As Carmen resumed packing for her San Cristobel excursion, another suitcase was being packed, across town. After locating Jonathan, Richard and Olivia had married, and had given Jonathan the stable home he deserved. Reva returned to her life in Springfield, but made the trip to San Cristobel as often as she could, and she had formed a truly loving relationship with her son.
Though she was looking forward to seeing Jonathan again, as she hastily threw clothing into her suitcase, she reminded herself that this wasn�t the sole purpose of her visit to the island. She and Richard had never believed that Edmund was working alone on the baby smuggling operation. They were sure that he had a partner in the United States, and it had taken them several years, but they had found her.
Carmen Santos would regret the day she was born, once Richard and Reva were finished with her. It was unconscionable enough that she smuggled babies into the states and sold them on the black market, but to tamper with the royal family would be her final undoing. Richard was ready to have her shot on sight, but Reva and Olivia had convinced him to go about it in a more civilized way, and let the authorities, both in San Cristobel and the United States, handle Carmen�s fate. They would set her up to fall, and fall she would.
Danny met Michelle for dinner, in the hospital cafeteria. It wasn�t the most romantic place to have dinner with his wife, but they�d learned to enjoy it nonetheless during Michelle�s first months at Cedars.
When Danny told her about Dietz�s visit, and his plan to snoop around the house while he and Carmen were gone, she wasn�t exactly thrilled. But, she knew her husband all too well, and he was always determined to do things himself, especially where his family was concerned. She knew that Danny couldn�t just turn the police loose to unearth Mick�s body, without first trying to solve matters in his own way. It was futile to protest, so she didn�t.
"My shift is over at ten o�clock, so I should be home shortly after," Michelle said.
Danny peered across the table at his wife, smiling that boyish smile that lit up his eyes, and said, "I�ll be waiting."
"Really?" Michelle questioned seductively.
"I want to forget everything else, and just make love to you tonight," Danny said, lowering his head as if he was slightly embarrassed at the admission. "That�s what we normally do when we�ve had a bad day."
"I can�t wait," she said, meaning it from the depths of her soul.
He gently reached over and brushed her cheek with his fingertips. "Nothing, I mean absolutely nothing, is worth sacrificing what we have together. I promised you that nothing would ever come before you, and I meant it, and I�ll mean it until the day I die. As much as I want to know the truth, there are some things that cannot be left behind, and being your husband is one of those things. I�ll always be your husband, before I�m anything else, to anybody else."
"I want to find out the truth, as badly as you do, Danny, but I�ll never lose sight of what�s really important - what we have, and the way we are together," Michelle replied. "I promise you."
"I promise you, too, Michelle," Danny answered.
He kissed his wife on the forehead, as he left the hospital, to go turn their home into an escape from the reality of the last two days.
At the Royal Palace in San Cristobel, Richard sat across the table from the man who would, in just twenty four hours, meet with Carmen Santos and feign his interest in smuggling babies into the United States. He would be, as Richard so eloquently put it, "wired for sound" during each and every conversation with Carmen, and it was his job to get her to admit her part in Jonathan�s kidnapping, and his subsequent arrival in the United States. Once that was done, authorities in San Cristobel, and the U.S. would have the proof that they needed to bring her down, once and for all.
"Reva promised me that you were the man for this job," Richard said. "So I�m putting my faith in you."
"I won�t disappoint you, or Reva for that matter," the man said. "This Santos woman doesn�t stand a chance."
"You�re sure she�s never seen you, and she won�t have any reason to be suspicious of you?" Richard asked.
"I�m sure," he said. "My time in Springfield was very brief, and I had no contact with her at all."
"Good," Richard said. "The lawyer that you were acquainted with - Mr. Warren - he isn�t working for her anymore, right?"
"I think �acquainted� is a much too friendly word for my involvement with Warren," he said. "But, you�re right. Apparently, he took the money he made off the Santos family, and left the country."
"After Mrs. Santos arrives in the country tomorrow night, you and I can have no contact," Richard said. "I�m sure she�ll be having you followed, so you cannot come to the palace, or place phone calls to me or the authorities."
"I�m well aware of that," he said, a bit miffed at the repetition of instructions.
"Just get the information we need, as quickly as possible," Richard repeated again.
"Look, Your Majesty," the man said, in a mocking tone, "I understand what I�m supposed to do, and I will deliver."
Richard was somewhat relieved, but still incredibly nervous. "I�m sorry. I don�t mean to sound ungrateful. It is just so critically important that you pull this off."
Sean McCullough simply smiled and nodded at Richard, before leaving the palace.