An Iron Fist, Two Harbors

by Dennis Herschbach

  A waitress came by and Megan ordered a tap beer. When it was delivered to her a few minutes later, Jodi proposed a toast. “Here’s to a night out, a night with friends, and a night when we’re going to enjoy ourselves.” The six young women hoisted their glasses and clinked them together. “To a fun night out,” they echoed.

  Megan nursed her beer as long as she could, left the half-full glass on the table and went to the bathroom. By the time she returned, the others had finished their drinks, and Jodi announced they were going to move on to another bar a few blocks away. The new bar was less crowded than the last, and the six were able to pull up chairs around one table. A disinterested waitress came by and took their orders. She wanted to know if they would be starting a tab, but Jodi quickly said they’d just be having one drink.

  “Oh, there’s a friend of mine bartending.” Jodi looked surprised to see him. “Just a sec, girls, I want to say hi.” They watched as she went to the bar and carried on a lively conversation with the man. She returned with a smile on her face. “Peter and I go back a long way.”

  The drinks were delivered, beers for Megan and Patty, another brandy Manhattan for Jo, and a brandy Diet Coke for Sheila. Jodi had ordered a gin and tonic and a Tom Collins for Jackie.

  “My gosh, they don’t skimp on the drinks here, do they,” Jackie said after her first sip.

  Megan took a swallow from her glass and incredulously noted that Jo was half finished with her Manhattan. She took another swallow of her beer and excused herself to the washroom. She wasn’t in the mood to get tipsy. Jodi followed her in.

  “So, who’s your friend working behind the bar?” Megan innocently asked.

  “Oh, I don’t know him.” Jodi smiled a knowing grin. “I just told him how we liked our drinks. Jo likes hers really weak, just a taste of brandy and vermouth. I said the same with the gin in mine, but I told him that Jackie appreciated hers as strong as he would make it. Patty will leave most of her beer in the glass. You can do what you want, but I’d pace myself if I were you.” She winked at Megan and left her standing alone in the ladies’ room. Megan didn’t know if she liked what was going on, but decided to play along.

  Jodi led them to two other bars, and by that time everyone was giggling and having a really good time, especially Jackie. There were only a few patrons in the last bar on their run, and Jodi steered the group to a table in the back. The place seemed to be a hangout for an older crowd, couples mostly. The waiter took their orders, and while he was getting their drinks, Jodi asked Megan, “So, Meg, how’s the love life these days?”

  The question baffled Megan for a second. Jodi knew she didn’t have much time for dating, but she caught a look in Jodi’s eyes.

  “Oh. Oh, you know. I’ve been out with a few guys, but nobody I’d like to hook up with. Not many guys are interested in research science.” She smiled.

  “Smart girl,” Patty broke in. “Men. They’re all a bunch of asses as far as I’m concerned.”

  “But what about Jim? You were in love with him the last time we talked.” Jo took a drink from her glass.

  “Him? He decided that he didn’t want to be tied down to one woman. Told me that.” Patty slurred her words and Megan wondered if the last beer had been over her limit.

  They bantered back and forth for some time, each sharing a few tidbits of how their love lives were stacking up. Finally Jodi asked Jackie, “What about you? It seems almost every time I run into you, you’re with Dave. Things must be going well between the two of you.”

  Jackie giggled, and Megan could see she was quite tipsy.

  “Well,” Jackie drew out the word, “I think I’ve found my Prince Charming. I’ve seen the way other women look at him. He’s really handsome, don’t you think?” They all agreed, egging her on to continue. “We’ve been seeing each other for almost a year now. At first we had to hide our get-togethers, because he had some bimbo in Two Harbors he was with. He said he was trying to get out of the relationship, but she was creating a lot of static over it.”

  Megan felt her back go rigid, and she took a swallow from her glass to disguise her reaction.

  “Anyway,” Jackie continued. “We kept seeing each other on the sly. Dave was always so depressed, telling me he needed my support, and that he was going to ditch her as soon as he could.”

