Back to the Past: Part Two

This is the concluding part to the special two part mini-series Back to the Past tracing the Wheeler family back to 1985.

Previously

Stephanie Elliott arranged a meeting with her husband's mistress, Angela Mitchell and argued with David who denied having an affair. Isabelle Wheeler had a tryst with her lover Ian Sanderson. Lauren went to the Garrett house and spoke to Guy who confided that he was looking into his true parentage. In LA, Mark slept with a client, Helen Keats for money. He was a male prostitute. Arthur and Rose argued with Martin Wheeler when he demanded that they leave the valley. He did not want Isabelle finding out that Guy was her son. Lauren walked in on Ian and Isabelle. Outside, she argued with Julia when Jessica nearly fell into the pool. Isabelle found her daughter and told her the circumstances of her unhappy marriage to Martin. Guy overheard Arthur and Rose talking and realised that Isabelle was his mother. Michael and Julia continued their affair when Douglas was out of town on a business trip. When Lauren warned Ian to stay away from her mother, he raped her. Stephanie pulled a gun on Angela but after a struggle, she pushes Angela down the stairs. David returned hom to find Angela's dead body.

Elliott House: San Francisco

David rushes past Angela’s body and into the den where he picks up the phone. Stephanie chases in after him and grabs it from his hands slamming it down into the cradle.

"What do you think you’re doing?" she asks menacingly.

"Calling the police. What does it look like. You crazy bitch. You killed her."

"You think the police will believe you?"

"What other option is there."

"Well, Angela has been calling here a lot recently. The phone company can testify to that. I think maybe she was…crazed with jealousy. She came round to kill you. To make you hers. You pushed her down the stairs and I came home to find you cradling her dead body. Don’t you just love the sound of that?"

David chokes, his eyes widening. "You really are a psycho!"

"No David I am your wife. That little slut was trying to ruin our marriage. She was trying to take you away from me David. You know you don’t want that. You love me." Stephanie grabs David and flings her arms around him. Too stunned to move he stands rigid until she backs away. "Tommy will be home early tomorrow morning. We can’t have him coming home to this. We need to get rid of the body."

"What?"

"We have to bury it somewhere. In the woods behind that new development in the valley. Grab a shovel."

If the seriousness of the situation…the possible consequences of this hadn’t stunned David into submission he may have found Stephanie’s nonchalant attitude amusing. As it is he can’t do anything. Stephanie bends over Angela’s body and closes the eyes before turning round. "I said get a shovel. I’ll get the car out of the garage."

Wheeler Estate: Napa Valley

Lauren drags herself out of the stables to see Ian’s car hurtling down the driveway, kicking up dust as he speeds into the distance. Lights are on inside the house but no one can hear her silent cries for help.

Hearing a car engine, Lauren flings her head round frantically. Martin is coming out of the house, also walking away. She knows that Isabelle must be in the house. She has to find her.

Dust from the ground causes an unpleasant taste in Lauren’s mouth as she stumbles towards the front door, pulling her clothes desperately around her bruised body. Blood trickles from her mouth at the position where Ian hit her and she thinks she may be sick again from the metallic taste.

Flinging the door open, Lauren can hear an unfamiliar servant singing loudly in the kitchen. She is washing pans, taking over from Pilar, not aware of the battered young girl walking into the hallway.

Hearing the distant sound of a television, Lauren approaches the den and sees Isabelle sitting on the couch watching the news. She looks up, horrified to see her crumpled and bloody daughter. Flicking off the television she runs over to her but pulls away when Lauren stumbles backwards.

"Help me." She cries out breathlessly as Isabelle drags her over to the couch.

"What the hell happened?" her mother asks frantically reaching for the phone at the side of the sofa.

"He raped me…Ian raped me."

Isabelle jumps up, "What are you talking about?"

"He attacked me in the stables. I tried to fight him off but…he raped me."

Now it makes sense. The clothes, the bruises. But why would he do this? Why would Ian want to rape her daughter. "He wouldn’t do that." She blurts out, shocked at her cold attitude.

"Mom please. He did. You’ve got to help me."

"Are you trying to cause trouble for your father and me? Is that it?"

"No!" Lauren screams, wiping a tear from her cheek. It stings as the salt water enters an open graze on her hand.

"You are lying to me. Something else must have happened. If Martin finds out you went after sex…he’ll throw you out of the house."

"I didn’t! I went to the stables to get Ian to…stay away from you! And he did this."

"Go upstairs." Isabelle demands, shaking her hair back. "Get changed and go to your room." She watches as Lauren pulls herself up. As she starts to choke, blood drips onto the carpet but Isabelle does not move.

Wheeler Winery: Napa Valley

A short distance from the main house, Martin enters the creaky old winery that came with the estate. It is only a minor part of the company that provides a small output for wine connoisseurs but Arthur and Rose take care of it very well.

The steamy air makes Martin gasp for breath as he walks past a vat which ticks slightly. The room is as it should be apart from the dark shadow of a figure near the main office.

Martin switches on his flashlight and walks over to the man who is smoking a cigarette. "Have you brought what you need?" Martin asks him.

