Half Past Mourning

by Fleeta Cunningham

  He handed her the keys. “I’ll need your driver’s license information,” he said in surrender.

  Barely noticing the facts listed on the license, Peter filled in the sheet. “You better get in line for the qualifying run. If you don’t make the cut, we’re out before we start.”

  He tossed the keys up and she caught them.

  “I’ll make the cut.” No hint of doubt colored her voice.

  Still reluctant but now committed to follow through, Peter delivered the registration forms to the officials, then took himself back to the sidelines to watch. The entry field was bigger than he’d realized. The girl would have a lot of competition. What was her name? Peter looked at his copy of the registration papers. Nina, that was it, Nina Kirkland from Santa Rita, the county seat of the next county over, thirty miles down the road. Married, by the ring on her finger, but not much more than a kid. What was she doing out here by herself?

  Peter held his breath as number thirty-six, his number—well, his and Nina’s—came up. The yellow T-Bird rolled into place. The object, to weave the car through a complicated pattern of pylons without tipping or turning over the markers while making the best time, required a good driver with excellent coordination and a good understanding of the way the car handled.

  Nina rolled smoothly into the pattern. As Peter watched, she proceeded with caution but handled the tight turns competently. He exhaled for the first time when she stopped at the finish line without a penalty for touching the pylons. She remained in the car till the score was posted, then pulled to the sidelines. Peter waited for her to join him, but she seemed in no hurry to leave the car. Impatient with the delay, he strode to the car.

  “You qualified, but not very high in the standings. I’m having second thoughts here, Nina. I might have done that well.”

  “No, you wouldn’t.” Sliding her long legs out of the car, Nina shut the door and turned to him. Her eyes flashed a gleam of irritation. “You would have tipped a marker or two and drawn at least a two-second penalty. Those turns are tight, and you don’t know how to drive into them. We’re exactly where we need to be. We qualified, but not so high up that we made the leaders anxious and not so far down that the four cars still to come can push us off the board. We’re in the middle of the pack but far enough up to stay with the leaders.”

  The confidence in her tone couldn’t be a bluff. Peter looked at the girl beside him and knew she believed in herself. And he probably would have bumped a cone or two. Not a doubt in the world tainted Nina’s self-assured confidence.

  “Okay, I’ve come this far. I guess I have nothing to lose. I’ll stick with you to the end.”

  Nina’s pretty mouth twisted in a wry smile. “You won’t be sorry.”

  The last of the qualifiers made their run. The field reduced to twenty, and Nina’s prediction proved correct. Car thirty-six stood in the pack, neither leading nor trailing, but only five cars had a higher score. For the second run, all scores were erased and the competitors began from even ground.

  The cars lined up for the final encounter. Peter noticed that the Corvette driver Nina had said could beat her, if his car was at its best, was the third one in line. As the drivers moved into place, Peter listened to the engines. He didn’t hear anything amiss with that third car. Had the girl been spinning a tale for him? She said the event was important to her. Why? What would compel a young woman to approach a stranger and offer the deal she’d made Peter? He couldn’t imagine, but he sincerely hoped, as much for her sake as his, since the event seemed to mean so much to her, that she hadn’t underestimated her competition.

  One by one the cars began the course. The first driver tipped over a pylon and took a two-point penalty. The second made a clean run but had a poor score on his time. Peter stood closer to watch that Corvette driver. He finished with no penalties and a fast time. Peter didn’t see any way Nina could beat that run. She’d had a clean and decent first run, but to beat that third driver she’d have to get into and out of the turns fast and drive hard, with no slipping up on her lines. Not a thing he expected a young girl to do, even a girl with Nina’s audacity. She’d need real skill behind the wheel this time.

  Nina revved at the starting line. At the green light, she accelerated fast with no slipping of the tires, then quickly moved into the first S-curves. Her wheels hugged the turn markers, and she down-shifted quickly as she headed for the apex of the curve. Peter was impressed when he heard the engine blip as she heel-and-toed her way into lower gears. So that’s how it looks when an experienced driver does it. Nina hit the accelerator and took the second curve without changing gears. On and on into the course the car sped, a yellow streak in the afternoon light, red taillights quickly blinking as she tapped the brakes before each curve. One lapse of concentration and she could lose it all, slide sideways and spoil her time, even spin out on the course and ruin her run completely.

