The Switch

A Short Story

by

E. Thornton Goode, Jr.

 The Switch

My name’s Detective Michael Carlson and I’m

headed to the hospital to interview one of last night’s victims.
Yep. Just another Saturday morning after events of a roaring
Friday night. What can I say? Crime knows no days off or
holidays.

Arriving at the hospital, I stopped at the front desk to

ask about the patient. They said he was doing better and was
alert. One of the nurses led me to the room.

When I walked in, I saw the patient, lying in the bed

and his head was completely bandaged except for his mouth.
I shook my head. It was immediately obvious, this was
going to be interesting.

The nurse spoke. “There’s a gentleman here to see

you.”

The patient responded with some pain in his voice.

“Who is it?”

“I’m Detective Michael Carlson and I wanted to ask a

few questions and talk with you about what happened to you.
They tell me you got banged up pretty badly. One reason
your head is wrapped up. Sorry about that. Do you feel up
to it?”

“Yes. Yes, Detective. Certainly. Not a problem. Ask

away.”

Just then, a doctor and a nurse entered the room. The

doctor spoke. “I’m going to remove the bandages from
around his eyes, so he can see.” He and the nurse worked for
about fifteen minutes, removing the bandages from the area
around his eyes.

The patient looked to see a man standing at the foot of

his bed. He looked to be in his early forties, dark hair with a
large mustache. “Thank you. I can see everyone quite well.”
He chuckled.

Everyone smiled and shook their heads in the

affirmative.

Michael continued. “Okay. First off. What is your

name? I understand there was no identification on you when
you were brought in.”

“Oh. That’s right. I had left everything in my room.

Yeah. John Matthews. That’s my name.”

“Mister Matthews. Could you please tell me where

you live?”

“Atlanta. I’m here on vacation.”

A questioning look came to Michael’s face. “Oh!

Atlanta? Interesting. On vacation. Sorry. I’m sure this
event has totally ruined that for you. Sorry.” He paused for a
moment. “Could you tell me where you are staying? I will
notify them of your condition.”

John responded. “Thank you. I would appreciate

that. I mean. They can put my things in storage till I can
come get them. Yeah. And it sure as hell will save me the
room charges.” He tried to laugh but all that came out were
several grunts. “Guess I really should notify my work, too.”

Michael chuckled. “Yeah. I get it. None of us is

made of money.” He continued to chuckle. “So. Where are
you staying?”
 “Up at Lakeside Lodge. Right by the lake.” John
noticed Michael’s face scrunch up with a questioning
expression.

“Lakeside Lodge? By the lake? Ah. Mister

Matthews. We have a problem here. Could you tell me
where this place is located? I’m really not familiar with that
name.”

“Certainly. It’s up on the lake. You know. Lake

Michigan.”

Everyone in the room gave a look of surprise, turning

and looking at one another. No one said a word.

A very strange and concerned expression covered

Michael’s face and he tilted his head, trying not to appear
shocked at what he heard. He reached up and stroked his
mustache. “On Lake Michigan. Very interesting.” He bent
his head down, shaking it from side-to-side.

“Yes. Room 305. There’s not that much there. Just

my two suitcases and a few things hanging in the closet.
They can put all my toiletries that are in the bathroom in a
plastic bag. That’ll be just fine.”

“Mister Matthews. I would very much like to know

what you were doing and what you remember prior to ending
up here. Could you please go over that for me?”

John tried to give a little smile. “Certainly. I left my

room, wearing my jogging outfit and went for a run along the
pathway by the edge of the lake. This jogging path is parallel
to one of the roadways. I’m not quite sure what happened
but I remember hearing a car coming up the road behind me.
I do remember turning slightly and noticed that the car
seemed to be coming very close to the edge of the road and
the jogging path. I do remember thinking that if he didn’t
pull back over more into the road, he might hit me. And
that’s the last thing I remember.”

Again, everyone in the room looked surprised at what

they had heard but said not a word.

