“Canal and South Broad,” said the bus driver on the microphone.
He waited as several people hopped off the city bus and then waited as others got on. Someone always needed change or needed a ticket.
As hard as the city bus system tried, they couldn’t seem to go completely cashless or digital, at least not all the way. Too many folks relying on the bus were used to paying as they went. They needed their change every day or needed to swipe a debit card. His passengers rarely used credit cards unless they were tourists. The usual passengers were not used to relying on virtual or credit card payments and as a rule, it was something they couldn’t do.
The last woman got on, smiling at the driver and he watched as she walked to the very back of the bus. It seemed strange because most people were getting off either at the river or French Quarter.
He shrugged and moved on, stopping at three more stops before getting to North Peters. This is where most people got off, leaving him in peace at least for a few more stops. He looked in the mirror and saw the woman still seated in the back of the bus.
“You getting off here, honey?” he called. She said nothing, just staring out the window of the bus. “Ma’am? Are you getting off here?”
Again she didn’t say anything to him so he moved on down the road, stopping three more times.
There was one door on and off the bus, other than an emergency exit, and he watched everyone getting on the bus, or as they left the bus.. When he didn’t see the woman exit yet, he looked back once more.
She was gone. No one was sitting in the back.
Turning in his seat he searched the occupied seats for the familiar face but didn’t see the woman. He walked the aisle thinking perhaps she’d laid down and fell asleep. But there was no one.
“What in the world?” he muttered to himself. Finally satisfied that she was not on the bus, he shrugged and went back to his seat. Taking the turn, he whispered to himself.
“You’re getting too old for this Isaac.”
With a small break built into the schedule, he pulled the bus to the curb and turned on the flashers.
This was one of those stops where Isaac could take a short break. He always stopped in front of Fleur-de-Lis Grocery where he could get a hot cup of coffee or a soda and a po’boy. Miss Jennie, the owner, gave him a fifty-percent discount and he made sure he didn’t take advantage of it, only using it a few times a month.
“Evenin’ Isaac,” she called from behind the counter.
“Evenin’ Jennie. Coffee and a roast beef po’boy, please.”
“Comin’ right up. Almost at the end of the day for you, right?” she asked as she put the sandwich together. She knew what he wanted on it. Dressed. All the way. Hot French bread from her own ovens, thinly sliced roast beef soaked in au jus, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and salt and pepper. Perfection.
“Almost. Got my turn-around for a few last stops and then I’ll head back to the yard.” He stared out the window hoping to see the woman that he lost somewhere along the way. It always made him nervous seeing a woman alone and then losing sight of her.
“Somethin’ wrong Issac?”
“No, not really. Strange thing on the bus a while ago. A woman alone, all the way in the back of the bus. I asked if she wanted to get off at the Quarter but she acted as if she didn’t hear me. A few stops later, she wasn’t on the bus anymore.”
“Then she got off,” shrugged Jennie.
“I see everybody, Jennie. You know that. I didn’t see her get off anywhere. There was something strange about her, odd. She wasn’t dressed warm at all. No sweater or coat but she didn’t look cold.”
“Well, you know we get lots of strange folks down here. Don’t let it bother you. If you’re really worried, let that fine young officer across the street know. Maybe there’s someone missin’.”
“Yeah,” he said looking at the officer in question. “I just might do that.”
He ate his sandwich and drank his strong, hot, chicory coffee in peace. When he returned to the bus, the officer was standing a few feet away.
“Evenin’ officer,” he said nodding.
“Evening, sir.”
“Hey, I was just wonderin’, I know this will sound crazy but have you seen a young woman, maybe thirty or so, brown hair at her shoulders, summer dress. She was on my bus and disappeared. She didn’t seem right.”
The officer stared at him wondering if there was something wrong with the older man.
“Didn’t seem right how?” he asked.
