Flashback Page 7

  “Well, well, only been here a day and already you’re in with the Saxon bitch. Well, there ain’t no way you’ll get past first base with that one boy, that’s fur damn sure, she’s tighter than a camels ass in a sand storm”. The watcher chuckled at his own wisdom but the humour never reached the cold darkness of his eyes. After he had lost sight of the two cars up ahead he pulled out again and motored slowly on.

  Ed and Linda drove out of town until the residential area became sporadic houses that got further and further apart from their neighbours, then stopped completely. She checked her rear-view mirror often, just to make sure he was keeping up, only to see him smiling back at her. She couldn’t help but smile in return. They turned off of the main highway on to a much smaller road that started to wind its way gently uphill. Farmland was now the dominating feature interspersed with great swaths of Pines and Buckeye as they drove further northeast. Linda clicked her turn signal down and turned on to a smaller dirt track that only had one mailbox at the end of it with the name Saxon painted neatly in white paint on the side. The track lasted just a hundred yards before it opened up. The cars crunched as the dirt track became a gravelled area outside a small but tidy ranch house. The white-painted wooden building stood two stories high with a covered porch that ran the length of the front. There were a couple of recliner chairs and a small swing chair just by the door in the centre. As Ed swung the car around to stop next to Linda’s, he could see a large barn, back and to the left of the house that may be held horses or farm equipment, its big double doors closed tight. The area in front of the house was surrounded by a low picket fence that looked out over grazing land. The sun was just starting to set on the other side of the buildings, leaving a pink tinge to the huge sky. It looked idyllic.

  They both got out of their cars at the same time. “Wow Linda, this place is great!” Having seen the poor condition of her car, Ed assumed that her house would be in a similar condition. With obvious pride, she turned and replied, “Yes, it is, isn’t it? You seemed surprised. Come inside and meet Josh”. Josh must be her husband he thought to himself. Forcing a smile he followed her through the net-covered outer door through the already opened polished wooden door. He was no expert but it looked to him like solid oak and very old. It matched the highly polished wooden flooring in the spacious hall. The wood continued halfway up the walls but was now painted shaker blue. The wood panelling gave way to wallpaper depicting small roses in various colours and maturity. He breathed in the smell of polish mixed with something even better coming from the kitchen. He glanced around appreciatively and took in the large dark wood coat rack to the right with a large mirror at its centre. There were few coats on it; just a woman’s knitted poncho, a couple of bad weather faded yellow sou’westers and a bright blue anorak hanging from its hood. The hook above the anorak held a brown woollen hat with a crazy yellow zig-zag pattern running through it. Next to the coat rack was a set of stairs that lead up to the next floor and before the coat rack was an open door that at a glance seemed to lead off into a reception room. Under the stairs was another door that Ed guessed would lead to a washroom and at the back was yet another door that clearly led to a kitchen. Linda tossed her keys into a ceramic bowl that sat on a semi-circular table in front of the mirror, then lead him over to the left to the last door he could see. As they entered the large room the wooden floor gave way to a burnt umber-coloured carpet. It felt homely with a large unlit fire on the back wall, surrounded by a two-seater and two single armchairs, all covered with a matching floral design. Above the fireplace was not the Wild West scene Ed expected but a large framed print of three World War Two P-51 Mustang fighters flying over a snowy European countryside. On the mantelpiece were two family photos held in matching silver frames. He looked at the posed picture of a slightly younger Linda standing next to a handsome fair-haired guy in Air Force uniform. Linda was holding a toddler of about two. The other photo was more natural and Ed guessed it was the same toddler but ten or so years on, sitting in the porch swing he had seen outside, reading a book, the photographer unobserved.

  The two-seater was occupied; an elderly woman sat quietly reading to a young teenager, the kid from the photos. “Hi Josh! I’m home, and I brought a friend with me”. The woman and boy both looked up at the same time. The woman showed relief on her face while the boy’s expression quickly changed from welcoming to consternation.

  “Oh hi Linda, have a good day?” the woman asked as she stood. She wore a simple patterned floral cream dress and flat, comfortable brown shoes. She looked to be in her late sixties but well groomed with a short, neat bob of grey hair and tasteful, restrained makeup.

  “Same old same old I guess, how was Joshua today?” Linda replied.

  “Well, okay, but it wasn’t one of his strong days. We went for a walk as usual after lunch but a couple of jets from the base flew over fairly low and that upset him. He’s been very quiet since then, but no episodes thankfully”.

  She nodded towards Ed “Are you going to introduce me to your guest or do I have to burst with curiosity?” “Oh I’m sorry Esther, this is Ed Saunders, a friend, he’s come back for supper.” Esther gave Ed an approving once over, then looked back to Linda.

  “Ed, this is Esther Mourn, my saviour from insanity.” She continued the introduction.

  “Pleased to meet you Mame.”

  “You too.” She replied. “Well, seeing as you’re back on time, I’ll git going myself. Jed said he’d take me out to eat tonight ‘stead of me having to cook. Nice meeting you Mr Saunders”, She gave Linda a knowing wink and added “have a good evening you two”.

