If It Walks Like A Killer (The Carolina Killer Files #1)

by Kiersten Modglin

  “You’re wrong. I am your sister, your twin sister. We were separated at birth.” Rachael eased forward half a step.

  “You’re a liar.” The twin twisted the tip of the knife into Caide’s neck. “You just don’t want me to hurt your precious little husband.”

  “No.” Rachael held her hand up. “I was born on June 21, 1971 at La Rue Baptist Hospital, same as you. The nurse separated us.”

  “How do you know?” the twin asked, looking genuinely interested, though the knife remained steady.

  “Look, I can explain it all, just please let him go. Let Caide go and we can talk. This doesn’t have to end badly.”

  “Let him go so you can call the cops?”

  “I don’t even have a phone. No cops. Just let my family go. This is between me and you.”

  “No one leaves this room. No one.”

  “You don’t want to hurt him. You like him, don’t you? That’s why you did this? For Caide?” Rachael asked, her voice quivering.

  The twin’s face sunk.

  “That’s why you killed Blaire, right? And Audrey?” The name hung in her throat. She ignored the distraught look on Caide’s face, telling her he didn’t know. “That’s why you wanted me out of the way, right? You like him. You can’t honestly want to kill him.” Rachael’s heart pounded. She watched the twin push the knife into Caide’s neck until the skin surrounding it was pure white, then she released him.

  “You wearing a wire or something?” the twin asked, walking away from Caide and to Rachael, her knife drawn.

  “No,” Rachael said, her hands held up in surrender.

  “Go to the bathroom, kids. Don’t come out,” Caide yelled, rubbing his neck.

  Rachael was relieved to see that Davis’ cast was finally off. She heard tiny footsteps run away and heaved a sigh of relief as the door shut. The twin placed the knife on Rachael’s chest, pressing down. She ran it down her stomach, cutting her shirt open to reveal a bare, unwired chest. Rachael winced in pain, but refused to scream as warm blood trickled down her chest, toward her navel.

  The twin lowered her knife.

  Rachael attempted to cover herself back up. Her twin walked to the counter, facing them, her knife still grasped firmly in her hand. “So, why are you here Rachael? To avenge your friend? To save your family? Did you think you’d just march in here and save the day?”

  “I came for my family. That’s all I want. I just want them safe.”

  “And you? You’ll just go on back to jail?”

  “I’m not out to get you. I haven’t told anyone about you. Take me. Kill me, and it’ll look like I escaped. Just please let them go.”

  “Rach—” Caide choked out.

  “You really just want them safe?”

  “Yes.”

  “Even though your family didn’t realize they were with a complete stranger all day?”

  “Even though.”

  “Even though he hasn’t done anything but disrespect you and whore around on you since the day you were married?”

  It stung. Rachael held back her tears, keeping her face still. “Even though.”

  “Oh, oh, wait a second. I’m wrong. It was before you were married, wasn’t it?” The twin cackled.

  “Excuse me?”

  “The spring of ninety-four, were you married then?”

  Rachael shook her head, unable to speak.

  “That’s when I met Caide. That’s why I’m here.” The twin looked at Caide, a smile growing on her face. “That’s why we’re all here.”

  “What are you talking about?” Caide asked.

  “Don’t act like you don’t remember our night together, love. The next time I saw you, you had a bouncing, baby brat. She had to have been four or five. If my math is correct that means you were together on the night we met, right?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Oh, gosh.” She smiled. “It’s the blonde hair. You see, I’ve never been much of a fan of it but Rachael here does seem to pull it off nicely.” The twin approached Rachael, circling her. She tugged at a string of Rachael’s hair. “Picture me, if you will, with very dark, dark hair. A red dress. Cosmo in my hand.” She winked at Caide. He continued to stare at her. “Staring across the bar at you in a little dive bar called Charles’? No, what was that bar? It started with a ‘C’.”

  Caide’s eyes filled with sorrow. “Carlton’s.”

