The Kate Nash Series Boxed Set

by Keene, Susan

  “Are you sure? I watched a documentary on life around the galaxy. The host commented that there could be as many as a thousand or more civilizations besides ours.”

  Amy leaned forward. “Not all the things you watch on television are real.”

  “This one was. It played every night on the public station. They are a teaching station; they wouldn’t spend that much time on something that wasn’t true.”

  Amy opened her mouth to say something else. I shook my head no. I guessed our client to be well into her eighties. I didn’t want to demean or destroy her over this.

  We were quiet until we got in the car. Amy looked at me. “What do you think?”

  “I believe she thinks it’s all true. She has no family left. She might spend too much time alone or maybe she gets confused. Let’s call around and get someone to come out and see her.”

  We called The Council on Aging, The Senior Center, the mental ward at the hospital and the Mental Clinic over on Delmar.

  A month later a lady called and told us we might want to know our aging friend was better. The social worker added that Mrs. Trimble still insisted someone moved her things each time she left her apartment.

  CHAPTER 7

  R oger called a little after midnight. “Well, Kate seems like your double has been spotted.”

  “Jeez Roger, do I have to come in again?”

  “No, at the time she was seen you were at an art gallery opening with Ryan. I have eyewitness accounts from at least twenty folks. They saw her or you at a grocery store, a liquor store, and a flower shop. We have the number of the taxi that picked her up and the address where it dropped her off.”

  “What did she do?”

  “She didn’t do anything. Remember, she’s a suspect in a homicide. The report came back on our victim. Initial reports were correct. He was connected. Wonder what she, personally, has to do with organized crime?”

  “Roger, I don’t like this. I could get hurt if I go out and get mistaken for her. I could get shot or worse.”

  I heard him take a sip of something―most likely coffee from the filthy pot in his office. I was sure it hadn’t been cleaned since I left.

  “I thought of that too. Keep your head down. Maybe you’d like to go along when I track down the address she gave the cabbie.

  “Sure, sure I would. I’ll be right down.”

  “No need. I’ll pick you up”.

  Ryan came through the bathroom door with wet hair and a towel tied around his waist. “Who was that at this hour?”

  “Roger, it seems my look-alike was out on the town tonight.”

  He sat next to me on the bed. We had gotten home late and he wanted to stay over. Of course I said yes. “We need to spend some time on this. They say everyone has a doppelganger, yours happens to be a criminal.”

  “Which reminds me, I’m going to ride along with him. We’re going to the address she gave a cab driver tonight.”

  “What do you think she’ll do when she sees you?”

  “She knows all about me or she wouldn’t have called the apartment and left a message when I was in jail.”

  “Yes, I bet she does. Be careful.”

  “Ryan, you’re telling me that you’re not going to ask to go along?”

  He slipped on some pajama pants and slid under the covers. “I’m tired and I need to read this report before I go to sleep. You go and have fun.”

  He kissed me lightly on the lips.

  I got into Roger’s unmarked car and he drove us to the far south side of the city.

  I loved it there. The homes were close together and went upward instead of outward. I went in one of them years ago to investigate a murder. They were narrow, with one room on each floor. Each bathroom had a floor of its own. At one time it was a Dutch community with families at every address. As population aged, it became a posh area for Generation X.

  We stopped in front of the address the cab company gave the police. It was a shell of a building. When they renovated the home they tore it all down except the front which they used as a false facade. They did it to keep the character of the old neighborhood.

  I read the address I had in my hand. “2707 Lafayette, this should be it. Want to go a block in each direction and see if she’s around?”

  “No Kate, I don’t. Look around, this construction goes on for miles in each direction. In the morning I’ll send some patrolmen to scout around. She’s not only keeping her whereabouts secret from us, she’s running from the mob. The fact that she has lived into her thirties is a testament to her resources. Sorry I drug you out on this chilly night to chase a ghost.”

  “That’s all right. It was a nice diversion.”

