This story is based on theprompts:
Murderer - Accident - Valley - Winter - Hurt
Span 86 BEA (Before Echelon Era) / Year 1989 BEC (By Earth Calculation)
California, United States
Gail and Mark found the diner along a small highway in a town outside Lassen Volcanic National Park. It was the kind of place where the local men gather in the morning to talk about the affairs in town and drink their coffee. Sometimes national news disrupts the routine chatter, but mostly the conversation is filled with the daily fire danger rating and weather report and any recent gossip about the unlucky soul not there that day.
Gail and Mark arrived after the men left and it was almost lunch time. Before the waitress could say, “Two?” they were greeted by her too-strong perfume mingled with the smell of bleach and old fryer oil. She walked them to their booth and they slid onto the red pleather benches.
After looking at the menus for a few minutes, Gail saw Mark listening intently to the man and woman in dark suits in the booth behind him. She raised her eyebrow and he motioned with a finger for her to be quiet.
“She keeps saying that there was another person in the room. But the woman disappeared before the police got to the apartment.” The man faced Gail but he was whispering. Gail leaned a little closer.
“Of course she would say that the murderer ran away. What else would explain why she was alone in the room with her dead husband?” The woman’s shrill voice easily cut through the other noises in the diner.
“No, no, no. She says the other woman disappeared. Like poof. Vanished. Why would she say that, when she has to know, no one will believe her? I’ve tried to convince her that it's not a good defense, but she won’t let it go.”
“Why do you think she killed him?”
“I’m not convinced she did, but I have no other explanation. Obviously people don’t just disappear into thin air.” The man glanced over the woman’s shoulder and saw Gail listening. He motioned to the woman with a nod of his head. The waitress arrived and asked Mark what he would like to drink. By the time she went to give the kitchen their order the man and woman were gone.
“Do you think it could be a jumper?” Mark’s eyes were wide.
“It sure sounds like it, but I don’t see how. The Echelon watch all the desultors. And why would someone from 2118 kill someone in 1989?
***
After they finished their meal, Gail and Mark found a newspaper dispenser. The story on the cover was a murder a couple towns over, “Inconsistent Actions Seen in Case Of Local Man’s Death.” Gail slipped coins into the slot, pulled on the handle, and grabbed a paper. She handed it to Mark and they walked along the highway until they found a path down to the river. They padded along on the thick pine needles for a few minutes until they could only hear the roar of the rapids.
Mark opened the newspaper and read, “QUINCY, Calif., September 21, 1989 - Accused murderer Jennette Alice Thorne spent almost two more hours on the witness stand this morning and reiterated her earlier testimony that she did not kill her husband Marcus James Thorne…” He stumbled over the name and looked at Gail.
“Mark? I don’t understand. It can’t be you!”
“N-no. But I was named after my great-great grandfather.”
Gail reached out for his hand. “Go on. Read the rest of it.”
“...she did not kill her husband Marcus James Thorne last December. She insisted she was not in the room when he was killed. She entered the room to find an unknown woman standing over her husband’s body, but has no explanation who the woman was or where she went before the police arrived. However, with no apparent motive and no murder weapon it is unlikely the prosecution will get a conviction.”
“Was your great-great grandfather here? Now? Was Jennette Thorne his wife? What is going on? Do you know anything about this?”
“I don’t know!” Mark threw the paper and started pacing.
“I’m sorry. Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out.”
***
After some digging, they discovered much of the story. Marcus James Thorne was Mark’s great-great grandfather. Mark was named after him. Jennette Alice Thorne in September 1989 is ready to give birth to James Allen Thorne, Mark’s great grandfather. Birth records indicate that Marcus is the father. But there is no way James is Marcus’s son. Marcus was killed before James was conceived.
They still couldn’t figure out who the woman was that Jennette accused of Marcus’s murder. The court documents describe her as tall with long black hair and blue eyes. The records indicate that she was never found, that Jennette was acquitted of the crime, and she never remarried. No one else ever discovered the motive Gail and Mark had. Was Jennette lying? Did she actually kill Marcus? If not, Jennette was possibly describing a time jumper. But why would a desulter want to kill one of Mark’s ancestors? Greg wouldn’t stoop that low, would he?
Gail had to sit down. She could see Sharin’s brilliant blue eyes in her mind. She remembered the smell of lemon and coriander lotion on her skin. She could feel Sharin’s soft black hair tickling her lips. Gail shook her head. It couldn’t be. She refused to believe it.
#TemporalEpoch is a series of stories, each based on a set of #SeedsofImagination prompts. They are designed to demonstrate one of the many ways to use the cards.