Sibling Rivalry

by E A Harvey

  He started to unroll the cash in his hands but soon realized that only the top few were Euros and underneath was just cut up newspaper.

  "Now if you want four hundred Euros plus an extra 100 you will need to follow my instructions, and if you do I might even let you spend some time with me".

  "So what must I do"?

  "Firstly remove the magazine from the grip and handed it to me"

  This he did a smile still on his face thinking about what might happen.

  "Tomorrow evening you will meet me at the point marked on this map at 11.30 pm".

  She handed him a local tourist map.

  "There you will hand me the gun and I will hand you, 500 Euros. After we will go somewhere of your choice, do you understand"?

  “I certainly do".

  The following night.

  Alexis Dune sat on a bench next to the Seine wondering if she had changed her mind about buying the pistol. He had been there over an hour and there was no sign of her.

  She had been pretty clever, he thought, and had completely outsmarted him. But he would get his revenge once the deal was done. He would have the money the gun and he would have her. "Do you have the gun for me, Alexis"?

  Her voice came out of the dark. He had not heard her approach.

  "Bitch scared the life out of me” he thought

  ”Have you the gun" she repeated

  "Yes, where's the money"?

  "Now it's your turn to trust me don't you think, I will give you 500 Euros when I have the rest of the weapon”

  "Sure, here you go"

  Taking the weapon from him she handed over the money.

  "Should you not count that"?

  "I trust you, I am sure you wouldn't be silly enough to try to cheat me".

  “Now this part goes into the handle of the gun am I correct"?

  She pushed the magazine home

  “Yes it does but be careful it’s fully loaded”

  “Then what do I do”?

  "Pull back the slide which loads a bullet into the chamber, and make sure the safety is on”

  “Now you’re ready to shoot. What is your name by the way?”

  "What like this and this"? She pointed the gun at Alexis Dune and pulled the trigger.

  He fell backwards into the river, a hole where his right eye had been.

  “Oops I forgot the safety catch”

  Bending down she picked up the money.

  “Penny my name is Penny"

  The following night

  Checking the Google maps which had been printed before leaving home, thirty miles or so to Chantilly should only take an hour or so.

  An hour and a half later and a few missed turns, she arrived at the cottage and knocked on the door.

  "Bob" Janet called through the closed door.

  “I knew you could not leave me all alone for long".

  She opened the door and was surprised to see her sister standing in front of her

  "Penny what are you doing here, how did you know where I was? Please come in"

  Janet backed into the cottage and her visitor followed her in from the dimly lit doorway"

  "This is such a surprise, did Peter give you the address. I tried to call your earlier but the phone signal here is non-existent.

  Can I”

  Janet never finished the sentence as a look of shock spread across her face.

  Standing before her was her brother, Peter, wearing what Janet recognized as clothes from Penny's wardrobe which she had left behind when she moved to Paris. An expensive wig, styled as his sister sometimes wore her hair, completed the illusion.

  "What do you think you are doing Peter and why are you dressed in Penny's clothes? Are you going to some kind of fancy dress ball or something? If you are you look wonderful, I honestly thought you were Penny. Ha, ha. You make a most beautiful woman. You look amazing nobody would ever guess. So what's it all about”?

  "It's me Penny, and I am here to stop you ruining my life once more. So please just pack up and go back to London, I don't want to have to hurt you"

  "What in heaven's name are you talking about Peter? What do you mean you’re Penny? And why would you want to hurt me"?

  "I know why you're here Janet, you’re going to do what you did with Bob and try to come between me and the one I love”

  "Who are you talking about, the one you love who is it that you love, and why would I want to come between you? I am sorry Peter. I have no idea what you're talking about".

  The question seemed to catch him by surprise and he stood there with an expression of doubt on his face.

  “Go home Janet, go home or else".

  "Or else what Peter, I really do not understand".

  As an answer, he pulled out the gun from the handbag he was carrying".

  Seeing the gun in his hand only made Janet more upset than she had already been and she raised her voice even more.

  "You are insane Peter or Penny or whatever your bloody name is. What are you going to do with that thing? Shoot me and then what? Shoot yourself"? She shouted.

  "Penny this and Penny bloody that, I always thought you're obsessed with her and now you even think you are her. Are you insane"?

  "Don’t say that Janet”

  “If you don't go home, I will, I promise I will" he screamed, pointing the gun at her once more.

  "All of mine and Peter’s life you have made us unhappy Janet and it's got to stop".

