Buried Sins

by Bolton, Karice

  “What aren’t you telling me?” I asked.

  Mitch let out a deep breath and glanced at Mia before turning his gaze to mine.

  “The man you identified for Sam?”

  I nodded.

  “His name is Viktor Franco.”

  Luke

  I couldn’t put my finger on it. I knew I’d never been here before, but the place felt oddly familiar. The home was a mid-century modern that had been well cared for over the years, regardless of no one living in it. The mustard walls surrounding the living room looked straight out of the seventies, and the oversized windows let in ample light even though the day was quickly fading to evening.

  “Let’s sweep through the house first and then take each room individually,” I told Alex.

  We scanned the living room and walked down the short hall, which led to the kitchen. It was like we’d entered a time capsule with the sunburst clock hanging on the wall and the orange Formica kitchen counters.

  “Looks like whoever owned the home did a remodel in the seventies.”

  “And stayed stuck there,” Alex retorted.

  “Very true.”

  I mindlessly opened and closed the drawers before moving back into the hallway where according to the floor plan I’d seen, a linen closet, four bedrooms, and two bathrooms were located. I popped my head in the first bedroom. It had been turned into an office. The second and third bedrooms continued the seventies theme.

  The master bedroom was spacious and a flagstone fireplace was nestled in the corner. I walked through the room and stood next to the fireplace, trying to put my finger on what made this place feel so familiar. My eyes fell to the fireplace. I noticed something that caught me off guard.

  “How long were we told it’s been vacant for?” I asked, kneeling down.

  “Years. Just a property management group and their caretakers have been in and out over the last seven for sure.”

  “Huh. Curious.” I dipped my index finger into the chalky substance and caught Alex’s eyes. “There’s been a fire here recently.”

  “How recently?”

  “I’d say within the last week.”

  My gaze landed on the counter in the master bathroom and a wave of emotion flooded through me. It was difficult for me to concentrate. Memories of my mother getting ready as I sat on the counter crashed into my mind. I stood up quickly and tried to shake the nonsense off, but the memories wouldn’t go away. Instead more slammed into my mind like a freight train running off the tracks.

  “What’s going on?” Alex inquired.

  I strode past him and stood in the bathroom as I pictured myself as a small boy sitting on the bathroom counter, my legs dangling over the side as my mother did her hair. I could almost smell the hairspray and perfume in this small space.

  But that was impossible. We’d lived in the same home all our lives. My sister and I grew up in a two-story, stucco home in California. Not Arizona. I charged out of the bathroom and headed into the small walk-in closet. Here, too, images of another world churned through my reality.

  “You look like you saw a ghost,” Alex said, taking a step inside the small closet.

  I glanced at him shaking my head. “Were there any other structures on the property according to the map?”

  “None that were drawn.”

  “There is one. I know it.”

  Alex looked at me bewildered, but I didn’t have any answers to give him. I was working with a faulty memory and very little else.

  “Follow me,” I turned around and left the closet, making my way to the family room.

  I slid open the slider and saw the barren landscape. It was mostly dirt and a few pine and spruce trees scattered as far as the eye could see. There was no underbrush. I took a step down and waited for Alex to catch up.

  “I don’t see any buildings,” Alex said, his eyes canvasing the large backyard.

  I nodded and folded my arms over my chest as my gaze ran over the land. It made no sense. None of it. I took a few steps forward and without understanding why, I walked toward the back of the property.

  Alex’s phone rang, and I heard him go back inside as I wandered the yard, recalling bits and pieces from another life I wasn’t sure I could properly claim. I reached the waist-high fence and stood still, taking in the field of aspens behind the yard. I closed my eyes and listened to the silence as a recollection of the very same place slowly forced its way into certainty.

  I opened my eyes and glanced behind me. Alex was still inside. I hopped the fence and hiked through the aspens. There was nothing certain about my actions. I had nothing more than an impression leading me through the woods, but with every step forward, the feeling of certainty grew.

  A boulder up ahead instantly clicked. I remembered my father allowing me to slide down it, catching me at the bottom. Déjà vu wasn’t something I’d ever believed in. This was more than déjà vu. I really had been here. My pace quickened as the images of a small building continued to surface. I reached the boulder and leaned against it as I struggled to understand how I’d managed to block this place out. How did this part of my life become buried? I pushed myself off the boulder and walked around the back of it and that was when I could no longer deny a part of my childhood that I’d somehow managed to lock away.

  A small shed sat among the aspens and spruce trees. The shingled siding was aged and looked as if a spark would ignite it and the woods in an instant. I made my way over to the structure and peeked into the old windows, seeing not much of anything.

  I moved to the door and jiggled the handle. To my surprise, it opened right up. I looked behind me, half expecting to see Alex, before I walked inside. A small workbench was pushed into the far corner and a utility shelf full of metal boxes leaned on the wall to my left.

  I remembered being in here with my parents; my dad at the workbench, toiling away on some project, my mom lending a hand and trying to keep me out of the boxes. I walked over to the shelves and pulled out a metal box. The items inside were covered with dust. There was nothing that looked out of the ordinary, mostly old tools like hammers and screwdrivers. I shoved the box back in and slid another one out. It was empty. What did they use this place for?

