Relentless

"Okay. I'll call you tomorrow afternoon and see how things are going."

Robbie gave me a ride to the apartment and stocked up the freezer with a bunch of microwave TV dinners. I told him to get me a couple of six-packs, but all I got was some RC Cola. I could get around enough to use the bathroom and feed myself. Unfortunately, I was forced to watch the Adam Sandler filmfest all day.

Just before dark, Terry called. Noreen had been out drinking with some people that worked at National Consolidated. I thought that this was interesting since I didn't work there anymore. I had no idea that she had any friends of her own that worked there, other than Dirk. They were just starting to party pretty good when the police showed up and arrested Dirk. Noreen got extremely upset and started drinking more than usual. At closing time, she refused to call a cab or let anyone else drive her home. Terry could not find out why Dirk had been arrested or why Noreen went bananas when it happened.

We talked for a few more minutes. Terry was glad to hear that I was home and that I was taking care of myself. They wanted to come up to see me, but didn't have a car. Sarah had bailed my wife out, but Noreen didn't come home. Terry gave me Sarah's phone number.

"Sarah, It's John. What the hell is going on?"

"Your wife is a mess, John, and it is all your damn fault."

"Whoa. Hold up a minute Sarah. Why is this all my fault?"

"You left her, that's why. You left her with three kids and just ran off. Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Aw, come on, Sarah. You know me better than that. Why would I just get up one morning, quit my job, and leave my wife and kids? Does that make any sense to you?"

"Noreen said that you were fired and that you were taking it out on her."

"Did she say why I got fired?"

"She said that you beat up a guy at work because she danced with him at a company party."

"Sarah. She didn't dance with him: she screwed him. Right at the party. Did she tell you that?"

There was a short pause. "No. She didn't tell me anything like that."

"I didn't hit the guy for dancing with your sister. I hit him because he fucked her and then bragged about it to everyone in the damn company. She even gave him her panties as a token of her appreciation."

There was no response from the other end.

"Did she say why her boyfriend had gotten arrested last night?"

"No, but she indicated that you had something to do with it."

Our conversation was interrupted by a knock on the apartment door.

"Sarah, I have to go. I'll call you tomorrow."

The policeman at my door was one ugly dude and he was also my brother-in-law.

"Come on in Toby. It's always good to see family. Do you want a beer? "

"Sure, anything cold is okay."

There was a cold Fosters hidden behind all the cola that Robbie had brought. I had an RC because of the pain pills.

"John, we got the guy that set you up down at the station. The two guys he hired to clobber you were more than happy to roll on him."

"I assume it was Dirk Franklin?"

"That's right. I guess you know him?"

"He has been messing around with Noreen. I tried to convince him to stop, but I guess he wasn't inclined that way."

"He has admitted to everything, so it will save us the expense and trouble of a trial. The judge will be sentencing him and his two buddies on Friday. I am not sure, but I am guessing he will get two to three years, probably right here in the county jail."

"That is good news."

Toby couldn't help snickering. "You are going to get some payback, aren't you, John?"

"With the help from a few friends, I hope so."

"You aren't going to get me in any trouble are you?"

"It sounds like you are volunteering to help, Toby."

"You would read it that way. I got to go. If you want to talk to this guy, he will be in the city lockup until the sentencing."

"I'll stop by tomorrow morning. By the way, how is Sally? Are you taking care of my sister?"

"I think it is the other way around. She is taking care of me. "

The hardest part of getting to the police station was getting in and out of the truck. I didn't know which was worse: being trussed up like a mummy or not being able to bend my body. Dirk had a big smirk on his face when I entered the room.

"Looks like you are hurting a little there Mister Esterly. Did you trip on a tree branch?"

He seemed to enjoy the grimace on my face as I sat down.

"Welcome to Schuylkill County, Dirk. This is my turf and I am going to see to it that you enjoy yourself while you are here."

"I don't think so, John. I will be leaving here on Friday for a short vacation."

"Was it worth it?"

"Not for the pussy, but it was to see you wrapped up like a turkey. Looks like you lost your job and your wife. Was it worth it to you?"

