Harbor Blues

  “Can you come into the report room?”

  Melanie could see Charlie standing a few feet behind him, and figured they were up to something. She left her area reluctantly and walked to the small room used by officers to write reports. The two guys followed her into the empty room, and the look on Ted’s face told her this was no joke.

  “They told us in roll call that a guy washed up on Cabrillo Beach today. He’d been stabbed—And Mel, they ID’d him as—Enzo Mancini.”

  The blood drained from her face, and her legs wobbled. Ted reached for her and caught her before she hit the ground. He pulled her to him, and she buried her face in his shoulder, but her sobs could still be heard through-out the halls of the station.

  “I’m sorry, Mel,” Ted said. “But I didn’t know how else to tell you.”

  1997

  Shaking off her memories, Melanie said, “We were, uh, seeing each other, and—”

  “Mama always suspected another woman,” Adriana interrupted.

  Scott stiffened. “Why haven’t I heard of this guy?”

  “There wasn’t any reason to bring it up. He’d promised to meet me one night, but he never showed up. All of a sudden it struck her that she was talking to Enzo’s flesh and blood, and she touched the girl’s face as she said, “Then a few days later his body washed up on the shore.”

  Adriana grabbed Scott’s arm. “He drowned?”

  “The coroner said he’d been stabbed to death.”

  Scott’s eyes widened. “Jesus, by who?”

  “They never found out. They assumed it was a drug thing.”

  “And what did you think?” Scott glared at his mother.

  “I didn’t want to believe it, but there was so much I didn’t know about him.”

  Scott’s voiced quivered. “And yet you were sleeping with him?”

  “I was twenty-one, Scott, and in love.”

  Adriana broke her silence. “He didn’t tell you about my mother?”

  “He told me that six months before we met, he and your mother fought about her coming to America. That she wouldn’t do it, and he felt their relationship was over. If he knew about a pregnancy, he didn’t mention it to me.”

  Scott had heard enough and walked away, standing with his back to both women.

  “Does Dad know?”

  “Of course. He was living here at the time, and he was a great help to me afterward. But we’ve never talked about it since.”

  Scott left to take Adriana home, and Melanie walked to the bar and poured herself a drink. She took it to a booth and sat in the dim light of the neon beer signs scattered around the room. What just happened? Enzo Mancini, a name that she had tucked away in the recesses of her mind was back to remind her how losing him that way had altered the course of her life.

  CHAPTER 5

  1973

  Harbor detectives had worked for a month with the Port of Los Angeles Police Department to find Enzo’s killer. They interviewed his crew members, friends, other boat owners, their crew members, and sailors. They found no eyewitnesses to the events of the night of the murder, nor any motives other than evidence of dope smuggling. Everyone said he had been a quiet guy, who kept to himself when in port. The crime went unsolved.

  Melanie had taken almost two weeks off after Enzo’s death. During that time. she hadn’t spoken to Benny any more than necessary. Every time she looked at him, her stomach tightened, and she wished she could afford to move into her own place.

  Benny tried to make small talk, but Melanie wouldn’t thaw. “Where have you been? I miss your singing.”

  Melanie shuffled through some sheet music in a drawer. “I found some good-paying singing gigs in Torrance and Wilmington.”

  “Guess I should up my pay so I can see more of you,” Benny said with a smile.

  She bit her bottom lip to refrain from saying what she felt.

  He cleared his throat. “The boys at the PD had any luck finding Mancini’s killer?”

  Melanie slammed the drawer shut. “Why do you care? You’re glad he’s dead!”

  “I can’t deny that I’m happy he’s gone. He was no good for you. You deserve better.”

  “Well, you got what you wanted, didn’t you?” she said under her breath as she walked out the back door.

  After returning to work at Harbor Station, she continued to perform for local clubs. But she still needed another diversion to take her mind off Enzo and Benny. She volunteered her time to help the Harbor Division female Community Relations Officer with the girls’ Explorer Scout Program. It kept her busy, and she enjoyed working with them on community projects.

  Meanwhile, Ted took her out for meals, movies, and ball games. It helped her save money to move, and he became a refuge from her grief and a buffer between her and her father. Before she knew it, three months had passed since Enzo’s death, and though she still felt the sting of that awful night, at least the gnawing in her gut had finally subsided.

  ◆◆◆

  Melanie and Ted decided to go a steakhouse for dinner on a night off work. When they arrived home at McNeil’s, Ted turned to go into his room inside the bar, and Melanie stood at the foot of the stairway to her studio apartment.

  “I rented a couple of videos today. Why don’t you come up?”

  He smiled. “I hope they’re not more women’s lib stories.”

  She threw her shoulders back. “Actually one is a “cop story.”

  Ted followed her upstairs and made himself comfortable on the convertible couch that doubled as Melanie’s bed. The videotapes were on the coffee table, so he picked one up and slid it into the VCR. While the tape cued up, Melanie went to her compact kitchen.

  “Want a beer?” she asked.

  “Don’t I always?”

  “Come to think of it, yes.”

  She grabbed a couple of bottles from the refrigerator and sat down next to him in front of the TV.

