Chapter 9

Half an hour later, Chonez was taken back to the springhouse. Nick took him there in such a way that Serena could see the two of them coming out of the library hall as Jose led her down the stairs to go into the library to be questioned again. Serena and Chonez locked eyes, and then Chonez looked away and Nick took him out.

Jose could feel Serena start to tremble as he took her by the arm and to the library. He gave her a hard look that made her tremble more. He hadn't said anything all to her, just glared, ever since he took her from her room. Any fatherly affection seemed to her to have disappeared.

Jarrod and the sheriff were standing there at the end of the pool table nearest the door. They looked up when Jose brought Serena in. Jarrod motioned toward the sofa and said, "Have a seat."

Jose took Serena to the sofa, seated her, then exchanged looks with Jarrod. He could tell just by Jarrod's eyes that Chonez had done some talking. Jose gave his daughter one last look, and then left.

Sheriff Harris closed the doors as Jarrod sat down on the coffee table and leaned toward Serena. He and the sheriff had decided that Jarrod would now do the talking.

Jarrod said, gently, "Serena, we've had a long talk with your friend Pablo, and he's told us quite a bit. His English is a lot better than he lets on. You see, we saw the money he had on him, quite a bit of money."

Serena's eyes flashed a little at that.

Jarrod smiled a little. "That's something you didn't know about, did you? Well, let me explain it the way Pablo explained it to us. This whole thing started when the wedding was planned – because you're in love with Joe Mitchell, and you came to find out that Pablo is in love with Annamaria. Forlorn hopes on both your parts, but you started thinking and you approached him with an idea."

Serena turned her face away.

Jarrod's voice became a bit stronger. "You went to school in San Francisco, like Annamaria did, but you met a little rougher class of boys there. You met two who you thought would do anything for you, for a price, and you decided you'd get them to abduct you on the way to your sister's wedding. Not to hurt you or keep you for long, but just enough to make your act of being terrified they would kill you or someone else in your family believable. And it was. You did a fine job of making us believe their threat was real. But it wasn't."

Serena still wouldn't look at him.

"But it is now," Jarrod said.

Dropping that line on her made her look his way.

Jarrod smiled just a little. "Chonez told us that you talked him into being the go-between. You arranged for him to meet these boys in Stockton and to pay them to abduct your mother and you on the way to the wedding. Chonez left the note in the livery. He was to cooperate with the abduction and pay these boys off. Which he did, and as you planned, it was enough to postpone the wedding and enough to make your fear believable. You thought you could milk it long enough to worm your way into Joe Mitchell's heart, and Pablo thought he could worm his way into Annamaria's."

Serena was still listening.

When Jarrod dropped the bomb. "What you didn't know – what you still don't know but I'm going to let you in on now – was that Chonez shorted your two abductors. He didn't pay them everything you told him to pay them. They didn't know that, of course. They didn't know you planned for them to be paid more than they got, but Pablo kept almost half of the money you gave him to pay them. When they find out about that, Serena – well, you know those boys better than anyone. They will find out. They're going to be looking for Chonez, and they're also going to be looking for you."

Now the fear in Serena's eyes was real. She still didn't say anything, but she was visibly shaking.

"Chonez wouldn't give us the names of these two boys," Jarrod said. "He recognizes the threat, but he said all he had were two first names – Cal and Stanley. He met them only once, here in Stockton when he was supposed to arrange the abduction and deliver the money. Very common names, Cal and Stanley. There's not a thing the sheriff can do to track them down with just that, so they will remain out there, and they will find out they were shorted by Chonez."

Serena looked down at her hands.

Jarrod said, "Serena, we both know the kind of man your father is. He's stern. He's demanding of his family and of the people who work for him. He will not tolerate what you've done. He will turn you out, and you will be on your own. That's a given now and you already know it. You will be out there with Cal and Stanley finding out that they were cheated. They will come for you."

Jarrod looked up at Sheriff Harris, who now came closer, saying, "I need full names before I can arrest them and remove the threat. Yes, I will have to arrest you too, but if you cooperate with us, the court may very well go easier on you. Cal and Stanley will do time, and they will likely still be in prison when you go free. Give us the names, Serena, and we can put them away and free you of them, probably for good."

