Renee Simons Special Edition (49 page)

“What about treatment?”

“Basically, there is none — sometimes doctors will prescribe beta-blockers, but they don’t always help. Laser surgery has its good and bad points, but this eye guy doesn’t think what I’ve got right now warrants surgery. He thinks it probably will go as suddenly and mysteriously as it came, although there’s no way to predict the future. If I’m lucky, the fluid will be reabsorbed without permanent damage.”

“Once the CSR goes away, will it be over for good?”

“We don’t know. Sometimes it recurs, sometimes not.”

“So you’re stuck with more questions than answers.”

“
Es verdad
, although it helps to have a label to pin on what’s been happening.”

“Well, I have something to show you when we get home that may make your situation easier to handle.”

“And that is...?”

“Uh uh, not till we get back.”

A slow grin warmed his features. “So mysterious,
querida
.”

“Only for a short while.”

“Well, then,” he said. “Let’s get over to the police station and settle Charlie Gunn’s hash.”

When they entered the adobe-style building, they were directed to an interview room where they found Sergeant Rivera, Charlie, Mercedes and a dark-suited man Callie guessed was Charlie’s lawyer. The two lawmen nodded to each other as Callie and Luc took their seats.

Charlie’s arms were folded across his chest. He stared down at the table top with a blank expression. Callie glanced at Mercedes expecting the woman’s usually militant attitude. She saw a trace in her clenched jaw, but a softness around her eyes and a hint of tears betrayed her worry. A mother is a mother, she thought, no matter how rotten the offspring. Callie forced herself to tamp down a twinge of sympathy.

The sergeant glanced around the table and then fixed his gaze on Callie and Luc. “We’ve questioned Mr. Gunn since his apprehension and arrest. Under advice of counsel he has confessed to three acts of vandalism and the attacks on both of you. You certainly have cause to press charges. I would if I were in your shoes. But Mr. Gunn’s mother and attorney have a request to make.” Rivera rose and walked toward the door. “I’ll leave you all alone to talk. See you in a few.”

As the door closed behind him, Mercedes leaned forward in her seat and fixed her gaze on Callie. “You and I started out badly and because of that, a series of events has occurred that put you in the gravest of dangers. For that I’m truly sorry.” She laid on hand on Charlie’s arm. “My son mistook my anger and frustration as a mandate to drive you away at any cost. And that is only because he loves me and would do anything for me. He thought getting you to leave was what I wanted.”

“Isn’t it?” Callie asked.

“Perhaps … yes … but I never wanted harm to come to you. My God, child, don’t you know? Didn’t your grandmother tell you who I am?”

“She never mentioned you.”

“I’m not surprised.” Mercedes leaned back. “Well, Lucinda and I were cousins. So that makes the two of us family.”

“And Charlie....”

“Yes, Charles, as well.”

“Not by blood,” Charlie muttered.

Mercedes touched his arm again as if to calm him. “As good as, Son.”

Callie looked from one to the other, but Luc asked the question.

“What are you two talking about?”

“I lost a child when I was very young. Later on, I adopted Charles when I found out that he needed a home. He is my son in every way except blood. It has never mattered to either of us. Perhaps the bond was made stronger by our mutual need.”

“If you knew we were related, why did you ask Charlie to harass me?”

“She didn’t know what I was doing.”

“What’s the request, Mercedes?”

Luc’s voice had gone gentle, as if he’d been moved by the woman’s brief recital. Callie felt herself softening toward the pair and hated her weakness.

“You have every right to exact revenge for what we’ve done,” Mercedes said, “but I’m hoping you’ll find it in your heart to show forgiveness. Don’t press charges.”

“Whoa,” Luc drawled. “Your son nearly killed Callie. There’s a price to pay for that.”

Mercedes turned to Callie. “How high?”

“I’ll give you an answer in return for one from you.”

The older woman nodded and sat back in her chair again.

“Why do you want me to abandon The Mansion?”

In the long silence that followed, something nagged at Callie, something in the recesses of her memory that she couldn’t quite reach. Just as she pulled it forward, Mercedes began to speak.

“There is a secret buried within The Mansion walls.”

Callie felt Luc’s hand on her thigh, and while the contact sent a pleasant flow of warmth to the spot, she knew his motive had nothing to do with seduction.

“A secret wrapped in a native blanket?” he asked.

“It was, in fact, a
serape
given to me by your mother.”

“There was a child,” Callie whispered, “whose existence sent my grandmother away.”

“Stillborn.”

In that moment, all the woman’s years came crashing down on her. Callie swore she could almost feel their burden stripping the starch from Mercedes’ attitude, leaving a tired old woman with all the fight leeched out of her. About to extend her condolences, Callie glimpsed Charlie’s hand close protectively around his mother’s. The movement transformed the pair of enemies into sad figures trying to make the best of a bad break. A lot of bad breaks.

“But why the house,” Callie asked. “Why not out in the desert?” She glared at Charlie. “Or down a mine shaft?”

He squirmed in his seat but said nothing.

Mercedes answered. “I went a little crazy, I guess. The house was empty. I was hurt and angry and feeling guilty and I hated your family. It seemed to satisfy my need for revenge.”

“Against whom? Lucinda? You stole her sweetheart.”

“Nonsense.” Mercedes’ tone had regained its customary steel. “Her father — my own uncle — took advantage of me and then refused to help when I found myself carrying his child.”

Callie took some time to absorb the shocking information and to wonder if she could believe the woman’s accusation. “Why did Lucinda think that Fernando Moreno had fathered your child?”

