Acts of Violet(58)
QUINN DWYER: [whispers] I’m sorry. I thought I … but I … sorry.
CAMERON FRANK [STUDIO]: Her voice breaks and she rushes off the stage.
A disappointed murmur buzzes through the audience, and I look over to where Sasha was standing earlier. She’s gone. Curious as I am to know what happened, it would be in poor taste to approach the Dwyer family right now.
Instead, I turn around, search the crowd, and catch sight of Antoinette near a gazebo, being escorted out of the park by a security guard.
Maybe Antoinette is the actual main event here. She may be a kook, but I’ve spent much of my podcasting career giving kooks a voice and it’s taught me some things. Just because someone says something crazy doesn’t mean it’s not true, at least to them. There’s so much in this world that’s unexplained, sometimes I wonder if certain explanations exist but don’t gain mass acceptance because they’re outlandish. What if we have more solutions at our fingertips than we realize? What if Antoinette has answers about Violet that nobody else does?
The only way I’ll find out for sure is if I talk to her.
I reach Antoinette at the edge of a gravel path that leads to the parking lot. The guard escorting her out still has a hand clamped around her arm and quickens his pace. She winces, taking hurried steps to keep up with him.
ANTOINETTE STRANGER: Could you slow down just a touch, sir? Gravel is tricky to navigate in heels. Granted, these boots were a bad choice, but your legs are twice as long as mine. Good gravy, was your mother a praying mantis?
GUARD: You’re lucky you’re not being arrested.
ANTOINETTE STRANGER: Aren’t you going to be late for your security shift at Walmart?
CAMERON FRANK [STUDIO]: Before she can get herself into any more trouble, I take a chance and step in.
I call out Antoinette’s name and tell her I’ve been looking everywhere for her.
They both turn to me, doubt clouding their faces. They speak at the same time.
GUARD: You know this woman?
ANTOINETTE STRANGER: Who the hell are you?
CAMERON FRANK: It’s your son-in-law, Cameron. Don’t you recognize me? Linda and I have been really worried about you.
CAMERON FRANK [STUDIO]: Antoinette is quick to catch on to what I’m doing and wrenches her arm free. The wind whips pieces of her curly hair, making her look like a cinematic witch about to cast a spell.
ANTOINETTE STRANGER: Oh, Cameron, I think I’m having one of my episodes. Could you be a kind dear and take me home?
CAMERON [STUDIO]: She looks around like she’s coming out of a bad dream and links her arm through mine. I lead her away from the guard, who remains dubious but doesn’t move to follow us.
ANTOINETTE STRANGER: So what’s this little rescue operation all about? I would’ve been just fine, you know—it’s not like he was taking me to a gulag.
CAMERON FRANK: Could we find someplace quiet to talk? I was hoping I could ask you some questions about Violet Volk.
CAMERON FRANK [STUDIO]: I introduce myself and explain about my podcast and my personal interest in missing persons cases and general high strangeness.
CAMERON FRANK: My hope is for Strange Exits to also serve as a forum for various ideas to be discussed with an open mind, since some disappearances defy rational explanation.
ANTOINETTE STRANGER: Like all those people in national parks being kidnapped by Bigfoot?
CAMERON FRANK: There have certainly been unusual cases of people vanishing in parks. I’ve covered the Missing 411 phenomena in the last podcast I hosted, Theory X. Cryptozoology was featured in several episodes, too.
ANTOINETTE STRANGER: And do you have a cat named Scully?
CAMERON FRANK: Why, because Theory X is so obviously an X-Files reference? You got me there, but actually, I’m more into Fringe, so my cat’s name is Olivia.
CAMERON FRANK [STUDIO]: At this, Antoinette breaks out into a slow smile and hands me her business card.
ANTOINETTE STRANGER: Why don’t you give me a call next week. Oh, and I also prefer Fringe. Don’t get me wrong, I respect its predecessor … but parallel worlds are so much more fun than aliens.
CAMERON FRANK [STUDIO]: With a jaunty wave, she walks off.
It’s getting dark out at this point. I return to Cordova Park in time for Viva Vox’s performance, and then we all light our candles.
Whatever disturbed energy or strange anticipation there was hanging over us earlier, it’s gone. The mood now is somber, melancholy, deflated.
[MALE VOICE 4]: At this time, we will observe a ten-minute moment of silence.
CAMERON FRANK [STUDIO]: Every year, a minute is added to represent each year Violet has been missing. Usually, the crowd thins during the final few minutes, but this time, nearly everyone remains quietly standing in place for the duration, holding their candles. The only noise is the juddering blade slap of news helicopters flying overhead.
As we observe the moment of silence, I look around me. Some people have their eyes closed. A few are crying. Many, like me, are gazing around, perhaps searching for that elusive familiar face, hoping it finally emerges from the darkness. Knowing deep down it will not.
The footage broadcast later is stunning, a sea of illuminated faces growing smaller as the camera pans out, until all that remains is an expanse of golden lights, each dot representing a life touched by Violet Volk.
Sasha
February 22, 2018