Outside Forces

by R E Swirsky

CHAPTER 26

  Sunday 17:25 Near Okotoks, Alberta, Canada

  A cool breeze scuttled the grass in the field to the west beyond the weathered post-and-rail fence of the Crowder acreage. The Rocky Mountains seemed small and mundane in the distance, made pasty by the smoky haze from an early summer grass fire across the prairie somewhere to the south. Richard still wished he could have remained in the mountains wondering about nothing more than what time to start the campfire tonight. But the recent events involving Michael had changed everything.

  The sound of crushing gravel to the south caused him to move out further from the steps to intercept whoever it was coming up the drive.

  Michelle waved an arm out at the window as she drove slowly up the long drive towards the house. Driving slow up the drive was a habit of hers, attempting to keep the dust down as much as possible.

  “What’s so urgent?” she asked once she parked and stood in front of Richard.

  “It’s about Michael, but I want to wait until Tawnie arrives before I say what this is about.”

  Michelle gave Richard one of her ‘Tawnie always comes first’ stares.

  “No, really. This is something I need to say to both of you together. She should be here in a minute or two.”

  She shook her head. “It’s always this way with you two. Why not just tell me now?”

  He pointed down the drive. “Look, here she comes.”

  Michelle sighed, crossed her arms, and furled her brow as Tawnie sped up the drive. A white, curling cloud trailed behind her. Richard walked over and opened the door for her as Michelle waved her hand in front of her face to disburse the dust.

  “So, what’s up with Michael?” she asked.

  He whisked one finger up to his lips asking for silence and motioned both of them not to speak. “Follow me,” he whispered and walked up the back steps and inside. He pointed at the door to the basement. “Downstairs.”

  “What…?

  “Shh! Just go,” he said and ushered both of them forward down the stairs.

  The three descended silently to Richard’s study. It wasn’t until all three of them were inside with the door closed that he spoke.

  “I found out what happened to this new girl of Michael’s.” The words had just left his lips when he turned and noticed the coffee table pushed off to the side and his large roll of maps stretched out across the floor. The map for the Canmore area that included Heart Mountain was displayed.

  “You found what?” Michelle asked.

  Richard ignored her as he stared down at the maps laid across the floor. “What the hell?” He stepped forward and crouched down. He was horrified by what he saw.

  Tawnie gasped and covered her mouth.

  Red marker was strewn in squiggly lines across the exposed map and words written in large bold letters covered much of the map. “NO I DIDN’T! SHE FELL ON HER OWN! I DIDN’T DO IT! NOT ME! I NEVER PUSHED HER!”

  He flipped to the next map and it too was marked with red squiggles and the damning words scrawled everywhere across the map.

  “Richard?” was all Michelle could muster as she stared down and watched Richard flip over another of the maps covered in red. “What’s this about?”

  His shoulders sagged in disbelief. “Michael did this.” He flipped through multiple maps all soiled in the deep red, scratchy letters. Blood-red letters.

  Tawnie recognized the squiggles immediately and pointed. “Those squiggles are trails in the mountains. I’ve hiked some of those.”

  Richard flipped back to the first map that lay exposed when they first walked in the room, the map of Canmore, which included Heart Mountain. “Damn,” he said. The trail up Heart Mountain had a large red circle encompassing it.

  “And look.…” Tawnie said. She stepped past Richard. On the small coffee table were about a dozen tourist pamphlets and printouts of hiking trails. She picked them up and handed them to her father.

  He shuffled through each one and compared them to the lines drawn on the maps. They all matched, except there was no pamphlet for Heart Mountain in the bundle. He didn’t know if that was a good sign or a bad one. He suspected it was bad.

  “You’re acting very strange again, Richard. What’s this all about?” She stared at the map. “Never pushed her?” she asked. “Who’s her? Lucy? Is he talking about Lucy?”

