“How could I?” Dreama tapped her foot. “He’s makin’ the plans, telling Taxi where to dump the bodies. But he ain’t comin’ along, Lettie. And if he don’t get his hands dirty, what’s to keep him from talking? The law boys will be all over him and this place and they ain’t known for being nice. Honey, your doctor will be giving out the whole story soon as they start hittin’.”
“You don’t know Timothy.”
“Don’t matter. No white man ever put himself through misery on account of coloreds.” She flapped her hands in the air. “If he tells them about the shootin’, all’s gonna happen is a little bitty article in the newspaper. He tells them where the bodies got dumped, it’s another article in the paper. But if he tells them a colored girl shot those boys, who’s gonna get put in jail for murder? Ain’t gonna be the white doctor. And if he talks about the colored man what got rid of the bodies, who they be lynching?”
“And you figured out a way to stop all this from happening?” Lettie Ruth asked.
“No, it’s too late for figuring. We made a mistake long time ago by lettin’ a white man get too close. You may like him, and work for him, and live with him … but he won’t give it all up for Lettie Ruth Rayson.”
“Don’t be so goddamn sure, Dreama Simms.” Timothy Biggers marched through the door and slammed his rifle down on the desk. “If you’re through running your mouth, get your ass in gear and help me load them boys.”
“Here comes another car,” Taxi said.
Biggers ducked down as the oncoming headlights lit the inside of their car. In a second it was behind them and Lettie Ruth released a rush of pent up air.
“Dr. Tim, we’re gonna see more cars closer it gets to sun up,” Taxi said. “About time for you to get out.”
They’d decided before leaving the clinic that Biggers would ride with them until sunrise, then get out and hunker down in the bushes until after everything was finished. It wouldn’t do any good to have Taxi pulled over by a Trooper because of a white man riding in his back seat.
“I suppose so,” Biggers mumbled.
Lettie Ruth looked at Timothy, his jaw was swollen twice its normal size and a purple bruise covered half his face. She knew he must be feeling bad, but he never complained. Mile after mile he just stared out the windows, the only time he moved was when cars passed them.
Taxi steered the car off the road. “We be back in ten or fifteen minutes, Dr. Tim. You stay low.”
Biggers remained in the back seat. “This is foolish. I’ve come this far, no reason not to see it through.”
Lettie Ruth touched his hand. “Timothy, if we get stopped on account of you…”
“I want to help, Lettie Ruth.”
“You can help by letting us gets on with it,” Taxi said.
Dreama stirred and turned around. “Your hands are dirty enough, Timothy. Get on out of the car now.”
Before he could respond, a car pulled in behind them, the light bar on top of the police cruiser flashing red and blue.
The Alabama State Trooper got out of his vehicle, adjusted his hat and holster, then marched toward them. He stopped several feet away from the De Soto driver’s side, his hand sliding down to his holstered weapon. Without speaking he pantomimed rolling down the window.
“What y’all doin on the road this early?” The trooper asked, capturing Taxi in his flashlight beam.
“My boy here is driving me, I’m Dr. Timothy Biggers.” Biggers opened the door and stepped out onto the shoulder.
“What happened to you?” the trooper asked, studying the doctor’s face.
“A tree branch blew off during the storm yesterday, caught me full on,” Biggers explained. “That’s why he’s driving. My jaw hurts like a bitch.”
The trooper played the light over Dreama and Lettie Ruth. “What about these other niggers?”
“The one in back is my nurse and the other is learning to be a nurse.”
“Why ain’t you in a white man’s car?” the trooper asked, his tone suspicious.
Biggers laughed. “My boy always drives when I need to take along my nurse.” He leaned closer and whispered, “Well hells bells, you think I want a bunch of niggers smellin’ up my Fairlane?”
The trooper laughed. “I sure wouldn’t. Where y’all headed?”
Biggers pointed down the road. “Back to Maceyville.”
“Y’alls pointing the wrong way.”
