Ben Archer

by Rae Knightly

As the assistant opened her mouth to reply, Laura strode to the office door while the woman struggled to get out of her chair to stop her. “Wait!” she warned, but already Laura had opened the door to peek inside.

  Two men, one of them with neat, graying hair, the other with thick glasses and a big belly, stood beside the notary’s desk, laughing at a joke.

  “We must plan another round of golf…” the man with the graying hair said, before stopping to find out who had interrupted the meeting. For a brief moment his eyes narrowed, before creasing into a smile. “Ms. Archer, what a pleasant surprise!” he said nimbly, nodding towards the assistant who stood behind Laura. He reached out his hand. “I’m Charles Boyle,” he presented himself.

  Laura shook the man’s hand unhappily.

  Boyle gestured to the chair before his desk, inviting her to sit. Then he turned to the plump man, leading him politely but firmly out the door. “I’m sorry, Mr. Smith, my assistant is reminding me of an urgent meeting I must attend. She will go over my agenda with you so we can finalize the paperwork as soon as possible. It was a pleasure catching up with you, as always.”

  They shook hands, then, as the client turned away, Laura saw the notary giving his assistant instructions which implied making a phone call, to which she hastily nodded in understanding. He closed the door, calmly returned to his desk, sat down and crossed the fingers of his hands on the table in front of him in a business-like manner. “Ms. Archer,” he said gravely. “We don’t have much time.”

  “What is going on here?” Laura said in bewilderment.

  Boyle inspected her curiously. “You did not bring your son along?” he asked.

  Laura shook her head. “No, I sent him home. His grandfather’s passing has not been easy on him.”

  Boyle nodded in approval. “Good,” he said slowly, lost in thought. “Still, out of respect for your late father–God rest his soul–I must warn you that my assistant is calling the police,” the notary stated.

  “What?” Laura exclaimed, perplexed. “Why?”

  “Have you heard of the CSIS, Ms. Archer?” Boyle asked.

  Laura blinked at him, racking her brain. “You mean, the Canadian version of the FBI?”

  “Yes,” Boyle acknowledged. “Well, you see, a couple of their agents barged into my office yesterday, waving a lot of official documents at my face.” He gazed at her intently. “I intended to read your father’s will to you this morning, as he had instructed me to do at his passing. Yesterday’s unexpected visitors changed everything though. You see, your father’s assets have been frozen. The CSIS has taken hold of your father’s will as well as his inheritance.”

  “What?” Laura burst out, incredulous. “But why? Is that even legal?”

  “Last week I would have said ‘no.’ I have never experienced anything similar,” he said. “But, as it turns out, I was wrong. They did this in all legality. I’m afraid, Ms. Archer, that I am unable to read your father’s will to you today.”

  Laura stared at him, her mind unable to grasp what he was saying.

  Boyle continued apologetically, “To be honest, my assistant and I did not expect you in today. We…er...I guess we expected the CSIS to have made you aware of the situation by now. It was our error…we should have contacted you immediately.” He pulled open a side drawer and dug out a medium-sized envelope. “Nevertheless,” he continued carefully, “I am glad you came, as they did not get their hands on this.” He handed the brown envelope to Laura, who took it with a look of total confusion. He said gently, “Don’t think I approve of what is happening, Ms. Archer. Your father’s passing is a loss to us all. The community greatly appreciated him, myself included.” His voice lowered to a hush. “This envelope was not part of the will. Your father entrusted it to me, as one friend to another, and made me promise to give it to you should you ever face any trouble. Please, do not mention this envelope to anyone. It is the only thing of your father’s that I was able to…how shall I say…omit from yesterday’s investigation.”

  Laura sat like a statue, gaping at the envelope dazedly.

  The notary stood, saying gravely, “However, I can’t ignore the arrest warrant that came in this morning. That is why it is my duty to call the police, Ms. Archer. So I beg you: leave quickly!”

  Laura’s handbag tumbled to the ground as she shoved back her chair. “An arrest warrant? Why?” she asked, fumbling to pick up the handbag. “I’ve done nothing wrong!”