  As usual, his arm was draped around her shoulders throughout most of the movie. She had come to feel secure with it there. She felt the same way about how he often placed his hand in the small of her back when they stood in lines and such. Since he never attempted to take things further, she appreciated those simple but comforting gestures.

  The second movie wasn’t as good as the reviews had said, and halfway through it she fell asleep in the crook of Ted’s arm. She awoke as the credits rolled and gazed up at him.

  He smiled down at her. “Hey, sleepyhead,” he said, but didn’t move a muscle.

  She rubbed her face on his chest and realized it was time to get up, but she didn’t want to leave the cocoon he had formed around her. Instead, she clung to him tighter. He brushed his mouth over her forehead, pushing her hair out of her eyes.

  Half asleep, her next move was instinctive. She lifted her face toward his and caught his lips with hers. He reciprocated by wrapping his other arm around her and deepening the kiss. To her surprise, it warmed her all over, and she didn’t want it to end.

  He must’ve recognized that, because he eased her back on the couch and began caressing her face and neck. Without a second thought, she unbuttoned her blouse.

  “You’re beautiful,” Ted said as he explored her breasts, and soon they had both shed their clothing and lay fondling each other.

  There had been no man in her bed before or since Enzo. She had fallen in love with Enzo because he was different from other guys she’d met at the bar and police station. He was shy and introspective, and she trusted him. By the time they had gone to bed together, she had seen the “wanting her” look in his eyes, and when they made love his hunger fueled hers, too.

  That night, Melanie saw much of that desire in Ted’s face as he moved atop her. Despite not feeling the sense of urgency she had had with Enzo, the pleasure she gave Ted aroused her, and she was delighted to reach an explosive climax of her own.

  ◆◆◆

  The night of passion with Ted had been a turning point in Melanie’s grief. It made her realize what she
’d had with Enzo might’ve been merely an exciting physical attraction intensified by periods of separation and sexual tension. However, she still mourned the man she’d known and couldn’t get beyond her father’s obvious satisfaction with Enzo’s death.

  As she feared, Ted interpreted their encounter as the beginning of a love affair.

  “Hey, I picked up a movie for us tonight. We can dine in and relax afterward like we did last week.” Ted winked. “What d’ya say?”

  “Oh, sorry,” she said. “I can’t. I have a gig at a restaurant in Long Beach. A guy who works there said he could arrange for me to meet his friend who has a recording studio.”

  “I don’t like you going off to meet strange guys by yourself.”

  “I’m taking Karen with me. I’ll be fine.”

  ◆◆◆

  Melanie was scheduled to record the demo tape in three weeks. While she waited, President Richard Nixon’s reputation worsened with every revelation that surfaced during the Watergate hearings. To add to the dysfunction in the country, the Vietnam War still raged on, despite the growing anti-war sentiment on the home front.

  She had a chance to learn more about the effects of the war when she accepted a date with an old boyfriend who had recently been discharged from the Army. They had dated a few times in high school, but because he didn’t have a college deferment he was drafted right after graduation in 1969.

  It was good to see Hank. He still had his loveable crooked smile, but he had matured in both body and spirit. She was sure he’d grown a couple of inches, and he’d developed the brawn and stature of the man in the cigarette ads. He had, in fact, turned into a hunk.

  But the light in his eyes had faded, and his sun-parched face was drawn, appearing to reflect the pain and horrors he had seen in the jungles on the other side of the world. Somehow the angst she had suffered in her own life during the same time period seemed trivial. She made up her mind then to live each day to its fullest, and try to make the best of everything that came her way.

  ◆◆◆

  The recording session day finally arrived. After being introduced to the technician, she had spent the next two weeks rehearsing and recording. She could barely remember a time when she hadn’t hoped and prayed for this day. Melanie drove away from the studio with her demo tape next to her on the seat. She glanced over at it every few minutes, as she drove, to assure herself she hadn’t dreamed the whole thing.

  Of course, this marked only the beginning. Now the really hard work began: finding an agent. She had received the names of a few of them from the singers and musicians she’d work with, but the issue of meeting them still remained. And would one of them like her music well enough to represent her?

  She told everyone she knew, “I mailed a copy of my tape to all of the agents on my list, and now I wait.”

  Of everyone, Benny was the happiest. He had encouraged her singing from the time he’d first heard her sing in church. Until a short time ago, she had wanted to succeed the most for him. Ironically, with the state of their relationship, now she resented his enthusiasm.

  It had been over a month since Melanie sent out her demo tapes and she began to get discouraged.

  “So, have you heard from those agents you contacted?” Caroline asked her for the third time in two weeks.

  “Nope. Still waiting,” She answered each time.

  It was disappointing not to hear from at least one agent, but even harder to have to keep telling people she hadn’t.

  It helped that her busy schedule with work, singing, and the Explorers, kept her from dwelling on her disappointment.

  “Hey Mel, how about going to an early movie tonight before work?” Ted asked.It sounded harmless enough. There wouldn’t be time for a repeat performance in her bed like the last time.

  ◆◆◆

  Another two weeks passed with no response from an agent. She did however receive a call from her doctor’s office.

  “The test results are in, Miss McNeil. You’re pregnant.”

