Paranormal After Dark

by Rebecca Hamilton

  Milan wondered if he'd ruined the opportunity he had to study her every feature or, if he'd created an environment that would unnerve her and would make her want to stay clear of him for the remaining weeks or months ahead.

  Behind him, standing in the doorway, watching him, stood Sarah. This wasn't the first time she'd noticed Milan's interest in a woman. She'd seen him look at another woman in that same way before. She recognized what was happening and dreaded the heartache that was sure to follow.

  Soon, they would all have to go their separate ways. Milan would have to report back to work and Johanna would move on to the next adventure of her life and one day would only mention Merced Manor as a place she once worked. As for herself, she'd witnessed the best that life could offer here and survived the worst that life had to offer. As much as she loved the home and those who had filled the manor with love and laughter over the years, she too knew it was time to move on and learn to live with the memories, good or bad.

  “Oh, I didn't hear you.” Milan turned to Sarah. “Did you need something?”

  Sarah moved forward, looking out the window and down at Johanna. “It truly is a remarkable resemblance, isn't it?”

  Milan swallowed hard, fearing his voice would crack if he said what he thought of Johanna.

  Sarah watched Milan's Adam's Apple move up and down in his throat. Her assumption had been correct. He was smitten with Johanna. She wondered if Johanna had noticed the way Milan looked at her too, even after their recent falling out.

  Sarah felt that this was the best opportunity to remind Milan of all that was at stake. While she had nothing against Johanna, she did fear that Milan was moving too fast for all the wrong reasons. No woman should have to live with the ghost of her lover's dead wife. She didn't believe that Johanna should be subjected to such a wounded soul in that way. Milan was not ready to move on yet. He still carried Paulina in his heart and it would be cruel for him to invite Johanna into his life in that way at this point. Now was not the time.

  “When will the Sanders be finishing up here? I'm sure your employees must miss you.” Sarah hoped he would understand what she was trying to say.

  “I've been in touch. I have a strong team and they are used to the fact that I do have to be away quite often.” His eyes met Sarah's. “What are you trying to tell me, Sarah? You're making that face.”

  She scoffed at him. “I don't make a face.”

  He draped his arm around her shoulders. “You do. That vein in the middle of your forehead pops out when you are upset with me. What have I done now?”

  “You are not funny. Leave my veins out of this.” She teased back, clearing her throat before continuing, “This will all be over soon. Johanna is trying to find herself. You have a life in California, I presume. Me? Well, my body is failing me. It's time for me to sit back and enjoy retirement. The house will belong to someone else.”

  He nodded, bracing himself for what he knew she was going to say.

  “You aren't ready for a relationship and she doesn't deserve to be left heartbroken.” She looked him directly in the eyes.

  “You think I'll hurt her? Why would you think that? I've never hurt a woman in my life.” Milan was troubled by her insinuation. He watched Johanna take snip a few flowers and wrap them with the ribbon she'd removed from her hair. She walked over to the tunnel and placed them at the opening, alongside a pile of stuffed animals and notes left in tribute to the girl.

  “You know that's not what I meant. What I mean is, you need to reconcile your feelings with Paulina. Right now, you carry her death around like a cross. It wouldn't be fair to any woman to have to live with that. And, I worry that whatever it is you think you feel for Johanna has nothing to do with her at all. I think her resemblance to Paulina has done something to you and you may not be thinking straight right now.”

  Milan raked his hands through his hair in frustration, his voice breaking, he said, “I know exactly what I've done. I know that I've hurt people, but I think I have every right to decide how I move forward now. You don't get to decide who I spend time with. It's no longer your job to make decisions for me.”

  Sarah gasped, shocked to hear Milan speak to her in this tone, but still willing to protect him from himself and from others if necessary.

  Neither of the two noticed that Johanna had made her way back inside the manor while they were discussing Milan's feelings for her.

  She hesitated as she approached the bedroom door, surprised to have heard her name.

  Both Milan and Sarah turned to look out into the hallway in response to the creaking they heard.

