Hotline to Murder

CHAPTER 4

Tony was driving to an appointment when his cell phone rang. He pressed a button and said, “Tony speaking.”

“Hi, Tony,” a female voice said. And after a pause, “It’s Carol.”

Carol? Why was his ex-girlfriend calling him? He felt the same thrill she had evoked in him when they were dating and he saw her or heard her voice. Then he became wary. “Hello, Carol.”

“Can you talk? You sound distracted.”

“I’m driving on the 405. I don’t like to talk on the phone when I’m driving.”

“Is there a better time when I can call you back?”

No, there wasn’t a better time. If she had something to say, he wanted to hear it now. He went into defensive mode. “I’m late for an appointment, but I can talk to you for a minute.”

“That’s big of you. All right, I guess I deserve that. Anyway, Josh called me. He’s worried about you.”

Josh called Carol? That got Tony’s attention. Josh and Carol got along like cobras and mongooses. Or was it mongeese?

“Josh is worried about me?” That was reflection. He was using his listening skills in ordinary conversation. Perhaps, if he had mastered these skills when Carol was his girlfriend, she wouldn’t have dumped him.

“He says you’ve changed. He says…well, he didn’t explain it very well, but he doesn’t think you’re the same person you were.”

“Maybe that’s an improvement. As I recall, you didn’t like the old Tony.”

“You know better than that. It’s just that…”

She hesitated. The old Tony would have interrupted at this point. The new Tony used silence as a tactic, waiting her out.

“It’s just that you didn’t seem to respect my feelings.”

Feelings. Now he knew a lot more about feelings than he had. Maybe that’s what Josh didn’t like about the new Tony. Josh was not known for his empathy. But calling Carol was potentially a mistake on Josh’s part. If Tony and Carol had stayed together, Carol would have moved into the townhouse and replaced Josh. Although Tony hadn’t gotten around to telling Josh that.

Where was this conversation going? What did Carol want? Should he get his hopes up?

“Tony?”

He changed lanes to pass a slower car. “I’m still here.”

“You were quiet for so long I wasn’t sure. What I was wondering is, would you like to…uh, well, get together and talk some more?”

He was tempted to say, talk about what? Haven’t we talked about it all, ad nauseam? Or at least he had listened while she talked. Well, sometimes he had argued. Sometimes he had let his mind wander. He didn’t want to be the bad guy now. He also didn’t want to get hurt anymore. He said, “When would you like to get together?”

“What are you doing this evening?”

“I have to go to a meeting.”

“Oh. I’m going out of town on business tomorrow. I won’t be back for several days. I hoped we could see each other today. What time is your meeting?”

“Seven.”

“When will it be over?”

She was starting to act as if she owned him. Again. “I’m not sure.”

“May I ask what kind of a meeting this is?”

He didn’t want to get into that. It would require too much explanation, which he didn’t owe her. Maybe if he said it fast. “I-I joined a Hotline. The meeting tonight is for all the listeners.”

“Josh told me about your foray into the Hotline. He also said the Hotline closed down. Because the girl who was murdered worked there.”

“I think it’s going to start up again.”

“Josh said you listen to people talk about their problems. But if you can listen to other people’s problems, why couldn’t you listen to my problems?”

Josh was talking too much. And Tony didn’t have an answer for Carol. He looked at his watch and said, “Carol, I’ve gotta run. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”

He broke the connection before Carol could say anything more.