A Hard Case

by Ron Hess

  I yawned again and rolled over on my back. One thing for certain, I was caught up on my sleep. They had stuck me in a one-man cell, maybe for my self-protection. The locals probably didn’t like the idea of having one of their own beat up by a white man. Well, with any luck, I would be out of here today; that is, if the boss wired the money for the lawyer and the bail like he said he would.

  The prison staff had been very cooperative when it came time to make my phone call for an attorney, rolling their eyes when I asked if this lawyer or that lawyer was worth their salt. Finally, my finger settled on the right one in the yellow pages. She turned out to be one cracker-jack of an attorney around thirty, knew her ropes, and hadn’t quite hardened into something intractable.

  “You want to try for a plea-bargain or plead not guilty?” She had asked and made it known it was entirely my choice. For some reason, the idea of dragging it out appealed to me. Maybe I wanted a jury to see the face of Ivan the tormentor, I don’t know, but the choice was made and I stuck with it. The bail was set at five thousand. Whereupon my attorney said thanks very much for the business, and she’d be in contact when the money showed up. That said and understood, I was ushered back to my cell.

  Footsteps sounded down the hallway. Immediately, my eyes focused beyond the bars, since watching people walk by was like watching cars pass by your front porch. It might be somebody you had never seen before. But this time was different, because I knew the voice. It was the voice of summer and smoke, satin sheets and a cigarette glowing in the dark. It was Helen. I was on my feet before she appeared at my set of bars. She was dressed in a gray tweed business suit with a black turtleneck sweater, a gold chain necklace and as usual the gold hoop earrings. There were no ruby red lips today. Nope, she was dressed and made up like a businesswoman, which I guessed she was, only to my way of thinking it was the wrong business. The guard who had escorted her back to my cell rapped on the bars.

  “Step back, Bronski.”

  I did as he asked, elated and mystified about why she was here.

  “You sure you want to go into the cell with him, ma’am? I understand he beat somebody pretty bad. We can’t guarantee your safety.”

  She gave him a smile that turned him into instant Jell-O. “I’ll be fine, Mike. I’ll call for you when I’m ready.”

  “Okay, but if he bothers you, just yell and I’ll give him a taste of his own medicine.”

  By now, I was standing by my bunk, staring down at the floor, looking like a lamb. She walked through the door, her eyes on me. She waited until the guard had locked the door and his retreating footsteps could be heard going down the hallway. Then she was in my arms.

  “Oh, Leo, I’m so glad you’re safe,” she said, and then planted a smothering kiss on my lips. I wanted that kiss. I wanted it to be the same as it had in the past, but deep down in my soul, I knew it wasn’t. I leaned back and stared down into her eyes. Did she mean it, or were we into playing games? I decided to play.

  “Not half as glad as I am, Helen. But I am surprised to see you here,” I said, and despite my misgivings, my hand started roaming. I felt like an ass, but with her, I couldn’t stop. But I did, because no way was I going to make love on the cot in front of everybody. She pulled away, still breathing heavy. “Leo,” she whispered, “why does life have to work this way? I want to be with you, but I can’t. I may have to leave soon.”

  “Why?” I whispered back.

  She broke into laughter and shook her head. Her finger circled around her, indicating microphones. Then she sobered, her mouth turned down and her face took on a cruel, cold look, one I hadn’t seen before.

  “Oh, they think they’re so smart,” she murmured. “They call me the Dragon Lady.” She paused. “I know you found the coke at the cabin. I’m sorry you did, but at least you’re alive. Believe it or not, I care for you.” She shook her head, with her lips forming a straight line. “That stupid brother of mine.”

  She began to pace the floor, her spike heels whacking the floor. After a few seconds, she stopped, probably deciding that it wouldn’t do any good and gave me an anguished look. I decided to make it easier for her.

  “Helen,” I whispered. “Was it you who cut my bonds?”

  She nodded her head and drew me to the cot where we sat down. Her hand folded over mine, and earnest eyes looked at me—it was the truth she was going to give me.

