"Security reasons? Why? What's in there?" Johanna asked, watching Sarah unlock the doors. The doors opened with ease.
Johanna peeked into the dark, cavernous space, seeing a set of stairs that led down.
"You want me to go in there?" Johanna asked, but it was too late. Sarah was already walking back to the other side of the manor.
"Why does she keep walking away," Johanna muttered, looking down at the cellar. I hate cellars."
"Okay, if I'm going to do this, I'm only going to make one trip and then I'm out of there." Johanna lifted the box and started a slow descent down the creaking, wooden stairs.
Unlike the attic, the cellar had lights. The string from an overhead light hit her face the second she got to the bottom of the stairs, sending her heart racing.
The dim light exposed a small space lined with boxes of all sizes, each labeled with a year on it.
Curiosity got the better of her, Johanna wondered why the contents of these boxes were deemed more important than all of the other items in the house.
She knew it was wrong to look. She wouldn't want someone going through her most private possessions, but there were so many secrets being kept from her, so many being kept from everyone, she felt compelled to look inside and see if there was anything that could help her figure out why.
* * *
"YOU’RE BACK. HOW did things go?" Sarah asked Milan.
"Fine. Did the realtor, stop by?" Milan asked, looking around for any sign of Johanna.
He hadn't mentioned it to anyone, but he'd hired an investigator to look into Johanna's background, just to be sure she didn't have some strange connection to any of the controversy surrounding the manor.
Knowing what he knows now, he was feeling ashamed of himself for being so mistrusting of her. What he'd learned about her upbringing saddened him. He felt guilty for having been so short and mean to her.
Sarah bit her lip, realizing that the person who had come to the door earlier must have been the realtor.
Angered because Johanna had blatantly lied to her, Sarah chose to protect Milan from the truth until she'd had a conversation with her first.
"No one has been here today. What happened in Nashville?" Sarah thought a distraction would help him to forget that he'd asked.
Milan had secrets of his own. He didn't want Sarah to know that he'd hired someone to look into Johanna's background. He knew how disappointed in him Sarah would be, if she found out the truth. He said the first thing that came to mind. "I went to speak to my attorney about all that has happened as of late. Not to worry though, he made it perfectly clear that all will be fine here. As soon as we are ready and the contractors have done their part, I can be on my way back to California." Milan hated lying to her, especially where it concerned anything that would impact not only him but her as well. He knew that she'd grown fond of Johanna in the short amount of time that they'd known each other and he hoped that she would understand how imperative it was that he find out exactly what people may or may not have been up to.
"Good, then, when will the construction start?" Sarah asked, trying to mask her disappointment that he was going to actually go through with the sale of the property.
Milan looked around. Although the living room had been cleared of all non-essentials and the kitchen was in the process of being emptied out, there was still much work to be done. He'd taken the time to make a chore list for himself and the two women, but thinking about it now, he had to admit that his time line was completely off and, truth be told, they'd probably still be cleaning for the next few weeks.
"I've hired Jeb and Rob Sanders to handle the remodeling. In fact, they should be here sometime this week to take a look around and give me some estimates. I also hired a team of landscapers from Nashville to help make the garden presentable again and get rid of that tree." Milan was glad he'd taken care of some of the details earlier because he was beginning to lose his resolve. This town had reared its ugly head again and, this time, he wasn't sure he'd be able to recover.
"The Sanders men? Really? Well, I'm glad that they agreed to come back." Sarah's eyes were wide.
"What does that mean? You sound surprised." Milan asked, trying to sound as if there was nothing extraordinary about inviting them back to the manor.
She gave him a knowing look, reminding him of a past incident with Jeb Sanders and his son, Rob. "I thought after the incident with Paulina that you never wanted to see Rob again? Why the sudden change of heart? I know how anxious you are to return to California, but is this really a good idea? I don't want to have to separate you two."
Milan shrugged. "Sure. It will be fine. That was a long time ago. Anyway, they were the only ones I could find that could take the job on such short notice. Don't worry." He patted her arm and walked away.
"I hope so." Sarah whispered, watching as he walked away. She sensed that he was up to something. His whole life he'd always done the same thing when he was trying to hide something. His right eyebrow would quirk up when he wasn't being truthful and she noticed that again now when he told her about what he was doing in Nashville.
Milan called down the stairs, "Where's Johanna?"
"She's around here someplace." Sarah hadn't yet told Milan about the things she'd hidden in the cellar. He didn't like the cellar and never went in there, so it seemed like the only logical place to place the things she thought he'd one day be grateful that she saved. Every item in the cellar belonged to Paulina. Everything from her baptismal gown to her wedding gown was stored down there. She didn't see any point in discarding everything as if she'd never existed. She saw no harm in keeping some of the items that he'd stored in the attic.
Having known Paulina, Sarah knew how much she treasured the few possessions she'd brought back from Spain with her. She wasn't like Milan. Her family wasn't wealthy. They survived on the small pittance they were paid performing for others.
When Paulina met and fell in love with Milan, his lifestyle seemed like a dream to her. He'd never wanted for anything, while her family would spend years saving for necessities. Their upbringings couldn't have been more opposite, but the love they shared was stronger than anything either had ever known. They were meant for each other.
