by R E Swirsky
CHAPTER 49
Wednesday 07:20 Somewhere in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Alberta, Canada
The walls of the suite where Michael was being held were thin, and after last night it didn’t take much to wake him. The storm had passed hours ago and the muted rumblings were now replaced by muffled voices, elevated and argumentative on the other side of the wall. He pushed himself up to a sitting position and listened carefully to decipher any of the words.
“Morger not goin nare.”
The words made no sense.
“No!”
That word he understood.
Whoever these two were, they were part of the group that had abducted him and were in a heated debate about something. He slipped his feet over the side of the bed and crept over to the wall, pressing one ear tight against the cool, painted surface.
“I don’t want to be a part of this anymore.”
The voices were muffled but clear enough to understand.
“He only said that to get a rise out of you.”
There was a moment of silence before one of them spoke again.
“But I did some checking.”
“What did you check?”
“He said she was thrown off the mountain and that’s what I think this is really about. She didn’t fall like it said in the news.”
“Thrown off…?”
“Yeah, on purpose. That’s what he says those questions last night were are all about.”
“And you think I was a part of it?”
“Yes…I mean, no.…” A short pause. “I don’t know. Were you?”
“Harvey only called me yesterday morning and I called you right after. I don’t know anything about what happened to his daughter.”
“That’s not what he’s saying.”
“Then he’s lying. It’s not true.”
“He said you kidnapped her and threw her off a mountain.”
“Me? That’s bull! I’ve done many jobs for Harvey but nothing like that.”
“What about that other guy you told us about? You have done things like this, Daryl.”
“What? Which guy?”
“That guy that was going to sue Harvey over that development investment thing downtown. He got hit by a car a week later and died. You laughed and said it was you driving the car.”
“No I didn’t.”
“Yes you did! You were stupid drunk out at Kevin’s. He had that big bonfire by the barn and you bragged about it all night.”
A thump sounded as if one of them bounced off the wall.
“Listen. If I said that, I must have been wasted and making it up. He did get hit by a car, but I wasn’t driving. As far as I know, it was just an accident, a coincidence.”
Another thump.
“Why’d you say it, then?”
“I don’t know. It was just shit talk. I had a lot to drink that night. You know what I say sometimes. I don’t do stuff like that for Harvey.”
“Sure, Daryl, sure. Just like Harvey says his daughter fell and this kid is saying she was pushed. And now Harvey has us holding this kid on the other side of this door. Shit talk like that?”
“No one did anything to Harvey’s daughter. No one. I should know. Whenever Harvey wants anything done this side of the Rockies, it’s always Devlin or me he calls. Nobody touched her.”
“Then why does Harvey keep asking if he recognizes anybody who was there on Friday?”
“I don’t know.…”
“Daryl, Harvey asked for a name. He wanted to know if anyone could be identified.”
“I don’t think that’s what he meant.”
“Well, I know I wasn’t there Friday.”
“So?”
A pause in the conversation.
“You were there, weren’t you?”
“What? Me? Stop accusing me of something I wasn’t part of.”
“Well, I’m not going to be a part of this any longer. Kidnapping him overnight?” A loud thump sounded as a body hit the wall. “You lied to me. You said we were just going to pick him up and ask him some questions. Now he’s still here and knows something about a murder…I don’t want anything more to do with this.”
“Erik. Just stop and listen to yourself. No one’s murdered anyone.”
Erik laughed once. “Yeah. And I also didn’t expect to see you with that when you called me to come help. When did that start?”
“This?”
“Yeah, Daryl. When did you start carrying a gun?”
“What did you expect? Knives and baseball bats?”
“So that’s it, huh?”
Daryl never responded.
“Kidnapping while carrying a gun is automatic jail time. This has gone way too far for me.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“What do you think I’m going to do? I’m going to go in there and let him go.”
Daryl laughed. “What?”
“Yeah. Right now. Let’s let him go, Daryl.”
Michael’s heart began to thump hard. Could he really be let go just like that?
“No way. Harvey’ll kill us if we do that.” Pause. “I mean…you know what I mean.”
“Well, I’m getting him out of there. Are you with me?”
“No, Erik. I’m not.”
“I just don’t want any part of this anymore. Fuck your money. Fuck his money.”
There was a short silence.
“Here.”
“What…no!”
“Take it.”
“No. Put that money back in your fucking pocket.”
Michael could hear the key rattling in the lock in the other room.
“Erik, stop. Give me the key.”
“No.”
“Give me the fucking key, Erik.” The rattling stopped and was followed by some grunts and a couple more loud thumps on the wall.
“Give it back, Daryl.”
“Get off.” More thumps and bangs.
“You can’t do this. You have to let him go.” Another thump.
“Get off me!” Moans and scuffling sounds. “Stop it!”
“Just give it…!”
“No! Get off, fuck!”
“Ha!” Daryl called out, sounding out of breath. “We only have to keep him until tonight. That’s what Harvey said.” All went quiet.
“Give me back the key.”
“No.”
“Give it back or I’m leaving.”
“Then leave.”
“Really, Daryl?”
“I said go! Leave. I’ll fucking do this myself.”
“But.…”
“No! Get the fuck out of here if you’re not going to help! There’s good money in this.”
“No amount of money’s worth being a part of this. A gun this time, Daryl? What’s next? You’ve fucking changed, buddy.”
“So are you going or staying? Come on, stay. I was just kidding. I need you. I can’t do this by myself.”
A short pause.
“So are you staying then?”
“No, I’m not, and you shouldn’t either.” Erik replied.
“Well, I can’t just leave him in here. C’mon, Erik. Stay with me. Let’s finish this.”
“I’m fucking out of here. You’re on your own.”
“Erik…Erik! Come back, Erik!”
“No way…” Erik shouted, his voice muted. He was already up the stairs.
“Yeah? Piss off then! …fucking loser.”
A few quiet minutes passed. The lock rattled again. Michael jumped back into the bed and feigned sleep.
“Hey, you! Time to rise and shine, my friend!” the masked man said, attempting to sound cheery as he popped his head into the bedroom and flipped the light on. He bounced the gun lightly against his thigh.
Michael grunted and feigned sleep. He tried to comprehend all he had just heard and what, if anything, he could do with the information.
“Look. Get dressed and we’ll get you something to eat. Hop in the shower first. You stink.”
/> Michael didn’t stink, and knew the added commentary was just his captor’s annoyance at his friend running off.
