Outside Forces

by R E Swirsky

  ***

  Metcalf picked up immediately when the call was put through to him. Michael’s eyes were once again cast down onto the single sheet of paper with the list of prepared statements. He scratched at his ear far too long, which caused Richard to worry once more. Were the voices already churning in the background? Michael seemed lucid and well-focused.

  “I asked you not to call here,” Metcalf said forcefully, foregoing any kind of hello.

  Michelle reacted immediately to Metcalf’s response that belted out from the speaker phone. Her eyes grew large and her mouth opened as if she was preparing to step in with a rebuttal. Richard lifted his finger up to his lips to silence her. Did she believe Michael now?

  “I know you did,” Michael replied. “But I had to talk to you again.”

  “Look, young man. What happened to our daughter has nothing at all to do with you, so I’d like you to refrain from calling here again.”

  “But she didn’t go hiking.”

  “I’m not going down that road again with you. You need to drop this and stop calling here.”

  “But I won’t drop it. I was with her all Friday night and you never called her.”

  “Listen to me.…”

  “No,” Michael interrupted. “I was there and you never called her.” He began to tear up.

  Metcalf went quiet and his laboured breathing was all that could be heard for a half-minute.

  “Why won’t you listen to me?”

  “Michael, I’ve heard enough from you already. You must stop this or I will be forced to take drastic measures. Do you understand?”

  “But, I loved her…”

  Metcalf sighed heavily again.

  “…and Lucy loved me.”

  “Just stop right there! I don’t care who you think you are or what relationship you had with my daughter. Your relationship with her is over. My daughter’s dead and that’s the end of it.”

  “But.…”

  “No buts! This conversation is over.”

  Richard expected Metcalf to hang up, but he didn’t. Metcalf’s slow, heavy breathing enveloped the room for the next minute. Richard reached over and placed one finger on the paper and tapped the written words. He nodded at Michael.

  Michael’s eyes blinked rapidly as he read over what was written next to his father’s finger. He cleared his throat and began speaking. “I saw them take her.”

  Metcalf’s heavy breathing stopped abruptly. Would he believe Michael?

  “I was there when they took her. I was hiding under her bed,” Michael added.

  Another full minute passed and Metcalf didn’t say a single word. Richard took his silence to mean he knew all along that Lucy was taken and was now formulating an appropriate response.

  “Are you still there?” Michael asked.

  “I’m here,” he replied surprisingly much calmer. “I uh…are you alone right now, Michael? Is your father there with you?”

  Richard shook his head and waved his arms in front of him.

  “I’m alone,” Michael replied. “My father told me not to call you. He didn’t believe me when I told him what I heard.”

  Metcalf chuckled. “Oh, he didn’t? Hmm, well, sometimes parents are like that.”

  “He’s usually pretty good.”

  Metcalf chuckled again. “Well, let’s just say I believe you, Michael. I do. But…uh.…”

  He hesitated for another moment, thinking, planning, and calculating.

  “Well, Michael, maybe it’s best if we just keep what happened in Lucy’s apartment between ourselves for now. What do you think?”

  “No,” Michael replied. Richard waved his arm at Michael to get his attention and nodded his head up and down at him.

  Michelle covered her mouth, shocked at what she was hearing.

  “Just you and me, Michael. For now. This is complicated, and we don’t really need to bring anyone else into this. It just makes things messy. What do you say?”

  Michael frowned at his father in confusion. Richard nodded again, urging him to play along.

  “ Umm…okay,” Michael replied. “You really think this is right? Those men.…”

  “Don’t you worry about any men,” he said, cutting Michael off. “What’s important is that you need not worry yourself over this.”

  “I don’t understand. Shouldn’t we tell someone one? Shouldn’t we go to the police?”

  “Not at all, Michael,” Metcalf replied calmly. “I’ve got it covered. It’s you I’m worried about.” Metcalf’s voice rose as if he suddenly stumbled upon a solution or an answer on how to handle Michael. “Yes, yes, it’s you that I’m worried about. That’s why I was so harsh to you earlier and told you to not call here again. I didn’t know if you knew what happened to Lucy and I wanted to protect you, to make sure you didn’t get caught up in any of this.”

  “Really?” Michael asked inquisitively.

  “Really, Michael. So let’s just keep this between us. Do you think you can do that? Keep this just between us?”

  “I think so,” Michael replied. “But what about those men?”

  “Okay, how about I let you in on a little secret?”

  “Oh?”

  “You’re a fine young man. I can trust you, can’t I?”

  “Yes.”

  “Those men you saw take Lucy were stopped just down the road from her apartment. Lucy was freed and she was fine. And she really did go hiking alone on Saturday and simply fell off the mountain.”

  “But.…”

  “Hold on there, let me finish. After Lucy was rescued, I felt it best to have Lucy slip away.”

  “Huh?”

  “Hide. Disappear for a few days. That’s why she went hiking up the mountain alone.”

  “Oh,” Michael replied with a tone of understanding, but Richard could see Michael wasn’t buying any of it. “Makes sense,” he said.

