The Wrong Number

by R. L. Stine

  Deena stared at the plane reservation in her hands. “But if Farberson leaves town, we’ll never be able to prove that Chuck is innocent,” she wailed. “What are we going to do?”

  Jade thought about it for a long while. “We have to find out more about Farberson,” she said finally. “Maybe Linda Morrison can help us.”

  “Who?”

  “His former assistant,” said Jade. “Don’t you remember anything? She’s the woman whose job I was supposedly applying for today.”

  “Oh,” said Deena. “Right. But how can she help us? We don’t even know her.”

  “Can you get a car tomorrow?” said Jade instead of answering. Her smile was back, and Deena knew she was hatching another plan.

  “I don’t know,” said Deena. “My parents are still mad about the phone calls, and my mother’s car is still being held by the police.”

  “Listen, we’ve got the whole day tomorrow—teacher conference day, remember? My dad’s back tomorrow, so I don’t have wheels. Try to get the car. Offer to drive your dad to work. Tell your parents you have to do some research at the big library in Waynesbridge.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “This may not be a term paper,” Jade said. “But as far as Chuck is concerned, it could be the most important research you ever did.”

  “I don’t believe we’re doing this,” said Deena. It was eleven in the morning, and she was so nervous about driving her father’s BMW she was having trouble concentrating on what she was doing. Usually she loved to drive either of her parents’ cars. But everything that had happened lately, combined with the thought of what she and Jade were about to do, had given her a severe case of butterflies.

  “Will you relax?” said Jade. “Just keep your eyes on the road. Miss Morrison said we should turn right on Lakewood.”

  “What did you say to her?” Deena asked. “How did you get her to agree to see us?”

  “I told her we’re conducting a survey,” Jade said smugly. “I figure we can find out more if we go in person.”

  “Great,” said Deena. “First we’re applying for a job, now we’re doing a survey. I’m sick of pretending to be someone I’m not, Jade.”

  “This is the only way we can help Chuck,” said Jade. “Besides, there’s no reason why we can’t use our real names. And we are trying to get information from her.”

  “How did you even find her?” Deena asked.

  “I let my fingers do the walking,” answered her friend. “There were only two L. Morrisons in the whole phone book, and she was the first one I called.”

  Deena just shrugged. Jade was right that what they were doing was the only way to help Chuck. But somehow she had a feeling it was also a big game to Jade, a chance for her to show off and play tricks on other people.

  “Turn here!” said Jade. “It should be up in the next block.”

  Deena pulled up to the curb in front of Miss Morrison’s house. It was a small, one-story wooden frame house with a cheery vase of flowers in the front window.

  “Now remember,” said Jade. “Let me do most of the talking.”

  “Right,” said Deena. She picked up her clipboard and followed Jade up the front walk. The door was opened by a short, attractive woman with frosted blond hair and a pleasant smile.

  “Hello, Miss Morrison?” said Jade. “I’m Jade Smith from S and S Research Associates. I talked to you on the phone yesterday afternoon. This is my colleague, Deena Martinson.”

  No wonder Jade is so good at this, Deena thought. Who else would think to use a word like colleague?

  “You girls are both so young,” said Miss Morrison. “Come on inside.”

  “We’re students at the college,” Jade said. “We do surveys part-time.”

  The two girls followed Miss Morrison into a small living room decorated in soft shades of beige and rust.

  Jade sat down in an armchair and pulled out a pencil, very businesslike. Deena tried to copy her actions and expression but felt like an idiot.

  “Our firm is doing a survey of the restaurant business in Shady side,” Jade told Miss Morrison. “We’re concentrating on employer-employee relations. Now, we understand you were recently employed by the Alberga Three restaurant?”

  “That’s right,” said Miss Morrison. “But how on earth did you know that?”

  “We’ve already interviewed your former employer, Mr. Stanley Farberson,” Jade said. “Can you tell me what kind of a boss he was?”

