Peering at one card, she matched the name on the registration form to that of the vital records. Springfield, Adora (née Brown). “Here we go. Birth date, marriage date, and notice of offspring.” The record would be more than sufficient, allowing her to confirm it was the same Adora.
Then Vera squinted at the card, staring at the names of the children. Edward’s and Thomas’s birthdates were duplicated. Same day, same month, same year. Was there a misprint?
A chill washed over her. It could be a misprint…or it could be perfectly accurate.
The answer was simple. Edward and Thomas were twins.
Identical twins.
For a long moment, Vera simply sat there, too stunned to do anything at all.
Twins!
It was the only thing that made sense. It explained how one brother could perfectly impersonate the other. If the decapitated rat was Edward, then Thomas must have faked his death to get away from Big Eddie, who’d been persuaded—somehow—that it would be more profitable than killing Thomas outright. Then, three years later, Thomas murdered Edward and took his place in order to get the Springfield inheritance. However, he didn’t anticipate the unusual terms of the will. He never intended to fool Dorothy for more than a couple of days. But when he found out that both spouses needed to be alive to inherit, he was forced to change his plan, and go with the risky move of continuing to impersonate Edward. It was difficult, and he couldn’t do it perfectly, because he didn’t know more than the superficial details, hence his hazy responses at the wake. That’s why the mine foreman was so alarmed at “Edward’s” confusion about basic mining terms. And that was why he didn’t greet Vera outside Mr. Fallow’s office the first day…at that point, he didn’t know who she was!
She grabbed the documents, dashed out of the room, and yelled an apology to the employees as she raced by.
“I’m borrowing a couple of things but I’ll bring them back!” she called.
“Wait, wait!” a rabbit cried, startled.
But Vera was already outside, running toward the police station. Orville was sitting at his desk, while Meade was nowhere to be seen.
“He’s campaigning,” Orville explained, before he saw her expression. “What’s happened?”
“Orville, I’ve got it! I mean, I think I’ve got it. I have most of it. It’s circumstantial, but—”
“Vera!” he cut in. “Take a breath! What are you going on about? What’s all that paper you’ve got?”
She hastily explained her theory.
“But you said that’s impossible, twins or not. The Highbank police confirmed that Thomas died.”
“Not exactly!” Vera said. “Philomena said the body was rather disfigured from being tossed in the river after death. Remember, it was Big Eddie himself who came forward—unasked!—to identify the body as Thomas. You said yourself it didn’t really make sense for a criminal like him to do that…unless Thomas made it worth his while. Maybe he struck a deal with Eddie to cover up for him. Some hapless traveler came to Highbank, say a male rat about Thomas’s age. Thomas saw his chance. He killed the rat and Eddie played along with the idea that the victim was really Thomas.”
“For the inheritance?” Orville asked. “They might have waited ten years or more for that.”
“I don’t think Thomas told Eddie about that part of the plan. That was his private revenge. To hover near the family and wait for his opportunity. Remember how Professor Heidegger’s house was broken into right when Shady Hollow first got the news that Adora was near death? I bet that was Thomas, getting closer while he waited to strike.”
“You sure?” Orville asked.
“I went to see Heidegger the day after the wake, and I saw that most of the books that had been moved around were local histories and street directories, which Thomas used to study up on the people he’d need to know in his role as Edward. I remember him talking with one guest at the wake. He knew who Stan Mortimer was, probably from yearbook pictures, but he mostly asked questions and let Stan fill in the gaps.” Plus, the yearbooks got taken since they would have revealed the boys were identical twins. Thomas was covering his tracks!
“Orville, we have to hurry,” Vera told her beau. “If Thomas is still alive, this changes everything! Dot was right all along. Her husband is dead, and Thomas killed him. Now we just have to prove it.”
“That’s all very circumstantial, Vera.” Orville’s words were cautionary, but his tone was excited. “Maybe we can trip him up. Make him confess to something that will let me arrest him.”
“How can we take him by surprise?” Vera asked. “If he sees a cop, he’ll be extra careful.”
“Not if he thinks he’s going to get exactly what he wants,” Orville said.
“Like what?”
The big bear smiled, showing teeth. “Like Dorothy.”
Chapter 17
Late that afternoon, when the light was growing golden, Vera and Orville advanced up the path to the Springfield house. On the sidewalk behind them, within earshot, Mr. Fallow stood with Dorothy, flanked by two squirrels in doctor’s coats. She looked upset and nervous and skittish, and Vera felt much the same inside.
She raised her paw to knock three times on the heavy door.
After a moment, she heard steps, and the door opened to reveal Edward’s beleaguered expression. “Oh, Miss Vixen,” he said, “I wasn’t expecting you…or Deputy Braun.” He frowned. “What’s this all about? Have you seen Dotty lately? Is she ready to come home?”
“I’m afraid not,” Vera said. She stepped aside so he could see Dorothy standing on the sidewalk. “That’s why we’re here.”
“I don’t understand,” Edward said.
“After discussing the matter with Mr. Fallow and the hospital,” Orville told him, “it was decided that it might be best to place Mrs. Springfield in a medical facility for treatment. We all hoped that her, er, outburst would be forgotten. But she’s adamant. And after all, one can’t stay at a bed-and-breakfast
