Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.
Carmen was awake in the middle of the night yet again. She could not rid her mind of images of that night, that awful, final night. The night Mick�s fate had been sealed. There was no way she could�ve known it then, but it seemed that her own fate had been sealed that night, as well. Mick�s actions, coupled with her own, had sent so many lives spiraling out of control. She thought she had done the right thing, covering up the truth. Losing her son had broken her heart, but in that final action, Mick himself had paved the way for what Carmen had always wanted - for Danny to ascend to the helm of the Santos family.
He was, after all, much better suited for the business than Mick.
Danny was smart and savvy, unlike Mick, who was a loud mouth and a hot-head. She thought that her actions that night would assure that Danny would take his rightful place, but instead, she lost her only remaining son, her favorite son.
She�d dealt with it, though, or at least she thought she had. There was a part of her that had to be a tiny bit glad that Danny was safe, not constantly looking over his shoulder, waiting for the stabbing blade or the firing gun. But Danny�s safe life had taken him away from her, out of her life, and that she could not get over. It had been over six years since that terrible night that had ultimately cost her two sons, so why were the images and the memories assaulting her mind now?
Dietz quietly made his way into the study, where he saw Carmen pouring herself a drink. Obviously she was having another restless night.
"Everything alright, Boss?" he asked her.
Carmen was not surprised to see Dietz. He often checked the security around the house during the wee morning hours. "Fine, Dietz," she said, but the look in her eyes told him she was not fine.
As hard as she tried to hide it, Dietz knew that there was a softness to Carmen. True, no one else was ever aware of it, and there was certainly no one else who would believe it existed, but Dietz knew.
Carmen hated this life as much as Danny and Michelle, but it was the only life she�d ever known. She had no idea how to live any other way, or how to give her children a different life. Consequently, the mistakes she�d made with them had been grave and the lies she�d told had been horrific. Dietz had seen them all, and he knew that Carmen would stop at nothing to keep her lies under wraps.
"Anything I can do?" he asked genuinely.
"You can help me understand Dietz," Carmen said, not really believing that he could. "Help me understand why I�m being haunted by this, after all this time."
"I gave you my theory, boss," Dietz said, reminding her of his notion that her conscience was getting the better of her.
"You can�t be serious, Dietz," Carmen replied.
Dietz hadn�t agreed with Carmen�s actions six years ago, and no matter how much she�d tried to convince him since then, he�d never been able to envision anything remotely good coming out of her lies, at least not the way she�d hoped. Perhaps it was for the best, though, because Danny had found Michelle, and the two of them had created a life for themselves. But deep down he knew that Carmen would never be free of what she did that night. He knew that her day of reckoning would come, and he was afraid it was well on its way.
"Is there anyone left who could spill the beans?" he asked, knowing that she would catch the hidden meaning.
"The men at the funeral home would never say anything. They�re on our payroll, and we could send them down the river for quite a few criminal activities. I don�t think we have to worry about them," Carmen answered.
"What about that doctor who did the autopsy?"
"Dr. Wesely," Carmen said, almost to herself. "I think he believed our story, especially since he was still so grief stricken over his wife�s death. I�m not really worried about him, either, however he�s still working at Cedar�s Hospital."
"And now, so is Michelle," Dietz said, and by Carmen�s expression it was obvious that she had not considered the possibility.
The next morning Danny and Michelle sat on their front porch swing, sipping coffee, intentionally avoiding the subject of their discussion the previous night. Both of them knew that facing that demon was inevitable, but neither one of them wanted to deal with it yet. They desperately wanted these few moments for themselves.
A car pulled in the driveway, and Frank Cooper stepped out. He walked toward the porch, with a solemn purpose in his steps.
"Michelle," he began, "I assume you�ve told Danny everything."
Michelle nodded, and Danny�s arm tightened around her shoulder. The look in Frank�s eyes gave them both a horrible feeling of dread.
"When I went to the station this morning, I intended to call Dr. Wesley and ask him to give us a statement about Mick�s autopsy."
"Intended?" Michelle asked.
"It seems that Dr. Wesley had a car accident last night, and he didn�t survive," Frank said.
Michelle collapsed in Danny�s arms, and Danny began to shake.