Wish Me from the Water

by R E Swirsky

  Tommy stared out past Willie to the forest. Willie grabbed hold of Tommy and spun him around. "Just run, Tommy!" he said a little louder and shoved him in the back.

  Tommy turned his head again to steal another look to where Doogie took Jason.

  "Tommy!" Willie shouted. "Just get the hell out of here now before Doogie gets back!" He shoved Tommy one more time, and Tommy finally began to move.

  "Go! Now!" Willie shouted, and he urged Tommy to flee while he could.

  Tommy gripped his pack tightly and began shouldering it as he ran. He looked back quickly and caught the site of Willie and Sandy as they ran away from the camp towards the trees where Jason was taken earlier. A cloud of steam rose from the fire.

  As fast as his feet would move, Tommy raced out from the few trees that surrounded the camp and down across the meadow. He kept running. His heart pounded fiercely. Once he reached the trail, he followed it northwest as far away from the camp as he could. Tears fell down his cheeks as he thought about his brother. He couldn't believe what just happened. Anger and loss rose inside him.

  Why the hell did Doogie have to be up here today?

  Tommy ran hard and the adrenalin pumped harder. He soon crossed over the river and was down the switchback and on to the Wileman Creek trail before he felt even remotely safe. He continued to jog up the trail that led to Grass Pass, but the uphill climb quickly depleted what little energy he had left. He eventually stopped and looked further up the trail. It opened up wider and wider into a treeless, grass-covered area. He was tired and needed to find some cover to rest. He scrambled into some bushes well off the trail to his left. He lay in the tall grass, hid beneath the small shrubbery, buried his head under his crossed arms and cried.

  CHAPTER 82

  Ricky stood on one of the large rocks on the edge of the Highwood River. He was using his good arm to toss small pebbles out into the many pools that rested in this part of the river. His cast, now dirty and scuffed, remained on his other arm. Bobby sat a dozen feet away and watched him from the edge of the riverbank where the grass dropped down a few feet to the rocky shoreline.

  "We've been here for hours," Ricky said impatiently. "They should've been here by now."

  Bobby nodded. He worried something had happened to his friends, but refused to say it aloud.

  "They'll be here soon," he said. "Maybe they lost the trail or something."

  Ricky threw another rock as far as he could. It missed its target and bounced off a rock on the other side of the river. He stopped and pointed high up to the mountainside across the river.

  "Is that the trail they'll be coming down?" he asked as he pointed to a dark line barely visible in the trees on the mountainside.

  Bobby shook his head. "I don't think so. I'm not sure that even is a trail. The trail comes out downstream a ways…down through a coulee not on the side of the mountain like that." He pointed downstream. "Just down past Head Park bridge, I think." He studied the shapes of the mountains where they angled down to the river, and he could see where one mountain dropped off and another rose behind it. Pack Trail Coulee would be tucked in there somewhere.

  Ricky looked downstream and could barely see the end of the narrow pedestrian suspension bridge in the distance where it connected to the path along the river on the other side. The path from the bridge only went downstream on that side of the river. The boys had never been very far down that path, but they knew a smaller and less often-used trail climbed its way up along Pack Trail Coulee into the backcountry.

  "Oh," Ricky replied. "Why are we waiting here then?"

  Bobby shrugged. "Wait here or wait on the bridge. It doesn't really make a difference. Tommy's old house is right there," he said and motioned with his head to the property just a few doors down from where they waited. "They'll see us."

  "Well, I'm not waiting here all afternoon. Another hour and then I'm going."

  Bobby couldn't remember any conversations they had about them arriving late and what to do if they didn't show up as planned. The plan was for Tommy and Jason to arrive early in the afternoon and sneak into their old house while it was still empty. "I guess that's okay," he said. "I should really hang around longer in case they come."

  "Well, you live just over there. It's not far for you to go home. I'm getting hungry and I have to walk all the way across town."

