Chapter Ten - The Kind Doppelganger

Irv’s Lounge, 11:30 p.m.

“Oh my God.”  Kate said.

         “Yeah.” 

         “All this time it was a half-brother that no one knew about?  And your father had tried to protect you through it all?”  She said.

         “Yeah.”  Martin said, looking down with a smile.  “He didn’t want me to hate the woman he loved any more than I already did.  But it was obvious that he didn’t know she had another child.”

         “Did Lara make it to the hospital?”

         “Oh yeah, she’s fine.  She made a full recovery.  We still see each other a few times a week.”

         “What about Sam?”  She asked.

         “His body was found in his car later that evening.  He had been shot several times in the chest.  I just couldn’t believe it at the time.  In one month, I managed to lose my wife, my Mom, and my best friend.”

         “I’m so sorry, Martin.”  She said.

         Martin reached into his pocket and pulled out the sticky note he had found in Jeni’s folder that night, and unfolded it in front of him.  He’d been carrying it around for over a year.

‘It all points to Turnovsky.’

         “Jeni was right.  Had Milo not had the affair with my mother, none of this would’ve happened.”

         It was obvious that Kate really did believe what Martin had told her.  She sat across the table from him, gazing back with a convinced look upon her face.

         “You didn’t think I’d believe you, did you?”  She asked.

         “No…No I didn’t.” 

         “Hey Marty, I’m going to be closing up soon.”  Matty said from behind the bar.

         “No problem.  I’ll be out in sec.”  Martin answered.

         “Something still doesn’t make sense to me though.”  Kate said. 

         “What’s that?”

         “You said that Darren had called Jeni and talked to her for five minutes on the night she was killed.  Why would he do that?”

         “My guess is that he was trying to warn her in some way about what was transpiring.  He showed up at the house to talk, but she refused to be bullied by anyone.  When he saw how beautiful she was, he couldn’t help himself.” 

         “Hmm.”  She said.

To Martin, there was still something hauntingly familiar about Kate.  It was something about the way she sat;  Something about the way she looked at him.  And there was something about how she listened.  It was oddly welcoming to him, and almost calming.  It had felt better for him to talk.  To get it out.  He felt somewhat befriended by her, but he was ready for her to leave him peace.  

         “You know, after all this time, you’re wife would’ve wanted you to move on.  She wouldn’t approve of you sulking in here, much less smoking.  She would’ve wanted you to get back to your life.”  Kate said. 

         “I know.”

         “You deserve to be happy, like anyone else.  You’ve done right by yourself, and you did the right thing for your wife.  Lara loves you.  It’s time for you to realize that and move on in your life, with her.”  She said.

         “That’s easier said than done.”  Martin said, looking down.

         “Of course it is.  But all it takes is the desire to do so.  And, it’s Christmas!  Buy her something nice and spend the evening together.”  She said.

         “Are you sure we haven’t met before?”  Martin asked, looking back up at her.

         “Maybe.  In a previous life, I s’pose.”  She said, smiling.

         “If you don’t mind me saying so, you remind me an awful lot of Jeniveve.” 

         She smiled again, looked down and then back up at him.

         “I’ll take that as a compliment.”  She said.  “How’s Maya?”

         “Oh, she’s great.  She’s really taken to Lara.  But it’s been very hard trying to move on.  I love Lara, I really do.  She’s been so patient with me.  I’m just not sure if I’m ready to commit to her yet.” 

         “Well, it sounds to me like your wife left you in good hands.  She’d want you to be happy and not dwell on a future without her.  Who better than Lara could stand in her stead?”

         “Yeah, you’re right.”  Martin said.

         They both smiled at each other and realized an end had come to the conversation.

         “Well, it’s getting late.”  She said, getting up. 

         “Yeah, I’m gonna finish my beer then I’m out.” 

         “We should talk again sometime.  You know you enjoyed it.”  She said, walking away towards the door.  A part of me was glad she was leaving, yet the other part was sad to see her go.  The two sides were fighting one another.  He watched her walk away slowly, noticing that she was barefoot.  Martin turned his head at the thought, creased his eyes and spoke in a quiet voice.

         “Yeah, well, I miss you already.”  He said.

         “-Like you’re already gone.”  She said, going outside.

         Suddenly, time seemed to stop.  The air froze.  There was no sound.  A realization of chill came over him.  She couldn’t possibly-

“Wait a sec!”  Martin yelled. 

Martin got up abruptly from the table and ran for the door.  He heard his chair skid across the hardwood floor.  The sprint to the door seemed to take minutes, although he got there in seconds.  The door flew open under his force and hit the siding wall behind it outside.

         “How did you-“  He said loudly.

         But she was gone.  Martin ran around to the sides of the building, but she was no where in sight.  He could see for miles around and there was no sign of her.  He looked down, confused, rubbed his head, and went back inside in the bar.

         “Marty, you okay man?  You tore off outta here pretty quick!”  Matty said walking up to him, drying his hands on a dirty towel.

         “Yeah, I was going after that lady who was in here.  Did you see her leave?”

         “Uh, no…nobody’s came or gone that I know of.”  He said.

         Martin looked at him with an acute portrayal of confusion.

         “Marty, you’re cut off man.  No more booze for you my friend.”  He said, walking away.

         “You’re shitting me right?”  Martin said, almost laughing. 

         Matty stopped and turned around.

         “There was a woman at my table who I must’ve talked to for a couple hours!  You didn’t see her leave?  She just freakin’ disappeared outside!”  Martin continued.

         “Marty, what the hell are you talkin’ about?  You’ve been sitting there by yourself for the past couple hours just muttering!  And just then, you ran out the door!”  He said.

         The look of confusion that Martin wore transformed itself to shock. 

         “That’s it!  I’m serious, no more booze for you!  You’re in bad enough shape as it is.” 