Biggers snorted. “My goddamn nigger ain’t got no sense of direction. I fell asleep in the back and next thing I know here we are. By the way, where is here?”
“Shit, y’alls getting real close to the Mississippi state line.”
“Mississippi? I shoulda known better than to bring three of ‘em along,” Biggers grumbled. “Well, since we’re this close maybe I’ll keep going and have breakfast over there.”
“There’s good place about twenty miles ahead, called Bubba’s.”
“Bubba’s you say? We got a bar in Maceyville called Bubba’s Julep Junction, I hope this place is better.”
“It is.” The trooper shined his light on Taxi again. “You best learn to read a map, boy.”
“Yes, sir.
Biggers climbed back in the De Soto, his eyes on the floor. “Y’all understand why I did all that don’t you?” he asked.
Dreama waited until the Trooper’s tail lights disappeared over the ridge then she jumped out of the car and ran around to the back door. She yanked the handle, reached inside and planted a wet kiss on the startled doctor’s mouth.
“Of course we do, Timothy,” she said, between smacks. “You was as good an actor as that Gregory Peck.”
=THIRTY-FIVE=
Kat waded through the flooded intersections. With each successive block her mood darkened. Defeated, she sat on the curb and allowed her tears to mix with the rain on her cheeks.
Dangerous for you. Stay away. Don’t cross. The warning mocked her despair. Arrogance and her refusal to listen had led to this disaster. Six days ago she’d embarked upon a great time-travel adventure which ended up a nightmare. Only now the nightmare extended beyond her own person. Mitch, seduced by the malevolent power of foreknowledge, would move heaven and earth to right what he perceived to be wrongs. Regardless of the outcome.
Not once in the last five years had he mentioned a sister. And for one to suddenly appear, caused her nerves to dance. Mitch’s sister was like the Lettie Ruth mystery. Whether by accident, or on purpose, something had happened to the child. And that something was the catalyst that started this crazy scheme bubbling in Mitch’s head. He believed getting rid of his father would save the baby.
But he’d overlooked one thing. Getting rid of Billy Lee also got rid of James Mitchell. She buried her face in her hands as a strange emptiness filled her heart. Overcome by sadness she didn’t hear the approaching footsteps until the person was only a few feet away.
Her heart rate increased tenfold as she raised her head. Turning slightly toward the sidewalk, her muscles tensed, ready to take flight at the slightest hint of danger. Her ginger-haired partner strolled toward her, head down and unaware of her presence. She waited until he was an arm length away before standing. His startled expression made her laugh.
“For a cop you sure don’t pay much attention to what’s going on around you,” she scolded.
Mitch grinned and shrugged. “Too damn wet outside for the bad guys.”
“Where’s your ride?”
“Returned to its original owner,” he said, sitting on the curb.
She brushed a clump of matted leaves off a section of curb and sat beside him. “That’s not too smart, considering the weather forecast. You realize we gotta walk all the way back to the clinic now.”
Mitch shook his head and pointed to the street sign: PARK STREET. “This is as far as we’re going, kid.”
Kat didn’t want to go where he was leading, but she also knew she didn’t have a choice.
“I bet it’s not even raining on the other side of the st
reet,” he commented. “Why don’t you walk over there and check.”
“Not without you.”
“Kat, I won’t be crossing.”
Once he’d said the words, reality set in and a piece of her heart died. She stood and stared across the street. “Then I’m not going either. We’ll just stay here and make a new life.”
“You’ve got to go back and take care of your Pop. He’s expecting you.”
“He’ll be fine. In fact, I can guarantee that Lettie Ruth is taking care of him right now.”
“Then you completed a successful mission.” He stood and gathered her in his arms. “Now it’s time for you to go home.”
She held onto him, afraid if she let go he would disappear in a puff of smoke. “Come with me.”
“I can’t do that. Someone needs my help here.”
“The baby?”
