Chapter 5
Kent spent all Saturday and Sunday planning out his time travel trip back to nineteen fifty-seven.
He finally came up with a viable plan.
He thought of all sorts of options with one even being he'd go back as a USAF Sergeant. But he figured that would be too hard to pull off. Where would he get a nineteen fifties USAF uniform, military ID card and orders that looked believable? So he figured he'll go back as a civilian.
Kent went into his kitchen and made a phone call.
"Is that you, Kent?" said Linus answering his call.
"It's me."
"What did you come up with?"
"I figured I'd arrive on August fifth early in the morning, take a Greyhound down to Savannah, then a Greyhound to Macon and arrive on August seventh. That gives me some time to get familiar with the Warner Robins area." "Maybe scope out the murder scene and be there on that Friday, just in case Derek recalled the wrong day."
"So you know exactly where?"
Kent thought about that question for a few seconds. "Near some old abandoned cabin called Meyers' cabin."
"You better do some research at a library. Maybe a book has the exact spot where her body was discovered."
"Yeah, I better."
"Did you figure out how you'll dress?"
"I thinking I'd dress like a civilian from that time."
"There are clothes stores in Boston I can take you to. I'll help in that area."
Kent cringed a little. "I forgot about the money. I can't use my present-day currency. They'll lock me up for being a counterfeiter," said Kent and he looked a little lost on what to do about this.
There was a pause of silence from the phone. "I know of a few coin shops in Boston."
"Good."
"Okay, call me when you're ready to move forward with this," said Linus.
"I will."
"Oh, don't forget to get a fifties style haircut."
"Man, there's so much to do with this time-traveling business."
"Now, how are you going to collect evidence against this Grant Bowers?"
Kent thought about his question for a few seconds. "I didn't think about that. What should I use?"
"Do you have a movie camera?"
"No."
"You can borrow my eight-millimeter Bell and Howell. I'll get you two film cartages to make sure you have enough footage. That should be enough to nail this creep."
"Thanks, Linus, I couldn't do this without you."
"Think nothing of it." "But how will you get this evidence to the police? You can't walk up there to the station and hand it to them. They'll start asking questions. Might want to see your identification."
"You're right, I can't do that, but I can leave it at their front door with a note stating to develop this for evidence on Angie Abbott's killer." "Leave it in the middle of the night and high tail it back to Cambridge."
"Sounds like a viable plan. So call me when you're ready to do this," said Linus.
"I will," said Kent, and he hung up his phone.
Kent left the kitchen and headed back into the living room. He sat on his couch and started to get a little nervous about this trip. "Should I go through this?" he pondered a few times. "I have to," he said after thinking about living most of his life without his daddy. "I have to make this work!"
Kent turned on his TV and started watching CHiPs, but it was hard to stay focused. The thought of using a time machine filled up his mind. It was exciting to think of going back in time.
Four days passed and Kent started to lose his courage to time travel back to nineteen fifty-seven.
It was now Friday morning, and Kent was pushing his cleaning cart down the third-floor hallway of the Physics Department.
"Kent," called out Linus from behind Kent.
He turned around and spotted Linus, in his white lab coat, while he rushed up to Kent.
"Kent," said Linus while he rushed over. Linus looked around to make sure nobody was too close. "Did you decide when you," said Linus then he looked around to double-check to make sure nobody could hear them. "You know, make that special trip?" he added then glanced back over his shoulder for anybody that could be spying on their conservation.
"No, but I'm a little nervous. Are you sure I won't be vaporized into a million pieces or something like that?"
"Oh no, it's quite safe. Trust me."
Kent thought about it for a few seconds. He started to feel brave again. "How about next Saturday?" "I still need to get prepared."
"Of course. Preparation is critical," said Linus then he reached in his shirt pocket and removed a piece of paper folded in a two-inch by two-inch square. He glanced over his shoulder again. The coast was clear. "Here's a list of coin shops where you can get currency for the trip," he said then discreetly handed Kent the piece of paper.
Kent shoved the paper in his left pants pocket. "Thanks."
"And don't forget about the haircut and clothes style."
"I won't."
"Okay, good, come early on next Saturday morning," he said and glanced back over his shoulder. The coast was clear. "The machine will be ready."
"That sounds great, Linus."
Linus patted Kent on the shoulder and walked away with a smile on his face. He was excited that his time machine would be used for something good. To save a human life!
Kent pushed his cart in the opposite direction and flip-flopped between being scared to death and brave.