  “When Jimmy saw you were being followed by Ivan, he went by the river path to my cabin as fast as he could.”

  “Where had he been hiding?” I asked. “I looked high and low for that kid.”

  Helen smiled. “Yes, I know. He saw you, but was afraid of Ivan. He was hiding in the old pickup there on Main Street.”

  I nodded and smiled back. Of course, hadn’t the priest said something about Jimmy being crafty for his age? Helen went on.

  “Anyway, he came crying to me. Said he’d heard a gunshot. I almost cried myself. I knew if Ivan were shooting at you . . . you might be dead. I hid Jimmy in the wood box when I heard Ivan come whistling on the path. Then he came in and bragged how he had tied you to a tree and left you for dead. After the bears or wolves were done with you, he would simply cut the plastic tie wraps off and no one would be the wiser. I pleaded with him to change his mind, that he was headed down the wrong path, and what would father think, but he laughed. After an hour or so he left, making me promise I wouldn’t tell, otherwise he would tell father about my activities.”

  “You mean the drugs?” I asked.

  She looked away. “Yes, the drugs.”

  “I can’t believe your father doesn’t know,” I said. “This is a small village.”

  She sighed. “Village life is complicated. No one has told him.”

  “I have a hard time believing that,” I said.

  Her raised eyebrows said different, and I knew it had to be true as far as she was concerned.

  “Okay,” I said, with more ice than I meant. “Go on.”

  Her eyes snapped up to mine, hoping, I thought, that I would forgive her. I wanted to, because until a short few days ago, I considered her mine.

  “After he left, saying that he would probably have to help look for you, I let Jimmy out of the box and told him we would have to find you. I couldn’t let you die. After a couple of days, we found you and just in time. It was I, who cut you loose. I decided to let you rescue yourself, which was stupid, but I was torn between you and Ivan. He is my brother, whether I like it or not. I didn’t want to be involved. I have places to go, and I thought at one time that you could be part of my life, but I see now it’s impossible.”

  By now her hands were twisting one another. She was obviously under stress.

  She looked up. “There’s one more thing. I convinced Charlie to prefer charges against you.”

  My arm tightened around her waist. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

  “You did what?”

  She smiled a wisp of a smile. “Charlie and I go back a long way. He knows I’m part of the drug scene, but he wants to stop the big guys. That’s why he’s left me alone.”

  “You have a sister,” I began.

  She nodded. “Yes, she’s part of it.”

  “Why, Helen? Why in God’s name, why?”

  “You mean why did I put Charlie up to it? Because I wanted to protect you from Ivan. I wanted to give him a few days to think about where he’s going, that killing you is not the way. He’s angry about me preferring charges, but I was protecting him, too. Besides, I want to see the world. The village isn’t it. Maybe it’s all right for some but not for me.”

  I released my arm from around her waist and got up. She was so mixed up. Part of me wanted to hold her and shield her from life, the other part wanted to strangle her. The outside world had screwed up a culture and I, in my own small way was responsible.

  “So, what’s the next step for you?” I asked.

  She stood up. I have to leave for a while. I have contacts to make.”

  There
wasn’t much doubt in my mind what she meant about contacts. “Aren’t you afraid the law will catch you?”

  Her voice trilled. “The law? Surely, you jest. They can’t even see their nose, let alone see past it.” She snorted. “The law, what a laugh.”

  “Be careful, Helen,” I said.

  “Oh, I will. It’s you who have to be careful when you go back to the village—as I’m sure your manhood will dictate. But you could come with me.”

  There it was, the final offer. I knew the answer even before the question. I was post office and post office I would stay. I just shook my head.

  Her eyes brimmed. Tough, sophisticated, Helen. She got up from the cot and touched my face. “Good-bye for now, Leo.” Without a look back she walked to the bars.

  “Mike!”

  Immediately, the guard charged through the hall door. “You okay, Helen?” hoping, I’m sure, that he would get to swat me one.

  “Yes, Mike, I’m just fine.”

