Throw a Double for Spite

by Cherie Mitchell

“Me too. I was always Daddy’s girl.” Riley blinked away the unwanted burn of tears. She needed to see this through rather than collapsing in a hot, tearful mess. She could do that after Briar left. “Why do you use the name Jacqui when your birth certificate lists your name as Kennedy Briar?”

  Briar’s eyes narrowed. “When did you see my birth certificate?”

  “I asked Megan to get it for me. She works at the central library and has access to the records.”

  Briar sniffed. “She’s never liked me.”

  “She got the certificate for me, not for you. Tell me where the name Jacqui came from.”

  “My Dad gave me the nickname. He adored Jacqueline Kennedy. He thought she was the most elegant woman who had ever walked the earth. He chose the name Kennedy for me when Matt and I were born but he nicknamed me Jacqueline. Jacqui for short. Mom called me Briar before Mom and Dad split but after I’d spent all those years living with him, I grew used to knowing myself as Jacqui.”

  “So why did you start using your middle name?”

  “Using the name Jacqui became too painful after losing Bill. He loved the name. Briar is a thorny, prickly name. It suits me far better than Jacqui ever did.”

  “I never thought of you as thorny and prickly.” Riley felt irrelevantly saddened by the harsh reality of the friendship she had lost. Briar at her beautiful, affectionate best was hard to beat. No wonder Bill had fallen so hard for her.

  “But you thought of Jacqui in that way. You detested her. You still do.”

  “This is a mess. I’m trying to glue two entirely people together in my brain to make one of you and it’s not working. It’s like some bizarre double exposure, some obscure trick of light. Here, I don’t want your memories.” Riley threw the photo back at Briar, who deftly caught it and began to smooth out the creases.

  “Yes, it is a mess. Welcome to my world.”

  “You created that world.”

  Briar carefully slipped the photo back into her pocket. “And the people around me allowed me to keep my world revolving. Your friendship meant more to me than you’ll ever know, and I didn’t expect that. I wanted to get close to you after discovering you were Bill’s daughter, but it backfired when I fell in love with you as person.” In one fluid movement, Briar unclasped her B necklace, lifted Riley’s hand, and gently dropped the gold chain and pendant into her palm. “You won, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that it was never really a competition. Bill and I spent most of last night talking. I told him everything and he’s not prepared to commit to forming a new relationship with me because he knows it will distress you. As he said to me, he’s reached a time in his life when he’s finally realized that his family comes first and I can’t blame him for that.” She whirled around, reaching the door and grabbing for the handle before Riley could do or say anything more.

  “Briar, wait!”

  It was too late. Briar had gone and Riley was left pleading with the blank, uncaring face of the door as it swung shut.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  She’d never been one to rely on medication but if she had any sleeping pills in the apartment, she would gladly take a couple of them now if it meant she could achieve the blissful oblivion of sleep.

  Riley had phoned Bill as soon as Briar left, demanding to know if she’d been telling the truth. Bill, who was astounded when Riley repeated everything that had just occurred, swore that he’d had no idea that his Jacqui was Riley’s friend Briar. His astonishment and distress were genuine and Riley believed him. He had offered to drive over to Riley’s apartment to talk with her in person but Riley, hearing the raw defeat and fatigue in his voice, had told him no. There would be plenty of time to talk it through in the days to come. She’d ended the call with the assurance to visit him at home in the morning after making him promise not to stay up all night worrying about it.

  Unfortunately, she hadn’t taken her own advice. Riley turned over in bed for what must be the twentieth time and stared across the room at the dark curtains. It was late, well into the early hours of morning, and still her mind hummed and buzzed with everything that she’d learned about Briar. It was almost inconceivable to imagine Bill and Briar together but then again was it so unlikely? They were both gregarious, sensual, clever people. The attraction should be obvious, even if the age gap was difficult for her to understand.