Linus eyes widened, turned back around, and rushed back to Kent. "Kent," he whispered.
Kent stopped his cart and turned around.
"I'll get you two film cartilages for my movie camera."
"Thanks."
Linus smiled at Kent then turned back around and headed off down the hallway.
Kent returned to pushing his cleaning cart down the hallway.
Kent's shift at work that Friday ended, and he headed back to his apartment. He spent the entire night drafting out his trip and plan on a piece of paper.
"What if I get stuck in fifty-seven, then what?" he pondered for a few seconds. "Well, I guess I can get a janitor's job somewhere and survive."
He looked at this plan over and over for fifteen minutes until it was ingrained in his head. He felt confident it would be a smooth plan.
After he felt that he had his plan memorized, Kent turned on the TV. He flipped through the channels and found an old Cary Grant movie. He relaxed on the couch and watched it.
Saturday arrived, and Kent took Linus' list, and he headed off in his Monza to numerous coin shops until he had currency from the nineteen fifties. He had one hundred dollars and estimated that would be sufficient.
After he was done visiting the coin shops, Kent off to a Men's Store and bought a gray suit and gray Fedora hat.
After buying the suit, Kent headed off to various other clothing stores and bought some shirts and Levi jeans, and black Converse sneakers that help him blend into nineteen fifty-seven.
Kent went back to his apartment wholly exhausted. He was sound asleep by nine that night.
Sunday arrived, and Kent stayed inside his apartment going over and over his plan.
Monday arrived, and Kent went back to work cleaning toilets on the MIT campus.
It was a long day for him.
He was in the janitors break room eating lunch when Earl Heche entered with his lunch box in hand.
"I heard my cousin got you that information. What are you going to do with it?" said Earl while he sat down at the table.
"I'm trying to figure that out. I mean, we're talking about an Air Force general that works at the Pentagon. It's a sticky wicket to convince any law enforcement official to investigate him. Especially since it happened twenty-one years ago."
Earl thought about Kent's response. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Besides, you can't reverse what happened to your daddy," said Earl while he opened up his lunch box.
"Yeah, I can't reverse it," said Kent with a bit of a smirk on his face.
It was quiet while the two ate their lunches.
Tuesday, Wednesday dragged on, and Kent thought someone slowed down the clocks around campus.
On Thursday, Kent snuck off to the campus library. He found a book on crimes and the one that had a detailed story about his dad's case. He sat down alone at a table that offered paper and pens as a courtesy. He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen.
It was painful, and this was the first time he did research on his dad. It was difficult for him to open up the chapter about Angie Abbott's murder. But he knew it was something that had to be done.
He read the case and saw the pictures taken by a Warner Robin's Detective of the crime scene.
He saw a photo that was the evidence found in his dad's garage attic. It was a photo of Angie's white blouse, black Capri pants, black flat-soled shoes, her white bra, white cotton panties, and her small black purse.
He turned the page and saw a sketch of where Meyers' cabin was located off the road. The illustration in the book stated that that road was Route 12 and it had an area shaded to the southeast of the cabin labeled Robins Air Force Base. Kent started sketching the sketch from the book.
After he sketched the sketch, he went back to check out the pictures and information about the crime scene. This provided Kent with excellent details for his trip. He jotted down lots of notes on a separate piece of paper.
He studied the pictures the Detective took and saw the clearing where Angie's body was found and saw two large bushes not too far away. "Perfect."
From one of the pictures, he could see the front of Meyers' cabin in the background. "Perfect."
He read a short article about how Roscoe Meyers built that cabin for his family in nineteen eight. He was a Moonshiner and was killed in a shoot out with some G-men in nineteen thirty-eight. His family abandoned the cabin and moved to South Carolina. The Moonshine still was destroyed. The article also stated how men who were gay in that area would use that cabin. The cabin was demolished by the city of Warner Robins in the winter of nineteen fifty-eight after Angie's murder.
He also read a little biography about Angie Abbott, her activities at high school and her part-time job as a cashier at the Piggly Wiggly. When Kent read that he wondered if he saw her when he was kid shopping with his mom at the Piggly Wiggly. He figured that the odds were high, but he doesn't remember her when he saw her picture.
He stayed another ten minutes studying the pictures in that book to get them burned into his brain.
He was tired of looking at that book, so he left the library and headed back to his apartment. He spent the entire night studying his notes and sketches until they were ingrained in his mind.
Kent's next day at work on Friday was even longer, and the butterflies started to multiply in his stomach thinking about tomorrow.