  Melanie’s insides turned to ice, and she couldn’t breathe, let alone speak.

  “Are you there, Miss McNeil?”

  “Uh, yes.”

  “Doctor will want to see you in two weeks. Please call the front desk for an appointment as soon as possible.”

  Melanie hadn’t heard exactly what the nurse said, but she croaked out, “Okay. Thank you.”

  Once reality sank in, she considered terminating the pregnancy. With Roe v. Wade having passed only a few months earlier, abortion was in the forefront of the news and of her mind. But having been raised by an Irish Catholic father and Portuguese Catholic mother, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Adoption could be the solution, she thought. She had known girls in high school who had given their babies to adoption agencies.

  Of course, she could keep the child, but it seemed almost impossible without her father’s financial help. She knew if she stayed with him she had to finally face her suspicions head on. Her father had no alibi for the night of Enzo’s death, and she had witnessed his capacity for violence first hand. There was no way she would bring her child up under his roof. Melanie would have some time to choose, but the fact remained, whatever her decision, she owed it to Ted to talk to him about it.

  Ted’s face glowed, as he listened to Melanie’s news later on in her room. He grabbed her by the shoulders and planted a smacking kiss on her mouth. “This is wonderful. When?”

  “Next spring. But we need to make some decisions soon.”

  “Of course.” He sat on the couch. “Like when and where the ceremony will be.”

  “But Ted, I’m not sure I want to get married.”

  “What?”

  “There are other alternatives, you know.”

  He tensed up. “Abortion?”

  “No, but we could consider adoption.”

  His eyes dropped. “You want to give our child to strangers?”

  “It would be a way to move forward with our plans after the pregnancy.”

  “But we could do it as a family.”

  “That might work for you. You’ll continue to do police work. Your career won’t miss a beat. But what about mine? My dream?”

  Ted took her hands in his. “We can make that work, too.”

  Melanie tried hard to choose her words with care. “Ted, I care a lot for you. You’ve been my rock after Enzo died, but I can’t say I’m in love with you.”

  He wrapped his arms around her. “I love you enough for both us. And our love for the baby will bring us closer than ever.”

  Ted’s profession of love and the reassurance she could continue her own career wooed her into marrying him. But the prospect of having a permanent sanctuary away from Benny was what clinched the deal.

  ◆◆◆

  Their wedding took place on a chilly day in November at the “Wayfarers Chapel,” an historic glass church on the cliffs above Palos Verdes. Melanie would’ve been happy with a weekend wedding in Las Vegas, but Ted was able to book the church during the off-season for a reasonable price. Despite the small and simple affair, he wanted to have a “real” wedding with the bride and groom in traditional garb. Most attendees were friends from the police department and McNeil’s Pub, where the reception took place.

  The newlyweds moved into a small apartment in neighboring Torrance. Soon after, Ted was promoted to a training officer and transferred to night watch, working patrol from four to midnight. Her morning watch shift, from midnight to eight, made it difficult for them to be together. They found themselves exchanging quick kisses in the property room on their way in and out of the station.

  “Hey Mel, I miss ya,” Ted said after one particularly hectic week. “How about cutting back on the singing jobs for a while?”

  “Ted, it won’t be long before I’m too big to perform. I need to do it as long as I can.”

  “Well I’d like to meet my wife in our bed occasionally instead of this room.”

  ◆◆◆

  By the e
nd of February 1974, Melanie had to stop booking singing gigs. She did continue working at the station, but switched to night watch to be on the same schedule as Ted. That pleased him, but the reality was even though his patrol hours were four to midnight, he had to testify in court in downtown LA at 8:00 a.m. on an average of three times a week. So, with the exception of the weekends, they were back to meeting in the property room. One of those times he had news.

  “Mel, my promotion to senior lead officer finally came through. I showed up on the transfer list to Newton Division, and I report at the beginning of the next deployment period.”

  “Oh that will work out good, since I start my pregnancy leave next month. The loss of my paycheck won’t hurt our bank account as much.”

  Ted worked night watch at Newton Division, located northeast of San Pedro in south-central LA. Gangs ran rampant in this area and made up the majority of Ted’s arrests. His phone calls at end of watch to Melanie became more frequent as time went on.

  “Hey honey, how are you and the baby doing?”

  “We’re okay. How late do you expect to be tonight?”

  “We just booked a couple of women for dope, but we have to transport them to Sybil Brand Jail. So, I’ll be pretty late. Don’t wait up.”

  “Oh, I won’t,” Melanie said. She tried to believe him, but she’d overheard that line from officers talking to their wives at Harbor Station many times, when she knew they were end of watch and off to a bar with their buddies.

  Ted said, “See you in the morning. Love you.”

  Melanie hung up the phone, studied the small apartment and shook her head. How did I end up here? She asked herself. I was on my way to the career of my dreams. Instead I sit here alone with Ted’s child in my belly.

  ◆◆◆

  With Ted away so much of the time, and with no word from a music agent, Melanie reached out more to her friend, Karen. She stopped by a club one night to watch Karen perform with the old band. It was great seeing everyone, but she soon found herself wishing she was on the stage.