  We drove back to the Penthouse in silence.

  I got off the elevator at three-thirty. Chili came out of the bedroom stretching and reluctantly walked to me. “Were you asleep little girl?” She wagged her tail and moseyed toward the kitchen where I kept her water bowl. She was back in a second. “Ready to go back to bed?” She jumped up on her hind legs so I could pick her up.

  The bedroom was dark, but Ryan had left a light on in the bathroom. I sat the dog on the bed. She tunneled under the covers. For several moments I listened to Ryan breathe. I admitted to myself how much I loved him.

  I went to sleep but I didn’t stay asleep. A dream woke me. My double could become invisible and kept appearing and disappearing into the microwave.

  It turned into a long night. I woke starving. Ryan went to get lattes and bagels with cream cheese while I stood in the shower until the water ran cool.

  He took Chili with him and included a long walk around the block in the deal. I thought again how I wanted a house on the ground floor with a fence so I could let the dog roam.

  I needed to meet Amy at the office at one o’clock to discuss our next case. Jake, Amy’s boyfriend, who played baseball for the Springfield Cardinals, was in town. She wasn’t in any hurry to get to work.

  I turned on my laptop and looked up doppelganger.

  Doppelganger: a person who is a double for another, considered a physic phenomenon. It is used in literature as a case for mistaken identity.

  Lovely.

  There was story after story of these look-a-likes. One told of a teacher who was in the classroom yet people saw her in the garden at the same time. Another talked about a poet whose double sat down across from him and proceeded to dictate the exact poem he had written.

  I couldn’t believe that was what happened to me.

  I met Ryan at the elevator. “Are you busy today?”

  He handed me a bagel. “I have some phone calls to make. Give me an hour and I’m yours for the day.”

  “I want to go over the surveillance tapes from the places Miss X went last night. I thought maybe you’d like to go along.”

  “Sure, aren’t you supposed to meet Amy?”

  “Yes, but Jake’s in town and she’s taking the morning off. I’ll check in with her later.”

  He leaned over and gave me a peck on the cheek. “Okay, finish your breakfast and I’ll be done as soon as possible.” He reached into his pocket for his phone, punched in a number, walked over to the dining room table to talk.”

  An hour later, we were in the crime lab watching tapes with one of the techs. I had to admit, in every way she was me; hair, eyes, coloring, and some mannerisms.

  It all made me antsy. I asked the tech. “I know doppelgangers are psychic phenomena, But do you know anything about them?”

  “Being with the police department, I most usually look at people, dead and alive. So the look-a-like issue fascinates me. A photographer by the name of Francois Brunelle put an advertisement in the newspaper asking for anyone who knew people who looked alike. He thought there would be one or two at the most. At last count, he had photographed over fifteen hundred doubles. When I say they look alike, I am discounting twins. That was about ten years ago. I read an article saying he had a contract with a publishing company to turn his photos into a coffee
table book.”

  Ryan and I shared a glance of disbelief. “I don’t think this woman is my double. I think she’s either some nut-job who looks enough like me to get away with fooling or there’s a specific reason for what’s going on and we need to find it. I know people who look alike yet when you get closer to them the difference would stand out like flashing neon lights.”

  Allen, one of the police forensic investigators, offered to make some prints we could take with us. “It’ll only take a few minutes. Everything’s digital these days.” Before he handed them to me, he held them up one at a time. “I think you’re mirror images of one another. It’s a trait of identical twins. Her eyes are the same color as yours, as is her hair. The only thing I see to distinguish you is you’re right-handed and the tapes indicate she’s left-handed, which only strengthens the theory. Miss Nash, I’d say you have a twin― an identical twin.”

  The blood must have drained from my head. The room went in and out of focus. I grabbed on to Ryan to keep myself upright. I’d hoped the tapes would be proof she was an imposter, but it didn’t happen. As impossible and implausible as it was, I was asked to accept the murder suspect as my twin sister. I didn’t care what he thought he proved I knew I was an only child. It was too far-fetched to be true.

