Disclaimer: I don�t own these characters.
Danny made his way through the Santos house in silence. He�d greeted the outside security guards on his way in, telling them he had come to look for some things of his own. Of course, no one was suspicious of his presence there. He still came around, from time to time, although not as often since Pilar had moved to Madrid a year ago.
Michelle was at the hospital again, this time pulling a twelve hour shift. She knew what Danny was doing, and he knew she was worried. He promised her he�d be there, when she returned home at 10:00 p.m., which gave him plenty of time to snoop through the house under the cover of darkness.
He had no idea where to start. He wasn�t even sure what he was looking for. He knew that Carmen hadn�t touched Mick�s bedroom since he died. The door had been shut, and the servants ordered not to enter. He�d often wondered if she went in there, to talk to him, be near him. It was a little too creepy for him, so he had never ventured there. He and Mick hadn�t been close for a long time before his death, and Danny had no idea what was in his room. Still, despite his reluctance, he decided that Mick�s room was the best place to start.
He slowly opened the door and peered inside. At first glance, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Mick�s bed was still made, with the dark, navy blue linens that were his favorite. There were magazines on his dresser - the kinds of magazines he liked, full of surveillance and video equipment. Mick had always fancied himself a rather crude imitation of James Bond, and this was just the sort of high-tech reading material Danny would�ve expected to find in Mick�s possession. An unopened package of cigarettes was in the night stand drawer, along with a lighter, and a couple of decks of cards. Mick�s gambling was just one of the many things that had attributed to his demise, and Danny cringed slightly when he saw the cards.
Danny went to Mick�s closet and opened the doors. Clothing still hung where it always had, and shoes lined the shelf above rack of hanging items. So far, Danny had found nothing the least bit suspicious in Mick�s room. He was beginning to get discouraged. He knew he didn�t have time to search the entire estate.
Then he remembered that the carpet in Mick�s closet was loose on one side. As children, they used to hide things under there - baseball cards, candy, notes from girls at school - the kinds of things that filled their imaginations before the reality of their family was bestowed upon them.
He quickly knelt down and lifted the carpet. He pulled out a small folder that was stuffed with something. When he opened the folder, paper and pictures fell all over the floor. As he tried to gather them in his hands, he noticed that the pictures were all of Michelle. There were pictures of her in her bedroom, taken from somewhere outside, pictures of her on the campus of the university as she walked to class, pictures of her in her alone in her car, and pictures of her with Jesse. All the photos were candid, and Danny knew that Michelle had no idea that they had been taken. Jesse�s face was scratched through on every picture in which he appeared with Michelle. There were slips of paper with Michelle�s address and home phone number on them. Mick had even managed to get a hold of her cell phone number somehow, and had written it down. There were various receipts, all of which looked like purchases Michelle had made. Maybe Mick got them out of the trash can when she threw them away, or perhaps picked them up when the fell out of her purse. Danny wasn�t sure how Mick had accumulated the receipts, but his skin went clammy nonetheless. There was a receipt from a coffee shop, and he knew it was Michelle�s because she always ordered Hazelnut Cappuccino, which was the item listed on the receipt. There were also receipts from clothing stores, listing the items she purchased, as well as the sizes, which Mick had highlighted with a yellow marker. And then, as if his blood wasn�t already boiling over, Danny picked up a receipt from a lingerie store. On the back was written, in Mick�s handwriting, "black lacy bra, 34 C".
"That miserable son of a bitch!" Danny screamed.
"He told me about you, Michelle," he said to himself. "He told me you were pretty and that he liked you. I had no idea he was following you, stalking you."
He shuddered at the thought of what Mick was capable of, and what he might have done to Michelle if he�d ever had the opportunity.
"He was obsessed with you, baby," he said tenderly. "He would�ve done anything to have you."
He remembered Michelle�s terrified confession to him that night on the beach, about what Mick had tried to do to her.
"Thank God you had the guts to defend yourself," he said somberly. "If you hadn�t, Mick would�ve taken whatever he wanted from you. He would�ve hurt you so badly."
Then he realized what had happened. "Why didn�t I think of this in the first place? You didn�t know Michelle thought she�d killed you, did you Mick? You figured she�d go running straight to the police, and then you�d be in big trouble. You knew you�d be arrested, and probably convicted, and you took the coward�s way out. You shot yourself so you wouldn�t have to face the consequences of your actions. You always were a spineless piece of trash, weren�t you Mick?"
Danny couldn�t believe he was sitting in the floor of Mick�s bedroom, talking to his dead brother. He was so angry he couldn�t see straight. Mick had stalked Michelle for weeks, watching her, invading her privacy. But why would Carmen lie about Mick�s death? Why would she allow Michelle to go on believing that she had killed Mick? Why, after all these years would Carmen still be covering up the truth?
Then he picked up a note, written in Mick�s handwriting. It seemed out of place, because it was written on note paper, not scribbled on the back of a receipt. Danny carefully read the words, and his blood ran cold.
"My silence is not free, Mama. You owe me much more in order to
keep your secret, and I�m losing patience. If you don�t deliver soon,
everyone, including my brother, will know the truth. Remember, I am
your son, too."