Dark Shadows of the Past

by Angel Sefer

  Christina was up early, too, and they had some coffee and slices of bread with butter and jelly for breakfast. They left after that, and Dan dropped her off at the bank.

  Then he headed for the police station, anxious to find out what Alexis had discovered about Christina’s grandmother. He was also going to call Miles and see if there was any news on his side.

  Alexis was waiting for him, and from the look on his face, he wasn’t happy.

  “What’s up?” Dan got straight to the point.

  “You’re not going to like this,” Alexis said and shifted his weight from one leg to the other uncomfortably.

  “Spare me the introduction,” Dan said. “What did you find out about the old lady?”

  “Well,” Alexis started, “for one thing, she doesn’t live here on the island.”

  “What do you mean she doesn’t live here?” Dan swallowed hard, staring at Alexis impatiently. “Then whose house was that out in Fiscardo that Christina was taken to?”

  “The house belongs to a Marcello Fabiani,” Alexis replied. “I checked on the guy. He’s a thirty-one-year-old businessman from Palermo, Italy. He owns a chain of Italian restaurants in Greece and other European countries, as well as in the States. The house in Fiscardo is in his name. He acquired it two years ago from another Italian named Puliano, who seemed to owe Fabiani a large amount of money. Puliano didn’t have the money to pay Fabiani, so he signed the house over to him.”

  “Very interesting!” Dan commented and scratched his head. Things were getting more complicated by the minute. “What else do you know about that Fabiani character? And what is his relationship with Adriana Rosetti?” Dan asked.

  “Fabiani is in Italy right now, but he is due back in the next few days,” Alexis replied. “As for the old lady, I’m still checking on her and her relationship to Fabiani. The only thing I know so far is that she’s also from Palermo—”

  The ringing of Dan’s cell phone interrupted them.

  “Excuse me,” Dan said. “I have to answer this. It’s my partner from the States.”

  “Sure, go ahead,” Alexis and said and stood up. “I need some coffee, anyway,” he added and walked out the room.

  “Mallory,” Dan answered the phone.

  “How are you doing, buddy?” Miles asked.

  “I’ve been better. Did you find anything on Adriana Rosetti?”

  “Well, not much. She is from Palermo, Italy.”

  “I already know this much,” Dan said. “Anything else?”

  “She visits the States every now and then, and when she does, she stays at the Rosetti’s mansion in Nevada.”

  “Have you heard anything about a Marcello Fabiani?”

  “No, who’s that?” Miles inquired.

  “I’m not sure, but he seems to be involved with Adriana Rosetti somehow.”

  “I’ll check on him,” Miles said. “Do you know anything about him?”

  “He owns a chain of Italian restaurants in Europe and the States.”

  “Okay, I’ll let you know what I find out about him.”

  “What about the old lady’s attorney, Lionel Berkley?” Dan asked.

  “He’s a partner in a very prestigious law firm in Nevada—Baileys, Sanders, and Berkley. Gino Rovelli, the detective in Las Vegas I talked to said that some of their clients are suspected to be members of the mob,” Miles said.

  “That explains his dealings with Adriana Rosetti,” Dan said. “And what on earth was he doing here in Greece?”

  “I don’t know about Greece,” Miles said. “But his law firm cooperates with a law firm here in Atlanta. Guess whose?”

  “Beavers!” Dan said and gritted his teeth, the warning bell in his head clanged.

  “Yes,” Miles agreed.

  “What on earth is going on?” Dan growled and ran his fingers through his hair. “We need some answers, and we need them fast. What about Lawrence? Where is she?”

  “She’s in jail until the trial since her request for bail was denied. I’ll visit her there to find out what she knows about all this and call you back.”

  Alexis walked back in the room as Dan was hanging up the phone.

  “Any news?” Alexis asked.

  “Nothing much, just that the old lady visits the States every now and then. When she does, she stays at the Rosetti’s mansion in Nevada.”

