Convergence at Two Harbors

by Dennis Herschbach

  She remembered her decision to become a law enforcement officer who would make a difference in the lives of those who were beyond helping themselves. She remembered Mr. Craine and his gentle guidance.

  Whatever could he have done to plant himself in the scenario outlined in the directive she was studying? It was evident to her that he was somehow entangled in situation, but how? Certainly he could not be considered a terrorist by any stretch of the imagination, and most certainly he had not willingly joined a cell. The thought crossed her mind that he was an agent of some kind working with the FBI, but she thought it not probable at all. At his age, he couldn’t possibly meet the requirements of that group.

  Deidre placed the letter from Director Pratt back in its envelope and locked it in her desk. She picked up her phone and dialed the number of the Country Inn motel.

  “Yes,” she said in response to the person who answered. “Will you please connect me to room 210.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  As Zaim steered his vehicle around the dirt curves of the country road, he passed a deputy in his squad car, traveling the opposite direction. Both men nodded to each other. Zaim smiled to himself, thinking if only the officer knew how close he was to being a hero or a dead man.

  After the many weeks they had stayed at this location, the dusty driveway was a familiar path for him to follow, and he wheeled up to the ancient building with its flaking logs and falling-out chinking. The dust cloud he stirred up followed him.

  Afu and Jibril were sitting in the screened porch, looking bored, and they walked out to meet Zaim.

  “Hey, man, that didn’t take as long as we thought it would. Did you get any answers?”

  Zaim brushed off the question. “Where are the others? We need to talk right now and make a plan. Where are they?”

  Zaim had not broken stride and was heading into the house.

  “We didn’t expect you back this soon, Zaim. Murad and Imad decided to walk down to the river for something to do. They left about twenty minutes ago.”

  “Jibril, run and catch those two. Are they going native on us, walking down to the river when they should be on the alert incase something were to happen?”

  Jibril knew not to argue, and he set off at a trot to retrieve his cabin mates. Zaim spun around to face Afu.

  “Get out five of our hand guns. Make sure they are cleaned and that there is a supply of ammunition for each man.” Afu didn’t wait for more instructions and began to remove the wall board that concealed the hiding place for the weapons.

  “Bring out four rifles with ammunition as well. We may have to take a long shot if we are not lucky,” Zaim directed Afu as he worked assembling an arsenal.

  Zaim mumbled, “Where are those three? I told Jibril to run after them.” His agitation was clearly visible to Afu, and in his haste he fumbled to ready the guns.

  “Afu, watch what you are doing. If you are clumsy like that now, what will you do when we need you to act?”

  “Incompetent idiots. Why do we even bother to train them? It doesn’t help,” he berated under his breath.

  Just then Jibril, Murad, and Imad burst through the door, too out of breath to even address Zaim.

  “Where have you two been? All you had to do was to be alert and ready, and you couldn’t even do that? I said to be ready when I returned, and where were you? Gone off on some nature hike. Why do you think we are here? Why do you think the organization has spent hundreds of thousands of precious dollars on you, training you, preparing you for a mission important to our cause, so you can commune with the birds? Get your heads back into why we are here, or by the blood of my ancestors, I will make you wish you had obeyed.”

  The four underlings withstood the verbal abuse in silence. Now was not the time to respond or to show any sign of rebellion. They knew Zaim and his single-mindedness. They knew that he was driven beyond what any of them were, and they knew their duty was to follow, no matter what the consequences.

  “Sit down. We have important business to discuss. Murad, hand me that tablet of paper and a pen. Do you think you can do that task without forgetting what it is?”

  Murad moved quickly to retrieve a pen and legal tablet from the counter. He gave them to Zaim, avoiding eye contact, and took his place at the table with the others.

  “I have decided we must do away with the captain of Crusader, Too tonight. He knows more about us than he should, possibly more than we can guess. Even if it is only that he recognized you, Jibril, that is enough. Here is what I found out from the manager at the marina in Knife River.

