Photographs in Time

by Terry Segan

  Not wasting a moment longer, I dropped the paper as I tore for the driveway and out onto the street. I quickly found one of the public stairways that would take me down towards the beach, but more importantly, to my own street.

  Partway down I sat on the steps out of breath. After resting a few moments, I got up and continued the descent at a slower pace until I reached my street. The stairway emptied onto the road only five houses from my own.

  Arriving at my front door, I tore through it. Just as quickly, I slammed the door closed and locked it behind me.

  Jimmy rushed out of the office. “Where were you? Or, when were you?”

  Chapter 27

  Jimmy’s furrowed brow and droopy eyes displayed the panic he endured.

  Throwing my arms around his neck, he pulled me close. I melted into the embrace. “He took…he…he took me,” I stuttered out. “I didn’t know how far forward or back in time we went. He has a house here. Please, tell me it’s only been two days. Tell me!”

  “Who? Carney?”

  “Yes!”

  Jimmy held me closer. We stood there a moment clinging to each other.

  When he eased his hold, I pulled back. Keeping one arm over my shoulders, Jimmy led me to the couch in the living room. Once I calmed down, and he confirmed I’d only been gone two days, I told him what happened.

  His shock mirrored mine when I told him how close Carney had been to us at times.

  “But the house was empty?” This concerned him almost as much as its location. “That means he’s still playing games. And he said he wants my Family Slide?”

  “Yes. I didn’t let on that you got it after going back. Not sure if he believed me when I told him your grandfather held onto it.”

  “I don’t understand why he would want both. If they’re reusable, there should be no need.” Jimmy looked down, lost in thought.

  “Do you think he knows there’s only two left?”

  Jimmy looked back at me. “I doubt it. My grandfather would be the only one to know that Francois destroyed his own.”

  “Carney wants to be in control. Maybe he wants to be the only one with the power to jump randomly. Unless…,” I hesitated, grasping Jimmy’s hand. Another horrible thought struck me as it drained the warmth from my face.

  “What, honey?” He gave my hand an encouraging squeeze.

  “What if he knows about trapping someone in time? And that someone is you. What if he wants to permanently send you back like we plan to do to him?”

  Jimmy sat back against the couch cushions raking his hand through his hair. “This is becoming too complicated. Now that we know how to stop him, we need to find a way to execute it quickly. I can’t see him trying to trap me. If he wants me gone, why not just shoot me like he did his grandfather?”

  “No suffering that way. He’s talked about you living without me. If he wanted to kill you or me, he would have by now. Instead, I believe he wants us both to suffer by living apart.”

  “You may be right. More reason to get the Fortuno’s Family Slide away from him and set up a trap,” Jimmy said.

  We sat quietly for a moment, lost in our own thoughts.

  “How do you feel about breaking and entering?” I asked with a sidewise glance.

  “No, Sami. You’re not going back to that house.”

  “This time I won’t be alone. Let’s go now, before he’s back.”

  “Do you really think he left the Family Slide there knowing you could get out of the tower room? Don’t kid yourself. He took it with him when he left.”

  Pulling my hand from his and turning to face him, I asked, “Isn’t it worth the look?”

  “No. I have a better idea,” he said with a sly grin. “Two can play this game.”

  “You’re starting to scare me. What’ve you got in mind?” I didn’t know whether to be hopeful or afraid of his plan.

  “Tell me exactly how long ago you appeared inside Carney’s house.”

  “I would say it’s only been about thirty minutes, maybe forty at the most.” His plan started to become clear to me. “No, absolutely not. You can’t risk it. What if you miscalculate on the exact time? What if Carney has a gun?”

  “Sweetie, we may not have an opportunity like this again. Right now, we know exactly where that family slide is, or at least was about half an hour ago. We need to chance it.”

  He was right. It could take us days or even weeks to find another opportunity like this again. We needed to take the risk.

  “Do you think you can request a location that specific? Since the room was locked, you need to land inside. The timing must be just right to get there after he left and before he returned with me. I don’t know how long he set the timer for when he grabbed me from the front porch.”

  “Grandfather said the location can be intricately detailed. All we need is the address of the house. What street were you on?”

  “Crandall Avenue.”

  “Ok, a few minutes on the computer can get us the house number. The homes are all unique around here, so it shouldn’t be hard to find.”

  “Jimmy, you’re a genius! All you have to do is time it for only a few minutes, so you can appear while he’s here with me, and be gone before we get back. You shouldn’t need more than a minute to grab the slide and vanish.”

  He stood up and slowly walked to the fireplace, then turned around. “That wasn’t precisely my intention.”

  “You can’t get there too long before since he probably brought the slide with him.”

  “Yes, honey, I’m sure you’re right. I’ll arrive only a few minutes before he comes back with you.”

  “That’s timing it rather close, isn’t it?” I got off the couch and stepped over to him. He needed to be gone before Carney arrived with me in tow.

  “It’s the whole point of it. I intend to be there when he arrives with you. Then you’ll be traveling back here with me.”

  I should’ve known he’d never leave me there alone with what happened. Since the scene would be different, Carney might not release me after finding his mode of transportation missing. Whether he would suspect Jimmy of getting in and stealing it or not, he wouldn’t be willing to lose what leverage he had to bargain with. And that leverage was me.

