Approximately nine months earlier
Red Buckner has always loved the life of a cop. Even now, more than a year into retirement, he still can’t get enough of “the life.” After dropping Olivia off at the diner, he heads over to East Branch to check on the accident he heard reported earlier on the police scanner. As he pulls off Route 17, and glides down the exit ramp, he sees what all the fuss is about. Up ahead is a large truck, apparently hauling slate from a nearby quarry, that has tipped over on its side. Large slabs of the heavy rock are strewn about, and the cab of the vehicle is badly damaged. Luckily, the truck has fallen on the passenger side, leaving the driver dazed, but relatively unscathed. There’s an EMS vehicle and several police cruisers from nearby towns surrounding the overturned vehicle, and a fire truck from the volunteer station over in Peakville. Red pulls his ancient cruiser over onto the shoulder, behind one of the other patrol cars.
At this point, rather than being an emergency situation, the whole affair has taken on a circus-like atmosphere, with numerous policemen and EMS workers crowded around the scene, munching on donuts and drinking coffee. It’s just the kind of activity that Red misses most. He hops out of his car and joins the others. Before long, it’s one big happy family—all except for the driver of the truck, who sits on the side of the road talking into his cell phone, probably with his wife.
Before long, a wrecker shows up, followed by a small crane, loaded on the back of a flatbed trailer. Red watches intently as the crane is unloaded, and the crew struggles to right the overturned vehicle. For a moment, Red’s mind wanders, and he pictures the young girl he dropped off at the diner, the image still clear in his memory. She was a cute little thing, he thinks. Kind of spunky, and not unlike someone else he knew a long time ago. He speculates where the girl might be at this moment.
East Branch is a tiny dot on the map (not even shown on some), but it holds special memory for Red. As the truck, carrying the slate, is finally righted, he watches as it is slowly winched onto the wrecker, and he permits his mind to wander back to a time when he was young, when things were simple and uncomplicated.
It’s 1963, and Dwight “Red” Buckner is eighteen, and in love. The object of his affections is a pretty, blond-haired girl from his church, a bit plain, but someone who is filled with the freshness and enthusiasm that only the very young – and very innocent – possess. She is only thirteen-years old – much too young for Red at his age – but she is everything the young man desires.
Unfortunately, for Red, she doesn’t even know he exists. But, she will—soon.