  Roger came in. “I’ve been thinking. It might be a good idea to bring this out into the public eye. Put a picture of you and her in the local newspapers. Make it about doppelgangers. Everyone loves a good mystery. Someone might know this woman and give us a lead.

  I handed the pictures to Ryan. “This is the same girl you think is on the run from the mob? Have you thought about the fact they could take me instead? I doubt it would do me any good to show them I’m right-handed so they’d know they didn’t have the correct person.”

  I did my best not to dwell on it.

  CHAPTER 8

  I hadn’t spent any time with Ryan since he came back from his business trip. It’s true he stayed at the apartment and we had sex, but what we needed was a good old-fashioned date.

  I called him. “Hi, are you busy tonight? I thought I’d make dinner. We could get a Red Box movie and spend some quality time together.”

  It sounded like he was driving with his window down because when he answered, I could hardly hear him. “Give me a minute,” is what I thought I heard. I held the phone and waited. “Did I hear you ask me on a date?” He sounded like he was trying to stifle a laugh.

  “Yes, you did. I think we could use some quiet time. I can cook.”

  “I didn’t think you liked to cook. Tell you what. Let’s cook together. I can get groceries on my way over.”

  “No, Ryan, I’ll get groceries. I’m craving pasta with clams in white sauce. You get a movie and some ice cream from Ted Drew’s. I’ll take care of everything else.”

  “Okay, what time?” It was still difficult to hear him.

  “Well.” I looked at my cell phone. “It’s five-thirty now, so whenever you can get here.”

  “Okay, see you in about an hour.” He disconnected.

  I smiled as I pulled into Schnuck’s parking lot. If I had to go to pick up food, this was my store of choice. It had everything. I realized I was humming as I put my groceries in the cart.

  “Hey, hey, Sophie.” Some woman tapped me on the back. “Hey, Sophie, it’s me, Janie. I didn’t know you were back in St. Louis.”

  When I turned around, a woman, fortyish, in skin-tight leggings, a tank top three sizes too small, and over-dyed jet black hair, stood before me. She had a piece of gum in her mouth. It popped every time she chomped on it. She stood patiently―I guessed she expected an answer.

  “I think you have me confused with someone else. My name isn’t Sophie. I’m Kate Nash.”

  She had me pinned between the meat counter and her cart. “Okay, honey, be that way. I thought we were friends after all I did to help you.” She leaned forward, looked around like she was afraid someone would overhear her. “Fine, I knew that story you told me was too strange to be real. And to think, all this time I have worried about your well-being. No more. You’re on your own.” She turned on her heel and thundered away. During the entire spiel, she never lost the rhythm as she chewed and popped.

  I hesitated a moment too long. My brain engaged too late, I couldn’t find her. I abandoned the shopping cart and ran down the aisles. When I was sure she wasn’t in the store, I headed for the parking lot. No sign of her. Sophie. I guessed my criminal supposed to be twin’s name was Sophie.

  I found my cart once again and finished shopping. I went back for an extra bottle of Chardonnay.

  Before Ryan arrived, I took a quick shower, changed into my favorite old jeans and a Cardinal tee shirt, popped the cork on a wine bottle, sat on the couch, sipped my drink, and pondered the encounter in the grocery store.

  I didn’t have much time to think before Ryan buzzed the intercom. Within moments, the room was full of life. Chili ran around yapping at him with her tail going ninety miles an hour. He reached down and picked her up. She licked his face, he rubbed her ears. It was fun to watch. I decided to put the Sophie incident on the back burner until after dinner.

  “So does Chili get all the loving or do I get a hello kiss too?”

  He leaned down and gave me a peck on the cheek and continued on to the kitchen with the dog in one hand and the bag he brought in with him in the other.