  “Carlton’s, that’s it.” She pointed at him with delight.

  “Rachael, I—” Caide’s jaw dropped.

  “You slept with her? Are you kidding me? My twin sister?”

  “I didn’t know she was your sister. She was just a girl in a bar. It meant nothing. God, please don’t—”

  “I told you I was pregnant that spring,” Rachael said, her head growing hot with rage.

  “I’m so, so sorry. It was so long ago.” He tried to approach Rachael, his arms outstretched.

  The twin stepped between them. “Not long enough for you to forget that you loved me, right?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You told me you loved me. That night. After we slept together. Don’t you remember?” the twin asked innocently.

  “I didn’t love you. I didn’t even know you.” His face wrinkled in disgust.

  The twin pulled her knife to Caide’s chin. “Take it back. You told me you loved me.”

  “You’re crazy. If I said I loved you it was only because I was drunk.”

  “Caide,” Rachael yelled, but it was too late. The twin dug her knife into his cheek. Rachael watched the blood pour from his wound, saw his teeth from outside of his mouth. The children’s cries grew louder from the bathroom.

  “Oh God.” Rachael covered her mouth, her hand shaking as she reached for the gun. She pulled it out, surprised by the weight of it in her hands. “Let him go,” she shouted, her voice shaky and unconvincing.

  The twin turned around, her eyes widened at seeing the gun but she laughed loudly. “You’re going to shoot me?”

  “Not if you just leave. Now.”

  The knife stayed unwavering next to Caide’s neck. “See, here’s the problem with that Rachael, you shoot me, and I kill him. Then you’ve got four bodies on your hands.” She covered her mouth in fake surprise. “What on Earth would you do then?”

  Rachael’s hands shook. “Take him then.”

  “What?” Caide and the twin said together.

  “Take him. You said he loves you. He’s probably just lying to me, he’s really good at that.” She cast an angry glance toward Caide. “Just take him. You guys go on to wherever you were planning to go. I’ll take my kids. They’ll just get in you two lovebirds’ way anyway.”

  “You’d just let me take your husband? Just like that?”

  Rachael lowered her gun. “He hasn’t been a husband to me in a long time. All I want is for my kids to be safe. You guys go far away.” She lifted her pant leg to reveal the house arrest bracelet. “The police will be here soon and that won’t be good for either of us. You go now and that’ll be the last of it. I don’t ever want to hear from either of you again.”

  “How will you get that off?” The twin glared at her suspiciously.

  “You’re wasting time.”

  The twin looked at Caide and then back at Rachael, her eyes wild with desperation.

  “Go,” she insisted.

  The twin held her knife up. “Go. To the car. Now.” She led Caide out the door, seeming not to notice that his blood was now soaking her shoulder.

  Rachael shut the door behind them, latching all three locks and resting her back against it. She looked at the cut on her chest. It wasn’t deep, just painful. She tied her shirt together, trying to cover what she could. She allowed herself ten seconds to panic before standing up. She ran to the bathroom, pounding on the door. “Babies, it’s Mommy. Open up please. It’s safe now.”

  “Real Mommy or Mean Mommy?”

  “Real Mommy.” The door opened
slowly and two little heads poked out. She kissed their heads, gathering them into her arms and whispering into their ears. “I love you. I love you. I love you.” She picked them up, surprised by their growth in such a short time and headed for the door. She watched as the SUV pulled out of the parking lot, turning right, before she ran down the metal steps to Argus’ truck.

  “Thank God. What happened?” He pulled them into his arms. “I was so worried. Shayna called me. The police are on their way.”

  “No time to talk. Get them out of here, someplace safe. She took Caide.”

  “Rachael, don’t go after her. Let the police handle it. Please just come with me.”

  She handed the kids to him. “I can’t. If she kills him, I’ll never forgive myself. Keep them safe.”

