Secrets of Spain Trilogy

by Caroline Angus Baker

  “What are you going to do, Hector?” Cayetano said as he sat down in an outdoor chair in the sun, next to the journalist. “Will you start without me?”

  Hector walked past his cousin and rubbed his face. “I’ll tidy your makeup, shall I? You have lipstick on your cheek.”

  “Only my cheek? That’s lucky.” Cayetano watched Luna try not to laugh as she headed in the direction of the boys, who played among the trees of the lush green yard. “You need to comb Luna’s hair again, too.”

  “I know what you’ve been doing,” Hector said under his breath.

  “I don’t care,” Cayetano mumbled back to his cousin as he patted powder on his cheek.

  “I have just a few more questions,” said the journalist, Abril. She was a plain-looking woman in her thirties, but she giggled like a schoolgirl. Luna had already teased Cayetano that Abril had a crush on him. “We’ve covered the upcoming wedding, your upcoming fights, your life… would it be possible to take a few photos with the kids?”

  “No,” Luna said as she climbed the wooden steps up back onto the balcony.

  “It was worth a try,” Abril replied and tapped her pen on her notepad. “I was watching your father and grandfather, Cayetano, talking to Gilberto, that documentary director. He said you don’t let him film the kids either.”

  “Sorry, but no,” Luna repeated as Hector ran a comb through her styled curls. He had a can of hairspray so powerful that her hair moved like a helmet. Luna noticed Gilberto had reappeared; he had also filmed a few bits and pieces while they posed for photos. The man had an uncanny ability to blend in and record what he wanted.

  “Do you believe in love at first sight, Luna?” Abril asked.

  “Yes, though it’s a force that needs to be wielded with great care.”

  “So when did you fell in love with Cayetano?”

  Cayetano watched Luna sigh. The rumours of the pair having an affair while he was married to María still bothered her. Keeping his divorce a secret had come back to haunt Luna. “I fell in love with Luna last August, on the day we met,” Cayetano replied for her. “Since María and I had only been apart for eight months, I wasn’t prepared to meet my new love. I think it took longer for Luna to realise how much she loved me.”

  “Was the proposal in Valencia’s Plaza de la Virgen spontaneous, as stated? It couldn’t have been more perfect,” Abril asked.

  “Very spontaneous! I had been in Italy for three weeks and had no idea what Cayetano was planning. The only contact I had with the Beltrán’s during that time was a package from Paco,” Luna said.

  “So you were a part of the family already?”

  “Paco was helping me search for my grandfather at the time.”

  “I have a few questions about that,” Gilberto said.

  “How about I work with you then, Gilberto,” Luna replied and jumped up from her chair. She couldn’t take any more questions about her private life. “I’m sure Cayetano can answer everything Abril needs to know.”

  Cayetano grabbed Luna’s hand and kissed it. She would be much happier discussing the civil war with Gilberto than personal questions with Abril.

  “The perils of being in a high profile relationship,” Abril mused. “Everyone wants to talk to you, Luna. Though, I suppose you’re used to it – you went from cycling royalty to bullfighting royalty. We need to interview you on how to land a famous husband.”

  “I would be ashamed to be involved in anything of the sort.” Luna gestured for Gilberto to follow, and they headed around the side of the house, nearer to where the children played.

  “I take it you’re sick of questions for the day,” Gilberto said with a chuckle.

  “Only stupid questions.” Luna sat down on the edge of the step and squinted in the bright sunshine, to see her children climbing a tree. Inés stood close by, hovering like a paranoid grandmother.

  Gilberto sat down next to her and put his camera out of the way. “I can wait.”

  “No, I need to go back to Valencia later, so I don’t have time.”

  Gilberto glanced over his shoulder. “I did an interview with José.”

  Luna sniggered. “I bet that was illuminating.”

  “It was; I mentioned I wanted to ask you about your grandfather dying during the war, and he gave me an evil look.”

  “He doesn’t like me digging up old details.”

