Disclaimer: I don�t own these characters.
Carmen and Dietz prepared for landing, as their plane approached the airstrip on San Cristobel. Carmen detested flying on this tiny plane, but she knew she�d better get used to it, if she were going to be doing business on the island again.
"Tell me again about this guy," Dietz said. "The one we�re going to be meeting."
"His name is Sean Scanton," Carmen replied. "And evidently, he was acquainted with Edmund before his death."
"And you�re sure we can trust him?" Dietz asked.
"Everything checked out, Dietz," Carmen said. "Our security personnel did more than the routine background checks on him, and everything he told me was true. He�s definitely the man for this job."
*******************
Everything checked out on Sean Scanton, a.k.a. Sean McCullough, because Richard had made sure of it. He, Olivia, and Reva had created quite a past paper trail for Mr. Scanton, complete with letters written to him by Edmund. Richard had always been able to copy Edmund�s handwriting, and the Santos security people were none the wiser. When all was said and done, Carmen was satisfied that she had found a man who would assist her, the way Edmund once had, in smuggling babies illegally into the United States.
At the palace, Richard paced endlessly, as Olivia and Reva tried to calm him.
"Richard, all this worry is getting you nowhere," Olivia said. "There�s nothing that can be done now. The plan is already in motion."
"Olivia�s right," Reva said. "You�re just going to drive yourslf crazy if you don�t settle down."
"I know you�re both right," Richard said. "But that certainly doesn�t make this any easier. I want Carmen Santos to pay for what she did to us, all of us, especially Jonathan."
"We all want that, Richard," Olivia said.
"We just have to trust Sean," Reva said. "I know in my heart that he�ll come through for us.
**********************
Sean stood outside, watching the Santos plane make its landing on the private airstrip. Carmen had instructed him to meet them as they landed, so that they could take care of business as soon as possible.
Sean wasn�t nervous, though he supposed he should be. It wasn�t the thrill of deceit that excited him so, it was the idea of defending people who had been wronged. Ever since his wife and her lover framed him for murder, he�d felt a special kinship to those who had been hurt or manipulated by vicious, self-serving people. Carmen Santos was just such a person, and he was going to make sure that she faced the consequences of tampering with the lives of others in such a heinous way.
***********************
Danny left the Santos Estate, Mick�s folder in hand, and hurried home. He had promised Michelle that he�d be there when she returned home from work, and he intended to make good on that promise. He had no idea how he was going to tell her the truth about Mick�s obsession with her. Part of him wanted to believe that she didn�t need to know, but the reasonable part of him knew he couldn�t keep it from her. She�d dealt with feelings of guilt for years, and she needed to know that her actions that night, whether they killed him or not, were justified.
She needed to know that she had every reason to be afraid of Mick.
He arrived home ten minutes before Michelle, just enough time to change clothes and pour them both a glass of wine. He put the folder in his desk drawer, where Michelle would not happen upon it. He wanted to share a few moments with her, before he showed it to her. He wanted to put the ugliness out of his mind, and simply enjoy his wife.
He met Michelle at the front door and asked, "How was work tonight?"
"Actually, the ER was pretty slow," she answered. "What did you find at your mother�s?"
"Let�s not talk about it yet, baby," he said, helping her out of her coat.
"Danny, you know it worries me when you don�t want to talk about something," she said. "It�s like your hiding things from me."
"I�m not hiding anything, Michelle," Danny said, as he pulled her into his embrace. "I poured us some wine, and I just want to take a few moments for ourselves, before we talk about what I found. I just to be together, and enjoy the way we are, right now."
Michelle smiled up at him and kissed him softly on the lips. "O.K., just let me change clothes first."
For several long moments, they sat together on the sofa, snuggled close together. When they�d finished the wine, Danny brought up the subject of his visit to the Santos Estate.
"I guess now�s as good a time as any," he said, as he stood up and walked to his desk. He carefully removed the folder from the drawer and sat back on the sofa with Michelle.
