The Arcturus Man

by John Strauchs

  “Well…you know…like I said over the phone…things aren’t that good right now. Life was really rough for us while we were on the boat and in Panama, especially for Jared. There were people with guns looking for him. Our relationship was a little strained…some days…before all those horrible things happened on Eagles’ Head…I don’t need to talk about that…you know what happened…but while we were escaping and these bad people were chasing us…chasing Jared…we sort of bonded. It felt like love. Now that I’m back in the real world again, I don’t know if we fell deeper in love with each other or if I clung to him because I was so damned scared. I honestly thought that he needed me too, but I’ve always known that Jared doesn’t need anybody. I don’t know anymore if I’m important to him.”

  “So what does he say about this?” asked Krissy.

  “What do you think he says? He says he loves me. All guys say that if they want to jump your bones.”

  “I didn’t think Jared was like that,” said Krissy. “He seems to be pretty kind and considerate.”

  Jenny had to look away from Krissy for a moment. They were sisters. They were as close as any sisters could ever be, but there are still things that can never be said, even by sisters. Jenny knew that Jared was sexually attracted to Krissy—it was so obvious— all men were attracted to Krissy—but she also suspected that Krissy—deep down where she might not even be aware of it—was attracted to Jared. It was just human chemistry but it was hard not to take it personally. Krissy had stolen a few boy friends from Jenny when they were in their teens. Those long buried feelings surfaced from time to time.

  “You don’t know him like I do.”

  “Then wise me up,” said Krissy.

  “He might be the smartest guy in the world, but he likes to play kid games. He watches reruns of TV programs like Smallville and Battlestar Galactica all of the time. He can be playful beyond belief…you know…he’ll chase me with a wet towel and crap like that. The next minute, he won’t talk. He can sit in his study in his chair for hours…not doing anything. He just stares. Sometimes for hours. If I try to be nice, he snaps at me. He gets sarcastic and insulting. He has these mood swings all the time and they’re unpredictable. They can come on in just a few minutes. Sometimes it lasts for days. That’s when he does dangerous stuff, you know, like the free climbing up cliffs that I told you about. Father O’Connor thinks that Jared may have suicidal tendencies that come over him sometimes. He said that all real geniuses are crazy, one way or another. There are times I’m convinced that Jared is paranoid—maybe delusional. A lot of the things he said might happen, did happen, but there are other times when I think it’s all in his head. And when he gets mean, he can be real mean and cruel.”

  “Are you shitting me? Jenn, like I had no idea. I’ve never seen him like that,”

  “He’s always on his best behavior whenever you’re around.”

  Images of Krissy and Jared…together…whirled in her mind. She couldn’t sweep them away. She wanted to, but she couldn’t.

  “Maybe the worst thing is that Jared thinks I’m stupid. Krissy, I’m in the top of my graduate class. I’m a doctoral candidate. I’m not stupid.”

  “Of course you aren’t. Has he ever called you stupid?”

  “Well, no, but he often says I do stupid things. He says that a lot. To me that’s the same thing.”

  “How are you guys…like…how are you guys doing in the sack?”

  Jenny didn’t want to talk about their sex life. It was too personal. Jared’s fetishes were in large measure what might be driving them apart and causing Jenny to question if he loved her with all his heart or stayed with her because she went along with the kinky stuff. Many women would have balked. But she wasn’t sure of that either. She wondered is she was too prudish. Maybe other women did like it. It was eating away inside of her and it needed to be freed.

  “He’s beyond great. I don’t want to get clinical, but Jared’s superman. But…there are problems. He never tires…you know what I’m saying.”

  “That’s every girl’s dream.”

  “No its not! I am saying that he NEVER tires,” said Jenny.

  “What could possible be wrong with that? Is he like, too big? Is her hurting you?”

  “No, that part’s fine. Its fetishes, Krissy! He is always playing with sex.”

  “You mean like sex games?”

  “Yes, as long as he’s not in one of his deep blue funks…he calls it his Black Dog…when he has no interest in sex whatsoever…he’s into all kind of sex games.”

