Peter Grist - Flashback

“I’m nearly done” she heard him say. He was grunting from exertion then it went quiet again. She turned back towards the hole in the ground just as he was climbing out. In the flashlight light she could see he held a piece of ribbon taken from one of the girls ponytails.

“Hold the light would you, I’m gonna cover her back over, hold this too?” He passed her the light and ribbon, grabbed the spade and gently started replacing the soil. The light strayed a little as she hiccupped with her crying but she tried not to shine the beam directly into the grave. When it was done Ed carefully put the topsoil back in place and patted it down with the spade. Linda’s tears had dried as he finished making the ground look as undisturbed as possible. He threw a few pieces of dead branches and leaves around the area they had dug. He took the flashlight back and swept the beam around, checking his handy work. He nodded to himself, reached for Linda’s hand and led the way back to the car.

It was fully dark as they made their way back to the Jeep so the going was slow. Linda blipped the remote and jumped in the passenger side.

“Could you drive, I don’t think I’m up to it?” she asked, offering the keys to Ed.

“No problem”. He took the keys, dumped the flashlight and spade in the back then walked around to the other side of the car. As he got in he noticed that the cell phone was flashing from its holder on the dash.

“You’ve got a message, your phones flashing”.

“Oh, it’s probably Esther seeing what time we’ll be back, I’ll give her a call and tell her we’re on our way”.

Linda picked up the phone, unlocked it and opened the waiting message. Ed looked at his companion in surprise as a huge sob ripped through her. She broke down in tears, the cell falling to the floor as she held her face in her hands. Ed picked up the phone and read the message: IF YOU EVER WANT TO SEE YOUR BOY AGAIN DUMP THE SALESMAN AND GO HOME BITCH.

“Linda?…… Linda? Listen to me, phone home, see if Josh is there”.

She pulled herself together almost as quickly as she had lost control. Ed was realising that this woman was made of strong stuff, and now this, after the evening they had already gone through.

“Call home, make sure they’re alright, I’ll get us heading back”.

She sniffed several times but the look of shock in her eyes had now been replaced by a steely hard face, accentuating her pointed chin and high cheekbones. She took the phone back and keyed in a speed dial number as Ed adjusted the electric seat and got the Jeep turned around to face back down the track. He let the 4x4 bump slowly down the rugged track, taking frequent glances at Linda’s silhouette in the darkness. She held the phone tight to her ear, her knuckles white from the grip. In between the squeaking of the springs as it bounced in and out of the ruts he could hear the faint electronic ringing of her home phone tainting the silence. He could picture the phone on the wall of the kitchen where they had sat just a day before enjoying chicken pie. The longer it rang, the more Ed thought the noise was mocking them. Finally, she rang off.

“Oh my god Ed, they’ve taken Josh, and probably Esther too. What am I going to do?”

“What are WE going to do, we’re in this together. We’ll get him back, I promise.” Ed sounded surer than he felt inside. He knew what this guy was capable off and inside he knew that if Josh had been taken it was very likely he was already dead.

“We have a big advantage here; he doesn’t know that we know who he is. We can find him and get Josh back, but I think we’re going to need some help. But let’s get back to your place and see what’s happened first.”

Linda said nothing but nodded in response. The ground had evened out a little as the tracks got wider. The Jeep had extra halogen lights fitted to the front which Ed utilised to good effect but he still drove faster than the conditions allowed. Soon they were back on to blacktop and he hit the gas hard, heading for Linda’s ranch house.

The Jeep came to a screeching halt outside of her home kicking up a spray of dust and gravel. Linda was out of the door even before the car had stopped, running for the front door; calling for her son, Ed was hot on her tail. The house lights were all off except for the living room. They burst through the front door, Ed calling for Esther, Linda calling for Josh.

“Check upstairs, see if he’s there, I’ll look for Esther.” suggested Ed. Linda never broke her stride and headed for the stairs to the next floor leaping them two at a time. Ed turned left into the front room and immediately saw the woman laid out on the floor. He rushed to her side, kneeling beside her head. The gash was deep and still oozed blood, matting her hair and causing the grey to turn to a deep reddish-black, the area around it a massive lump. She looked white and he could see that she had lost a lot of blood into the carpet. He felt for a pulse in her neck, it was faint, but there. He raced into the kitchen, grabbed a clean dishcloth from the side and went back to her prone body. Upstairs, he could hear Linda shouting for her son as she searched all the rooms. Ed gently placed the dishcloth over the wound then raised her head so that he could put a seat cushion underneath. Esther felt limp and lifeless in his hands. Linda ran back down the stairs and into the living room.

“He’s gone… Oh my god! Esther!” She ran to join Ed beside the lifeless body of her friend. “She’s not… please, she isn’t…?”

“No she’s not dead, but we need to get her medical attention urgently. She’s lost a lot of blood, I’ll call 911.”

“No, it’s quicker if we take her. There is a small hospital on this side of town, it has an E.R. department. You sit in the back with her and I’ll drive.” Ed agreed and between them managed to get Esther into Ed’s arms. He carried her like a small child to the back of the Jeep. Linda opened the back door and helped him slide her friend in the back, Esther’s head cradled in Ed’s lap, still resting on the seat cushion. Without further ado she jumped in the front, started the car and turned it around, the spinning wheels spitting more gravel and dust in a wide arc. It was still in 4x4 mode so the tires dug in and shot the car around and back towards town.

She drove at breakneck speed and got to the medical centre in less than ten minutes, pulling right up to the electric doors that usually took ambulances. As soon as the car was in Park, Linda was out and through the sliding double doors, calling for help. Matt Petonowski was the duty doctor, sitting at the nurse’s station just inside. Linda knew most of Ludlow’s dwindling population by face if not by name, but the young physician was a regular visitor to the library. Linda always thought of David Schwimmer from Friends whenever he came in. He jumped up, dropping his paperback to the desk as Linda burst in.

“Linda, what’s wrong?”

“Oh Matt, it’s Esther Mourn, she’s been attacked! She’s in my car, hurry.”

Matt’s dark green eyes showed shock but his professionalism kicked in as he grabbed a gurney parked by the entrance. Ludlow was a relatively quiet town and attacks were very rare. The most common thing at this time of night was bar brawls and they weren’t that regular. He ran to the Jeep, closely followed by a nurse. Between the four of them, they got Esther laid on the trolley, Matt taking a quick peek under the dishcloth. “Looks ugly, but Esther’s a tough old bird, let’s see if we can fix her up.” Matt and the nurse rattled the gurney into a side room, leaving Linda and Ed staring after them. The last thing they saw was an oxygen mask being placed over Esther’s face as the door swung silently closed. They stood close together, not moving, not talking, hardly daring to breathe. Gently, Linda slipped her hand into Ed’s. He returned the hold, gaining strength and composure from it as if being plugged into a battery charger. Linda felt the same; just the closeness of his body helped her. Eventually, she said, “I’m going to call Jed, Esther’s husband, he must be worried, she should be home by now, then we need to find Josh.”