  She looked at them, hesitantly, unsure how to respond to what she'd heard.

  Sarah turned to her, feigning a smile, “There you are. The gardens are looking nice. Mrs. Merced would be very pleased.”

  Johanna's eyes narrowed. “Which one?”

  Milan chimed in. “Both. Thank you for all your hard work.” He walked around the two women, leaving them alone in awkward silence.

  Johanna's breath caught as he squeezed past her. The tingly feeling in her stomach startled her senses every time Milan was in close proximity to her. Sarah's eyes met Johanna's.

  “Still don't trust me? Seems to me that you may be the one people should watch out for.” Johanna and Sarah had still not hashed out their feelings about what Johanna discovered in the cellar and Milan's latest revelation only heightened her tendency toward defensiveness.

  “The diaries?” Sarah asked, knowing that's what Johanna was referring to. “If she wanted him to have them, she wouldn't have hidden them in the attic.”

  Johanna responded, “Yes, but obviously, she wasn't thinking clearly. Why are you hiding them from him? Don't you think he deserves to know the truth? You know, this place is like some sacred gathering place for all things that this family doesn't want disclosed. It blows my mind to think about how all of this stuff sat here in plain sight undiscovered for so long. Don't you think that's odd? I mean, if Sheriff Acker truly believed he had a murder on his hands, why didn't he ever search the attic or the cellar or anything? And, why have you let Milan spend all these years believing that someone murdered his wife when you know the truth? I just don't understand!"

  Sarah walked to the door to shut it. "You realize that there are other people here besides us, don't you?" She pointed up to the attic. "I don't have confirmation of anything and, as far as this family goes, well, their lives weren't what you seem to think they were. They worked hard to get what they had. They made sacrifices, lost hope, stood up, despite having nothing and no one in this part of the world, and that mattered to them. So, if they didn't want certain information divulged, don't you think they earned that right?"

  Frustrated, Johanna threw her hands into her hair. "Look, I don't care one way or another. All I know is I need this job and once it's over, I'll go my way and you two people can do whatever you want to do. You can go through life pretending that the truth doesn't matter. Milan can go back to California and scowl at the world, for all I care."

  Sarah sat down on the edge of the bed, saying, "That's just it. You do care and that's why you came back. You can sit there and judge Milan or judge me all you want, but the fact of the matter is, neither he nor I are the only ones in this world that want some things to remain private."

  Johanna considered for a moment, wanting to scream at Sarah for being so naive about how horribly both she and Milan had handled things, but she knew it would be to no avail. They were who they were and, if five years of living in the abyss of accusations, rumors, and lies didn't prompt them to rethink their individual strategies than nothing and no one, including her, would.

  "You know why you'll comply? Because he loves you and I honestly believe you love him. There, is that what you want to hear?" Sarah stood up to walk out of the room.

  Johanna's jaw fell. She'd prepared herself for a test of wills with both Sarah and Milan, but never expected that she'd hear this. Love was not something she ever planned to welcome
back into her life and she thought she'd done and said everything possible to hide the feelings that she'd developed for Milan.

  Turning to face her, Sarah added, "You see, I'm not as dumb and naive as you think I am and, if you were as intuitive as you think you are, this news wouldn't be such a shock to you. Perhaps, you should open your eyes and pay attention to the signs. They are all around you and, once you acknowledge them, then, you will get to have an opinion about some of the things you purport to know so much about."

  Johanna's jaw remained open. Her whole body was frozen in place. All she could do is listen to the sounds of everyone else in the manor go about their days as if nothing had changed, where as for her everything had just come to a screeching halt and would probably never be the same again.

  "Where's Johanna?" Milan asked, noticing Sarah's Cheshire grin.

  "Upstairs. She wants to talk to you, if you have a minute." Sarah said, hoping that the two equally stubborn souls would save their arguing for another time and sit down to really hash things out and have a meaningful conversation before it was too late. Time was of the essence if Milan truly intended to return to California soon and the new realtor was expected to arrive for her initial walk through within the next few days.