She still said nothing.

Jarrod put the lid on it. "Serena," he said gently, almost brotherly, "if you keep silent, we can't protect you. They will come for you. Believe me, I'm a criminal lawyer. I know the kind of men they are. They will come for you if you keep silent now, and they will get you. You've already made an incredibly foolish decision with this incredibly foolish plan. Don't make any more. Give us the names of the men you hired before they come for you."

"Cal Raymond," Serena blurted quickly. "Stanley Provost." And then she began to cry in earnest.

XXXXXX

When the sheriff's deputies arrived and took Serena out of the library, she had to pass by her family and the Mitchells who were in the living room, watching, wondering, anxious to know what was happening. Serena exchanged looks with them, but then the deputies took her out. The sheriff followed along, saying to Nick, "Help us get Chonez out of the springhouse." Then to Jarrod, "I'll let you explain to everyone."

Jarrod nodded and went into the living room while Sheriff Harris, his deputies, Nick and Serena went out the front door.

Explaining things like this to the families of people going off to jail was something Jarrod had done before, but didn't like. All those faces looking to him to tell them what their future was going to be, because one of them had done something very wrong and now they were all going to have to pay some price. Jarrod looked at Joe and Annamaria first. They held each other. The Mitchells and the Cabrillos were gathered around them. Victoria, Audra and Heath stayed in the background.

Jarrod said, "Serena and Pablo Chonez have confessed. Serena arranged to hire the men who abducted you and her, Theresa, just to disrupt the wedding and give her what she needed to convince you that if this marriage took place, you were all threatened. She's in love with you, Joe. And Annamaria, Chonez wanted you. That's why he went along with it and had the meetings with the two men who took you. He was to pay them, and he did, but he held some money back. The fear of those men finding out and coming after them for that is what made Chonez and Serena confess everything."

"Who are the men?" Joe asked quickly.

"Cal Raymond and Stanley Provost," Jarrod said. "Boys Serena knew from San Francisco. Do those names mean anything to you, Annamaria?"

Annamaria shook her head.

"They may have gone back to San Francisco," Jarrod said. "Wherever they are, they'll be found and picked up as soon as possible. In the meantime, Serena and Chonez are under arrest. They'll be charged, but the more they cooperate with the law, the easier it will go on them. I can't represent either one of them, but they need lawyers. Jose – I know it's far too early for you to assess how this impacts your family. I know your first inclination is to turn away from your daughter, but think before you act, and in any event, I'd like to go into town and find someone to represent her. Whoever does will want to be paid. Will you take care of that?"

Jose hesitated. His eyes were angry and said "no" right away, but Theresa was Serena's mother, and her eyes said what a mother's eyes would say. A mother stands by her child, no matter what.

"Will you at least talk to a lawyer if I can find her one?" Jarrod asked.

Jose still hesitated, but he nodded. "If he will talk to her and then to me, I will pay for that. I will see what he plans. Then I will decide the rest."

It was plain to Jarrod that despite what had happened, despite how Jose despaired when he thought his wife and daughter might be dead, he was now livid with Serena. As he told Serena, Jose would be casting her off one way or another. It was just a question of whether he'd see she had legal representation first, or not.

Jarrod said, "I'll go to town and see what's what with the sheriff, and see what I can do about a lawyer."

"One other thing," Joe said quickly. He looked at Annamaria, who nodded. He looked up at Jarrod. "We want to be married as quickly as possible. We'd like to go with you to town and see the priest."

Jose and Theresa looked at Don and Carol Mitchell. The question hung there in the air – were the Mitchells still in favor of their son marrying into this family, these people with a daughter who had tried to ruin their son's life? All their lives?

Joe said, "One thing hasn't changed. Annamaria and I still love each other, and we still want to be married. Today."

The Mitchells looked at each other and nodded, and then the Cabrillos nodded.

Jarrod nodded. "All right, but let me suggest you let me and my brothers go to town, see what's going on, and bring Father Martin back here. I doubt those two men are still around, but just in case, I think you should all stay here for now. We'll have the wedding here, maybe not exactly as planned, but here."

"Yes," Jose said quickly. "Bring the priest here."