Peter Grist - Flashback

Buster looked up from the pages of his memory and looked straight at Ed Saunders. “Reason I believe you mister, is ‘cos duh man she told me bout, it was you, no doubt.”

They were back in the car outside Buster’s house. He said he had to get to work at the gas station but had vowed to help them in any way he could to find his daughter, before he left he had drawn a simple map of where the bicycle had been found and where the searches had been carried out so many years ago.

“Well that’s not how I thought it would go!” exclaimed Ed.

“No”, agreed Linda, “knowing you were coming one day… that was, er, unexpected.”

“But no stranger than what I told him!”

“True, very true.”

They sat perfectly still, staring out of the windshield, trying to take in everything that Buster had said. After his revelation about Elsa’s deathbed prophecy, he went on to say that the locals had rallied round, helping in the search but few were white folks and those few only spent two days on it, whereas friends looked for weeks after.

Ed looked at the map in front of him then passed it to Linda. “Mean anything to you?”

Linda looked at the piece of A4 paper, turned it around a few times then said, “Yes, we can find this place, but if we have to start going up into the hills we won’t make it in this or the Nissan. Most of the places he has marked are only accessible from dirt tracks.” She looked from the map to the digital clock on the dash. It read 3:47. The day was disappearing quickly. She thought for a moment longer then nodded to herself, coming to a decision. “Okay, drive me back to my place can you. I’ll pick up the Nissan later.”

“Sure”, said Ed as he turned the key. “What’s the plan?”

“I’ll show you when we get to my place.” she replied mysteriously.

There was little traffic to speak of as they drove swiftly across town but it still took the best part of an hour to reach Linda’s old ranch. The wheels crunched on the gravel as Ed pulled up outside.

“Come in a minute, I’ll have to ask Esther if she can stay a bit later today, and we need some things.”

As Linda made her way into her house Ed leaned back and swiftly grabbed an old leather flight jacket from the back seat and his 9mm Browning and shoulder holster from the glove box. By the time he had reached the house the jacket neatly concealed any trace of the weapon hanging from his left side.

He waited in the hall while Linda went and found Esther and Joshua. She found them in the kitchen baking. After hugs and kisses and the briefest of conversations Linda was back in the hall, but now carrying a foot long burgundy Maglite flashlight, her cell-phone and some snack bars.

“Hold these would you while I go and get changed?” She dumped the items into Ed’s hands then bounded up the stairs two at a time. Ed couldn’t resist following her with his eyes as she sprinted up to the top floor, once again reflecting on her magnificent physic. Within minutes she was coming back down again. Ed couldn’t help but smile appreciatively at her long legs wrapped now in tight denim covered with what looked like brown riding boots and her body covered by a tightly fitted red and yellow checked shirt. Her hair was now pushed back into a ponytail. The smile on her face showed that she had got the reaction she was hoping for. She strode past Ed, snatched up a set of car keys from the dish on the coat rack then said, “Okay, follow me.”

She marched purposefully out of the front door, off the porch and towards the big barn that sat to the side of the estate. ‘I would follow you anywhere’ Ed thought to himself, then quickly followed her out of the front door. He had to jog a little before he caught up with her, giving him an ample opportunity to watch Linda’s exaggerated wiggle.

“What have you got stashed in here, a HumVee?” he teased.

“Not far off the mark Mr Saunders.” She replied.

With a proud flourish, she pulled one of the big doors wide leaving Ed to squint into the dimly lit barn. The barn was sparsely filled with ancient farming equipment, workbenches and handtools. Near the back wall sat a shrouded vehicle. The boxy shape hidden by the cover was unmistakable.

“Is that what I think it is Linda?”

“Probably.” She said as she strode over to it. She lifted one corner of the dust cover and pulled it up and over to reveal a Jeep Cherokee.

“It’s over fifteen years old but it’s almost like new.”

Ed did a low whistle as he gave the tough off-roader a quick look over. The deep amethyst blue paint had lost none of its lustre and the chunky aluminium wheels glistened in the half-light. The SUV had obviously been well maintained. Linda walked back from pushing open the other door and blipped the remote central locking. “It was Ben’s pride and joy. He could’ve bought a sexy sports car but he had always wanted a Jeep since he was a little boy, he couldn’t find an affordable world war two jeep so he bought this XJ instead. It was almost new when he bought it; somehow I just couldn’t part with it.”

“It looks in great shape.” Ed agreed.

“I keep it washed and polished and take it into town every once in a while to get gassed up.”

Now with both barn doors open, there was much more light coming in. Ed bent down near the back of the Jeep.

“This thing has parabolic leaf springs on it”

“Yep!” replied Linda, “It also has a 2inch lift kit and protection plates for the engine and transmission. The winch on the front and the snorkel are extras too.” She said with pride.

“Sounds like you know what you are talking about.” Ed said, impressed.

“Not really, but Ben went on about it so much when he got things done to it, it must have stuck in my head.”

She jumped in and put the key in the ignition. The Jeep started on the first turn. She wound the electric window down on the passenger side and asked over the noise of the burbling 4litre high-output engine if Ed could close the doors after she had driven out. Ed saluted his agreement and followed behind the car as Linda slipped the T-bar selector of the auto box into drive, let out the parking brake and crept forwards. As Ed followed the off-roader he noticed a whole set of tools hanging over a workbench to the side. He selected a spade from its hook, leaving a painted shadow on the wall where the tool belonged.

Ed closed the big barn doors, set the latch then opened the rear door and put the spade with the flashlight on the floor behind the front passenger seat. He caught Linda’s enquiring look over her shoulder. “Just in case.” He replied to the unspoken question. She nodded knowingly as he jumped into the right-hand side. The soft grey leather seats were cool to the touch and a welcome from the late afternoon heat from outside. He gave her back her cell-phone which she plugged into a hands-free unit mounted on the dash.

“Okay, it’s a bit of a drive but I know roughly where we are going.” They both put on their seatbelts, Ed set the aircon to cool then Linda headed for the main road. The curtain from the front room window fell back in place as Josh let it go, turning away from the dust cloud left by the Jeep, and headed for his room.

The journey took them north-east towards the Allegheny range. The sprawling conurbation lay behind them with just an occasional shack or turning for a farm. Even to Ed’s untrained eye, he could see that the crops were struggling as the once rich earth turned to dust. In the distance, he could hear the plaintive sound of a railroad locomotive sounding its horn. Looking left across the flatlands he could make out the distinct shape of the train coming closer. Linda looked ahead at the crossing coming up; it was still some way off.