  Bobby understood what Ricky was getting at and remembered his mother's words. He wasn't supposed to be anywhere near Ricky. He certainly couldn't take Ricky back to his house for a snack. "How will we meet up later, after Tommy and Jason finally show up, if you leave?"

  "Not sure," Ricky replied. He recalled that Bobby no longer had a phone. He gazed down the river towards the bridge.

  Bobby sighed and thought about how to do this so they didn't miss Tommy and Jason when they came by.

  "How about we do shifts?" Bobby suggested. "You go home now and come back in say… an hour or so. Then I'll go home for an hour, grab something to eat, and then come back. What do you think?"

  Ricky smiled and nodded eagerly. "Great idea! We won't miss them that way." He paused and thought some more. "And if I'm here when they come, I'll quickly run over to your house to grab you. I'll try to be discreet in case your mom is home."

  Bobby nodded. "And I'll send Jason over to get you if they come while you're gone."

  "Perfect! I'll see you in a while," Ricky said. He turned away and jogged down the path towards home.

  Bobby wandered up and down the trail, glanced towards the mountain across the river and watched for any sign of his two friends.

  CHAPTER 83

  Dean sat in the parking lot outside of the Bistro. Sarah was right. Simon didn't show up for work today. The staff confirmed that it was extremely unusual behaviour for Simon. It was so unusual in fact, that none of the staff could ever remember a day when Simon didn't show up in the morning or call if he was delayed.

  He was glad Sarah called; not because he was attracted to her, but speaking with her had already been on his list of 'to dos' for today. She made his list because of the furor that was created about town yesterday over the escape of the Oliver boys.

  Their escape bothered him as much today as the unanswered questions he had of the murder itself did. He knew there was more to the murders than had yet been revealed and the escape of the boys fit in with his line of thinking. The boys, young offenders, if found guilty of murder, would be released after short incarcerations. The boys most certainly would know by know the legal limits to incarceration for young offenders in Canada.

  So why escape days before the trial begins? Dean knew he was correct about there being more to what happened to these boys.

  Having Sarah call him before he went to call on her simply saved him some time on a very busy day. He only had a few questions for her following the escape. Had she seen either of the boys? Had she seen anyone lurking around outside the house since yesterday afternoon? The answer he received in her phone call was a solid 'no'.

  He started the engine and readied himself to head over to Simon's property.

  "Damn it!" he said to himself. He really wanted to spend more time on the Oliver boys case, but he simply had to continue searching for Simon.

  It was only a short, ten-minute drive out to Simon's property. The sun was out, and Simon's property looked immaculate. The hedges were nicely trimmed, grass was cut and even the flowerbeds looked fine. Dean chuckled to himself as he thought about Jen's cattle. "Doesn't look so bad to me," he said as he inspected the property.

  After ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door a number of times, Dean began to believe that Sarah was right to be concerned. He took a quick walk around to the back of the property and even looked in through the windows. There was no sign of Simon anywhere.

  Dean jumped back in his cruiser and ran a check to see if Simon's vehicle had turned up anywhere. After a few minutes, the report came back wi
th nothing.

  Simon had disappeared.

  Dean looked at the time. It was near dinnertime. He knew he was in for a long night since he agreed to drive into Calgary to check on Gerald. He decided he would grab a quick bite to eat and then head out of town.

  CHAPTER 84

  Ricky was tired of being on watch for Tommy and Jason. It had been more than two hours since he returned from grabbing a snack and relieved Bobby. He was bored silly. Where the hell was Bobby? He said he was going home to have a quick bite to eat and be right back.

  Ricky walked a few hundred yards down the trail and looked across to the far end of the suspension bridge. Nothing.

  "This is stupid," he said aloud to himself. He paced up and down the trail once more.

  "C'mon Bobby already!" he shouted. "Jesus! Two goddamn hours already!"

