“Hi, Kimi. Is it okay if I come in?” The girl was standing by the window. When she heard Deidre’s voice, she quickly turned and almost ran across the room. Her hug lasted several minutes, and finally, Deidre led her to her bed and sat down, still holding her closely.
“Kimi, you’ll never guess who’s in a bed one floor down.”
“Anna?” Kimi asked excitedly.
Deidre hardly knew how to respond. “No not Anna, but Allison is down there, and she says she knows you.”
Kimi slumped, dejection evident in her posture. “Not Anna?”
Deidre shook her head.
“Do you remember Allison from the cabin.” Kimi nodded. “Was she your friend?” She shrugged.
“Well, I just stopped to see how you were. I can’t stay long, but is it okay if I come back in a day or so.”
Kimi looked into her eyes, and answered, “Yes.”
“Can I bring Allison to your room?”
Kimi looked at the floor and nodded.
*****
Deidre was back in Two Harbors before Jill’s quitting time, and she hoped her secretary didn’t have a day’s worth of interviews lined up for her the next day.
“Hi, Boss Lady,” Jill chirped. “You look like hell!” She laughed at what she had said. “But you’re still pretty. It’s been quiet around here the last couple of days, and I’ve sort of run out of work to do with you gone. Anything that needs doing?”
Deidre couldn’t think of anything and was about to tell her to take tomorrow off.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Jill said. “This call came in yesterday from the women’s shelter. It’s a request for you to stop and visit one of their clients.” Jill picked up a piece of paper. “Her name’s Jessica Sobranski. Do you recognize the name?”
Deidre grabbed the back of a chair to steady herself. “I know her mother. But you said the woman wants to see me? Do you know why?”
“The director of the shelter called on her behalf. She asked that you stop over as soon as you can.”
Deidre could hardly believe what she was hearing.
“Call the shelter and tell them I’m on my way. Oh, and Jill, why don’t you take the day off tomorrow. I won’t be in the office.” She rushed down the stairs and out the door, ran the two blocks to the woman’s shelter and burst through the front door.
“Someone called and asked for me to come to the shelter. They said a Jessica Sobranki wanted to see me. Is she still here?” she asked, still quite out of breath.
“Deidre, great to see you. We have a young lady who came in the other day. She saw you being interviewed on TV and asked if I could reach you. I think she believes if you helped the girls at the dock, you’ll be able to help her. I’ll go to Jessica’s room and let her know you’re here,” the volunteer at the front desk announced. “Why don’t you wait in our conference room where the two of you can have some privacy.”
She waited impatiently, wondering what to expect. The volunteer returned, escorting a tall, thin young lady.
“This is Jessica Sobranski. Jessica, Deidre Johnson. I’ll leave you two alone for as long as you’d like.” She closed the conference room door behind her, and the two women stood looking at each other, neither knowing quite what to do next.
Finally, Deidre broke the ice. “Jessica, you look just like your mother.”
Jessica puckered up and tried to speak, but all that came out were squeaks. She rushed to Deidre and hugged her while she sobbed. Deidre held her until she felt the girls body stop shaking.
“Come, let’s sit over here so we can talk. I’ve heard about you, you know. A few weeks ago, I was working a case with your mother, Melissa, and she told us about you being missing from her life. She misses you terribly.”
“Are you sure?” Jessica questioned. “After all I’ve put her through, she still misses me?”
Deidre nodded. “She does, and she’s never given up trying to locate you. It’s none of my business where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing, but I can assure you, your mother wants you back, unconditionally. The fact that you came to this shelter and that you called me, says that you want to go home. Am I correct?”
Jessica looked at the floor but managed to nod.
“Do you want me to contact your mother and set up a meeting?”
Again Jessica gave a slight nod as though she was too ashamed to raise her head.
“Where do you think would be a good place to meet?”
“Home.”
Deidre promised her that she would set up everything that night, and they would be on their way to the Cities the next day. They walked to the front door of the shelter together.
“Thank you for calling me. Believe me, your reunion will be better than anything you can possibly imagine.”
That evening she dialed Melissa’s personal phone.
“Hello. This is Melissa speaking,” Deidre heard the familiar voice.
“Hi, Melissa. Deidre here, making a social call for a change. I’m planning on being in Minneapolis tomorrow, and I was wondering if I could stop over for a visit in the evening, that is if you have no plans.”
Melissa didn’t hesitate. “Have anything to do? My evenings are so boring, all I try to do is fill the hours until bedtime. Of course you’ll be welcome. Would you like to stay over? It won’t be as exciting as your cabin, but I have a bottle of good wine.”
Deidre laughed. If only she knew. “I’m bringing a surprise. Just be prepared.”
After Melissa hung up, she called the shelter and told Jessica to be ready about three o’clock the next day. The remainder of the night Deidre spent going over in her mind possible scenarios of the reunion. They all had a happy ending.
*****
Jessica was a ball of nerves as they sped along I-35 to the Twin Cities. Deidre could see the panic in her eyes, and she was sure that if they had not been trapped inside a car traveling seventy miles per hour, she would have fled. Deidre reached over and touched her hand. “It’s going to be wonderful. You wait. I just know it is.”
