“Thank God.” He held the folder close to his chest. “Thank God, they’re here.”
Dani stepped up to him to look in the hole. She knelt down and stuck her hand in. She was checking for another weapon, but her hand was empty when she pulled it out.
“Okay, enough of this crap,” she yelled as she got up. “Tell us what’s going on.”
He started to hand over the folder, but changed his mind and held it against his chest. “I made copies of the journals. They’re in here.”
Jake held his hand out for the folder. Oberman shook his head. “I’ll make you copies. But I’m keeping these.”
He headed toward the office.
Dani was doing her best not to pull her gun and shoot him. He was starting to get on her nerves, but they finally had a lead that might help them solve these murders. She wasn’t about to throw it away.
Jake wasn’t quite as calm. When they got back to the office he grabbed the folder from Oberman. “I’ll make the copies. You sit your ass down and start talking!”
Oberman reached for the folder, but Jake put his hand on his chest and pushed him back. “I said sit down!”
Oberman finally took the hint. He didn’t sit down, but he backed away. He was quiet as Jake took the pages out, feeding them into the copy machine. It was a nice stack. About a hundred pages, front and back.
Dani took out her phone to called Wilson. “We’re clear in here. Bring Katie in.” Before turning back she texted Wilson telling him she didn’t want either him or Katie to say a word. If he thought of something that she and Jake missed he should text her.
She turned back to Oberman. “Tell us what’s going on,” Dani demanded.
The doctor took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “As I said, when I was cleaning out my father’s house I came across some journals. I quickly scanned them. When I realized they were in my father’s handwriting I read them a little more slowly. When I got the gist of the topic, I put them aside. Cloning did not interest me, but I figured I’d eventually get around to reading them. I thought there might be something in them that might help me with my research so I kept them.”
He rubbed his eyes before continuing.
“A few weeks after my dad’s funeral, my brother came by looking for them.”
“Your brother?”
“Yes, my twin brother, Keith.”
“So you know about him?” Jake questioned.
“Of course I know about him. We’re twins. Why would you think I didn’t?”
“Before you said ‘after my mother had me.’ Not ‘us.’ ‘Me.’”
“Oh, sorry. We don’t get along. Actually, it’s more than that. For some reason he hates me. I don’t care much for him either, but I don’t hate him. Mostly we just live like the other doesn’t exist.”
“That’s a little strange for twins, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, probably, but when you arrest Keith you’ll know why.”
As soon as Katie and Wilson walked in the door, Jake handed the pages that copied so far over to Katie. “Read these. Note anything strange.”
She nodded and took a seat at the desk.
Dani asked, “You think your brother killed those kids?”
Oberman looked Katie over. You could tell he was surprised that someone so young was with them. “Are you sure she should be here?”
“Don’t worry about her. Do you think Keith killed these kids?”
“I’d give it a ninety percent chance.”
“Does he have the combination to your safe?”
“No. No one but my lawyer has the combination. He wouldn’t give it out to anyone.”
“Are you and your brother identical?” Jake asked.
Oberman sucked in a breath and nodded. “Yes, we are.”
“Is he gray also?”
He rubbed a hand over his hair. “Yeah, early gray hair runs in the males in our family.”
“How early?” Dani asked.
“Mine started at about nineteen. I’ve been like this since thirty-two. Keith made it to thirty-five.”
“So it’s possible Keith tricked your lawyer into thinking he was you to get the combination?”
“Yes, it’s possible.”
“Go on.”
“He said dad was working on some research for a way to tell if a baby will be born with any defects. Specifically mental issues.”
“But you knew that wasn’t the case?”
“I knew it was cloning. I told him I didn’t find any journals. He tried to convince me how important the journals were and that he was working on the research with my father. I knew he was full of shit, but told him I would give him the journals if I found them. I also gave him permission to go through the house.”
“He needed your permission,” Dani questioned.
“It seems Dad wasn’t too happy with Keith toward the end of his life. He didn’t write him out of his will, but he didn’t get what he was expecting. Dad made me the executor. He left me the clinic and ninety percent of his estate. Including his two houses and ninety percent of his money. Keith was left the other ten percent of his money, but it’s in trust. He can only have one hundred thousand a year. If he needs more I have to approve it.”
“I’m guessing he wasn’t happy about that,” Jake commented.
“To say the least. His unhappiness I could deal with. But somehow he became more intense. More determined to please dad, even though dad was gone.”
“Was it always like that?” Jake asked. “Did your father always favor you over Keith?”
“Not really. I’d say he treated us the same growing up. At least until mom died.” He thought for a moment. “I guess after that he might have favored me.”
“How old were you when she died?”
“Nine.”
“Why don’t you like your twin brother?”
