An Iron Fist, Two Harbors

by Dennis Herschbach

  “I cleaned up and put an icepack on my face. That night I went to work for the last time. Maren and I sat in her car and talked long after our shift ended. She said I had to leave Jed or he was going to eventually kill me. I believed her. She had me follow her in my car to the women’s shelter and offered to come in with me. I said she didn’t have to, that I’d be okay.”

  Deidre interrupted. “Did you see her after that night?’

  “Oh, yes,” Swania said with a glimmer of remembrance in her eyes. “I think we saw each other at least a half dozen more times over the next few weeks. She accompanied me to my first meeting with an attorney. With Maren’s help, I came to the conclusion that I would divorce Jed and go back to Germany, where I belonged. That was a difficult decision, because I was ashamed to ask my parents for help. When I told my mother what I was going to do and that I’d need financial help, she cried. But I think this time they were tears of happiness that I was safe and would be coming home.”

  “How did Jed react to all of this?” Deidre asked, sitting on the edge of her chair.

  “Well, as you would expect, he was at first very contrite, making promises that he would change. He said we could go to counseling sessions, that he would seek help. He said he had PTSD. That made me laugh. The most danger he’d ever been in was trying to make it back to his base from a beer hall in Landstuhl. When his cajoling didn’t work, he became verbally offensive. All this was over the phone, of course.”

  Deidre was on edge. “Did he know that Maren had advised you to call it quits?”

  “He knew I was confiding with someone, but I don’t think he knew it was Maren.”

  Deidre wondered.

  “The legal process was proceeding well, and I thought I’d come here, to our cabin, to retrieve some of my things while Jed was at work. I didn’t know that his schedule at the nursing home had changed, and now he worked nights. I let myself in and had just begun packing my things when Jed pulled up behind my car. I was trapped and he knew it. He grabbed the picture I had in my hands and threw it across the room. Then he began to beat and kick me until I was unconscious. That was the last I remember until I came to some time later.”

  “Is there any chance that Jed found out Maren advised you to seek a divorce? You see, I’m wondering if he could have had it in for Maren, and hated her so much he wanted to kill her.”

  Swania shook her head and snorted a sound of derision. “I wouldn’t have put it past him, but he couldn’t have done it. When I regained consciousness, Jed was gone, so I called 911 and a sheriff’s deputy arrived in minutes. He put out a call to law enforcement and a half hour later Jed was stopped by a state trooper on I-35.”

  For a moment Deidre’s mind spun with confusion. Why hadn’t Jeff been on top of this? Then she realized Swania’s cabin was two miles southwest of the county line. Swania would have been dealing with the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Department. She breathed a sigh of relief.

  “What happened after that?” she urged Swania to finish her story.

  “Jed was arrested and indicted on several different charges. The most serious are assault with intent to commit great bodily harm and assault causing great bodily harm. He couldn’t come up with bail and is sitting in the St. Louis County Jail.”

  “Those are serious charges. You must have been pretty beaten up,” Deidre commented, her concern evident by the tone of her voice.

  Swania twisted her mouth. “Yeah, I guess I was. He broke my nose, which needed to be set and packed. One of the major issues was a kick he administered when I was down. It left a six-inch hematoma on the back of my thigh. Those injuries, coupled with a black eye and numerous contusions and scratches, led to the charge.”

  Deidre shook her head in amazement. “I’m no lawyer, but I know the penalty for this is very severe, thirty years, I think.”

  Swania nodded. “I was able to return home after that. My parents have been sending me money so I can live here until Jed’s trial is over. Then I’ll be going home, with my tail between my legs, I’m afraid.”

  Deidre was about to reassure the woman that she need not be ashamed, but then it dawned on her that she hadn’t asked Swania about the date Jed was arrested.

  “Swania, what was the date you were beaten so badly?” Deidre asked. Inwardly, she hoped it was after Maren’s disappearance.