"I don't understand the question. I never did anything to you that you didn't deserve."

"You should have just left it alone. I was the better man, and I still am."

"I guess my wife felt that way too. Well, she is all yours now. I hope that you enjoy her."

"Oh, I will. By the way, I enjoyed her three times since you left. One time, it was in your bed at home while the kids were at school. You really pissed her off when you served her with the divorce papers."

The son-of-a-bitch was doing his best to aggravate me. If the judge decided to let him serve his time at a state prison, I would have a harder time paying him back.

The District Attorney's office was on the third floor and the old courthouse building didn't have an elevator. Not exactly wheelchair accessible. It seems like one of the do-gooder organizations would have taken care of that by now.

"John Esterly. I heard that you were back in town."

Elizabeth Vargas graduated at the head of our high school class. She went to Penn State on a full scholarship and ended up with a law degree. She married the captain of the football team, who was the only guy in our class to go to the US Air Force Academy. It was a perfect match, except Captain Phillip Vargas went and got himself killed in an automobile accident before they were married ten years.

The next five minutes were filled with chatter about the good old times. I felt awkward talking to her. She was one of the elite crowd and I was one of the background players. I smiled and tried to be polite. I was looking for a graceful way out.

"Well, it has been nice talking with you Elizabeth. I recently moved back to town and heard that you were working here and I just wanted to say hello." With a sheepish smile I stood up to leave.

"Sit down John." The polite chit-chat was over. "You are here about Dirk Franklin, aren't you?"

"Yes, but when I saw you here, I decided that it was not a good idea." I felt like a beached whale trying to get back into the water.

"I was assigned the case, John, so I know a little bit about what is going on. It is cut and dry. He is going to jail. What did you want to talk about?"

"I guess that was it. I just wanted to make sure that he got what was coming to him."

Elizabeth Vargas leaned back in her chair and smiled at me. It was sort of funny, because you usually envision big burly guys doing that.

"You are starting to piss me off, John. I don't like that."

I found myself fiddling with my fingers and staring at the floor. This was a problem that I didn't feel comfortable discussing with a woman, especially one like Elizabeth. She wasn't going to let go of it.

"Dirk Franklin hurt me pretty bad. Because of him, I lost my job, my wife, and my children. I just wanted to see to it that his incarceration time was not a vacation."

"Do you want him to stay in county or go to state?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"I can't keep him over two years at county. If I give him more than that, I can send him to one of the state facilities."

She noticed me smile. "I think two years right here would be fine."

With a little effort, I stood up again. This time she didn't stop me, but as I turned, she said. "John, can you meet me for lunch at Screpsi's about noon?"

I nodded, and when I gave her another small smile, she smiled back. It might be an interesting lunch.

I did a little shopping after I left the courthouse. I got a nice shirt and a new pair of dress pants. All I had previously brought with me were work clothes. I also got a case of beer. I decided that if I had to make a choice between pills and beer, the beer would win.

I wasn't sure if lunch would be business or pleasure. It was the latter.

Elizabeth moved back home after Phillip was killed. It appeared that she was getting some sort of government compensation, but still needed to work. She had a sixteen year old son, Phillip Junior, who she referred to as "Twoey". After he was born, they decided that they didn't want to call him Junior or Phillip, so they settled on Twoey. It was difficult to get much personal information from her without seeming to pry, so I just let her tell me what she wanted me to know. I didn't say anything at all about my situation, because I was afraid of coming across as a wimp. At the present time, my self-esteem was a little low, so I felt a strong need for protection.

Before Elizabeth left to go back to work, she told me not to worry about the upcoming sentencing.

The smile on my face quickly faded when I arrived home. My three kids were sitting on the porch with suitcases and duffle bags.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?"

Nobody wanted to answer me.

"How did you find out where I was living?"

Brian decided to break the ice. "Uncle Robbie gave us the address."

"I don't see a car. How did you get here?"

"Aunt Sarah brought us, but she couldn't stay." Brian stood up as I reached the porch.

"Get that case of beer out of the car, will yah? It is a pain for me to lift it."