         Then, Martin remembered what happened earlier.  He had asked Matty to get her a drink and he said ‘I think you’ve had enough.’  He didn’t see her.  He couldn’t see her.  His mind then shifted back to the conversation with Kate.

“It’s Christmas Martin  If you don’t start being more social and connected,, you’re never going to make any new friends.” 

         And again.

“After all this time, you’re wife would’ve wanted you to move on.”

“Son of a bitch.  She was a-?  A gho-?  No, I can’t even say it.  She was…here.”  He said to himself quietly. 

         “There you go again…muttering.”  Matty said from behind the bar.  He was right.  Bartenders were there to listen indeed.

Chapter Nine - Sending a Mother's Love

I woke up Christmas morning on Sam’s living room floor, with my gun still in my hand.  Lara was near me on the couch still asleep.  My left arm was still sore from the accident, and I had grown tired of wearing the sling.  I got up slowly and looked outside.  It was snowing heavily.  Sam’s Christmas tree was still lit and there were a few presents nestled beneath it.  Somehow this brought peace to my restless thoughts.  It took me back to the days of my childhood, when I’d run downstairs Christmas morning, in search of what Santa had brought the night before.  But the times had changed.  Santa was a myth, and I no longer had the anticipation of happy times during the holidays. 

         “Did you sleep well?”  My father asked.  He was sitting on the love seat behind me with his coat on.

         “Not at all.”  I said, rubbing my eyes.  “Are you leaving?”

         “My flight leaves in an hour.  I’m going back to Chicago.”  He said.

         “Dad, it’s Christmas.”  I said, standing up.

         “All the more reason for me to get to the bottom of this.  Hopefully, soon, we can all sleep safe.  That would be gift enough for me.”  He said.

         I reached out my right hand, offering him a handshake.  He looked down at it, hesitated, but then shook it firmly. 

         “Be careful.”  I said.

         “You too.”  He said walking away.

         “Dad, if anything happens to-“  He cut me off by putting up his hand.

         “You’re in good hands kid.  I’ve always tried to protect you from the bad in this world.  Even when the bad was in me.  You’ll be fine, and I’ll see you later.” 

         He walked out the front door a moment later.  A part of me was sad to see him go.  I had gotten so used to resenting him over the years.  So comfortable with it.  Knowing the truth about my mother had changed that.  It changed the way I saw him.  It was clear he was very much in love with her, even still.  He went to her funeral because he knew there wouldn’t be many people there.  Regardless of my mother’s actions, I respected the man in him for that. 

         “Don’t worry, he’ll be back.”  Lara said from behind me. 

         She was half-sitting up on the couch.  Her long brown hair was very much flat on one side.

         “Hey, you’re awake.”  I said, walking over to her.  “That’s a sweet hair-do.” 

         She smacked my arm and stood up, cracking a smile. 

         “Merry Christmas.”  She said, looking up at me.

         “Merry Christmas to you.”  I said.

         “Alright, alright!”  Sam said coming down the stairs.  “At least let me leave before you two go at it!”  He was sporting a cheeky grin from ear to ear.  I laughed a little and Lara’s face turned pink. 

         “Where are you off to?”  I said.

         “I just gotta run to the station real quick, I’ll be right back.”  Sam said. 

         “I don’t think that’s a good idea Sam, we should go togeth-“  I was cut off again.

“I’ll be fine.  No one’s ever tried to kill me on Christmas before!”  He said, walking out the front door. 

         Lara and I just rolled our eyes at him.

         “Why don’t you go get cleaned up.  I’ll keep an eye on things out here.”  I said.

         Lara agreed and went upstairs to shower. 

         I stood in front of the window watching the snow come down.  All the decorations were scattered about on light poles, fences and house-fronts.  There was a thick layer of snow covering the ground and the town was quiet.  But it didn’t feel like Christmas.  I didn’t feel as though I had warmth in my heart to share.  The candle inside me had been blown out, leaving me with a cold, charred wick. 

         I began to have flashes of the night Jeni was murdered once again.  They came fast, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t fight them away.  I was coming in through the front door again.  ‘Martin!  Help!’  And then it would fast forward quickly.  ‘You need to know the truth.’  Her words echoed in my head like church bells on a Sunday morning.  And then I saw his face, again.  ‘You.’  And then they stopped.  My head was quieted.

         “Son of a bitch.”  I said, to myself.  “He recognized me.” 

         I had completely forgotten.  How did he know who I was?  How could he have known?  The thoughts in my head dwelled on this question, but I didn’t have an answer for them. 

         Later that day Sam agreed to meet Lara and I at her house for some sort of Christmas gathering.  Sam didn’t have any family around either, so I figured it would be best if we stuck together once again for the evening.  Sam got there around 7pm.  I answered the door and he was standing there looking around, like he was pre-occupied. 

         “Sam, you gonna come in?”  I asked him.

         “I don’t have a good feeling about this Marty.”  He said still looking about.

         “Hey, we’re all in this together.  We can handle what ever comes around.”  I said.

         “I think I’m going to stay out here.  You know, keep an eye on things from a distance.” 

         “What?  That’s crazy man, get in here and we’ll start dinner.” 

         “No, really man.  I’m okay.  You guys enjoy the night.  I’ll stay out here, make sure things stay quiet.”

         “Are you sure?  It’s Christmas man!”  I said.

         “And nothing would make my Christmas better than catching this guy Marty.  He said Lara is next.  Maybe he’ll come around, and when he does, we’ll be ready.  If I see anyone, I call you.  You’ll be warned, and we can close in on him.”

         “Alright man.  Just be careful.”  I said.

         “I’ll be fine.  I’ll stay out of sight in my car a little ways down.  From there, I can still see the angles the house.” 

“Thanks man.”  I said, shaking his hand.

         “Tell Lara this doesn’t get her off the hook with cooking me a nice dinner.”  He said, walking away.

         I smiled, and closed the door, watching him walk off to his car.

         “He’s not coming in?”  Lara said.

