Throw a Double for Spite

by Cherie Mitchell

Bill held up his hand to silence her. “Wait, wait, there’s more.”

  The police commissioner signaled to someone out of shot before facing the camera once again. “The man first dubbed the Condo Creeper and eventually given the name of the Condo Killer is Jonathon Morales, a drifter already known to police.” A photo of the murderer replaced the police commissioner on the screen. The dark-haired, olive-skinned man staring arrogantly out of the image looked nothing like the identikit picture the media had used as a backdrop to their stories for the past few weeks.

  As the presenter began to recap each of the assaults and murders, Riley turned back to her father. She felt hollow and sweaty, hot and cold at the same time, and her jaw ached with an uncommon pain. She could hear Oliver’s voice, could see his sneer as clearly as if he was once again standing in front of her on the bridge. “Oliver tried to attack me. I could have been that girl.” She stood up, unable to sit still.

  “Oh Riley...”

  “This is crazy. I’m so glad they caught him before he could hurt anyone else.”

  The police commissioner was given the final say at the end of the news item. He stared with flinty determination into the camera as he spoke and Riley felt as if he was speaking directly to her. “Even though we’ve made these arrests today, it doesn’t mean the young women of this city should become complacent. Danger lurks everywhere and it is not necessarily restricted to dark alleys and deserted parking lots. Remain vigilant and remain safe.”

  “Well-chosen words,” Bill said as the item finished and an advertisement for soda took over the screen. “That police commissioner is a smart man. You need to be careful out there, Riley. Men can be violent creatures. The world has always been a dangerous place for young women and I don’t believe that will ever change. Sit down.”

  “I can’t sit down. Don’t forget that it was a woman who attacked me in my own apartment, someone whom I thought I could trust. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life being suspicious of everyone. That’s no way to live.”

  “I’m not suggesting you should be suspicious of everyone. Just be cautious.” He tasted the tea and grimaced before setting the cup down again. “Can you pass me one of those chocolate cookies?” he asked hopefully.

  “No, you’re not supposed to have any and I’m watching out for your health.” She pulled thoughtfully at her bottom lip. “After all that has happened, I feel as if I need to question everyone and everything that I know. How can I trust anyone?”

  “I can understand that, but try not to allow it to make you bitter. Life is far too short. As a man far wiser than I once said, seize the day.”

  “And why should I take any notice of your advice?”

  “Because I’ve actually learned from my mistakes, believe it or not.” He sighed as nestled down into the recliner and closed his eyes. “I need to have a quick nap but please don’t leave. Sit down and drink your coffee. Stay with me while I sleep. I won’t be long. These dratted naps never last long.”

  She sat down, watching him fondly as his head drooped to one side against the headrest and he began to snore. “Don’t worry, Dad. I’m not planning on going anywhere.”

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Three Months Later

  Riley stood beneath the departures board at the airport and checked her flight time. She had an hour and a half before boarding began for flight FJ758 to Tokyo. Plenty of time.

  “When will you come home, Aunty Riley?” Jessica, with a teddy bear tucked under her arm and a trail of cookie crumbs from their snack at the airport cafe on her chin, tugged at her hand. Her sweet face was open and earnest as she tipped her head all the way back to look up at Riley.

  “I don’t know, darling. I’ve only brought a one-way ticket. I’ll come back when I’m ready.”

  “Will you bring us a present?”

  “Samantha!” Morgan’s sharp retort brought an immediate guilty grimace to Samantha’s face. The little girl swooped in behind the luggage trolley, using Riley’s suitcases to play hide and seek with her sister as if that had been her plan all along.

  “What about your apartment?” asked Kevin, speaking for the first time since he’d arrived late to join the farewell party. He was dressed in an orange safety vest and muddy boots, having left a surveying assignment to come straight to the airport to say goodbye. He had a fresh scratch on his face that he kept rubbing at with a grimy handkerchief that already bore several dried brown bloodstains. Morgan, normally a person to pull someone up for doing anything vaguely disgusting, apparently hadn’t noticed as she kept a watchful eye on the children.