  “For instance? Maybe Jake and I can get some pointers. We do that stuff. You know, role playing. Sometimes it’s really cool and keeps it from getting boring.”

  “I’m embarrassed to talk about it Krissy, even with you.”

  “So who else are you going to tell?”

  “Well OK! A lot of times I have to take off my underwear…and then go into public places.”

  “I think that’s cool. I wish Jake thought of that some time. Maybe I’ll drop a few hints,” said Krissy.

  “Not cool, Krissy. Not all the time and not in public. It just isn’t normal and it makes me feel cheap. We were at Old Orchard Beach when he had me do this and I swear he was hoping that strangers would…you know…see me.”

  “Yea, that’s not cool,” said Krissy. “Does he make you make love in pubic? I know a lot of guys are into that?”

  “No, he’s never suggested that.”

  “Well maybe then it’s not as bad as you think it is. You two being the only people who know your naked underneath is sort of exciting. I’ve got to try it some time.” Krissy flipped up the front of her skirt and laughed.

  Jenny laughed too, but it was an insincere laugh.

  “Now that I’m talking about it, I guess it doesn’t sound so bad…which is why I suppose I went along with it,” said Jenny.

  ‘Did it turn you on?”

  Jenny thought about it for a second.

  “I guess, but not after the first few times. Later it just made me feel slutty, especially if he had a mood swing and we didn’t make love later. That would kill it.”

  “Yea, I guess that would.”

  “He want to tie you up and weird stuff like that?”

  “No…none of that.”

  “So…what else?”

  “He’s got this computer-generated girl named Ginger.”

  “You told me about her.”

  “Did I tell you she’s naked or that she’s shaved…completely?”

  “No, you missed that tiny part.”

  “I’m pretty sure he takes care of himself watching her. I think he has her programmed to do stuff too. Krissy, I’m jealous about a computer program.”

  “That’s nothing. Jakes does that a lot before he comes to me. He says it cools him off so he won’t come too quickly. That’s nothing. All guys jerk off. And getting rid of the fuzz is in right now. Like didn’t see the Britney Spears pics on the Internet?”

  “Ginger is almost human, Krissy. HONEST TO GOODNESS. If you think you’ve seen video games, you haven’t seen anything. SHE CAN THINK. She thinks like a person. She talks to you like a real person. When I was in trouble, she talked to me. I think she has feelings.”

  “That’s rad, Jenn. Can I see her some time?”

  “Jared is very protective of Ginger. I don’t think he would have let me see her if it hadn’t been an emergency…you know…that night,” said Jenny.

  “Ask, huh? You know Jake’s into that kind of stuff. He would kill to see something like that,” said Krissy. “Not because she’s naked…I guess he’d like that too… but Jake’s a computer genius, for real.”

  “Maybe.” said Jenny.

  Jenny hesitated a minute, but then blurted it out.

  “I guess what really did it for me…you know…the proverbial straw…was he asked me a couple of months ago if I would bring a girl friend into our bed. That is so repulsive. It makes me sick. It’s like telling me that I’m not enough. That h
e’s bored with me.”

  “Jenn, two or more girls is every guy’s fantasy. You know that. Hell, Jake has mentioned it. I just punch him and he shuts up. Why do you think lesbo porn is so popular with men? It’s no big deal. Like whatever floats your boat,” said Krissy. “And it has nothing to do with him being bored with you. Guys are dogs and just like stuff like that.”

  “You would never do that.”

  “Of course not,” said Krissy. “Well, probably not.”

  “It’s degrading Krissy. You would never do that.”

  “You’re making too big a deal out of this, Jenn.”

  Jenny wanted to tell her that she suspected that if she had gone along with it that Jared would have suggested that Krissy be the other girl. Jared never said that but she was pretty sure that it was something he was thinking about. And considering that Jared often knew what she was thinking about…at least in general…he must have sensed those images in Jenny’s mind. She wanted to tell Krissy, but she couldn’t make herself do it. The danger was that Krissy might have liked the idea. She honestly didn’t believe that Krissy would every do it, but learning that Krissy might like it…if it really did happen…would be unbearable. She could lose her only sister over something like that. It could drive them apart. When Krissy stole her favorite boy friend in high school, it took her almost a year to get over it. This time maybe she would never get over it. She wasn’t going to risk it.