Keeping Paulina's most prized possessions was the only logical thing to do. Sarah didn't mean any ill will and didn't want the cellar to represent anything painful for Milan. She hoped that one day, when some of the pain had dissipated and the anger was long gone that he would find comfort in knowing that Sarah cared enough about him to have kept a piece of the life his beloved Paulina had led.
"Well, when you find her, tell her I'd like to speak with her, please. Remind me to call that realtor and see what happened to him. I was hoping he'd drop off some information for me. He said he'd bring comps. I really don't want to waste any more time on this." Milan explained.
"Of course not. Take a few minutes to relax. I'll make you something to eat, then, you can worry about all the other stuff, okay?" Sarah hoped that he would remain upstairs for a bit while she went to check on Johanna. It had been over thirty minutes since she'd left her out by the cellar.
* * *
JOHANNA TURNED HER HEAD, her tear stained face startling Sarah.
"Did you know?" Johanna asked.
Sarah shook her head, visibly shaking, she fought to control her trembling hands. "No, I didn't. I... I had no idea at the time.”
"Why are shaking? Did you see these? Is that why they are down here? Does Milan know?" Johanna fought to stand up, clutching them in her arms.
Sarah stood in front of Johanna, her nostrils flaring. "You can't tell him. Not now!"
Chapter 12
“YES, THIS IS Milan. I was wondering if you could run another background check for me. I'm thinking of hiring someone on at the firm and just want to make sure everything is clear.” He listened for a moment before continuing, “Yes, go back as far as you can. If I'm going to have someone on my team, I need to know everything: where they're from, w
ho they've worked for, where they went to school, who they were involved with, everything. Call me as soon as you find something and email everything. Understood? Good.” He hung up the phone, breathing a sigh of relief. Someone he trusted would now put the pieces together for him and he could prove one way or another exactly what his motivations were and why he'd murdered his wife.
"Another one," Lou, Milan's Private Investigator and longtime friend asked. "What is going on? Is your company expanding?"
"Something like that." Milan answered, hoping that would be sufficient enough for now. He hated lying to yet another person about what he was doing, but he felt the fewer people that knew, the better for him.
Someone was responsible for Paulina's death and for all that had happened since then and Milan couldn't let another day go by without ascertaining exactly who it was and finally bringing them to justice. Paulina had never done anything to anyone in her lifetime. There was no logical reason for anyone to have wanted to bring any harm to her. He'd always suspected that what happened to her was a personal attack aimed at him and they took the most precious person in his life from him. Milan wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't find the sick person that took her from him.
"Okay, well, what's the name? Tell me what you know about this one." Lou asked, pulling a pen out from behind his ear to jot down notes as Milan spoke.
Milan answered, "Rob... Robert Sanders. He works for his father's contracting business. He grew up here. We went to the same school. He was a few years younger than me. Beyond that, I don't know much else about him."
Lou murmured under his breath as he wrote. "Okay. So, this guy is moving to California to work for you? He's getting the heck out of Dodge?"
"Yes, he's going to work for me." Milan answered, figuring a half truth was better than no truth at all. "He's married. I think he has at least a couple of kids."
"Alright. Do you have the wife's name?" Lou asked.
"Yeah," Milan started, swallowing the lump in his throat, "she's a local girl. Her father operates the cemetery in town. She and I used to date when we were kids. Her name is Aubrey. Randall was her maiden name.”
"Your ex? Well, isn't that nice?" Lou laughed. It wasn't the first time he'd been asked to investigate the new man in a former lover's life.
Milan didn't respond. He hadn't anticipated the awkwardness of the situation, but he had his reasons for needing this information as soon as possible. Too many years had gone by with no investigation into the people Milan had always suspected of having eyes for Paulina, especially Rob Sanders. He'd been caught on more than one occasion, watching Paulina, making special trips to the house when Milan was at work.
This wasn't the first time that Rob and his father had done some work at the manor. Jeb and his family were frequent guests of the family. Mr. and Mrs. Sanders would attend every function that they could and had become good friends to Milan's parents and grandparents. Rob was always in tow, but tended to be more guarded, standoffish. He was polite, but more often just kept to himself, watching and listening, never really contributing to conversations until after Milan met and began dating Paulina.
"Alright, well, I'll see what I can find on this guy. Seems like you probably know him better than you think you do. Let's see if I can dig up any juice on him and I'll get back to you. Since I have you on the phone, did you get a chance to look over the information I sent you about Johanna?" Lou asked, anxious to hear what Milan thought.
"Yes. Yes, I did. Thank you for that." Milan answered, again a feeling of shame overcame him.
"Well, looks like she's probably alright. She's just had a tough life, but who hasn't, right? I didn't see anything that would make me think she would give you any kind of trouble. Sounds like her problems centered more around the men in her life. You know, a good for nothing father, boyfriends that weren't worth her time, and a string of bad luck with previous employers, but none of what happened looks like it was her fault, so she should be good. Let me know how that works out for you." Lou doubted that he'd been hired to just do simple employee background checks. He figured there was more to the story, but having become accustomed to being discreet and dealing with desperate clients, he knew better than to pry and just took what his clients told him at face value. That helped keep him sane and detached from whatever was really happening in their lives. “She's a good looking girl, if you ask me. Really easy on the eyes, so that's a bonus.”