  With all the noise going on they did not hear the door quietly open and Bob enter softly into the cottage. He was returning for his forgotten passport and wanted to surprise Janet.

  On seeing what he thought was Penny pointing a gun at Janet, he grabbed her from behind, causing Peter to pull the trigger.

  The bullet struck Janet in the head and she fell to the ground blood gushing from the wound. "Penny what have you done, my God".

  Letting Peter go he rushed to Janet and cradled her in his arms.

  “Darling please don't leave me, I need you. I love you"

  He glanced up at Peter whose wig had now slipped to one side.

  "Oh my God, what in heaven's name? What are you, you bloody weirdo? Look what you've done, I am going to kill you, you bastard thing".

  Laying Janet's body gently down he rushed at Peter who pulled the trigger once more.

  Robert Heath was dead before his body fell across Janet's.

  "It was your fault, Bob, if you had not got hold of me the gun would not have gone off it's your entire fault, and you deserved to die. Why were you here what did you want"?

  “What have I done? I just wanted her to go home”.

  Peter sat down; his head between his legs and cried continually.

  “Pull yourself together you wimp, they deserved to die” he heard her say. They would have ruined everything”

  In the hours which followed they came up with a plan which only a person with a warped mind could conjure.

  Wrapping Janet's body in blankets, making sure her blood did not stain any other part of the cottage she was placed into his car. Bob's body he laid across where Janet’s body had been so that there was only one pool of blood. They knew exactly where they were driving, Espace Rambouillet, the bird sanctuary, about one hundred and twenty kilometres away. The drive should take close to two hours keeping under the speed limit and driving as carefully as possible.

  Suddenly they were shocked when a police car came up behind its warning lights flashing. They pulled the car into the kerbside just as the squad car accelerated past and into the distance. Heart racing they sat there for a full five minutes until he felt their pulse returned to something like normal.

  Ten minutes later they arrived at the sanctuary and drove across walkways and paths he recognized until, at last, he came to a swamp area.

  ” I am sorry" he said over her body "I never meant to hurt you Janet” before, as carefully as possible, he rolled her into the bog.

  His plan had been to bury her body in the swamp so that she
would never be found but he could not bring himself to desecrate her even more, even though at this time a battle was taking place.

  Driving back to the cottage they wiped all fingerprints off anything he may have touched. Finding both the passports he placed them in the handbag then he removed all traces of Janet down to her toothbrush. He came across a recipe and a receipt from a local restaurant, these he also placed into his bag. Removing Bob's watch and wallet he made things look like a robbery. Their rented car he drove into the garage next to the cottage and wiped everything clean.

  Later he drove his own hire car back to the office from where he had rented it, parked it outside the office and pushed the keys through the letterbox.

  Stopping a passing cab he rode back to his hotel.

  He hoped the driver would not notice the blood or mud stains on the dress.

  "What is such a beautiful young woman like you doing in this seedy part of Paris alone at night" asked the driver.

  She smiled but did not answer.

  Making sure there was no one on duty at the hotel reception Peter rushed to the elevator. In his room he tried to sleep but it was impossible. He lay awake all night.

  Chapter 36 Rental

  "Rene, I know I only call you when I want something so before I tell you what I want, how are you and it’s so good to hear your voice, very good in fact".

  "Sarah it's good to hear from you as well and it sounds like you might be missing me. So when are we going to see you again and what is it you want this time? Actually I know. You want to know if I have any news on Mr Heath. Yes, he has a rental car which has not been returned and it's now been a couple of weeks. The problem is Sarah, although we want to assist our English friends we really can't afford to put officers on it full time. All I have been able to do is give patrolling cars the number plate and let them know. It's a Hertz rental and hope they come across it soon".

  "Thank you Rene. I know you would do more if you could. Speak soon and thank you once more".

  "The rental on that car is going to log up some money on Mr Heath, Sergeant that's for sure. I take it that all the fingerprints have been checked out in the victims flat by now"?

  "Yes ma'am, but the one thing we have is that the woman seen leaving the flat wore white gloves”.

  "I know George. I know. And please don't tell me, she's got nice legs".

  “Also we have spoken to known prostitutes and they all agree that a girl of this quality will not be working the streets” said the Sergeant.

  “Guess we always knew that. But it was a long shot and, I thought, that one of the regulars might have known her”.

  Chapter 37 Crash

  "What is the matter with you today you poor old thing? We are growing old together and soon both of us will be put out to pasture”.

  The old woman looked down at her dog who had decided enough was enough and was not walking any further today.

