Slow Dance in Purgatory

Maggie painstakingly read article after article speculating on Johnny’s whereabouts. She wasn’t a good reader, and it took her a while, but the story held her transfixed. Someone had let it slip to the newspaper reporter that there hadn’t been a blood trail, though there had been significant blood thought to be Johnny’s found at the scene. The reporter quoted an officer Parley Pratt who said “the kid just up and vanished.”

There was an article about the gun Billy Kinross had allegedly brandished against Roger Carlton, and it was thought that Johnny Kinross had most likely stolen it out of the back of a car passing through Honeyville. The owner had stopped for some service on his vehicle at Gene’s Automotive where Johnny had worked. The owner of the gun hadn’t noticed the gun was missing for a couple of weeks. Maggie wondered why Johnny would need a gun. The fact that he was suspected of stealing the gun reinforced his bad boy reputation and fueled the argument that maybe he had run off after his brother was killed. Some speculated he had pushed his brother over the balcony, though the evidence would indicate otherwise. Roger Carlton fed that rumor and was quoted as saying, “I know Johnny Kinross would have killed me too, if he’d had the chance.” Maggie felt a spark of anger at the smarmy comment. Roger Carlton apparently hadn't taken any responsibility at all for the part he'd played in the tragedy.

Roger's inflammatory statement created quite a buzz for several weeks as possible ‘sightings’ of Johnny Kinross popped up all over Texas and surrounding states. There had reportedly even been sightings in Mexico, and the editor of the Honeyville Crier suggested that Johnny Kinross was most likely hiding out south of the border.

A significant amount of time later, there was a sighting at the school, and the paper was jam-packed once more with several articles about the case. “Gus Jasper, a janitor at the high school claims to have seen Johnny Kinross inside the school and alerted local officials,” one article stated.

Eventually there were no more articles about the Kinross brothers. No more sightings, nothing else to report. A couple of years after Billy’s death and Johnny’s disappearance, Dolly Kinross married the Chief of Police. His name was Clark Bailey, and he looked like a nice man. There was a picture above the announcement in the paper, and Dolly Kinross looked a little worn around the edges. But she and the Chief looked good together, and they looked happy. Maggie was glad Dolly had found someone to love. Nobody should lose her whole family in one day. Maggie knew how that felt.

She clicked through a couple more years of microfiche records – pausing only once to look at the wedding announcement of Miss Irene Honeycutt to Roger Clayton Carlton, III. Irene looked young and beautiful in an off-the-shoulder wedding gown and a lacy veil. Roger stood stiff and unsmiling beside her. Maggie was surprised at how much she looked like her aunt. She never would have guessed they resembled each other so closely. It pleased Maggie that she would have that connection with Irene; it increased her sense of belonging.

And then there was nothing more - no further mention of Johnny Kinross. The mystery had never been solved, and Maggie’s mind raced around in every direction, trying to formulate a scenario where what she had seen could make sense. There wasn’t one. Maggie left the library, thanking the librarian for her help on her way out. Then she got on her bike and pedaled furiously toward the school. Her key was in her pocket.

***

Maggie left her bike in the rack closest to the tennis courts. Three bikes were already parked in the rack. The tennis courts were obscured by thick trees, and if someone saw her bike in the rack they would simply assume she was on one of the courts. She had no reason to be inside the school on a Saturday. Gus would not approve, and she didn’t want to get him in trouble. Shoving her hands into the pocket of her light blue hoodie, she felt for her key and sprinted around the school to the side entrance door. Not stopping to question the wisdom of her actions, she stuck her big key into the lock and slipped through the door in a matter of seconds. She made sure the door was locked behind her and then she simply stood, back against the door, wondering how in the world she was supposed to get Johnny Kinross to come out and say hello. She wasn’t going to throw herself down the dumbwaiter shaft again. She would have to think of something else, something less life threatening. Slowly, Maggie moved away from the door and down the hallway.

“Johnny?” Her voice came out a whispery squeak, and she giggled nervously. Clearing her throat, she tried again.

“Johnny?” Much better that time. “I know it was you who saved me the other night. I wanted to thank you.” No response. Maggie continued moving forward, turning down an intersecting corridor. She called his name again and again, and the sound echoed around her. She kept on talking.