The Disappearance of Valentina Moreno

Chapter 11 ~ Family Man

                Mist drifts down the mountains like a slow-motion avalanche, coating the redwoods in a veil of silver as we coast the highway. The beauty of Redding will never grow old, and I usually feel a serenity take over as I enter the sleepy town. But as Julian steers his ‘54 Bel Air, anxiety ripples up my arms.

My father should be working, so he has no idea I’m here, and I need it to stay that way.

When we pull up to the cabin, we scope the place out for any signs of him, and when it looks clear, I head inside while Julian keeps watch. 

A gut feeling tells me we might find answers in my father’s storage shed. So, I search through his mail until I find the invoice and then carefully place everything back exactly how I found it. On the way out, I take one last glance around. The cabin is still decorated with Miranda’s touch, and part of me wants to trash the place, but I won’t. 

“Did you find it?” Julian asks when I slip back into the car.

“Bingo.” I hold up the envelope.

“Alright, alright, alright. Let’s go see what pops is hiding.” 

∆∆∆

The public storage shed is across town and off the beaten path, hidden in the trees. The property is old, the paint on the sign is fading, and the storm drains drip with rust marking prior water leaks. It’s unlike the newer facility we passed in town, which is probably why my father chose it. This is most likely the type of place where you can pay cash, and no one asks questions. 

My assumption is proven correct when we scope out the office, and no one is on duty, so I help myself with spare keys dangling on a corkboard with assigned numbers. When I locate the one matching the shed number on the invoice, I snatch it, and off we go on a treasure hunt.

“What do you think we’ll find?” Julian rubs his hands together and blows on them. Fog floats away from his mouth. He should have worn a jacket instead of a puffy vest.

“Part of me hopes we’ll find nothing.”

“And the other part?” 

“I’m not sure. I just know I can’t shake the look in my father’s eyes from two days ago. It was as if someone else was staring back at me. Something else had taken over, and we haven’t talked since then.”

“Good. And he better not come around again, or I’ll kill him.”

“Julian…” 

“I mean it. If he lays another fing—”

“He won’t,” I cut him off. “You didn’t see the look in his eyes once he realized what he was doing.”

“Don’t make excuses for him.”

“I’m not.” I shove the key in the lock, and with a click, the rusty garage-style door comes loose. “But he is my father. I know remorse when I see it in his eyes, and no matter what the DNA results come back with, I know he loves me.”

“Well, he has a funny way of showing it.”

“I taunted him,” I grunt as I roll open the door. “I fed him lies about us humping like rabbits in high school.”

“Wait. Us as in you and me?”

“Yes.” I step inside the dim space, and Julian follows.

“But why? You know damn well I’d never touch you with my dick. You’re like my sister.”

“I don’t know why I said it.” I shrug and turn on the flashlight on my phone. “I guess I just wanted to piss him off. He was rude to Moses, and I was angry.”