The Butterfly Conspiracy

by James Nelson

  “What a great job, Joe. After that in-your-face bear meeting, I hope Mr. New York tough guy packs up and heads back to the city. Let’s get Stephen down here so he can laugh his ass off.”

  Stephen was surprised to get Scott’s call. He could tell from Scott’s voice that something was up, but Scott wasn’t talking.

  “Sure, I’ll meet you at the Freighter in a few minutes.” Stephen said.

  He walked down to the garage and picked up the car Bobby had pointed out for him to use.

  As he was leaving the estate, Stephen drove by several protestors at the gate, before heading down Route 77. The top was down and a cool wind was blowing through his hair. Scott had been laughing so hard on the phone Stephen had no idea what he was talking about, other than a request to meet him and Joe at the Freighter View.

  When Stephen entered the bar, Scott and Joe were still going strong. So strong, in fact, they didn’t even see him enter.

  Joe was crouched over with his arms outstretched yelling “Grrrrrr, Grrrrrr, Grrrrr’.

  Scott was doubled up, holding his sides from laughing.

  Stephen approached the two.

  “What’s going on?”

  Scott took a moment to recover.

  “When you left the campground, me and Joe came up with a plan to play a trick on that big oaf that’s been following you and asking a bunch of questions about your uncle.”

  Well, we really didn’t think of it.” Joe interrupted. “It was a trick that got played on us when we were kids. Scared the shit out of us, too.”

  Scott continued, “It did. So we figured maybe we could repeat the pleasure if we ever ran into your friend from New York City.”

  “And we did.” Joe said, with a huge grin.

  “So what did you do?” Stephen asked.

  “Well, we decided to come down to the Freighter tonight to see if he showed up.” Scott said.

  “Not really going out of our way too much,” Joe added, “since we’re down here about every night, anyway.”

  Scott waved for him to shut up. “So anyway, from the picture you showed us, we knew him the minute he walked in. He sat right next us and the asshole even bought us a beer. Then he starts asking questions about how he wants to check out your uncle’s place, but he don’t want anyone to know.”

  “Did he say what he was looking for?” Stephen asked Scott.

  “He said some guy wanted to buy the place, but we knew that was bullshit. We told him we knew an old logging road that would take him to the back of the place.”

  Joe saw the worried look on Stephen’s face. “Don’t worry, Stephen.” Joe interrupted, “It doesn’t go anywhere near your Uncle’s place.”

  Scott continued, “When we stopped the car and got out, Joe stayed back and I started walking him down a path in the woods. His name is Paulie, in case you didn’t know. So Paulie and I started walking down the road. It was getting dark and I started walking faster and faster.”

  Joe piped in, “I stayed back, told him I had to pee, so I could put on a bearskin rug my old man let me take from the Moose Lodge. I snuck around and came crashing out of the woods right next to him.”

  Joe started laughing again. “He screamed like a little baby and ran like hell into the woods.”

  “So what happened to him? Where is he?” Stephen asked.

  “Who knows? Still crashing around out there, I guess.” Joe laughed.

  Scott and Stephen joined in.

  Chapter 18

  Paulie sat frozen on a stump, afraid to move or make a sound. It was getting darker, and colder. After about half an hour, Paulie noticed a yellow glow appear through the trees. The moon was rising. It was only a quarter moon, but it provided enough illumination to penetrate the blackness of the woods.

  As the moon slowly rose above the trees, Paulie could see the ridge of a cabin roof looming only a few hundred feet in front of him. His spirits lifted. A cabin meant safety. Even if it was locked, Paulie knew he could break in. Paulie started walking through the woods towards the structure.

  He stopped as he approached a clearing surrounding the cabin. He listened. There was no sound and the cabin was dark.

  Paulie took a tentative step out into the clearing. He stopped. Again, no sign that anyone was around. He walked over to the front porch. Old timbers creaked as he mounted the steps. He leaned over to a window and peered into the darkness. He tried the door. Locked.

