After The Storm (Chapter-15)

Carissa had set up an appointment for a visit with Priscilla, and looked over the things that Richard had left behind. She would call the other girl later, but that may be the one who has the ticket. Michelle Walker had lived in Colorado and was most likely a girlfriend when Richard travelled there. The other girls so far lived in Cedar Rapids. When Carissa knocked on Priscilla’s door, a tall sexy blonde answered. Carissa thought to herself, “It seems he has a type.”

Priscilla answered the door and invited Carissa in. Carissa asked if she could see what was left behind by Richard.

Priscilla replied, “Yes, I have everything there in a pile.”

Carissa looked at the name on the receipt for airfare and the name on the other ticket was, Darcy White. She took the phone and scrolled down the text messages, which included semi-nude photos of “Darcy White”. Carissa showed it to Priscilla and said, “That is our girl and she is with him.”

Priscilla said, “He brought her around here once. He told me she was his sister and they didn’t appear romantic at all. I guess they were both laughing at the fool they made of me.”

Carissa said, “I would say there isn’t much doubt that she may have been in with him the whole time.”

Priscilla said, “I also loaned him some money, I think it is easy to see he was using everyone.”

Carissa brought the information she had back to Paul including the airfare receipts for Honduras.

Paul said, “I am recovered from what he did to me, I just wanted to know why, but the authorities may be interested in him in connection to Michelle Walker’s death. I think I should give the information and photos we have to my lawyer with my complete story and let him take everything to the authorities, unless he advises me to do it.”

Carissa replied, “That sounds like a good idea. If the cops want to talk with you, it can be arranged with your lawyer present.”

Paul took all of the info he had to his lawyer and explained his entire story. Carissa was there to fill in the blanks and tell how she discovered Paul in the middle of the highway. If it hadn’t been raining, forcing her to drive slow around the curves, she may have run over Paul, which was probably the plan. She didn’t know who Richard was and she didn’t know why he wanted to get rid of Paul, but she knew he was bad news.

Carissa and Paul left the lawyers and they had gone in the crossover vehicle Paul had leased. He dropped her back at the office to get her car and said he would meet her at the house. She had to tell him tonight that she couldn’t stay any longer and had to go home the next day. They dropped her car off at Paul’s house and Paul invited Carissa to go out for dinner. They settled on a quiet out of the way place. It wasn’t busy and they were seated quickly.

Carissa cleared her throat and said, “I have to go home and get back to work. You may still have lots of questions, but I have nursed you back to health and there isn’t much else I can do for you.”

Paul asked, “How soon are we talking about?”

Carissa replied, “I need to leave in the morning. I have your number and I will leave you mine. I am really curious if you remember anything new.”

The meal was enjoyable but the conversation was sporadic. Paul missed Carissa already, but he understood she had to take care of her job. When they got back to Paul’s house there wasn’t much talking. Carissa was busy packing and Paul gave her back the clothes she had loaned him of her dad’s.

Paul walked into Carissa’s room and said, “I am going to miss you. It has been an adventure and I owe you so much. You have helped me more than you can imagine.”

Paul gave Carissa a hug and they both went to bed.

When Paul woke the next morning, Carissa was loading her SUV. She told him she would grab some breakfast somewhere on the road. He made her promise to call when she arrived home so he would know she made it safely. Carissa settled in for the long drive home. She felt a connection to Paul but he didn’t appear to be ready for anything beyond friendship so she let it go. She played music from her playlist and concentrated on putting miles behind her.

Paul was feeling down when he drove to work. Carissa had become a really good friend and he could go for more than that but he thought it awkward since she had nursed him back to health. He always liked to work up to a woman seeing him naked, not on first meeting and he was old fashion enough to even want to be conscious at the time. Maybe if they solved his mystery they could move forward to something more meaningful.

The weather was good for her trip home and it was largely uneventful. She drove steadily, minus stops for fuel and bathroom breaks but she was getting hungry and that was ever harder to ignore. She thought she needed more of a break than a drive through fast food would deliver so she exited at the sign that showed all of the food places nearby and pulled into the parking lot of the local mom and pop cafe. It was the kind of place she always looked for, some peeling paint and a few broken boards.

A short older lady walked over carrying an old-fashioned order pad, handed her a single page laminated menu. It was basic fare with sandwiches, burgers and comfort foods like chicken fried steak, meatloaf and home fried chicken. Carissa ordered a club sandwich. It seemed to be the least greasy thing on the menu and added a glass of water and a small salad. She sat staring at her phone. The overwhelming desire to call finally won and she pressed his name from her contact list.

When the phone rang and Paul saw Carissa’s name come up, he feared she had trouble, and quickly answered.

He said, “Surely you haven’t made it home yet?”

She replied, “No I haven’t, I had just stopped and was ordering some dinner. I called you while waiting for my order. It was quiet and I wanted to hear something other than my playlist.”

Paul asked, “How far are you from home?”

Carissa answered, “I have another three hours I figure and the playlist is getting old.”

Paul said, “If you get bored or sleepy on the way, give me a call and I will keep you company till you get there.”

Carissa said, “My sandwich just arrived via the short redhead with varicose veins and no personality.”

Paul replied, “I see you stopped at one of those old cafes instead of a fast food joint where the kid with purple hair and pierced eyebrows get your order wrong.”

Carissa replied, “Damn you are perceptive. I better get this down and get back on the road.”

She didn’t have a lot of daylight left and would be traveling along the highway with headlights reflecting on things ahead of her. It was all too familiar and reminded her of that night not too long ago when she found a body that would become such a big part of her life.

The only thing she saw now was an occasional rabbit running across the road. The lonesome quiet of the night was just too much and she clicked the button to activate her Bluetooth and gave the command to “Call Paul”. The phone rang three times before she heard the familiar voice say “Hello.” She had almost hung up but he answered too quickly.

She said, “It was too quiet out here, not much traffic and all I could hear was the playlist and the hum of the tires against the pavement.”

Paul replied, “I am here at home, sitting in an easy chair, thinking about all of the questions I have from the night you found me. You are used to driving lonely roads at night. At least it isn’t raining this time. If you see any bodies, maybe you should just drive on by.”

Carissa asked, “Is there anything new going on there?”

Paul said, “My lawyer said he thought the police would try to get the authorities in Honduras to pick up Richard and his girlfriend and extradite them back to the US, but there was no word from any of them so far.”

Carissa said, “Maybe if they ever get Richard where they could talk to him they might find some of the answers they were all seeking.”

Paul said, “You should be pretty close to home now.”

Carissa replied, “I am about twenty minutes out. You could stay on the line till I get home.” Paul replied, “I don’t have much else to do so I can stay as long as you want.”

They spent the next twenty minutes talking over the things that had happened so far. Talking about all the questions didn’t bring any new revelations and certainly didn’t add any new answers.

When Carissa finally drove up her driveway she could see the back door of her house was opened and the window glass was broken on the bottom corner pane that was close to where the lock was.

She gasped and said, “Someone has broken into my house!”

Paul said, “Call the sheriff out and stay in your car till officers arrive.”