  Ricky had enough of waiting alone. He had looked forward to this afternoon for days now, but suddenly it turned out to be a great big let down. Tommy and Jason didn’t show, and Bobby left him standing out along the river all by himself.

  "I'm done here," he mumbled quietly, and wandered down the path, to where he cut across an access path that lay between two properties connecting the river path to Founders Road. He walked out along Founders Roads and ducked into the alley that would lead him down behind Bobby's house.

  Ricky moved along the back alley until he was behind Bobby's garage and then shuffled along the side of the garage towards the backyard. He popped his head around the side. He could see Bobby's CRV was still in the drive. Bobby's mother's car was nowhere to be seen. Good.

  Ricky slid back out into the alley, picked up a couple of pebbles, and moved back in towards the house. He hid alongside the garage and watched for movement inside any of the windows, hoping to see Bobby. He fiddled with one of the pebbles and got ready to toss it at one of the windows. He watched for a while, saw nothing and decided he wasn't going to wait any longer. Bobby's bedroom was on the second floor. He tossed one of the pebbles towards the window and hit it on the first try. He waited to see if Bobby's face would appear in the window.

  CHAPTER 85

  When Tommy finally reached the lower end of Pack Trail Coulee and emerged along the Highwood River, he was exhausted. He was worn out from the long hike out along the coulee, but the thought of leaving Jason's body somewhere up in the mountains severed a part of his heart. His grief sucked away some of his life and purpose. The shotgun blast and Patricia's horrid scream convinced Tommy that Jason was dead, and he doubted he would even remember where to look for him if he ever got the chance to go back up into the hills.

  Tommy could see the rooftops of Bluffington across the river in the distance and quickly headed for the suspension bridge upstream.

  Once on the narrow rope bridge, he stopped and looked up and down along the river path for Bobby or Ricky but saw neither. He was tired and needed to rest. A day and a half of hiking left him extremely wasted. He wanted to stop to give his feet a break, but he knew he couldn't stop completely so he took a short pause on the bridge and leaned against the ropes. His eyes caught the reflection of the sun as it flickered and danced on the ripples on the water, and he glanced down over the edge of the ropes to the surface. He was suddenly mesmerized with how the water flowed and moved rhythmically over and around the many rocks that lay visible under the surface. He stared deep into the water and watched as it passed beneath him.

  He gazed into the darkness underneath the surface, and what he saw disturbed him. He was tired and rested himself upon the ropes as he looked deeper into the water. Underneath the surface, he saw things he had never noticed before. Maybe it was because he was so tired, but he saw things. Terrible things. Rocks of all shapes and sizes worked hard to deliberately divert the water's path. There were eddies, deep pools and sharp sticks that threatened to break the surface. There were fractured boulders, split by centuries of tumbling and rolling about. He saw a terrible place under the surface. He could even see the thin film of slime that collected on the bottom. The slime coated the entire surface. The boulders, rocks, pebbles, sticks and everything else that he could see underneath were covered in slime.

  Tommy breathed a sigh and wiped his dry mouth with his sleeve. He knew already what was underneath. He didn't need to look into the water anymore to see it. He saw it himself months ago, and it stole his innocence. It was easy to smile when he was innocent, but he looked beneath the surface at the dark place. Now he couldn’t smile. It was impossible to smile, knowing about the slime.

  Tommy tore his eyes away from the flowing water, looked up towards the town and scanned up and down the river for Bobby or Ricky. He still didn't see either of his friends. With the last of his strength, he hustled across the bridge and continued up the path until he stood out in back of his old house.

  "Damn you guys," he muttered under his breath.

  He stood on the path alone and his thoughts turned once again to Jason. Jason was supposed to be here to help him do this. A horrible image crept into his mind of Jason lying broken and twisted amongst trees and rocks, all alone on the cold earth. He felt himself begin to choke up. He breathed in deep and tried desperately to catch himself before he broke out in tears.