He leaned back until he could see her face. “You know about Carolyn?”
“Lettie Ruth saw a woman and a baby with you in the car. And after what you told Timothy about the bus station, well, I put two and two together.”
“And came up with my mother and sister?”
“Yes.”
“I always said you were an observant cop.”
“Are they gone?”
“They’re on a bus to Pennsylvania.”
Kat’s heart skipped a beat. “Then everything is okay. You can come with me.”
“No. If I don’t change the past Carolyn will never grow up.”
“Maybe you’ve already done enough.”
He shook his head. “No, I’ve only made matters worse for them by convincing Mom to leave him today. Billy Lee knows about me but he’s connecting all the wrong dots.”
“He thinks you and your mother are…”
“Bingo. And he’ll hunt them down and probably kill them both this time. So I have to see this thing through.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. Arguing would be futile. He’d already set the wheels in motion. It was only a matter of time.
“When?” she asked.
“In a few minutes. When he gets here you’ve got to cross, Kat. It’s going to get messy real fast.”
“What about you? What will happen?”
“Don’t worry about me. Just cross.”
Kat reached up and brushed the hair out of his eyes, her fingers lingering for a moment on his freckled forehead. “I always meant to tell you just how much you remind me of Howdy Doody,” she said.
Mitch laughed and tugged on one of her curls. “And you’ve always made me think of Shirley Temple.”
“This is too hard.” Her eyes filled with tears and she blinked rapidly, fighting the enormous wave of sadness threatening to sweep her away. “My heart hurts.”
“I know,” he whispered, “mine too. But the hurt won’t last forever.”
“Mitch, I don’t want to forget you.”
“Even if you forget in your head,” he touched her chest with one finger, “you will always remember in here.”
Kat placed her hand over his and squeezed. “There are so many things I wanted to say to you. Should have said to you.”
“Kathleen, each time I looked in your eyes I heard all those things. Our friendship’s been special from the beginning because deep inside we both knew it wouldn’t last very long. And because we sensed the ticking clock, I think we crammed an entire lifetime into each day.”
“Three hundred sixty-five time five … that’s one thousand eight hundred and twenty five days.”
“Not days,” he said. “One thousand eight hundred and twenty-five lifetimes.”
The Impala swung around the corner, capturing them in its headlights. Mitch leaned over and kissed her lips so gently it felt like butterfly wings brushing across her mouth.
“It’s time,” he said. “You know what to do?”
“When you…When Billy Lee…” The words stuck in her throat.
“When I pull the trigger, you cross that center line. Don’t stop, and don’t look back until you reach the other side of Park.”
“I can’t—” The rest of her sentence was cut off as Billy Lee Mitchell climbed out of the black Chevy.
Mitch gave her a smile and a shove, then walked toward his father.
=THIRTY-SIX=
APRIL 06
Kathleen Templeton stopped near the curb, turned and looked back across Park Street.
“You’re right, partner. It’s not raining.” She closed her eyes and his wonderful freckled face floated inside her eyelids. It took all her strength to keep from returning. She didn’t want to be in this place and in this time without her friend.
Suddenly dizzy, she staggered and leaned against a Tupelo tree for support. A kaleidoscope filled with images filled her head. Events from her life, events she’d never experienced were suddenly very real. My past has changed. The life I knewbefore never existed.
She opened each new memory with the excitement of a child on Christmas morning. For 29 years she’d been living in an alternate timeline. What other wondrous surprises would she discover? She saw birthdays and holidays with a family which now included Lettie Ruth.
But the joy was tempered by a sense of loss. Kat frowned. As her new past settled in, memories of Mitch slipped away.
“I have to hang on to him,” she said. I will never let him go.”
* * *
Although it was only six o’clock in the morning Kat raced down the hospital corridor, ignoring the visiting hours rules. Nothing could keep her from seeing her Pop. If need be she’d bust down the CCU door if they tried to stop her. Luckily no one interfered and she slipped into his room.