         “No, he’s going to keep watch for a while.  You know, do the cop thing.”  I said, walking into the kitchen.

         “Do you think that’s necessary Marty?  It’s Christmas.”

         “Can’t hurt.”  I said.  “But he did say that you still owe him a dinner.” 

         She smiled and continued setting the table.

         Lara had made chicken parmesan for dinner.  The aroma of cheese and marinara sauce filled the house. 

         “So, do you miss the military?”  I asked.

         “In some ways I do.  In other ways, I couldn’t wait to get home.”  She said, bringing the food to the table.  “There’s a certain camaraderie that comes with the armed forces that you come to enjoy.  Everyone’s equal.  And everyone has a job to do.  You feel a very unique sense of purpose, you know?  Chivalry.” 

         “I don’t think I’ve ever heard it described quite like that before.”  I said, smiling.

         “You’ve just never met a woman like me before.”  She said, putting a helping of food onto my plate.  For the first time, I began to feel a slight attraction to her.  There was an awkward silence between us for a moment.

         “That is true.  Lord knows you could probably take me.”  I said.

         “So, what’s it like being a detective in this small town?” 

         “Well, sometimes it’s…dull, or uneventful.  Aside from recent events anyway.  Most of the time it’s vandalisms, burglaries and maybe auto theft.  That kind of thing.  I guess I just followed in my father’s footsteps and joined the force early on.  Sam and I graduated from the academy the same year.” 

         “Were you and Sam always partners?”

         “Yeah, up until a few years ago, when Raines took over as Captain.  He reorganized the department in efforts to make us more efficient, supposedly.” 

         “He seems okay.”  She said.

         “Mitch is alright, I guess.  He tends to take his authority as Captain a little too far sometimes, but all in all, he’s a good guy.  He’s been very understanding of my case, and that’s been helpful.  Him and my father didn’t get along when they were both on the force, so naturally, in the past, Mitch took some of that prior grudge out on me.” 

         “But you and your father haven’t exactly seemed close either.”  She said.

         “No, we haven’t been really.  Ever since my Mom left, things between us have never been the same.  I carried a lot of resentment around toward him for the compassion he held for her.  She was a screw-up that he thought he could fix, you know?  Most times, it felt like I was just along for the ride, or in the background.  I felt a lot like the result of a mistake he had made for staying with her.”

“Ouch.  I’m sure he doesn’t think of you that way Marty.  He’s your father.  I’m sure he’s proud of you.”  She said.

         “He did love Jeni.  Those two were unusually close for being in-laws.  He used to give her a hard time for being a legal assistant.  Over the course of time those conversations brought them closer together as friends.  It makes sense that she knew the truth about what happened between him and my mother.” 

         “Sometimes it’s easier for men to open up to women, you know?  He trusted her.  And he had every right to.  She sounded like a very endearing person.” 

         “Yeah, she was.”  I said, finishing my plate.  It felt like for a moment she noticed the sadness in my voice and chose to change the subject.

         She put her fork down on her plate, crossed her arms on the table and looked at me.

         “I think it’s time I gave you your gift!”  She said.

         “What gift?  Oh, man, you didn’t have to do that.” 

         “I know.  But it’s Christmas Marty.  This is what people do!”  She said, getting up from the table.

         The thought of going Christmas shopping for gifts hadn’t even entered my mind.  I shouldn’t have felt guilty for that considering what’s happened, but I did.  I was eating Christmas dinner with a woman who had saved my life a few weeks ago, and I hadn’t bothered to get her anything. 

         Lara disappeared for a moment going into the other room.  She came back out with a white box that was about a foot square, with a neatly tied red bow around it.  She laid it on my lap.

         “Lara, you really didn’t have to do this.”  I said.

         “Yes, I did.”  She said, smiling.

         Suddenly, I felt the box twitch.  I looked down at it and then back up to her.  I removed the ribbon and lifted the white lid.  Inside was a tiny Yellow Labrador puppy.  He got up on his hind legs, putting them on the rim of the box and started licking my fingers.  I was absolutely speechless.

         “Oh my God.  He is so cute!”  I said, picking him up out of the box.  “Look at him!” 

         “She.”  Lara said, smiling widely.

         “Really?”  I said.  “She’s a girl?”  I held the puppy in front of me so I could see her face.  She had big, sad brown eyes and a little brown nose.  Her gums and teeth were tiny, and her golden fur shined under the warm light.  She was the most perfect thing I had seen in a long time. 

         “You said you wanted a dog…”  Lara said.

         “Yeah, but I didn’t think you had taken me seriously!”  I said.  “Thank you so much Lara.  She’s adorable.”

         Lara and I stood up and I put the puppy on the floor so she could run around.  I then walked over to Lara and gave her a hug.  We held each other for a little while.  I could feel her heartbeat through my shirt, and I could smell a soft hint of her perfume.  Her long hair began to tickle my nose.

         “Merry Christmas, Marty.”  She said.

         I leaned back from her with my hands still around her waist.

         “Merry Christmas, and thank you.”  I said, looking in her eyes.

         “What will you name her?”  She asked.

         I hesitated in thought for a moment, and then it came to me.  I looked over at her on the floor.  She was rolling around on her back with her paws raving about.

         “Maya.”  I said, looking back at Lara. 

         She smiled at me with wide eyes that almost began to moisten.  The awkward silence came once again, except this time we were both staring at one another.  She put her hand on my cheek, caressing it.  I closed my eyes and felt her hand’s warmth on my face.  I realized again that my attraction to her was growing.  I moved back a little, opening my eyes, lowering my hands from her waist. 

         “I’m sorry, I can’t-“  I said, backing away.  “I’m not ready to feel-“

         “It’s okay Marty.  I didn’t mean to-“ 

         Her voice was cut off by the sound of the front door opening softly.  I could hear the hinges lightly creak.

         “Hey Sammy.  You finally wise up and decide to come in for a bite?”  I said.

