Secrets of Innocence

by V.

  “Congratulations,” Conrad said. “We wish you as much happiness and love in your marriage as we have found in ours.”

  As each finished their glass, Daniel refilled it. “I’m not sure the appetizer I prepared goes well with champagne, so I’ve opened a nice bottle of red wine from Rioja, if you’d like to switch.”

  “How about both?” Conrad suggested with a grin.

  “To friendship,” Elisabeth toasted. “To Sarah and Conrad, the best friends in the world.”

  “Hear, hear,” Daniel said, holding out his glass to each of the others.

  “So the town you lived in is called Charlevoix?” Sarah asked.

  “Yes, it’s a small town between Lake Michigan and the western end of Lake Charlevoix. Alexander changed the name to Amaray, to avoid any recognition or embarrassment.”

  “But he used everyone’s real names.”

  “I assume he felt that by locating the story in a make-believe town the connection wouldn’t be made. Anyway, if you’ll go into the living room, I’ll join you there in a minute.”

  They settled around the living room table as Daniel returned with the mushrooms on alioli tapa, saying, “I used your recipe for baguettes, Sarah. It’s a good one.”

  “Thank you, Daniel, but the real credit goes to my mother and my nana.” She took a bite. “Oh my goodness, I love the flavor, and the bread didn’t get soggy. How did you do that?”

  “Ah, that’s because the alioli prevents it from seeping into the bread.”

  “These two are going to be impossible together,” Elisabeth teased Conrad.

  “As long as they keep making great food, it’s okay with me. So, how did you become a chef, Daniel? Despite everything we’ve learned about you that question hasn’t been answered.”

  “Well, after my father’s death, I needed to get as far away from home as I could, so I enlisted in the Navy. I figured that traveling the world was as good a way as any to help me forget. Anyway, my first job turned out to be in the kitchen. I had a knack for it, especially baking, thanks to my mom. We were deployed in Asia for a while, and with every shore leave, I made it a point to learn about their different foods. Then I lucked out and ended up in Europe for a while. When my last tour ended, I headed directly for Spain and stepped in as sous-chef for a well-known restaurant in Madrid. By then I knew that the kitchen was the place for me and that the more I learned the better things would get. So I tried my hand in Italy, Argentina, and, after that, Mexico. One way or another, I always managed to land a job with the best chefs. After a few years I made my way to Paris and eventually started my own restaurant. Somehow, I seemed to always be in the right place at the right time. Things always worked out for me.”

  “Alexander,” Sarah said.

  Daniel gave her a puzzled look.

  “He told me he kept a watchful eye over you. He followed your every move. He looked after you, and when you repeatedly turned him down, he decided to help you from afar.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Why did you refuse to have anything to do with him?” Elisabeth asked.

  He considered for a moment. “I blamed him for my father’s death,” he said.

  “How? Why?” she asked.

  Daniel glanced at Sarah and Conrad and back at Elisabeth. “Might as well jump right into it, I guess.” He gulped down his glass of champagne in an attempt to bolster his courage. “Remember Mrs. Foster?” he asked his new fiance.

  “Humph. Do I ever. She’s unforgettable.”

  “Yeah. Well, the fact is that she seduced me that summer. That’s why I couldn’t bring myself to be with you when you returned from visiting your grandmother. I was ashamed. It happened while you were gone.”

  “She forced you to have sex with her?”

  He shook his head. “No, I did it more than willingly.. .encouraged by Alexander.”

  “But you were fifteen,” Elisabeth protested. “How could she do that to you? And how could he spur you on?”

  “Well, they both did. But that’s not the worst of it.” Daniel hesitated before continuing. “That summer I discovered that my father was sleeping with her, too. We shared the same mistress. I felt betrayed by both of them.”

  Stunned, Elisabeth reached for Daniel’s hand. “Oh my God, Danny. How awful!”

  He cleared his throat before going on. “Alexander suggested that I needed to.confront them. So I did. My father killed himself the next day.” After a couple of deep breaths to regain his composure, Daniel continued. “I was devastated. I blamed Alexander for everything, for losing you, for ruining my life. I was convinced that I’d caused my father’s death.”

  “My God.” Elisabeth embraced Daniel as tears streaked down her cheeks. She kissed him softly. “How much you’ve suffered.”

  “It’s all in the past,” Daniel said, kissing away Elisabeth’s tears.

  “You never knew that Alexander kept tabs on you?” Sarah asked.

  “No. Never. But now that you mention it, I wonder—” he paused.

  “What?” Elisabeth asked.

  “Shortly after my father’s death, my mother received a letter from a legal firm in Chicago stating that my father had left a trust for us. It didn’t sound like something Dad would do. He didn’t have any money to speak of, so for us to get a significant monthly check from a trust felt pretty extravagant. But the money came regularly. We kept waiting for it to dry up, or for the lawyers to realize it was a mistake, but the checks kept coming until my mother passed on.”