“Did you tell my mother I was coming with you?”
“No. I knew if I did, she would get in her car and race to Two Harbors, and I didn’t want her taking chances, especially driving at night. And I knew that if she waited for us to come to her, she would agonize over our meeting until we arrived. Believe me, I gave it a lot of thought, and I think this is the best way.”
They rode in silence for a long ways. “I wasn’t a saint, you know,” Jessica volunteered.
“You don’t have to confess to me. All your mother told me was that you were troubled before you ran away.”
“No, I mean after I ran away. When Mom finds out the things I did to survive, I’m afraid she won’t want me around.” Jessica began to cry, softly at first, then more uncontrollably.
“Please, Jessica. I know you’re frightened, but your mom is going to be so happy that you’re alive. Nothing else is going to matter. Knowing her, she’ll let you tell what you want with your own timing. She loves you, Jessica. It will be all right. I know it.”
Jessica took a deep breath and sat up straight in her seat. She wiped her eyes and resolved to face her mother, no matter the consequences.
Deidre sensed the girl begin to tense up even more as they drove the residential streets, eventually stopping in front of her home.
“You stay here while I say a few words to your mom. When I give you the high-sign, you can come to her.”
Deidre rang the door bell, and Melissa opened it immediately. Evidently, she had been waiting.
“Hi, Deidre. Welcome. Well don’t just stand there, come in.”
Deidre beamed. “Remember I said I had a surprise for you? Are you ready? You’d better hold my hand, tight.”
Melissa looked conf
used, and Deidre motioned toward her car. Its door opened and Jessica stepped out.
“Oh, my God, my baby,” Melissa shrieked, and she ran down the sidewalk.
Jessica hardly had time to move before her mother reached her. She wrapped her arms around her daughter and buried her face in the girl’s hair, all the while repeating over and over, “Jessica, you’re home, you’re home.”
After several minutes, Deidre approached the two and led them toward the door. “Let’s move this party inside. I’m getting cold, and your tears are going to freeze into icicles on your face.” Mother and daughter couldn’t let go of each other.
The reunion was what Deidre had hoped for, and by ten o’clock, she decided all was going to be well.
“I’ve got to be going. Love you both, but I want to get back to Two Harbors before morning. Call me soon and tell me how things are going.”
Melissa tried to talk her friend out of driving home in the middle of the night, but Deidre had made up her mind. On her way home the realization hit her, eleven days until Christmas, and she had yet to buy anything for the twins. She resolved to take the weekend to do her shopping.
She wanted to get a small gift for Jill, something for the twins that they could play with together, and perhaps a token gift for Ben. It was going to be a good Christmas, better than she had been expecting.
Chapter 25
In the early morning hours of the fifteenth, Deidre arrived at Inga’s, then spent the morning sleeping. She went to her office in the afternoon, hoping Jill had taken the day off and that she would be able to spend some time alone, thinking. No such luck.
“Good afternoon, Boss Lady. Just wake up? How’d it go with Melissa and her daughter?”
Deidre more or less avoided the question. “Well. It went well. Anything happen I should know about?”
“Zak Burton called, wants you to return his call as soon as you can. Jeff wants to meet with you, but he said it can wait until you have time, even next Monday would be okay. Other than that, everything is pretty quiet. Do you mind if I take the rest of the afternoon off? I’ve got something I want to do at the women’s shelter.”
Deidre let Jill go with her blessings. She wanted to be alone, but first she had to call Zak. She reluctantly dialed his number.
“Hey, Deidre. Thanks for getting back to me. How you feeling?”
Deidre shrugged, even though she knew Zak couldn’t see her. “I’m okay, good in fact. What’s so important it can’t wait?”
Zak cleared his throat. “On that file you gave me, the one from Gerald Colter, there was one more delivery scheduled. Remember? The ship named was the Aegean Sea, the delivery number was three. It is due in port on January 3. I would guess after our raid last week, they’ll be reluctant to make that delivery. But to be safe, I think we have to set up like we did before, if for no other reason than to assure ourselves that the three women aren’t shipped out because of our lack of follow through. Are you with us?”
Deidre didn’t have to think. “Of course I am. We can’t allow one more woman to be violated.”
“I guessed that’d be your answer, but I had to be sure. We’re meeting tomorrow at nine in the morning in the same office as last time. See you then.”
The next day, she sat through the meeting, not being surprised that the plan was pretty much the same. Zak said they’d be using a different ruse to camouflage their presence. He wasn’t sure what excuse they would use for their being on the docks, but plans would be in place by the time they met for final instructions on the twenty-eighth. Now, Deidre had a more difficult assignment—find a special present for the girls.
*****
The stores were crowded, every aisle choked with shoppers growing more frantic by the moment. Deidre really had no idea what she was looking for, and she aimlessly wandered through the store. As she turned to leave the toy section of the department store, she spotted what she knew she would buy.