  “The captain’s name is David Craine. He lives in Two Harbors when he is not on his boat, which I gather is not often. However, his boat is at the marina today, and he will not be leaving until tomorrow morning. That gives us tonight to act.

  “He lives above Dunnigan’s Pub on First Avenue. Do you remember where that is?”

  The others nodded in affirmation, too cowed to speak. Finally Murad responded.

  “I believe that is next to the hardware store and across from the post office. Am I correct?”

  Zaim fixed him with a stare. “Yes, that is the place.”

  He began to sketch on the tablet. “Waterfront Drive is the street that runs down to the lake. Here, on the corner, is Dunnigan’s. This door on the side, the one facing Waterfront, is the entrance he uses. Inside and to the left is a door to a small cafe, but straight ahead and then to the right is the landing to a stairway that leads up to his apartment. There are two apartments upstairs. His is the one to the left and then straight back.

  “I took a chance on the way home and stopped to look. I walked up the stairs, saw where his apartment was located, and quickly left. He may have been home or not. I don’t know.”

  Zaim’s impatience seemed to be diminishing enough that the others were a little more at ease.

  “So what is your plan, Zaim?” Afu ventured to question.

  “Tonight, after everything quiets down and the tavern closes, we are going to pay Captain Craine a visit.” Zaim’s eyes lit up for the first time since he returned from town.

  Chapter Forty

  David and his friend Jimmy left money at the table to cover the bill and a healthy tip for Mary. Then they walked out the door and down the newly painted entrance stairs.

  “We’ll have to come back here soon,” Jimmy said, trying to start up a conversation again.

  David didn’t seem to hear him at first. “Huh, oh, yeah, that’ll be a good idea. It was pretty good.”

  “Pretty good! The food was great. What’s wrong, Davy? Something set you off, and I want to know what the heck’s going on.”

  Before David could answer, the two men almost bumped into a Lake County deputy coming up the steps.

  “Hey, David, how’re you doing? Staying out of trouble, I hope.”

  “Oh, hi, Ben. Sorry I almost ran into you. My mind was somewhere else I guess. How are you doing? It seems that I run into you wherever I go. You aren’t following me, are you?”

  Ben laughed and patted David on the back. “No way. I had enough of you when I was in school.

  “We’ve been drawing some crazy shifts lately, sometimes here, sometimes there. I suppose its just coincidence that we seem to be following the same routes these days. Say, how’s the food here? I heard it’s pretty good.”

  “Pretty good!” Jimmy interrupted. “It’s about the best I’ve had around here. You can’t go wrong as far as I’m concerned. Order the walleye!”

  Ben finished climbing the stairs and went inside. David and Jimmy climbed into David’s car, and they started their ride back to Two Harbors.

  “Look, Jim. I admit I was a little rattled back there in the restaurant, but it’s nothing, at least nothing I want to talk about right now. Maybe someday we can take a few beers out on the lake, and I’ll tell you all about it, but for now just let it drop. I’d appreciate that.”

  As if to change the subject, David’s old Subaru gave a cough and a jerk,
then it wheezed a gasp and straightened out its ways.

  “Geeze, Davey. If you took care of your boat the way you do your car, it would have sunk years ago. When was the last time you changed oil and had the filters changed?”

  David looked at Jimmy, mock surprise on his face. “You mean you’re supposed to do that? I thought these modern cars were supposed to be maintenance free.” The two men continue bantering about how to treat a vehicle.

  This made time go faster, and, in what seemed only a few miles, they were at the marina back in Knife River.

  “Jim, thanks for all you have done. I mean it. I’ll think of you and appreciate you tomorrow morning when I’m on my way to Cornucopia. I hope to spend a couple of weeks there, and maybe when I return I’ll have my head screwed on right. See you, friend.”