Michael’s face scrunched up with a questioning

expression again. “Very interesting. So, you think you were
probably hit by that car?”

John wasn’t quite sure where he was going with this.

“I would assume so. Is there something wrong with my
assumption?”

“Not to worry. I’m going to have to look into this

more closely. I’ll get back to you. Let me go see if we can
get your things put in storage at the hotel. I may be back
tomorrow.” Michael gave a quick grin, bowed his head
slightly, turned and headed out the door. As he did, he
gestured to the doctor and nurses to join him in the hallway.
He looked at them and spoke quietly. “I know what you have
heard is crazy but do me a favor. Don’t mention anything to
him right now about what we know. I don’t want him getting
crazy in the head more than he is already. There has to be
some explanation. I’m going to look into this immediately.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with soft ‘Okays’.

Michael quickly left the hospital and headed to his

office at the police station. All the while wondering and
contemplating what he’d heard. He knew the first thing he
was going to do would be to call the hotel and have
Matthews’ items put in storage. It might also be interesting
to see what kind of information he could get from the staff at
the hotel.
 Arriving at his office, he immediately went to his
computer and did a search for the Lakeside Lodge on Lake
Michigan. It didn’t take that long and scrolling through the
information he found their phone number. He grabbed a
pencil on his desk and quickly jotted down the number. He
mumbled to himself. “That was room 305. John Matthews.”

He dialed the number. “Good afternoon. To whom

am I speaking? James. Hello. I am Detective Michael
Carlson and I am calling with regards to one of your guests.
A Mister John Matthews. Oh, really? And he’s in the local
hospital? The police are investigating and they’ve arrested a
drunk driver. Excellent. That was very thoughtful of the
hotel to move his things into storage. Do you happen to have
the phone number of the local police department that’s
investigating the accident? Perfect. Yes. I’m writing it
down as we speak. I will call them immediately. James,
thank you very much. Yes. If I have any more questions, I
will call you back. You’ve been extremely helpful. Thank
you. Take care. Yes. Goodbye.”

Hanging up the phone, Michael stared into space.

“Very interesting. So. He DID get hit by a car.” He shook
his head. “Wonder if the police up there have had time to
interview their guy in the hospital? Humm.”

He made the call. “Hello. Yes. I am Detective

Michael Carlson and I am calling with regards to a Mister
John Matthews who was struck by a car. A Captain William
Sanders? You’ll patch me through. Thank you. Yes.
Captain Sanders. Okay, cool, Bill. This is Detective Michael
Carlson. Please, call me Mike. Yeah. I am calling about a
Mister John Matthews. Really? He claims not to be
Matthews but a Richard Johnson. He says he was mugged
and robbed and beat up. But it didn’t make sense because he
had obviously been hit by a car. Very interesting. So. What
does he look like? Really? Total face is covered with
bandages. By any chance did you get any information about
where he is from? San Francisco. He lives there.” He
started laughing. “Oh. Sorry, Bill. It’s just that I’m in San
Francisco with the police department and I have a guy in the
hospital here, claiming to be John Matthews and swears he
was hit by a car. Yes. But he was found on the street here
beat up and robbed. He was NOT hit by a car. His face is
bandaged up just like your guy. I will fax you all the info I
have on the guy that’s here. Could you please do the same
with your guy there. And when the bandages come off, could
you send me a photo of your guy. I will do the same for you
when the bandages come off here. Really? You have his
wallet and his driver’s license was in it. Excellent. And you
will fax me a picture of his driver’s license in a few minutes.
Bill. I gratefully appreciated. And when I can get a picture
of my guy here, I’ll send you a copy. Yes. I truly appreciate
the information you’ve shared with me. Thank you so much.
Goodbye.”

Michael hung up the phone and stared blankly into

space. “Now. If this isn’t one fucked up situation. Bizarre
as shit.” He shook his head. “Very interesting.” He headed
to the fax machine in the office to get the copy of the photo.