  He sat the sack on the counter and gave all of his attention to Chili. “My, my, hasn’t Kate been paying any attention to you?” He acted as if the dog talked back to him. “Really? She hasn’t fed you in days? Here, let me fix that!” He reached into the bag and retrieved a fancy dog treat, sat Chili on the floor, and handed it to her. She ran to her bed by the terrace door and devoured it.

  Ryan turned his attention to me. “How about a proper greeting? You look comfy.”

  “Are you disappointed I don’t have anything sexy on?”

  “Heavens no, I meant you really look comfy and I love it and you,” he smiled.

  “Well, thank you Mr. Meade. You look pretty―well dressed-down―is the best I can come up with.” I had yet to say those other three words back to him.

  He gave me a hearty belly laugh and looked down at his jeans. They were tattered and faded in all the right places.

  For the next hour we drank wine and kibitzed about his business trip as we cooked. By the time we had dinner on the table, we were relaxed and as happy as we had been in a while.

  The pasta tasted amazing; hot, gooey buttery white sauce, shitake mushrooms, and clams over penne and a fresh garden salad on the side. We opened the second bottle of wine.

  I hesitated to mention the incident in the grocery store and ruin the mood. I took a deep breath and began. “A lady, and I use the term loosely, came up to me at Schnucks. She mistook me for an old friend named Sophie. We stood nose to nose. If I appeared different, she didn’t see it.”

  Ryan put his glass down and leaned in. “Did you ask her anything?”

  I took a sip of wine. “No, I didn’t put two and two together until she had moved on. I hunted all over the store, she was nowhere in sight. I ran around the parking lot. I exhausted all possibilities, gave up and went back to my shopping cart.”

  He reached over and touched my arm. “Don’t be too upset. If it happened once, it’ll happen again. I brought a good movie I’ve wanted to see.”

  I smiled and finished my dinner.

  “Come here.” He walked to my side of the table, reached down and lifted me to him. “Look at it this way. We know more than we did. We know she doesn’t live in St. Louis, but she’s here now, her name might be Sophie, and we know she’s beautiful.” He kissed me.

  CHAPTER 9

  A wet tongue in my ear woke me. Chili wanted to go outside. She was so short I had doggy steps against the bottom of the bed for her to use to get up and down. Ryan rolled my way. He must have gotten the same treatment.

  He laughed and patted her head. “So much for a leisurely
morning in bed.” He was up and had his jeans on by the time I put my feet on the floor.

  “You don’t have to take her out.”

  “I love it. It’s a beautiful morning. Want to go with us?”

  I looked down at my shorts and oversized tee shirt and laughed. “No, not this time.” I knew Chili couldn’t hold it for as long as it would take for me to get ready.

  He brought the newspaper back and sat at the table with his coffee. I fed the dog.

  “What would you like to do today?”

  “I hadn’t thought about it.” I had only thought about Sophie.

  He kept reading. “I was hoping today would be the day you would move in with me.”

  I walked over, stood behind him, put my hands on his shoulders, and rubbed them. “Silly aren’t I? I have no reason not to move ahead with you. We never fight. You’re a wonderful man. Michael has been dead five years, so what stops me?”

  He answered but didn’t get up or turn around. “I know you love me, even though you don’t say it. I know you love to have me around. So let’s do it. If you don’t like it you can come back here.”

  “I don’t want to live in the mansion. Even though you have your living quarters warm and inviting, I couldn’t call it home.”

  “I don’t want to fight Michael’s memories here anymore. Some of his clothes are still in the closet and his picture is in every room. I understand. He was one of my best friends. I don’t expect you to forget him. Let’s move to a neutral place that’s never been yours or mine. Chili needs a yard and we should have a deck or patio so we can cook outdoors and look at the stars. What do you say?”

  “I say yes. I swear I didn’t know I would say yes. I thought I would say no. I don’t think I have a grip on my emotions right now.” I tingled.

  The next couple of hours we listed features of the perfect home for us. We agreed on four bedrooms, three baths, a dead end street, a good neighborhood, and a basement to hide from the horrible storms St Louis was known for.