by R E Swirsky
CHAPTER 51
Wednesday 08:40 Okotoks, Alberta, Canada
Richard drove like a madman to collect his son in Okotoks. Michael was standing barefoot on the corner outside the Hi-Ho service station, looking physically unharmed but anxious. He appeared pleased as punch once he jumped in the passenger seat.
“God, Michael!” Richard’s eyes watered. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
He probed Michael with his eyes. “Did they hurt you?”
“Just…let’s go already. I’m fine. Really. They only wanted information.”
Richard turned the car back onto the main road and headed towards home. He immediately began to grill him for information.
“When you called, you said it was Harvey Metcalf? How can you be sure it was him?”
“Because they talked about him. They said his name—said he wanted to know if I could identify any of the men from Friday. That’s the reason they grabbed me.”
“What did you tell them?”
“Only that I knew Johnny was there. I didn’t know who the others were…but…I don’t know.”
Michael sounded unsure of himself and a bit unsettled. “What is it?”
“I had a lot of time to think last night. There was one man there Friday night that had an accent. A strong one. I don’t know his name, but I do remember him.” A puzzled look remained on his face as he looked at his father. “He was Russian I think.”
“Russian?” Richard knew what Michel was implying. “All eastern European accents sound similar. At least to me they do.”
Michael’s eyes remained entrenched on his father. “He said something that night.”
Richard continued to drive, giving a half glance at his son as he waited for more.
“He said, ‘I don’t do this kind of thing,’ and the other guy said, ‘not when you’re sober you don’t.’”
“Hmm,” Richard responded.
“He’s the same Russian that was in the car accident that was in the paper. That’s what I think. ‘Not when you’re sober.’ Don’t you see? He’s the one that was always caught drinking and driving and killed that girl.”
Was it possible? He would certainly fit to be grouped in with the others based on what they were suspecting.
“And now he’s dead. See? It must be him.”
“Michael, I think you should slow down a minute”
“He didn’t want to be there that night,” Michael said, excitement building in his voice. “The others did, but not him. They forced him to take Lucy. Yes! Yes!” Michael continued to get even more excited as if his memory was uploading blank pieces from a misplaced file. He gestured wildly as he continued. “He even asked them why they were making him do it. You know? Why were they making him take part in what was happening? He didn’t even know who she was!”
Now that made a lot of crazy sense. Lucy Carter, Garrod Shaw, and the Russian: was it really possible these were all intentional ‘accidents’? The conversation between Kaito Hui and the Senator on Friday afternoon atop the Silvertip patio now loomed like some giant inuksuk pointing down at what was to occur in the Bow Valley corridor during the twenty-four hours that followed. If these really were intertwined and intentional, that meant something far more sinister was going on.
“Let’s just get you home.”