"Yeah. I don’t get what you want me to do though."

"Perhaps I should go into more detail." Martin replies.

Beverly Hills Hotel: Los Angeles

Mark takes the card out of his pocket which the main desk gave him and inserts it into the door lock. After a small beep, he hears a click as the lock opens and Mark enters the suite.

Lying on the bed in a ‘seductive’ pose is Helen Keats. The darkness is infinitely more flattering than daylight and Mark sighs, dropping the card on a nearby mahogany table.

"What did you call me for?" he questions.

She rolls over to face him, exposing more than he ever wanted to see. "You were so good earlier, I couldn’t wait to get you back in the sack."

"Uh huh."

She gets out of bed naked and pounces on him, biting hungrily at his neck. As she starts to tear off his shirt, Mark pushes her down on the bed.

"Let’s have a good time tonight." She groans almost ordering him.

As he tries to block out what he is doing from his mind, Helen continues to paw him desperately and nearly takes off his shirt. But he jumps backwards with a jolt.

"I can’t do this." He looks at her face, hungry eyes willing him to go back to the bed.

"Of course you can." She starts to move up the bed in order to pull him back but he edges towards the door.

"No I can’t. I’m sorry, I have to go."

He hears her pleading cries as he rushes out of the suite and runs down the hallway for the elevator before she can chase after him.

Oakwood Forest: Napa Valley

Stephanie dims the lights of the car as she swerves it into the forest behind the medical center. No one ever comes here she reassures herself not noticing David’s panicking glances.

Bringing the car to a stop, she waits for a response from her husband but he is not forthcoming so she jumps out of the car and goes round to the trunk. David follows.

"We can’t do this." He pleads.

"We have to David. I told you that. Do you want Tommy to be thrown into a foster family when we go to prison? I don’t." she throws him the shovel which he places on the ground. "Now help me out here."

David hesitantly touches the plastic sack and feels the cold and stiff corpse underneath. He closes his eyes, hoping this is a nightmare but it isn’t. Grabbing the end he helps Stephanie swing the body onto the ground in front of the car.

"Start digging." She orders.

David pulls up his shirt sleeves and hurls the sharp shovel into the ground, breaking the soft earth. He can hear dead leaves rustling as he piles the earth above the hole and Stephanie watches him working.

When the hole is deep enough, they bury the body together. "You know I did it for us." Stephanie pleads as she piles the last of the dirt over the grave. But David does not say a word. He is too shocked. Too disgusted. His wife…is a killer.

Wheeler Estate: Napa Valley

There is no light coming from Lauren’s room so Isabelle presumes she has gone to bed. But there is a sound. The sound of Lauren crying herself to sleep.

Isabelle bites her teeth together, willing herself not to break down. Images of Ian flash through her mind. With his arrogant smirk and great strength. He must have hurt her so much. But she can’t say anything. She can never let Martin find out. He would kill her if he knew.

No. She would have to take care of this her own way.

* * *

Michael and Julia are still lying in the field. The children are in bed so Julia does not need to worry about their safety.

"Did you see Lauren just then?" Julia asks Michael who moans. He is too deep in thought to care.

"No. Why?"

"She looked hurt. Find out tomorrow."

"Okay. Julia?"

"Yes."

Michael sits up and Julia copies him, "I have to tell you something."

"What." She bites her lip worried about what she is going to hear.

"I’m leaving."

"No. No you’re not. Why would you want to leave?"

"Because we can’t continue with this. It’s wrong. You’re my brother’s wife for God’s sake."

"But we love each other. I don’t love Douglas!"

"I know." Michael touches her cheek, "But I can’t be the one to come between you two."

"Michael please! I can’t survive without you!"

"You can. You have to."

"No! Where are you going to go?"

"I’m leaving for Paris as soon as Douglas gets back from his trip. My mother has a house there and I thought I’d stay there for a while. Maybe I can get a job or something."

"What do you want me to do to get you to stay?" she begs.

"There is nothing you can do. You have to give your marriage a chance."

She begins to sob and he pulls her into an embrace. If only she knew how much it hurt him too. The only woman he’d ever loved…and she belonged to his brother.

Mark’s Apartment Building: Los Angeles

The cab driver grunts as Mark hands him the money but when he sees the blue lights flashing violently, he zooms off down the street.

As Mark approaches the building he finds himself drawn into a crowd of people. There are around five squad cars spread evenly and uniformed snipermen stand behind them ready to fire.

A line of police tape prevents Mark from going any further. He knew this was a seedy part of town but why are there so many police.

After an incoherent announcement by one of the policemen, the crowd breaks into disarray as a group of scruffy, unshaved men are dragged out of the building. One of them is Ric Costanza. Mark’s neighbor. He flashes a smile at Mark before being virtually dragged into the whining den of police cars.

There had to be an explanation. Mark taps a middle-aged woman on the shoulder. She is dressed in a hairnet and nightclothes obviously eager to witness the latest drama in her neighborhood. "Excuse me."

