…

“And tell me again,” Will said, “just why are we out here at two in the morning?”

It was not lost on him that a minute or so before they had passed a sign proclaiming they had crossed into Wild Horse Mountain territory, and moments later, a sign with a horse on it.

It explained the empty horse box they’d brought along, and the earlier statement by his friend Chad, that he was planning to catch a brumby and break it.

Chad was full of good ideas like that, especially after a dozen drinks.

“We’re on an adventure, Billy boy.  Just roll with it.”

Last adventure I’d just rolled with saw us explaining to Sherriff Daley why we shouldn’t be locked up and the key thrown away.

“I’m trying, but seriously, you brought Charlene?”

Charlene was Chad’s latest girlfriend and the one, he said.  So were Fergie, and Donna, and, well, I forgot the last one; she had lasted almost a week.  But this one had lasted longer than the others, and I detected that same devil-may-care attitude in her.  I put that down to the fact she was the daughter of the town preacher.

“She wanted to see what we get up to.  The girl’s got an adventurous streak.  What can I say?”

No, for starters.  I doubt her family would be happily bailing her out of jail.  Maybe with her along he might show a bit more common sense.

He slowed, then turning at the slip road, stopped in front of a locked gate where there was a road leading into the forest, and a sign saying that only authorised personnel could pass.

“Is this private land?” I asked.

“Forest service.  Government land.  The sign’s there to keep the fools out.”  He held up a key.  “My uncle knows a man who knows a ranger who says so long as we don’t kill anything it’s fine.”

“And you’re thinking catching a wild horse is going to be easy?  I assume that’s what we’re here for?”

“I thought I explained that earlier.  How hard can it be?  I watched a video on YouTube and it’s easy.  We’ve both been on a cattle drive and passed with flying colours.  Just think of it as catching a bull, only a little larger, but no horns.”

I think trying to do that at night and in the dark might be slightly more complicated than he’s considered, and, as for having the skills necessary, back then there were a half dozen experienced cowboys there to back us up.

I shrugged; there was no changing his mind once it was made up.  “What’s the worst that could happen?” I muttered under my breath.

“Exactly.”  He handed me the key and I got out.

I looked back and could see Charlene acting a lot more animated than before, so maybe she was on board with this crazy scheme.

I unlocked the gate, opened it, waited until he drove through, and then closed and locked it behind me.

The discussion between Charlene and Chad was still going on when I got back in.  From the part I heard it seems she thought he was taking her to a secret lookout, not go brumby hunting, and him saying they could do both.  I got the impression she was not keen on catching a horse.

Whatever happened, it was going to be an interesting few hours.

Chad was the sort of person who when everything was going great and everyone was on board with his scheme, it was fine.  When the hiccups in the master plan started to happen, that’s when things start to fall apart.

After an hour’s slow crawl through the forest over a track that gave the pickup and following trailer a good workout, Charlene was losing interest.

So was I, but I’d learned not to express my sentiments.

“So,” she said, “where are these horses?”

“Here.  They’re everywhere, they’re always running all over the place.”

Except they were not.  Not tonight anyway.  And just then I remembered reading that the county administration had decided it was time to move the horses on so they could carve out a chunk of land for camping, hunting and fishing.  The conservationists were up in arms, the hunters were rubbing their hands in glee, and the campers were saying fools with guns were an accident waiting to happen.

A loud bank and what sounded like a gunshot hitting the side of the horse float was enough for Chad to stop, douse the lights and kill the engine.  I disabled the lights that went on when the doors opened.

Suddenly it was dead silent.  I was sure I could hear my heart beating.

Then, the silence was broken by another shot, so loud we all jumped.

I was first out of the pickup, just in case they were shooting at us.  That prompted, in the next breath, who was shooting at us, and why?

Chad and Charlene came around to join me.

“What the hell just happened?”  Chad asked.

“Gunshots.  Perhaps the hunters have decided not to wait until they got county approval.  We’ll have to tell the sheriff, get on his good side.  We just need to find out who they are.”

No need.  A minute or so later there was yelling carried on the night air.

“What the hell are you doing.  The boss said no advertising our presence.”

“I saw a car.”

“It’s the main track and there’s going to be cars.  Get back to the camp, and you want to hope whoever you shot at doesn’t call the sheriff.”

I looked at Chad.  “We’ll wait a few minutes then get moving again.”

“What’s going on?”  A visibly shaken Charlene wasn’t too happy about what had just happened. 

I could have told her that a night out with Chad provided enough excitement for a week.  Things always seemed to happen around him.

“Hunting season started early,” Chad said.

“We’re not going to get shot are we?”

“No.”  Chad sounded positive, but there was no way we could know what those people were doing.

I got up and checked the horse float for bullet holes and instead saw a scrape along the side made by an overhanging branch.  There was no sign of a bullet hole, but it didn’t explain the loud bang we all heard.

When I came back, I said, “Let’s get out of here.”

Another half hour passed in silence until we came out of the forest into a clearing that was visible in the twilight, a cloudless sky and full moon giving the whole area a strange eerie feeling.

Chad drove on the track that skirted the open area and stopped by a dilapidated hut.  Lights off and engine off, once out of the car the silence was rather strange to a person who lived in the city where there was constant noise.

