I Was Here(74)

             “Who gets suspicious of a telemarketer?”

             “Good point.”

             “Okay. What should we be selling that no one wants to buy?” Harry asks.

             “As it happens, I’ve worked as a telemarketer before. No one wanted supplemental life insurance, and it seems oddly fitting to try to sell it to him.” I tell Harry the script.

             “Okay. Hang up, and I’ll call you back and we’ll do this.”

             When Harry calls back, the line is already ringing. “Shh,” he tells me.

             The voice that picks up is gruff. “Hello.”

             “Hello. I’m with Good Faith Insurance Agency,” Harry begins in a smooth voice, like he does this all the time. “The reason I’m calling is to let you know that we have drastically lowered our insurance rates in Laughlin. We would love to give you a no-obligation review and quote on your current life insurance policy. If you don’t have one set up yet, I’d love to discuss this very wise investment in your future.”

             “I’ve already told you, I’m not interested,” he says. And hangs up.

             We sit there for a moment, in a triangle of silence: Me. Harry Kang. And the disconnected voice of All_BS.





30

             Once again, I’m back at the library for research, but this time, it’s easier. I only have to figure out how to get to Laughlin. The hard part is over.

             I can’t quite believe it. I’ve been looking for All_BS for weeks, and at times, it has felt like chasing a ghost. But he’s here. I have an address. Last night Harry called me once more, this time with all of All_BS’s—Bradford Smith’s—contact information.

             “You are a fucking genius, Harry Kang!” I told him.

             “I don’t know about effing genius, but I’ll take genius,” he said. And I could hear the smile in his voice once again.

             “Thank you, Harry. Thank you so much.”

             “No. Thank you,” he said quietly. “It was fun. But it also felt good. Like maybe I could do something for Meg.” He paused. “Are you going to the police now?”

             “I’m not sure. I was thinking I might go there myself first.”

             Harry went quiet. “Be careful, Cody,” he said after a bit. “It seems abstract when you’re dealing with people online, but they are still people, and some of them are not nice people, not the kind you ever want to be in a room with.”

             Sometimes you don’t even need to be in the same room for the damage to be done. “I’ll be careful,” I promised. “Thank you, again.”

             “Like I said, I’m glad to do it. And it’s not that hard to find someone.”

             “Really?”

             Harry laughed. “Maybe not for me.”

             And that’s when I had the other idea. “Do you think you might be able to track down one more person?”

                          x x x

             The Greyhound to Laughlin takes thirty hours, requires three transfers, and costs three hundred dollars round trip. I have the money, and I can take off the time if I need to. But when I start to contemplate sixty hours alone on the bus, I begin to feel a little sick, the darkness clawing at me. I can’t do this alone, with only Bradford and Meg keeping me company.