  He nodded, placing the children in his truck. “Please be careful, Rachael. If anything happens to you, I’ll be the one not forgiving myself.”

  She kissed his cheek, grabbing her keys and hopping into Shayna’s car. She pulled out of the parking lot, turning right. She prayed they weren’t too far ahead of her already. The road was twisty and dark. There were no other cars to be seen, just miles and miles of trees. Rachael sped up, careening around the curves with ease. She drove faster and faster, nearly giving up when she finally laid eyes on the taillights up ahead. She hit the gas once more, her hands clutching the wheel until her fingers were stiff. As she approached the car she could see it swerving. What in the world was she doing to him?

  Chapter Sixty-One

  Caide

  Caide held his aching jaw. It was unlike any pain he’d ever felt, even dull and nearly numb.

  “Well, well looks like wifey lied. She’s coming up behind us now.”

  “You don’t have to do this, you know.” Caide said, trying to hold his cheek together. In an attempt to talk, he kept biting pieces of his face.

  “Do you know my name?”

  “Huh?”

  “Do you even remember my name?”

  “Did you tell it to me?”

  “That night, I told you that night. I remembered yours. I even went looking for you. I never gave up on you and you don’t even remember my name.” She pressed her foot on the gas. Caide heard them accelerate.

  “Look, it was a long time ago. I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I don’t remember. I drank way too much that night. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

  “You said you loved me. How can you not remember my name?”

  “Look, that night was the night Rachael told me she was pregnant. That night was traumatic and so, whatever I said or did it was just out of confusion. There’s no need to do this because of me. Trust me, I’m not worth it.”

  “This is not just about you anymore. We’re way past that. This is about every stupid boy who’s allowed to get drunk, sleep with a girl, and then forget her. Every man who can leave someone alone with a problem he created, every bully who’s allowed to tease or degrade people just to make themselves feel bigger. For every fucked up person out there who has to make the world twice as fucked up just because they can.”

  “What do you call what you’re doing then?”

  “Evening the score.”

  “No. You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to have this noble cause and carry it out by doing exactly what you’re going against.”

  “You don’t get to tell me what to do. You have no idea what I’ve been through.”

  “Everyone goes through bad things. Everyone. Whatever you’ve been through, someone has it worse.”

  “Probably so, but not you. And not Rachael. Do you know how it feels to know that I could have, no, should have lived a good life? I was supposed to be happy. I could’ve had pancakes for breakfast and birthday parties and maybe even been read a bedtime story. I could’ve had a life if some idiot doctor would’ve just picked the other twin, or if someone who didn’t switch babies for kicks had been in the delivery room that night. Do you know what it’s like to know that everything in my life could have been different? I just happened to be the unlucky one. My whole life my mother hated me. She despised me, and now I find out that that wasn’t how it was supposed to be. I was supposed to have a real family. How am I supposed to take that? You’ll never know how that feels.”

  “You’re right. Though, I’d imagine it’s about the same as knowing that I’m responsible for two innocent women’s deaths, similar to watching my wife watching me screw up my marriage, to physically watching her heart shatter in a courtroom and having it become a spectator sport. I’d say it’s pretty close to realizing that she’s the only woman I’ve ever really loved and I was too stupid to realize it. Like knowing my life is over, my damn good life, and it’s no one’s fault but mine.”

  Elise spoke over him. “My mom used to drink. A lot. By the time I was five years old, I knew my way around the liquor store better than my own house. She’d lock me in my room for days at a time while she went on a bender. I had to eat anything I could find: crumbs of old food, bugs, dirt, sometimes nothing at all. I’d just sit in my bedroom for days, listening to her cry, and throw up, and cry again. She’d lock me up just because she could. I didn’t have to do anything wrong, she just wanted me to be as miserable as she was. Do you want to know how many times my mother told me she wished I were dead? Twenty-two times. Do you want to know how many times she said she loved me? Or that she was proud of me? Never. Not one single time. I’ve been hated by every single person in my life and today I find out that the one person who I believed loved me, he never actually did. You can tell me all about your terrible life all you want, but you brought it on yourself. I was just a baby when it started for me. I didn’t deserve any of it.” She was crying now, her voice slurring from sobs.