Before he let her look in it, he methodically explained how he�d searched Mick�s room, and how he�d remembered about the carpet in his closet. He told her that he�d looked through the folder himself, and that what was inside it was very disturbing. He knew that she was going to be astounded at what she saw, and he was right.
When Michelle opened the folder and began looking through its contents, Danny watched her expression go from questioning to horrified. She picked up picture after picture of herself, realizing that Mick had been following her for weeks. As she looked through the receipts, her jaw began to tremble, and tears welled in her eyes.
When she finally looked up at Danny, she looked like she�d been violated all over again, by the man who would�ve raped her had she not had her wits about her that night, six long years ago.
"He was following me? Taking pictures of me?" she asked, her face begging him to say anything that would shed a more positive light on what she�d just seen.
Danny nodded and said, "I didn�t know he was doing this, Michelle. I promise. Mick told me about you, but he never told me he was following you around. I knew he sort of had a thing for you, but I had no idea he was stalking you." He brushed the hair that had fallen loose from her pony tail out of her face, gently comforting her with his touch.
"I don�t know why I�m surprised," she said. "I know he was your brother, Danny, but you have no idea what he was like those last few weeks, the way he bullied everyone and constantly shot his mouth off. It was like he was self-destructing and didn�t even care."
"I know," Danny said. "And believe me, this isn�t easy for me either. I knew that Mick had a problem with gambling, and an even bigger problem with drugs. I knew he�d lost all respect for himself and everyone else."
Danny swallowed hard before continuing. "When you told me what happened, what Mick tried to do to you, I wanted to believe that it was because he was completely drunk or strung out on drugs or both. I wanted to believe that his actions were a result of the poison he put in his body. It was just easier for me to think of it that way. But after looking through this folder, seeing what Mick was doing, I have to face reality. My brother was stalking you, taking pictures of you, rifling through your receipts and God knows what else. And it wasn�t because of the drugs or the alcohol or the gambling."
"What happened to Mick?" Michelle asked. "I know he wasn�t always like this. You�ve told me so yourself."
"I�m not sure Michelle," Danny said. "I know that the pressures of being involved in the family business ate away at him. That�s why he took off. He hated the business and he hated Mama. I even sort of admired him for standing up to her the way he did. He had more courage than I did when it came to her. And, somewhere in my mind, I knew that Mick resented me."
"Why would he resent you?" Michelle questioned.
"Because Mama always favored me," Danny answered. "I don�t know why, but she always did. And when we were old enough to get involved in the business, she gave Mick the grunt work. And he�d do it, gladly. He did everything she asked him to do. I guess he was trying to please her or get her approval."
"And she never gave it?" Michelle asked.
Danny shook his head. "I tried to pretend that it didn�t matter. Mick and I used to be so close, and I really tried to get close to him again, but he wouldn�t let me. He wouldn�t let anybody in. I guess he�d just had enough of Mama and the way she treated him. It�s not an excuse for what he became, or what he did to you, but it�s the only reason I can come up with for why he turned into such a monster."
"Things like that affect people differently," Michelle said. "Mick just let his anger and hurt take over his life, instead of dealing with it."
"And he wanted revenge on Mama," Danny quietly said, as he handed the note Mick had written to Carmen to Michelle.
She read it carefully, and asked, "What does this mean?"
"My guess is that he was blackmailing her," Danny said.
"Do you think he was threatening to go to the police?" she asked.
"I don�t think so," Danny replied. "In the note, he threatens to tell everyone, including me. I didn�t know every detail about the business, but I don�t think there�s anything he could�ve told the police that would�ve surprised me. I think the information he had on Mama was much more personal."
"You have to find out what it was, Danny," Michelle said quickly. "Maybe that�s the reason she lied about Mick�s death. Maybe that�s why she doesn�t want anyone to know that he committed suicide."