “But it’s proof! Proof that she’s still interested in the Farberson house—and proof that she could have been the one who chased us!”

  “Not enough proof,” Deena replied. “I’d like to take a look at her car.”

  “Good idea,” Jade whispered. “I’ll ask her if we can get into the garage, and then—” Her words were cut off by a door banging open.

  Her heart pounding in alarm, Deena turned to the hall.

  “All right, girls,” Linda Morrison snapped. She stood in the doorway. “That’s enough. I remember who you two are. So why don’t we just cut to the chase!”

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  Deena gasped in shock.

  But Jade recovered quickly. “Excuse me?” she replied.

  “You heard me,” Linda Morrison said softly, her eyes narrowed at Jade. “I said I remember who you are. What are you doing here in my house?”

  “I’m Louise Smith,” Jade insisted. “And this is—”

  But Deena could see the woman wasn’t buying Jade’s lies. “Drop it,” Linda Morrison snapped, holding the business card Jade had given her. “I just called the real-estate office and they said Louise Smit
h is on vacation. You’re the two girls who messed in Stanley’s problems last year. Now, what are you doing here? Why are you snooping around?”

  Deena’s legs began to tremble. She could feel every muscle in her body tightening in fear.

  But Jade coolly gazed back at the woman. “I might ask you a few questions,” Jade said. “For example, why have you been making those phone calls to us?”

  “Phone calls?” Morrison acted confused. “What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t pretend you don’t know about them,” Jade replied sharply. “Why did you try to run us over last night?”

  “Run you over?” Morrison asked. “Then that was you last night?”

  “You knew who it was!” Jade accused. “What’s going on?”

  Deena stared at her friend in admiration. The Morrison woman had caught them lying, but Jade had turned it around and put Morrison on the spot.

  “I’m sorry. I was only trying to find out who you were,” the woman said, her voice shaking.

  “Do you expect us to believe that?” Jade demanded.

  “It’s the truth!” Morrison insisted. “When I saw your car out by the curb, I got scared to death.”

  “If you were so scared,” Deena demanded, “why did you deliberately try to run down Jade and Chuck?”

  “I couldn’t see anything,” Morrison explained. “I was using a borrowed car, and I couldn’t figure out how to turn on the headlights.”

  Yeah, right! Deena thought sarcastically. That’s why she rammed our car three times. She must think we’re morons. Who’d believe that story?

  But to Deena’s surprise, the woman’s expression changed. Her features crumpled and tears appeared in her pale blue eyes.

  “I’m really sorry,” she sniffled. “I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone—or even scare you. I was just trying to protect myself.”

  “From what?” Jade asked, exasperated. “And how could making scary phone calls to us protect you?”

  “I—I didn’t make any calls,” Morrison insisted. She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “I’m sorry if you were scared. But you don’t know how I’ve felt. I’ve been so—stressed out, so frightened, for months.”

  “Why?” asked Jade.

  “It’s him,” Morrison replied heatedly. “Stanley. I know he’s in prison. But I’m terrified that he’ll get out and come after me. He blamed me for everything!”

  “How could he get out?” Deena cried, finally finding her voice. “He was sentenced to life, right?”

  “Stanley is much more clever than you can imagine,” Morrison sobbed. “He and his lawyer have been working on an appeal. Something to do with a legal mistake. If he wins his appeal, he could be out this month.”

  “No!” Deena gasped. “There must be some mistake, Ms. Morrison!”

  “Call me Linda,” the older woman said. She shook her head. “I’m so sorry to break the news to you, girls. I know you must find it frightening too.”

  “But he killed his wife!” Deena cried. “I can’t believe they’d just let him go free.”

  “It happens all the time,” Linda replied bitterly. “If Stanley can prove that the police didn’t follow the law perfectly, he can get out.”

  “The month is almost over,” Deena said thoughtfully. “Could he be out already?”

  If Farberson is out, it would explain the nasty phone calls, Deena thought. And the drawing of the chain saw. It would explain everything.

  “No, he’s not out yet,” Linda assured them. “My lawyer promised to let me know when it happens. Besides, the minute he’s free, Stanley will come after me. I know he will.”

  “I’m still confused about something,” Jade said. “What were you doing at his house on Fear Street last night?”

  For a moment the older woman didn’t answer. “I suppose I might as well tell you,” she said finally. “You know that Stanley stole a lot of money from his restaurant. Before he murdered his wife.”

  “Yes, we remember,” Jade said.

  “Well, before Stanley was arrested, he told me he hid it somewhere in the house. He wanted me to put it somewhere safe.”

  “So what did you do?” Jade demanded.

  “I tried to find it,” Linda replied. “But I couldn’t.” She sighed. “Stanley didn’t believe me. He accused me of stealing it. He phoned me from prison a few weeks ago. He said that if I don’t come up with the money by the time he gets out, he’ll kill me!”

  “So you’ve been searching the house for the money?” Deena guessed.