         But there was no response.  I looked over at Lara, who shrugged, and then we both looked down the hallway toward the front door.  There was no sound.  Just dead silence.  I walked down the hallway to the front door, with Lara right behind me.  It was open, but there was no sign of anyone. 

         “Huh.”  I said.  “Must’ve not closed it all the way and the wind blew it open.” 

         Lara didn’t say anything and kept looking outside through the sidelight windows.  After a brief look outside, I closed the door and locked it and we started walking back to the kitchen.

         “C-mon, let’s clean up.”  I said, walking back down the hallway.

         “Yes, that might be a good idea.”  A voice said. 

         Lara and I came around the corner and in the kitchen stood a man about my height, dressed in black, wearing a mask that covered everything on his face except for his eyes.  In his right arm, he held Maya.

         “Who the hell are you?”  I snarled, slowly moving Lara behind me.

         “Oh, you’d like to know wouldn’t you?”  He said, petting Maya on the head.  He then shifted her to his left arm and drew a nine millimeter handgun from his backside and pointed it at us.

         “I’ve waited a long time for this.” 

         “If it’s me you want, let her go.  She has nothing to do with this.”  I said, referring to Lara.

         “On the contrary she does, Marty.  I had a plan in place to kill you earlier my friend, and she intervened by pulling you out of that car.”  He said.

The memories of the accident flashed before my eyes. 

         “What are you talking about!?”  Lara said.

         “The deer was fake.  You didn’t think it was odd that a deer would be standing on the other side of that hill?  A real deer would’ve seen your headlights coming!  He would’ve heard you a mile away and been gone by the time you got there.  You were driving a little fast, eh Marty?  Good thing she pulled you out before the car exploded huh?”

         “You son of a bitch!”  I said.

         “You would know wouldn’t you?!”  He said, yelling.

         “Who the hell are you?!”  I said.

         He put Maya down, still holding the gun on us.  He then reached back and removed his mask slowly, revealing the face of a young teenager.  He smiled, and ruffled his dark hair back.

         “You still don’t get it, do you bro?”  He said.

         “You’re just a kid!?”  I said. 

         “I’m fifteen to be exact.  Sixteen next month.”  He said.

         “Wait a second…”  I said. 

         “What?!”  Lara said. 

         “You called me bro.”  I said, a low voice.

         “Ah!  Give the man a prize, he’s putting the pieces together!”  He said, laughing. 

         “What’s your name?”  I said, growling at him.

         “Dylan.  Dylan Turnovsky.”  He said, smiling.

         “Holy shit.”  I said.

         “That’s right bro!  But I must say, you must take after your Dad, because you look nothing like Mom!”  He said, laughing. 

         “You’re Milo’s kid.”  I said.

         “Hot damn!  About time!  I really thought you were smarter than this Marty. I was so sure you would’ve figured it out already.  I mean, shit, you are a detective.” 

         I just stood there, glaring at him, trying to figure out my next move.

         “That’s right.  I’m your freaking brother.  Surprise!”

         His taunting made the rage in my stomach surface to the back of my throat.  The last time I felt that angry was when I killed a man with my bare hands.

         “Right about now, you’re wondering where Sam is.  Am I right?”

         I didn’t speak, or even blink at him.

         “Well, he’s gonna be a little late to the party.” 

         “I swear to God, if you-“  I said, moving toward him.

         “You’ll what?!”  He screamed, waiving the gun at us.

         “Hate me like you did your own mother!?”

         “So that’s what this is about…a son’s revenge.”  I said.

         “Aw, you make it sound so bittersweet when you say it like that.”  He said laughing.

“You killed my wife.”  I snarled again.

         “No!  Your father killed her, fifteen years ago, when he let my father fry!”  He screamed.

         “Your father had an affair with my mother!”  I yelled.

         “Yeah, and Dayton and your wife stood by, while they executed my Dad, hiding the truth that could’ve saved him!” 

          “That’s a lie!  My Dad tried to defend him.” 

         “Oh yeah, I forgot.  He did such a good job that they killed him anyway!  I almost had done him in too that night you came knocking.”

         I remembered what my Dad had told me about the encounter.  ‘It’s all your fault.’  Now it all made sense.  Except for one thing.

         “Why Darren?”  I asked.

         “Ha!  Oh yeah, the patsy who wasn’t supposed to die…”

         “He didn’t want to do it, did he?  The money alone wasn’t incentive enough.  You threatened his mother’s life, so he had no choice.”  I said.

         “You’re catching on, bro!  With him being a suspected rapist, he was the perfect fit!  But!  He wasn’t supposed to die.  I decided that little gift to Ms. Darren might help ease her suffering a bit.”

         He waited for me to respond.  I gave him nothing.

“It’s a pity too.  If I didn’t have to kill you, you might actually make Captain someday.  Raines would love that!  Now, move over there.”

         He motioned Lara and I to go in front of the window, facing the hallway, while he circled in front of us.  Lara stood next to me, holding my hand tightly.

         “Please, there’s got to be some way for us to settle this!”  Lara said.

         “Oh yes.  There is my dear.  As soon as dear old Dad gets back in town, he’ll be dead too, just like you people.”

         “She was pregnant.”  I said, in a low angry voice.

         “What?”

         “Yeah, that’s right.  You killed my wife and her unborn child.”  I said, louder.

         He hesitated for a second.  His eyes moved rapidly back and forth from me to Lara, as if I gave him pause by my comment.

         “Where’s the justice in that…bro?”  I continued.

         “Freaking bitch had it coming.  Pregnant or not.” 

         The rage began to surface again.  It felt like hot needles were endlessly poking at my chest, working their way up from my stomach.

         He tightened the stretch on his arm, holding the gun tighter, preparing to fire. 

         “Nooo!”  Lara screamed, and the next few moments passed by in slow motion.  She jumped in front of me as a sharp, deep crackle filled the air with the echo of a gunshot.  The sound of the gun made me jump, and I waited for the pain to fill my chest.  But there wasn’t any.  But Lara began to fall, and the reality hit me.  He had shot her instead.  She fell to the ground, holding her side. 

