Out Of The Past

Chapter X - Choices

"Well, that went well." Was Audrey's sullen comment as she quickly headed for the subcar station.

"That man can be the most obstructive person on this train when he wants to be." Was Layton's answer.

Audrey stopped and turned back to him. "Obstructive?" She replied, practically biting the word off at him. ""How was Mr. Jackson being obstructive? You asked questions and he answered them."

"He answered them with what he wanted us to hear, Audrey. Frank Jackson knows something about where Melanie is. He just isn't..."

"And how do you know that?" Audrey suddenly cut him off.

Layton stated to answer her, but stopped himself. He had just had the run around with Melanie's enigmatic assistant, he wasn't interested on having the same thing with Audrey.

Giving a deep sigh, he just shook his head.

The Night Car manager softened her tone slightly. She wasn't looking for a fight either. "Andre, maybe what you need to accept is that Melanie is missing because she wants to be."

"Wants to be?"

Audrey paused for a moment. "Andre, the incident between Melanie and Josie happened months ago. She's been carrying it around ever since. The only person she ever spoke a word of it to, as far as I knew, was me. And the only person she needed to tell she was too frightened to. But she did tell you. And in doing so, all of her worst fears became real. Now put yourself in her place. Would you just be standing around waiting for her to come find you? Or would you get as far from the situation as you could until...things cooled down a little."

Layton looked up at her. "By 'things', I'm assuming, you mean 'me'."

The Night Car manager gave him a long look.

"Weren't you the one telling me a few hours ago she could be in danger and we needed to find her?" Layton reminded her.

"That was before we spoke directly with Mr. Jackson."

"And that made all the difference?"

"Even I hadn't considered her guards, Andre. Frank has a point in that. If they are nowhere to be found either, it stands to reason they are with her. So she is well protected."

"So what do I do?"

"For now, back off. Give her what she seems to be asking for. A little time for both of you to get some perspective."

"I'm not so sure how much more perspective I need to get on this, Audrey."

"Well, before you do anything else, I think you would do well to think it through. And if you think any of this is going to get better, I hate to have to tell you, but it's likely only going to get harder for you."

"How so?"

"While I feel right now the best thing for you both is to be apart, at some point, Andre, the last thing you 'want' to do is the one thing you 'have' to do to MAKE this better. You have to sit down and talk to her. And that little rule the two of you live by? 'The past is the past'? That isn't going to work this time. You are going to have to talk this out. The two of you have to find a solution together. But for now," Audrey added, turning him around and giving him a slight shove down the hall, "go try occupying your mind with some work. That should give you something else to think about for a while at least."

Layton tried to follow Audrey's advice. But forgetting his current circumstances would have been for him akinned to forgetting he was on a survival train circling the global.

He met with several of his governors, getting reports from the various sections of the train. But every meeting seemed to end the same way. With his finding a way to ask if any of them had seen Melanie or heard from her without trying to sound weird or suspicious.

But the answers were always the same. No one had seen her. Which wasn't that unusual. She rarely had anything to do with the train any longer that didn't in some way involve the engine.

So where was she?

That night, Audrey stood behind the bar, drying several glasses she had just washed up as Layton told her about the events that day. He mentioned asking those he met with if they had seen Melanie, trying to sound casual about it. But each mention met with a stern look from the Night Car manager.

"I thought we agreed to give her time alone for now." Audrey finally asked.

"That doesn't preclude trying to find out where she is." Layton countered. "I can leave her alone a lot better if I can have some security of knowing 'where' she is."

Audrey softened her look a little. She had to admit, it made her feel better about things from her perspective knowing he was still concerned enough to be worried about Melanie despite what assurances he had she was all right.

"So basically no one knows where she is?" She asked.

Layton looked up at her as he carefully studied the counter in front of him. "Not unless you're hiding her in one of your back rooms, Audrey. No."

But the Night Car manager waved off the suggestion. "I haven't seen her since that night, Andre. After she told you, she came to the Night Car for a few minutes, then left."

Layton looked up suddenly. "You didn't tell me that before."

"It didn't seem significant." Audrey explained. "And she didn't stay long. Just...just long enough to tell me what happened." Audrey paused briefly before going on. "Andre, she was devastated. She told me what happened, but she was so upset it only came out in bits and pieces. Mostly it was just her retelling the story again, and then...her describing your reaction to it.""

Layton sat silently in front of her, imagining how that conversation must have gone.

Audrey put down her towel and stepped over to the bar, leaning over on it.

"Andre, I'm the one who pushed Melanie to tell you the truth. Watching her the last few months, listening to her talk about it, I felt like the guilt of what she carried inside her was reaching a breaking point. But after...I'm honestly beginning to wonder if this wasn't a mistake. I've never seen her like this."