  Boyle stared at her in surprise as he realized her confusion. “No, not for you!” he said. “It’s for your son. The arrest warrant is for your son!”

  Laura gaped at him in horror.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The First Witness

  At dawn that morning, Inspector Hao had received new information from the Dugout about the fur hat man in the funeral photograph. Surveillance cameras at the Toronto airport showed him arriving a week ago from South America, travelling with a Canadian passport that identified him as Jack Anderson. However, as it turned out, the Bolivian Embassy had informed Canadian authorities two days ago that the real Jack Anderson had fallen to his death attempting to walk the dangerous Inca Trail. His remains were being flown back to Canada that same day. Meaning that the CSIS had no clue as to the real identity of the fur hat man, nor how he had managed to travel across the country from Toronto to Chilliwack without leaving a trace.

  On the other hand, the fingerprints that Hao had gotten from Benjamin Archer at the funeral reception matched those on the pieces of glass recovered from the crash site, officially turning the boy into a previously unknown witness of The Cosmic Fall. Not to mention that Ben was the last person to have spoken to the fur hat man. It was high time they interrogated Benjamin Archer.

  Hao had rushed to Ryan Archer’s house, only to find it empty. Quite conveniently, though, they had received a call from the local RCMP informing them that Laura Archer was currently at the notary on Knight Road.

  “Has Connelly reported back yet?” Hao fumed, as one of the agents parked the white van.

  “Not yet,” the other agent replied, checking his phone for messages.

  Hao swore as they searched the other side of the road with their eyes.

  “There she is!” the agent who was driving the van said. They watched as Laura Archer left the notary’s building.

  “The boy’s not with her!” Hao exclaimed.

  The three men got out of the van. They swiftly crossed the road, closing in on Ben’s mother.

  ***

  Laura saw them at once, running towards her in their dark grey suits. One of them flashed a badge at her. “Laura Archer? I’m Inspector James Hao with the CSIS. We need to talk to you.”

  She glanced around desperately.

  “In here!” someone shouted urgently. Startled, Laura turned around to find a man peeking out at her from a narrow back alley. It was Wayne the Bagman urging her to come to him. Following a wild, baffling hunch, Laura ran to the homeless man.

  “Hold it!” Hao yelled as he realized her intentions. But already she had slipped into the back alley after Wayne who was holding a metal door open for her. She entered into darkness and heard the door shut behind her.

  “This way!” Wayne urged. Laura realized they were in a dimly lit corridor. The sound of thumping fists hastened her on.

  The homeless man turned out to be much fitter than he seemed, for with a swift stride he led her up several flights of stairs to a closed emergency exit. Wayne pushed it open, and Laura found herself on a small, rusty bridge structure between two brick buildings above another back alley. A key materialized in Wayne’s hand from under his rags and in no time the door to the next building opened. He ushered her through it so that, again, they were faced with corridors and stairways. Laura’s head swam as she lost all sense of direction, while they ran up and down flights of stairs until Wayne led her to a garage with a yellowish Buick stationed there. He ran to the garage door to pull it open, then unlocked the car door on the driver’s side befor
e taking his place behind the wheel. “Get in!” he ordered.

  Laura froze to the spot, fear gripping her heart. “Wait!” she urged. “I can’t do this! What am I doing? This is insane! I’m running away from the police. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

  “It’s not you they’re after!” Wayne said impatiently. “They’re after your son. You have to get to him before they do.” Since she continued to hesitate, he barked, “Get into the car!”

  Automatically, she obeyed, her breath coming in short gasps. He put the key in the ignition, the car spurted to life, and before long Laura found herself heading out of town, racing down the highway.

  Once they were satisfied that no one was following them, she turned to Wayne. “What do they want Ben for?”

  He glanced at her, saying nothing.

  “And what about you? What have you got to do with any of this? Why are you helping me?” she insisted.

  The man did not reply, concentrating on his driving.