  “Good. It’s settled then. I’m going to contact you in a few days. In the meantime, you are not going to call me, right?”

  “Right.”

  “And you are not telling anyone else about this.”

  “No. I’m not telling anyone.”

  “And that includes your father.”

  “Yeah. Especially my father.” He gave a small laugh, which Richard thought was perfect. “He didn’t believe me about any of this from the start.”

  “Good, good, Michael. You’re a good young man, Michael.”

  “Thanks,” he said. “Can I ask a question?”

  “Sure you can.”

  “It’s about her funeral.”

  “Her funeral?”

  “I’d like to be there. Uh…that is, if I’m allowed.”

  Metcalf hesitated before replying. “Sure, sure, Michael. I’ll call you with the details once we set a date.”

  “Oh, thanks. I really want to be there. Lucy said her mom…I mean your wife…she said she’s really nice. I’d like to meet her.”

  “You would, huh? I see.” He paused a moment. “Will you be sticking around your home for the next few days?”

  “Except for coming out to Lucy’s funeral, yes, I’ll be around. I can probably arrange a flight right away. Maybe I can use the ticket from Sunday?”

  Metcalf hesitated before replying. “I see.” He paused again. “So you’ll be sticking around home until then?”

  “Around home? Uh, maybe, probably.…”

  “In case I need to call you.” Another short pause. “About the funeral, I mean.”

  “Oh. Yeah. I’ll be staying out here at my parent’s place.”

  “Your parent’s place. Is that in Calgary?”

  “No. They live on an acreage outside of Okotoks. School’s done, so I’m here for the summer.”

  “Good, good, Michael. Okotoks. That sounds very nice. Okotoks…stay close to home and I’ll be in touch. And remember, there is nothing to worry about. Everything has been taken care of.”

  “Okay.”

  “Uh, you’re at home now, Michael?
”

  “Yeah. Just me and my sister.”

  “That’s nice. Pretty quiet out there, is it? On your acreage I mean.”

  “Out here? Oh yeah. We have fields on three sides. Yeah, it’s real quiet.”

  “I like the quiet,” Metcalf said.

  “Me too.” Michael paused. “Oh, thanks.”

  “Well, you take care of yourself now, Michael. And I’ll be calling soon with details about Lucy’s funeral. Bye for now,” Metcalf said and hung up.

  Michelle frowned. “Well, that’s not exactly what I was expecting, but maybe he’s telling the truth.”

  Richard laughed. “Come on, Michelle. He did an about face just to keep Michael at bay.”

  “Oh!” Michael shouted, and jumped up from his chair and rushed to the door. He paused. “Stay here! I’ll be right back.” He ran up the stairs two steps at a time.

  “Now what’s he on about?” Richard asked.

  “I have no idea.”

  Michael’s footsteps pounded the floor as he dashed around upstairs and rushed back down into the room.

  “Look! Here!” he cried out with his cell phone in his hand. He shoved the phone down onto the table between Richard and Michelle and scrolled through his photos. “I took these when I was at Lucy’s apartment after the men grabbed her. Look—see? He’s lying!”

  “What are we supposed to be looking at?” Michelle asked.

  “In the pictures! Her camping gear. It’s all gone. Boots, bag, backpack—the men took it when they took her. See? She didn’t go camping alone on Saturday! This is the proof right here!”

  He scrolled through the many photos, stopping on the storage closet, her bedroom, and a few others.

  Richard nodded. “You’re sure about this?”

  “Dad, I know what I saw and heard. That’s why I took the pictures. Look here, even.…” He scrolled through to the photo of the open fridge. “They took water bottles and the two energy drinks I had just picked up on the way over to see Lucy. It’s all gone. All of it taken away on Friday night. Why would they take them if they weren’t planning on taking her up the mountain when they grabbed her?”

  “What do you think now?” Richard asked, directing his question at Michelle.

  “I just don’t know anymore. With that other man possibly following Lucy around campus, and now this.…”

  “Here’s what I think,” Michael added. “That guy following us set this up with Johnny or whatever his name is.”

  “I’m in agreement,” Richard replied. “Metcalf’s behaviour on this call reinforces this theory.”

  “Wouldn’t Metcalf go to the police if this was a kidnapping?”

  “You heard what Metcalf said. He doesn’t want anyone to know—just a little secret between him and Michael. He’s hiding something. There’s much more to this than meets the eye.”

  “Should we go to the police with what we know?” Michael asked. “Let them take care of it?”

  “We could, but I doubt it would go anywhere. The evidence shows she fell off the mountain and Metcalf will simply lie and tell them the same stuff he told you—that Lucy went hiking on Saturday and must have slipped.”

  “Oh, I see…yeah,” Michael replied. “So what do we do?”

  Richard looked at Michelle for the answer.

  “You seemed to think you know who that guy in the photo might be. How about you show those photos to some of your friends down at the paper?”

  “Good idea. I’ll go right now,” Michelle replied.