  “Look, bad things happen. I’m sorry that happened to you—I am, but this won’t make it better. This won’t help you.”

  “Nothing will help me.”

  Caide was struck then, with a clear understanding of his situation. His jaw had gone numb from losing way too much blood. He was beginning to grow tired and dizzy. He wouldn’t make it much longer and his only chance to help Rachael was to get this car to stop. He unbuckled his seatbelt, gripping the door handle firmly. He slowly pulled it, dragging it backwards and turning on the inside light.

  “Shut that door,” the woman screamed, lunging toward Caide and nearly running off the road. She leaned all the way over, her hand holding his door shut.

  “Watch what you’re doing,” he yelled, trying to grab the steering wheel from her. They were a tangled mess, all tied together when she let go of his door. It was almost slow motion, she kissed his bleeding cheek and then stepped on the gas, shoving his hand away. Tears streamed down her face as Caide began to scream.

  ***

  Rachael

  The car sped up, driving to get away from Rachael but she remained close, screaming with each swerve they made. She wiped the tears clouding her vision, trying to remain focused. She saw them swerve once, then twice, then speed up again and Rachael knew what was going to happen. She watched helplessly as the silver SUV sped around a curve: the brake lights never came on and the wheels never turned.

  Rachael watched the car crash into the trees. Her screams were drowned out by the sickening, metallic crunch of metal on wood. It was so sudden, so definite. Smoke rolled out of the engine.

  Maybe they’re dead. That was her first thought. Did that make her a bad person? To wonder, even hope for a brief second that they were dead? That all of the madness was finally over? She climbed out of her own car before it was even at a full stop. She fell to the ground, feeling the icy grass chill her fingers. She crawled toward the car, her cries sounded as if they were coming from so far away. She smelled the burnt rubber. The headlights blinded her as she made her way around to the front of the vehicle. Caide was on the hood of the SUV, halfway through the windshield. In the dark, she could only make out dark shadows on his face, which she knew would be blood in the daylight. The twin’s head rested on the steering
wheel. Rachael didn’t approach the car any closer. She held her queasy stomach together and breathed. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been standing there, frozen in place, when she finally saw the police lights. They came for her, like she knew they would.

  She remained still as a young cop got out of his cruiser, followed by more, their guns raised. She was silent as they slapped the cuffs on her, leading her to the squad car. She watched as they called for backup, staring at the bodies. She rested her head on the cool window as they drove her away. She couldn’t cry anymore. She was done. All cried out.

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  Hampton

  Hampton walked to the table in the center of an almost empty room where Rachael sat waiting. She didn’t make eye contact with him, her eyes hollow and glazed over. She was pale, empty.

  “Rachael?” He sat down slowly.

  She looked at him, though it was like she was staring straight through him.

  “How are you?”

  She remained silent, her face emotionless.

  “I talked to Brinley and Davis. They’re doing fine. They really like the family they’re staying with. We were very lucky that they managed to stay together.”

  Nothing.

  “I hope you know how hard I tried to find someone to keep them. A relative, a friend.” He faked a laugh. “I even asked about me keeping them for a while. They wouldn’t allow it. We’re not on the best terms with the government right now.”

  Silence. More staring at nothing at all.

  “And Shayna, well we’re working on getting her charges dropped. She’s not in jail though, so that’s good.”

  Stares.

  “She doesn’t blame you. None of us do.”

  Nada.

  “Caide’s doing better too. They’ve been able to keep him awake for longer lately. He’s still got a way to go, but he’s getting there.”

  She began picking at a piece of skin on the side of her finger.

  “Look, I know you’re mad, okay? I get it. But your trial is today. We’ve got to prepare. You have to talk to me.”