  “Lots of people don’t like that. I’m looking for my grandfather at the moment.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “He died in Badajoz during the war. Got marched off from home one evening and was never seen again. My grandmother kept going to the prison to see if she could visit him, but we know what really happened.”

  Luna cringed. Badajoz was legendary for having scores of innocent people marched to the bullring, then lined up and shot by Franco’s forces. They said the blood surrounding the bodies was ankle deep in the ring. They were all dumped in mass graves outside the town and left there. “Any luck in finding him?”

  “I have had a DNA sample taken, and every time they start working on a mass grave, I hope for something. Nothing yet.”

  “I met Jorge Arias Solana from the historical memory association a few days ago, at a protest in Puerta del Sol. I’m in need of his assistance.”

  “Are you looking for someone else?”

  “Escondrijo, the land I own outside Valencia, has a grave on site. I don’t know if it’s civil war era or not, but he is going to come and help me.”

  “How many bodies? Do you know?”

  “I’ve already found two skulls, and Cayetano and I are being very cautious about their care. I want them returned to their families, and I want to know what went on out there.”

  “I can’t blame you for that. That could be a mammoth story; if Cayetano was the poster face for the digging up of graves, the process could become more mainstream.”

  “You mean use his voice for more than glossy magazines and bullfighting promotion?” Luna joked. “No, I plan on keeping this ultra-quiet. The grave could be something simple, like a grave site for those who once owned the property. But what if it’s something worse, something war related? Or even in regards to the murders in the 1940’s as the anti-Franco supporters were flushed out and killed.”

  “It’s an expensive process. They are fundraising to open new gravesites in Badajoz, and they need €65,000.”

  “I’m in a position to cover the costs. People can’t just be dumped in shallow graves in the Valencian hills. People can’t expect to get away with a crime like that. No matter what happened, I want the grave checked, and the situation resolved. I’m not going to leave it alone. The Porta Coeli monastery is nearby, and it was a concentration camp until 1956. Many people ‘disappeared’ from there, so who knows what I’ll find.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” José cried behind the pair.

  Luna glanced up and saw the old man look down at her and Gilberto with a fierce expression. “We’re discussing war graves…”

  “Why can’t you leave things alone, Luna?” José boomed.

  “Because there are bodies on my land and I want to do something about it.”

  “Where? Escondrijo? Can’t you just leave the area alone? Besides, Porta Coeli is miles away from the area around Escondrijo. It was all dirt roads there last time I checked… so why would people be dumping bodies out there?”

  “So they don’t get caught,” Luna replied. “When did you ever go out into the hills?”

  “I just heard about the place from others. Dios, mujer, leave dead people alone!”

  “What’s going on?” Paco stepped through the wide glass bi-fold doors that led into the kitchen behind them.

  Luna stood up, not intimidated by José. “It looks as if I’m stepping out of line.”

  “Why does Cayetano put up with you?” José replied.

  “Because I haven’t done anything wrong!”

  Paco glanced around to Gilberto. “Can you excuse us?�
��

  The journalist slunk away, disappointed he couldn’t be part of the family argument. Luna watched the man retreat in Cayetano’s direction around the house. On the lawn, the conversation caught Inés’ interest, but Giacomo and Enzo remained oblivious.

  “I have a problem at Escondrijo,” Luna said to Paco. “There is a mass grave on the land. Caya and I found it a few months ago. I am looking to identifying the remains and have them buried.”

  “It’s a farmhouse that once would have been isolated from the nearest villages. It makes sense it could have a little gravesite,” Paco reasoned.

  “Exactly,” José barked.

  “And if tests show that, then I am happy to go along with whatever the legal protocol is,” Luna replied. “But we already know the house has certain bodies buried on the land; bodies who shouldn’t be there.”

  José moved uncomfortably on his feet. “I can’t believe Cayetano would do something like this. He should know better than to get involved in such ridiculous things.”

  “What have I done?” They heard the sound of Cayetano’s voice. “Gilberto just told me that you’re all having an argument, and I needed to get round here.”