A few days went by when in came a fax to Michael’s

office. It was from the police in Michigan. It explained that
their Richard Johnson had his facial bandages taken off and
had been told the story of the John Matthews in San
Francisco. He found it quite strange, especially when he saw
the picture on the driver’s license. But he was not able to
account for being in Michigan. He was well enough to leave
the hospital.

Michael immediately got on the phone to call Captain

Saunders. “Bill, hello. This is Detective Mike down here in
San Francisco. I was wondering if you could do me a huge
favor. Could you possibly arrange a police escort to bring
your Richard Johnson and all the belongings of John
Matthews to San Francisco? Our police department will pay
for the airline tickets and traveling expenses. Really? You
would do the escort? Excellent. Let me know what day, time
and flight number and I’ll meet both of you at the airport.
Perfect. Looking forward to meeting you, too. Take care.
Goodbye.”

The next day Michael got a fax indicating the time of

arrival. He knew this was a way to get Richard Johnson
a.k.a. John Matthews to San Francisco without there being
any problem regarding identification or use of a credit card.
With Richard in police custody, it would be a piece of cake.

The day finally arrived and Michael drove to the

airport to meet the man who was calling himself Richard
Johnson. Strangely enough, the doctors indicated that the
bandages were going to come off the man in the hospital,
calling himself John Matthews. It would be done later on
that afternoon. Michael was pretty sure he’d have picked up
the guy at the airport by then and was going to bring him to
the hospital.

Finally, Michael saw them coming through security

and went up to meet them. “Richard! Bill! I’m Detective
Michael Carlson with the San Francisco police.” They all
shook hands. Michael continued. “I realize this entire
situation is very strange and bizarre. I find it very
interesting. Richard, I’m sure you would like to get home as
quickly as possible but I was hoping you would indulge me.
I would very much like to take you by the hospital where the
man calling himself John Matthews is located. I understand
his bandages are coming off this afternoon. By the way, we
found him on the street. He had been beaten up and robbed.
Sound like an interesting story?” He looked directly at
Richard and gave a big grin.

Richard shook his head. “Actually, I’d very much be

interested in going by the hospital and meeting this person. I
totally agree that this is very strange and bizarre.”
 Bill shook his head and chuckled. “It’s one reason I
wanted to come on this trip. Never in my life have I
encountered such a crazy situation. Mike, I really do
appreciate your department paying the expenses. It would
have been somewhat of a burden on our department. It’s
rather small out in the country.”

Mike smiled. “Yeah. I had a feeling it would. So, no

sweat.” He shook his head. “Well, let’s get the luggage and
we’ll be on our way.”

Arriving at the hospital, they were just in time. The

bandages were getting ready to be removed. All three
walked up to the hospital room.

Michael opened the door but Richard stopped short.

“I’m going to stay out here until the bandages have been
completely removed from the man in the room. When you
see his face, you will understand why. At that time, please
come out and get me and I’ll join everyone in the room.”

Bill and Michael’s face took on a questioning look.

They were not quite sure what Richard meant but respected
his wishes and entered the room without him.

John saw Michael and Bill come into the room as the
doctors were beginning to remove the bandages from his
head. “Hello, Detective Carlson. I guess we’re going to
finally see what kind of damage has occurred to my face. I
hope I haven’t ended up looking like Quasimodo.” He
started to laugh. “And who is this with you?”

Michael gestured toward Bill. “This is Captain

William Saunders. He’s with the police department in the
area where you were staying.”

John chuckled. “Welcome, Captain Saunders.”

 Michael looked directly at John. “By the way, in any
of your conversations, has anyone told you where you are?”

John tilted his head with a questioning expression.

“Why, I’m in a hospital.”

Michael continued. “Yes. But do you know where

the hospital is located?”

“I assume it’s somewhere in the vicinity of the

Lakeside Lodge.”

Michael turned and looked at Bill. “He has no clue.

No one has told him.”

“Told me what?”