  Jimmy slammed the door shut, and something rattled as though part of the car was going to fall off. David put the Subaru in gear and pulled out of the parking lot, turned right on Old Highway 61, and headed back the eight miles to Two Harbors.

  A very large wedding party was in full swing when he arrived, and when David tried to park behind his apartment, he found that all of the spaces were filled. Peeved, he swung his car back onto the street, and as he did, the driver of a car parked squarely in front of his apartment entrance pulled away from the curb. Without hesitation, David parked his old Subaru in the vacated space. The thought crossed his mind that this would make it easier for him to get out in the morning. Because he wouldn’t have to back up, no one would be able to box him in.

  David cautiously walked up the stairs and quietly checked his door to determine if it was still locked. It was, and he entered what was once his safe place.

  Below, Dunnigan’s was going full tilt, and the raucous voices of its patrons having a wild time drowned out any other noise.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Agent Erickson paused a moment before answering the phone in his hotel room. Only two people knew he was there—his boss, Enos Pratt, and Deidre. He hoped it wasn’t Enos.

  “Hello, John speaking.”

  “Hi, John. This isn’t exactly an emergency, but I thought you might be looking for a place to eat supper tonight, unless you packed a week’s worth of meals to store in your room.” Deidre said with a lilt to her voice.

  “Well, Deidre. I was hoping it was you and not Enos. You’re right, I was just wondering how I was going to keep a low profile when there are only two cafes in town. After three or four meals, I think people would begin to recognize me. Of course I could use my Jiffy FBI Disguise Kit.”

  It felt good, John thought, to banter rather than be serious with her.

  “That’s what I was thinking. How about you come over to my place for supper tonight? It won’t be fancy, but I can fill our bellies with something. Do you like beef stroganoff? I’ve got a recipe that takes only a few minutes to throw together, and it’s pretty good.”

  “Sounds great to me,” John answered. “Do you need any help? I’m not too bad in the kitchen. At least I can boil water without burning it too badly.” He liked the sound of Deidre’s laugh on the other end of the call.

  “Sure. I can’t start it until I get home from work, and we can throw it together. You’re the elected onion chopper. I hate that job, makes me cry every time.

  “I’ll stop and pick up a bottle of red wine on my way home. My address is 814 Ninth Street. If you turn up the alley between Eighth and Ninth, you can park behind my house and come in the back way. It’s pretty hidden, and the neighbors won’t notice you—except for old Mrs. Olson who doesn’t miss a thing. But she’s pretty harmless. It’ll give her something to think about tonight.”

  Again, John realized it was nice to hear her laugh.

  “Come about six. See you then.”

  John parked his car alongside Deidre’s sheriff’s vehicle. Before opening the gate to her backyard, he instinctively glanced to his left and to his right just in time to see a gray-haired lady holding back the curtain of her kitchen window. He waved, and she hurriedly dropped the curtain. John said to himself. “Glad to meet you, Mrs. Olson.”

  The sidewalk leading to Deidre’s back door wended its way through neatly kept flowers. The day lilies were in bloom, and he was taken by the large variety that Deidre has accumulated. He couldn’t help but stop and admire the scene.

  Deidre opened the door and stepped out.

  “Hi, you,” she said. “Now you’ve seen my feminine side. I love growing these flowers. It’s one way I keep my sanity in this crazy world.

  “Come on in. We don’t want the whole world to see you out here. People will begin to talk,” and she laughed the laugh John was becoming accustomed to hearing.

  As they stepped into her home, John said, “I’ve already met your Mrs. Olson, kind of anyway. Does she always keep tabs on you this way?”

  “She keeps tabs on the whole neighborhood, but, you know, I’ve never heard her gossip about anyone. She’s quite a lady.”

  Deidre’s home was one of those places that when you entered it an immediate feeling of well being took over. Bouquets of flowers from her garden decorated the kitchen and dining room. John expected that was true of the other rooms as well. He immediately felt at home.