Chad had a rough hand-drawn map he got from a friend of a friend, that looked a lot like the clearing with a hut exactly where we had stopped.  It was as much of it as I remembered until she spread it out over the bonnet of the car.

He then switched on the light of his phone.

We gathered around like conspirators.

“We’re here.”  He pointed to the X that marked the hut.  His finger then followed the track around further to a point where a lake bordered the clearing, with another X.  “A watering hole for the wildlife, and quite often where the horses come.  This whole clearing is where they gather.”

Gather they might, but not tonight.  It was light enough to see the edges of the clearing, the forest beyond, and the shimmering surface of the lake in the distance.  It was enough to see nothing was stirring.

“Perhaps,” Charlene said, “they knew we were coming.”  There was no mistaking the sardonic tone. 

Maybe she had already been on one of his wild goose chases.  This wasn’t my first rodeo.

The silence was broken by the sound of a horse, coming from the direction of the lake.

“Maybe not.”

We turned to look, and the first thing I saw was a horse, yes, but there was a rider on it.  Followed by another, and another, until at least ten came out of the forest and into the open.

Nightriders?

“What the hell…” I heard Charlene mutter.

Perhaps against a dark background, they hadn’t seen us.  Or they had and were ignoring us.  They stopped for what looked like a short drink break then continued to follow what must have been a path across the shoreline of the lake, and within a few minutes had disappeared into the forest.

“Local tourist adventure rides up to the lookout at night where they look at the stars,” Chad said.

“And you know this…”  Charlene sounded like she would have preferred that to what Chad was taking us on now.

So would I, if I had a choice.

“Is the lookout accessible by car?” I asked, now getting the feeling it wasn’t.

“A 4×4 maybe, but the most direct route and easiest is by horse.  But we’re not here to look at the stars.  I’m going down to the lake.  You two?”

“I’m staying here,” Charles said, shivering. 

I could tell she wanted to go home but was too afraid to say anything.  And by her body language, I didn’t think this relationship between her and Chad was going to last much longer.

“Then stay with her Mike.  I won’t be long.”

With that, he headed off towards the lake.

“He’s stark staring mad,” she said when he was out of earshot.

“Chad had some crazy ideas sometimes, but his heart is in the right place.  At least with him, what you see is what you get?”

“You think?  What’s your excuse?”

“Being here?  He’s helped me get through some rough times.  My parents were killed in an accident when I was 13.  He convinced his parents I should stay with them because otherwise I’d finish up in the foster care system, and they did.  I guess I’m the little brother he never had.  What about you?”

“Sad story, I needed someone to teach me to line dance.  He made it fun.  This isn’t.”

“Why’d you agree to come?”

“I thought we were going to the lookout, at least that’s how he sold it.  Not catching horses.  Can he even ride a horse?”

“His uncle has a ranch with cattle.  We’ve been going there mustering every year for what seems like a lifetime.”

“He asked me to go with him this year.”

“Then do.  I could do with a break, go to the city, see what I’m not missing.”

The surrounding silence closed in on us as the conversation dries up.  Talking to girls was not my forte.

“He’s taking a long time,” Charlene said about ten minutes later.

It mirrored my own thought.  How long could it take to walk to the water’s edge, see there was nothing to be found, and come back.

A loud bang, like the sound of a rifle, punctured the stillness.

“Was that…?” She said.

“A gunshot?  Sounded like it.” 

I went over to the back of the car and pulled out the rifle Chad carried with him, hidden under the seat.  It surprised me the first time I discovered he travelled around with a gun.  It wasn’t loaded, but it didn’t take long to load.  I put some extra bullets in my pocket, just in case.

“You coming?” I asked.  If anything happened to her, I knew Chad would be angry.  “If someone is out there shooting people, it’s not s good idea to be here alone.”

She didn’t need to be asked twice.

“You know how to use that?”

“Unfortunately, yes.  Coyotes.”

We both stayed on the track skirting the open space, just to make it harder for anyone likely to be aiming at us until we reached the knoll above the lake.  It was the one place where, if there was a shooter. we would be most vulnerable.  Neither of us stayed there for longer than a second, perhaps two, before heading down the 50 yards to the water’s edge.  A quick scan showed no sign of Chad.

At the water’s edge, she said, “Where is he?  If this is one of his games, then I don’t like it.”

I knew Chad, and I also knew he was capable of pulling a stunt like this.  If he was, I was going to be very annoyed.

Facing the knoll, I heard a soft splashing sound behind me and turned.

Chad.

He was not more than 20 yards out in the water, face down.

“Damn.”

I dropped the rifle and headed into the water, swimming the last few yards, but I knew, the moment I reached him, he was dead.  The hole in the side of his head was unmistakable.  I brought him back to the shore and dragged him above the water line, then checked for a pulse.

Nothing.

Then I realised Charlene was not there, where I’d left her, but further along the beach.  She had picked up the rifle, and by the way she was carrying it, she knew how to use it.  Had she heard something?

Behind her, one of the horsemen arrived with a riderless horse and stopped next to her.

“What’s going on?”  I asked.  I was hoping it wasn’t what it looked like.

“This has nothing to do with you, Mike.  Justice has been served.”

Justice?  What justice?  What had Chad done to deserve a death like this?

