Chapter 10
Wednesday morning arrived, and after his usual morning coughing fit to clear his lungs and then another Marlboro to add to the nicotine inside them, Darin headed off to the kitchen to make breakfast.
After scrambled eggs and bacon breakfast, Tiffany was dressed for her shift behind one of the cash registers at the A&P.
Darin was glad she left for work and went back to the bookcase. He removed that book on JFK and sat down on the couch.
He opened the book back to the chapter on the assassination. He stared at that picture that showed Jimmy and Dr. Bowman at the grassy knoll. “I still can’t believe it. He built a fucking time machine,” he said over and over again.
His eyes widened when he also remembered something else.
He jumped off the couch and ran into his bedroom.
He opened the dirty clothes hamper and removed his pants from last night. He reached in his left pocket and removed that Studebaker ignition key. He forgot to leave it last night. He looked at the key and got a great idea.
After he got dressed in some jeans and a tee-shirt, he grabbed his keys and wallet. He raced out of the house.
Fifteen minutes had passed, and Darin was at Bob’s hardware store. He had a duplicate key made from that Studebaker key.
Darin returned back to his trailer and smoked six cigarettes until it was time for work.
It was time, and Darin finally arrived at work.
He rushed over to the door to the laboratory. He was relieved when he found it still unlocked.
Once inside, Darin rushed over to the computer desk. He reached in his right pants pocket and removed the key and placed it back on the top of the notebook.
He stepped away, then stopped. He looked at the notebook and got extremely curious.
Darin grabbed the notebook and opened it.
He flipped to the rear of the notebook and saw a page with the handwritten “Operating Instructions” title on the top.
He looked at it, and that page contained step-by-step instructions for using the time machine. He closed the notebook and looked at the time machine room. He couldn’t resist.
Darin went into the room with that notebook in hand.
Once he got in the room, he headed straight to the driver’s door of the Studebaker. He opened it and sat in the bench seat.
Darin opened up the notebook back to the Operating Instructions.
He closed the door.
He reached in his left pants pocket and removed the key.
He stuck the key in the ignition. He turned it to the “Start” position.
He secured himself in the seat with the harness.
Darin flipped up the “1 - Power” switch. The light above the power switch illuminated green. All the left lights above the other switches were not lit up. There was a low electrical hum while the electronics of machine fired up.
He flipped up the “2 - Doors” toggle switch. A loud click sound was heard that indicated both doors were locked. The light above that toggle switch illuminated green.
He looked at the “Travel From Time” panel.
He glanced down at his watch then dialed in June 14, 1995, 1730.
He looked at the “Travel to Time” panel. He thought about where he could go for a few seconds. His eyes lit up with an idea, and he dialed in June 14, 1971, 0430 in the “New Time” panel. That was the day Sheryl was murdered.
He flipped up the “3 – Time Set” toggle switch. The light above that toggle switch illuminated green.
He flipped up the “ 4 - Engine” toggle switch and noticed that the lens above it illuminated the green side of that lens.
The engine in the front of the Studebaker started up with a whine. The engine started to hum.
Darin hesitated with flipping the last toggle switch.
“What the fuck am I doing?” he said then flipped all the toggle switches back down.
The time machine whined down to a low hum, and the console sent dark.
He unbuckled the harness, reached out and turned the ignition key to the “Off” position, and removed the key.
He got out of the machine and closed the driver’s door.
He rushed out of the time machine room and out of the laboratory closing the door behind him.
Darin went inside his office, grabbed his cleaning cart, and pushed it to the freight elevator.
Darin took the elevator up to the fourth floor and started his daily routine of cleaning toilets.
An hour passed, and Darin was just finishing up with the third floor.
While he took the freight elevator to the second floor, Dr. Bowman and Jimmy Newton were down in the basement in his time machine room.
Dr. Bowman opened up the driver’s door and sat in the seat.
He shoved the ignition key into the ignition.
He turned to the “Start” position and flipped the power switch up.
After the console lit up, he saw the 1971 date in the “Travel to Time” panel.
“Did he do it?” asked Jimmy.
Dr. Bowman got out of the machine and pondered Jimmy’s question. “No. Nothing feels different. If he went, something would feel different. I think he chickened out.”
Jimmy was disappointed. “Such a shame, he wasted his life.”
“It’s not over yet. I think he’ll come around,” said Dr. Bowman.
“I hope so,” said Jimmy.
Dr. Bowman nodded in agreement, and they walked out of the room.
Dr. Bowman left the ignition key on the top of the notebook then he and Jimmy left the laboratory.
Dr. Bowman locked the door behind him, and they headed off to the freight elevator.
“Won’t Elmer go inside the room if you continue to leave it unlocked?” said Jimmy.
“Naw, I told him that I would have him fired if I caught him inside there. Besides, he’s too stupid to figure out that there’s a time machine in there.”