  He walked around to the back, stopping at another window. He tried to open it. It didn’t budge. He approached the back door and wasn’t surprised to find it locked, as well.

  Paulie picked up a stick and smashed out the bottom pane of glass in the door. He stopped to listen. Nothing stirred in the cabin. Paulie reached inside, twisted the knob and walked inside.

  The cabin was small. There was just an open kitchen to the living room area with one small bedroom. A cast iron stove was sitting in the living room. There was no bathroom, but an outhouse could be seen out back. Two bunk beds were in the tiny bedroom. Cobwebs covered everything and mouse droppings littered the floor. It looked like no one had used the place for years.

  As Paulie walked over to the kitchen area, the silence of the woods was broken by the sound of a car in the distance. He ducked down and listened as the car got closer. Car lights lit up the woods as the car rounded a curve less than a hundred feet from the cabin.

  Paulie panicked and ran to the back door, ready to run into the woods. The car continued on. He went back to the front door and walked down a short path to a two lane black top road. He could see tail lights disappearing in the distance. The cabin was not nearly as isolated as he had thought.

  Paulie started running down the road in the same direction the car was headed. Relieved that he wasn’t lost in the middle of the woods, Paulie had no idea if he was headed in the right direction, but he figured that car had to be going somewhere. He got winded and started to walk.

  Paulie walked down the center of the road to stay as far away from the woods as possible. He wondered how often people got killed by bears up here. It must be a common thing, he thought, if this happened to him on his very first time in the forest.

  After what seemed to be an hour, Paulie wished another car would come by so he could catch a ride back to town.

  He looked down at his suit coat. It was ripped and stained with sweat. His shoes were muddy and his pants were damp.

  An hour later, Paulie’s feet were killing him and his legs were cramping up. He was freezing. He slapped his arms together to circulate some blood. How could it be so damn cold when it was supposed to be the middle of summer?

  Behind him, he heard another car approaching. He turned around to face the car, stepped out into the road and stuck out his thumb. The car was traveling slow. As it approached, he could see an old man hunched behind the wheel. The car drove past him.

  “Shit!” Paulie ran a few steps and hollered, “Hey, I need a ride here.”

  There was a red glow of break lights as the car slowed down and stopped. Paulie ran up to the window. An old man peered out, his face covered with grey whiskers.

  “Need a lift, Mister?”

  Paulie climbed into the car.

  “Where you headed?” The man asked.

  “I’m trying to get to Grand View.”

  “Good, that’s where I’m headed.” They drove a short way in silence. The old man turned to Paulie, “What’s that smell?” Paulie glanced down at his pants, ignoring him.

  It took about twenty minutes to reach the outskirts of town. As they drove down Lake Avenue, Paulie asked to get out just past the Freighter View Tavern, where his car was parked.

  The old man slowed down as he approached the bar. As they passed the big front windows, Paulie looked in and saw Scott, Joe and that punk kid he was supposed to be following. They were all huddled together talking and laughing. There stood Joe, fine as he could be, and Scott too!

  At first, Paulie was puzzled. How could this be? There they were
, all laughing together. Slowly he felt his anger building. I bet those assholes are all laughing about me, he thought. The anger exploded in him just like that black bear out in the woods.

  “Those bastards!” Paulie screamed.

  The old man hit the breaks.

  “Stop the car, Grandpa. Stop this damn car!”

  “Take it easy, Mr., what’s the problem?”

  The car lurched to a halt in the middle of Lake Street. Paulie jumped out and slammed the door. The old man pushed down on the accelerator pedal. The car jumped forward, fishtailing down the block, tires squealing.

  All conversation came to a stop inside the bar.

  “What was that?” Scott said. They all turned to the window. Paulie jumped back into the shadows.

  Just up the street, Moon was peddling a girl’s bicycle down Lake Street towards the Freighter. He heard tires squealing and looked up to see old man Johnson’s car heading straight at him.

  Moon pushed down hard on the pedals to get some speed, but it was no use. He leaned the bike over on its side and felt the car sail by, missing him by inches. Moon tumbled from the bike and rolled into a gutter across the street.