“Lara!!”  I screamed, bending down to her.  Her blood was beginning to seep out onto her white shirt.  Just then, Dylan fell to his knees and dropped his gun.  I looked up at him.  His face wore a look of shock.  He raised his hands to chest, and his hands became bloody.  My eyes focused on a figure that moved behind him in the hallway.  It was my father!  He had shot him from behind at the very second that Dylan had shot Lara. 

         Dylan looked down at his gushing chest, and then back up at me. 

         “I guess you’ll make…Captain after all someday…bro.”  He said, falling to the floor face first.  He was dead.

         “Dad!  I-“

“How is she Marty!?”  He said, running up to me. 

         I looked down at Lara who was looking up at me with painful eyes.  I moved her so I could see her backside and lifted her shirt.  There was blood on her backside and a small wound the size of bullet revealed itself.

         “She’s got an exit wound back here.  That’s a good sign.”  I said.

         “Keep pressure on it.  I’ll call an ambulance.”  My father said.

         “Martin…it hurts.”  She said, looking down at her wound. 

         “You’re going to be fine Lara, just hang on!” 

         “I…saved you…again.”  She said, reaching up for me, touching my face.  Her face tightened up, and her body tensed from the pain.  Her eyes closed slowly. 

         “Lara!  Lara, look at me!” 

         She opened her eyes and looked at me.

         “I…I just couldn’t bear the thought…of you enduring more pain.”  She said, in between swallows.

         She started to close her eyes again.

         “Stay with me!”  I said. 

         She opened her eyes and focused once more on me.

         “You’re not going to die unless I let you.”  I said. 

         She smiled, and let out a slight chuckle. 

         “You’re going to be fine.  I’m going to get you out of here.”  I said.

         My father returned a moment later.

         “The paramedics are on their way.”  He said.


Coming up next:  Chapter Ten - The Kind Doppelganger (The Final Chapter.)

Chapter Eight - Dayton's Secret

              I came back inside and closed the back door quickly behind me and locked it.  I grabbed my cell phone and dialed Lara’s number.  It rang once.  Then twice, and a third time.

         “C-mon dammit.  Be there.”  I said.

         “Hello?”  She answered. 

         A huge sigh of relief fell over me.

         “Lara, it’s Marty.  Are you at home?  Where are you?”  I asked, loudly.

         “Yeah, I’m at home.  Marty, what’s wrong?”  She asked.

         “You need to get out of their now and go to Sam’s house.  It’s closest.  You’re in danger.  I’ll explain everything in a little bit.  But you need to go now!”

         “Okay Marty.  I’ll leave right now.”

         “Call me when you get to Sam’s!”  I said.

         “I will.”

         “I’ll see you in a few.”  I said, hanging up the phone. 

         My father walked into the kitchen a moment later.

         “Marty, what the hell is going on?”  He asked.

         “I’m guessing your attacker was supposed to leave this with you.”  I said.

         I showed him the military photo of Lara and a scared look fell on his face. 

         “We need to talk.”  I said.

        

         My father sat down on the couch while I sat down across from him on the love seat. 

         “Dad, what the hell is going on here?”  I asked.

“Son, you know as much as I do.”

         “Stop bullshitting me!  You know something.  Tell me what it is now!”  I said, louder, standing up and walking around the living room.

         “Marty, what the hell do you want from me?!” 

         “First Jeni.  Mom dies.  You’re almost killed, and now someone’s targeted Lara.  You’re hiding something.  Tell me what it is or I’ll call forensics in here and I’ll rip this place apart!” 

         “My God.  That’s what you came here for wasn’t it?  To search my place?” 

         “I need answers Dad!”  I screamed.

         “No, you want vengeance for Jeni!  And look at what you’re doing to get it!”  He yelled back.

         “I want justice, dammit!  She deserves that much!” 

         “And you want me to be the fall guy!  You’ve got the wrong guy in your cross-hairs.  Jesus Christ Marty!  I loved Jeni too!”

I stood there for a moment glaring at him, trying to break the seriousness of his look upon me.  I felt my eyes start to get watery.

         “Not as much as I did.”  I said, plopping back down onto the couch.

         At that point, I had exhausted my anger and the feeling in my chest turned to sadness.  I put my head in my hands and just thought about what I could possibly say next. 

         “Did you go to Mom’s funeral?”  I asked.

         “Yeah, I did.”  He replied, in a quieter voice.

         “And…”

         “There were very few people there.  I could count them on one hand.  The ceremony was fairly short.  She wanted to be cremated, and her ashes spread across the water on Lake Michigan.”  He said.

         “Did you do that for her?”  I asked, with my head still buried in my hands.

         “No, someone else was taking care of it.”  He said.

         I tried to imagine my father at the funeral.  What would he have said?  Is he sorry she’s gone?  Does he miss her?  I could easily see only a handful of people in front of her casket.  It’s hard to make friends when you’re too busy making enemies.  She died how she lived.  I pushed the thoughts away as far as possible and focused on my father. 

         “Dad.  I’m going to ask you one more time.  You know something.  What is it?”  I said, looking up at him.  “How did Jeni know about you and Turnovsky and I didn’t?”

         He looked down, let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead. 

         “Because I told her.”  He said.  “Jeni was a kind, gentle, good listener.  I thought she could help.”

         “Help with what?”  I asked. 

         “All these years, I’ve tried to protect you from the truth.  The truth about your mother.”

         “My mother?  She was a freaking alcoholic Dad, who gave less than a shit about her family!  She left us!  End of story.”  I said.

“Not exactly.  She left because I threw her out.”  He said.

         “Yeah, because she was a drunk and refused to get help.  I’ve heard the same story a million times Dad!”  I said, with my voice growing louder once again.

         “It wasn’t the drinking that made me throw her out, Marty.”  He said.