  The group looked to be anxious to hear more, and by this time Jackie was happy to be the focus of their interest. “Did you ever meet this other woman?” Patty asked.

  “No, but I heard enough about her from Dave that I hope I never do. He said she was a real bitch, and not very good looking. He said that after they had moved in together, she really let herself go. You know, gained a lot of weight and quit taking care of herself. She had a real drinking problem, and slept most of the day away. The one thing that convinced him he wanted out was that she started to hound him about having a baby. Dave said no way was he going to father a child with that slob.”

  The others gave Jackie all the sympathy they could muster. “So when did Dave give her the boot?” Jo wanted to know.

  “He and I had a heart-to-heart one night early last summer. Dave said he wanted to have our relationship out in the open, and that he had moved out of his Two Harbors apartment. He asked if I was good with our going public. Well, I had been waiting months for that to happen, and almost jumped into his arms. A topic that came up that night was whether I wanted to have kids. I said hell no. I’ve got too much life to live to be tied down like that.”

  “Wow,” Sheila blurted out. “That makes my life seem like vanilla ice cream. Are you living together?”

  Jackie was all too eager to continue. She was on a roll. “That’s the best part. Dave said he was leaving that woman that week, and he wanted to begin looking for an apartment we could share. The next day we leased a really nice place on Woodland Avenue. He said he had some things to clear up in Two Harbors before he could move in full time. About a month ago, maybe a little longer, he did. I’m happier than I’ve ever been. He’s a really fun guy to be with.”

  “Do you have any idea what happened to the woman he dumped?” Megan managed to get out without sounding too strained.

  “No. Dave just said he never wanted to hear about her again, which is perfectly fine with me. The longer he’s away from her, the more relaxed he is. I guess all I can say is that I’m head over heels in love with the guy.” Jackie giggled again and drained her glass.

  “My God! It’s almost closing time, and I have to go to work tomorrow morning. I’d better get you gals home.” Everyone sobered up in what seemed an instant—everyone except Jackie, who needed a little assistance getting on her feet.

  “I’ve never been with people who can drink the way you do. You must practice more than I do.” Jackie’s words were a little slurred, and the others helped her get to the car. They dropped her off at her apartment first.

  Chapter

  Forty-Eight

  ABSENTMINDEDLY, DEIDRE WORKED around home most of the morning, but in the back of her mind, she wondered how Megan was doing. She figured her daughter was busy in the lab or in classes, and she knew better than to call during the day. As Deidre was gathering together tools to work outside in her garden, her cell phone rang. She was a little surprised to see Megan’s name come up on the caller ID.

  “Hi. I’ve been thinking of you all day, and was going to call you tonight. This is really a nice surprise. What’s up?” Deidre greeted her daughter. As soon as Megan spoke, she knew something was wrong.

  “Mom, I’ve got to talk to you and Dad, soon. Tonight, if possible.”

  “Megan, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Deidre asked, a degree of panic in her voice.

  “Sorry, Mom. I guess I could have been a little more tactful. No, I’m perfectly fine. It’s just that I want to talk to both of you about Dave. I have news you’ll want to hear, but I don’t want to talk about it over the phone. Can I come home after school today?”

  Megan’s tone left Deidre wondering what
could be so important. Perhaps she had found out that Dave was engaged to someone already, or perhaps he was moving out of state. Then again, the thought crossed her mind that Dave was in some kind of serious legal trouble.

  “Sure, we’re not planning anything. Will you be here for supper? I’m making one of your favorites, stroganoff.”

  Megan said she’d be home in time for supper, but she had to run. Before she hung up, though, she warned Deidre that perhaps the boys should do something else while they talked, but said it would be her call.

  *****

  THE CONVERSATION AROUND the table was stilted. Megan was anxious to begin telling what she knew, and yet she didn’t want to discuss it over a family meal. Mealtimes had always been special at their home, a time to fill in the others on what had happened that day. Eventually, everyone was full, dessert had been served and devoured, and the dirty dishes were being cleared. Megan pitched in, and in minutes the kitchen was clean. Ben suggested they go into the living room, because in late September the temperature in Two Harbors gets quite chilly in the evening. Sitting on the deck might not be too comfortable.

