Slow Dance in Purgatory

It was filled with articles and information about the disappearance of Johnny Kinross. Page after page held yellowed news articles both big and small, from publications both mainstream and obscure. Roger had organized them in a time-line according to the date they were published. He had fliers that had been posted in different counties and around the town. He had maps of possible sightings, and scenarios put forth by reporters and police alike. In one section, he had old black and white photos of Johnny Kinross that he had obviously taken from someone who knew him well.

There was one of Johnny with a car in the background, his arms slung across the shoulders of two other guys. The boys were filthy and bare-chested, their jeans and bodies mud splattered. The car was unrecognizable and completely coated in sludge. Maggie was pretty sure the picture captured the time Johnny and his friends…Carter and Jimbo?…had pulled the Bel Air from the reservoir.

Another shot was of Johnny in his graduation cap and gown, Billy and Dolly Kinross dressed up and standing beside him. Their arms were around each other, and they were smiling into the camera. Dolly Kinross stood in the center and gripped each boy tightly to her sides. Maggie’s heart trembled at the realization that the photo was taken only a month or two before the little family in the picture was completely decimated.

There were shots of Johnny at Gene’s Automotive. In one of them a toddler with his fingers stuck in his mouth clung to Johnny’s jean clad legs. Harvey? Another shot showed Johnny dressed up in a white sports coat with a flower on his lapel, a pretty blond girl in a strapless dress of an undecipherable color clutched to his side.

“That was Prom – 1958,” Irene said softly. “Peggy was thrilled when Johnny asked her. He was every girl’s secret fantasy and every daddy’s nightmare. Peggy didn’t have the best reputation, and it wasn’t helped by going to the dance with Johnny, but I remember how pretty she looked that night. I was actually kind of jealous. They were having such a good time. Johnny danced with several girls that night – one in particular who I hadn’t seen before...” Irene’s voice faded off in reminiscence. “Johnny seemed quite taken with her. I only remember because she looked so much like me….and you.” Irene looked at Maggie, a befuddled frown carving a deep groove between her blue eyes. Odd….I’d forgotten all about that.” Irene lost herself in thought once more. Finally she shook herself and shrugged, clearly unable to puzzle out whatever she’d been stewing over.

“If I remember correctly, that was just about the time that rumors of an affair between the mayor and Dolly Kinross started to surface. Roger was really out of sorts the night of the prom. I wanted to dance, and he was too busy talking to his friends and sulking to pay me much attention. I was sitting there, all dressed up in my beautiful red dress, wishing I were out on the floor, when out of the blue, Johnny Kinross saunters up and asks me to dance.” Irene sighed nostalgically.

“I’m sure he did it just to get under Roger’s skin, but I was still flattered. Roger had gone to get some punch…or spike the punch, most likely, so he wasn’t there to insist that I decline or make a fuss. Unfortunately, it almost caused a fight right there on the dance floor when Johnny escorted me back to my seat. I probably shouldn’t have accepted, but it was far too tempting.” Irene giggled girlishly. “It was a song that I loved to swing to, and boy, could Johnny Kinross dance…”

“Yes, I know,” Maggie choked out softly, fighting back the heavy despair that threatened to pull her under. She blinked back tears as she stared down at Johnny’s smirking image from so long ago. Irene stilled beside her. Gently, she reached up and stroked Maggie’s hair, pulling her head down to rest on her shoulder. She said nothing and asked for no explanation. Silently, they resumed turning pages.

“Roger was clearly obsessed, wasn’t he?” Irene said quietly after several minutes and several more pages of newspaper clippings. “In some ways, his life ended that terrible night, along with Billy’s and Johnny’s. He didn’t have the character or compassion to let the tragedy mold him into a better person. Instead, he let it blacken his heart and rot his soul. He and his father never got along after that. Roger blamed him, understandably, for the whole incident. Mayor Carlton went on to have several more affairs - ironically, Roger had several affairs of his own after we were married.” Irene said this matter-of-factly, but Maggie bristled indignantly at the humiliation her aunt must have endured at Roger’s indiscretions. Irene continued, undeterred.

“Roger’s mother never left his father. Very few people divorced in those days. I don’t think Dolly Kinross had anything to do with the mayor after her boys were gone. She remarried eventually. Did I ever tell you that?”

Maggie just shook her head. She didn’t want to explain that she had found the information on her own.