  “It was in April, April fifteenth to be exact. Your tax day. That’s why I know Jed couldn’t have been involved with Maren. He was where he should have been, in jail.”

  The day had been draining for Deidre. Another idea was shot down, with no new leads or theories on the horizon. She looked at Swania and wondered how any man could abuse such a lovely woman. Her scars had pretty well healed, although the faint remnant of a scar lingered under her left eye. On the one hand, Deidre was overjoyed that a greater tragedy had been averted and that Maren might have played a role in the outcome. On the other hand, she felt a tremendous letdown. She had been so sure she was on the right track.

  In the end, she had to say goodbye to Swania, and after hugs and best wishes, Deidre got in her car and slowly drove home.

  Chapter

  Thirty-Seven

  DEIDRE COULDN’T GET HERSELF to think of anything creative for supper, and as she scrounged in the refrigerator for something to cook, she drew a blank. They had leftovers last night, and the night before a scrambled egg-cabbage concoction that sounded terrible but was really quite tasty. The evening before that, she had fixed two frozen pizzas. A pang of guilt swept over her as she realized she had not been a very good wife and mother the last few weeks. Not that she ever considered herself a Suzie Homemaker, but because Ben worked all day and she supposedly had time, perhaps the least she could do was have a meal ready for him in the evening. Deidre thought maybe she had let her personal investigation into Maren’s abduction become an obsession.

  She closed the refrigerator door, poured herself a glass of ice water, and sat in her usual place on the deck. After holding the glass to her throbbing temple for a few seconds, she took a sip of water. It felt good washing down her throat, and for just a moment, she could feel the cold in her stomach. She closed her eyes and leaned back in the chair.

  The next thing she was aware of was her glass being gently lifted from her hand and someone bending over her and kissing her forehead. She sat upright with a start.

  “Hey, didn’t mean to scare you.” It was Ben home from work. Deidre didn’t know how long she had slept, but she wondered how the glass could have remained upright in her hand. Ben sat down in a chair next to her.

  “I picked up the boys at my folks. Don’t know what we’d do without their help. You look like you had a rough day. Anything you want to talk about?”

  Deidre shrugged, but started to tell him what had gone on. She omitted the part about seeing Pastor Ike.

  “Visited with that waitress I told you about last night, Swania Birkebach. She’s a lovely young lady who got suckered into a bad situation. It fries my behind how some men can be so duplicitous when it comes to selling themselves to women. She’s from Germany . . . I think I told you that. Anyway, she met this U.S. soldier who wined and dined her, convinced her that he was her knight in shining armor. She married him, and as soon as they got to the States, he began to abuse her something awful.” Deidre paused and shook her head. “It’s beyond me why he would have married her if he wasn’t going to care for her.”

  “That’s an easy question to answer,” Ben said as he met her gaze. “You know as well as I do that it’s all about power. It’s as though they have a need and a desire to dominate. What’s going to happen to her?”

  “She told me everything. As I suspected, Maren was trying to help her and had advised her to divorce her husband. When she said that, I was sure my hunch was right, and I was going to end up with a solid lead into Maren’s disappearance. But no, her husband, Jed, was in jail for brutally beating her during the time that that Maren went missing. It couldn’t have been him. Good news is
he’s facing a lot of prison time. Their divorce will be final soon, and after Jed’s trial, Swania’s returning home. Seems she has very supportive parents, but the girl has learned some hard lessons.”

  Steve and Jack came pounding down the stairs and as preteen boys are prone to do, almost tore the screen door off its hinges as they burst onto the deck.

  “What’s for supper?” Steve wanted to know. “I’m starving.”

  “Me, too,” Jack added.

  Deidre had been in such a daze that she forgot there was nothing prepared for their meal. She pushed her hair back from her forehead, and placed both hands on the sides of her head. Her headache was gone, but now she felt a pang of guilt.

