in her notepad and drew a straight line. “The Centre for Time at the University of Sydney, Australia has put forth a theory called the Block Universe. This theorem holds the past, the present, and the future are all happening simultaneously.” She drew three X’s on the line. “Traveling between those three points could be done through a wormhole. Got it?” Lou looked at the other two like a football coach who’d just drawn a familiar play on the chalkboard.
Reno seemed to come out of his trance. “Wait a minute. I’m not sure I understood all of that, but I do know I didn’t come through no damn wormhole.”
There was silence in the room while Lou digested what Reno just said. Suddenly it dawned on her that he would think a wormhole was just what it sounded like – a hole made by a worm. Diplomatically, without cracking a smile, she quickly explained, “A wormhole is a shortcut through space, a tunnel which connects two distant parts of the universe via a very short path.” Lou smiled then, her explanation pleasing herself if no one else. “See? This is working. Good process.”
Reno and Journey shared a look and Reno smiled when Journey winked at him.
Back in her chair, Lou continued her observations. “According to NamUs, approximately 600,000 people go missing in the US every year.” She waited a moment for that huge number to settle into their consciousness. “Granted, most of those folks are found, come home, or are accounted for in some way. Some have come to harm, but their bodies are located. A fraction of that big group, however, defy explanation. They are literally missing without a trace. Some in the most mysterious of circumstances. Now, that’s not to say each case has the same cause. No, there are several theories being bounced around to account for these strange cases. I won’t go into them all now, because we’re only interested in one of those theories.”
“Time travel,” Journey filled in the obvious blank.
“Well…” Lou shifted in her chair, hunting a more comfortable position. “They give it a more scientific name. It’s referred to as going through a portal. Theoretically, there is a portal at each end of a wormhole. Of course, where a portal might lead is up for debate.”
Reno groaned a little as if he wasn’t sure about all of this. Lou gave him a strange look. “Hey, Mr. Skeptic, you’re the least likely one in this bunch to feel any doubt. After all, if you came from the past – which you and Journey truly believe is the truth – you had to come through a passageway of some kind.”
“A passageway that isn’t there anymore.” Reno stood and slammed his hat on his head. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
Lou was ready. “Excellent. Are you coming?” she asked Journey.
Journey looked to Reno to see if he wanted her to come.
“I’ll run ahead and saddle three horses,” he offered. “You might want to change clothes, Lou.”
Lou looked down at her white linen pantsuit. “You’re right. This isn’t the best choice, is it?”
“We’ll wait for you outside,” Journey told her, wanting a moment alone with Reno. On the way out, she called the dogs for a quick bathroom break. While Cleo and Dudley were tending to business and chasing butterflies, she and Reno went to the barn to saddle the horses. As they worked, she tried to give Reno a bit of hope. “Don’t be discouraged. She’s really smart. Unless this was just a pure miracle with no basis in science, Lou is your best chance at figuring out an answer. She’s trained for this. Physics is as far over my heads as the clouds are, but there are ongoing studies in this field. Serious people are looking at this subject in a serious way. And she’s not only one of them, she can contact the others for help if need be.”
“Yea, but won’t that make me a bug under a microscope?”
“Lou won’t expose you. I’ll make damn sure and certain of that.”
Reno gave her a quick kiss of gratitude. “Thanks for looking out for me.”
“Of course.” She wrinkled her nose in thought as she led one of the horses out into the open. “There are microscopes in your time?”
“They’re rare, but one of my friends, Dr. Domino O’Neill, has a microscope. He’s let me look it in a time or two. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure of what I was looking at, but it sure was interesting.”