  She was back in authority now, tapping her foot, waiting with a controlled impatience as the guard opened the door of my cell. Her mind, I suspected, had already moved on to other possibilities and regretfully, I was not one of them. So smart, so beautiful. Why, Helen, why? I listened to the fading click of her high heels as she went down the hall. Then a door slammed and all was quiet.

  Chapter 23

  The boss came through with the money for the lawyer and the bail the next day. The desk sergeant let me use his phone.

  “Bronski!” Good old boss. For once, I was glad to hear his voice. I had been in the Bethel jail for three days, and while it wasn’t all that bad, I was beginning to think the postal service had forgotten about me.

  “Yes, sir,” I said, very respectful and humble. There was a moment’s silence. The boss was probably gauging how much he could get away with.

  “Well, how are you doing, Bronski?” Now his voice was quieter. Could it be the boss was being sensitive? “You know, Bronski, I’ve been thinking if you wanted to, you could come back to Anchorage.”

  I thought for a few seconds. “No, boss, I want to finish my tour. Give me another month.”

  “I don’t know, Bronski, I’ve been checking. Charlie says things aren’t too good between you and that Ermoff character. Says there’s bad blood and that your life is in danger. You can always go back to the line.”

  I shuddered. Indeed I could go back to the line, but that had its own tension and hell. “No, sir, if it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll just stay out here. No, things aren’t good, but things change, know what I mean?” I looked at the desk sergeant. He was looking at some paperwork real hard. Not that he was trying to listen, but then this was getting juicy.

  “Tell you what, boss, I’ll call when I get back to the Vil.”

  “Dammit, Leo, I don’t like this.”

  Leo, he calls me. Am I a favorite son? Almost middle-aged at that.

  “I know, sir, neither do I, but for me it’s the only course.”

  There was a sigh. Poor boss, torn between safety for personnel and the economic realities of getting someone else to do the job. The regs called for an outsider, even though I had a good hunch Jeanette or Jean could do the job just fine. This started me to thinking, maybe I ought to initiate them into the paperwork bureaucracy. That way I could take up other pursuits, like fishing or hunting. The boss interrupted my thoughts with a final declaration.

  “All right, Bronski, I’ll go with you for now, but if I hear about any more trouble, I’m jerking you out of there, understood?”

  “Sure, boss,” I replied, with what I hoped was not too much cheerfulness. Hot damn! I was back in the saddle.

  We rang off. I thanked the desk sergeant, gathered up my things and left that fine institution. Outside I took a few deep breaths. The air did smell different, cleaner, but with a nip. The light summer jacket I had on wasn’t going to last forever. A cab came cruising by. I hailed him and gave instructions for him to get me over to the local commercial store. The driver smiled and drove me exactly one block. A surprise for me, and a quick five bucks for him.

  Inside the commercial store, I purchased a few cold weather items such as a parka, long Johns and good insulated boots. It cost a bundle, but what the heck, I had money aplenty since I wasn’t going to bars at night. Kind of refreshing in a way. Then it was by the same cab again out to the airport, where I sat sipping coffee in the cafe waiting on the mail plane.

  Once I was seated in the mail plane, the pilot fussed over me, inquiring if I needed anything. A pleasant surprise. Maybe all that respect came from the baddest bully in town getting beat up. I didn’t know, but I accepted his hospitality. This set me to wondering about what life was going to be like in the village with Ivan. I was not looking forward to it, but I had to follow the course that I felt had been laid out for me. I decided to test my newfound respect once we were in the air.

  “How’s the mail been moving at the village?” I asked.

  The pilot smiled. Just the question you might expect from a postmaster.

  “Great. The twins have been waiting on me every time I land. In no time at all they have the plane off loaded and the outgoing mail loaded. My schedule stays on and I’m happy.”