  His palms were wet, his shirt soaked, and Peter couldn’t feel any of it. His gaze never wavered from the twists and turns Nina was executing. She drove as if she were part of the car, cutting the pylons close, handling the demanding course with complete control. Peter didn’t believe the speed Nina held as she pushed the car into the final straightaway—she powered the vehicle across the finish line and stopped exactly on the final mark. Though it took the judges a few minutes to post her time, Peter had no doubt that Nina had made a run that would hold up across the remaining drivers.

  Peter crossed the asphalt between them at a lope. Nina slid out of the car grinning like a twelve-year-old with a guilty secret.

  “I guess I’m not going to give you back the entry fee after all.” The laughter in her voice bubbled through her words.

  “Where in the hell did you learn to drive like that, young lady?”

  She shook back the curls that tumbled around her face. “When I was twelve, my uncle taught me to drive and let me practice in his parking lot. By the time I was old enough to get my license, I could drive anything I could get to run.”

  “Some teacher, this uncle of yours. I’d like to get a few lessons from him myself.”

  Nina’s smile faded. “Wish you could, because he’s the best. But he’s been out of the business for a while. You may have heard of him. Eldon Lassiter? He won at Indy a couple of times before he crashed against the wall.”

  Eldon Lassiter? Yeah, Peter and most of the world had heard of him, the man who plowed a furrow in the wall to keep from hitting a rookie driver who lost control of his car. The crash put Lassiter in a wheelchair for life but gave the rookie only a broken collarbone.

  Peter stared at the girl beside him. “And you asked to drive my car? Why? If you wanted to drive, I’ll bet any person here would be glad to have Eldon Lassiter’s niece put hands to the wheel.”

  Nina turned to look at the yellow paint casting back the rays of afternoon sun. “No, I didn’t just want to drive. I wanted to drive your car, this car.”

  The hint of tears darkened Nina’s eyes. Peter again sensed the pain surrounding her as if a murky wave had dimmed the lights inside her. “I don’t understand, Nina. This car? Why?”

  “I asked you if Danny Wilson sold it to you. You said no, but I know this is Danny’s car. I can’t prove it, but I know it. I drove it often enough.” She took a step back. “Danny is, or maybe was, my husband. For about an hour. Right after the wedding, he went to get the car, his yellow Thunderbird, so we could leave on our wedding trip. I saw him through the window of the church parlor. He waved, so jaunty, so happy, and I waved back. But Danny never came back to the church. He and the car vanished. Until today, there’s never been a trace.” Her voice stopped as if she had no words, no strength left.

  Her thin hand touched the steering wheel, the wide gold band on her finger catching a single ray of sun. She stroked the wheel, tracing a star-shaped nick in the center, and looked up. “That’s how I knew, how I was sure.” She tapped the imperfection with the tip of her short, unvarnished nail. “When I saw the car in
the parking lot, saw that it was so like Danny’s, I had to look closer. Then I saw this. I knew it was his. That mark wouldn’t be proof to anyone else, but it is to me. And I wanted to drive this car, drive it again, to be sure.” She looked up at Peter, as if she saw not Peter but someone else, someone a light year from where they stood. “Thank you. I’m glad I could win for you… Well, not just for you. Mostly one more time for Danny.” She put the keys into his hand, turned, and walked into the crowd. Before he could answer, Nina’s lanky figure became part of the milling swarm pushing forward to see the car that took the prize.

  Chapter 2

  Sun glinting off the red tile roof cast a harsh ray into Nina’s eyes as she pulled into the employee parking lot beside the car museum. She saw her uncle’s van, with its special hand controls on the steering wheel, and parked her wood-sided station wagon in the second slot next to it.

  Good, he’s here. Maybe he can give me some idea about what to do next. For almost a week Nina had been wrestling with the reality of finding Danny’s car. What the discovery meant, and how she could use the car as a clue to finding Danny, tormented her. Realizing her inner turmoil kept her from making headway, Nina had decided to turn to the man who always helped her see through the problems life handed her. Uncle Eldon would have an idea or give her a fresh way to look at the situation.