  “I guess you’re right,” I said hesitantly. “This is the best shot we’ve got. Does the Family Slide need an hour to power up, like the other holder?”

  “Yes, in that aspect it’s the same. No sense wasting any more time,” he said heading for the office. “You hop on the computer and get that address. Then I’ll power up our transportation.”

  It amazed me how events could turn so quickly from abject fear to having a sense of purpose. We finally had a real chance at stopping the monster. Once in possession of the slides, it would only be a matter of getting him to come to us. That shouldn’t be difficult given we’d have exactly what he wanted—two family slides. I hoped we could pull this scheme off. Timing would be crucial.

  Finding the address of Carney’s house, I gave it to Jimmy.

  He depressed the button on the front and spoke clearly, “Twenty-three seventy-five Crandall Avenue, Palos Verdes, CA, first upstairs bedroom on the left.”

  The location appeared in writing on the screen at the bottom of the frame.

  “Maybe we can take a hint from that mad man. You should leave from the bedroom,” I suggested. “We’ll lock the door from inside. Just in case we have any unwanted visitors, the Family Slide will be safe.”

  “Good idea. You’ll be safer too. When I return, I expect you to be with me instead of waiting. That’s another thing Grandfather told me. When you go forward in time, there is only one of you, no duplicates.”

  “That’ll be weird.”

  “Better than having two of you,” he smirked. “I can barely handle one!”

  “Understandable,” I laughed.

  As Jimmy carried the slide upstairs, it dawned on me I never showed him the package from Dede. Going out to the front porch, I ret
rieved the two mugs, still sitting on the small table. The photo had probably blown away, but it wasn’t important, the message got conveyed. I put the mugs on top of the bubble wrap in the box and carried the bundle into the house.

  I found Jimmy in the kitchen and showed him what Dede sent, while explaining the significance of the sun and moon markings. The gesture tickled him as much as me, knowing the couple got their long and happy life together. Nice to see the good in all this mess.

  The thought also made me a bit sad. Dede and Milton would be one of the very last couples brought together. After we completed our twenty-ninth and thirtieth matches, the process would be done forever. There wasn’t anyone to continue—probably best, given the evil twist it had taken.

  Soon all the journeys would cease. The only question left was what to do with the Family Slides once we’d trapped Carney in time. Destruction seemed the logical option, yet what if something came up and they were needed? Guess we’d jump off that bridge when we came to it.

  Chapter 28

  The frame reached full power. Jimmy and I stood in the bedroom holding each other’s hands. “Now remember,” I told him, “Paolo said for us to make the trip safely, we need to be holding firmly with both hands. That’s how he…I mean…that’s how Carney took me.” I found myself gripping Jimmy’s hands harder than intended.

  “Relax, Sami.” Jimmy shook my hands, getting me to loosen my hold. “You’ve told me three times in the last hour.”

  “I’m sorry, honey. It just makes me nervous that something might go wrong. We still don’t know if Carney is armed.”

  “Won’t matter. I’m only there for a few minutes, and in the last minute is when you and he will appear. We can do this.”

  “What if I was a bit off on the time?”

  “Then I take the trip again. Remember, repeating a location doesn’t trap me. We’ll have more than one shot if it doesn’t work on the first try.”

  “Hopefully, I won’t be too startled to do the right thing when I appear with Carney and see you.” My mind raced over all the things that could go wrong. It was out of my control since I wouldn’t have any knowledge of what would take place. More importantly, Carney wouldn’t know either.

  “Okay. Time for me to go.” Jimmy released my hands, adjusted the satchel strapped over his shoulder, and depressed the thirty-second timer. I backed across the room.

  “I love you,” I said.

  Jimmy smiled. With a flash from behind him, I stood alone in the bedroom. Now I had five minutes to endure—better than the twenty-four hours the last time he travelled. Sitting down on my bed, I anxiously stared at the spot where he would reappear, hopefully with me.

  The minutes ticked down. Suddenly Jimmy was back, and we were holding hands in front of the dresser. Dried blood stained his shirt. The second timeline hit me immediately—as did the third.

  The images appeared in my mind. When I materialized in Carney’s house, as before, I ripped my hands out of his and backed away. That’s when Jimmy plowed into him, knocking Carney over.

  Stunning Carney, Jimmy turned to take a step toward me.

  “Jimmy, look out!”

  He whipped around only to have Carney slam into him and the two went down. He was pinned, but not for long. Before Carney could back off, Jimmy banged his forehead into Carney’s nose. Blood sprayed over them both. Jimmy managed to roll him over and gain the advantage. This time Carney remained too dazed to react.

  Jimmy jumped up and raced toward me with his hands out, yelling, “Sami, hands!”

  I reached out, but he disappeared.

  Still hazy in the present, as multiple memories filled my brain at once, I found my voice. “Did you get it?” I asked, looking hopeful. Then I realized he no longer had the satchel over his shoulder.