  Paulie headed down the block back towards his car, his mind racing.

  “Them no good dirty bastards,” he raged. “They tricked me into going to the woods. There was no bear.” He yanked open the car door.

  “Now they’re all getting a good laugh out of this.” He pounded on the steering wheel.

  “Bastards!” he screamed. Paulie took a deep breath. He clenched his teeth and muttered, “These hicks don’t know who they’re dealing with. No problem, you assholes, it’s my turn now”.

  Moon slowly sat up. He stretched his legs. They seemed to be working. He flexed his arms. His shoulder was scrapped and bleeding but nothing seemed to be broken. He climbed to his feet and picked up the bicycle for support. The handle bars were cocked at a weird angle and the chain was off the sprocket. He pushed the mangled bike over to the Freighter View, leaned it against the building and limped in.

  He walked past Scott, Joe and Stephen. Scott took one look at him and asked, “What the hell happened to you?”

  “I just got run over by old man Johnson.”

  “You must be loaded,” Joe replied. “Old man Johnson’s never driven over thirty miles an hour in his life.”

  “Well, he did tonight and the old fool almost killed me. Look at me.” Moon thrust out his elbow.

  His shirt was ripped away and his elbow was scrapped and bleeding.

  “You should see the bike. He’s gonna pay for a new one, that’s for sure!” Moon declared.

  Stephen walked over. “Are you okay?”

  “I think so. How about getting me a beer?” Moon smiled and rubbed his shoulder. Stephen saw three dead leaves stuck in his hair.

  “I knew this sob story had a purpose.” Scott said.

  “I’ll get you a beer,” Stephen replied.

  Joe looked over the bar. “Hey, Scottie…see that blonde sitting over there?”

  “Yeah.”

  “She’s been staring at me since we walked in here.”

  “Right, Joe. Like they all do.”

  “No, I mean it. I’m going to walk over there and get her a beer.”

  “Geeze, Joe. You’re obsessed!”

  “Good luck.” Stephen said. He turned to Scott, “I better be getting back. I don’t think my uncle was too pleased to see me go, so I don’t want to stay out too late. But, thanks for the great story. Let’s hope our big friend has had enough of the Upper Peninsula and heads back home.”

  Moon grabbed the beer, walked over to a group of people he recognized and started telling them about his near death bicycle experience.

  “Come here. Let me show you what’s left of my bike,” Moon said as he grabbed a disinterested onlooker. They followed Stephen out the door.

  Stephen backed the MG out of the angled parking space and headed south on Lake Street.

  Paulie watched as Stephen left the bar and got into the car. He started the rental car and pulled out. Paulie began following close behind the MG. He wasn’t about to let this kid disappear again.

  Moon picked up the mangled bike and was pointing out the damage when he stopped talking mid-sentence. He watched as Stephen drove by in a red MG, with Paulie following close behind.

  Stephen noticed bright lights bearing down on him as soon as he pulled out of town. Thinking it could be some drunk behind him, Stephen pressed on the accelerator. The car behind him inched even closer. Stephen punched the accelerator and the MG sped ahead.

  The car behind him sped up and then pulled out to pass. Stephen let off the gas to let the maniac driver get by. Instead of passing, the car started moving over towards him. Stephen jerked the wheel hard to the right and headed towards the shoulder. Paulie kept moving the car over and watched as the MG veered off the road into the ditch.

  Stephen battled to control the car, but the MG careened down a steep incline and continued moving halfway up an embankment on the other side. The MG rolled over on its side and came to a complete stop buried in a thick clump of bushes. Stephen’s head hit the side of the door and he slumped over the steering wheel in a cloud of dirt and leaves.

  Paulie slammed to a stop. He grabbed his tool kit and jumped out of the car. He slowly approached the MG. No movement. He walked over to Stephen. Stephen seemed to be knocked out. He grabbed him below the armpits and pulled him from the car. He took a coil of rope from his kit and bound Stephen’s hands behind his back. He quickly wrapped a blindfold over Stephen’s eyes and then hoisted him into the back seat of his rental car and pushed him down to the floor.