  “Would you like a glass of wine?” he asked Deidre and Megan. Both accepted the offer, and Ben poured three glasses of chardonnay. He brought two glasses of orange juice mixed with 7-Up for the boys. When everyone was settled, he looked at Megan and said, “Well?”

  Megan looked at Steve and Jack and then, questioningly, back to her parents.

  “Dad and I talked it over, and we decided it wouldn’t be fair to leave the boys out of this conversation,” Deidre said. “They deserve to know what you have to say.”

  Megan didn’t quite know how to begin. She thought she’d better change her introduction because of her brothers’ presence.

  “Look, guys,” she began, looking straight at the two of them. “I know you really like Dave, but sometimes things don’t work out the way we think they should. People can fool us. You know, kind of like play acting. Know what I mean?”

  Steve shrugged, and Jack said, “I think so.” But there was a note of indecision in his tone.

  “To be honest with you, Dave isn’t the nice guy you thought he was.” There, she had broken the ice and laid the groundwork for what was to come. She was still speaking mostly to her brothers.

  “Dave didn’t love Maren the way we thought he did. I think he was using her to help pay his way through school, and I don’t think he treated her the way we thought he was.”

  “Are you saying he was mean to her?” Steve innocently asked.

  “That’s what I think. Let me tell you what has happened.”

  Megan went into detail about how several of her friends had told her of Dave hanging out with other women, especially Jackie. She filled them in on the fact that this had been going on even before Maren disappeared.

  Deidre was getting uncomfortable with where this was going. “Are you just guessing or do you have evidence that Dave was messing around? We know you never cared much for him, but we thought it was because he was changing the relationship between you and your sister.”

  “I can’t tell you why, but I never trusted him. Something in my gut told me that he wasn’t who we believed he was. Here’s how I know that he wasn’t in love with Maren, that he was using her.”

  She went on to tell about her friends keeping an eye on Dave’s comings and goings after Maren disappeared, and also filled them in on what had amounted to a sting operation they ran. When she finished relating Jackie’s monologue from the night before, Megan said in a very quiet voice, “I think Dave killed Maren.” Then she sat in silence, staring at her glass of wine, from which she hadn’t so much as taken a sip.

  The twins didn’t know what to do. One of their friends, a person they admired and looked up to, had just been accused of murdering their sister. Ben shuffled his feet restlessly, and when Megan looked up, she saw a red flush creeping up his neck and inflaming his ears. She saw his knuckles go white as he clenched his fists, and when he set his glass down on an end table, his hand was shaking so badly the wine splashed over the rim of the glass. Deidre sat in shock.

  “We welcomed him into our home,” she finally muttered. “How could he betray us like that? If you hadn’t gotten these words from, what’s her name, Jackie? I’d never believe it. How could he do this to our precious Maren?”

  It was a question that had no answer, and the group sat in silence. Suddenly Jack burst into tears and raced upstairs. Ben followed him, only a step or two behind, while Megan, Steve, and Deidre sat in silence. Deidre put her arms around her son and rocked him back and forth. Megan glowered at the floor, a look of embitterment on her face. Her intensity scared Deidre, and she hoped to God that Megan wasn’t plotting to settle the score with Dave in her own way. About the time she was going to say something to that effect, Ben and Jack came down the stairs. Ben had his arm draped over Jack’s shoulders, and Deidre could tell that both of them had been crying.

  “This is so upsetting that we have to decide where to go from here,” Ben iterated in a flat voice.

  He started the conversation, expressing to the others his feelings—feelings about Maren, about Dave, about his loneliness, about the remaining part of his family. One by one the others opened up. The boys required some coaching, but eventually they were able to get out their sense of loss and betrayal. Deidre thought no child should have to face what her sons were experiencing.