  “Guys, I’m so sorry. I got so wrapped up in my own business today that I totally blew off supper.” Tears trickled down her cheeks, and before she could dry them, both boys were at her side. Steve had a dirty tissue out of his pocket and was dabbing her face. The scene was so out off context that she began to laugh through her tears.

  “I’m okay, really. It’s just that I was so tense all day, thinking I finally was onto something, that when it didn’t pan out I felt like the bottom dropped out of everything I was trying to accomplish.” She smiled and brushed away the remnant of a tear with the back of her hand. “Come inside. I’ll fix us something.”

  “I don’t think so.” Ben stood up. “We haven’t been out for a nice meal since I don’t know when. You kids get cleaned up. Steve, put that snot-rag in the trash. Come to think of it, throw your clothes in the wash. They’re a mess.”

  In spite of her protests, Ben dragged Deidre from her chair and hustled her upstairs. They each took a quick shower, and Ben was pleased to hear the shower on in the boys’ bathroom. By the time they were on the road into town, it was long past their usual mealtime, but Ben ignored the boys’ whining. He reached over and placed his hand on Deidre’s knee. She looked at him and smiled.

  Ben drove a few miles up the shore to a well-known restaurant. The place was made of huge pine logs, both stacked for walls and standing upright for support. Because it was getting late the parking lot was nearly empty, and a hostess escorted them to a table right away. Soon the four of them had their faces buried in their menus, trying to decide from the list of entrées.

  “So, boys, what did you do today that was exciting?” Ben asked, trying to start a conversation.

  “Nothin’,” Steve answered and studied the menu further.

  “Aw, come on, something good must have happened,” Ben urged.

  Jack put his menu down. “How could anything good happen? You’re always at work, and when you’re home all you do is sit and read or watch TV. And Mom’s never home during the day. In the evening she just sits on the deck. We’re always dumped at Grandma and Grandpa’s during the day, and you know how exciting that is. I mean, we love them, but come on, how many picture albums do we have to look at? When are you and Mom going to start to do things with us again?”

  Thinking he had gone too far and trying to hide his tears, Steve hid behind his raised menu. Deidre’s face flushed, not from anger, but from the impact of what her son had said. Ben looked at his folded hands. Both parents sat in silence for a moment before Deidre could speak

  “Jack William.” She only used that name when she was about to give a lecture. “Jack William, put the menu down so I can see you. Now look at me, right in my eyes.” Jack waited for the axe to fall. “Jack, you are absolutely right. Everything you said is exactly what’s been happening.” She reached over and placed her hand on his. “We’ve been through this before, but I guess Dad and I have slipped back into our own worlds again. I’m so sorry for the way I’ve been neglecting you boys. Can you forgive me?”

  Ben placed his hands on both of theirs. “That goes for me, too, son. And Steve. We love you guys so much, and we would never do anything to hurt you. What about this, let’s have a nice meal right now, and when we get home, I promise you we’ll all have a good talk about this. I know we’ve done that before, but we probably should do it again. Okay?”

  Deidre looked up and saw the waitress waiting on the other side of the room, and she realized they must have been the center of attention in the restaurant. Fortunately, there were only two other parties in other booths, and they at least seemed to be too interested in their food to have noticed the incident. Molly, their waitress, knew Ben and Deidre’s situation well, and when she came to their table Deidre saw a hint of moistness in her eyes. “Hi, folks, what can we get for you?”

  Chapter

  Thirty-Eight

  IT WAS AFTER NINE when they arrived home, and even though it was late, Ben held true to his promise to have a family talk. He spent a minute or two in the kitchen and came back with four glasses of soda and a few cookies on a plate. “We might as well be comfortable while we visit.” He tried his best to make the situation at least seem normal.

  After each of them had settled in, Ben began. “All the way home I thought about what you said, Jack, and I can’t tell you how sorry I am that I’ve neglected you guys. I’m sure your mother is, too. Can you tell me what I’ve done that hurt you the most?” There was a long period of silence, and both Deidre and Ben let it hang. Jack spoke first.

