crawled up the sides of his face.
The car chugged along, rattling when it travelled along open road, but steadily fighting against the tempestuousness of the storm. It looked as though it was calming. Passing over.
'Is my mom OK?' he quizzed, pouncing on the man's newfound friendliness.
There was a pause.
'She's fine. Nothing to worry about.'
'Where are we going?'
'To the freeway. Through the storm, it's passing over us.'
Jack shifted anxiously in seat, sitting on his hands.
'What do you want with me, Walt? I mean, what am I doing here?'
O'Sullivan focused his gaze deep into Jack's brown eyes and shrugged.
NINE
Trying his best not to distract Marilyn, Elwood flicked out another cigarette from his packet and lit it as quietly as he could, his thumb pressing and dragging over the worn lighter reel until it produced a flame.
He inhaled and exhaled. It felt great on his lungs. He missed it.
He thought his questions through. There was a lot he needed to know. A lot she needed to remember.
'Marilyn. Can you hear me?'
'Yes,' she answered through a stony, throat trapped whisper.
'Good. I need you to remember. Where is it you were heading with Jack?'
She twitched in her seat at the mention of Jack, but managed to keep her composure. Her voice was soft and coated in sadness.
'Mr Nighty, my boss. My ex-boss. He had given me the keys to his holiday home. It's about a two day drive away from here. Things at home were not so good, and well, we both really needed a break. I thought the drive down would help us get to know each other a little better, help us bond. I've been away a lot with my job and I wanted to make it up to him.'
'That's an excellent start,' he responded, proudly. 'What happened next, Marilyn?'
'We'd been driving for a good eight hours. Jack was getting restless and agitated. He gets bored easily. He was hungry, even though I made him a packed lunch for the journey and had food before we left. He's always hungry. We joked and laughed. We stopped at a fast food place.'
'OK, you're doing just fine, Marilyn. Great progress.'
He took a slow draw of his cigarette, keeping the smoke in his lungs, and continued with a strained voice. 'Did anything happen there, anything suspicious, anything at all?'
'No. Nothing. We ate our food and drank our drinks. We talked and left.'
'Did you leave Jack on his own at any point?'
'No. I was with him the whole….' Marilyn paused. 'Wait. I went to the toilet. I went to the toilet and checked my hair. Freshened up. I was less than two minutes.' She became frustrated, her head and body twisting and turning on the sofa. She scrunched her hands into tight fists.
'It's OK, Marilyn. Breathe. Listen to my voice. That's it. Nice and easy. You're doing great.' He stopped. Took a puff of his Marlboro and watched the dead ash fall into his lap. 'Who else was there?'
She thought about it hard.
'It was pretty quiet. There were three or four people working. The woman who served us. She was called Amanda.'
'OK, good, who else?’
'A young couple. They were kissing. I remember thinking Jack hated it. He never cared much for me and his father kissing when we were in public.'
The old man laughed, covering his mouth and catching the smoke
'There was a mother and daughter there. She had blonde hair, the daughter.'
'Anyone else that you can remember, Marilyn/’ he pushed.
'There was a man, sitting in the corner. I couldn't see him very well.'
'Try to remember something about him. What was he wearing? Did he look out of place? Anything.’
'He looked tired and worn out.' She squirmed. 'He also looked kind of dirty, his jacket was all scraggly.’
'Very good, Marilyn.' He put the cigarette to his mouth, but didn't take a drag, just let it balance there between his lips. 'Now, think about his face. Think hard. Is there anything you can remember?'
Her face crinkled up, she was trying so hard to remember. Elwood
The car chugged along, rattling when it travelled along open road, but steadily fighting against the tempestuousness of the storm. It looked as though it was calming. Passing over.
'Is my mom OK?' he quizzed, pouncing on the man's newfound friendliness.
There was a pause.
'She's fine. Nothing to worry about.'
'Where are we going?'
'To the freeway. Through the storm, it's passing over us.'
Jack shifted anxiously in seat, sitting on his hands.
'What do you want with me, Walt? I mean, what am I doing here?'
O'Sullivan focused his gaze deep into Jack's brown eyes and shrugged.
NINE
Trying his best not to distract Marilyn, Elwood flicked out another cigarette from his packet and lit it as quietly as he could, his thumb pressing and dragging over the worn lighter reel until it produced a flame.
He inhaled and exhaled. It felt great on his lungs. He missed it.
He thought his questions through. There was a lot he needed to know. A lot she needed to remember.
'Marilyn. Can you hear me?'
'Yes,' she answered through a stony, throat trapped whisper.
'Good. I need you to remember. Where is it you were heading with Jack?'
She twitched in her seat at the mention of Jack, but managed to keep her composure. Her voice was soft and coated in sadness.
'Mr Nighty, my boss. My ex-boss. He had given me the keys to his holiday home. It's about a two day drive away from here. Things at home were not so good, and well, we both really needed a break. I thought the drive down would help us get to know each other a little better, help us bond. I've been away a lot with my job and I wanted to make it up to him.'
'That's an excellent start,' he responded, proudly. 'What happened next, Marilyn?'
'We'd been driving for a good eight hours. Jack was getting restless and agitated. He gets bored easily. He was hungry, even though I made him a packed lunch for the journey and had food before we left. He's always hungry. We joked and laughed. We stopped at a fast food place.'
'OK, you're doing just fine, Marilyn. Great progress.'
He took a slow draw of his cigarette, keeping the smoke in his lungs, and continued with a strained voice. 'Did anything happen there, anything suspicious, anything at all?'
'No. Nothing. We ate our food and drank our drinks. We talked and left.'
'Did you leave Jack on his own at any point?'
'No. I was with him the whole….' Marilyn paused. 'Wait. I went to the toilet. I went to the toilet and checked my hair. Freshened up. I was less than two minutes.' She became frustrated, her head and body twisting and turning on the sofa. She scrunched her hands into tight fists.
'It's OK, Marilyn. Breathe. Listen to my voice. That's it. Nice and easy. You're doing great.' He stopped. Took a puff of his Marlboro and watched the dead ash fall into his lap. 'Who else was there?'
She thought about it hard.
'It was pretty quiet. There were three or four people working. The woman who served us. She was called Amanda.'
'OK, good, who else?’
'A young couple. They were kissing. I remember thinking Jack hated it. He never cared much for me and his father kissing when we were in public.'
The old man laughed, covering his mouth and catching the smoke
'There was a mother and daughter there. She had blonde hair, the daughter.'
'Anyone else that you can remember, Marilyn/’ he pushed.
'There was a man, sitting in the corner. I couldn't see him very well.'
'Try to remember something about him. What was he wearing? Did he look out of place? Anything.’
'He looked tired and worn out.' She squirmed. 'He also looked kind of dirty, his jacket was all scraggly.’
'Very good, Marilyn.' He put the cigarette to his mouth, but didn't take a drag, just let it balance there between his lips. 'Now, think about his face. Think hard. Is there anything you can remember?'
Her face crinkled up, she was trying so hard to remember. Elwood
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