  “José overheard me telling Gilberto about the bodies at Escondrijo,” Luna said with a sigh.

  “Oh yes, that.” Cayetano took a deep breath. “Well, don’t worry about it. Those people can rest in peace.”

  “According to Luna, you’re having the historical memory association dig them up!” José cried. He waved his hands in the air, and almost hit Luna in the face.

  “No, we’re not,” Cayetano scoffed.

  “Luna has been meeting men behind your back to discuss it.”

  Cayetano looked at Luna. “What?”

  “I met the association leader in Madrid. I was going to tell you, but then it got overshadowed by your Fine Arts medal announcement.”

  “So when you told me you were quitting work, that you wanted to concentrate on having a family with me, you meant you want to dig up dead people?”

  Luna shook her head. “This is all being blown out of proportion. Can we discuss this in private?”

  “No, you owe all of us an explanation,” José said, his voice louder with every word.

  “No, I don’t owe any of you anything,” Luna replied. “I don’t have to do anything for anyone. Why are you so bothered, José? Why do you care about a group of bodies that are buried hundreds of kilometres from your home? What difference does it make? What do you know about the whole situation?”

  “I… I don’t approve.”

  “Oh, in that case, I should just roll over and obey!” Luna said sarcastically.

  “What if Alejandro Beltrán, Paco’s real father, who gave you the farm, was a murderer and dumped bodies there?” José challenged.

  “Oh, please, that’s not possible.”

  “He did murder Cayetano Ortega, in cold blood,” Cayetano reasoned. “He murdered your grandfather.”

  “Thanks for backing me up,” Luna replied.

  “We don’t need Gilberto thinking we are an angry family,” Cayetano said. “Can we calm down a little? It’s bad enough we have to lie and hide the fact Rebelión is going bankrupt, let’s not have to hide even more from him.”

  “Plus my children don’t need to see us arguing,” Luna added.

  “You will cause a huge amount of trouble the moment you start pulling bodies from the earth,” José said.

  “Paco, help me,” Luna muttered.

  “This has to stop,” Paco answered.

  “All she does is cause trouble,” José said and stormed off, and Paco followed him.

  “Holy shit,” Luna uttered as she sunk her head in her hands. “That came out wrong.”

  “What the hell were you doing, telling Gilberto about Escondrijo?” Cayetano demanded.

  “He is looking for his grandfather in Badajoz! He was telling me what he knows about the process of digging.”

  “And what have you done behind my back?”

  Luna looked up, to see an angry expression staring back. “I haven’t done anything behind your back. I decided to deal with my farm my way. I met Jorge Arias in Madrid, and he can help me. All he will do is take a bone and test it for its age then we decide what to do from there. It’s not a massive deal. I don’t know why José freaked out at me.”

  “You know I don’t want to get caught up in all that drama.”

  “It’s not about you, Caya.” Luna folded her arms. She glanced to see the children coming in her direction. “It’s time for us to go back to Valencia.”

  Cayetano watched the boys jump up the steps to their mother, and decided to change the subject. “I just got an invite for us both to a fashion launch on Thursday, here in Madrid.”

  “I can’t go; we need to go back to real life. Go on your own.”

  “My own? Again?”

  “It’s so superficial, Caya,” Luna sighed. “I feel so stupid for going along with today now, let alone anything else.”

  “You weren’t complaining half an hour ago.”

  Luna glanced at the boys and then shot a look back at her fiancé. “Don’t start with me. If all this stupid publicity shit is finished, I can go home.”

  “You’re causing trouble.”

  “It’s time to go home,” Luna said with a forced smile to her sons. She guided them inside and turned back to Cayetano. “You’re going to regret that comment, maybe not now, but one day.”

  25

  Valencia, España ~ Mayo de 2010

  Luna leaned against the doorway to Giacomo and Enzo’s classroom and smiled. She loved hearing them speak fluently in Spanish to their little friends. The teacher glanced over at Luna and nodded hello; earlier in the week the horrid woman had given Luna a lecture on keeping them off school. Once the new year started, Luna planned to move them to a new private school that taught in English as well as Valencian and Spanish.