  Tommy always ran towards trouble, but when Jason needed help this time, he turned and ran the other way. It was all he thought about as he came down from the mountain. But now he forced himself to stop thinking about Jason. He would cry later. He would cry when his task was done.

  He stared at the house and rehearsed his next movements in his mind: Climb carefully up the wall. Skirt the outside of the house and crawl through Jason's window. Sneak quietly through the house upstairs to silence the alarm and then slowly edge down the staircase, through the house, to the study. Finally, open the fireplace.

  Tommy visualized each step repeatedly. He closed his eyes and focused. He was attempting to rebuild his confidence and push away the fear and apprehension. This was a momentous challenge he had to undertake alone, and he had only one chance to make it happen. His exhaustion made it difficult to focus. Minutes passed as Tommy rolled his movements over in his mind.

  Then it came. He felt the small fire begin to smoulder inside. He hadn’t felt it for a long time.

  Tommy nodded. He recognized the burn. It was what he called his "hockey fire”. Tommy felt this burn before every shift of every game of hockey he ever played. Tommy knew that burn well, and he welcomed it now. It was a mixture of fear, nervousness and confidence. When in balance, it would drive Tommy to fight and commit himself when others became indecisive. It was the edge that allowed Tommy to understand the limits of his own emotions.

  The fire grew, and Tommy knew he was ready.

  Tommy opened his eyes, walked confidently to the back of the property and climbed over the post rail fence that paralleled the river. The back part of the property was a wild, forested area with a narrow pathway that wound its way through the trees to the lawn at the back of the house. He knew this part of his back yard well. He walked slowly through the dense trees and shrubbery and easily kept himself out of the sightline of his house and the others on each side. As he neared the back of the physiotherapy office, he scooted off to the side of the property and edged his way up behind the garage.

  He shuffled slowly along the back of the garage to the office and stopped. He listened carefully for any sounds to come from inside the therapy office. It was all quiet. He slowly lifted his eyes up over one on the window ledges and peered inside. The window coverings were gone and the office was dark and empty. It wasn’t as he remembered it without all of the furniture, shelves, and training equipment.

  Tommy moved around to the side of the building where he could look out at the back of the house. He studied the house carefully for a number of minutes and scoured deep inside each of the windows.

  Even though it was late evening, the sun would stay up in the western sky for a few mor
e hours. He didn't like the idea of a daylight break in, but it was the only option.

  Tommy saw no movement in any of the windows, but there was one vehicle parked in front of one of the garage doors that concerned him.

  He scampered quickly across the backyard to the steps that led up to the back porch and looked up to the roof.

  "Shit, Jason," he cursed. "How the hell did you ever figure this one out?" he asked as he looked up at the gable roof that covered the porch with impossible angles.

  Tommy dropped his backpack into the shrubs to the side of the porch steps and was soon standing on the flat, wooden porch railing. He used the house to steady himself as he calculated his next move. As he stood on the railing, he reached up as far as he could along the ridge line. He grabbed on as tight as he could with his left hand and pulled his feet up to the side as high as he could until he hooked one foot into the gutter on the side. He wobbled about and scrambled with one hand while he reached up with the other in an attempt to grab any part of the roof to get leverage. He fumbled about, scraped his knuckles on the shingles and somehow managed to pull his lower body up enough to roll his hips onto the small roof and then pull the rest of his body fully on top.

  He lay there a moment, stared up into the sky catching his breath again. He silently cursed Jason for having revealed the route.

  Tommy stood shakily on the sloping roof and looked next at the narrow skirting board that separated the first and second floors of the house. He followed the skirting with his eyes around the side of the house to Jason's bedroom window.

  "You've got to be kidding."

  The skirting board protruded out from the wooden siding a mere two inches. He could see where the paint had been scuffed and rubbed off the narrow ledge by Jason's previous excursions and felt an energy boost.

  Tommy knew had to move quickly. He grabbed hold of the corner of the house with his left hand and stepped pensively up onto the narrow skirting board to test his balance.