  “Did they come from Alexander?” Elisabeth asked.

  “It’s not impossible from the sound of it,” Conrad said. He turned to Daniel. “If you set your mind to it, I’m sure you’ll be able to find out. After all, you now have control over the estate and all of Alexander’s affairs.”

  “I might do that,” Daniel said softly.

  “What about your mother? Did she find out about Mrs. Foster and your father?” Elisabeth asked.

  “Never. After I enlisted, she left Charlevoix and bought a small home in Saint Joseph where she’d grown up. Thanks to the money from the trust, she enjoyed a comfortable life. She volunteered for several organizations and had many friends. She loved to travel, and once my tour of duty ended, she’d visit me for long periods of time. Paris, of course, was her favorite. Several years ago she died peacefully in her sleep. She was home with me when it happened. I was very thankful for that.”

  “I’m glad she never found out,” Elisabeth said as she kissed Daniel on the cheek.

  “So am I.”

  “And your feelings toward Alexander now?”

  “I’m at peace with him, Sarah. Since I moved in here, I’ve gotten a sense of his devotion to me. It’s clear that he felt guilty about what had transpired between us. After reading the screenplay and the book, I understand not only what happened that year but Alexander himself. I have no resentment whatsoever. Actually, I’m quite moved by what he did and who he was. I regained my appreciation for the man who wrote Rainbow and what that book meant to me.”

  “Is he here now?” Elisabeth looked around the room.

  “No,” Sarah said with ease. “I haven’t felt his presence since we left the mine. He needed to make sure that you were safe before moving on. Your wellbeing had been such an important part of his life that he couldn’t leave until he knew you were all right.”

  “So he’s gone now?” Elisabeth asked shyly. “Really gone?”

  Sarah smiled. “Yes, he is.”

  “I’m glad. I couldn’t live with him hovering over Danny day in and day out. Yikes!”

  “I propose a toast.” Conrad raised his glass. “To the long-awaited happiness and love of Ellie and Danny.”

  “And to Alexander who made it possible. May he rest in peace,” Daniel added.

  “To Alexander!” They said in unison.

  “Sarah,” Elisabeth asked, “when did you realize that I was Ellie and he was Danny?”

  “A few weeks ago when I walked into t
he library and saw Alexander’s portrait of Danny, I knew he was our Daniel. With you I sort of had a feeling, but I wasn’t sure.”

  “You recognized Danny from the painting? How?”

  “The movie that Alexander played in my mind.”

  “Wow,” Elisabeth gasped. “He played you the movie, and you saw us the way we all looked in 1976?”

  “I did.”

  “That’s not all,” Conrad added. “She’s seen my grandmother in her teens, and the folks who built our houses back in the early 1800s.”

  “That’s quite a gift you have,” Elisabeth sighed. “Does it frighten you?”

  “Not anymore.”

  “Okay,” said Conrad, “I’m ready to try Daniel’s clam dish.”

  “Let’s do it, then.” Daniel rose and held out his hand for Elisabeth.

  “Can I read Alexander’s book about us?” she asked.

  “By all means.”

  “Will you ever finish writing the story?” Sarah asked.

  Daniel turned to her and winked. “I might, Sarah. I might.”

  Bonus

  Sarah’s Recipes

  Sarah uncovered her mother’s cookbook, a small three-ring binder that contained all of the recipes she’d collected over the years, a devoted collection of recipes she’d learned from Sarah’s nana—those they had advanced together as well as the many they had invented. Over the years, they had improved upon them, and as a result, most recipes had little notes here and there indicating what they had eliminated, added, or altered.

  Each handwritten note revived the memories of the two of them and the feeling that somehow they were alongside Sarah as she created each meal, baked each loaf, or crafted delicious desserts.

  Now this precious homemade compilation has Sarah’s own notes and alterations and has become a three-generation cookbook that also incorporates Daniel’s creations.

  To view Sarah’s and Daniel’s recipes, please visit our website: www.2authors.com.

  V. &. D. Povall

  A husband and wife-writing team that has authored and published nonfiction manuals and articles as well as written four short screenplays, six full-length screenplays, three women’s fiction novels, the first installment of a murder-mystery series, and a science-fiction epic.

  Between them they possess a doctorate and years of practical experience in film, theater, and television. Thanks to their rich international-family backgrounds, they bring to the page a wealth of experiences and points of view. They have lived in different cultures, are multilingual, and bring to their writing a broad understanding of human nature.

  This is the second installment in The Perils of a Reluctant Psychic suspense-mystery series. The first, which introduced Sarah and her remarkable psychic powers, was The Gift of the Twin Houses (2015).

  The third book in the series “Jackal in the Mirror " is slated for publication in 2017.

  For more information, please visit their website at www.2authors.com.