  Paulie went back to look at Stephen’s car. It had careened into the woods but was still visible from the road. Paulie broke some branches and tossed them over the back of the car making it almost invisible to anyone driving down the road.

  He jumped back into his car, checked to make sure Stephen was still out cold, turned around and headed back towards town. Halfway there, Paulie slowed down as it dawned on him that he couldn’t take Stephen back to the motel. He had foolishly told Scott and Joe where he was staying. He had to think of some other place to go.

  The cabin! It was hidden in the woods and not visible from the road. It was the perfect place to stash Stephen before heading back to New York City. Paulie turned the car around.

  Now if he could only remember how to get there.

  Chapter 19

  Stephen felt cold. It was dark. He tried to move. His head throbbed so badly he stopped. He felt faint. Stephen tried to reach up and feel his head but his arms would not move. Why couldn’t he move them? He drifted back into a light sleep.

  Stephen’s eyes fluttered. He struggled to stand up but his legs would not cooperate. Another sharp pain at the side of his head brought an end to his attempt. What was happening?

  Slowly, memories began to form and Stephen remembered driving away from the Freighter with a car close behind him and then trying to pass. I must have had a car accident. Why can’t I move? Am I trapped inside the MG? Stephen struggled to move his arms and legs. He panicked. Nothing was moving freely. He tried to open his eyes wider to get a glimpse of his surroundings. He felt something over his eyes. He blinked and felt cloth rubbing against his eye lashes. He tried to flex his arms. His elbows felt free but he wasn’t able to move his wrists. He slowly moved his legs. He could feel his knees move, but not his ankles.

  Suddenly it hit him. He was bound and blindfolded! Nothing else made sense. How could he have a car accident and then wake to be tied up and blindfolded? Why had he even gone to Grand View in the first place? He remembered celebrating at the Freighter with Scott and Joe. His head started to pound again and he felt like he may pass out. His arms and legs ached from being tied, but the pain was concentrated at the side of his head. He stopped moving and closed his eyes. Maybe it would help to dull the pain.

  Chapter 20

  Jeanette was getting ready for wo
rk. She wondered what time Stephen had returned from Grand View. She waited up for him until midnight. When he had not returned, she had gone to bed. She thought it was strange that he would spend so much time in town. There really wasn’t that much to do. Was he that upset about the issue with his uncle?

  On the way to her office, Jeanette took a quick detour to the garage. She was surprised to see the MG was not there. She turned and walked back to her office. As she approached she could see Phillip was talking to Bobby.

  “Bobby, have you seen the car Stephen used last night?”

  “No, Mr. Kahle, I’ve been making the rounds. The car hasn’t been here since Stephen left yesterday.”

  Phillip turned to Jeanette. “Stephen’s not back. I didn’t feel comfortable about Stephen going to Grand View alone. We have to do something. We need to find him.”

  Britt came around the corner and was surprised to see everyone huddled together in conversation. She walked up to Bobby and asked, “What’s going on?”

  “Stephen went to Grand View yesterday and didn’t come home last night.”

  Britt said, “He’s a handsome guy, maybe he found a friend?”

  “I doubt that very much.” Phillip said tensely. Jeanette saw Bobby stifle a laugh and then she asked, “Phillip, do you want me to call the sheriff’s office?”

  “No, not yet. Bobby, take the jeep and drive around the back roads surrounding the property and see if you can find the MG. Jeanette, take the truck and drive to Grand View. You know the Henderson’s that run the Grand View Campground, don’t you?”

  “Yes, Scott and I went to school together.”

  “Stephen mentioned meeting him and somebody named Joe. I’m not sure who that is. Can you drive over to the campground and see if you can find them?”

  “I’ll leave now,” Jeanette said.

  Phillip said, “While you do that, I’ll take the Porsche and head south on Route 77 and see if I can see any sign of him. Let’s get going.”