  Nina dropped the keys to the old woody into her purse and headed for the museum that had become Eldon Lassiter’s domain. As she reached for the heavy door, it came open, and she grabbed at the handle to keep from falling.

  “Whoa, there, Nina.” The voice came from the shadows around the door, but she recognized the man behind it. Ron Reeves, her uncle’s paint shop manager, came into the afternoon light. “Are you okay? Didn’t get hit by the door, did you?”

  Nina waved the question away. “I’m fine, just didn’t see the door opening as I reached for it. Got myself off balance a little.” She stepped past him into the dimmer corridor. “I need to visit Uncle Eldon for a minute. Is he busy?”

  Ron chuckled. “I don’t s’pose he’s ever too busy to see you. He’s back in the shop with the Princess. I think they’re going steady or something. He spends more time with that car than most men spend with their wives or sweethearts.”

  Nina grinned at the tall young man. “Everybody needs a passion, and the Princess is his,” she reminded him.

  “Reckon so, Nina.” He pulled a cap down over his head, light brown hair shining with either sweat or hair oil. “Keep an eye on him, will you, Nina? I’m going to spend a few days with my folks, and sure as anything he’ll decide to go out to the paint shop and ‘help.’ There’s a lot of stuff out there that he can’t manage by himself, and if one of the boys isn’t around to reach or hand him something, he’s liable to try to do it himself. Don’t want to see him fall or pull something down on himself.”

  Nina gave him a conspiratorial nod. “I’ll keep his attention on other things. Your paint shop is safe.” She turned toward the door at the end of the hall. “Good to see you, Ron. Have a safe trip.” She waved and hurried on her way, her red sneakers making small thuds on the tiled floor.

  As Nina entered the cavernous shop she could see her uncle, his wheelchair pulled close to the massive auto beside him, rubbing a chamois over the lacquer-red finish of the 1924 Isotta Fraschini that dominated the enclosed bay at the far end of the room. He stroked it as a cat fancier might pet a favorite Persian, with affection and pride.

  “Does she talk back to you yet?” Nina padded across the floor to stand beside the man engrossed in his task.

  Eldon Lassiter looked up, his brow wrinkled in surprise. He caught her hand and pulled her to his level to kiss her cheek. “She talks all right, Snookie; she really does speak to me.” He rolled his chair back to admire the magnificent view of his treasure. “She’s done, Nina. The Princess is ready to go out and tour her kingdom. Got the last polish on her yesterday evening, and gave her one more rubdown just now. Couple of the boys did the hands-on stuff, of course, but I watched every move they made. Isn’t she something?”

  Nina toured the circumference, looking the old car over with a critical air. Restoring the exotic touring car had been a labor of love for her uncle, and he’d done a magnificent job of it.

  “She’s a dream,” Nina agreed. “And she’ll make a spectacular addition to the car show this summer. I can’t wait to see what the judges think of her. I bet she’ll blow everything else in her category completely out of the competition.”

  Eldon nodded, a satisfied glint in his eye. “She’ll do that and more. I’ve decided to enter her in the rally. That car was made to run, and she deserves the chance to take to the road.”

  Nina took a step back. Uncle Eldon couldn’t drive the Isotta in the road rally. He’d have to modify the controls radically to be able to do that, and the modifications would eliminate the car from competition. The antiques in the contest, by the rules, had to be as they came from the factory.

  “She’d be great in the rally,” Nina began, “but how…”

  Eldon stopped her. “I know, Snookie, I can’t drive her myself, but my Princess will be out there on the road with the best of them. And she’s going to win, too. You’ll see to it, because you’re going to drive for me.”

  “Me?” Nina couldn’t hold back the surprise and excitement that filled her. “Uncle Eldon! Do you mean it?” She took the chamois from him and whirled it around her head. “Whoopeee!” She tossed the scrap into the air and caught it. “You know I’ve wanted to drive the Princess ever since you brought her home.”

  “I mean it, Snookie. I’ve always intended for you to have her, you know.”