  “Yes, it’s over there,” he said pointing toward the dresser. He reached over and grabbed the bag. Opening it, he removed the Fortuno’s Family Slide and sat it next to his own. They looked identical. “I didn’t get you the first time. When I returned here, you were gone. So, I reset the timer and left the satchel behind. This time I didn’t want another encounter with Carney that might put you at risk. What happened after I disappeared?”

  The memories continued to flood over me. “Carney became enraged.” I reached my hand up to my cheek as I remembered him slapping me.

  “I’m sorry I missed you the first time.” Jimmy said. He walked over and gently rested his hand on my tender skin. “He hit you, didn’t he?”

  “Yes, but it was barely a graze. His bloody nose kept him preoccupied. As he held onto his face with one hand, he unlocked the door and shoved me out into the hallway. He still forced me up the stairs and secured the bolt.”

  “I hoped that’s how it would go. It seemed best to retrieve you from up in the tower. Carney might have been prepared for me to reappear had I tried to get you from the same room. He knew I would come back.”

  “Good thinking, honey.”

  After going to the top of the stairs and discovering the location of the house, I had just sunk down with my back against the window when Jimmy appeared again. He grabbed both my hands and pulled me up into an embrace. Hesitant to let go, I knew we needed to hold hands to make sure the connection was firm. It’s possible that if we were holding each other, it might work, but I didn’t want to chance it. A moment later we stood back in my bedroom safe and together.

  Jimmy put his hand on my cheek. “This can be erased.”

  “No. We’re both here and have the slide. That’s all that matters.”

  He paced furiously. I knew it angered him that Carney hurt me, but the wound would heal. Looking at my face in the mirror, I barely detected a mark.

  “Jimmy, it’s okay. Let it go. You did enough damage to him, as well as taking a big risk going back a second time. He might have changed his original plan and not put me in the tower. Let’s move forward. We have the slides.”

  “Okay,” he said quietly. “Let the games begin.” We both stared at the two slides secured permanently in their holders.

  “What now?” I asked.

  “We find a way to lure Carney to us. Then we send that bastard permanently back in time where he can’t do any more harm.”

  “Let’s lock both devices in the safe until we figure out a next step.”

  “Until this gets wrapped up, I’m staying here. With Carney stuck in the present, we need to be prepared for anything.”

  “We also don’t know if he has any special, one-time use slides,” I said. Since nothing he did followed any sense of reason, we had to be constantly on our toes.

  “I know, and he might try using one of those to steal this back. Right now, the advantage is ours since he won’t know when I left to retrieve you and the slide. Let’s see how long we can keep the edge and trap him.”

  “We need to keep moving forward with the process too,” I said. “Stella comes tomorrow. I’ll see if she might be a good match for one of our two remaining Suitors.”

  “What time is that?” he asked, while removing his shirt and walking toward the bathroom to clean up the blood.

  “She’ll be here after she gets off work from the flower shop at 2:00.”

  “Good enough. I’ll go into the office in the morning to wrap some things up, so I can be available over the next few days. Let’s see if our opportunity presents itself. Meanwhile, when I’m not here, you keep this house locked up tight. Agreed?” He looked into my eyes with concern.

  “I know the drill. Believe me, I don’t want Carney wandering in here again uninvited.”

  I heard the water running for a few minutes before he returned to retrieve another shirt from the closet.

  “Right now, I need to go to my place and gather a few extra things. Come with me?”

  “As long as we can stop by the grocery store on the way back. We’re out of coffee, and that could be tragic,” I play-punched him in the shoulder and grinned.

  “Consider me your personal chauffeur.” He
bowed from the waist, then grabbed the two slides off the dresser and carried them downstairs to the safe.

  Chapter 29

  The next day, Stella arrived right on time. With Jimmy still at the office, my house remained locked up. Opening the door, after checking the peep hole, I found her to be a petite little thing, with dull brown hair and a high squeaky voice. My guess put her age at late twenties or early thirties.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you Stella.” I extended my hand and she shook it gently. My thumb brushed across a jagged scar on the back of her hand. Looking out toward the street, I didn’t see a car. “Did you drive here?”

  She quickly pulled her hand back. “Oh, no, I don’t drive. The traffic here is too crazy. I came on the bus,” she said nervously. “I hope that’s okay?”

  Stunned for a moment, I thought, why wouldn’t it be okay? “Of course, that’s fine. Let’s have some tea in the kitchen, and chat about what type of photos you’re looking for.”

  “I’m not sure about this, but Dede said she had fun.”

  “Yes, she enjoyed her session. How is she?” I had to play along, so she didn’t suspect I knew more than I should.

  “Oh, I guess you wouldn’t know, would you?”

  “Know what?” I acted concerned, with my eyes wide.

  “She quit the flower shop,” Stella went on.

  “No, no I didn’t. Did she get another job?”

  “I’m not sure. Her aunt back in Iowa is sick. No other relatives, I guess. Dede moved there to take care of her. Probably a long-term illness since she pretty much gave up her life here. I’m really going to miss her. She was my only friend.”

  That seemed a bit strange, since Dede had said she and Stella were just co-workers, not necessarily close. Maybe this woman felt so lonely she made up friendships. I hoped she would be a good fit for one of the two remaining Suitors.