  Linda’s cheeks flushed pink at the remark then turned away from Ed towards Josh so that Ed couldn’t see her blush. She went and sat beside Joshua who hadn’t yet moved and was now giving all of his attention to the open pages of a storybook. Although it was a warm day he wore a thick navy jumper over his dark blue jeans. She gently put her hand over one of his “Hello Josh, how are you, did you miss mommy today?” Josh withdrew his hand from hers, closed the book and walked out of the room, head down, without saying a word. Now he was on his feet Ed could tell that the sandy-haired, freckle-faced kid was about fourteen or fifteen years old and fairly tall but he seemed much younger than that in the way he moved and his facial expression. He heard the boy stomp up the stairs, along the landing above them then slam his door shut.

  “Oh dear,” she said, “he’s not happy”.

  “That’s a bit of an understatement, is it because of me?” Ed asked.

  “Oh no I doubt it, you wouldn’t have helped, but no, it will have been the aeroplanes from lunchtime. Come into the kitchen and I’ll explain. Would you like some coffee?”

  She led him back through the hall to the kitchen at the back of the house. It was how he pictured a farm kitchen should look, with a large wood table at its centre, four chairs, lots of work surfaces and cupboard space, again in shaker blue, but a modern electric double oven where once a wood-burning stove must have sat and a large chrome double-door refrigerator across the other side. There were blue and white check curtains hanging from a white wooden pole halfway up the long window. She turned on the faucet at the big old ceramic sink and filled the jug from a coffee machine with water. She busied herself filling the machine with coffee and getting it going as she started to talk.

  “Ben’s been gone nearly ten years now; he was a Major in the Air Force. Everyone called him ‘Big Ben’, you know, because of the clock in London? He died in a training accident; he was on a C130 that crashed in bad weather. He wasn’t even flying it; he was a passenger that day. He was an instructor on the jets. We bought this place about a year before he died. It was a fixer-upper as the real estate people would say. Joshua was five when the accident happened. We knew he had some problems quite early on. When he was born he came out real fast, but the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. He lost air for a little while. The doctors did some tests when
he was a little older and said it was nothing and probably wouldn’t affect him at all, but there were signs that he wasn’t quite the same as other kids. When Ben died he took it really badly, we both did of course, but Josh went into himself and has hardly recovered. The doctors say it is a kind of autism and he should improve as he gets older. I’m not so sure. The kids at the local school teased him, called him a dummy but he is actually very bright, ‘specially with numbers. Esther schools him and cares for him during the days when I’m working, but as you saw, he doesn’t show much affection and doesn’t like change or strangers. Here’s your coffee, you like lots of cream don’t you?” As he took the offered mug and mumbled a thank you, he could see tears welling in her eyes. “I’m sorry”, she said, fumbling for a tissue in her jacket pocket. “I haven’t had to tell anyone any of that for a while now, but it doesn’t seem to get any easier though”. Ed felt shocked. The obvious questions popped into his head.

  “I’m so sorry Linda, c’mon on, sit down.” He sat her at the kitchen table then took the chair opposite hers. “How do you manage? I mean, why don’t you go home, wherever home is, to your family?”

  She looked up with her big brown eyes. “I have no family as such, both my parents died some years ago and I don’t really get on with my brother. Aunts and uncles are very distant, India in fact, that’s my origins. This was to be our dream home, and it was, for a while. Ben was due to leave the Air Force in another twelve months and we were going to stay here in Ohio, maybe resurrect the farm with some cattle and crops and I was going to go back to teaching, that’s what I did before we had Joshua. Ben’s insurance covered the mortgage and I get a generous widow’s pension from the government so we do okay. I don’t really need to work at the library but I would go stir crazing I think, and Josh can be a challenge sometimes, so Esther comes in three times a week and I go to the library, it works out really well.” They sat in silence, he didn’t know what to say, but his stomach did. Linda heard the deep rumble from across the table, they both smiled. “Gosh, you must be starving, when did you eat last?” she asked as she stood up. It was his turn to flush crimson.

  “Oh breakfast I guess, I had pancakes at the diner in town, but really, I don’t want to put you to any bother Linda”.

  “It won’t be a bother, I promise. I made a chicken pie on Sunday that will easily feed all of us, and I phoned Esther earlier to ask her to pop it in the oven”.

  She busied herself with pots and pans and getting vegetables.

  “What are you like around the kitchen Ed, are you a real man, can you use a peeler?” she asked with just a hint of sarcasm. “I need to go and see Josh, would you….?”

  He took the proffered potato peeler and turned to the sack of fresh potatoes as she disappeared towards the stairs. “I’m back to doing KP duties again!”

  Linda tapped on the boy’s door. “Josh, honey, can I come in?” With no answer, she turned the knob and stood at the open doorway to the boy’s room. He sat on his bed, holding the plastic model kit of a jet fighter, one of his prized possessions. There was no answer but he shrugged his shoulders noncommittally so she joined him on the edge of his bed. “Honey, are you okay? Did those planes bother you today?” He shrugged again. “They won’t crash Josh, I promise, Daddy was really unlucky. You got a hug for your mom?” Another shrug. “Please honey?” She knew that Joshua’s hugs were rarely given but something in her voice must have struck a chord with the boy. He leaned closer and put his arms around his mum, still clutching the model behind her back. She held him tight, making the most of every moment. Josh had inherited his father’s looks, his height and his smell. She felt closer to them both on the occasions her son gave her a hug. Reluctantly, she let him go. “Honey, I have to go back downstairs, will you come down in a while and join us. I would really like you to come and say hello to Mr Saunders properly. You’ll like him, he’s a nice guy. And we have chicken pie for supper, your favourite. Will you come down for me? Honey?” He finally looked up at her.