  "Talk to me about what?" Milan worried that something new had gone wrong.

  Sarah's eyes narrowed as she looked at him. "Go up and find out. I can't possibly keep up with either one of you two. All I'll say is that the two of you need to start focusing on what's important and leave everything else alone. Now is not the time and this is not the place."

  That's not the answer Milan expected to hear. Confused and stunned by her response, he asked, "What are you upset about?" Rethinking his question, he added, "Besides what you were already upset about? You can't keep up? I can't keep up." He marched out of the room, mumbling under his breath. It seemed like every five minutes some new dilemma surfaced and he was the one expected with having to solve the crisis time and time again.

  Sarah took a few deep breaths as she listened to Milan climb the stairs. She hoped that she hadn't sent him into the line of fire and that Johanna had enough time to consider what she'd said earlier. Too much was at stake.

  "I hope you two get this right," she whispered.

  Milan raised his hand to knock on Johanna's bedroom door, but stopped when he heard her voice.

  "Johanna?" He asked.

  She continued talking, then, he heard a male voice speaking. Leaning forward, he put his head to the door.

  "Hello?"

  The two continued speaking. Embarrassed by his actions, Milan quickly retreated before the sound of laughter rang out from the room.

  Recognizing the voice as Rob's, Milan couldn't tear himself away. He didn't understand why Rob would be in her room and didn't trust him anywhere near Johanna or anyone that he cared about. He angrily knocked on the door. Johanna opened it right away.

  "Yes?" She asked, shocked to see him there.

  Behind her, Rob stood, smiling.

  "Everything okay in here? Aren't you a long way from the attic?" Milan didn't look at Johanna. His eyes were focused on Rob.

  "Yeah, but I came down to see if the rooms down here were chilly and I scared this one." Rob pointed to Johanna.

  "This one has a name." Milan stepped into the room, stopping between Rob and Johanna.

  "I know. Her name is Johanna. Is there a problem here?" Rob asked, looking at Johanna for confirmation that things were okay.

  She answered, "No, but to answer your question, it really hasn't been cool in here at all. In fact, it is just hot all the time in here."

  Milan continued staring coldly at Rob, waiting for him to take notice and return to what he was being paid to do. Johanna watched their awkward exchange, partially embarrassed about Milan's sudden need to protect her and partially angered by his possessiveness. She made a note to speak to him about it as soon as Rob was out of earshot.

  Chapter 16

  “LET ME GET rid of them. I shouldn't have shown them to you. Please, Milan, let me have them. We can pretend they never existed. Give them to me, please.” Johanna begged, regretting that she'd shown Paulina's diaries to him in the first place. She should have known better. She wished she'd consulted Sarah before handing them to Milan. Now, everything was ruined. The tender moments they'd shared would never be again. Just as he was beginning to soften and allow new, better emotions to become a part of him, these diaries surfaced and all of the anger he'd held in his heart for too long, oozed out and led his path to destruction.

  “Get out.” His voice was low at first, then, became louder with every second that passed. “Get out, Johanna. Get out of my house now.”

  * * *

  NED STOOD IN the doorway, a grim look on his face. “Milan, I need to talk to you privately.”

  Milan looked at him through bloodshot eyes. “What now? What other horrific crime are you going to accuse me of?”

  The sheriff could smell that Milan had been drinking. This wasn't the time to tell him, he knew that, but he also felt that after all that the Merced family, especially Milan had endured, he deserved to know the truth as soon as possible.

  “Is Sarah here? This is important, Milan.” Ned tried to stress the importance of what he had to say.

  The two men stood silently staring at each other. Beads of sweat lined Milan's forehead. His body was rigid. Ned assessed him carefully, paying heed to the telltale warning signs of a man on the brink of destruction. Moving his eyes from Milan's face to his heaving chest and clenched fists, Ned instinctively put his hand on his gun.

  "Milan, let me in. I just want to talk." He said, making sure to keep his tone soothing. He glanced behind Milan, looking for any sign of either Sarah or Johanna.