Bill spoke up. “You’re not in Michigan. You’re in

San Francisco.”

John yelled out. “WHAT!? San Francisco? How in

the hell can that possibly be? How did I get here?”

Michael smiled. “We’re hoping this will get resolved

very shortly.”

Just then, a doctor and two nurses came into the room
to remove the bandages. The doctor indicated that it would
be fine for them to remain during the process.

It took almost fifteen minutes to remove the

bandages. When completed, John looked directly at Michael
and smiled. “Well! How do I look?”

Both Bill and Michael’s faces took on a shocked

expression as they both gasped. They could not believe their
eyes. It was now totally obvious what Richard meant.
 John didn’t understand. “Detective Carlson. What’s
wrong? Is it that bad?”

Michael shook his head. “Just a second. I think you

will understand in a moment.” He turned and went out into
the hall and looked directly at Richard. He nodded his head.
“I get it. I totally see what you mean. The bandages are off.
If you wouldn’t mind joining us. And I must admit. There
has to be some incredible explanation for this whole thing. I
can’t wait to find out what it is.”

They both walked into the room, standing at the foot

of the bed with Bill. Richard turned to face John. He gave a
big smile. Everyone in the room gave sounds of shock and
surprise.

John let out a loud gasp. “Oh my God! How can this
be?” He was looking directly at Richard. “You’re me! What
is going on?”

Michael was truly amazed as were all present in the

room. The two men looked exactly the same.

Michael shook his head and chuckled. “Now, if this

ain’t some strange shit. I know there’s got to be some weird-
ass story behind all this.”

Bill also shook his head. “Would someone please tell

me what’s going on here? I am totally confused.”

John looked up from his bed. “I am shocked that he

looks just like me. Is it possible there’s something we can do
to see if we are related? Like fingerprints or DNA?”

Michael looked at both men. “Identical twins don’t

have identical fingerprints. But! They do have identical
DNA. Question. Would you both mind if we did a DNA test
on both of you? I believe it would be the first step in going
farther down this road. Unless one of you is a serial
murderer and doesn’t want to be discovered.”

Everyone in the room started snickering. Michael’s

comment broke the tension.

Bill turned to Michael. “That’s a great idea. Since

they look alike, it is possible they are related.”

John looked up from his bed. “There has never been

any indication in my life that I had a twin brother. My family
seemed to always be very open. I think if I’d had a twin
brother, I’d have known about it. And NO! I’m not a serial
murderer. Geez.”

Everyone chuckled again and turned to Richard.

Richard looked at everyone, shook his head. “No!

I’m not a killer, either, unless I have done it sleepwalking.
But as the old Shakespearean line goes. ‘There are more
things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in
your philosophy.’” He started to chuckle. “Maybe we both
were adopted and there was no information given, indicating
there were twins.”

Michael turned to the doctor in the room. “Is there

someone who could come and do a DNA test on these two
gentlemen? Our police department will gladly pay for the
services since they are a bit pricey.”

The doctor smiled. “Yes. We can draw blood right

now and send it off to the police laboratory. That way when
the results come in, your department will be notified.”

Michael continued. “I’ll tell them to put a rush on it.

I’d like to get this resolved as soon as possible. Also. When
will it be possible for this gentleman to leave the hospital?”
 “Since he is alert and able to move around, he could
leave the hospital today. We just need to get all the
paperwork done.”

Michael turned to Bill. “If you like, we can put you

up in a nice hotel here. Or, if you didn’t mind, you can come
stay with me at my house. Whichever suits you.”

Bill chuckled. “I would not mind at all staying with

you if it’s not an inconvenience. Wouldn’t mind catching up
on what you know about this case. I can’t believe how off-
the-wall it really is.”

Richard looked down at John in the bed. “If you’d

like, you can come stay with me at my house. We can chat
and get to know one another since it’s very likely we’re
brothers.”

John smiled. “That would be terrific. Thank you so

very much for the offer. I’d like that.”

