Authors: D. T. Jones
“I want to know what the hell is going on,” the older man shouted, though perhaps not as loudly as he had a moment ago, before seeing Sandra. “I am told my son is dead and he is a murderer, kidnapper and molester. This is not true, it cannot be.”
“It is,” Sandra said in place of her husband, who turned
suddenly to stare at her, as though he wanted to tell her to remain quiet. “He paid Konrad Bachmeier to kidnap me. He tied Sabrina and I up and tried to assault me.”
“
Impossibile
,” he snapped.
“Look at me,” she answered him in return, her voice stern and filled with a strong emotion that left everyone staring at her. “He did this
and it would have been worse if I wasn’t able to get control of his gun. I don’t know what happened or why he was involved with Bachmeier,” she lied, saving the father any further grief. “But the matter remains, they were acquaintances; I dare say, friends. He helped Bachmeier escape from the police and tried to ransom us off. Your son had no intention of letting my sister-in-law and I go once he collected the money from Creighton. If Bachmeier hadn’t killed him first, he would have killed Bachmeier and us.” She paused and drew a deep breath to steady her nerves as she squared off against the grieving man.
“I’m sorry this had to happen, but it did and unfortunately you have to learn to accept it.”
“Papa,” Giovanni interrupted. “He tried to kill Sabrina,
my
Sabrina.”
“No, no, no,” the older man shouted
, slamming his fist against the table. “That is not possible; my Silvano would not do that; he could not do it.”
Andrew and Sabrina stepped into the room as the older man collapsed into a metal chair, his head in his hands.
He shut the door and moved closer to the table. Giovanni turned when he saw the girl he had just spoken of so lovingly and moved toward her, but she backed away, taking a step behind Andrew. Giovanni frowned at her but remained where he was, his hands thrust deep into his pockets.
“Donato,” Andrew began, patting the man on his shoulder. “We are all sorry this had to happen, but it is true. We have proof that will stand up in any court.”
“Proof, what proof?” Donato looked up at the man, wiping a tear from his cheek. Andrew nodded to Morris, who took a remote out of the drawer she stood behind and pressed the button. The image of the security cameras of Miriam’s clinic came alive before them in several small squares. The focused on the one displaying the medieval room enlarging it and Sandra watched with a sick feeling in her stomach as Silvano’s image moved around the room, setting up the chairs that they had been tethered to.
Sabrina sat down, looking a bit ill, her hands covering her eyes as the screen split
in two and the security cameras from the front entrance and the main hall was pulled up to display all three at once.
The
microphone echoed from the medieval room and the sound of shuffling and Silvano’s deep laughter echoed through the speakers. The cameras showed the Ford pull up in front of the old mansion and Silvano turned in the camera of the bedroom, smiling as he stepped out into the hallway. The main door opened and the girls were pushed through, followed by Bachmeier who smiled at the large man as he greeted them.
Sandra closed her eyes, she really didn’t want to watch this, and felt herself being
pulled toward a chair. She glanced up to see the anger in her husband’s eyes as he gently eased her down to the metal frame. She knew the emotion was not over her, but for what was playing out in front of them, yet he didn’t watch the screen. It was apparent that he had already seen the images.
Several minutes passed by in silence as the video played on, showing the assault on Sandra and the attempted sexual encounter. The cameras and the speakers had picked up the entire encounter. It showed how she managed to get free of his grip and collect the gun before Sabrina was able to get the larger man secure
d to the bed. Morris fast forwarded it past several frames of Silvano trying to get loose and the girls making their way to the supply cupboard, all the way to the end where Bachmeier came into the room to find him cuffed to the bed.
“You are such an idiot
,” he said over the television speaker. “You let your guard down so you could have the whore? It is good for you, but when I try to find comfort with another woman, I am told I was stupid. Now they are gone and you are no better a man, than the fool who married her. But I suppose this is good, no? Now I do not have to share the money with you. I suppose I should thank her; at least I will not have to wait to kill you.” The sound of the gun exploding echoed through the room; once, twice, three times. Sandra jumped, hearing the audible gasp of Donato and his sons and found she could no longer hold the bile back; she stood up and left the room, hurrying down the hall to a nearby bathroom.
Several minutes passed by before she felt the relief of having an empty stomach and stood from the floor of the
narrow stall. She heard the door open and frowned; this was not the time to confront another person.
“Sandra, are you alright?” Sabrina asked from outside the
closed door. She drew a deep breath; at least it wasn’t a stranger or one of the reporters who had tried to get an interview with them as they left their flat.
“I’m okay,” she answered, opening the door and walking to the sink to rinse her mouth
out.
“Andrew told me you’re pregnant,” Sabrina said softly. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“I didn’t want you to worry any more than you already were.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said through a shaky tone. “I wish Crey had never met that man or his horrible family.”
“You don’t mean that,” Sandra said, turning to look at the girl as she wiped her hands on a paper towel. “What about Giovanni? He really loves for you and I thought you felt the same way.”
“I thought so too, but after all of this…”
“He’s not his brother,” Sandra insisted sternly, placing her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “You can’t allow what happened to interfere with your feelings for the man. You didn’t hear him earlier; he called you
his
Sabrina. He loves you and he’s just as horrified with what his brother did, as the rest of us are.”
“
I cannot look at him and not see Silvano. I know you mean well,” she said, raising her chin proudly. “But I will never love him the way I once thought I did. I just want to be done with all of them.”