  That was good. All I had to worry about was the paperwork. I began to wonder if I was really needed, and I sensed a need, like any good paperwork person, to generate more work for myself. With this thought in mind, I nodded off, waking when the wheels touched the gravel runway. I peered toward the end of the runway and saw my employees waiting. Hot damn! Now, everything can get back to normal. Deep in my gut, though, I knew that wasn’t possible for a number of reasons, Ivan being one of them. The plane came to a stop by the old truck where the two women were waiting. Jeanette spoke first.

  “Hi, boss!” She immediately gave me a hug as soon as my feet touched the ground, and I have to say it felt good. Jean, of course, gave me a more proper handshake and a smile. For sure, I was home again. This time after unloading and loading the plane, it was Jean who drove with Jeanette sitting in between us.

  I asked Jeanette how things were at the office.

  “Fine,” she said, rattling off the pertinent details.

  “So that just leaves me with some paperwork to do, I guess.”

  Jeanette turned to look me full in the eye, just as the truck bounced. I came that close to touching her lips with my lips. I took a deep breath and faced the front again, but not before I had looked straight into her eyes. What the look told me was that she was there if I wanted her. The look I gave back to her said about the same thing. And here I was just getting over an affair with Helen. I was going to have to address my true feelings for Jeanette and soon. I definitely did not want to telegraph the wrong image or sentiment. She deserved better.

  She cleared her throat. “The boss called and gave me some instructions. He said he didn’t want you to have to cope with all the days of backed-up paperwork.”

  She gave me an uncertain look, wondering, no doubt, if I were going to explode. I resolved to be calm and cool, no need to get everybody upset, but the boss and I were going to have a conversation about my duties.

  “Good,” I said, my face as deadpan as I could make it. “I’m not a great lover of paperwork anyway.”

  To get the atmosphere a little warmer, I talked about life in the Bethel jail. Actually, for me, it wasn’t all that bad, but I complained about the food anyway, which is a prisoner’s prerogative. I even got Jeanette to giggle once or twice and this reduced the tension for her. The boss making her do the paperwork was not necessarily her choice. We arrived at the side door, and in no time we had the mail off-loaded. It was like I had never left. Interestingly enough, I wasn’t breathing as hard as I used to. Was my body starting to repair itself, since I wasn’t a heavy drinker? Maybe. I still had these cravings. A person doesn’t heal over night.

  After that, it was settling in, getting back on the job. When I walked into my quarters, everything was neat. Ah . . .
woman-hood. A glance up at the shelf let me know the bottle of Jack Daniels was still a factor to be dealt with. To avoid temptation I turned my head and walked back out onto the main floor, complimenting the women for keeping the place neat. Jean stopped work for a minute.

  “Sir, we don’t mind working for a good boss.”

  That revelation left me standing there, removing my wire-rims and rubbing the back of my head, speechless for the moment.

  “And, sir,” Jean went on, “it wasn’t me who did the cleaning.”

  Whereupon, she looked pointedly at her sister who was all of a sudden on the other side of the room with a red face, busy as a beaver. I took a few deep breaths. Cleaning my place carried all sorts of implications, like she was a woman keeping her man’s place shipshape. Did I deserve it? I was beginning to hope so. She was a mighty fine woman. Helen had been cool and sexy, but she had a problem. She wanted to be rich and didn’t really care how she got that way. That was a wagon I didn’t want to be on.

  “Thanks, Jeanette. I appreciate it.”

  “No problem. It didn’t take long,” she yelled back from the other side of the room.

  Jean snorted with an amused smile and went back to work. I had an idea these two could read each other’s minds and enjoyed poking a stick now and then, just as they had in childhood.

  We worked in silence for a while. Sorting mail can be just plain boring. It doesn’t take long for a bored mind to wander, and mine was no exception. I wanted to find Jimmy and thank him. I owed him my life and I wondered how he was getting along with Ivan. Was Ivan aware it was Jimmy who found me? Hopefully, Helen had kept that from Ivan. On the other hand, Jimmy was family. If Ivan tried to hurt him, there would be a reckoning with the rest of the village. But I imagined Jimmy kept a respectful distance anyway. No need to stir that situation. I broke the silence.