MAN FROM TOMORROW (EPISODE 28)

The old man identified the man in the picture. He could not tell much about Joseph. He had paid cash, looked muscular, unusual even. "You know those Biker boys? The ones who are crazy about bikes? Always smelling of oil and stuff?" the old man had asked. Martin nodded. 

"Well, he was one of 'em. He was riding a 1969 Honda CB750 which he parked over there" he said pointing to a parking lot in front of the shop. Martin raised his eyebrows. This old man knew the model of the bike? "How can you be so sure it was a 1969 Honda CB750?" Martin asked. 

"Because..." the old man chuckled, "I was a Biker Boy once and used to own one myself" He said pointing at a portrait on the wall with him in his younger days standing with his bike. "And once a biker, always a biker."

An hour later, Martin was in his office. Anita had earlier mentioned that he smelt like diesel oil. Same with the old man. The thing was, in Martin's mind Joseph was 'probably' not a biker boy, but perhaps a mechanic who had taken an old bike he had repaired for a spin. That 'probably' weighed heavy in Martin's investigative calculations. 

Martin assumed that Joseph was a mechanic, because he knew where to look for mechanics- in a garage. Hot on the trail, Martin marked out auto garages in and around the place Joseph had saved Anita. A few minutes later, he found 4 auto garages nearest to the Old man's shop. The haystack was getting smaller.

Martin went in search of the building that housed one of the garages on his new list. He parked his car on the street opposite of the building and waited, observing. The street was deserted, and for the several minutes he sat watching. Not another car passed by. His was the only operational car on the block. 

He remained in his vehicle for longer than necessary to observe the area. There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for a neighbourhood on the edge of the city. It was quiet, sparsely populated, with a few homes and buildings. Fifteen minutes into his wait, there were no people, no cars, nothing but him and the hum of street breeze. He could barely hear the traffic in the distance, and even then, only when he focused on it.

He observed the building. The address belonged to an old auto shop, a run-down without much business. The place went by the name of ‘Clark's Auto’. Another ten minutes passed with him staring at the building before he got out to take a look. If no one was here now, it was unlikely that anyone would be in another twenty minutes.

He stepped onto the street. Martin heard only the wind blowing and the faint sound of traffic in the distance, a bit louder now that he was out of his car. The highway was some distance away, but a moment after he stepped out; he heard the sound of a vehicle approaching. It was the first vehicle he’d encountered since arriving. It sped away.

(To Be Continued Tomorrow…..)

[The complete Book ‘MAN FROM TOMORROW’ can be downloaded at amzn.to/2MSf1ng ]