“Amy Potterdam.  Just because you own the law in this County doesn’t mean you can get away with murder.”

Amy Potterdam?  All I could remember about that was a girl had died in unusual circumstances at a party he had attended, if only briefly.  Someone had claimed that he had given the girl the spiked drink that eventually killed her, but witnesses and evidence had proven otherwise.  The fact his father was the County Sherriff had no bearing.

I watched her climb up on the horse and take the reins.  I stood and started walking towards her.  “This is wrong.”

“Don’t come any closer, or I will shoot you.”

I didn’t stop.  I didn’t know what I was going to do, or if there was anything I could do.  I just knew I had to try.

They say you don’t hear the bullet that has your name on it.

They’re wrong.

…

©  Charles Heath  2023

…

On a night that most attendees would hope simply pass by without any fanfare, there proved to be more than just the usual rubbing shoulders and an opportunity to reacquaint themselves with the other movers and shakers in Marin County.

Yes, this year, there was a new theme, one that harled back to the mid-nineteenth century when the Gentry held balls, and there was dancing.

There was also a slight break in tradition when not all attendees were from the same social set, and finally, after many years of lobbying, certain residents of Cedar Falls were invited, one of who was our own, and rather well-known, William Benjamin Oldacre.

The Oldacres have been living in and around Cedar Falls for as long as anyone can remember, in fact, since 1807, nearly 19 years before the first vestiges of a town appeared.  They were here long before the Reinharts, they have a school named after one, a street, the public library, and several buildings.

And, yet, no one received an invitation to the ball, or any of the fundraisers, until now.

Be this as it may, I mention this for only one reason, it brought about a change to proceedings, and the dancing and this reporter will bear witness to what was an excellent rendition of the Viennese Waltz in the first instance, led out by none other than William Oldacre, and the second daughter of James Edward Rothstein, Emily Rothstein.

Such was their flair and artistry one could almost assume they were an item.  Watch this space if there are further developments.

The article went on the tell everyone how much was raised and where it was going, though tongue in cheek I got the impression it was not where most wanted it to be directed.

It wasn’t quite the hatchet job I was expecting, but it was an interesting touch to highlight the longevity and renown of the Oldacres in the area versus the new kid with all the money.

Our family just wasn’t good at taking over or making buckets of money.

I know Dad left the paper on the bench open at the page, and I could see his expression, when he read it, one of mock indignation.  He preferred that no one remembered the Oldacres’ part in the town development.  It wasn’t quite what everyone imagined it to be.

Darcy appeared, still in pyjamas and; looking sleepy.  Her life had changed since the ball, a girl now in ‘demand’ as she put it.  It was a notoriety she didn’t need.

“You’ve seen the assassination?”

“How do you know what’s in it?”

“Taylor rang and told me.  You got a mention, liked infamously to the one and only Emily.  That cat is well and truly out of the bag now.”

“We danced, that’s all it said.”

“Maybe but what it really says, between the lines, is that you two are an item.”

“It said ‘one could almost assume’.”

She shook her head.  “Semantics, again, Will.  We know differently, don’t we?”

I was off to the library to do some research on the Oldacre family, fired up again after reading Angela’s piece, just in case a rebuttal was needed.

I made it to the street when a very familiar limousine stopped, and Genevieve got out.

“Mr Oldacre.”

“Please, that’s my father, I think we knew each other well enough to use first names.”

“William.”

“Genevieve.  What do I owe this honour?”

“Miss Emily would like to see you?”

“Would she now.  Well, as it happens I’m off to the library.  I might not be, if she had called and told me, but she didn’t, and I’m not going to drop everyone when she summons me.  This is me telling you to tell her there is a way to do things properly.”

I thought she would get annoyed, certainly, her expression changed from bright and sunny to somewhat clouded.

“My thought exactly, and I did tell her, equally as politely.”

“I’m sure you did.  Now, I’m going to start walking in the direction of the bus stop.  If you choose to tell her my sentiments, that’s fine, otherwise I’m sorry you were sent out on a fool’s errand.”

She smiled.  “I’d rather be here than there.”

I could understand that sentiment.  She got back in the car, but it did not drive off.  She was calling Miss Emily.

I made it to the bus stop before my cell phone rang.

“William?”

“Emily.”

“Genevieve says you’re being petulant.”

“No, Genevieve did not say I was being petulant.  If you are going to paraphrase what people say to you incorrectly, Emily, I will hang up.”

Silence for a few seconds, then, “You’re going to be a pain in the ass, aren’t you?”

“No. I’m being me, and if you want to talk to me, call, we’ll arrange to meet, and then we’ll talk.  You do not summon me by sending a car and an assistant.  It’s a waste of resources and manpower.”

“I want to see you now.”

“Then you have to call and then we meet.  If you’d called last night, we would be meeting now, if you get out of bed before seven.”

“I didn’t know last night.  I just read the paper.  She’s not very nice.”

“I thought we dodged a bullet.”

“We’ve become an item?”

“Assumed to be an item.  There’s a big difference.  People ask, you simply say it’s a work in progress.”

“What does that mean?”

“Exactly.  Now if you want to meet this morning, then call me in an hour and I’ll tell you where and when.”

“This is not going to work.”