  “Is he gonna be my new dad?”

  When he wasn’t bottling things up inside Joshua had a knack of asking his questions up front. She blushed yet again.

  “No Josh, he’s just a friend that needs my help.” But her own mind wasn’t completely convinced with the answer and maybe nor was Josh either, but he nodded.

  “You’ll come down then, soon?”

  “Okay mom, I’ll come down in a bit”.

  She stood and moved to the door. Turning back she looked at her son, still in the same position as when she had entered the room, head down, still holding on tightly to the jet fighter.

  “I love you Joshua”.

  There was no response from the boy. She turned and headed for the stairs.

  Ed had finished peeling the potatoes and had started to slice them in half and plop them in a big pan Linda had put on the stove.

  “My, you work quickly. Thank you for doing that”. Ed turned towards her looking very pleased with himself.

  “I’ll be honest with you; I’m used to TV dinners. I can’t see the point of cooking for one, but I used to cook quite a lot”.

  “Oh, you’re on your own then, I assumed you’d be married? I guess there’s an awful lot I don’t know about you…yet”.

  Their eyes met across the kitchen, the enquiry not lost on either of them. He broke the silence. “Was, I was married, divorced a few years back. She went off with one of my colleagues, one of those things I guess”.

  “Ouch, that must have hurt.” she said earnestly.

  “Yes it did, still does if I’m honest, I miss him a lot”. She got the joke immediately and they both laughed out loud. The mood was relaxed and they spent the next forty minutes talking, gently enquiring and investigating each other as they prepared the meal. Likes and dislikes, food, cars, a little history. The subject of the missing girl was avoided by both of them. The smell of the cooked pie drifted through the house finally drawing Joshua down just as Ed was laying the plates on the table.

  “That’s my job.” he said from the doorway.

  “No problem fella, you can take it from here” Ed replied, putting the plates in a stack nearest the end of the table to where the boy stood. Joshua picked them up and deftly set the rest of the table, setting three places instead of two without any sign that it was unusual. While the boy did that, Ed mashed the potatoes and added butter and milk while Linda served the rest of the meal.

  “What would you like to drink Ed?”

  “Oh, I’ve got that covered; I got you a bottle of wine. It’s in the car; I’ll just go get it.” Outside it had gone dark so the lone figure that stood just inside the tree line had no problem looking in on the scene of domestic bliss without being observed himself. He saw Saunders move to the front of the house and come back moments later with a bottle. After a few minutes, the intruder moved much closer to the house so he could get an even better view of the folks inside as they talked, ate and cleared up.

  The meal had gone better than Linda could have hoped for. Ed was brilliant with Joshua and after only a few minutes her son had seemed to warm to him, well as much as he warmed to anyone. Ed and Josh talked about cars and planes. Josh told Ed that his granddaddy had flown one of the P-51s hanging over the fireplace in World War Two, for the 8th Army Air Force from a place called Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England. Ed told Josh and Linda about some of his time in Vietnam but mainly about the jobs he had had since leaving the army. After a dessert of fresh fruit salad and ice cream they worked together, washing, drying and stowing everything back in its place. Linda went upstairs with the boy to help him get set for bed while Ed moved back to sit near the unlit fire with a fresh coffee. After a few minutes, she came back down. She had changed from her work clothes into some slacks and a loose top but Ed still thought she looked a million dollars.

  “That was the best meal I have had in years. Where did you learn to cook like t
hat?”

  She sat opposite him in the other armchair and set about lighting the kindling in the fire.

  “My mom was quite frail, she had some kind of degenerative bone disease so by the time I was twelve I was doing most of the chores, including the cooking. Pop couldn’t cook for toffee and my brother was a lazy bum so it was up to me”.

  The wood started to crack and snap as she added some bigger logs. They both relaxed back into the chairs and stared as the flames licked higher. They sat that way in contented silence for a few minutes, watching the flames lick higher and higher until Linda broke the silence.

  “Okay mister, time’s up, what’s going on?”

  Ed knew it would come to this point. During the meal, he had made his mind up to tell Linda the truth, as screwy as it sounded. With a sigh, he started. He told her about driving into town and blacking out, coming around and being in the old car. She stayed silent as he told her about seeing the little girl being abducted in the pick-up truck. He continued staring into the fire as he told her about the flashback he’d had in the motel room, although he saw her eyebrows rise from the corner of his vision when he said about the wet footprints in the room. He finished with finding the grave and his trek back towards town and waking up in the library. By the time he had finished his tail, the fire had died to almost embers with just a few large pieces of charred wood remaining. Linda put another log on the fire then sat back, thinking.