  Luna glanced at her watch; she had to leave. Jorge Arias would be on his way to Escondrijo to do bone testing, and she had to race to meet him there. Her phone beeped in her pocket as she stepped outside the school, and she glanced at it. Cayetano.

  ‘I missed you with me at the fashion launch last night. I’m coming to Valencia to see you today’

  Luna rolled her eyes. They had barely spoken all week after the awkward outburst at Rebelión. Now Cayetano decided to turn up on the day she had the bone testing to do? Terrific. He had no idea she had gone ahead with booking Jorge’s expertise.

  Luna wandered around the corner onto a narrow side street where she had parked her little Peugeot. She fumbled for her keys in her pocket, unaware of the presence behind her.

  “Lulu.”

  Luna spun around to see Darren, the only other person on the quiet lane. “Why are you here?” she squinted.

  “You won’t return my calls, and you never seem to be home.”

  “I’ve been in Madrid, or up at Escondrijo while the boys are in class. I don’t work for you anymore so I can do whatever suits me.”

  “Why won’t you talk to me? I’ve had to stand outside the school all week in the hope of seeing you. I feel like a…”

  “Pervert?”

  “Stalker.”

  “I don’t have anything to say, Darren. Besides, if I felt ready to talk to you, do you think I would stand outside my children’s school and listen to you justify your drug use? Or my husband’s drug use? Or the litany of lies you’ve told me over the years?”

  “We could go somewhere to talk.”

  Just the thought of discussing the painful shadow that had been cast over her life made Luna’s heart pound. Tears already started to form. “I’ll never be ready discuss it. Ever.”

  “Don’t you have questions?”

  “Thousands of questions,” she said through gritted teeth. “The problem is the asshole who lied to me is dead, and I can’t trust anything you say anymore. I hate you and what you’ve done. I want no part of anything you do. There is a n
ew breed of cyclists on the road now, young and untainted by the shit you all used in cheap hotels all over Europe. I won’t help you hold on to your career. One day, you’ll be exposed for what you’ve done, and you’ll be nothing but a paragraph in a newspaper, a cheat who no one cares about, Darren.”

  Darren folded his arms over his chest. “Are you threatening to tell people about my drug use?”

  “Perhaps you should be exposed, along with Tomás for hiding your secret now. I should write my own damn book exposing the lot of you!”

  “If you do…”

  “What?” Luna challenged him with a smile. “What are you going to do, Darren?”

  Darren’s eyes narrowed so much Luna barely made eye contact with him. “You’re not going to ruin this for me. This my year to win the Tour de France. Don’t make me do something I might regret.”

  Luna glanced at her watch again. “I have a meeting to attend, and it’s more valuable than your ego. Stop hanging around my sons’ school, Darren, or I’ll have you reported as a weirdo who watches kids outside their school.”

  “This isn’t finished. We aren’t done, Lulu.”

  Luna pulled her car door open. “I’m done. I have a life to get on with, even if you’re stuck on past mistakes.”

  Luna started her car and glanced at Darren in the rear-view mirror. She wouldn’t cry any more tears over that sorry incident. Spain had secrets of explore, although being threatened by someone she used to love wouldn’t just go away.

  ~~~

  The narrow winding road took Luna up the mountain into the Sierra Calderona, through the little towns of Náquera and Serra before she veered off the main road west towards Rebalsadors mountain. The limestone earth bumped and jolted the car as she crept along the rough driveway up to the stone masía of Escondrijo. A car sat parked out the front, but it wasn’t Jorge Arias. She recognised the vehicle from Rebelión.

  A handsome face appeared from around the side of the house, complete with a cheeky smile. Cayetano’s cousin Miguel. He opened Luna’s door as she cut the engine.

  “Luna, what a surprise,” he said as she stepped from the car.