  Deena thought that something changed in Miss Morrison’s face, as if a dark shadow had passed over her attractive features. “He was okay,” she said sharply. “Not a bad boss.”

  Jade pretended to write something on her clipboard. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

  Miss Morrison seemed visibly flustered. “Just that. He was okay. Treated everyone all right.”

  “I see.” Jade made another notation. She looked so serious and businesslike, she almost had Deena believing it! “Now, did you know his wife?”

  “What?” Miss Morrison’s cheeks flushed.

  “His wife. Did you know his wife?”

  “I’m sorry. Yes. You’ll have to excuse me. I’m a little edgy today. I’m having a bad day, and it isn’t even noon.”

  “Well, we won’t keep you long,” Jade said. “So you did know his wife?”

  “She came into the restaurant sometimes.” Miss Morrison stared at the flower vase in the window.

  “How did she and Mr. Farberson get along?” Jade asked.

  Instead of answering, Miss Morrison gave Jade a suspicious look.

  Oh, no. Jade’s gone too far, Deena thought.

  “What does that have to do with the restaurant or employee relationships?” Miss Morrison asked. She started to say something else, but the phone on the table beside her rang.

  She picked it up quickly. “Hello? Oh, thank goodness it’s you, darling. I’ve had such a dreadful morning. I—oh.” She suddenly remembered Deena and Jade were in the room. Standing up, she handed the receiver to Jade. “I’m going to go talk on the other extension. Please hang this up when I get on. I’ll only be a moment.”

  “Sure,” Jade agreed. She held the receiver in front of her, waiting for Miss Morrison to pick up the other phone.

  “Are you there?” a man’s voice on the other end asked.

  Jade froze.

  She was sure she recognized the voice.

  She put the phone to her ear. When Miss Morrison got on, Jade clicked the receiver button, but she didn’t hang up.

  “What are you doing?” Deena demanded.

  “Sssshhh.” Jade held a finger up to her lips.

  “Oh, darling, I’m such a wreck,” Miss Morrison was saying with emotion. “You’ve got to come take it away.”

  “But I’m on my way to the restaurant,” the voice said.

  Jade knew she was right. It was Farberson on the other end! She pressed the receiver to her ear.

  “I can’t have it in my house any longer. You’ve got to come take it away. Please, Stanley. Please. Come take it away. Please!”

  “Well, okay,” Farberson growled. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”

  Five minutes?

  Jade silently replaced the receiver. “Deena—we’ve got to get out of here!”

  “What? How can we—”

  Miss Morrison returned, appearing flushed and uneasy. “Sorry about the interruption.” She sat down in her chair. “Now where were we?”

  Jade and Deena abruptly stood up. “Afraid we’ve got to be going,” Jade said, looking nervously out the window.

  “But what about your survey?”

  “Uh—there’s been a mix-up,” Jade said. “We were supposed to be somewhere else now. I made a scheduling error.” She looked at her clipboard as if to confirm the error. “We’ll have to come back sometime.”

  “Why don’t we just go through it very quickly?” Miss Morrison asked. “I’m sure we can do it in five minutes or so, and it’ll save you
a trip.”

  “No, really,” Jade insisted, glancing out the window, her face reflecting her panic. “Come on, Deena. We’ve got to scoot. We’re really sorry, Miss Morrison. Thank you for being so understanding.”

  Ignoring the confused look on Miss Morrison’s face, Deena followed Jade out the door. “Hey—what’s your hurry?” she called as Jade ran to the car and slid into the passenger seat.

  “Farberson will be here any minute,” Jade said in a loud whisper.

  That was all Deena had to hear! She practically dived behind the wheel, started the car, and backed down the drive.

  “Go around the block and come back,” Jade instructed.

  “What?”

  “Park about halfway down the block. We’ve got to see what Farberson does, what’s going on here.”

  “What is going on here?” Deena demanded. “What did you hear on the phone?”

  “She called Farberson ‘darling,’ ” Jade said, keeping an eye out for Farberson’s car.