"Yeah?" she turns round and sees his face. Reacting similarly to all the women he meets, she begins to pat at her angry red hair, obviously shocked by his good looks. "Can I help you?" she asks sweetly. The effect is ruined when she spits our a piece of gum on the sidewalk.

"I wanted to know what was going on here."

"Ooh you have been missing out haven’t you. You see him over there." She points at Ric who is climbing into the back of one of the cars. "They raided his apartment about half an hour ago. Drugs apparently. Every single one of them was taken away. Apparently, most of them tried to run when they heard the cars coming but none of them were lucky enough. I think it’s shocking. This used to be a nice neighborhood. Now it’s a den of drugs and crime. You may have heard of me. I’m Sylvia Theophilus. I am the head of an anti-crime scheme in this area." She smiles proudly.

"Really." Mark listens a little while longer as she continues her attempts to the thrill him with her stories of voyeurism and manages to make a quick escape when the police break up the crowd. The police tape is taken away and Mark rushes past into the building explaning to an officer that he lives there.

Policemen are everywhere, buzzing round the stairs and the hallway. Mark walks by unnoticed and gets out his key to enter his apartment. But it is already open. The wood of the door is splintered around the lock and Mark pushes it open. His bed is over turned, the mattress slit open.

He rushes in, knowing what he will find but prays that it is not happening. All the money is gone. A note, scrawled in Ric’s handwriting reads

Bail money. Sorry buddy.

He has none left. And if he goes to the police Ric will tell them exactly how he made the money in the first place.

Mark punches out angrily at a wall and makes a dent in the surface, hurting his fist.

There is no other option. He has to start again. Picking up his phone, he dials the Beverly Hills Hotel and asks to be put through to Helen hoping that she will still be there. She is and when she picks up the phone she responds icily.

"What do you want?"

"To apologize about earlier."

"I should hope so."

"What are you going to do about it?" she shoots.

"I thought I might drop by again. Are you going to stay there?"

Her tone changes to a purr, "Well I will if you are planning on returning."

"I am."

"Then I’ll meet you in an hour. Don’t run out on me this time." She warns as the phone line goes dead.

Mark looks at himself in the mirror and repeats his mantra

"I am only doing this to survive…"

Wheeler Estate: Napa Valley

Guy sits in the back of the family car, annoyed as Arthur pulls the car up the winding driveway and stops outside the winery. Martin Wheeler called them earlier, telling them that there was a problem. The only reason he had to come was because his parents didn’t trust him.

"You know we don’t like you being alone with Rikki around." They had told him. Rikki went home and Guy was forced to reluctantly follow them up to the estate.

"He said one of the vats was faulty." Arthur announces as Rose gets out of the car. Guy ignores them both.

"Has he called a technician?" she wonders aloud.

"He didn’t mention it. I guess he wanted us to make sure it was broken first."

"Okay."

They walk together into the winery not noticing Martin Wheeler watching eagerly from the house. Only one minute. But why isn’t Guy in there with them?

Inside the building, Arthur and Rose approach the supposedly faulty vat and hear the ticking noise.

"What could it be?" Rose asks.

"I don’t know. But it doesn’t sound healthy to me."

Within five seconds, the winery erupts into a fireball as flames lick the sky and the crashing explosion sends debris hurtling everywhere.

In the field Michael flings himself over Julia who screams. "Oh my God!"

Martin races down the stairs of the house followed by Isabelle. "Martin what was that?" she asks as they run outside. They witness the flames dancing violently and Martin begins to run over to the winery.

"Wait!" Isabelle cries out, holding him back and the estate is rocked by another explosion. They fall to the ground, thrown backwards by the blast and choke on the dust that fills their lungs.

Michael grabs Julia’s hand and they race out of the field, heading in the direction of the fire.

In the overturned car, Guy opens his eyes. It takes a moment for him to remember where he is and he sees flames lashing at the front of the vehicle. He pushes open the buckled door and crawls out onto the dusty ground. Sirens begin to wail in the valley as the fire crew head towards the estate.

"Jesus…" Guy whispers as he holds the car for support in pulling himself off the ground. Panic strikes him as he remembers Arthur and Rose going in there…

Martin and Isabelle make their way over followed by Michael and Julia. Martin stops dead when he sees Guy standing there. Why wasn’t he with them?

"Dad?" Michael puts a hand on Martin’s shoulder. "What was it?"

"I don’t know."

The fire trucks can be heard nearer, their sirens signalling disaster. Several neighbors come up the driveway.

Guy watches the flames burn the winery and casts his mind back to earlier that evening.

There’s no way he would have Isabelle finding out that Guy is her son.

They’re more powerful than we could ever be.

If Martin Wheeler wanted to find a way to get rid of us…he could.

The voices race around Guy’s head and he turns to see the family standing there. Watching as his parents burn. He locks eyes with Martin. It was him. He did this.

Guy shows no emotion as the fire crew enter the estate, cutting through the chaotic crowd…but his hatred burns with the flames...

This is the conclusion of the mini-series. Hopefully it provides a useful insight into exactly what is happening in the present.

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Part One