“That’s your call, Emily, not mine.  I know you can be the girl I know and love, you just have to realize who that girl is.  My bus is here.  We’ll speak later.”

An hour and a half later we were sitting in a booth at the café near the library.  It was one of my favourite haunts, it had a jukebox and all the old 50s and 60s hits.  I had offered to buy it when the current owners decided to retire or sell.

It was playing ‘Irresistible You’ by Bobby Darin when Emily came in.

She smiled as she sat down.  “Did you play that for me?”

“No, someone else put it on, but it is appropriate.”

“God, you are going to drive me nuts.”

“Isn’t that your job, to drive me nuts?”

She shook her head.  “You made me think before nine William.  Not happy.”

“Then you’d better get used to it.  I don’t like wasting the day.”

I could see a retort forming in her eyes, and then she parked it at the back of her mind.  I suspect I had an inkling as to what it was, she was going to say, and certainly what she was thinking.  The same thought passed through mine, and it surprised me.

“Now,” I said, “What do you want to talk about?”

“The article in the paper.  It was a bit nasty.”

“Semantics, Emily.  Down among the common people, it is viewed as an elitist affair.  I don’t agree about the stuff on the Oldacres.  We may have been here since God created the earth, but we did nothing of note.  If we had, the place would be called Oldacre Falls, not Cedar Falls.  It’s just Amanda venting.”

“I thought journalists were supposed to report “the news, not comment on it.”

“You live in a different world.

“Daddy owns the company that owns the paper.  He says the news is what he says it is.”

That was just a little scary.  “You have heard the expression, don’t shoot the messenger, haven’t you?”

“She doesn’t like me.”

“And why is that, Emily?”

Dorothy, my usual waitress, came over with the coffee pot to give me a refill.  Most mornings I usually stayed for three.  This morning, I was considering adding some bourbon.

She looked at Emily with something akin to surprise.  This café was hardly a place the Rothstein’s frequented.  “Coffee, Emily?”  She was not going to call her Miss Rothstein.

“Yes, thank you.”

Emily, on her best behaviour.  Or perhaps because she was not with her friends.  They had something of a reputation when visiting local stores.

Dorothy collected a cup and saucer and brought it over, then filled it.

Dorothy looked at me.  “I read the paper.”

“Don’t believe everything you read.”

Emily frowned at me. 

“I’m still waiting for my invitation,” Dorothy said, a smile forming.

We always said that the world would stop spinning on its axis if one or other of us got invited.  Exactly the opposite had happened to me that night, the earth moved.  I was not going to tell Dorothy that.

“Perhaps,” Emily said, “we should make the next more town centric.”

Dorothy looked puzzled so I translated, “Ask more of the town’s folk along.  It’s a good idea.”

“Good idea.”  Dorothy had to go; another customer was after more coffee.

I looked at Emily.  “I have a great idea.  It’ll kill two birds with one stone.  If you are thinking of joining your father’s company, perhaps you should ask him if you could work in the charity functions area, as an organiser.  Even better, since the company doesn’t specifically have a department to handle that, tell him to create a foundation, and ask him if you can be in charge.   That would be a real job, and I know you can organise.”

“You mean work in an actual role?”

“It might actually work in your favour, showing Amanda you’re not the person she thinks you are, and if you impress her… What were you planning to do after Uni?”

“Go away with friends, like a graduation thing.  Surely, you’re going away, like, to celebrate freedom after all that school stuff.”

“Some of us have to earn a living, we don’t all have rich fathers.”

“You could come with me.”

“With your current friends, Emily?  You are so much better than they are.  You just need purpose, and with them, it’s about being entitled and delinquent because they can.  I know you’re better than that, and I think you do too.”

“I think my head hurts talking to you,” Emily said, standing.  “I’ve known them all for a long time, William, and we have plans.”

“And I don’t expect you to change them on my account.  Just think about it.  If you want to be seen differently, and with respect, then you’re the one who has to make it happen.”

“Whatever!”

There was the Emily of old.

I watched her leave, as did Dorothy, who came back after she left.

“The course of true love…”

“Never quite works out when there’s a huge chasm between the social strata.  I believe she can change; I just think at the moment she doesn’t believe in herself.”

Perhaps she saw my wistful look as I watched her cross the road.

“At least it was one tick in a box, the Viennese Waltz.  The lessons paid off?”

“They did.  It was like dancing on air, she is that good.”

“Perhaps it’s more than that, Will, she had the right partner.  Don’t give up on her.”

I shrugged.  She was the most vexing girl I’d ever known.

…

©  Charles Heath  2023

…

On a night that most attendees would hope simply pass by without any fanfare, there proved to be more than just the usual rubbing shoulders and an opportunity to reacquaint themselves with the other movers and shakers in Marin County.

Yes, this year, there was a new theme, one that harled back to the mid-nineteenth century when the Gentry held balls, and there was dancing.

There was also a slight break in tradition when not all attendees were from the same social set, and finally, after many years of lobbying, certain residents of Cedar Falls were invited, one of who was our own, and rather well-known, William Benjamin Oldacre.

The Oldacres have been living in and around Cedar Falls for as long as anyone can remember, in fact, since 1807, nearly 19 years before the first vestiges of a town appeared.  They were here long before the Reinharts, they have a school named after one, a street, the public library, and several buildings.