  She closed her eyes, willing her mind to be still for long enough for her to fall asleep. Drowsiness had just caught at the corner of her consciousness when she heard a faint sound from out in the living room. She stared into the darkness, wide-awake again now as she waited for another noise. There it was again – a subtle creak or shift that she was unable to match to any of the normal sounds of the night. It wasn’t the hum of the refrigerator or the regular clunk and whirr of the air conditioner. This noise was deeper, more alive than any of those sounds. She sat up in bed and cautiously stretched across to pick up her phone from the unit beside the bed, keeping her eyes riveted on the door. Her fingers touched the edge of her glass of water and then skimmed across the cover of her book. Where was her phone? There was another noise now, this one louder and more distinct, as Riley remembered with a despairing jolt that she’d left her phone on the arm of the sofa after speaking to Bill.

  She eased her legs out from under the blankets and lowered them down to the floor. Someone was in the apartment, she was certain of it now. The door! How could she have been so stupid? It had swung shut after Briar left but had she heard the latch click into place? She might as well have hung out a sign inviting an intruder inside. She peered around the bedroom doorframe, struggling to see clearly in the muted light. She couldn’t see anyone out there – had she imagined it? She took a cautious step out of her bedroom, her eyes fixed on the entry door, and then another one. She’d nearly reached the kitchen. She stared fearfully into the living room, scanning her gaze across the hulking shapes of the sofa, the armchair, the TV and the coffee table. There was no one there. She took another step and a dark figure lunged out of the kitchen, roughly grabbing her arm and pressing a sharp object against her neck. “Don’t scream. Don’t do anything.”

  Weak with shock, she held herself still as a multitude of disjointed thoughts battered against her brain. It was a woman’s voice. She hadn’t expected that. Did all those teams of investigators have it wrong all along? No wonder the identikit photo didn’t look like a real person. How could they have mistaken the Condo Killer for a man?

  “Move over here. Into the kitchen where I can see you.”

  Forcing her shaking legs to do as she instructed and hurried along by the tight grip of a gloved hand on her arm, Riley obediently obeyed. The light was better here, with the moonlight shining through the kitchen window but she daren’t turn her head to look at her attacker. Her heartbeat was so loud that it hurt her ears and she badly needed to pee.

  “You should have been a better friend to me. You had a chance to make up for what you’d done but you ruined it for yourself.” The pressure from the sharp object lessened slightly before growing stronger again.

  She knew that voice! Riley whipped her head around. “What are you doing here? Why are you dressed like that? What are you talking about?”

  Megan’s rictus grin lasted just moments before she replaced it with a scowl. “You dumped me for your beautiful friends.” Megan idly traced the knifepoint down Riley’s bare arm, pressing just hard enough for it to scratch.

  “What beautiful friends? Put the knife down and then we can talk.”

  “Can’t you remember? I’m sure you must remember.” Megan began to make crisscross patterns, or perhaps tiny hurtful kisses, on Riley’s arm with the knife. “You dumped me when I was no longer pretty enough to be part of your gorgeous in-crowd.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Megan, you’re hurting me!” The cuts stung and she was shocked when she looked down to see a shiny dark dribble of blood seeping out of the deepest one.

  “I think they might leave
scars,” Megan said thoughtfully, before making another cut.

  “Ow!” Riley tried to pull away but Megan moved quickly, this time shoving the point of the knife back into her neck. The rough woolen knit of her black beanie scraped across Riley’s cheek, harsh and abrasive. “Keep still.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “I’m sure you haven’t forgotten the little thirteen-year-old girl with angry, painful boils covering every inch of her face. Pizza face. That was what you called me. Can you remember? You were so cruel. I thought you were my friend but you turned on me when I needed you most. You chose your beautiful, superior friends over a lonely, damaged young girl.”

  A flash of a long buried memory pushed itself to the front of Riley’s mind, a ghost of spiteful laughter as Tracey and Becks jeered and egged her on. “We were just kids,” she pleaded. “I didn’t mean it. It was supposed to be a joke. I’d forgotten all about it.”

