Feeling pretty good after the phone call, I called Trisha to let her know David will be joining us in the morning. Maybe we can arrange a time he can visit me during the summer.
“David?” he asked.
“I suppose you’re going to tell me something about him you found.”
“No, he checks out okay.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate everything you do for me.”
The elevator doors slid apart on my floor and I reached into my pocket for the room card.
Larry watched me as I inserted the card, and walked in.
“We’ll see you in the morning,” he said and turned away toward the elevators. I shut the door.
I flipped the light switch, turned around, and gasped. A man sat in my chair. I couldn’t see his face in the darkness.
Chapter 26
Vernon
“Who are you and why are you in my room?” I said, reaching for the door handle.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Susan,” a familiar voice said. “Your friends could be in danger.”
The man stood up, removed his hat, and placed his hand over mine. By the foyer light, I could see the hair on his head had changed color from salt and pepper to a light brown.
“Mr. Vernon McCarthy, you shouldn’t be here. The police are looking for you,” I said, releasing the door handle under his grip.
“Please sit on the chair,” he said with a gesture of his hand.
He stepped into the toilet room and left the door open to block the exit door. Then he plugged in his razor into the outlet between the desk and the mirror on the wall.
“You are going to help me get off this island,” he said, pointing the electric razor at me.
“I don’t see how,” I said, wondering what he was up to.
“You see Susan, the internet is a wonderful device,” he explained as he began shaving off his beard, and then his mustache. The hair cuttings fluttered to the floor into the small trash can and covered the carpet nearby.
“As I was saying, there are many men with similar features to mine.” He finished with one side of his face and began shaving his other cheek. “Through the magic of the internet, I have found out a great deal about you and your deceased husband.”
Now I was getting upset. My hands clenched into fists. I froze, waiting to see what would be his next move.
“What does my Henry have to do with you?” I asked as both anger and fear rose up my spine.
“Have you ever been told that somewhere in this world you could have a twin?” he said as he shaved off the last of his facial hair and brushed off his brown suit of any errant strands.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. Glancing at it for a minute he then handed it over to me. I took what looked like a photograph of someone. When turned it around, I made a sharp inhale of air and covered my mouth with my right hand.
“This–this is a picture of...Henry,” I mumbled.
“That’s right. You may keep that,” he said, stroking his shaven chin and turning to face me.
“Well, what do you think? Oh, I almost forgot.”
He combed his hair over to one side just like Henry did in the photo.
“There, now I’m Mr. Henry Edwards,” he claimed, looking at the mirror and back again to face me.
Except for his wider girth, his hair matched his brown eyes, just like Henry’s did. My stomach turned.
“You’ll never get away with this,” I wailed.
He stood there looking at me and again at his new face in the mirror.
“You are still Mrs. Susan Edwards on your driver’s license, right?” he asked, turning again toward me.
“Well, yes, but–“
“And since I will be right next to you in the airport and on the plane, no one will have a reason to question us,” he said.
“How did you get the seat next to me? When I booked mine it was occupied?”
“It’s easier than you think. Congressmen do it all the time.”
“My friends will know,” I retorted.
“Ah yes, your friends. Well, I have friends too and with a few of my internet contacts, your friends will be followed and in sight of them at all times. You wouldn’t want dear little Trisha and big Larry to fall injury from a radical passenger, now would you?”
“Please don’t hurt them. I’ll do what you ask. Will you let me go when we get to Phoenix?”
“We’ll see. Do you have all your things packed to go to the airport?” he asked.
“Uh, yes.”
“Good. Hand me your phone,” he said, staring at me with those cold dark eyes.
I reached into my pocket and passed the device over to him.
“Now, where is your boarding pass?” he asked.
“It’s in my purse. It’s just a ticket, I have to use a kiosk to get the boarding pass,” I said.
He looked in my large purse and checked the airline ticket available in the internal side pocket.
“Good. Now we need our sleep,” he said.
“I’ll help you get on the plane, but I’m not sleeping with you.”
“As much as that would be a good distraction... No, too much noise.
“Pull off the bed covers. Set them on the bathroom floor. Take all of them into the bathroom with you. Lock the door if you want. If you won’t come out in the morning, I’ll have to call my friends to kill one of yours. Do we have an understanding?” he said.
“Yes,” I replied in a tiny voice.
I rose out of my chair, pulled off a bed sheet, and carried it over to the bathroom where I laid it on the tiled