  “You in here?” Alex asked, pushing the door open. “It’s getting dark pretty quick.”

  “Yeah. We should head back.”

  “Mitch called.”

  “And?” I inquired, holding a rusty screwdriver.

  “He took Hannah and Mia to visit Hannah’s mother.”

  My pulse quickened. What was it about those two? They could convince just about anyone to do anything, no matter the cost.

  “When they were leaving, her mother lost it.”

  That didn’t surprise me. I’d hired several specialists to oversee her care and we were still no further than before.

  “How is Hannah?” I asked.

  “I didn’t ask…but Viktor Franco paid her mother a visit.”

  Without thinking, I threw the screwdriver and it stuck in the floor.

  “What do you mean he paid her a visit?” I questioned.

  Alex shook his head. “Sam’s trying to get the information with Hannah’s help. It should be in the visitor’s log.”

  “So their web is growing, and they don’t care who they bring into their fold.”

  “Seems that way.”

  I walked past the screwdriver and stepped outside, closing the door behind me.

  “We’re still one step behind, Alex.”

  “I recognize that.”

  We walked quietly back through the woods. I climbed over the fence and waited for Alex.

  “So how did you know there was a shed here?” Alex finally asked.

  I took in a deep breath. “Because I lived here.”

  “What do you mean you lived here? I thought you grew up in California?”

  “I did. We did. But we must have lived here at some point when I was a kid, maybe a toddler. My uncle must’ve known coming here would jog my
memory.”

  “But why would he care if your memory got jogged? What’s it to him?”

  “I don’t know.”

  That wasn’t true. I knew very well what it meant. I just wasn’t ready to say it out loud because I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with the information.

  Hannah

  It always felt like I was torn between two worlds. There was the life I wanted to live and the life that was offered to me. I prided myself on being able to make the best out of a situation and had certainly proven that I was capable of finding the silver lining, but I wondered when I’d get to stop doing that. Would there be a moment in my life where I could just exist with no strings attached?

  The idea that my mother, who was already dealing with her own demons, had been used as a pawn made me sick. I wanted to protect her from what the world insisted on showing her, yet I knew there was no way to make that happen. I wanted to know what the man said to my mother, but there was no way to get that from her. My mother closed up again as if nothing had ever happened.

  I kicked my feet under me and continued to watch the surf crash into the beach. I’d been outside on our deck since we returned from visiting my mom. Sam had obtained copies of the visitor’s log, and it looked as if Viktor not only visited my mom once, but twice. I had no way of knowing, but I imagined he threatened her somehow just enough for her to deliver the message that he’d been there.

  Luke already landed and was on his way over here.

  “Heard anymore from Sam?” Mia asked, walking onto the deck. She had two cups of tea and handed me one of them.

  “Thank you. No. He said he’d call if he found anything else out. I didn’t expect him to.”

  Mia sat in the beach chair next to me and tucked in her left leg.

  “Do you think Luke is any closer to finding answers than before he left for Arizona?” I asked.

  Mia’s eyes connected with mine. “I really don’t know.”

  “I was thinking of delaying the start of my school,” I started.

  “Don’t do that.” Mia shook her head and took a sip of tea. “Things will settle down.”

  “How do you know?” I asked.

  “I’m psychic.” She grinned, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “No offense, but I don’t think you should quit your day job. You left a few important details slide recently.”

  “I didn’t say I was any good at it.” She rolled her eyes and leaned further back on the chair. “So when do you think you’re gonna move in with my brother?”

  I shrugged my shoulders and took a sip of the tea. The warm liquid slid down my throat and warmed me up instantly. Maybe tonight we’d be able to talk about it.

  “With everything going on, we haven’t discussed it any further. I don’t even think I’ve told him that I’d love to move in with him.”

  “Yeah. Hopefully things will start to settle down again and you can tell him. I know he’ll be so excited, even if he doesn’t show it. I’m sure our lives will start to slow down again.”

  “Even if they did, I feel like Luke won’t. Not until he finds the people who’ve been doing this…” I told her.

  Mia bit her lip and looked out toward the beach.

  “What?” I asked.

  She ran her fingers through her hair, attempting to shake out a tangle she ran into.

  “I’m worried that he won’t ever find the answers he’s looking for…” She adjusted in her chair and looked at me. “I spoke with Sam, and he felt fairly confident that they’d be able to bring in the guy you identified. It might not be right away, but he sees an end in sight.”

  “But your brother doesn’t.”

  She nodded. “They’ve gotten away with it for so long, I don’t think Luke feels he can chance waiting on the government. But we’ve never been this close before either.”

  “That you know of,” I said quietly.

  Mia let out a deep sigh. “You know my brother well. Yes. That I know of. You’re right. Maybe he knows that it’s just the agency saying the same old things to keep us quiet and to prevent us from taking the law into our own hands.”

  “That’s never really stopped Luke before.”

  “No. It hasn’t,” she agreed.