         I looked at him giving full attention to what he was about to say.

         “I threw her out because she had an affair.” 

         “What?”  I said.

         His eyes had glazed over at me, as if he was remembering the very events that took place that day in his mind.

         “You asked how Jeni knew about Turnovsky and you didn’t?  He was the man your mother was sleeping with.  My friend.  My own partner.  Milo had an affair with my wife right under my nose.”

         I felt numb to his words.  Surprised was hardly a worthy adjective.

         “Jesus!  Why the hell didn’t you ever tell me about this?”  I said standing up again.

         “Isn’t it obvious?”  He said.

         I turned back toward him.

         “Look back on how you reacted toward the mention of your mother in the past.  Did you really need another reason to hate her!?”  He asked.

         The question stopped me from giving him an answer.  I didn’t need another reason to hate her.  I had enough already.  He was right about that.  But it didn’t justify him covering the truth up for all these years. 

         “No, I guess I didn’t.”  I said, in a quiet voice.  “How did you find out?”  I continued.

         “I suspected your mother was cheating on me fairly early on.  We got into a fight one night, and she left the house.  Without her knowing I followed her back to a hotel where she met Milo a little while later.  I sat out in the car until dawn.  She left early that morning.  I beat her back home, got dressed, came to work, business as usual.  That afternoon I couldn’t bear the thought of her betrayal any longer, so I went home and confronted her about it.  By the time I got there, her bags were already packed in her car.  We fought for a little while longer and-“

         “That was the last time I saw my mother.”  I interrupted.

         “Yep.” 

         “That was the last day I saw her alive.”  He finished. 

         “What about Turnovsky?  Did he murder his wife?” 

         “Technically?  Yes.  Intentionally?  No.”  He said.

         “Then what the hell happened?”  I asked.

         “After your mother left our house, she then went to Milo’s revealing her love for him in front of his wife.  Milo insisted your mother was psychotic and forced her to leave.  But that didn’t stop his wife’s questions.  Like me, she had her suspicions about his loyalty to their marriage early on.  That night she ran upstairs and grabbed the gun

from their nightstand.  Before Milo could catch up to her, she emptied the bullets out of the gun and hid them under the bed.  When Milo came into the bedroom, she pointed the gun at him demanding the truth.  She just wanted to scare him into confessing.  After an intense argument, Milo was sure she was going to shoot, so he fired first, killing his wife.  It wasn’t until later he found that the gun she had wasn’t loaded.” 

         “Oh my God.”  I said. 

         “But that wasn’t the worst part of it.”  He said.  “He didn’t know that I knew the truth about their affair.  After he shot his wife, he called me for help.  I got to the scene shortly before you did and wrote the accurate report of what happened.  But I was still angry.  I hated him for betraying me like that.  I hid the police report I wrote in the safety deposit box, and the case-workers went off the report you filled out.  At the time, I felt I was justified in my actions toward him.  He needed to pay for his betrayal to me and the murder of his wife.  I just never thought they would’ve given him the death penalty.”

         “So when you found out they were going for the death sentence, you tried to defend him didn’t you?”  I asked.

         “Yep.  But it was too late, obviously.  The courts wanted to set an example of him.  Before his death, I did tell him the truth about my knowledge of the affair.  I wanted him to know before he died.  You can imagine his reaction when I told him.” 

         A moment later, my cell phone rang.  It was Lara.

         “Are you at Sam’s?”  I answered.

         “Yeah, I’m here.  I’m fine.  What the hell is going on?”

“I’ll explain when I get there.”  I said.

         I hung up the phone and turned to my father.

         “You’re coming with me.”  I said.

         A little while later, the four of us sat down at Sam’s dinner table to discuss the situation.  I had my father describe in detail what he had told me a short time ago.  I sat next to him listening intently for any changes, but there were none.  When my father finished telling us what happened between the Turnovskys, I told Lara and Sam what happened when I went to my father’s house.  I pulled out the military photograph of Lara and placed it on the table in front of us.  Lara jumped out of her seat abruptly.

         “What the hell is that?!”  She exclaimed.

         “This is why I told you to come here.”  I said. 

         “How does he know me?  Why am I suddenly a target?!”

         “I don’t know, but I promise you, Lara, we’re going to find out.”  I said.

         “This is slowly starting to make sense.”  Sam said.  “Bear with me here.  First, he goes after Jeni, your mother dies the week before, Dayton is attacked tonight, and Lara is his next target.” 

         “What are you getting at Sam?”  Dayton said.

         “I think he’s after you, Martin.”  Sam said, looking at me. 

         I looked over at Sam.  The look on his face illustrated his seriousness.

“So far, he’s gone after everyone close to you.”  Sam continued.

         “But why me?”  I asked.

         “I don’t know.  But one thing is becoming clear, everyone you know, all of us here are in danger.”

         “You said my mother died from alcohol poisoning.”  I said, looking at my father. 

         “Yes, she did.  I don’t think her death is directly related to what’s going on here.  But maybe we can use this.”  My father said.

         “What do you mean?”  Sam said.

         “He may not know that he dropped the photo of Lara yet.  Either way, he doesn’t know we have it.  He may not know that we’re on to him.  We could use that to our advantage.”  He said.

         “What, like you mean set a trap for him?”  I said.

         “Why not?”  He said.

         “Wait a minute.  We’re getting a little ahead of ourselves here.  Dayton, there’s one thing I still don’t understand…”  Sam said.  “We saw you drive by at the restaurant the night Jeni died.  We ran out to talk to you but you drove off…why?” 

         The room fell silent and all of our eyes shifted to my father.  He looked down at the table and let out a sigh.

         “I got a phone call a few hours before I went to Marty’s house that night.  I didn’t recognize the voice.  It was disguised by one of those voice-altering gadgets.  The caller said to meet him at the restaurant at 2am.  I asked what it was about and he said it was about my wife.  Your mother.”  He said, looking at me.  “I pushed him further, but he said it was urgent.”