And, yet, no one received an invitation to the ball, or any of the fundraisers, until now.

Be this as it may, I mention this for only one reason, it brought about a change to proceedings, and the dancing and this reporter will bear witness to what was an excellent rendition of the Viennese Waltz in the first instance, led out by none other than William Oldacre, and the second daughter of James Edward Rothstein, Emily Rothstein.

Such was their flair and artistry one could almost assume they were an item.  Watch this space if there are further developments.

The article went on the tell everyone how much was raised and where it was going, though tongue in cheek I got the impression it was not where most wanted it to be directed.

It wasn’t quite the hatchet job I was expecting, but it was an interesting touch to highlight the longevity and renown of the Oldacres in the area versus the new kid with all the money.

Our family just wasn’t good at taking over or making buckets of money.

I know Dad left the paper on the bench open at the page, and I could see his expression, when he read it, one of mock indignation.  He preferred that no one remembered the Oldacres’ part in the town development.  It wasn’t quite what everyone imagined it to be.

Darcy appeared, still in pyjamas and; looking sleepy.  Her life had changed since the ball, a girl now in ‘demand’ as she put it.  It was a notoriety she didn’t need.

“You’ve seen the assassination?”

“How do you know what’s in it?”

“Taylor rang and told me.  You got a mention, liked infamously to the one and only Emily.  That cat is well and truly out of the bag now.”

“We danced, that’s all it said.”

“Maybe but what it really says, between the lines, is that you two are an item.”

“It said ‘one could almost assume’.”

She shook her head.  “Semantics, again, Will.  We know differently, don’t we?”

I was off to the library to do some research on the Oldacre family, fired up again after reading Angela’s piece, just in case a rebuttal was needed.

I made it to the street when a very familiar limousine stopped, and Genevieve got out.

“Mr Oldacre.”

“Please, that’s my father, I think we knew each other well enough to use first names.”

“William.”

“Genevieve.  What do I owe this honour?”

“Miss Emily would like to see you?”

“Would she now.  Well, as it happens I’m off to the library.  I might not be, if she had called and told me, but she didn’t, and I’m not going to drop everyone when she summons me.  This is me telling you to tell her there is a way to do things properly.”

I thought she would get annoyed, certainly, her expression changed from bright and sunny to somewhat clouded.

“My thought exactly, and I did tell her, equally as politely.”

“I’m sure you did.  Now, I’m going to start walking in the direction of the bus stop.  If you choose to tell her my sentiments, that’s fine, otherwise I’m sorry you were sent out on a fool’s errand.”

She smiled.  “I’d rather be here than there.”

I could understand that sentiment.  She got back in the car, but it did not drive off.  She was calling Miss Emily.

I made it to the bus stop before my cell phone rang.

“William?”

“Emily.”

“Genevieve says you’re being petulant.”

“No, Genevieve did not say I was being petulant.  If you are going to paraphrase what people say to you incorrectly, Emily, I will hang up.”

Silence for a few seconds, then, “You’re going to be a pain in the ass, aren’t you?”

“No. I’m being me, and if you want to talk to me, call, we’ll arrange to meet, and then we’ll talk.  You do not summon me by sending a car and an assistant.  It’s a waste of resources and manpower.”

“I want to see you now.”

“Then you have to call and then we meet.  If you’d called last night, we would be meeting now, if you get out of bed before seven.”

“I didn’t know last night.  I just read the paper.  She’s not very nice.”

“I thought we dodged a bullet.”

“We’ve become an item?”

“Assumed to be an item.  There’s a big difference.  People ask, you simply say it’s a work in progress.”

“What does that mean?”

“Exactly.  Now if you want to meet this morning, then call me in an hour and I’ll tell you where and when.”

“This is not going to work.”

“That’s your call, Emily, not mine.  I know you can be the girl I know and love, you just have to realize who that girl is.  My bus is here.  We’ll speak later.”

An hour and a half later we were sitting in a booth at the café near the library.  It was one of my favourite haunts, it had a jukebox and all the old 50s and 60s hits.  I had offered to buy it when the current owners decided to retire or sell.

It was playing ‘Irresistible You’ by Bobby Darin when Emily came in.

She smiled as she sat down.  “Did you play that for me?”

“No, someone else put it on, but it is appropriate.”

“God, you are going to drive me nuts.”

“Isn’t that your job, to drive me nuts?”

She shook her head.  “You made me think before nine William.  Not happy.”

“Then you’d better get used to it.  I don’t like wasting the day.”

I could see a retort forming in her eyes, and then she parked it at the back of her mind.  I suspect I had an inkling as to what it was, she was going to say, and certainly what she was thinking.  The same thought passed through mine, and it surprised me.

“Now,” I said, “What do you want to talk about?”

“The article in the paper.  It was a bit nasty.”

“Semantics, Emily.  Down among the common people, it is viewed as an elitist affair.  I don’t agree about the stuff on the Oldacres.  We may have been here since God created the earth, but we did nothing of note.  If we had, the place would be called Oldacre Falls, not Cedar Falls.  It’s just Amanda venting.”

“I thought journalists were supposed to report “the news, not comment on it.”

“You live in a different world.