  Except for maybe how Krissy felt about Jared, all in all, Jenny was feeling better. Talking openly about all of this was good. She felt cleansed. She certainly couldn’t have had this conversation with Mom, and definitely not with Father O’Connor. It was good to get this off her chest. She wasn’t talking about the most hurtful things, however. Could she reveal everything? No, not everything. She could never tell Krissy that she saw Jared kill men…in front of her. It was self defense, but it haunted her dreams sometimes. She loved Krissy too much to curse her with those kinds of visions. Or…maybe she loved Jared too much to tell Krissy about what Jared was capable of. If she and Jared stayed together, Krissy would never feel the same about him if she knew that Jared could be like that. Krissy could be an aunt some day. No, that had to stay buried. Maybe that was something that she could discuss with Father O’Connor. Maybe? But there were other things too. There were other hurtful things that were worse than stupid fetishes and kinky sex.

  “The biggest thing…the thing that hurts me the most…has nothing to do with sex. He won’t talk with me unless I nag and almost interrogate him. He won’t open up to me Krissy.”

  “Oh that stuff. Like any man wants to talk about their feelings. All guys are like that, Jenn. I have to sit on Jake to make him talk to me. Didn’t you ever read Venus and Mars, or whatever that book was called?”

  “That’s not it, Krissy. I know I’m trashing Jared, but I can tell you that the guy honestly and truly likes women. Maybe he likes them too much, but he really likes talking with me. I’m not explaining this right. I don’t know how to say this. He talks all the time. He is a very easy…and frankly a fascinating guy to have a conversation with. Sometimes we talk for hours and hours, especially in bed, but he rarely talks about himself unless I force him to. Sometimes I don’t notice it right away, but most of these marathon conversations are like teacher and student and I’m the one with the dunce cap in the corner.”

  Jenny continued talking. “I see him in these blue funks but he won’t tell me what he’s feeling or why. If he really is suicidal, he won’t talk about it. I have to know if he’s thinking about killing himself, don’t I? He will give me these darned hints but they’re so obtuse I rarely understand what he’s trying to tell me. Maybe I am stupid…compared to him. He has hinted at that as well but I don’t know if he is really saying that or if it’s all in my head and I’m making it up. It drives me nuts. And he repeats a few sayings over and over again until it drives me insane. ‘Analysis is paralysis. Everything is chemistry,’ over and over again,” said Jenny.

  “Yea, that would bother me too. Guess I’m lucky Jake hardly talks at all. Wham, bam, thank you mam! End of conversation. Oh, and Jake likes to talk about C plus plus and about fucking computers.”

  “You want some green tea? asked Krissy.

  “Sure, I need some calming.”

  “Calming? How about chamomile?

  “Sure.”

  “OK, we’ve, like, solved all of the problems of the world,” said Krissy. “What do you want to do that’s fun? Too early for a movie.”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Suppose we go to the New England Aquarium. I love that place.”

  Krissy made a sour face. “I said fun, Jenn.”

  “Mary Chung’s for lunch?”

  “Well, that’s not exactly fun. OK, we’ll make it fun.”

  They finished their tea. Jenny borrowed one of Krissy’s scarves. The wind had died down a little, but it was still gusty. Krissy changed into jeans. Jenny made sure that Jenny locked the apartment on their way out.

  They raced each other down the stairs and just about knocked over a short fat man in the foyer. He was leaning up against the mail boxes, writing into a small notebook. The label on the notebook was in Cyrillic. The notebook went flying as they crashed into him. Krissy bent down and picked up the notebook and handed it to him.

  “Sorry, Mister,” said Krissy.

  “No troubles, pretty ladies,” said the fat man. He was very fat and had a heavy foreign accent. He was smiling but it was a leering, unctuous smile. And, he smelled like rancid cheese.

  “Sorry,” said Jenny.

  The girls bolted out the door.

  “What creep buzzed that creep into the building?” asked Krissy.

  “He made my skin crawl, the way he was staring at us,” said Jenny.