Milan thanked Lou again, ignoring the last comment. Lou told him that he'd be in touch soon. He figured this job would be fairly simple, a man from a small town probably wouldn't be that difficult to research.
"The sheriff is here. He just pulled up out front," Johanna knocked on Milan's bedroom door.
Looking out the window, Milan could see the smug grin on Ned's face.
What now, he thought. This town is going to drive me insane.
Johanna opened the door without saying a word. Ned snorted, amused by her behavior. "Well, is he here, Miss Tavo?"
"Yes." She answered, not offering any further information.
"Could you ask him to come to do the door? I'll wait right here for him." Ned had to stifle a laugh. He'd been a law enforcement officer for well over thirty years. He'd seen plenty of men and women who thought they could intimidate him. Many tried, but few ever actually succeeded.
Ned did have to admit to himself that Johanna did pose an interesting challenge. With all that had gone on in town as of late, he hadn't really put much thought into this new woman in town. He'd seen her hours after she arrived. She wasn't easily missed. Her resemblance to a young Paulina was shocking, even to him and he'd thought he'd seen it all.
When he'd heard through the grapevine that she'd started working at the manor, a sickening feeling came over him. He'd made it no secret that he believed Milan was somehow responsible for Paulina's death and he swore to himself the day Paulina was found lying near the creek bed that he would find the person responsible for her death.
Within a couple of days of Johanna's arrival in town, he'd received a call from good old Mrs. Johnson, informing him of Milan's return. He'd waited a long time to look him in the eyes again and ask him what his involvement was in Paulina's death.
When he'd received a call about a disturbance at the cemetery, he wasn't at all prepared to find Milan standing there, throwing accusations at others. Least of all, he wasn't prepared for the wealth of emotions he felt at seeing Milan again.
In a way, when Milan married Paulina, it had been a blessing. It meant that the often brooding, rich boy would finally be done dating local girls. Milan's longtime girlfriend, Aubrey, was convinced that one day they'd marry. That's the way things worked around River's Bend. Old high school sweethearts were destined to spend eternity together. Ned had no real say in the matter. Aubrey wasn't his daughter, but her father, Mitch, was his friend and that posed a problem for him. He tried to like Milan, but it was never easy because Milan was distant most of the time. It was as if Milan's mind was always somewhere else, looking for the next best thing.
"Sheriff Acker," Milan nodded as he descended the stairs, "what can I help you with today?"
The sheriff motioned for a pair of chairs that had been placed outside. "Can we talk?"
Milan waited for him to get settled before he took his seat. By the sheriff's body language, he presumed that the news wasn't bad. For that, he could be thankful.
"Well, I just wanted to let you know that the girl - Emily - well, her car has been found." Ned looked up, but the relief that Milan expected to see on his face wasn't there. "Her car was found abandoned at the cemetery.”
Milan thought he hadn't heard right. "The cemetery? The cemetery here in town? Wow. How did that happen? That's a long walk from there to here."
The sheriff stood up and leaned against a column, looking directly at Milan. "I don't know yet, but I'll find out. I can guarantee you of that."
"How did she die?" Milan felt like his heart fell into the pit of his stoma
ch.
"No idea. The coroner is working on that right now." Ned moved back to the chair, pulling it closer to Milan's. "Look, we've known each other a long time. If there's something you need to tell me, you should probably do that right now. I can't help but think that this was no coincidence. What do you think?"
* * *
"CEMETARY? WHAT DO you mean? That doesn't make any sense." Sarah couldn't breathe. "How did that happen?"
Milan held his head in his hands. It was all he could do to not fall apart. He knew in his heart that someone was trying to set him up. He just couldn't for the life of him figure out who it was. He'd made a lot of enemies over the years. Many bridges had been burnt and being able to decipher friend from foe was impossible at this point.
Sarah slumped down in a chair, placing her hand on Milan's quaking shoulders. "Well, they can't possibly blame you. I mean, you were home when Ned came here. And, before that, you were in Nashville. I'm sure someone can vouch for you there. Your lawyer can just call them and tell them."
Johanna hadn't said a word. The news was too surreal. She watched as Milan cried angry tears and Sarah fought the tears that had welled in her eyes. For the first time since she'd arrived, she genuinely felt like an outsider, a voyeur looking in on a family in crisis. She wanted to help, but had no idea where to begin and doubted that anything she did could put an end to this nightmare.
"Well, the sheriff hasn't accused you of anything, has he? It isn't like he came over here to question you about it. At least you have that." Sarah sounded like she was trying to convince herself more so than convince Milan. "I need a few minutes. I feel like my head is spinning.
She walked out, leaving a stunned, but silent Johanna alone with a broken Milan. This was the last straw for him. She could see it in the way his body moved as it fought desperately to quell the anger and the sorrow that had unleashed since Ned drove away, promising to return as soon as they knew something concrete.
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