* * * * *

A little over a week went by when the office phone on

Michael’s desk rang. Michael picked it up. “Detective
Michael Carlson speaking. Yes. Excellent. Something
interesting and unusual? WHAT? You must be kidding? In
New York City. Thank you very much for the information.
I’m definitely going to be checking into this. Thank you for
being so astute and letting me know. Yes. Goodbye.”

Michael could not believe his ears. He knew he had

to check into this immediately. He was very anxious to talk
with Bill about it.

For the last few days, Bill had been talking with John
and Richard about their background and history. He’d also
been trying to do some research regarding their possible
adoption.

Michael immediately got on the phone and contacted

the main police department offices in New York City. He
finally reached and spoke with a man who was familiar with
the issue. He knew Bill was going to be very interested in his
findings. He decided to leave early that day, so he could talk
things over with Bill.

Interestingly enough, Bill was arriving at virtually the

same time Michael got home. Michael shook his head.
“Have I got some interesting information for you to hear.
Let’s go in and have a cocktail. Yeah. It’s that bizarre.”

They went into the house. While Michael fixed

cocktails, Bill went in and sat in the living room. Bill called
out. “I’m sure it has to do with this crazy case.”

Michael chuckled. “How did you possibly know?”

He started laughing as he walked into the living room,
handing Bill a drink. “Glad you’re sitting down. I’m glad I
was when I heard it.”

Michael sat down and began. “I got the DNA test

results a few hours ago. Now. Are you ready for this? After
the DNA work was done on our two guys, they decided to
check the national DNA registry to see if there were any
outstanding criminal connections to them. What they found
out was there was another match of DNA to a set of twins
requested by the New York City Police Department.”

Bill was shocked. “Another set of twins? That match

the DNA of ours? You must be joking.”

Michael laughed. “Nope. Serious as a heart attack. I

asked them to send me pictures of their two guys. The
captain there laughed. He told me he needed only to send
one picture because they both looked exactly the same. I told
him I would send pictures of our guys. I immediately faxed
him pictures of John and Richard. Needless to say, I almost
shit a brick when I saw the pictures of the guys up there.
They look exactly like John and Richard. They, too, had a
strange unexpected switch of bodies as well.”

He went into his briefcase, pulling out two sheets of

paper and handing them to Bill. “Here. See for yourself.”
He took a sip of his cocktail. “He also faxed me the story
behind the two guys up there. One had come into the station
about two weeks ago totally disoriented. He had no clue how
he had arrived or what he was doing in the city. He said he
was from Maine and had no recollection of coming to New
York. The story sounded so ridiculous that they decided to
call the police department in Maine where he said he was
from. That’s when they found out there was a guy up there
who said he was from New York City and had no clue how
he got there. What can I say?”

Bill shook his head and took a sip of his drink. “This
is bizarre as shit. And for them to have the same DNA?
What are the chances?”

* * * * *

The next day, Bill accompanied Michael to the office.

One of the guys there yelled out. “Bill! How do you like our
fair city? Has Michael been able to give you a nickel tour?”
Everyone in the room gave a ‘thumbs-up’.

They went into Michael’s office and sat down. There

was a note sitting on Michael’s desk. Michael picked it up,
reading it. He looked over at Bill. “It’s from the lab. They
want me to give them a buzz. Something about the recent
DNA information.”
 Michael picked up the phone. “Hey, guys. Michael
Carlson here. More information? WHAT? You can’t be
serious? No way? Did you get their phone number? Good.
I’ll have to give them a call.” He quickly scribbled down the
number.

He looked straight at Bill and shook his head. He

started to giggle. “Are you ready for this?”

Bill’s face took on a questioning look. “No? No

way? You have to be kidding?”

Michael leaned back in his chair. “Late yesterday

afternoon after I had gone home, the lab got a call from the
police department lab in Miami. They had completed a DNA
test on a set of twins with a really outrageous story. After
completing the test, they wanted to cross-reference in the
national base to see if either one of them had any criminal
history and the DNA for our guys came up along with the
ones in New York. They called to confirm whether our work
DNA information was correct. So. What do you think of
that? They told me to look in the folder on my desk to see
the pictures.”