  “I never forgot, but I was willing to forgive. Or at least I was willing to forgive until you did exactly the same thing with Briar as you did with Tracey and Becks. You cast me aside in favor of her.” As she said her, Megan dragged the knife in a harsh circle on Riley’s forearm. Riley screamed in outrage and pain.

  “Ssssh now. It’s not so bad. Keep still or you’ll make it so much worse.”

  “Are you doing this because of what happened between us all those years ago? I don’t understand. We’re friends again now. I invited you to my birthday and we’ve been friends ever since. Megan, you have to listen to reason!”

  “You only invited me to your 21st because I’d recovered from the acne by that stage. I looked like someone who you could be friends with again. I accepted that, and I was willing to forgive you, but then you ruined it by dumping me again as soon as Briar came on the scene. Yet another beautiful girl with everything she’d ever wanted at her fingertips. Maybe you need to find out how difficult life can be for an ugly girl.” She viciously dug the point of the knife in, penetrating the blade deep into Riley’s bicep.

  “Ow!” Tears of pain and fear were now streaming down Riley’s face. A hot drop of blood dripped from her arm to land with a viscous splash on her bare foot. “I didn’t dump you for Briar. You’re still my friend. You’ve always been my friend! Please stop!”

  “Keep still. It’ll be over quicker if you keep still. I’ll leave your face until last, so you can watch what I’m doing.” She spoke pleasantly, as if they were in the midst of a normal conversation, and made another stabbing dig at Riley’s upper arm.

  “Megan, please don’t do this!”

  Something heavy and bulky thudded against the entry door, startling both women. “Police! We’re coming in!”

  Megan gasped and released her grip on Riley’s arm. “Who called the police? How did they know I was here?” She dropped the knife and it spun across the kitchen floor, making several small circles on the vinyl tiles before the blade came to rest harmlessly against the skirting board.

  Riley shouted as loud as she could, screaming out that an intruder had broken in and attacked her. At the same moment as the two officers burst in with their guns drawn, Riley’s legs finally gave way and she slid down the wall to the floor, landing on her bottom with a jolting bump. It was over. The nightmare was over.

  As one of the officers helped Riley to her feet and the other marched a cursing, struggling Megan out of the apartment, Riley caught sight of a movement in the corridor outside the door. Mrs. Wong, her wrinkled face bright with triumph beneath her knitted hat and with a cheap burner phone in her hand, gave Riley a victorious double thumbs-up before turning and shuffling away. Her string bag containing a carton of milk and a chocolate bar bumped languidly against her stockinged leg as she made her unhurried way down the hall to her apartment.

  “It looks like we arrived just in time. An ambulance is on its way and we’ll get those cuts seen to,” the officer said kindly. He grabbed a kitchen towel and handed it to her to help staunch the flow of blood. “Most of them look as if they’re only surface wounds but we’ll let the experts decide once they’ve assessed you. Is the intruder someone known to you?”

  Chapter Fifty

  Lorraine answered the door to Riley’s knock. She looked at her shrewdly from beneath her no-nonsense, grey streaked bangs. “Bill’s been expecting you. He’s in the living room. He’s tired after this morning’s treatment and he’s resting now but he’s been waiting for days to see you.” Her gaze dropped to the bandages on Riley’s arm before darting away again. “Go on through and I’ll bring a tray of refreshments in shortly.”

  “Here she is.” Bill gave her a weak smile from where he sat in the recliner with a blanket spread over his knees. He picked up the remote from the chair arm and aimed it at the TV to turn the sound down. “Come and sit with me. You gave me such a fright.”

  Riley sat gingerly in the chair beside him. She wanted to hug him but he looked so fragile, as if he might crumble under her touch. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m ok. It’s you that I’m worried about. Did you have any idea that she was such a crazy woman? Or that she was holding onto such a deep-seated grudge? The fact that she held onto it for so long is preposterous.” He angrily shook his head. “And I always thought she was such a nice girl.”