On the way home from work, Kent stopped off at a hair salon that allowed walk-ins.
He had to wait thirty minutes when an opening occurred with a stylist.
"How would you like your hair cut?" said Jenny after she put the white cape on him.
"I need it styled."
"Do you have a particular style in mind?"
Kent looked at himself in the mirror. "Well, I need it dyed black, and I need it styled like Cary Grant."
Jenny looked unsure she heard correctly. "Did you say dyed black with a Cary Grant style?"
"Yes. That's what I need."
"Okay. Give me a second," said Jenny while she walked away from the chair.
Jenny returned a few seconds later after doing some research with some books. "Okay, if that's what you want," she said and started cutting away at Kent's hair.
An hour had passed, and Kent looked like a new man with his short black Cary Grant hairstyle. And of course, he got a few stares while he left he salon and headed off to his Monza.
Kent went back to his apartment and spent the night packing his new clothes in his suitcase and some toiletry items in a small bag.
He sat on the bed going over his plan, his notes, and the sketch.
He made sure his wallet only contained the nineteen fifties currency he bought last Saturday. But he needed his driver's license for the drive to Linus' in the morning.
He stared at his gray suit and Fedora hat that hung in his closet.
He grabbed the sketch of the sketch he made from that book, folded it up and placed it in the inside pocket of his suit jacket.
He stripped down to his tee shirt and boxers and crawled under the sheets.
He tossed and turned and couldn't sleep a wink. He was getting nervous and extremely nervous by the minute.
It was now Saturday and six in the morning.
Kent sat on his couch in the living room in his gray suit, Fedora hat in his lap, and his suitcase by the door.
He thought about eating breakfast but wasn't sure he would vomit like a sprinkler all over the inside of the time machine. So he refrained from eating or drinking.
He sat there in the quiet of his apartment and waited.
It was now nine that morning, and Kent got up off the couch and went into his kitchen. He made a call on the phone.
"Is that you Kent?" said Linus answering the call.
"It's me."
"Are you ready?"
"I believe I am."
"Come on over and let's get this started," said Linus then he disconnected his end of the call.
Kent hung up his phone and walked out of the kitchen. He walked into the living room, grabbed his Fedora hat off the couch, and headed to the door.
Kent grabbed his suitcase and glanced back at his apartment. He wondered if this would be the last time he saw this place.
He headed out the door before he changed his mind.
Kent got in his Monza and drove out of the parking lot of his apartment complex.
Fifteen minutes had passed, and Kent parked his car at Linus' place next to his green Impala. He grabbed his Fedora hat, suitcase, and got out of his car.
Linus was already waiting in a rocking chair on the front porch. "You did a good job. Shouldn't have any problem blending into fifty-seven," said he said while he got up from the chair, the second Kent stepped on the porch.
"I have to admit, I'm really nervous about doing this," he said while he slipped the Fedora hat on his head.
"Understandable. You'll do fine," said Linus, then he held out his right hand. "Best you give me your car keys. They won't do any good in fifty-seven. Besides, they might look suspicious. And you might lose them."
Kent nodded that he agreed and handed Linus his keys.
While Linus shoved Kent's car keys into his pants pocket, he spotted Kent's suitcase. He frowned. "That suitcase is too modern for nineteen fifty-seven. It might raise suspicions. I have an old one you can use," he said and motioned for Kent to step inside his house.
After ten minutes, Kent transferred all of his clothes into Linus' old fifties brown Samsonite suitcase. He also packed his Bell and Howell eight-millimeter movie camera in its case with two film cartridges.
"Ready?"
Kent nodded he was ready, and they left the house.
While Kent walked with Linus to his barn, he felt like he was walking the green mile and would never be seen again.
Linus unlocked his barn door and opened it. They both slipped inside, and Linus closed the door.
They walked to the other room, and Linus unlocked that door. They stepped inside that room.
Once Kent got inside the room, he looked at the time machine.
"I spent all night going over the machine with a fine-tooth comb. She's ready for your journey," said Linus while he walked over to the time machine.
Linus opened up the machine door. "First I'll secure your suitcase and hat."
Kent walked over and handed Linus his suitcase and Fedora hat.
Linus leaned in the time machine with the suitcase and hat and secured them with the other seat harness.
"Please have a seat."
Kent sat down in the time machine, and Linus showed him how to use that seat harness. He tugged on it to make sure Kent was snug in his seat.