It was a dollhouse, built to scale. One wall was missing so she could look into the house that was divided into an upstairs and downstairs. Each level was partitioned into several rooms, each of which was completely equipped with furniture and appliances.
She was able to find a set of people to go along with the house, her eyes being drawn in particular to two blond-haired dolls representing children. They came complete with changes of tiny sets of clothing.
She had everything packed in a very large box and gift wrapped. Then she realized she should get something for Ben. That was a problem. She wanted something special but without any romantic connotation, not cheap but not terribly expensive either. Then she remembered that, when he returned from his last camping trip into the BWCAW, he lamented the fact that some coals from the campfire had landed on his sleeping bag and burned a hole in it. The stuffing was spilling out. After putting the dollhouse in her SUV, she headed to sporting goods.
A young lady who seemed to know what she was talking about, guided Deidre through the various models. Finally, she decided on one filled with artificial down that had a temperature rating of ten degrees. It cost more than she expected to pay, but what didn’t these days?
That, too, she had gift wrapped, and as she carried it to her vehicle, she hoped Ben would admit if it wasn’t what he wanted. She made up her mind to offer a disclaimer. He could return it if it wasn’t the kind he wanted. She’d save the receipt in case.
It took her several minutes to get to Ben’s, because the shopping mall was outside the city limits. She pointed her SUV downhill, carefully applying the brakes to avoid sliding into cars in front of her. She was relieved when she pulled into the driveway.
As usual, the girls answered the door.
“Get your coats on,” Deidre ordered. “I need help bringing in some gifts.” The girls scrambled to get dressed for the outdoors, Megan putting her boots on the wrong feet in her haste.
“Here, let me help.” Deidre bent down and switched the boots. “That will feel a lot better,” she laughed.
She looked up, and was startled, embarrassed, really, to see Ben staring at her. “What?”
“Nothing, just looking at you,” was all he said.
Amid squeals of delight and questions that came faster than she could answer, Deidre guided the moving of the wrapped dollhouse inside.
“I don’t think there’ll be room under the tree,” Maren complained, sounding almost alarmed.
“Oh, sure there will be,” Deidre said as she moved some of the wrapped presents already in place.
“Be careful!” Megan warned. “That one’s yours.” Then she covered her mouth with her hands, panicked that she had given away a secret.
Ben took her in his arms. “That’s okay. She’ll never guess what you got her.”
Deidre went to the car to retrieve the other gift. “See. This one’s for your daddy. He’ll never guess what I got him, either.”
The rest of the evening was filled with the magic that only children can produce at Christmas, and Deidre realized she loved the girls more than life itself. That scared her, and she thought, If Ben ever remarried, how could I give these two up?
She and Ben each carried one of the twins up to bed, and together they tucked the girls in. “Good night you two,” she said. “I love you more than you’ll ever know.”
“I love you, too,” they said in unison.
Deidre stayed the weekend at Ben’s, feeling a little guilty that she was neglecting her dog, Pete, but knowing he was being looked after assuaged her feelings. Inga walked him twice a day, and she had hired a dog sitter to come in twice a week to take him out of town where he could romp in the woods.
Most of the time, however, Deidre was having too much fun with Megan and Maren to be troubled. The excitement of Christmas rapidly approaching kept the twins in a constant state of anticipation, and their joy was contag
ious.
Every time she looked at Ben, saw the love in his eyes for his daughters, the more she wanted a repeat of what she had experienced under the mistletoe, and she wondered if he felt the same.
Saturday night, after the girls were in bed and a movie was playing on TV, Ben sat down beside her, put his arm around her shoulders, and drew her close to him. She allowed herself to rest her head on his chest. They sat in silence for several minutes, then Ben reached for the remote and turned the TV off.
“This case has been tough on you, hasn’t it?” he asked as he looked straight ahead. Deidre nodded, and tears formed in her eyes as she pictured the girls with whom she had been working, pictured Anna’s ravaged body.
“I see it in your expression every time you look at Megan and Maren, and I sense your fear that something like this could happen to them.”
Again Deidre nodded. “Sometimes I look at them and wonder how I can make a difference in their lives, how I can protect them from the world,” she lamented. “Ben, I look at what society has become, and I wonder what chance do they have?”
Ben thought for a minute. “We have to be careful, Deidre. Day in and day out, you and I come in close contact with the evil in this world, and it’s too easy to become jaded, thinking the whole world is like that. But it isn’t. The world is filled with good, decent, loving people whose only wish is to live peacefully with their neighbors. You and I are doing everything we can to make sure those two little girls have a chance at that kind of life. We can’t do any more. Today was a wonderful day. Chances are tomorrow will be too. The day after, well, let the day after take care of itself. If we don’t, we rob ourselves of the joy of living.”
Deidre had no way of responding. Had those words really come from the mouth of the man who had been an egotistical jock in high school?
Ben gently tilted Deidre’s face toward him and kissed her forehead while he stroked her hair. Then he kissed her like she wanted to be kissed ever since that evening when the girls had set them up in the doorway.
A River Through Two Harbors Page 21
