Deceptions
24-25
By Kellie
Miguel stood on the balcony of his hotel suite looking at the view of Springfield. He had learned quite a bit since his arrival a few days ago. He began trying to put all the things he now knew together so he could decide what to do next. There was a knock at his door. He walked over and opened the door.
"Good morning my friend," Bernard said as he and Nino entered the suite.
"Good morning," Miguel replied as he shook hands with both his guests. "Tell me what you have learned."
Nino began, "I met with Theresa. She is working on breaking up Danny and Michelle's marriage. She wants me to grab Michelle and then have Dietz help me sneak her into the Santos house while Bernard meets with Danny on a deal that's outside the law. After Michelle overhears the deal, Theresa is counting on Michelle leaving Danny for good since she swears that she will not tolerate Danny's involvement in illegal activities. Afterwards, she wants me to offer to take Michelle to the airport and put her on a plane to Europe."
"Tell me, what else does Theresa have in mind?"
"Once Michelle is gone, Theresa wants me to contact Danny and tell him I have Michelle and will return her once he agrees to stay out of the Riveria's business."
Bernard then looked at Miguel. "Danny's plan was to catch Dietz giving Nino the information about Michelle's presence at the lighthouse. Theresa was supposed to make Nino believe that Danny's moving into the Riveria's territory; hence, the motivation he would need to contact Dietz for information. Danny's planning to have Michelle out of there before Nino can get a chance to grab her. He has a tail on Dietz whose supposed to let him know when Dietz and Nino meet."
"Sounds like Theresa had changed my son's plan."
"Yes, Danny believes she's helping Prince Edmund and Carmen," Bernard noted.
"Tell me, gentlemen, before I decide how to proceed, your impressions of my daughter-in-law."
Nino looked at Bernard before replying, "I really don't know much about her. The few times I've met Michelle, she was very polite. She didn't have much to say her attention was always on Danny. Any woman who ignores my compliments has to adore her husband."
"Nino, any woman with the class Michelle has wouldn't give you the time of day, husband or not." Bernard continued, "From what Danny has said about her and the time I have spent around them both, it's obvious that they are deeply in love. I have repeatedly tried to get Carmen to leave Danny's marriage alone, but she's bent on revenge over Mick's death."
Miguel looked at the floor before coming out with the most difficult question he had ever asked anyone, "What was Mick like when before he died? Tell me the truth about the kind of person my son was."
Nino looked to Bernard and waited for him to go first. He didn't want to be the one to tell Miguel that Mick was a drug-addicted monster in the weeks before his death.
"Miguel, Mick had some serious problems with drugs." Bernard paused and put his hand on his friend's shoulder before continuing; "He was using and dealing a lot of heavy stuff. The drugs changed him; they made him mean. He couldn't control his anger or his desires. If he wanted something, he'd take it."
Nino finally spoke, "The afternoon before he died, I saw Mick. He mentioned something about having this thing for a pretty little co-ed that hung out at Millennium. Based on his description, I'm sure it was Michelle. I'm sure read more into what was probably kindness and good manners on Michelle's part and figured he'd be able to get her. I'm sure that things on that beach went down just the way Michelle said."
"Tell me, how has Michelle described that night?" Miguel requested. He needed to know if everything he learned the previously from Holly and Dietz matched up with what Bernard and Nino believed.
"Danny told me that Michelle said that Mick followed her to the beach. She had gone there alone to think. When she rejected his advances, she said that Mick attacked her," Bernard stopped. "Are you sure you want to hear all of this, Miguel?"
"Yes, continue."
"Mick was trying to rape her. Michelle grabbed a rock on the beach beside her and hit him in the head," Bernard finished.
"I see. Do you both believe that Carmen's vendetta against Michelle is uncalled for?" Miguel asked.
Bernard and Nino both nodded yes.
"Well, then, here is what we are going to do," Miguel began.
***
Edmund swung open the door to his apartment. He was shocked to see Dax standing before him. "Good afternoon, Dax. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
"Edmund, you're looking well," Dax remarked as he entered the apartment. "Life in Springfield must agree with you."
"Dax, let's dispense with the pleasantries. Why are you here?"
"May I suggest that you pour us both a drink, Edmund. I know you're going to want one before I'm finished."
Edmund walked over to the bar and began putting ice into two glasses. He poured them each a drink and returned to the sofa where Dax now sat. Edmund handed him his drink and said, "What do you have to say that's so interesting?"
"Well, Dax is not my real name. It's an alias I took when I left Springfield many years ago and came to San Cristobel. Your father helped me build a new life where no one would be able to find me. You see, I was in a great deal of trouble with the authorities when I left the United States and your father owed me. My new life was his repayment."
"Interesting story Dax. Why am I just finding out about it now?" Edmund replied.
"Well, with your penchant for blackmail, I knew better than to trust you with my secrets. Besides, your father couldn't tell a soul about our arrangement, I had something on him that he wanted no one to know, especially his family."
"Well, my curiosity is peaked. Fill me in on all the details."
"I guess I should start with my real name, Miguel Santos."
Edmund choked on his drink and stuttered as he asked, "C-C-Carmen's husband?"
"Yes."
"You're supposed to be dead. How did you pull that off?"
Miguel began, "When you pay off the right people and have the proper connections, it's easy to pull off a fake assassination."
"I see. That explains why you always vanished whenever Carmen or her family came to the palace."
"Yes, I couldn't let my family know I was alive. Now, I'm not so sure what I did all those years ago was the right thing for my family. I'm beginning to think I should have stayed despite the fact I would have ended up in prison for a long time."
"Please explain to me why you feel that way now," Edmund requested.
"Richard has been having the Springfield Journal brought overnight delivery to Cassie in San Cristobel. I happened to see the headlines in it about Danny's wife being on trial. I said something to Cassie about the article and she began keeping me up to date on the trial's events through her friend, Blake. I believe she said Blake was married to Michelle's attorney. To make a long story short, after I found our how far Carmen had gone to get Michelle out of our son's life, I decided I needed to come check things out for myself. From everything I read and heard from Cassie, it sounded like my family was a mess. Based on the research I've done, I was definitely right about that," Miguel paused and watched Edmund digest all he had been told.
"What does all of this have to do with me?" Edmund inquired.
"Edmund, I know that you and Carmen have been working together. You're helping her with whatever her plan is to break up Danny and Michelle's marriage. I'll wager that in return, she's going to use her bank in San Cristobel to help you overthrow Richard's government."
"You do know me too well. Please continue," Edmund said.
"Basically, I want to know what Carmen is planning," Miguel stated.
"And what do I get in return for this information?"
"My silence to Richard about your plans to take over San Cristobel."
"Now, Miguel, you should know that is not enough."
"Well, I don't think you would want me to reveal to Richard and all of San Cristobel that you have a half-brother. Since he's about six months older than you are, he would be next in line for Richard's throne instead of you."
For once in his life, Edmund was speechless. He stared at his drink for what seemed like an eternity thinking about how Miguel/Dax definitely had the upper hand. He thought he was the only one who had known his father's secret, a secret confessed on his deathbed when he had mistaken Edmund for Richard in his delirium.
"Edmund, I believe you were going to tell me about Carmen's plans," Miguel replied firmly.
Edmund finally came to his senses and decided he had no choice. He began explaining Carmen's plan.
Parts
26-27
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