"Okay, here's how it'll work. I'll be here and check the history books."
"Why?" said Kent as he thought that was a weird thing to say, and that started to confuse him.
"Well, if it works, I'll know soon after you depart," said Linus and he noticed that Kent looked confused. "Twenty-one years will pass quickly," said Linus while he snapped his fingers.
"Oh, now I get it."
"So if something went horribly wrong I can come back and try to bail you out."
"Thanks, but I don't think that'll be necessary."
"Well, it's the best backup plan I can come up with." "Now, let's get started. Follow my instructions, and you'll arrive safe and sound."
Kent's eyes lit up. "Wait, if I do catch him in the act, maybe I can also save Angie's life?"
Linus thought about that for a few seconds. "I don't know. Altering the past is dangerous enough with your father." "You probably shouldn't alter Angie's life. She was destined to die that night. All you're doing is identifying the real killer."
Kent thought about his response for a few seconds. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Good," said Linus, then he reached in his left front pants pocket and removed a folded piece of paper. "Here are the operating instructions for using my time machine. Put them in this small glove box after using them," said Linus and he reached over to the bottom left corner of the dashboard, opened the small glove box and closed it. "That way, you won't lose them while traveling down to Georgia."
Kent took the paper and unfolded it. He glanced over it. "This looks easy enough."
"Place it in your suit pocket before flipping the last switch," said Linus then he glanced at Kent. "Good luck, my friend," he said, then closed the door of the time machine.
The inside of the machine was quiet, and he started to get butterflies in his stomach when he saw Linus leave the room and close the door. "It's now or never," he said then he glanced down at the instructions.
Kent flipped the first "Power" toggle switch and the circular light illuminated green. A low hum was heard from the rear engine area.
He flipped the second "Door" toggle switch. The circular light illuminated green, and the door clicked in the locked position.
He flipped the third "Travel Dates" toggle switch and the three circular lights illuminated green. The three large digital panels lit up, and all the digital readouts were orange zeroes.
He reached over to the "Now" panel and dialed in 11, 14, 1981, and 1030.
He reached over to the "Travel To" panel and dialed in 8, 6, 1957, and 0230.
He reached over to the "Pick-up" panel and dialed in 8, 15, 1957, and 0230.
He glanced at the instructions. "Only flip the "Instant Return" toggle switch if you want the machine to return back to nineteen eighty right away with no pickup plans," he read the instruction.
He reached over to the "Instant Return" switch and flipped it up. The circular light below it illuminated green. He reached over to the dial and turned it to the five-minute mark figuring that would give him enough time to be at a safe distance.
He glanced back at the instruction. "Only flip the "Repeated Pick-Ups" toggle switch if you want the machine to come back every twelve, or twenty-four, or forty-eight hours," he read the instructions. Kent left that switch alone.
He reached over and flipped the "Engine" toggle switch. The circular light below that switch illuminated green at the same second the sound of the engine started a strange louder humming sound. The needle on the engine gauge moved off the peg a little.
Kent stared at the "Adventure in Time" toggle switch for a few seconds. He reached over, and his right index finger touched the bottom of the switch.
He pulled his hand back and started to chicken out. Then he recalled that morning his dad was executed and how his mom cried for two days.
He folded the instructions and shoved it in his right suit coat pocket. He reached back over and flipped the switch up. The circular light below that switch illuminated green and for that split second Kent knew there was no turning back.
The engine whined louder and louder.
Hundreds of beams of bright blue lights shot out horizontally from the rear. These beams started to rotate in a swirling counterclockwise motion while the rear saucer started spinning.
Beams of bright green lights shot up horizontally from the base. These beams of green lights start spinning while the bottom began to rotate the machine clockwise.
The needle in the engine gauge moved into the middle of the green pie then moved to the yellow then to the red.
The machine spun faster and faster and made a strange whirling sound with the rotating swirling blue and green lights starting to mix together and turned to a soothing cyan color.
The cyan light exploded, and it was pure white for a split second and vanished.
The door of the small room opened, and Linus cautiously poked his head inside. He saw that the time machine had vanished. He closed the door.
Linus waited outside that room for five minutes. He heard loud humming from inside the room, and then it got quiet.
He opened the door to the room and carefully poked his head inside the room. He smiled when he saw his time machine had returned and nobody was inside it. He knew Kent had traveled back to nineteen fifty-seven.
Linus locked that room door and left the barn locking the barn door from the outside.
He headed off to his house to check some of his history books on crime he had in his den.