“He thinks the world owes him. Yes, he did go to college and yes, he is a doctor, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he paid for his degree. I don’t mean paying the college and med school tuitions. He was a playboy since entering high school. He treats women like he owns them. If they don’t fall in line and do as he says, he dumps them. He drives too fast, spends money like it’s going out of style, and travels more than he’s home. I honestly don’t know how his partners haven’t kicked him out of the practice.”
Katie got up to get the rest of the pages off the copy machine. She was reading as she turned back to the desk. Jake and Dani smiled. They were getting a kick out of watching her work. For someone that had been through hell this last month, her concentration never waivered when she got into a project.
“So spell it out for us. Why was your dad interested in cloning? Why would Keith kill these kids if they happen to be involved?”
CHAPTER 36
OBERMAN PACED AS HE TRIED to figure out an answer to that question. When nothing came to him he stopped in front of Dani and shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“What type of relationship did you have with your father?”
“Good. Great, even. We worked together, which kept us close.” He started to pace again. “Though I guess not as close as I thought, since he never mentioned the cloning research to me.”
“You have no idea when he decided on researching cloning?”
He shook his head. “No. Can’t say that I do.”
“I know,” Katie said.
Everyone turned to her. “Does the name Mary Angela mean anything to you, Doctor?”
“Mary Angela… is she in the journals?”
“Who is she?” Dani asked.
“She was my sister. Well, she would have been my sister, but she died before I was born.”
Jake and Dani looked back to Katie. She mouthed to them, “Tattoo.”
Jake took out the copy of the tattoo and handed it to Oberman. “Do you know anything about this?”
“Sure. It’s the tattoo that my grandfather drew to honor Mary Angela.” He ran his hand over the paper. “If I remember the story corre
ctly, grandpa used to ride with this biker club called the Fallen Angels. They did work with the St. Jude foundation. From what I understand, Mary Angela was the princess of the club. It seems she was so special she stole everyone’s hearts. They all loved her and were torn up when she died. So much so not only did grandpa get the tattoo, but as soon as my dad saw it, he got it. Then all the members of the biker club got it.”
“Did your father also ride with this club?”
“Yes, but only for about a year or so. It was after college but before he decided on med school. Mary Angela’s death is what made him decide on becoming a doctor. He wanted to help kids.”
“Did he have a nickname while he was in the club?”
Oberman laughed out loud. “Yeah. They called him Geronimo. On one of their rides he wasn’t paying attention and rode right over the edge of a cliff.” He shook his head. “It wasn’t a big one. He wasn’t hurt, but his bike was totaled.”
“How did she die?,” Katie asked.
“Leukemia. From what Dad said, everyone in the club tested to see if they were a match for a bone marrow transplant, but no one was.”
“She must have been one special kid,” Wilson commented.
“From what Dad told me, she was. She was very smart. She could read full novels at age three. She would help some of the older kids that came with their parents to club functions with their homework at age four.” He sighed. “The smile on my dads face was always huge when he talked about her. You could tell he missed her very much.”
“What happened to Mary Angela’s mother?”
“I’m not sure. I know they weren’t married, but that’s all I know about her. I don’t even know her name.”
“Does Keith know that story?”
“Of course. I guess we were six when our parents sat us down and told us about Mary Angela.”
“Is it possible that your dad was looking into cloning so he could make a new Mary Angela?”
That question had him falling into the closest chair. “I guess. Maybe. From what I could tell he really loved that little girl.”
“Is your grandfather still around? I’d like to ask him some questions.”
“No, he passed away about six years ago.”
“Is it possible that Keith could want the journals so he can continue the research?”
“Maybe.” He shrugged again. “I don’t know what Keith does and doesn’t do. As I said we’re far from close.”
“Do you know where we can find him?”
“I don’t. I can tell you that up until two years ago he had an apartment in Greenwich Village. I have no idea where he is now.”
“Katie, anything else from the journals we need to talk about?” Jake asked.
“I don’t think so. Most of it is formulas he’s tried.” She walked over to Jake and whispered in his ear. “It also has fourteen names listed. Willy is one of them.”
Jake whispered back in her ear. “Experiments?”
“Yes. I think so.”
“Anything I need to know about?” Dani asked.
“Nope,” Jake answered.
Yeah, Dani wasn’t buying that, but she let it go, turning back to Oberman. “Anything else we need to know?”
He shook his head. “Not that I can think of. I’ll head back to the city and see if I can come up with any files. I didn’t find any in his house, but there may be something in the old clinic files. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”
“Would you mind if Detective Wilson met you at the clinic and went through the files with you?”
“I can’t let that happen. Patient confidentiality. But I promise I’ll tell you if I find anything. Then you can get a warrant and I’ll have to give it to you.”
“Okay, thanks for your time.” Dani headed for the door. “Doctor, do us a favor and stay available. We might have more questions after we get a closer look at the journals.”
“Sure, no problem.”
They were barely in the car when Dani started spouting out orders. “Wilson, as soon as we get back start working on a warrant for the clinic’s files.”