  “I don’t know,” he said forcefully. He set the pamphlets down and poised one finger in the air as he directed his next words at Tawnie. “That hiker on the mountain yesterday. I followed up online after you called.…”

  “Damn you, Richard. Is all of this about that damn hiker again? I don’t want.…”

  “Michelle!” Richard shouted. He’d had enough with her negativity. “Just shut up for a goddamned second and listen before jumping around like some cat in heat.” He glared at her and she recoiled. Her mouth hung open. He had never before spoken to her like that.

  “Sorry,” he said quickly. “But I know who it was that fell from the mountain on Saturday.”

  Michelle’s face reddened and it was easy to see the ire stirring beneath her still shocked expression. He knew she wanted to say something so he pressed on before she had a chance.

  “That hiker we heard scream on Saturday was Michael’s girlfriend Lucy.”

  Michelle found her voice. “Now you’re talking nonsense, Richard.…” And then she paused. Her eyes fell to the maps and the words scrawled upon them. She opened her mouth as if she had more to say but remained silent, reading the words with her mouth agape.

  “Lucinda Carter was identified as the hiker who fell. It’s all over the news right now. The daughter of that lawyer, Harvey Metcalf. Lucy Carter is the girl Michael said was kidnapped Friday night.”

  “No way,” Tawnie said.

  “Yes,” Richard reaffirmed.

  “Michael’s girlfriend? But how?” Tawnie was stupefied. “Michael was in Calgary.” She paused. “Wasn’t he?”

  “I don’t know.” He shook his head and ran his hands through his hair, making it stick up at odd angles. He stared down at the maps on the carpet. “All I know is that Michael’s new girlfriend was the one we heard scream up on the mountain as she fell to her death.”

  Michelle’s eyes glowed with intense concern. “And what does Michael have to say about all of this?” she demanded.

  Richard shook his head. “I wanted to speak to both of you first. Michelle, you saw how strange he’s been acting. You think this is all a coincidence?” He glanced over at the maps again. Both Michelle and Tawnie followed his gaze.

  “You don’t actually think Michael had something to do with this, do you?” Tawnie asked. “Michael was nowhere near the mountain.”

  Richard could see the denial spread across her face. “I don’t think anything, yet. None of it makes any sense.”

  “But Richard.…” Michelle started to speak but Richard cut her off.

  “No buts. Michael’s been acting strange and it all started with that phone call I took from him on top of the mountain. That call from him came shortly after we heard that scream, not before.”

  Michelle shook her head. “Not Michael. I don’t believe there’s a violent bone anywhere in that boy’s body.”

  “I agree,” Tawnie said. “Not Michael.” They actually agreed on something.

  The sullen atmosphere in the study was shattered by a horrifying and anguish-filled scream from the floor above. “No! Aaaaarrggh!”

  It was followed by thumping, pounding, and more shouts and cries from above. “No! No! Noooo!” Foot stomping and thumping continued for another few seconds.

  “That’s Michael!” Richard shouted. He raced up the stairs to Michael’s room and burst inside. Michael was ashen white, his face twisted with rage and sadness as tears flowed down his face. In the palm of his clenched hand he held his smart phone outstretched and lifted it shakily up towards his father.

  “It’s Lucy,” he whimpered as spittle dripped down his chin. His eyes darted back and forth between
the phone and Richard’s eyes.

  Richard stepped forward, recognized the news article on the screen of Michael’s phone describing Lucy’s death, and pulled his son tight to his chest. Michael began to weep uncontrollably.

  “I am so sorry,” Richard said. He could feel his heart tear inside.

  “She’s dead, Dad. They killed her.” He sobbed.

  Richard continued to hold his son as Michelle and Tawnie appeared at the door.

  “They actually killed her,” he repeated and sobbed some more. “They threw her off a mountain!”

  “Shh, shh, shh.” Richard tried to calm his son. Seeing Michael like this made him even more worried. He glanced over at Michelle and Tawnie who remained at the doorway watching, saying nothing, doing nothing, waiting for Richard to do something.

  “Ask him,” Michelle said directly.

  Richard twisted his head sharply up at her. “No. Look at him.”

  “Ask him. You have to.”

  Michael pulled his head away from Richard’s chest. He wiped at his eyes. “Ask me what?” he whimpered between raspy shallow breaths.