  “I’m talking to you!” Laura yelled. She was on the verge of a full-blown asthma attack.

  Wayne was not affected by her outburst. He said calmly, “I always knew your father had made a mistake by not involving you. He was hoping to protect you from all this, but they were bound to find out about you sooner or later.” He shook his head disapprovingly. “He should have known better.”

  Laura stared at him angrily, not appreciating his comments. She grabbed the wheel, veering it sharply to the right. He hit the brakes so hard the tires screeched.

  “What’s the matter with you?” he yelled through his thick, unkempt beard.

  “I’m not letting go until you tell me what’s going on!” she seethed, still grasping the wheel. Cars honked as they sped past on the highway.

  “Yeah, all right!” he growled. “Now let go!”

  Laura did as he asked, and he carefully wove his way back into the fast lane, muttering furiously under his breath.

  “What’s your name?” she demanded firmly.

  “Wayne McGuillen. Professional homeless man, at your service!”

  Laura glared at him. He didn’t appear to be joking.

  “Why are these people after my son?”

  Wayne looked at her curiously again. “You don’t know, do you?” She frowned at him to get on with it. “It’s because of The Cosmic Fall, of course.”

  “The Cosmic Fall?” she said, incredulous. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  He replied slowly, “Well, your son was there, on the night of The Fall. He witnessed everything.”

  Laura felt goosebumps on her skin. She remained silent, trying not to show that she was embarrassed not to know more about her son’s involvement on that fateful night. She said, “Yes, I’m aware my son witnessed the fall of some pretty big meteors next to my father’s property. I understand that this was a terrifying ordeal for him, but that doesn’t explain why the police are after him.”

  Wayne stared at her before saying slowly, “The thing is, it wasn’t meteors that fell into the woods that night. It was alien spacecraft.”

  Laura felt her breath shortening again. She closed her eyes to fend off the asthma crisis threatening to take over. She did not want to show any signs of weakness by reaching for her inhaler, so she forced herself to take long, deep breaths to calm down. “You’re making that up. Everybody knows those were meteors. The news showed how they recovered the meteor debris from the fields. Why would you make up such a story?”

  He answered slowly, “Because I was there, too. I saw them: the UFOs and the aliens. I saw all of it. As did your father, your son, and two others. There were five witnesses in all…” he trailed off, remembering. “Five civil witnesses, yet only four of us were picked up by the CSIS. Somehow they missed your son. Your father managed to hide him from them. A good thing, too! They brought us in for questioning. We thought they only needed us to file a witness report. Instead, they kept us locked away for weeks! They used the excuse that we might have been exposed to alien viruses and were dangerous to the public. In fact, they were afraid we would talk to the press. They went to great lengths to cover up the truth, which is why we were considered a menace.” Laura could hear the hurt in his voice. “All I wanted was to be left alone for a quiet night’s sleep in the woods. Instead, I found myself locked up for weeks, prodded like a guinea pig as if I were the alien.”

  Laura listened to him without moving, unsure what to make of his words. She couldn’t tell if this man in ragged clothes had completely lost it, which was all the more alarming as he sounded so sincere. “Yet, here you are, safe and sound…” she said carefully.

  Wayne didn’t seem to mind her statement. “Somehow your father got word to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, and they were forced to release us in great secrecy, with tons of signed papers saying we would not reveal anything to any living soul. That’s what they did officially, though behind closed doors, they bugged our houses and followed us day in and day out. That’s when your father stepped in again. He helped us disappear from the police radar by finding us places to hide. He provided us with a new life so they would leave us alone.”

  “I went into the Yukon for a while. Couldn’t take the cold. Came back to my hometown where I continued living rough. Kept an eye on your Dad. I knew he came into town incognito once in a while to sort things out for his family and the other witnesses.”