         “2am?  That’s when you and I met there Sam!”  I said.

         “I pulled up to the restaurant and noticed you two inside.  I didn’t want to involve you considering what had just happened, so I got out of there.”  My father said.

         “Why didn’t you tell me that before?”  I said.

         “I didn’t think it was important.”  He said.

         “Well, Dad, if Sam hadn’t mentioned it, would you have told us!?”  I said, raising my voice.

         “I…I don’t know, probably.” 

         “You were just attacked in your own home!  If I hadn’t been there, you might be dead by now!  I’d consider that detail pretty freaking important!”  I said, yelling at him. 

         “Marty, calm down.  Let’s take this one step at a time.”  Sam said.  “Is there anything else that happened that we need to know about?”

         “No, that’s it.”  Dayton said.

         “This could very well mean that Sam and I were sitting in the same restaurant with the killer that night, and didn’t even know it.”  I said.

         Sam and I glanced at one another realizing the creepy thought.

         “I could go back to Chicago and see what I can find there.”  My father said.

         “What do you expect to find?”  Sam asked.

         “I don’t know, but somehow your mother is connected to this Marty.  Who ever called me knows something.  There’s got to be something there that can shed some light on this.”


Coming up next:  Chapter Nine - Sending a Mother's Love

Chapter Seven - War Rooms

              The next day was Christmas Eve.  Sam and I walked into Mitchell Raines’ office to present him with what I had found.  I explained my opinion in full-detail, down to last night’s phone conversation with Mrs. Darren.  Mitchell sat back in his chair, rubbed his forehead and looked Sam and I straight in the eye.

         “Sam.  What do you think about this?”  Mitchell asked.

         Sam looked over at me quickly and then back to him.

         “Well, sir, I think we may have something here.  The evidence is worth looking further into.”  Sam said.

         Mitchell looked back at me, trying to read the expression on my poker face.

         “Alright.  What do you need from me?”  He asked.

         “The case re-opened.”  I said.

         Mitchell hesitated, creasing his eyes at me.

         “Alright.  Fine.  But you’re on thin ice here, Marty.” 

         “And, one other thing…”  I said.

         “And that is…”  Mitchell asked.

         “I’ll need a search warrant for my father’s house.”  I said.

         “Are you out of your mind!?”  Mitchell said.

         “You’re lucky I’m re-opening the case.  Don’t push it Lieutenant.”

         “If my father’s involved, these steps need to be taken.”  I said.

         Sam and I walked out of his office a short time later.  We went back to our desks to look over any new reports that had came in, when my phone rang.

         “Martin Winter.”  I answered.

         “Detective, this is Ray Miller from Lloyd’s Commerce Bank, how are you?”

         “Fine, thanks.  Any word on the check?”  I asked.

         “Sort of.  I’m afraid I have bad news.  We were unable to trace the origin of the funds transferred into Mrs. Darren’s account.  The trail went cold somewhere in the Caymans.  Who ever it was, knew what they were doing.”  He said.

         “Damn.  Okay.  Thanks Ray.”

         “Sure.”

         I hung up the phone and stared forward for a moment.  I decided it was time to call Mrs. Darren once more and give her some good news.

         “Hello.”  The familiar voice answered.

         “Hi, Mrs. Darren, it’s detective Winter again.” 

         “Well, hello again detective.”  She said.

         “I have good news for you.  The money is yours.  Do what you want with it.”

         “Oh my lord in heaven!”  She exclaimed.

         I couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction.

         “Consider it an early Christmas gift.”  I said.  “I’m sure you’ll spend it wisely.” 

         “Indeed I will detective, and thank you very much.”  She said.

         “No, thank you, Mrs. Darren.”  I said.

I hung up the phone and noticed Sam walking towards me. 

         “Hey, we may have a lead on the footage taken from the bank.  Forensics wants to see us.”  He said.

         “Let’s go.”  I said.

         We walked down to the lab at the back of the station.  We were greeted by Montgomery, a forensic video analyst who was never short on energy.  Everyone called him Montey for short.  He was shorter and younger than we were, and talked very fast as if he had drank too much caffeine.

         “Detectives, right this way!”  He said.

         He led us into his control lab that was filled with monitors and television screens.  Underneath the monitors was all the equipment necessary to power them. 

         “The footage is very raw and hasn’t given us very much.”  He said, sitting down.

         “What do you got?”  I asked.

         “Our facial recognition software will not work with this low resolution footage.  However, I did manage to enlarge a shot of the time stamp you specified, and found this.”  He typed in a few strokes on his keyboard and enlarged the video on the screen in front of us.  In the video we could see the five men in the bank, wearing winter coats and stocking hats.  But, the screen was very distorted and pixilated. 

         “What are we looking at here?”  Sam said,

         “Notice the one guy on the left at the teller.  He’s talking to the woman behind the counter.”  Montey said.

         “Okay?”  I said.

         “Look at his hands.”  Montey said.

         Suddenly it hit me.  The man at the left teller window was wearing dark gloves. 

         “I don’t know about you, but typically when I come in from the cold, I take my gloves off so my hands don’t get sweaty.”  Montey said, smiling.

         None of the other men in the footage had gloves on.

         “He kept his gloves on to keep his prints off the check?”  Sam asked.

         “That’d be my guess.”  Montey said.  “Look at the timestamp.  That’s when your ghostly deposit took place wasn’t it?” 

         “It’s him.”  I said.  “Can you move this footage forward slowly?” 

         “Sure.”

         Montey moved the footage forward in slow motion showing the man exiting the camera’s view with his gloves still on. 

         “I think you’re right.”  Sam said, looking at me. 

         “You might talk with the teller who was working that day.  Maybe she could give you a better description of him.” 

         “Thanks Montey, good work.  Keep that tape handy.”  I said.

         “That’s what I’m here for.”

Sam and I walked out of the lab and down the hallway. 