  Riley looked at the handkerchief and hurriedly looked away again. The healed cuts on her arm burned beneath thin fabric of her dress. “The lease was due to expire anyway. I’ll find something else when I come back. It wasn’t like I was obsessively attached to it.”

  Bill coughed into his hand, as if clearing his throat before giving a presentation but Ruth was able to beat him to whatever he was about to say. “I think we might leave obsessiveness out of the equation for now. We’ve all had enough of obsessiveness to last us a lifetime.”

  “It’s probably worked out well that you’re going to be out of the country during that woman’s trial.” Morgan had refused to speak Megan’s name ever since she first heard of the attack.

  “Yes, although I’m sure you’ll all keep me informed.” Riley smiled at her parents, still not quite believing it. “Seeing the two of you together again is the best thing that could have ever come out of this. I never imagined that you would make up your differences and try again.”

  Bill beamed, his cheeks glowing with hale good health now that he was in remission. He slipped an arm around the blushing Ruth’s waist. “Letting this woman go was one of the worst decisions of my life, and I’ve made more than my fair share of them.”

  A flight announcement crackled through the concourse and Riley looked over at the check-in counters. “I’d better check my bags in and go through the security gate. I’ve been waiting for so long for this trip and I don’t want to miss my flight at this late stage.”

  She kissed her family and hugged everyone goodbye in turn. Kevin’s hands were cold as he held her and she twisted her face away from him to avoid her cheek touching the bloody scratch. She hugged Bill for a second time, giving him a double squeeze for luck, before walking backwards and returning her family’s waves until the crush of the crowd hid them from view. She passed a newsagent’s booth without noticing the headlines on the newspapers stacked outside. YET ANOTHER MURDER IN THE CITY. DID POLICE ARREST THE WRONG MAN?

  She checked in and passed through security before wheeling her travel bag down the long wide corridor to her departure gate. This was it - she was finally on her way to see the Japanese cherry trees as they blossomed and heralded the pure gloriousness of spring. Her journey wasn’t for the honeymoon vacation that she had always dreamed of, but where was it written that a woman must wait for a man to come into her life before doing the things that she most wanted to do?

  The smiling air hostess greeted her at the gate and checked her boarding pass. “Tokyo in the springtime is hard to beat, ma’am.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  She slipped the boarding pass into Riley’s passport and handed them both back. “Enjoy your flight.”

  Riley joined the small queue of passengers waiting to board the plane. She had paid for the trip with her redundancy pay out from Smith & Gordon, which was timely and far more than she had expected. Once she was back in the country, she would look for another apartment and another job. It was as if she’d been given a second chance to start her life over and she was looking forward to everything that might lay ahead for her.

  She stepped onto the plane and made her way down the aisle to her seat. She tucked her travel bag into the overhead lockers and edged across into the window seat. She pulled her lap belt across her middle, feeling a flutter of excitement in her stomach. She was really doing this! As she took the airline magazine fr
om the pocket of the seat in front of her, she saw in peripheral vision that her seat companion had arrived. He stood for a moment in the aisle, his face hidden as he stored his luggage. She glanced at him as he sat down and then she took a swift second glance, shocked by the flash of recognition. The man looked up and smiled at her as he locked the buckle on his seat belt. “Hi. Looks like a good day for a long distance flight. Let’s hope there’s no turbulence.”

  “Hi...” She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the uncannily familiar lines and planes of his face. “Excuse me for saying so, but has anyone ever told you that you look like...”

  He expelled a long-suffering sigh, although his eyes retained their good humor. “Ryan James? I get it all the time. I can’t see the resemblance myself but people seem to want to believe it even when I try to tell them that I’ve never stepped onto a movie set in my life. I’ve even been asked to sign autographs and no one takes any notice when I tell them they have the wrong person. Sometimes it’s easier to just ask for a pen and go ahead and sign my name as Ryan James. I’ve come to the conclusion that most people have the peculiar ability to construct illusions to suit themselves.” He lowered his voice and leaned in confidingly. “It might be a bit early in the day for such philosophical ramblings, but I think us humans as a whole are all a bit wacko.”

  She returned his smile as she reached for her earphones. “It’s an interesting concept but funnily enough, I might just have to agree with you.”

  The End

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