  “I think the thing I miss most is your laugh, Dad. I don’t think you’ve laughed once since we lost track of Maren.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Steve broke into the conversation. “But most of all, I miss your hugs. You never hug me anymore.”

  That comment cut Ben the deepest, because an eight-year-old boy’s admission that he missed being hugged was telling. His boys were hurting as much as, or maybe more than, the rest of them. Perhaps they harbored a fear that if something so serious could happen to their older sister, they were also in danger.

  “What about me?” Deidre queried. “What is the most hurt I’ve caused?”

  Again, it was Jack who spoke first. “You’re never here, and when you are, you still aren’t. It’s like you walk around the house, but your mind is always far away. You know what I mean?” Deidre knew.

  “How about you, Steve?” she asked.

  He thought for a second or two. “I miss the walks we used to take in the woods. They were so much fun, especially when we’d see animals and stop to watch them.” He paused. “Will that ever happen again?”

  “Yes, it will,” Deidre said. “You boys are both one hundred percent right,” she confessed. “But I give you my promise, I’m going to try to set things right, at least the best I can. Your dad and I have been so consumed with our own loss that we have almost deserted you. I’m so sorry.” She moved to be closer to them.

  “Starting right now, I’m giving up any idea I’ve had that I could catch whoever did this to Maren. That’s Sheriff DeAngelo’s job, and I should have just left it in his hands. Tomorrow, I promise you, we’ll do something fun. What do you think?”

  Before the boys could respond, Ben spoke up. “Tell you what, I’ve got a few vacation days built up, and I’ll call my boss in the morning and take the day off. We don’t have much on the table right now at work, so they won’t miss me. You guys think about what you’d like to do, come up with a couple ideas. How’s that sound?”

  Both boys perked up at the thought of having a family day like they used to. They decided to go to their room and talk over what they’d want to do, and when they stood to leave the room, Ben gathered both of them in his arms. He whispered in their ears, “You’re safe with us. Never forget that.” He gave each a squeeze and playfully swatted their behinds as they moved toward the stairs.

  Deidre called after them, “I’ll be up in fifteen to tuck you in.”

  *****

  OVER AN EARLY BREAKFAST, the family discussed what they would do for the day, and the boys elected to take the canoe up to Dunnigan Lake so they could fish for smallmouth bass. Deidre suggested they pick up some deli supplies for a picnic, and by nine o’clock they were headed north, up Highway Two. At ten thirty they passed the Happy Wanderer ta
vern and minutes later were unloading their supplies at the lake. Deidre couldn’t remember the last time the boys had been so happy.

  She watched Steve cast a line from shore, even before the canoe had been launched. His lure had hardly hit the water when he hooked a small bass.

  “Well, that’s one,” he hollered to his brother, and the competition was on. Ben got everybody situated in the canoe with Deidre in the bow, the boys sitting on the floor, and him taking the stern. With a push-off from shore, they were underway, but Steve hollered, “Wait, backpaddle, Dad. Look at the sundews on that old log.”

  The water swirled around Ben’s paddle as he put his muscle into the backstroke, and the canoe came to a halt near an ancient tree that had fallen in the water. It had a thick covering of moss, and growing in the moss were clusters of thumbnail-sized plants.

  “Look at those,” Steve gushed. “Aren’t they beautiful?” Jack looked at them for a second.

  “What’s so great about them?” he scoffed at the sight of the red-green miniatures.

  “Hey, take a closer look,” Deidre reprimanded her son. “See all those hairs on the leaves?” Before she could continue, Steve took up the instruction.

  “Look at the droplets on each hair. That’s sticky stuff that traps insects, and then the leaf curls up and digests it. These plants are carnivorous, just like that one in Little Shop of Horrors. If you listen, you can hear them saying, ‘feed me.’ Be careful, or they’re going to get you!” He giggled, and Deidre marveled at how different her sons were, even though they were so much alike.