“You don’t trust him to tell us if he finds anything?” Jake asked. “He seemed cooperative to me.”
“He was. I’m just not sure he’ll continue to be if Keith is the one responsible for the death of those kids. Everything I’ve ever heard about twins is that they are closer, more loyal to each other than any others. Even you said sometimes you felt like you weren’t alone and you didn’t even know you had a twin brother. I’m having a hard time believing they can walk away from each other so easily.”
Jake took the entrance to the parkway. “Yeah, I was having a tough time with that also. Zach and I didn’t even grow up together and I felt… feel a loyalty and bond with him from the second we met. I can’t imagine that twins that grew up together would barely talk to each other.”
She looked at her watch. It was almost noon. They were going to have to put this aside for now. They had to deal with the memorial now.
She turned to Katie. “What did you whisper in Jake’s ear about?”
She flipped through the pages, pulling one out. She grabbed a pen from her laptop case and carefully marked the page before and after so she would know where to put it back.
Handing it to Dani, she explained, “I told him there were fourteen names listed in the journal and one of them is Willy’s.”
Dani took the list and read down the names out loud. “Wilson, we’ll be busy the rest of the day with something else. Take the journal copies from Katie. Make five more copies. Leave one on my desk and check another in as evidence.”
She handed the page back to him.
“After that start matching the names up on this list. I’m thinking seven are clones of the other seven. See if you can find the other four.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“So you think the other four are the ones Willy was talking about?” Katie asked.
“Most likely. We need to talk to him.”
“What time is it?” she whispered as she handed the copy of the journal to Wilson.
Jake and Dani looked at each other. Dani answered. “It’s almost twelve-thirty. We’ll drop Wilson off and head over to the hospital.” Unfortunately, Willy is in a different hospital. It would be nice about now to find out what he knows. “We’ll talk with Willy in the morning.”
Katie sat up, resting her hands on the back of seat. “No. We should talk to him now. Then you and Jake can act on what he says while I say goodbye to my mom.”
The tears started before she could finish her sentence.
Dani placed her hand on Katie’s. “We are not going to leave you alone to go through this.”
Katie’s head was down as she spoke. “It’s okay. This is important. You have to find the others and get the guy that killed those kids.”
Dani released her seat belt and turned around. “Katie, look at me.”
A long moment later she lifted her head. “Katie, nothing is more important to Jake and I than you.”
“But…”
“No ‘buts.’ Wilson will take care of running down the information we have. Jake and I will be at your side. We will not be by your side because of Zach or because of your mom. We will be by your side because of you. You are very important to us. You need us and nothing will get in the way of us being there for you. When the memorial is over the three of us will go home and spend the night mourning Zach and Jennifer. Then tomorrow morning we will find the man that took them away from us, together.”
Katie wiped the tears away. “Okay, thanks.” She wiped her eyes again. “But we should have time to talk with Willy before we go say goodbye to mom. We should do that. After the service we’ll act on what we find out.” She lifted her head, looking directly in Dani’s eyes. “It’s what mom would want.”
Jake pulled in front of the precinct to let Wilson out. “So, we have a plan then?”
Dani smiled. “Yeah, we have a plan.”
CH
APTER 37
AFTER WILSON JUMPED OUT, JAKE headed to Dani’s apartment. They needed to change and if they were going to go talk to Willy they had to be ready to get to the memorial without any delay when they were done.
Last report had him up and talking, so they were shocked and surprised to see him strapped to the bed and unconscious.
“What happened,” Katie asked as she went to him, taking his hand. “Is he okay?”
Mrs. Textler answered, “He’s going to be fine. Every time he woke up he would try to get out of bed. He kept babbling about helping the others. They couldn’t keep him calm so they had to tie him down and sedate him.”
“How long has he been out?” Dani asked.
“It’s been about three hours. He should be up soon.”
Dani, Jake and Katie looked at their watch. Almost two-fifteen. The memorial was at a hospital in Brooklyn. Forty-five minutes away on a good day. With traffic it could be more than an hour away. Since they still had to stop at the funeral home to pick up Jennifer’s ashes, they didn’t have much time.
“Katie, talk to him. Let’s see if you can get him to wake up.”
She nodded to Jake and turned to Willy. “Willy, it’s Katie. Wake up.”
He stirred, but didn’t wake up. “Come on, Willy. Talk to me.”
“Ah, Katie.” He slowly opened his eyes. “Katie, is that you?”
“It’s me, Willy. How are you feeling?”
He tried to sit up, but Katie held him down. “We have to get the others. You have to help me.”
He tried to sit up again.
“You have to rest. I’ll help you. I promise I’ll help you, but you have to stay in bed.” She looked over at Jake and Dani. “I have friends with me that will help you. Just lay down and tell me about them.”
“There are six of them in trouble. I only know where three of them are. I got away. I was going for help but he caught me.”
“Who caught you?”
Fatally Linked Page 29