  “If Luke does find this guy, what do you think he’s going to do?”

  Mia shook her head, but her eyes darkened. “Don’t know. Don’t want to know.”

  “If he’s the same person responsible for your parents’ murders, I can’t even imagine.”

  Mia’s gaze stayed locked on mine. “I can and that’s the problem. Luke’s invested so much time and energy over the years trying to figure out what or who all was involved with my parents’ murders. None of us understood why they didn’t stop with my parents. Why they’re still so set on coming after us. I’m not sure Luke would be able to maintain control of the situation and that scares me.”

  Neither of us needed to mention the latest revelation. I wasn’t sure how that affected Luke, but my guess was that only fed the fire. I felt an ache in the pit of my stomach as I thought about trauma seeking trauma. I wanted to believe differently, but I wasn’t sure if I’d be lying to myself if I did.

  “I’ll stand by Luke no matter what. As long as neither of us gives up on each other, we should be set. I feel like if we can make it through this…”

  Mia chuckled. “As Luke’s demonstrated so far, giving up isn’t exactly in his DNA.”

  “True and that’s what I count on. I’ll just be happy when he gets here.”

  “I know you will and because of that I’m headed out tonight.” Mia told me. “I don’t want to be around for any overly sappy homecoming.”

  “Whatever,” I laughed.

  I heard an engine outside on the street below and my happiness level went off the charts. I hopped out of the chair and jogged over to the railing to see Luke climbing out of his car. Just the sight of him did insane things to me. I was relieved Mia had plans.

  “And so it begins,” Mia laughed as she walked off the deck.

  “Hey, handsome,” I called below.

  Luke looked up and waved as he shut his door. He was so good-looking and his smile so dazzling it made an impact from a balcony away. I turned around and walked toward the chair. I heard the chime inside the house as he opened the front door. I heard Mia telling her brother she was heading out and asking if there was anything he’d found out. His vague answer told me yes, but she didn’t seem to want to slow down as she said her goodbyes.

  Only a few seconds passed before I heard Luke walk onto the deck.

  “I’ve missed you like crazy,” I said, springing up from the chair.

  Luke’s smile widened as he opened his arms and I ran over to him. Feeling his arms wrap around me made all my worries go away. I took in a deep breath and held it in not wanting to let any part of Luke go.

  “It’s so good to be back,” his words sounded somewhat clipped so I took a step back and looked into his eyes.

  “Everything okay?” I questioned.

  “I’m not really sure,” he confessed. I searched his gaze for something more, but he said nothing and walked over to one of the chairs and sat down. I followed behind him and pulled my chair closer.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.

  “I don’t even know where to begin.”

  I caught a look in his eyes that scared me, but I pushed the fear away.

  “Did you find anything at either house?” I questioned.

  “I’m having to come to grips that my parents weren’t who I thought they were.”

  I nodded and reached for his hand. I could see the pain in his eyes, but I also saw something more. Something I didn’t understand, but I wanted to help him through these revelations like he did with me.

  “It’s a hard lesson to learn,” I said quietly.

  He nodded, releasing my hand and sat back in the chair.

  “My parents had more than one identity.”

  My heart stille
d for a moment.

  “Beyond what you knew from Sam?” I asked.

  His brows furrowed and his gaze fastened on the beach below. “Yes.”

  I wanted him to tell me more, share with me what he’d found out. But as I watched him, I realized I was losing him, and I didn’t understand why. No matter what hurtful things his parents did in their past, that shouldn’t define our future, and I had to find a way to make Luke see that.

  “What did you find out?” I questioned, begging silently that he would bring his gaze to meet mine.

  He didn’t.

  “The other address I went to in Flagstaff was a home my parents owned. They owned it when they were the Bergmans.”

  “The Bergmans?” I repeated.

  He nodded still not bringing his gaze to meet mine.

  “People change their names sometimes without—”

  “My parents staged their deaths in a car accident, Hannah. For all I know they had several other identities too.”

  “I’m so sorry… Does Mia know?”

  He shook his head. “Not yet.”

  Why wouldn’t he look at me?

  “I wonder what they had to gain by doing that.”

  Luke brought his eyes to mine, and I shifted uneasily in my chair. It was almost like a stranger was looking at me, but I refused to believe what I saw.

  “Hearing that Viktor Franco had gotten to your mom made me realize a lot of things, Hannah.”

  “It didn’t do wonders for me either,” I whispered.

  Luke’s gaze softened and I saw a glimpse of the man I loved return.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to discover and I don’t know how long it’s going to take.”

  “I realize that, but I’m here for you. I’ll always be here for you.”

  Luke smile, but I saw great sorrow behind his expression and I cursed the family that put it there.

  Luke

  “I’ve found what I didn’t even know I was looking for with Hannah, but I can’t do this to her. I can’t rob her of a chance at a normal life. I saw it in her eyes last night, and I can’t do that to her. I won’t do that to her.” I rubbed my eyes and shook my head as I glanced at Mia. I saw the disapproval in her eyes but all she did was push her lips into a frown as she readied to leave. Grabbing her bag, she stood up from the table.