Terry helped me into the house. It really wasn't necessary, but I could understand why it looked like I needed help. Brian put the beer in the kitchen and Sal-Sal got everyone a cold RC. I didn't know how long they were out there before I got back.

"And just why did Aunt Sarah drive you all up here?"

"She said it was the best thing to do under the circumstances." Brian was still doing the talking. He was answering my questions, but I still wasn't learning anything.

I took a big swig of soda and wished I had bought cold instead of instead of warm beer. "What circumstances?"

Brian didn't want to answer. The three of them sat there looking at each other. Finally, Terry spoke. "Sal-Sal came home from school early a couple of days ago and saw mom having sex with some guy in your bedroom."

"Great! Just frappin great! Did she know who the guy was?" Sal-Sal was sitting right there. I could have asked her directly, but somehow it didn't seem right.

"She didn't know his name, but said it was a guy that you worked with."

I looked over at my youngest daughter. "What did you do, Hun?"

"I watched for a couple of minutes. I have seen people having sex before on the Internet, but it is a lot different when it is your mother with a strange man. It was sort of gross. I left and went back to school."

"Did your mother know you were there?"

"I don't think so. She had her eyes closed most of the time."

In anger, I threw the empty sodacan across the room. It bounced around like a kid's toy. "Did you kids have lunch?"

"No."

"Terry, how about ordering us a couple of pizzas?"

While the kids were getting their stuff put away, I called my lawyer and instructed him to redo the divorce papers so that I would get full custody. It was a long-shot, but I decided to go for it. I followed that up with a call to Sarah. She was no longer talking to her sister and did not support her in any manner. When the kids called her for help, she insisted that they come to stay with me, and even volunteered to drive them. It felt good to have an ally of sorts. Sarah had already told Noreen where the kids were, and why.

The pizza turned out to be an early supper. We talked a while about other things, and then they all left me alone while they went to bed. I found another cold Foster's in the back of the fridge. The new ones were cool, but cold is better. I took a pain pill with the beer, hoping that it would knock me out. It worked.

Friday came and the sentences were pronounced. Dirk only got a year, but he would have to serve it in the county jail. He would probably be out in six months. Normally that would be a good thing, but not in Dirk's case. His two goons got six months, minus time served. Sometimes, I don't understand the justice system, but I was pleased with the outcome overall.

Saturday was busy. The entire day was spent getting the kids settled in. Although they brought a lot of stuff with them, each of them realized that they had forgotten things as the day went on. An afternoon trip to Walmart hit my wallet pretty hard, but it was necessary. By the end of the day, things had normalized as much as possible. Nobody seemed to be missing Noreen. After we got home, I realized that I was running out of the pain pills, so I started increasing my beer consumption. I wasn't planning on driving or running any heavy equipment.

I was trying to get the cobwebs out of my head the next morning, when I heard Toby talking with the kids. I pulled on my jeans, but instead of a pain pill, I just popped two aspirins. I had to wean myself eventually.

My entrance into the kitchen was met with a good bit of razzing. I got little sympathy from my family for my afflictions. The consensus seemed to be that I was guzzling the beer because I wanted to, not because I had to. They were correct of course.

Terry poured me a hot cup of coffee as I plopped down at the table, and then all three kids wandered off as if they knew that Toby and I had to talk.

"We got a small problem, John."

I had just gotten used to the fact that everything was settled and Toby had to hit me with something new. I tried to take a swig of the black coffee, but it was too hot. I put the mug down on the table with a sigh.

"Okay, Toby. Hit me. What is the new dilemma?"

"Saturday morning, the guards found Dirk Franklin in the laundry room at the prison. Somebody beat the crap out of him. In addition to a smashed up face, he had several broken ribs and other internal injuries that we were not able to diagnose. This kind of thing doesn't happen at our place too often."

"Wow. It sure didn't take him long to piss off his new friends."

"We don't think it was anybody new."

Toby noticed me smiling as I tried another sip of my morning brew. It was still hot, but better.

"It seemed that somebody let it slip that Dirk had rolled over on his hired help in order to get a break on his sentence. Even though his goons got less time than he did, they were not really pleased with the news. We don't have any proof that they did it, and to be honest with you, there is not a whole lot of interest in pursuing the matter."