  “She did? You mean—”

  “I mean something is definitely going on between the two of them. She begged him to come over and take something away. She said she couldn’t bear to have it in her house anymore. He groused about it, but he’s on his way over.”

  “What on earth could it be?” Deena asked. She circled the block and parked across the street and a few houses down from Miss Morrison’s house.

  Seconds later Farberson’s old car pulled up Miss Morrison’s short driveway. “Duck. Duck down!” Jade whispered. “He might see us.”

  As they peered over the dashboard Farberson walked straight up to the house without looking left or right. Miss Morrison greeted him at the door, and the two of them kissed, a long, lingering kiss. Then she pulled him inside and closed the door.

  “Wow!” Deena said.

  “Double wow,” Jade said. “The two of them are definitely an item.”

  “Do you think Miss Morrison is the reason Farberson killed his wife?” Deena asked.

  “I don’t know.” Jade stared at the closed door to Miss Morrison’s house as if it had some answers for her. “I just thought of something. The plane reservations to Argentina.”

  “What about them, Jade?”

  “Maybe the second ticket is for Miss Morrison.”

  “You mean he plans to leave the country with her. Yes! It’s perfect!” Deena said with growing excitement. “He killed his wife, and he plans to run away with Miss Morrison. Now we really have something for the police.”

  “No, we don’t,” Jade said, shaking her head. “All we have are a lot of guesses. Maybe Farberson’s having an affair with Miss Morrison. Big deal. That doesn’t prove he killed his wife. We haven’t proved anything, Deena.”

  “Well, then we’ve got to get the proof. Why are we sitting in this car? Shouldn’t we sneak up and look in the window?” Deena started to open the car door.

  “No. Don’t move. He’s only staying for a second. He told her he was on his way to the restaurant.”

  Just as she said that the front door opened, and Farberson appeared. They could hear him call goodbye to Miss Morrison, and then he closed the door behind him.

  “What’s he carrying?” Deena asked.

  Farberson had a small package in his hands. It appeared to be a paper bag tied up with string.

  He lifted the lid on the small garbage can next to Miss Morrison’s porch and started to deposit the package in it. Then suddenly he changed his mind. He replaced the garbage-can lid and carried the package to his car.

  “That’s very strange,” Deena said, ducking low behind the steering wheel.

  “He started to throw it away, then he decided to take it with him. What on earth could it be?”

  They watched Farberson back down the drive.

  “Follow him, Deena,” Jade said. “Let’s see where he goes with that package.”

  Deena started the BMW and eased it slowly after Farberson’s car, staying more than half a block behind him. “I know what it is,” she said suddenly, turning the corner.

  “What?”

  “I know what’s in the package, Jade. I just know it for sure.”

  “Well, come on. Don’t keep me in suspense.”

  “It’s his mask,” Deena said, her eyes straight ahead on Farberson’s car. “It’s the mask and the bloody shirt he wore the night he killed his wife!”

  chapter

  16

  “Look out for that bus!”

  Deena swerved to the right just in time. The angry bus driver leaned on his horn. “Sorry,” Deena apologized to Jade. “I was so busy watching Farberson’s car, I didn’t realize I was over the line.”

  “We’re almost to his restaurant,” Jade said.

  “I know I’m right about the package,” Deena said, stopping for a light. “He had to hide the mask and the bloody shirt somewhere, right?”

  “Right,” Jade agreed.

  “Miss Morrison was the perfect person to keep it for him.”

  “Yeah. Maybe,” Jade said. “I did hear her say over the phone that she couldn’t bear to have it in the house any longer. She begged him to take it. Maybe you’re right, Deena. Maybe the mask is in that package.”

  “If I am right, we’ll have all the proof we need,” Deena said, smiling for the first time in a long while. “It’ll prove to the police that we were telling the truth, and it’ll free Chuck.”

  “Whoa. Slow down.”

  “But I’m so excited about—”

  “No, I mean slow down,” Jade said. “There’s Farberson’s restaurant. He’s parking right in front.”