  “Where are those dastardly onions that make you cry? I might as well attack them right away and get it over with.”

  Deidre turned to her stove where slices of sirloin steak were browning in a fry pan, and she said over her shoulder, “They’re on the counter. Use that cutting board they’re sitting on. I can’t stand getting onion smell on everything. That’s my onion board.

  “Better get them done fast. It’s almost time to add them to the meat.”

  John picked up the knife and began dicing the tear-inducing vegetable. It took him less than a minute, and he carried the board over to the stove, dumped the chopped onions into the skillet and heard the spatter as the liquid in the onions met the hot grease.

  “Careful, John, I don’t want you ruining dinner by getting burned,” and Deidre muscled him out of the way as she shook the fry pan, mixing the browned meat with the now sizzling onions.

  Deidre added a carton of sour cream, some ketchup, a can of mushroom pieces, and stirred them together. In an instant she dumped a pot of boiling noodles into a colander and supper was ready to be served.

  The two of them sat down to a meal that John judged as far more than adequate. He poured a glass of wine for each of them.

  “Here’s to a delightful evening,” John toasted as he lifted his glass. Deidre did the same and, they gently clinked the goblets together.

  “To a delightful evening,” Deidre echoed.

  Deidre realized that she knew hardly anything about the man with whom she was sharing a meal. As they talked, the two began to share some of their personal history. She told him about the force that had caused her to want to go into law enforcement, and as she related the events that led to her, her siblings, and her mother having been taken in by the women’s shelter, John’s eyes teared up.

  “That must have been a terrible time for you,” he empathized. “How did you ever make it through?”

  “I don’t think I would have if it hadn’t been for David Craine and his wife. They took me in as though I was their own child. Without their support and help, I know I wouldn’t be where I am today. I owe him in so many ways. His wife was killed in a car accident a few years ago. Now he’s so alone, I wish there was some way I could pay him back.”

  John couldn’t help but think of what was going on in David Craine’s life at the present.

  “I’m sure the time will come when you’ll be able to repay him. Maybe you already have. Every time he sees you, he must be proud of what you have done with your life. I’m sure that’s quite a reward in itself.

  “By the way, have your people been keeping an eye on him. I haven’t heard much about him these past couple of weeks.”

  John’s words had a way of changing the mood of the moment, and Deidre sat
up straight in her chair. John wished he hadn’t said anything.

  “He piled his boat up on a reef about two weeks ago. No one was injured, but it did a number on his boat’s underside. He’s been unable to be on the lake while the boat was being repaired.

  “Ben, one of my deputies, saw him in Beaver Bay today. He told Ben that Crusader, Too is seaworthy again and that he’ll be taking a short trip across the lake tomorrow morning. Plans to stay over at Cornucopia for a week or so.

  “If you want to continue surveillance on him, you’d better contact the Bayfield County sheriff. That’s way out of our jurisdiction.”

  John wished he hadn’t brought up the subject. “I know he’s special to you. Take care of him while he’s in the area, and let others see to him when he leaves.”

  Deidre stood and began to clean up. She put the dishes in the washer and rinsed out the wine goblets.

  “John, I don’t know why you can’t tell me what David’s involvement is in this operation. It’s evident he’s somehow mixed up in the terrorist threat. Is he involved in the organization up in the Brimson area? If you think he’d be a part of any violent plot, you’ve got another think coming. He’s the kindest, gentlest man I know, and I’ve known him for a long time. I think I deserve to know his involvement, if for no other reason than I’m responsible for his well-being. Not only that, he’s a dear friend.”

  “Look, Deidre, I know it doesn’t make sense. I don’t think it does either, but Enos won’t clear me to give you the complete story. He’s one bullheaded old duck, and once he gets an idea in his thick head, it’s lodged there until something kicks it out. If word got out that I leaked information about Craine, I could kiss my job goodbye, and I’m not willing to take that chance, not even for you.”