  “What’s troubling you about her?” Alexis asked.

  “She told Christina that she lives here in Greece. Why would she lie about that? And what was she doing at Fabiani’s house?”

  “You’re going out there tonight, aren’t you?” Alexis asked.

  “Yes,” Dan replied and strode toward the window, crossing his arms in front of his chest. His gaze wandered over the view outside without noticing it. His mind worked overtime, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. He had a gut feeling that Christina was still in danger, and he needed to figure out who was threatening her and why. The only thing he was sure about was that all this had to do with the money. But how? And what was Fabiani’s connection to all this?

  Chapter Eighteen

  CHRISTINA WALKED into the bank and asked for Mr. Antoniou, the branch manager. A few minutes later, she was sitting in his office going over everything with him. She explained to him that an account was opened in her name by her attorney, Lionel Berkley, and she was expecting a transfer of one million dollars into her bank account.

  Mr. Antoniou seemed a little surprised but didn’t say a word. He called his secretary into his office, explained to her about the bank account and the transfer, and asked her to check on it.

  The well-dressed, middle-aged man was polite and offered Christina some coffee, but she could tell he didn’t seem convinced she was telling the truth.

  Christina shifted uncomfortably and was relieved when the secretary walked back inside. Unfortunately, no account had been opened in the name of Sophia Rosetti.

  “What about Christina Connors?” Christina asked suddenly, and when both the branch manager and his secretary stared at her puzzled, she mumbled an excuse about been adopted and having her name changed.

  The secretary came back, a few minutes later—no luck.

  “Is it possible that the account was opened in another branch and hasn’t registered in the system yet?” Christina inquired, not sure how banks operated in Greece. It was a long shot, but she thought she would try. She just didn’t want to accept the possibility that her grandmother lied to her.

  “That is impossible,” the bank manager said explicitly. “All transactions are recorded in the system immediately.”

  “I see,” Christina said and rose to her feet. “Well, I have to do some shopping,” she added, even though she didn’t feel like doing anything at all. She just wanted to find a quiet place to sit and think.

  The bank manager kept Christina’s cell phone number and reassured her that he would notify her as soon as the account was opened, and the transfer completed.

  Christina thanked him for his time and walked outside the bank with as much dignity as she could muster. The truth was that she was worried. Something was wrong. Don’t be ridiculous, she reprimanded herself. It’s just all these things that Dan said the other night. But that’s his job. He’s supposed to worry and be suspicious.

  She drew a deep breath of fresh salty air and strode down the street. Walking around on the waterfront would help clear her mind. Maybe I should call Dan. Then again, she decided to wait. The truth was that she was a little embarrassed. It had been bad enough to endure the strange stares Mr. Antoniou and his secretary were giving her. They probably thought that I’m a fraud. After all, it wasn’t every day that someone receives a million dollars transferred to their account. Through her entire life, Christina never had a balance of more than a thousand dollars.

  Stop worrying so much, she thought. In any case, if something was wrong or the transaction was delayed, she was still meeting her grandmother tonight, and things were going to be cleared up.
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br />   Feeling a little better, she walked into a small cafe on the waterfront and ordered some coffee.

  Afterwards, she visited a few stores. Shopping always made her feel better, but this time, the shopping therapy didn’t work—she had too much on her mind to worry about clothes and things like that.

  It was good that Dan had given her some money—in case the transfer hadn’t made it through, he’d said. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had any money even for the taxi to make it back to the mansion.

  ***

  Arriving at the mansion, Christina walked straight to her room. She undressed and jumped into the shower. In dire need of relaxing her tense muscles and clearing her head, she closed her eyes and let the hot water hit her body hard.

  When she got out of the shower, she checked her cell phone. She had a missed call. Thank God, she thought. They had called from the bank. However, the message wasn’t from the bank. It was Dan to tell her that he was running a little bit late, but he was going to be there by six-thirty. Dinner at her grandmother’s was at eight. So they had plenty of time.