  “You think that any girl more than twenty years younger than you is nice,” Riley said lightly, anxious to ensure he didn’t wind himself up too much. “I’m fine, honestly I am. The scars will heal.”

  “Are we talking about the cuts or the scars now?” Bill asked while giving her the same shrewd look that Lorraine had given her just moments before. “It must have been terrifying for you to wake up to find an intruder in the apartment.”

  “I wasn’t asleep.” Riley dropped the act, well aware that Bill wasn’t buying any of it. “Yes, it was one of the scariest experiences of my life. I had no clue that Megan felt that way but how well do we ever really know another person? I’ve recently discovered that most people have an uncanny ability to hide what they’re really thinking, even from those closest to them.”

  “Hmmm.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean? Why are you looking at me like that?” She playfully picked up a cushion, prepared to throw it at him, but she just as quickly dropped it again. He looked far too ill for horseplay. “How was your session today?” she asked quietly.

  “It’s wasn’t too bad.” He stared across the room at the flickering TV. “About Jacqui...”

  “Briar. I’ve only ever known her as Briar.”

  “I had no idea...” His anguish made his face older, greyer.

  “Dad, it doesn’t matter. She’s out of both of our lives now. If it makes you feel any better, I can finally understand the attraction.”

  “You can?”

  “She’s fun, she’s smart, she’s gorgeous... I was almost in love with her myself before I found out how screwed up she really was.”

  “She’s starting therapy. She should have had it a long time ago but she can be stubborn.”

  “She’s not the only one.”

  Tears welled in his eyes. “I’m so sorry. The way I treated you when she first came into my life was abhorrent. I don’t think I can ever forgive myself.”

  “I’ve already forgiven you.” She leaned over to pat his hand where it rested on his lap as Lorraine, carrying a tray of coffee cups and cookies, walked into the room.

  “Coffee, sugar, cream, and a plate of assorted chocolate cookies,” she said as she sat the tray on the coffee table in front of Riley.

  “And here you are, Bill. A nice cup of chamomile tea and a plain cookie for you. You know how the treatment upsets your digestive system.” She spoke to him as if he were a toddler before sitting his cup and one cookie on the arm of the recliner. She fussed around with the blanket covering his legs before giving his knee a final pat and leaving the room.

  Bill stared morosely at the unappetizing fare. “She treats me like a child.”

  “Someone has
to. Does she laugh at your jokes?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, there you go. You can’t have everything.” Riley sipped at her hot coffee, disguising her smile behind the rim of the cup. She threw an idle glance over at the TV and then quickly looked again, harder this time. “Dad, turn the sound up. This is about the Condo Killer.”

  The presenter’s excited voice filled the room. “In this breaking news story, we’re about to cross to Police Commissioner Harvey with the announcement that two suspects have been arrested in connection with the recent spate of violent attacks and murders in the city.”

  Bill sat up straighter. “They’ve caught the bastard.”

  “Ssshhh. Turn it up a bit more.”

  The police commissioner looked appropriately solemn in the face of a bank of furry press microphones and a rash of shouted questions. He waited until the noise died down before speaking. “This afternoon we made two arrests after a sustained effort by investigators in relation to the cases attributed to the Condo Killer. Our team discovered over the course of their investigations that there were in fact two unrelated crimes mistakenly attributed to one killer.”

  The shot switched to old footage of Briar’s construction site, empty of workers and wrapped in swathes of construction tape as the police commissioner continued. “We can now disclose that the construction site death occurred at the hands of Oliver Johnson, a local golf course grounds man.”

  “What?” Riley sat so far forward that she nearly fell off her chair. “I know him.”

  Oliver was on the screen now, shouting desperately at the journalists as officers pushed him into a police car. “It wasn’t me! You’ve got the wrong man!”

  “Wow. I actually met that man.” Riley’s hand trembled as she placed the coffee cup on the table next to the plate of cookies. Once again, she felt as if reality had fallen away and she was staring into an abyss. “I spoke to him. He followed me. I can’t believe this.”