Sandra sighed
, watching as Sabrina turned and left the room, but not before hugging her tightly. She knew there was hope for the two of them, but they first had to get past the nightmare that separated them. Perhaps it was time that they both needed.
Creighton’s angry voice could be heard as she closed the distance to the room again. She knew he was laying the law out to his friend, but the anger was something she had never become accustomed to. He was usually so gentle and loving; even t
he times she had made him angry he never sounded like he did now. She opened the door just as her husband turned and stepped toward it, pulling it out of her hand and making her nearly fall into his arms.
“
Are you alright?” he asked with a frown, watching her nod her head. “Come on, we’re leaving.”
“Not yet,” she insisted. “We need to try and talk reasonably and calmly
to each other. Neither of you are responsible for what happened; you couldn’t have predicted something like this, and therefore you should not be yelling at each other.”
“It is my fault,” Donato said sadly
bringing the angry eyes of his partner back to him. “If I had treated him better, perhaps he would not have turned out the way he did.” Creighton sighed and looked at Sandra, a warning in his eyes told her she would pay for her attitude. She ignored him and stepped up to the man still sitting in the chair at the long table.
“It wasn’t your fault,” she
said, trying to soothe him; her hand pressing gently across his as she sat next to him. He shook his head, his eyes clouded with unshed tears as they met hers.
“It is my fault,” he said quietly. “His mama could not accept my working so much and left me when Demarco
and Demetrio were babies. When she came back, she was pregnant with Silvano, but I loved her. I didn’t care who his father was; he was a child of beloved wife. I gave him my name and raised him as my own, but he was never like the others. He was always mean; he loved to hurt his siblings. I tried to change him, I gave him more attention and more responsibilities than any of my other children, but it did not work.
“
He started to gamble and spent all of the money his mama left him. He did so many bad things; women, wine, drugs. Then he found out I was not his papa and he got angry. He stole from me and threatened me. He gambled away so much money, but I paid for it. I begged him to get help but he only laughed at me. He said he did not have to listen, I was not his papa. I told him it did not matter who gave him his genes, I loved him and he was my son and I was always be there for him. He spat at me and left; I did not see him again until this,” he raised his hand to the black television screen as tears poured down his cheeks.
“I tried to make him my son, but he refused to accept me, even before he learned his mama had shared another man’s bed.” He turned to Sandra,
gently touching her swollen face, cupping it in his large hand. “Look what he did to you,
Bella
angelo
,” he said. “I am so sorry for all that has happened to you.”
Creighton stepped up behind Sandra and placed his hands on her shoulders and she knew he was making his presence known to the man who looked up into his dark eyes.
“I do not want your money or your business,” he said softly. “I only ask for your forgiveness
Il mio vecchio amico
.” Creighton stood still as the room waited with baited breath. Donato rose from his seat and stuck his hand out to him. Creighton stared at him for a moment and Sandra thought he would reject the gesture, but he reached out slowly and shook his hand, causing the room to exhale in unison.
“I will have my solicitor contact yours,” Donato said. “The business, she is yours, free and clear. You will have no more problems from my children.” Creighton watched him pass by, followed by his sons who looked as ashamed
as their father and full of sorrow for their lost brother and what their elder had just said. Giovanni stopped beside Sabrina and frowned. He needed to touch her, he needed to hold her and make certain she was safe, but she turned her face from him and wiped the tears from her eyes.
Sandra stood and looked to Creighton who had been staring at her
. He sighed heavily and turned back to his friend.
“Wait,” he said
, his tone deep and reluctant. “We’ll keep the partnership…for now,” he looked back to Sandra, warning her to stay silent. “Perhaps we can find a way to continue working together.” Donato looked slightly relieved as he smiled sadly, nodding to the man before leaving the room. Giovanni gave one last glance toward Sabrina, frowning when she refused to look up then walked out the door behind his father.
“Don’t get involved,” Creighton told her in a hushed tone
, seeing the look his wife gave his sister. He turned back to Andrew, drawing a deep breath.
“What now?” he asked.
“We still have some loose ends to tie up before we can put this to rest, but for now you can consider several cases closed. We’ll get in contact with the families of the victims and arrange a proper burial.”
“We’ll take care of Angela Meacham,” Sandra offered. “She deserves to be buried with dignity beside her grandmother.”
“I’ll let the coroner know.” Andrew drew a deep breath to match that of his brother’s.
“What about Miriam?” Sandra asked
again. “Will she be alright?”
“
She was innocent of everything her cousin did. He simply chose her clinic because of the distance it provided and the seclusion. Fortunately she has insurance that will repair the damage and she will be returning to France in a few days. I’m sure she’ll dedicate an entire book to her cousin’s mental illnesses.”
Sandra stared at Andrew for a moment; she wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or chastise him for his cool attitude toward all of this. Turning to see
Creighton beside her, she took his hand and walked out of the room, sheltered by a bevy of police as they passed by the reporters and news stations on their way to their car. Once inside, they pulled out slowly, driving back to their flat in Versailles.
“How did Silvano manage to get the password for the security system?” Sandra asked a few silent minutes later.
“He had access to the computers at NHT; a security breech that will not happen again. He found the password, but he failed to note that the security program has to work off a key as well, otherwise it won’t disable the cameras; it simply stops the alarms.”
“I’m quite happy he didn’t know about that part of the program.”
“So am I,” Creighton said with a heavy sigh.
“You didn’t look too surprised by that video. You already saw it, didn’t you?”
“I saw it as it was happening. I didn’t need to have a repeat showing to know what was happening.”