He reached over for the folder on the corner of his

desk and opened it. He looked at the contents and started
laughing out loud. “Unbelievable. Totally unbelievable.”
He handed the folder to Bill.

Bill opened the folder and looked at the contents. He

shook his head. “Holy shit! That’s a total of six. How can
that be? And all having switched in their bodies. How the
hell does that happen? Do you think there could possibly be
more?”

Surprise came to Michael’s face. “Interesting

thought. I’ll ask one of the guys to send out a global to
police departments in major cities across the nation and find
out if they’ve had any similar situations.”

Michael picked up the phone. “Louise. Michael

here. Would you do me a big favor? I’m sure you’ve heard
of this craziness going on with this new case. Yes. Could
you send out a questionnaire to major police departments
across the nation to see if they’ve had anything similar?
Thank you. Yes. I’m sure it will take some time to get
responses. And send along one of the pictures of our guys. I
appreciate it. Yes. Bye.”

Bill shook his head. “Maybe we should talk with the

guys and see if they might have any idea as to what’s
happening. There might be something they could tell us that
they may not even know is pertinent.”

Michael gave a grin. “It couldn’t hurt. I’ll give them

a call.”

* * * * *

The next morning, John and Richard came to the

police department and were escorted to Michael’s office. All
got seated.

Richard spoke up after hearing about the other DNA

results. “I swear. I have no idea how all this could be.” He
looked over at John.

John shook his head. “No clue here, either.”

After some minor conversation, John and Richard left

the office and headed back to Richard’s apartment.

On the way, Richard commented. “It’s early

afternoon. I want to chat with a friend of mine about this
situation. Do you mind us going by his office?”
 John smiled. “No problem.”

Richard and John arrived at one of the local TV

stations, walked in and went to the receptionist’s desk.
Richard gave a grin. “I was wondering if Allen Jackson is in.
If so, could you tell him that Richard Johnson would very
much like to talk with him about something.”

“I’ll check and see. Please, have a seat over there.”

She pointed to a group of chairs in the lobby.

After a few minutes, a man entered the lobby, heading

in the direction of Richard and John. Almost halfway there,
he stopped short, hands on hips with a major questioning
expression on his face, staring back and forth at the two guys
there.

Richard saw this and started laughing. “No, Allen.

It’s not a mirage.”

Allen walked up to them as they stood and shook

hands. “You never told me you had a twin brother.”

John snickered. “Wait till you hear the rest of the

story. Even we don’t believe it.”

Allen gestured. “Come. Let’s go to my office and

talk.”

Both Richard and John shared some of their history

and information leading up to what happened. Allen was
totally floored.

Allen shook his head. “Now. This is a story. If you

guys don’t mind, we could get this out on the networks and
see where it goes. I’ll even post your pictures if that’s okay.
I have a friend who works for a major affiliate and I’ll run it
by him to see what he thinks. Hey! Your faces could go
national!”

John laughed. “Well. It couldn’t hurt.”

“I’m also going to get in contact with the guys in

New York and Miami. Would like to see if I could get their
stories, too.”

* * * * *

Within a week, the story exploded. An additional six

guys had seen the faces on the TV and realized it was theirs
as well and came forward. That made a total of twelve from
across the country. Allen got in contact with all of them and
made arrangements for all of them to gather in San Francisco
to meet. It would take place in about a month.

Michael and Bill coordinated their schedules, so they

could meet and talk with all of them to see if there was some
key to finding out what happened and how all of this could
be.

Needless to say, not only the news media were

interested in it but science was, too. There had to be some
clue as to how this could occur. Research began to try and
figure it out.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, in Paris, a young man walked into a

police station. He had no idea how he got there. The last
thing he remembered was heading home from work in
Marsailles.

The End