  “I’ve looked everywhere,” Linda replied, her eyes again brimming with tears. “That’s all I’ve been doing for weeks. But I can’t find it. And I think I know why.”

  “Why?” Jade asked.

  “Someone else must have taken it,” Linda said. “Someone else who knew it was there.”

  Her expression changed. She glared at Jade, then at Deena. “I just figured it out!” Linda Morrison exclaimed. “Oh, man. I’ve been so stupid. But I just figured it out. You took the money—didn’t you?”

  The woman moved quickly to block the front doorway. “I’m right—aren’t I!” she cried, studying them both. “You took the money!”

  Deena was about to protest. But Jade, as usual, spoke first. “Yes, you’re right. We took it all,” Jade confessed.

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  Deena gasped. What was Jade saying? Had she lost her mind?

  “We took the money,” Jade repeated. “Then we flapped our arms and flew to the moon.”

  Linda Morrison stared hard at Jade. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that’s crazy,” Jade told her. “Deena and I didn’t know about any hidden money.”

  “That’s a good story,” Linda replied sharply. “But I know different. I know that the night Stanley caught you last year, you were searching his house. What else could you have been looking for?”

  “We were looking for papers,” Jade replied. “Looking for some kind of proof that Farberson was guilty. Deena’s brother Chuck had been accused. We were trying to find something that would prove Chuck was innocent.”

  Morrison studied them. “Why should I believe you?” she demanded. “All I know is, the money is gone. And Stanley will blame me.”

  “Well, we didn’t know about it. And we didn’t take it!” Jade insisted.

  Linda blew her nose and sighed. And now her mood seemed to change again. “I suppose I have no choice but to believe you,” she said.

  “Maybe Farberson lied about hiding the money,” Deena offered.

  “I thought of that,” Linda told her. “But if so, why is he threatening me? In any case, I give up. I’m not looking for it anymore. Last night was my last attempt.”

  “What are you going to tell Farberson?” Jade asked.

  “Nothing,” said Linda. “I’m too afraid to even think about talking to him again. I’ve decided to move someplace far from here, where he can never find me. That’s why my house is up for sale. As a matter of fact, I was starting to pack when you called this morning.”

  “Well, good luck,” Deena said, not knowing what else to say.

  “Thanks,” Linda replied. “And good luck to you girls too.” She narrowed her eyes at them. “If Stanley gets out, you may need it.”

  • • •

  Deena spent the rest of the afternoon working on her algebra and a history paper. She kept listening for Chuck to come home. But there was no sign of him.

  Jade called at six. Her mom and sister had gone to visit Jade’s aunt. She invited Deena over for pizza.

  “Thanks for getting me out of the house,” Deena said when Jade opened the door. “It’s a nightmare there. My parents are so mad at Chuck.”

  “Good thing he’s over here, then,” Jade said, gesturing toward the sofa.

  “Chuck!” cried Deena. “Do Mom and Dad know you’re here?”

  Chuck gave her a sour scowl that told her he was sick of talking about the whole situation. “As far as I�
��m concerned,” he said, “they don’t need to know anything about me—ever.”

  Deena decided to keep her mouth shut. She sat down on one of the armchairs across from Chuck. From the two pizza crusts on a paper plate, she could see that he already had a head start on dinner.

  “Have a root beer,” Jade offered, handing Deena a glass.

  “So Jade was just telling me about your big adventure this afternoon,” Chuck said, pulling another slice from the carton.

  Deena snickered. “You should have seen Jade with short, curly black hair.”

  “I’ll bet she looked great!” Chuck gushed, gazing at Jade admiringly.

  “I told him what Linda said about the money,” Jade said. “I told him she thinks the money isn’t there anymore. But Chuck says—”

  “I think the woman is lying,” Chuck interrupted.

  “Why would she lie?” Deena asked.

  “Because she doesn’t want anyone else to get it,” Chuck replied impatiently. “The Morrison woman may be going away, but I’ll bet she still wants to get her hands on the money.”

  “Chuck could be right,” Jade said thoughtfully. “Think about it. Remember how she kept saying over and over that the money was gone?”

  “That’s because it is gone!” Deena exclaimed.

  “No, it’s because she didn’t want us to find it!” Jade declared.

  “She told you about the money to see if you girls knew anything about it,” Chuck explained. “Then, when she found out you didn’t, she wanted you to think it wasn’t in the house after all.”

  “Well, maybe you’re right,” Deena agreed. “But so what?”

  “So—I think that money is ours!” Chuck exclaimed, grinning.

  “Chuck!” Deena gasped. “You don’t mean—”

  “I don’t know how much there is,” he continued, ignoring her. “But it will go a long way toward getting me to Los Angeles.”

  “You can’t take that money!” Deena protested.

  “Why not?” Chuck replied, still grinning. “We deserve it after everything we went through last year. In a way, you could say we earned it!”

  “Jade, talk him out of it!” Deena pleaded.