         “I’ll call Ray Miller at the bank and see if he can’t figure out who that woman was behind the counter that day.”

         Once again, Sam and I found ourselves in Lloyd’s Commerce Bank.  This time Ray sat us down in their break room next to his office. 

         “Detectives, this is Melanie Houston.  She was the one behind the first teller window that day.  Mel, this is detective Winter and detective Mitros.”

         “Hi there.”  She said smiling, shaking our hands.  She had a very delicate handshake.  Almost as if I squeezed her hand too hard, her cold hands would crumble.  She wore a yellow sweater that hid under her blonde hair, covering a white blouse.  She appeared to be a very perky person. 

         “How can I help you?”  She asked. 

         We all sat back down around the table, including Ray.

         “Melanie, this may be hard for you to remember, but I have to ask you to try your best, okay?”  I asked, sitting down.  She sat down across from Sam and I.

         “Okay.”  She said.

         “Three days ago, around 11:15 in the morning, there was a white male who wanted to make an anonymous deposit of a hundred thousand dollars into another member’s account.  Do you remember this?”  I asked.

         “Of course!  It’s not often we handle big amounts like that.”  She said.

         “Can you describe him to us?”  Sam asked.

         “Well, the whole thing was kind of awkward, really.  All he knew when he approached me was the member’s name, and that he wanted to deposit his check into her account.  It was, um, Olivia Darren’s account, if I remember right.”  She said.

         “That’s right.”  I said.  “Can you describe him to us?” 

         “The guy looked like he was in his late twenties or early thirties.  He was a little shorter than you, five-seven, five-eight or so, medium build.  He also had a thick mustache under his nose that I swore looked fake.  I couldn’t see his hair color because he wore a stocking cap that covered it.  But he did keep his gloves on the whole time.  I thought that was kind of weird too.  It was like he was still cold from being outside or something.”  She said.

         I looked at Sam who looked back at me nodding. 

         “Anything else?”  Sam said.

         “His voice was weird too.”  She said.

         “How so?”  I asked.

         “If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought he was trying to purposely deepen it for some reason.  He came off sounding very throaty.”  She finished.

         “Okay, that helps a lot Melanie, thank you.”  Sam said. 

         We all stood up and Melanie walked towards me. 

“Sure, if there’s anything else you need, just let me know.”  She glanced me up and down while shaking my hand, trying to put forth a subtle come-on.  

         “Thank you.”  I said, offering a smile.

         Behind me I heard Sam snicker slightly.  I glanced back at him with a scowl, to which he responded with an innocent look. 

         “So, what’s next?”  Sam said, as we once again exited the bank. 

         “I think I’m going to pay my father a visit.  Alone.”  I said.

         “Are you sure that’s a good idea Marty?”  Sam said.

         “I’ll be fine, trust me.”  I said.

         It was dark by the time I pulled into my father’s driveway.  His yard had dim-lit lights that rested upon posts along each side of his driveway.  His house appeared warm and was lit in certain rooms.  I could see the light reflect down onto the light snow.  I got out of my car and started towards the door.  I knocked three times and that’s when I heard the sound of a gun echo through the air originating from inside the house.  I stepped back, pulled out my gun from my waist and kicked the front door in.  I held my gun outreached in search of a target through the house, when I heard my father speak. 

         “Marty, is…that you?” 

         His voice sounded weak and tattered. 

         “Dad?”  I said.

         “In here.”  He said.

         I walked into the living room and found him on the floor holding his arm.  His hand was bloody and his sweatshirt sleeve began to turn red as well.  

         “It’s okay…he’s gone.”  He said.

         I holstered my weapon and knelt down beside my father.

         “What happened?”  I asked.

         “I don’t know.  I came home a little while ago, and someone hit me over the head, and dragged me into the living room.” 

         I lifted his hand from the wound on his upper arm to get a closer look.

         “It’s not bad.  Bastard missed me.  Thanks to you.”  He said.

         “C-mon, let’s get you up.”  I said.

         I helped him to his feet and sat him on the couch.  I helped him take off his sweatshirt and he let out a groan in pain.  I took a closer look at the wound.

         “It looks like the bullet just grazed your arm.  I’ll get a bandage.”  I said.

         “They’re in the cabinet in the bathroom.  Top shelf.”  He said.

         I went to the bathroom and brought out the bandages.

         “Did you get a good look at him?”  I said.

         “No, he was wearing a mask.”  He said.

         “Did he say anything to you?”  I asked, cleaning his wound. 

         “Yeah, but not much.  He said, ‘It’s all your fault, you son of a bitch.’  Whatever the hell that means.  I was on the floor, still dizzy from when he hit me.  He had a gun pointed at me when he heard a knock at the door.  It must have startled him.  The gun went off, but I doubt he was aiming for my arm.”  He said.  “After that he ran out the back.  He’s probably long gone by now.” 

         I had finished cleaning his wound and had wrapped a bandage around his arm.

         “You may want to have this looked at.”  I said, referring to his arm. 

         “Thank God you came when you did, son.  I might be dead by now.” 

         I stood up and walked around the living room, looking for evidence.  I happen to notice the photographs on the mantle above the fireplace.  They were photos taken at the wedding of Jeni and I.  There were also photos of me at my academy graduation.  I realized how long it had been since I was in my father’s house.  It felt like years.  I pushed the thought away and resumed my search around the house.  The windows hadn’t been opened or broken, and there were no other signs of forced entry, aside from the front door I had kicked in.  I went to the back door that was still open and looked outside.  The tracks in the snow headed off down the street and disappeared soon after.  I was about to go back inside and close the door when I noticed a paper lying on the ground.  I reached into my pocket and put my right glove on. I bent down to pick it up and the fright consumed me.  It was a military photograph of Lara Matthews.  On the face of the photograph, written in marker, were the words, ‘She’s next.’

Coming up next:  Chapter Eight - Dayton's Secret