Clover Undercover

ACCEPT IT

While some of Luca's colleagues occupy my younger siblings, I break down why I've come to find him. It's a simple explanation: the death of our mother—which I claimed was merely a robbery gone wrong that is still being investigated—has left us floundering.

Though we're certainly nowhere near financially destitute and I can easily afford to raise them on my own, my younger siblings need a certain kind of stability that I can't provide. Not yet anyway. I need them to be somewhere safe, with someone I trust. Despite not knowing the detective personally, the trust my mother held is almost enough for me, but not quite.

I'll need to stick around for a bit first but from what I've seen thus far, he's decent enough.

We actually came to Laguna Beach well over a week ago, and I spent that time watching Luca. Learning his schedule, and garnering information about him on my own until I felt certain that this man was indeed as dependable as my mother had claimed.

Thankfully, my findings concur with hers.

Luca is always well dressed and punctual which tells me he cares about how he presents himself. He generously tips waiters and waitresses which indicates he also cares about those who some treat poorly due to their "lesser" professions. He helps people as part of his every day job, but I also saw him offer kindness to strangers even when out of his uniform.

I quickly learned that he is all I had hopes for him to be, and now, as we sit in an observation room, I know it's his turn to learn about us.

When I finish relaying how they need a parent and not just a big sister, the weight of it seems to settle upon the man like a ton of bricks. The anger he feels toward Elaine for keeping his kids a secret all this time surfaced now that the shock is wearing off.

"As you know, mother was a very impulsive person," I carefully explain.

"Impulsive yes, but honestly this is.. this is beyond anything I've ever.. she.. why? Do you know why she did this? Why she decided to have not one, but two children with me and keep their entire existence a secret?"

I remain silent as if I'm pondering the question, but I know exactly why. I know it was for the same reason that ended her life but I'm not quite ready to share that with him; not until I gather my own information first. I don't want to tarnish whatever memories he holds of my mother.

The memories may be few and far in between, but one thing is certain: my mother loved this man more than anything.

Her favorite bedtime story to tell Bella was of the night she had met him at an auction well over a decade ago when he was just a young officer working a security detail. To her, he had a strong, formidable personality that oozed confidence. To him, she was a beautiful, alluring artifact collector, but the truth of the story that mother always conveniently left out during this fairytale was how young Elaine West was on her way to becoming an international phantom. She was just starting out in her career, but over time she would grow into a renowned black market palaeographer. The knowledge she carried regarding rare, and often stolen, ancient artifacts kept a target on her back.

Elaine wasn't just a linguistic maven second to none in her craft, she was also brilliantly abstruse. The proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing; appearing docile and harmless despite being more than capable of handling herself. She was able to remain hidden in plain sight, funded by the copious amounts of money from her many nameless clients, and she was keen enough to pull it off time and time again as she moved from country to country at her whim.

To Elaine, the risk was always worth the reward. Until one day, it wasn't.

A mistake cost mother her life and I'm determined to find out what that mistake was and who is to blame. With all of the knowledge that she shared with me, I know it's only a matter of time before I figure it out. I'll know long before officials piece it together because there's no law I won't break in order to uncover the truth.