Carole With An E: Part Two

~ beetleypete

This is the second part of a fiction serial, in 760 words.

It took a while before Carole opened up, and they were not far from the industrial area outside Bournemouth before she told her story.

“Some guy I know got me involved in some stuff. No point going into details, but it turned out that he was unhappy with what I was doing, and I was at his house in North London when he sort-of lost it. I had to just run out of the place, and I was worried that he might follow me. So I got a lift up to the M25, and then another lift from some services area in a truck. That driver was heading south-west, and I thought that would do, but he started to get creepy on me, so I asked him to let me out. I walked for a long time after he dropped me off, then you stopped for me”.

As far as Karl was concerned, that story sounded invented and unconvincing. But he couldn’t see the point in arguing with someone he didn’t know. Why had she not just gone home? She could have called the police if she was frightened of the bloke. And what was the ‘stuff’ she had got involved with? He asked the questions in his head as he carried on driving.

Carole changed the subject.

“Are you staying over in Bournemouth tonight? If so, perhaps you could drop me into the town later. I need to buy some clothes and things, then find a hotel room. There doesn’t seem to be any shops around here”.

He told her that he was moving on to Bristol after his meeting, and had hotel accommodation in that city. That seemed to cheer her up.

“Bristol? Oh that’s great. Can I be cheeky and ask if I can wait until you have your meeting, then go on with you to Bristol? I promise I won’t be a pain, but a big city like Bristol will be much better for me than a seaside town, and it’s so much further away from London too”. Karl nodded his agreement, and decided to try to find out some more about her on the the way to Bristol.

When the meeting concluded, he was surprised to find her sitting in the reception area of the company, chatting to the middle-aged receptionist. She grinned as he appeared. “Sorry, Karl. I had to use the loo, and Janice here was kind enough to let me wait here after. Nice to meet you, Janice, and thanks for the coffee”. She stood up and walked out in front of him, failing to notice his displeasure. That wasn’t on. Now the receptionist would be wondering who the hell this young woman was, and what she was doing accompanying him to a meeting.

The traffic was bad, and the Satnav indicated the travelling time to Bristol was close to three hours. Karl relaxed, as he was only going to the hotel to stay overnight, and didn’t have a meeting until the following lunchtime. He took the time stuck in traffic to attempt to discover more about her.

“So, this guy. You think he is following you? What can be so bad that he would do that?”

She lit a cigarette before answering, and fully opened her window. The light breeze sucked the smoke out of the car.

“It’s like he holds a grudge or something. We were both working on a project that didn’t quite come off, and he totally blames me. I’m not going back to my flat in London, that’s for sure. He knows where I live, and he is bound to have checked out whether or not I am there. I have blocked his number on my phone too, otherwise he would just keep calling on repeat. He’s not a nice man, and I want no more to do with him. Best to have a fresh start somewhere else”.

Knowing bullshit when he heard it, Karl pushed a little.

“Why don’t you go to the police? Get a restraining order out on him or something? Stalking and threatening behaviour are both illegal, and I’m sure you don’t need to run away”. The time it took her to reply convinced him she was thinking very carefully about what to say.

“The thing is, what we were doing is, how shall I put it? Irregular. Not strictly against the law, but sailing close to the borders, if you get what I mean. By the way, do you think your hotel will have a room free? I could do with a proper rest”.

42 thoughts on “Carole With An E: Part Two”

  6. I predict she’s already called and found no more rooms available. She will ask if she can stay with him in his room. Karl will get in deep before he realizes what she’s up to.

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  11. (1) “It took a while before Carole opened up…” I don’t have a dirty mind, but…
    (2) “Can I be cheeky?” Again, I don’t have a dirty mind, but…
    (3) Cattle ranchers know bullshit when they step in it.
    (4) I once got to know a taxidermist. He got me involved in some stuff.
    (5) I’m no Roads Scholar, but I would just like to point out (with my thumb) that there are at least 20 posts on the road in the photo above. I assume this story will also consist of at least 20 posts.
    (6) Overheard:
    Carole: “By the way, do you think your hotel will have a room free?”
    Karl: “Yes, but it won’t have a free room.”
    (7) Carole was involved in something not strictly against the law, but sailing close to the borders. (Whatever floats your boat, right?)

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