“Daddy owns the company that owns the paper.  He says the news is what he says it is.”

That was just a little scary.  “You have heard the expression, don’t shoot the messenger, haven’t you?”

“She doesn’t like me.”

“And why is that, Emily?”

Dorothy, my usual waitress, came over with the coffee pot to give me a refill.  Most mornings I usually stayed for three.  This morning, I was considering adding some bourbon.

She looked at Emily with something akin to surprise.  This café was hardly a place the Rothstein’s frequented.  “Coffee, Emily?”  She was not going to call her Miss Rothstein.

“Yes, thank you.”

Emily, on her best behaviour.  Or perhaps because she was not with her friends.  They had something of a reputation when visiting local stores.

Dorothy collected a cup and saucer and brought it over, then filled it.

Dorothy looked at me.  “I read the paper.”

“Don’t believe everything you read.”

Emily frowned at me. 

“I’m still waiting for my invitation,” Dorothy said, a smile forming.

We always said that the world would stop spinning on its axis if one or other of us got invited.  Exactly the opposite had happened to me that night, the earth moved.  I was not going to tell Dorothy that.

“Perhaps,” Emily said, “we should make the next more town centric.”

Dorothy looked puzzled so I translated, “Ask more of the town’s folk along.  It’s a good idea.”

“Good idea.”  Dorothy had to go; another customer was after more coffee.

I looked at Emily.  “I have a great idea.  It’ll kill two birds with one stone.  If you are thinking of joining your father’s company, perhaps you should ask him if you could work in the charity functions area, as an organiser.  Even better, since the company doesn’t specifically have a department to handle that, tell him to create a foundation, and ask him if you can be in charge.   That would be a real job, and I know you can organise.”

“You mean work in an actual role?”

“It might actually work in your favour, showing Amanda you’re not the person she thinks you are, and if you impress her… What were you planning to do after Uni?”

“Go away with friends, like a graduation thing.  Surely, you’re going away, like, to celebrate freedom after all that school stuff.”

“Some of us have to earn a living, we don’t all have rich fathers.”

“You could come with me.”

“With your current friends, Emily?  You are so much better than they are.  You just need purpose, and with them, it’s about being entitled and delinquent because they can.  I know you’re better than that, and I think you do too.”

“I think my head hurts talking to you,” Emily said, standing.  “I’ve known them all for a long time, William, and we have plans.”

“And I don’t expect you to change them on my account.  Just think about it.  If you want to be seen differently, and with respect, then you’re the one who has to make it happen.”

“Whatever!”

There was the Emily of old.

I watched her leave, as did Dorothy, who came back after she left.

“The course of true love…”

“Never quite works out when there’s a huge chasm between the social strata.  I believe she can change; I just think at the moment she doesn’t believe in herself.”

Perhaps she saw my wistful look as I watched her cross the road.

“At least it was one tick in a box, the Viennese Waltz.  The lessons paid off?”

“They did.  It was like dancing on air, she is that good.”

“Perhaps it’s more than that, Will, she had the right partner.  Don’t give up on her.”

I shrugged.  She was the most vexing girl I’d ever known.

…

©  Charles Heath  2023

…

My brother always lamented that we did not deserve what happened to our family as a result of a bad decision our great, great grandfather made.

To me, it was just another example of one businessman being smarter than another.  The fact he lost the family fortune was terrible, but he had no one else to blame but himself.  That old saying you have to speculate to accumulate may well have worked, if he had speculated correctly.  He didn’t.

I had no idea why so many of us failed to accept the reality with each new generation, carrying the loss like a badge of honour, and choosing to be bitter, especially towards the family of the so-called villain, Angus McTavish.  From everything I’d read about him, he was ruthless, friendless, the sort of man who would swindle his own mother.  Why would he draw the line at his business partner?

At any rate, it was one of the reasons why I left home and the country, to get away from all of it.

Five years of bliss passed, and it was only the death of my father that brought me back home.  He had carried the grudge from his father, like his father before him, and it had passed to the son, my older brother Ken.  I was sorry to see him go, but not surprised that bitterness had eaten away at his soul, killing him before his time.

It was going to do the same to Ken.  It had destroyed his marriage to what I thought was the most patient woman in the world.  It turned his children against him, tired of him going off looking for evidence of the swindle.  Our father had never found any, there was no reason why he should.

And it was a surprise that he came to the airport to pick me up.  I hadn’t sent a message, only that I was returning for the funeral, and after a 20-hour flight, Ken was the last person I wanted to see.

When I saw him in the area where relatives and others waited for the incoming passengers after going through immigration, I groaned.  He saw me, waved and then waited until I reached the terminal proper.

“You didn’t tell me when you were arriving, which is disappointing.  After five years, Ethan?”

“You know why.  I hope you’ve finally got past it.  With Dad gone, you no longer have to appease him anymore.”

“But that’s just it, he died before he got the good news.  I’ve got the evidence.”

He was almost like a dog with a new toy, and it was disappointing.  I should have realised he was never going to let it go.  “What good is it after all these years?  It isn’t going to get the money back.  What he did was ruin both our families, Ken.  They, at least, managed to get over it.”