The robust figure in the bed stirred and opened his eyes. “Kathleen.” He held his arms out.
She held him tight and buried her face in his neck. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here for you.”
“Don’t be worrying about that, you were a long ways off. Lettie Ruth took good care of me.”
Kat raised her head and looked at him. “Lettie Ruth?”
He gestured to an unmade cot in the corner. “Sister, won’t go home. She’s been sleeping here since Friday evening.”
“Where … where is she now?”
“Stepped down the hall. She’ll be glad to see you again. It’s been a long time.”
Unsure whether or not he remembered the way things were before, she remained silent. Did he remember once upon a time Lettie Ruth had disappeared?
When her aunt walked into the room, emotions flooded Kat’s system. Her harrowing visit to 1963 whirled before her eyes in vivid Technicolor. The spinning increased until she felt like she was falling through time.
Cottonfield. White pickup. Ku Klux Klan. Blood. A ginger-haired man. Rain.
She heard the conversation as if from a distance.
“Help me get her on the cot, Lettie.”
“Lay back down, Alvin. I can lift her just fine.”
“Wake her up, Lettie.”
“She’ll come around on her own. Give her a minute. You know she’s been trying for almost a week to get back here to you. The child is exhausted.”
“She’s still got the bruises.”
“I would imagine so.”
“You think she knows?”
“Hush, Brother, she’ll hear you.”
“Hear what?” Kat asked, her mind foggy and heavy.
“Don’t worry yourself, child,” Rayson said. “It will all come out in the by and by.”
Lettie Ruth insisted Kat remain on the cot for an hour before allowing her to leave the hospital, and only then if she promised to go directly home and get in bed.
“But I’m supposed to go to choir practice this evening,” Kat argued, although she had no idea why she knew this information. She wished past and present would stop mingling in her head. “I have a solo tomorrow.”
“You can sing next week,” Lettie Ruth said. “I’ll smooth it over with Dreama.”
“She’ll blow a gasket.” The choir director’s
legendary temper still caused Kat to tremble, even after 29 years.
“I’ll handle her. And if I have trouble, I’ll let Taxi take over.”
“I wish you could fix it with my congregation,” Rayson said. “Do you know who’s doing the preaching tomorrow morning?”
“Webster Avenue will be joining us at Hope and Glory,” Lettie Ruth said. “Lamar Gordon’s in the pulpit.”
“Didn’t he just have a birthday?” Kat asked, surprised that she even knew this information.
“Yes, he did,” Lettie Ruth said with an odd smile. “I made him a chocolate cake.”
“But he never got to eat it,” Rayson grumbled.
“That was some birthday,” Lettie Ruth said, her voice taking on a far away quality.
Kat shook her head. There they go again, she thought. Old folks always remembering the past.
“It sure was,” Rayson said. “I remember when he—”
=THIRTY-SEVEN=
When Kat walked into the Daisy Wheel café, she saw her partner already seated in the back booth. As usual, Carolyn Mitchell’s ginger-red hair, piled haphazardly on top of her head, threatened to tumble down at the slightest breeze.
As Kat slid into the booth she looked up and grunted. Carolyn didn’t function well before noon.
“Did you read this article?” Carolyn asked, shoving the newspaper across the table.
“Which one?”
Carolyn pointed to the front page. “‘MYSTERY SOLVED AFTER 37 YEARS’. Seems three men from Maceyville— Oh, just read it for yourself,” she said, yawning. “It’s way too early.”
“One of these days you’ll learn to go to bed before the sun comes up.”
“It’s hard to get away sometimes.”
“So stop spending all your time at The Blue playing the piano.”
“I can’t. It’s in my blood.”
“Hush. I’m reading now,” Kat told her partner.
MACEYVILLE SUN TIMES
April 8, 2000
MYSTERY SOLVED AFTER 37-YEARS
Beyond This Time: A Time-Travel Suspense Novel Page 29