Jimmy nodded agreement while they got to the elevator. Dr. Bowman pressed the “Up” button, and they waited.
The elevator door opened, and Dr. Bowman and Jimmy went up to the first floor and left the building.
It was the end of Darin’s shift, and he pushed his cleaning cart down the basement.
He pushed the cart by the door to Dr. Bowman’s laboratory. He stopped and looked at the closed door. He wanted to go back inside but chickened out.
Darin pushed his cart back to the janitor’s office.
Thursday morning arrived.
Darin sat on the couch and watched TV. Or instead, he just stared at the TV, as that time machine filled his mind all day.
It became time for work. He showered and got dressed in his uniform.
Darin left a few minutes early in his Impala and drove down Addison Avenue where the A&P was located.
He planned on stopping there to buy a sandwich from the Deli for dinner tonight. He pulled his Impala into the parking lot and saw Tiffany while she rushed over to her Monza.
“Where is she going? Her shift doesn’t end yet,” he said while he slowed down and started to stake her out.
Darin stopped his Impala and watched while Tiffany got into her car, pulled out of the parking spot, and raced off through the lot.
Darin got extremely curious. He followed her Monza but stopped when she drove across Primrose Avenue and drove down the dirt road to the parking area of Lake Willow.
“Why is she heading to the lake?” he said and got extremely suspicious.
Darin parked his car in the nearest parking spot.
He got out of the car and rushed through the lot.
He rushed down the entrance to the A&P and across Primrose Avenue.
He rushed over and headed down the dirt road.
After Darin got halfway down the dirt road, he heard something from the woods to his left. It was a sound he had heard numerous times before and knew this wouldn’t be good.
He looked at the woods where that sound came from.
He hesitated. This was the general area where Sheryl’s dead body was found back in June 1971.
That familiar sound got louder. Darin had to look, so he inched his way into the woods.
The more Darin inched deeper into the woods, the louder that sound got.
He heard some motion in the woods and stopped behind a tree.
Darin peeked around the tree trunk, and his eyes widened with what he saw. He saw Tiffany with her work pants and panties down to her ankles. She had her arms hugging the trunk of a small tree while Don Paule, her A&P manager, had his pants and boxers down at his ankles. Don was fucking Tiffany from the behind.
Darin looked in the direction of the parking area of the lake. He thought about sneaking over there and slicing the tires of Don’s car. That would be interesting to hear him explain that to his wife. Thought Darin and smiled at that sight.
He looked back at Don having his way with his wife. He wanted to run over to Don, but he got weak in the knees, thinking about having a fight with another man. He knew he was a chicken.
He turned around and headed back to the dirt road. He had a better plan to get even with Don and Tiffany.
After Darin got back to his Impala, he drove away and went straight to the university.
Fifteen minutes had passed, and Darin had his car parked back in the employee parking lot.
He rushed through the lot, rushed through the campus, and got to the Engineering and Science building.
After the freight elevator arrived in the basement.
He rushed through the basement and came to a screeching halt once he arrived at the doorway of the janitor’s office.
Elmer sat at the desk. He looked at his watch the second he saw Darin in the doorway. “You’re fucking fifteen minutes late,” said Elmer.
“Sorry, I had car trouble.”
“I don’t care. You will stay an extra thirty minutes tonight to make up for it,” said Elmer with a smirk.
Darin stared at Elmer and wanted to kick his fat ass in the worst way. But the visions of Robbie fucking his wife in the woods flooded his mind. “Yes, sir.”
Elmer got up from the desk. “I’ll be watching. So you better stay the extra thirty minutes. If you don’t, your employment at this university will be over tomorrow. Understand?” said Elmer while he glared into Darin’s eyes.
“Yes, sir.”
“Good,” said Elmer, and he walked out of the office.
Darin refrained from flipping Elmer off tonight. He walked over and grabbed his cleaning cart.
He pushed the cart out of the office and wanted to get this night over with.
He stopped the cart by Dr. Bowman’s laboratory door.
He walked over and turned the doorknob. The laboratory was unlocked.
He stepped inside and walked to the time machine room.
He stood by the desk and looked at the closed door for the time machine. That scene of Tiffany and Don in the woods flooded his mind again.
He glanced down at the computer desk.
He saw a key on top of the time machine notebook. It wasn’t a key he seen before. It was a key for a door and not the ignition key to the time machine.
Darin’s curiosity peeked. He grabbed the key and walked over to the door to the laboratory.
He shoved the key into the lock of the door. It fit.
He removed the key and looked at his cleaning cart then shoved stepped out of the laboratory.
He locked the door behind him, shoved the key in his pants pocket.
He pushed his cleaning cart down to the freight elevator.
Darin finished his shift and stayed the extra thirty minutes demanded by Elmer. And Elmer kept his word by watching Darin leave from his car parked the parking lot.