  They unchained their bikes and pushed off. Jenny turned around slightly. The ugly fat man was still staring at them from an open door as they pedaled away. Sami was writing again.

  Chapter Twenty Six – The Clearing

  Eagle’s Head – July 2014

  Sam Bentley gingerly maneuvered his weathered old boat into the open boat house. Except for the little whaler, all of Jared’s boats were still moored at the Ovid Marina. It was early July. Brett Koutsanoudis didn’t mind coming to Maine in early July. He hated cold weather and that’s most of the year in Maine. He stepped off the launch and climbed up to the boat house dock. “Thank goodness the boat house survived,” he thought.

  “THANKS SAM,” yelled Brett. Sam nodded and pulled out.

  “PLESA’,” yelled Sam in Mainer. He tipped his hat.

  Brett wondered for a moment. True Maine accents were pretty rare these days,

  especially in Southern Maine. Was Sam really an old Mainer or was he putting a show on for the tourists? Brett decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. “BE BACK IN ABOUT THREE HOURS…RIGHT,” Brett yelled louder. It was noon. He thought it shouldn’t take more than three hours to get things in motion with Jared.

  He walked up the rocky path to where Jared’s wonderful house used to be. He glanced at the burned out trees and shrubbery as he climbed. It was such a shame. Signs of destruction were everywhere. Soot had already smudged the pant leg of his recently purchased Hickey Freeman gray chalk stripe suit.

  “Damn it.” Brett crossed the lawn to a clearing next to where the old house had been, up to a brand new prefab A-frame. It was the largest prefab he had ever seen, but much smaller than the first Eagle’s Head house.

  It was a wood A-frame that ran two and a half floors. The house looked like one massive roof. Only the ends were vertical. They just set it on a concrete slab and bolted it together. It was painted Tudor style and had huge picture windows on the side facing the bay. Massive windows also ran along the south-facing roof. Brett thought he recognized solar panels as well.

  “Hail to the house,” yelled Brett. “You’re spending too much time overseas, friend. We don’t do that in the states,” said Jared. He was standing behind Brett.


  Brett spun around. “YO! I hate it when you do that, Jared. Anyway, I was just being cosmopolitan,” said Brett.

  “Thanks for coming on short notice,” said Jared.

  “No problem. Nice house. I can’t believe it’s up this soon. What was it, a month?”

  “Yea, just a few days over three weeks. I had to import the workers from Connecticut. That cost,” said Jared.

  “Why Connecticut? What’s wrong with the workers in Maine?”

  “They’re great. They’re better than great, but you can’t get them to accept rush jobs. They work on their own time schedule and nothing can persuade them to change schedules. I guess that’s sort of a tradition. If you admit that you are available, you could be telling people that you might not be that good. Good workers are always supposed to be busy, so they keep up the posturing even if they might need the work. Maine is such a high tax welfare state that you’d think it would be easy to get workers, but its not. Connecticut, on the other hand, is a state that’s actually been in bankruptcy and workers are available. I suppose it’s a wash. Their rates are much lower but the room and board to come to Maine wipes out the savings, and them some,” said Jared.

  “I see,” said Brett.

  “Yea, I wish we could have incorporated in Maine rather than Nevada. Everything would be so much easier.”

  “You going to rebuild the grand house?” asked Brett.

  “No. I don’t need it…now.”

  Jared led the way into the house.

  “John Cabot should be here soon. When you confirmed your trip, I asked John to come up as well.”

  Brett looked puzzled, but didn’t ask for an explanation. Attorneys should never be puzzled.

  “Neat! You’re all set up. That didn’t take long,” said Brett.

  There were computers everywhere, as well as three 50-inch plasma TV panels hung on an interior wall. Being an A-frame, the area where the roof line meets the floor was mostly dead space, conventional rooms were framed several feet inside of the roof line. It was odd. Some of the walls only went up about eight feet but the ceiling was at least twenty feet up, or more, depending on where you looked. The second story didn’t run the full length of the house. Brett could see a loft above that. All of the furniture was new. The kitchen was mixed in with the living room. It was a first-class kitchen.