  “What do you think we should do?” Deidre directed her question to Megan. As her daughter began to slowly say the words Deidre was dreading to hear, her heart sank.

  “My first thought is that we should hunt him down and do whatever we have to do to get him to tell the truth.” She saw the look of dismay on Deidre’s face.

  “Don’t worry, Mom,” she quickly added, a wry smirk bordering on a smile crossing her lips. “That’s just what I want to do, but I know that’s not the answer. It’d just cause us more problems than we already have. What do you think, Dad?” Everyone looked to Ben.

  He shrugged. “The first thing we have to do is tell Jeff, although we haven’t much to tell him. Jackie’s story is only hearsay. Maren’s body hasn’t been found, and there’s no proof she’s dead.” He paused, reflecting on what he’d just said, knowing what the truth probably was. “Jeff ’s combed through Dave’s story, and there just isn’t anything but speculation to link him to Maren’s disappearance. I do think we have to tell him what you’ve discovered about his character. Somewhere down the line, this information might be a valuable piece of the puzzle.”

  It was midnight before everyone went to bed, and even then, they didn’t fall asleep. Deidre noticed the digital clock, its green numerals glowing in the dark, read 3:17 a.m., and she and Ben were still mulling over what had transpired. They agreed that Dave was more likely than not responsible for Maren’s death, but they felt helpless to do much about it. Finally, they were able to drift off to a restless sleep.

  *****

  BEN HAD TO GO to work the next morning, but he and Deidre agreed that she would pay a visit to Jeff as soon as the kids were off to school. Megan had stayed the night and was up early, although the stress of a sleepless night registered on her face. The boys stumbled out the door, and Deidre worried if they’d be able to function at all in class. She contemplated calling the school to give them a head’s up, finally deciding she didn’t want to go into the details of last night with anyone right then. She did call ahead to make an appointment with Jeff, declining to tell his assistant the nature of her visit.

  At nine thirty, she climbed the stairs to his office, and her friend was waiting for her at the door to the squad room. One look at Deidre’s face, and Jeff knew this wasn’t a social call.

  “Deidre, you look like hell,” he said, half smiling. “Come into my office. Looks like we have to talk.”

  After a few words of greeting, Deidre got down to the reason for her visit. It took a half hour, but in the end she finished the narrative of what Megan had told them th
e night before. As she related the story, Jeff ’s forehead became more deeply furrowed, and he leaned further and further back in his chair, until Deidre began to fear he was going to tip over backward. She noticed his interwoven fingers become more tense and his eyes closed as she finished her story. For a moment, Deidre thought he had fallen asleep, and several seconds passed before he sat bolt upright, anger evident by the color of his face and his pursed lips.

  “Damn! I knew it was him all along, but I couldn’t say why. Everything about Dave’s story was a little too pat, too contrived. Now we know it was, but with no way to prove a thing. Deidre, we combed their apartment, went over Maren’s car with a magnifying glass, ran every forensic test we could think of, and still came up with a blank. We sprayed luminal in every crack and crevasse we could find, and nothing. It’s like Maren vanished from the face of the earth. And all the time that smug S.O.B. has sat like a poor, innocent victim who lost his fiancée. If I could, I’d haul his lying ass in right now, but even an incompetent lawyer would have him out in twenty minutes.” Jeff smashed his fist on his desk.

  Deidre had no idea what to do. She hadn’t any idea that Jeff would react so forcefully, but before she could act, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Checking the number on the ID, she didn’t recognize it, and didn’t answer. The phone went to voicemail, and she decided to see who was calling.

  The recorded message played back, “Mrs. VanGotten. Call the school as soon as you listen to this call. We’ve had an incident involving your sons, and it would be best if you came to discuss the matter immediately. Meanwhile, be informed that Steve and Jack will be in the principal’s office until you arrive.”

  Deidre thanked Jeff for his time, and assured him that she and Ben appreciated all he was doing, and that she knew his hands were tied at the moment. Then she excused herself and rushed to the school. As she ran down the hall toward the principal’s office, her mind was racing, wondering what had transpired.