  She blow-dried her hair and searched through the clothes she had bought the day before. Finally, she decided to wear a pair of green silk pants with a white silk blouse. She let her hair loose on her shoulders, and her only piece of jewelry was her gold locket hanging around her neck.

  Christina was putting on some makeup when Dan arrived. She heard the doorbell and waited for him to come upstairs.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, seeing the frown on his face.

  “Nothing,” he replied, and putting down the suitcase he was carrying, he gave her a kiss on the forehead.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Christina asked, standing up and turning around to face him.

  “No,” Dan replied firmly. “Not now. I’m going to take a quick shower so that we can go. I drove by the hotel and brought some clothes over,” he continued and walked to the bathroom.

  Christina was about to say something else, but on second thought, she kept her mouth shut.

  “Everything okay at the bank?” she heard him asking from the bathroom.

  When Christina didn’t respond, he appeared in the doorway, half-naked, staring at her questioningly.

  “What is it?” he inquired.

  “The account wasn’t opened, and, of course, the money wasn’t transferred. At least, not yet,” Christina said simply and sat back down to finish her makeup.

  Without any comment, Dan turned on his heel and went back inside the bathroom to take his shower.

  Thank God, he didn’t say I told you so, Christina thought. I wouldn’t be able to handle it right now.

  She finished her makeup, put on her white high-heel sandals, and grabbed her matching purse. All ready to go, she walked downstairs and waited for Dan in the living room. In the meantime, she was rehearsing in her mind what she was going to tell her grandmother. She didn’t want to sound suspicious; however, she would ask her why the account wasn’t opened, yet.

  Going over everything in her mind, she now felt stupid that she didn’t even ask for copies of the paperwork she had signed. How could she have been so naïve? Come to think of it, she was so happy to meet her grandmother that it didn’t cross her mind, not to trust her. She heard Dan coming downstairs and turned to glance at him.

  He walked into the living room wearing a dark blue pair of pants, a white shirt, and a gray jacket. He’d even put on a tie—very unusual for Dan.

  She smiled at him, trying not to let him understand how upset she was. Without a word, they walked outside, got in the car, and drove to Fiscardo.

  ***

  Christina was very quiet on the way there. Dan wasn’t in a talking mood, either, debating whether he should tell her what he had found out so far or not. No, he decided finally. She’s under a lot of stress all ready. I’m going to play along and see what I can come up with.

  Turning into the subdivision, Dan glanced over at her. Christina stared back at him questioningly, and he gave her a reassuring smile. She reached over and grabbed his hand holding the gear stick, and he turned his palm upwards and squeezed hers into his. They drove down to the front of the house.

  Five minutes till eight, and darkness was already unfolding. No lights were on at the house. Christina stared at him, puzzled. He pulled into the driveway and parked outside the garage door, which was shut. They climbed out of the car and walked around the front and up the steps to the front door. They rang the bell and waited, peeking through the glass on the front door for a light or any sign of life in the house, but nothing...only dead silence.

  ***

  After waiting for a couple minutes, they rang again. The house seemed deserted. Christina stared at Dan in despair. He turned, walked back down the steps and to the back of the house. In a few minutes, he came around the other side.

  “There is nobody here,” he said.

  “What do you mean nobody’s here?” Christina asked just to say something, not wanting to admit that she’d been conned.

  Dan took her by the arm and led her back to the car. “Let’s go,” he said. “We have to talk.”

  “But she said Friday!” Christina complained. “I’m sure she said Friday.”

  “Come on!” Dan said and pushed her into the car.

  Christina was quiet all the way back. After they had parked the car, Dan took the keys from her hands, opened the door, and guided her inside. She walked straight to her bedroom, taking her clothes off on the way. She threw her blouse and pants on the floor and climbed in bed, hugging her pillow.

  Dan paced back and forth.