  Nina dropped to her knees in front of his wheelchair. “I’ll do it, and I’ll do you proud, you and the Princess. But you’ll have to navigate for me. The rules require teams of two.”

  Eldon Lassiter shook his head. The silver threading his dark hair made wider bands than had been there even a few months back. Nina could see new lines in his face. Though only in his early fifties, the man’s injury and the chronic pain it brought had aged him more than his years. Her uncle suddenly seemed very old.

  “I don’t think so, Snookie.” Resignation seeped into his lined face. “I think you’d better find a younger navigator this time. The Princess won’t accommodate a wheelchair, and I don’t believe I’d be help so much as hindrance. Ask one of the boys around here. They’ll jump at the chance and do a good job for you.”

  Nina kissed his forehead. “The rally isn’t for three months yet. A lot can happen between now and July. Let’s wait and see how you feel about it when the time comes.” She couldn’t imagine making the celebratory run through the hills with anyone other than the man who had restored the magnificent chariot that would make the tour.

  “Maybe we’ll both be surprised, Snookie.” Uncle Eldon turned his wheelchair toward the bay door. “Coffee? I have a thermos in the office and some cinnamon buns from the drugstore. Want to share?”

  The thought of Luke’s cinnamon buns struck a chord. “Always,” she answered. “And I have something to talk to you about, as well.”

  Her uncle’s low chuckle answered her. “Somehow I didn’t think you came down here on a Friday afternoon just to visit. That’s usually the Sunday afternoon event.”

  Eldon Lassiter’s office held exactly what he needed at the level most manageable for a man confined to a sitting position. His desk was wide enough to let his chair roll into place. The usual office paraphernalia—typewriter, adding machine, paper, envelopes, pens—all were at convenient heights and reachable with minimal twisting and turning. Consequently the room was spacious, with open access and a clean tile floor. The lighting was bright without casting glares. Nina had spent hours helping her uncle plan it out, and he’d overseen every detail of the construction.

  She followed his chair through the extra-wide door and waited as he flipped the low switch that turned on lights. Drawing the visitor’s chair away from the wall, she
arranged it next to the desk as her uncle put a tray with cups and thermos in front of them. The coffee mug Uncle Eldon passed her had her name glazed on the side. He put a tempting cinnamon roll on a plate and pushed it across the desk.

  “Okay, Snookie, what’s up? One of your fourth-graders in trouble? Is that Nash boy trying to follow in his hoodlum brother’s footsteps?” Uncle Eldon leaned back, and Nina could see she had his full attention.

  The sticky bun suddenly lost its appeal. She put it aside. “No, it’s something pretty strange.” She looked into her uncle’s narrowed eyes. “I think…no, I know, I know I found Danny’s car. The T-Bird. I found it. But Danny wasn’t, hadn’t…” Her voice failed her.

  Eldon Lassiter’s cup sloshed coffee over the edge. His hand was shaking as he set it down. “You found…Danny?”

  Nina rubbed her eyes, running agitated fingers through her hair. “No, no, I didn’t find him, but I found his car.” She forced her thoughts into order so she could tell the story in sequence. “I went to that teacher’s playground workshop at San Felipe last weekend. I told you I was going, didn’t I?” At her uncle’s nod, she continued. “As I was leaving, I saw a yellow T-Bird in the parking lot. It was a fifty-five, it was just like Danny’s, and somehow I had to get closer. So I went over and took a good look at the steering wheel. You remember how Danny’s had that funny nick in the center, perfectly star-shaped? This car had the same mark in the same place. I knew, just knew, that it was his car.”

  “And you found out who has it now?”

  “I met him. I think he’s a professor, or an instructor maybe, at the college. He came out while I was looking at the car. I tried to find out how he came to buy it, but I didn’t get very far. I did get to drive the car, though. He’d entered it in the gymkhana, so I badgered him into letting me drive for him—and I won.”

  Uncle Eldon snorted. “No surprise there. Against the local talent, if you hadn’t, I’d think you forgot everything I taught you.” His brows drew together. “And after you drove it, you still thought it was Danny’s car?”