“That’s what I wanted her to think.”

“But if you’d told her the truth, she would have helped you. You wouldn’t have had to face the tragic situation alone.”

“If she hadn’t decided Fernando was the great love of her life, there would have been no tragedy to face.”

“You’d better explain that. I’ve begun reading her diaries and that’s not the impression I get.”

Once again, Luc’s hand beneath the table kept her from going further. Did he know something she didn’t?

“Then let me clarify those impressions for you.”

Callie marveled at the woman’s return to the steely cold demeanor she’d come to associate with her.

“I was in love with Fernando. Beauty that she was, once Lucinda set her cap for him, there was no hope for me. In my heartbroken state I went to her father – your great-grandfather – for advice. Under the guise of giving me comfort, he seduced me and then abandoned me to my fate. When he left I made sure Lucinda went with him.

“I was able to hide my pregnancy but when the child was delivered in a lifeless state, I would have laid it at his father’s doorstep except that he was already gone. So I buried the remains in the wall of the room where he’d been conceived.” She sighed. “When you came here to restore the place, I was afraid my secret would be discovered during renovation.”

“I told her we should burn the place down,” Charlie said.

“Why didn’t you?”

Mercedes shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“So instead, you tried to scare me away.” Mercedes nodded. “And it got out of hand.” She nodded again. “And here we are.”

“Yes, here we are. At your mercy.”

“Don’t beg,” Charlie said in a tone more growl than polite conversation.

“It’s little enough to do.”

Callie wondered if anyone would have taken the time or gone to the trouble of tracing the remains and if they could have been traced back to Mercedes after so many years.
Probably neither
, she thought.

Callie looked at Luc. “This has to stop. Here and now.” She went to the door and stood aside as Sergeant Rivera entered.

“So,” the lawman said, “what’s the deal?”

“No deal,” Callie replied. “I’m not pressing charges.”

“This is a big mistake,” Luc said. “You could have died and he was responsible. You can’t let him off the hook.”

“Yes, I can.”

“Are you sure this is what you want,” he asked.

“I’m sure.”

Rivera addressed Charlie’s lawyer, who’d been silent throughout the meeting. “He’s still facing time for parole violation. That’s
not
going away.”

“We won’t fight the charge.”

Rivera turned to Luc. “What about the attempt against you?”

For once, Charlie had the grace to look at his accuser.

“I could nail you,” Luc said. “You know that, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I know. You had me dead to rights.”

“You bet I did. So I’m gonna cut you some slack. This time. But if you ever pull anything again, I won’t be so obliging. And just so you know – it isn’t about you. It’s about your mother.”

Charlie straightened his shoulders. “It’s always been about her.”

Callie and Luc watched the sergeant escort Charlie from the room with the lawyer right behind. Mercedes turned to them.

“Thank you. We won’t forget.”

She followed the others out, leaving Callie and Luc in the empty room.

“What next,” Luc asked.

“We need to stop at The Mansion for some equipment. Then we’ll go take a look at what I want you to see.”

Back at The Mansion, where work was winding down for the day, Luc viewed with interest the rope ladder and lantern Callie stashed behind the front seat.

“This should be good,” he said with a chuckle.

“It will be.”

He knew where they were going but couldn’t resist teasing. “Give me a hint.”

She pointed behind the seat. “That
is
your hint.”

“We’re mountain climbing?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

“And we’re heading where?”

“I’m not sure, but I think I’ll know it when I see it.”

Luc nodded. “We’re going to the mine.”

“I want us to go where I came out, not where I went in. Though I think we’re equipped for either.”

“You were pretty confused when I found you.”

“I know.”

“Keep an eye out. When you see something familiar, let me know.”

They’d gone several miles when something about the outline of the
caldera’s
far slope struck a chord. She pointed out the driver’s side window. To her surprise, Luc lifted her arm and planted a gentle kiss on her hand.

She blushed. “What was that for?”

“For being too tempting to resist.”

“Hold the thought.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“We need to go there.” She pointed again. “Should we walk or drive?”

“Both.”

They drove as far as they could, then left the SUV parked in the shade of a small grove of trees. Callie cradled the lantern in her sling. Luc shouldered the ladder and they began a slow climb with Luc giving her a hand up and over the difficult spots. Wherever possible, she led the way, guided by a vague memory of her trip down. She traveled almost by instinct, trying to recall the twists and turns she’d taken.

“Do you think it’s much further?” Luc asked.

Callie grinned at him. “You mean, `are we there yet?’”

He laughed. “That’s the kid in me, I guess.”

“Well, the kid in you can relax. We’ve arrived.” She tipped her chin toward the cluster of cliff houses. “See?”

“
Por Dios
. This is amazing.”

“You don’t know this place?”

He shook his head. “Never knew it existed.”

“There’s more.”

She led him to the cave and then to the opening in the floor. He shone the lantern down through it.

“Not much to see.”

She chuckled. “Forgive me, but you couldn’t be more wrong.”

“Okay, let’s look at what’s down there.”

He knelt near the opening and hooked up the ladder, maneuvering the rungs so they dropped through the hole, then took the first steps down.

“C’mon, I’ll support you from below.”

Callie turned and lowered herself down the rope steps. With only one available hand, her grip was less than secure, but his hands at her hips steadied her and spread their familiar warmth as her movements led them to her waist and then along her sides. A brief moment of regret knifed through her; the memory of his touch would have to last her for a long time if what waited below sent them in different directions.