  I’m so stupid, she realized and feeling hot tears welling up in her eyes, she hid her face in the pillow.

  Dan walked over to the bed, pulled her in his arms, and kept her there for a few moments. “Christina, there is so much I need to tell you,” he said.

  Christina wiped her eyes and glanced at him questioningly.

  “Listen,” he started and cleared his throat. “Your grandmother lied about living here. The house in Fiscardo doesn’t belong to her but to some guy named Fabiani.”

  “What do you mean she lied?” Christina asked confused. “I went to that house. She was there.”

  “I know,” Dan said. “But the house is not hers, and she doesn’t live on the island. She lives in Palermo, Italy and spends some time at the family mansion in Nevada every now and then.”

  “Why would she lie to me?” Christina asked, and the hurt was evidence in her voice.

  “I don’t know,” Dan replied. “Now are you going to tell me what happened at the bank today?” he asked.

  Christina glanced at him and swallowed hard. “No account was opened in my name, and the money never came,” she admitted, disappointed. “The people at the bank were staring at me as if I was some kind of crook. They probably didn’t believe a word I said,” she added, and more tears slid down her face.

  Dan squeezed her in his arms. “Come on now,” he said. “Try to relax. Why would they think of you’re a crook?”

  “Because ordinary people like me don’t get million-dollar transfers,” Christina replied.

  “What did they say?” Dan asked.

  “Nothing,” Christina replied. “What could they say? The money didn’t come in, and they thought I was just pulling their leg.”

  “You need to relax,” Dan urged her. “I’m sure they didn’t think that at all. It’s all in your mind.”

  “But the money never came,” Christina said.

  “And it probably never will.”

  “Why?” she asked simply.

  “Because I believe that they never meant for you to get any money. They just wanted everything for themselves.”

  “How do you know that?” Christina asked.

  “I had Alexis and Miles do some checking for me, and Miles talked to Emily Lawrence today. Also, I drove by the hospital to see Perdini.”

  “Perdini? But why? What does he know about my grandmother?” Christina as
ked confused. “And by the way, Perdini is in no shape to talk.”

  “You’ll be surprised the information I was able to get from him. All I had to do was to ask the right questions, and he would blink once for yes and two for no.”

  Christina looked at him, shocked.

  “I’ll bring us something to drink,” Dan said and walked back downstairs.

  Christina put on her nightie, stepped outside on the balcony and sank on a bamboo armchair. She lay back, resting her head against the soft pillow, and closed her eyes, enjoying the fresh breeze.

  In a few minutes, Dan came back upstairs, holding two glasses of chilled white wine. He handed her a glass and sank onto an armchair, holding his.

  “Tell me!” she said impatiently, twisting the glass back and forth in her hands.

  Dan told her that, after the information Miles found out about her grandmother, he was even more convinced that something was wrong. He explained what he had found out about Lionel Berkley and his association with Beavers.

  Christina just sat quietly, listening to him.

  Then Dan conveyed to her that Lawrence and Perdini helped him uncover the relationship of her grandmother with that Fabiani character and the possible motives behind her grandmother’s actions.

  “What did you find out?” Christina asked. “Who is Fabiani and what does he have to do with the Rosettis?”

  “Marcello Fabiani is your cousin,” Dan explained.

  “My cousin?” Christina shot him a surprised glance. “But how come? As far as I know, Antonio Rosetti didn’t have any kids…or did he?” she said, thinking that it was possible for Antonio to have an illegitimate child, just like her father had Adriano.

  “No, Fabiani is not Antonio’s child,” Dan said.

  “Then whose?” Christina asked, staring him straight in the eyes. Her head was spinning from all the new information.

  “It seems that your grandmother had one more child, besides Antonio and Paolo,” Dan replied.

  “I’ve never heard anything about that,” Christina admitted, puzzled. “And all those years that I’ve been scanning the newspapers and collecting information on the Rosettis, I’ve never heard anything about a third child.”