“You’re wrong.  They didn’t.  He invested the wealth in bonds and locked them away in a secure location, and pretended he’s lost it all in the stock market crash.  He was a wily, cunning bastard, and those McTavish’s know exactly where it is, and have been living off it for years.”

Last I’d heard, most of the family were all struggling to live, much the same as everyone in the post-pandemic world.  In fact, I’d met up with Adrienne McTavish in Boston only a few weeks ago, quite by accident, and we had talked about the feud, the bitterness and hate on both sides and the utter waste of time and energy being expended.

She had also mentioned the rumour that Old Man McTavish had supposedly invested the funds in bonds, none of which had been found, and her investigation had shown, money came in, and money went out, and when traced to the bank, showed it had gone to an investment company, that subsequently filed bankruptcy soon after the wall street disaster.  The money had simply disappeared.  The idea it was bonds was someone’s fanciful extrapolation of the facts.

“Not the McTavish’s I know, Ken.”

“They’re cunning liars, Ethan.  As I said, I have the evidence, and I’ll show you when we get home.”

I made a mental note to move up my return flight to the day after the funeral.  If this was the state of affairs, I didn’t want to stay a minute longer than I had to.

I made a mistake in agreeing to stay with Ken.  His apartment was a disaster area, much worse than it had been before.

A quick look on the kitchen bench showed every one of his bills was overdue, and he was close to eviction.  The obsession had so overtaken him he had lost sight of reality.

“Sure you in financial trouble?”

He’d seen me looking at the unopened envelopes on the bench and was gathering them up.

“It’s temporary.  The company closed down, and couldn’t recover after the pandemic.  I’ve got an interview next week, but it might not come to that.”

I didn’t ask.  He always spoke in riddles.  “Do you need some money to ride you over?”  He might be a pain, but he was family.

“Might not need it.  I have a plan to make things right.”

He made coffee, I wandered down to the other room where the obsession had come to life.  The wall of shame as he called it had got much bigger, and the files were stacked on the desk, rather neatly instead of the normal mess.

He came in as I was looking at the montage of documents and Post-it notes that covered almost the entire wall, all closing in on one spot in the middle where a piece of paper had

Meeting, Empire State Building, August 7th, 1929

“That meeting was where McTavish executed the con that swindled our great grandfather with promises of untold riches.  It could have Bern true the way the stock market was at the time, but I suspect McTavish knew it couldn’t last, and had lined up a dozen prospective suckers.  Ore great grandfather was the first, trying to see if it worked on him, then use it as bait for the others.”

“There’s more people involved?”

That was news to me.  We had always thought McTavish had only taken advantage of his business partner.

“There’s depth to this man we haven’t even scratched the surface.  Dad got the idea when another name popped up on the documents that were signed.  Yes, we now have copies of the investment documents he signed, and several more people who were involved.  It led to discovering another 22 families who had been destroyed.  They like us thought it was just bad luck when the stock market crashed on the 28th of October 1929, but no.  He swindled them too.”

“But that doesn’t mean he put all of the money into bonds, or that those bonds didn’t lose all of their value in the crash unless they’re government bonds.”

Ken rifled through the files and found the one he was looking for.  It appeared empty but when he opened it there were two sheets of paper in it.

He handed them to me.  US Treasury bonds, one dated 1929 and the other 1960.  Neither had a name on them.

“What am I looking at other than a photocopy of two treasury bonds.”

“Proof McTavish invested all of the swindled money in bonds, then one of his relatives converted them into new bonds which means they all knew where the money went “

Two random copies of conveniently dated bonds were not proof in my mind’, nor a court of law either which would be the only place he could get any sort of redress.  If the statute of limitations didn’t make it impossible anyway.

“Hardly what I would call proof.  Where did they come from?”

“A spy in the McTavish’s camp.”  He said like it was the answer to all the world’s problems.  “That’s what I’ve been working on for years, and finally it’s paid off.”

“Who?”

“Need to know Ethan and you don’t.  I can’t trust you.”

No surprises there.  I could understand why he wouldn’t tell me, I’d never been sympathetic to the cause, but spies.  How far was he willing to go?

“All you do need to know is that tomorrow it’s all going to be sorted.”

“How?”

“Again, need to know.  You’ll just have to wait and see.”

To say that I was worried about his frame of mind was an understatement. 

After being borderline manic depressive, this sudden onset of euphoria was concerning.  I was hoping something hadn’t snapped.

At dinner with other members of the family, all equally invested on the search for retribution, the only subject up for discussion was my absence and everything that had happened while I was away.

Aside from people aging five years, life for them was the same.

Life for me was different, but no I had not found a wife, had children, had no one special, and had no ambitions other than to just live as comfortably as I could.  I didn’t tell them I was now a journalist in a rural city, that was facing redundancy as the internet was more popular than print.

That was something I would have to face when I returned.

It was an interesting, if uneventful evening.

The next morning, I woke up early and went to look at the wall.  I was looking for clues about what he was going to do today that was going to make a difference. 

There was, on a side wall the McTavish family tree from the old man down, and I traced Adrienne’s lineage back.

I looked at the dates filled in from birth to death.  The bloodline had been secured in 1928 when the last of his children were born, that being the direct descendent, her father.

Something I hadn’t realised was the date old man McTavish had died, and that was three days after the stock market crash, 31st October.  I thought it had been years after that.