"This?"

"When Melanie came to see me that night, she looked like she'd truly lost her best friend. But the one thing she kept going back to was the last thing she remembered you saying to her. Hearing you tell her you wish you had left her in that chair. That is the worst thing you could ever have said to Melanie at that moment, Andre. It showed her just where your relationship stands now." The woman's stare hardened a little along with her tone. "That you wished she were dead."

Layton's voice came out as an almost desperate plea. "I don't want her dead, Audrey. I told you that."

Audrey leaned in closer. "But you didn't. Tell. Her." She bit off every word at him.

Layton gave an exasperated sigh, closing his eyes against the pain of the situation that was threatening to crash down on him again. "I don't know how to fix this, Audrey.' He finally whispered. "I truly don't know what to do."

Audrey stood for a moment, studying the man in front of her. "What do you want to do, Andre?" She finally asked, softening her tone to nearly the same whisper.

Layton paused, then finally opened his eyes, turning back at her. "I want none of this to have ever happened."

"And I didn't asked you what you wanted, did I?" Came the same soft voice. "I asked what you want to do."

Layton gave a long, weary sigh, then closed his eyes again as he shook his head.

"Then maybe that's the next step for you, Andre."

Layton turned back to her.

"Figuring out what it is you want with her now." She answered his questioning stare.

Layton watched Audrey walk off to take care of another customer.

What did he want with Melanie now?

He knew what the train needed. Both of them together. Working together just as they always had. Any crack in that armor could be exploited. A wedge put in to drive them further apart.

But the crack was there nonetheless.

The question was how to repair it.

The next morning Audrey came up behind the bar in the Night Car to find one of the seats off to the side occupied by it's usual patron.

While not accustomed to getting up early, as she often worked late, she had decided to change up her own habits slightly to make sure her friend was getting at least one good meal a day. And since the only time she felt she was sure to catch him was morning, this meal was breakfast.

Most of her crew lived in the Night Car, renting rooms in the back to be near their work. So there was usually something already in the works behind the bar for her to scrounge up some food for him.

"So, any break throughs?" She asked, pulling out a cup and setting it on the counter.

"Just one. But it was the only one I need right now."

"Well, that didn't take very long." She commented.

Layton watched her fill the cup with a hot, steaming liquid from a pot set on the counter behind her. He gave a small smile. Audrey always seemed to know when all he wanted was a good cup of tea.

"Because I already knew the answer." He answered. "I just needed some time alone to sort it out."

Audrey gave a knowing nod as she slid the cup over the counter to him. "Time alone usually gives you what you need. Time to think something through. So, what was your answer?"

"I want to get to the truth."

A deep frowned answered him. "THAT was what you came up with? You already have it."

"No, I have a part of the story, Audrey. But I feel the problem is I don't have all the pieces yet."

"What other pieces could there be?"

"This happened months ago. Now, I know Melanie isn't the most conversational person on this train, but she had to have told this story to SOMEONE."

"She did, Andre. I told you that. She told it to me. And I told all of what she said to you. You have your 'truth'."

Layton shook his head. "I have everything but the truth."

A deep frown answered him. "Did you sit up late last night talking with your friends? Is that how you came up with this...'answer'?"

Layton gave her a set look. "Look, Audrey, as bad as things may seem between us, Melanie and I still need to run this train together. The TRAIN needs us together. THAT is what I came to realize last night."

"And how do you plan to accomplish this?"

Layton paused as he stared at the steaming cup sitting in front of him before raising his eyes to the woman behind the counter. "I'm not sure. But first, I need to find her, Audrey. Not knowing where she is seems the worst part of this for me right now. I need to know she's safe." He said in a low whispered voice, turning back to the drink sitting before him. "Then...then we need to do what you said last night. We need to sit down together and talk."

A small smile came to the Night Car manager's lips. It might be a slow journey, but he was at least trying to find a workable solution to the situation rather than hide from it behind a wall of blinding hatred.

"All right then," Audrey offered, "that part shouldn't be so hard."

Layton turned back to her.

"We both know that no one knows this train like Melanie. She could stay hidden on it for years if she wanted. However, in this little game of 'Hide And Seek' you two like to play, you each have a unique set of skills the other does not possess." Audrey gave him a close-lipped smile. "Maybe that's why you two work so well together."

"OK. So Melanie brings her knowledge of the train to the table. What do I bring?"

The smile was now showing pearl white teeth. "You say you're a detective, Mr. Layton." She added with a smile. "Maybe it's time you started acting like one again."