  "Why don't we get Sarah in here so we can talk?" Ned moved forward, gently guiding Milan away from the door. "Sarah?" He called out, his eyes darting around the front rooms, looking for signs that something had gone terribly wrong in the manor.

  There was movement upstairs, but no vocal response.

  "Sarah? Johanna?" Ned tried again. Milan hadn't said another word. He stood with his back braced up against the wall leading into the living room, his fists still clenched, and breathing becoming more labored as the intense seconds passed.

  "Milan, where are Sarah and Johanna?" Acker asked again, moving closer to him. "What is going on, Milan? Talk to me."

  "I'm right here. What is it?" Sarah stood on the landing, looking over the foyer, where the two men stood, facing each other. "Sheriff Acker? What happened?" Sarah started down the stairs, her blood pressure spiking as she approached them.

  Ned responded, his eyes never leaving Milan. "Is everything okay here, Sarah? Milan doesn't look like he feels well." Sarah followed his gaze. Milan's rigid jaw and cold, dark eyes sent chills down her spine.

  She asked again, "What happened?"

  Milan blinked as Sarah moved to grab his arm. He stared blankly at her, seeming to be in another world altogether.

  Sarah motioned for the sheriff to help her guide Milan to a seat in the living room.

  "There, let's sit you down. Where's Johanna? Is everything okay here?" Ned's heart pounded against the walls of his chest as he watched Milan's stuttered movements and took in Sarah's panicked expression. His instincts told him that something had gone wrong. He just wished someone would fill him in before he had to take matters into his own hands.

  * * *

  THE EVENTS OF the day had taken their toll on Sarah. She couldn't think straight. Processing the information Sheriff Acker had just told them was far too much to wrap her mind around and Milan was in no condition to be able to withstand another moment. She feared he would collapse. Despite her suggestion to get some rest and let the worries of the day go away for the night, Milan refused, not with his words but with his demeanor. He turned his head every time she mentioned it. When Ned sat with him, he never once acknowledged what he'd said.

  Feeling like she had no choice but
to speak her mind, Sarah began, "This is enough. You have to stop this. I can't sit here and let you shut down and close yourself off from the world. Do you understand what it is you're doing? Do you even realize that Johanna has left?"

  He hung his head low. She held her breath, hoping that he would come to his senses.

  "Yes, I realize that she's gone. I asked her to leave." He looked at Ned. "So, is it over now? Will you leave me alone now?"

  The sheriff understood Milan's anger. He felt guilty about it, but he didn't regret that he'd done everything he could do to ensure that he found the truth behind Paulina's death.

  "I wish that there had been another way. I wish that the outcome had been different. Know that I did everything I could to ensure that you had the answers. I know that this isn't what you expected and I can't imagine the pain you must be going through, but you can take comfort in knowing that no one will ever question you again about this. I'm so sorry for your loss." Ned's voice broke as he spoke. For him, it was an emotional end. He'd spent so many years believing that Milan had murdered his wife. He'd spent countless nights trying to figure out why and how. Now, with further testing, the unfortunate truth came out and, now, both he and Milan would have to reconcile their feelings about the events that took place that night.

  Milan stared straight ahead, not looking at either Sarah or Ned. "It's over. What's done is done. Why are we still talking about it?"

  Sarah opened her mouth to speak, but Ned shook his head, motioning for her to let Milan say what he had to say.

  "My wife is dead. She's been dead a long time. It's time to go on." His voice low, as if he was trying to convince himself. The other two in the room were insignificant in his eyes. This loss was his and his alone. He didn't see how either could possibly know what it felt like or how excruciating the pain was for him.

  Neither Sarah or Ned spoke. They both held their heads down, waiting for Milan to say all of the things that he'd kept bottled up inside for too many years. They both harbored guilt over what had happened. Neither was at fault, but both felt as if they should have known. Someone should have noticed something, they believed. They also understood that Milan's knee-jerk reaction stemmed more from a place of anger at himself than anger at anyone else. He was after all, married to her. He lived with her.