I got up and refilled Toby's cup. He noticed that I was still smiling.

"That's the good part, John."

The coffee was perfect now, but the grin on my face had vanished.

"They had to transport Dirk to the hospital in Allentown. There was a guard on him, but sometime last night Dirk disappeared. Nobody knows when or how. The staff did not think that he would be able to leave on his own, but it appears that they were wrong."

I never finished the coffee. I just got up and poured it down the sink. Toby sat quietly as I stood there looking out of the kitchen window. There was no view to see, just the brick wall of the house next store. It didn't matter what I was looking at. I never really felt threatened by Dirk, but the thought of him walking free irritated me. After a few moments I heard my brother-in-law get out of his chair.

"John, I'll keep you posted on what is going on. If I hear anything at all, I'll let you know."

I was still staring at that brick wall, as I heard the back door close.

"Dad, do you want me to scramble you a couple of eggs?"

"That would be great, Terry. Let me take a quick shower first."

That afternoon, I called Sarah. She had not heard from Noreen and had no idea where she might be. I didn't know if that was good news or bad news.

Things began to normalize. My injuries healed nicely. I got a job as a claims adjuster for a small company in Tamaqua; it was an easy commute. The kids had no trouble getting settled in. We were spending more time with Elizabeth and her son. Twoey and Brian seemed to hit it off and I think I saw Terry checking him out a few times. Although most of the time I spent with Elizabeth was in open gatherings and with our respective families, we also started to have a few special dinner dates and occasional movies.

Every two weeks, I had Toby deliver a couple of cartons of cigarettes to the guys who had beaten me up. There was never any conversation between us, but there was an understanding. Toby said that they seemed to comprehend what the hell I was doing. If everything worked out as I hoped it would, it would be worth the money. Cigarettes aren't cheap anymore.

Sarah and I never heard from Noreen. Was she back with Dirk or someplace else?

And then one day, my two adversaries were unceremoniously released from confinement and promptly disappeared.

Three months later, I received notice that my divorce was final and that I had custody of Brian and Sal-Sal. Terry was no longer considered a juvenile. She was attending a dental technician school in Reading.

Elizabeth and I started spending more time together.

As all of this was going on, I still could not shake the thought that somewhere out there, Dirk Franklin was lurking around. Was he still carrying some type of grudge or had he moved on? I could never be sure and it constantly bothered me.

I got a job working for a small independent auto insurance company in Pottsville.

Six months later, Elizabeth and I were quietly married. The only stipulation to our marriage was that she keep her previous name of Vargas. She had several reasons for wanting to do this and I could not fault her about it.

Elizabeth found out that Noreen was working and living at the Salvation Army in downtown Philadelphia. Although we never actually saw her again, she did start sending birthday cards to the children.

Then I started getting the cards. They came at odd times; Flag day, Veterans day, Arbor day. They always said the same thing; "THINKING ABOUT YOU! D.F."

Of course I showed them to Elizabeth, but we never really knew what to do about them. They came from different places along the Eastern seaboard. At first I discarded them, but as more of them arrived, I became more concerned. Dirk Franklin was like a cockroach that I had no idea how to get rid of. Elizabeth did the best that she could to keep my temper under control. I appreciated her support, but felt helpless.

The card that I received about two weeks before Christmas was more ominous than the others.

"I HAVE A SPECIAL PRESENT FOR YOU. SEE YOU SOON. D.F."

Dirk had never shown any inclination to hurt any of the children, but I couldn't be sure if he was still thinking that way. I found myself constantly worrying about Elizabeth and the kids. He was gone; out of my life, and he was still making me miserable. All I could do was wait and be prepared for his arrival.

Things finally came to an end two days before Christmas.

It was a simple generic greeting card, but inside was a newspaper clipping from the Baltimore Sun.

"The body of a man identified as Dirk Franklin was found today in a burned out vehicle near the Glen Gary Brick Factory. Police were unable to determine the actual cause of death due to the condition of the body; etc. etc."

The card wasn't signed. It simply said; "THANKS FOR THE CIGARETTES!"