  Deena slammed on the brakes. Luckily there was no one behind her. She saw a parking spot across the street. Letting a van go by, she made a wide U-turn and pulled into it. Then both girls got out of the car and ducked low behind a bus shelter.

  They watched Farberson climb out of his car and lock it. He had the brown package under his arm. He walked to a row of garbage cans on the curb.

  “Great!” Jade whispered. “If he drops it in one of those cans, we can easily pull it out after he goes inside.”

  But once again Farberson changed his mind. Transferring the package to his right hand, he turned away from the curb and headed into a narrow alley that ran beside the restaurant.

  “Come on—we’ve got to follow him,” Jade said, looking both ways and then bounding across the street.

  “But—but he’ll see us,” Deena cried, following her.

  “Just keep against the wall,” Jade warned.

  They inched along the wall, following Farberson to the back of the restaurant. Stopping at the corner of the building, they watched him enter a small cement courtyard walled in by buildings on all four sides.

  A tall yellow garbage dumpster stood in the center of the courtyard. Farberson scanned the area, as if not wanting to be seen. Jade and Deena pressed themselves against the dirty brick wall and held their breath. Farberson tossed the package into the dumpster, then quickly disappeared into a door at the back of the restaurant.

  “Let’s go get it,” Deena whispered. She was nearly trembling with excitement. Her heart was racing so fast she could barely breathe.

  “Ssshhh. Wait another minute,” Jade said, holding her friend back. “Make sure he’s gone inside for good.”

  The minute seemed endless to both girls. When they were sure the courtyard was deserted they nodded to each other and made a run toward the dumpster.

  They were halfway across the courtyard when a man’s voice called to them angrily. “Hey—what are you doing?”

  Deena froze. It felt as if her heart had suddenly stopped. She turned around.

  “What are you girls doing back there?”

  The door to the restaurant’s kitchen was open. Two men wearing white aprons were at a long counter chopping vegetables. One of them—the one who had called to them—stepped to the doorway.

  “Uh—we thought the entrance was back here,” Jade said, thinking quickly as usual.
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  The man chewed on a toothpick and eyed them both suspiciously. “We’re closed,” he said. “We’re not open for lunch.” He spit out the toothpick.

  “Oh. Okay. See you later,” Jade said. She followed Deena, who was already hurrying away.

  They ran back along the narrow alleyway. Neither of them said a word until they were safely back in the car and heading toward Deena’s house.

  “Close call,” Jade muttered finally, still looking shaken. “That cook didn’t look like a nice guy.”

  “What are we going to do?” Deena wailed. “We’ve got to get that package. We were so close! If only—”

  “We’ll go back,” Jade said.

  “But the kitchen door is open. That guy will never let us get to the dumpster.”

  “No. Not right now,” Jade said, thinking hard. “We’ll go back tonight. The cooks will be so busy they won’t have time to notice two girls pawing through their garbage.”

  They drove on for a while in silence. “What do you think?” Jade asked finally. “Is that a good plan?”

  Deena’s features hardened. “We have no choice,” she said quietly.

  “Park as close as you can to the alley,” Jade instructed, “just in case we have to make a run for it.”

  Deena felt a wave of fear run down her body. “Do you think we’ll have to run?”

  Jade shrugged. “Just being realistic. Don’t look so scared. No one’s going to do anything dreadful to us for going through a garbage dumpster.”

  “What if Farberson sees us?” She swerved to avoid a girl on a bicycle crossing the street against the light. “Wish these headlights were brighter. It’s so dark tonight.”

  “There’s no moon,” Jade said, looking up at the sky through the car window. “It’s nearly nine o’clock, Deena. I’m sure Farberson is really busy.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Deena said, unable to shake off her feeling of dread.

  The restaurant came into view. “It’s crowded tonight,” Deena said, slowing down, searching for a parking place. “The places on that side of the street are all taken.”

  “Oh, well,” Jade said, disappointed. “Park in that empty lot across the street. Maybe we’ll get lucky and won’t have to run for our lives.”