  He glanced at Laura again before adding, “Good thing I did, too. Found him by his car when he had his heart attack. Dropped him off at the hospital along with your phone number. But I guess I was too late…”

  Laura stared at him sadly. His story made sense, yet at the same time sounded completely crazy. Part of her was very reluctant to accept anything he said because admitting it meant a huge weight falling on her shoulders. It was much easier to brush him off as mad. And yet he had helped her dad…

  Suddenly, Wayne veered off the highway into a small dirt road leading through fields. Not long after, he turned into a lot filled with shrubs and a low, run-down house where white paint still showed through the cracked and peeling walls. In a swift movement, he pulled into a dusty garage before turning off the engine.

  “What are you doing?” Laura asked quickly, her suspicion growing tenfold.

  “This is my stop,” Wayne said simply.

  Laura stared at him in bewilderment.

  He threw the car key into her lap before getting out.

  “Wait! What…?” she started.

  “This is as far as I go,” he interrupted. “I did my part, paid my debt to your father. Go and get your son, Laura. Take the car. It was your father’s anyway.”

  Laura slid into the driver’s seat, then mechanically tried to get the key into the ignition. Her hands shook. “Wait a minute! Is that it? What am I supposed to do now? Where am I supposed to go?” She had so many questions, but at the same time, she wanted to get away as fast as possible.

  “Don’t trust anyone,” he said, echoing her very thoughts.

  She barely had time to back nervously out of the garage when he started pulling down the garage door.

  “Hide! Like me,” she heard him say, as the door shut firmly, obscuring her view of him. And just like that, he was gone.

  Laura stared at the silent house. She was in a cold sweat, her foot trembling on the pedal. She remembered the Inspector’s face as he lunged at her. He was real. The arrest warrant for her son was real. Ben’s face flickered before her eyes and she strengthened her grip on the wheel. He was all she had, all that mattered. She did not want those CSIS men to come anywhere near her son. Feeling a wave of urgency wash over her, she pushed down on the pedal, and sped off, leaving the lonely man to his wild imagination.

  ***

  After an unproductive search for Laura Archer and her mysterious saviour, Inspector James Hao entered the notary’s office with his notebook in hand. As he drilled Charles Boyle about Laura and her son’s whereabouts, he spotted something jutting out from under the notary’s
desk. It turned out to be an asthma inhaler with Laura Archer’s name on it. He knew it required a doctor’s prescription. Hao gazed out the window thoughtfully before putting the asthma inhaler safely in his pocket.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The Trap

  Almost sixty miles away, Ben stared out his classroom window, daydreaming. Concentrating on the lessons proved an impossible task.

  He had made it to school on time that morning, thanks to the very obliging Mrs. Ghallagher from Chilliwack. Not only had she driven him back to Vancouver, she had also insisted he spend the night at her daughter’s house, as she would not hear of him staying on his own after losing his grandfather so recently. He had found himself in an elegant family home on a tree-lined avenue in a well-to-do neighbourhood, with Mrs. Ghallagher’s daughter, husband and three-year-old daughter. He had reluctantly joined their joyful, bustling family dinner before settling in a cozy guest room all to himself. However, they would not hear of Tike sleeping in the bedroom with him. This thorny issue had almost turned into a nasty conversation until Ben had unwillingly relented. Then, as soon as everyone was sleeping soundly, the boy had silently opened the kitchen door for his happy four-legged friend. They had huddled up close before falling fast asleep.

  The next morning, Tike had scuttled under the bed before Mrs. Ghallagher came to wake Ben up. After a hasty breakfast, she had ushered him into the car again so she could take him to school.

  While Mrs. Ghallager was distracted by her granddaughter crying in the back seat, Ben was able to convince her that his mom was picking him up that afternoon; therefore, he did not need to spend another night at the daughter’s house. She dropped him off at the main school entrance with his dog, backpack and a small suitcase, and watched worriedly until he entered the school building. Only then had he been able to breathe.

  Fortunately, most teachers left him alone that day, though Ben’s science teacher offered his condolences. Still, it turned out to be one of the slowest school days he could remember, worsening when he was in a classroom that allowed him to catch a glimpse of Tike waiting patiently outside in the rain. More than anything else, Ben longed to be with his dog, who offered him his only solace.