Beside the dates was a newspaper article, about the death and apparently, he had been hit by a car after stumbling on the sidewalk and killed instantly.

My mind then jumped to a conclusion, had he told anyone about reinvesting the swindled funds before he was accidentally killed.  If he transferred the funds to bonds.  And if he did, who would he have told, if anyone.  In his place, given what had just happened at the time you’d be reluctant to tell anyone about what amounted to treasure.

No.  Now I was getting wrapped up in Ken’s conspiracy.  If there was a spy, perhaps they were simply feeding his fantasy.

Then my eye caught another item, tucked way down the bottom, at the end of a red piece of string coming from the meeting date of when Ken assumed the swindle took place.

A closer look at the card showed the words, “Do you wish you could go back and change the past?”  That was all it said, with a phone number.

I could feel rather than hear Ken come into the room.

I turned.  “This is some montage.  How long has it taken?”

“It’s not all mine.  Dad had most of this already, but he hadn’t connected all the dots.”

“And you have?”

“Enough to know precisely when the damage was done.”

I had only a few moments to decide whether to bring up what I’d read on the card.  If I was not mistaken, it was suggesting time travel was possible, and if my brother thought it was, then I had a lot more to worry about.

“I followed the red line, Ken.  That doesn’t mean what I think it does?”

“I don’t believe it either, Ethan, but a friend I’d mine said he tried it, and he was given the opportunity to change one mistake, and now his life is so much better.”

Of course, that could have happened for any number of reasons, most of all, the human mind can be tricked into believing something happened, even if it didn’t, or that it was simply the power of positive thought.

“Perhaps they simply suggested very powerfully that he change his ways.”

“Or something else.  I’m going there at 10:00.  I need a fellow sceptic, just so I know it’s not possible, because if it is …”

“You can change the course of history.  You know that.  If it was possible, which we both know it’s not, it’s possible you might erase us from existence.  One innocuous and seemingly innocent interaction could have catastrophic unintended consequences.”

“Which is moot since it is impossible.  Up for the challenge?”

If only to put the myth to bed and stop the people running this hoax from convincing him otherwise.

I nodded.

Ken had already made the call and had the address to go to.  It was, when we arrived, a rather dilapidated warehouse on an industrial estate that was no longer in use.

At least that was my first impression.  The building looked like it was about to fall down.  Outside, a dozen cars were parked sporadically in an overgrown car park, giving an impression they had been dumped there.

It was a very elaborate illusion.  When we got closer to the front entrance the doors looked rustic but solid and when we were close, slid silently open.

Stepping across the threshold was like stepping into another world.  A woman in a white lab coat appeared from the side.

“Mr O’Reilly?”

We both were, but it was Ken she was referring to.

“Guilty.”

“Everything is ready.  You have the documents we discussed to sign and then everything is ready to go.”

“You aren’t seriously suggesting that you can send people back in time,” I said.

“That’s precisely what we are doing.  You are?”

“The sceptical brother.”

“Well, sceptical brother, let me assure you this has been tested and used successfully.  However, we can only send one person back.  You will be required to wait in the anteroom for the duration.”

OK, she certainly sounded serious, and as though she believed that time travel was possible, so I had to wonder just what happened.  I had been hoping to see the process.

Perhaps I should just play along.  “You are aware of the consequences of meddling in the past.  One subtle change can have drastic consequences.”

“We are very careful in selecting candidates.  And yes, we are very mindful of consequences which is why we can abort the process at any point.  Now, if you don’t mind…”

Another woman in a lab coat came out to usher me to the anteroom room, much the same as a frequent flyer lounge with comfortable chairs, a buffet and both TV, playing Quantum Leap episodes, not without irony, and dated newspapers.

Ken was taken away and I only got a glimpse of the room he was taken, a curious deep blue light within.

“How long will this take,” I asked her.

“As long as it takes.  Make yourself comfortable.”

When I woke, I was on unfamiliar surroundings, and only vaguely aware of what had happened.

It involved Ken, that much was clear, but not why, where or when.

I remembered being in a departure lounge.

A minute later I felt a hand on my shoulder gently shaking me. 

“Wake up sleepy head.  It’s time to go.”

It wasn’t Ken shaking me, but a woman.  I blinked a few times trying to bring objects into focus and then recognised the face.

Adrienne McTavish.

“Adrienne.  What are you doing here?”

She smiled.  “You forgot, didn’t you?”

I had no idea if I had forgotten anything, except why I was here and why she was with me.

“I have a bad habit of doing that, don’t I?”  It was one of my faults, absent-mindedness.  I remembered that much.

“You do.  We’re going to stay at your grandfather’s so you can convalesce.  The boys have been looking forward to exploring the mausoleum as you call it.  Come,” she held out her hand and I took it.

Standing nearby was a girl, almost as tall as her mother and the spitting image of her, just along from me with two boys, twins.  On her finger was a wedding ring which I assumed was the one I gave her.

What the hell had Ken done?

“Oh, and happy anniversary Ethan.  Thank you for this.”  She must have noticed my puzzled expression.  “Are you alright?  The doctors did say they didn’t expect any further loss of memory or hallucinations, but the great news is they got all of the tumours.  You’re going to be fine.”

…

© Charles Heath  2023