  As she bent to stroke the animal a motorcar, heading down the road in their direction, sounded its horn. She looked up just in time to see the Renault Megan convertible swerve and crash through the barrier and into the river.

  “Oh my god that poor girl”

  Dragging the old dog behind her she looked for a gap in the central reservation where she could safely navigate the road. Finally finding a space she crossed the road and reached the river's edge in time to see the car disappear beneath the water, there she could see a young man swimming towards where the car had sunk. He stopped his forward motion and started treading water. She could see the look of despair on his face as he scanned the area. After a while he started back towards the bank.

  “How sad” she thought. “He had made a gallant attempt to save her”.

  She waved a passing car down and asked the driver to telephone the police and an ambulance.

  The man in the water had, by this time, reached the bank and pulled himself onto the riverbank.

  "Are you alright" she shouted down at him.

  "I am so sorry. The car sank so quickly I could not reach her"

  "You tried your best. That's all you could do".

  Sometime later a police car arrived and soon after an ambulance. The paramedics offered the man a blanket which he used to dry himself.

  Later that day the car was recovered and the police searched records to find the owner.

  Two days later officers called on Penny and Gabrielle's home but found no one in; it was another two more days before Gabrielle received the news that her wonderful friend was missing presumed dead.

  Heartbroken she telephoned her brother in Singapore, in her hand the crumpled note.

  Dear Gabby tried calling you.

  I am on my way to the hospital to keep you company and give you a ride home.

  Love you.

  Penny x x

  Chapter 38 Suspect

  "Right let's go see Miss Paula Costa and have a chat. She was at the Scott's residence when Brian Peters visited, so maybe it was her that he had confused with Penny. Although I can't really see how, you never know".

  Later

  "Good afternoon Miss Costa. This is D.S. Wentworth and I am D.I. Sarah Daniels. Would you mind if we came in and asked you a few questions".

  "No. Please do".

  They entered through the hallway and into a large lounge; it was expensively decorated and well furnished.

  “Won't you please take a seat and you can tell me what I can do to help you".

  "How long have you had a relationship with Mr Scott, Miss Costa"?

  “About six or seven months, maybe a little longer”

  "Could you tell me where you were on Friday the 15th? I understand you were supposed to be meeting Mr Scott that night"

  "Yes that's correct but I was asked to work late by my boss to get a contract ready for a very important client. It was the sort of thing that happens from time to time".

  “When and where, did you finally meet up with Mr Scott"?

  “I met him on the following Saturday at his Aunt Justine’s place”

  “And when you arrived at Justine Scott's home was Patrick there"?

  “Yes. He had been there since Friday".

  “What is the name of your boss, Miss Costa"?

  "It's James, James Morgan"

  "And how long have you been having an affair with Mr Morgan"?

  "I am sorry, what did you say Inspector"?

  "I think you heard me Miss Costa., I asked how long you have been having an affair with your boss. And before you deny it please be aware I will be asking Mr Morgan personally".

  "About three months. But what’s that to do with anything. Anyway, I am leaving that job and going back to modelling, which is what I like doing”

  "Oh I see, so tell me do you use wigs when you’re modelling”?

  “Yes of course”

  “Do you have a blond wig by any chance?”

  “Yes I do, several in fact”

  "You were there the day that Brian Peters visited Mrs Scott's home were you not"?

  “I was, and that I must say was one weird day"

  "Tell me what you remember of that day, please"?

  "It all happened so quickly. I was sitting in the conservatory with Janet and Peter when in walked Patrick with Brian Peters. Brian took one look at the three of us sat there and the colour drained from his face. He looked like he had seen a ghost.

  “Did Mr Peters speak at all”?

  “Yes he said something like ‘Oh my God! Penny’ and then turned and rushed out of the house".

  “Do you know which of you he was talking to or which of you he was looking at? Can you be certain”?

  "I am sure he must have been talking to Janet. He probably confused her for her sister Penny. They are identical twins, did you know, Inspector"?

  “Yes I am aware of Penny Scott and her twin sister Janet, thank you. And what about Patrick's relationship with Mr Peters, would you say they were friends"?

  "No not close friends as such, they were flatmates so
more like acquaintances really. That is all".

  "And you Miss Costa, how well did you know Mr Peters"?

  "Before the day at Mrs Scott’s house I had never seen him before".

  "Can you think of any reason Patrick or your lover, Mr Morgan, would want to kill Mr Peters. Perhaps one of your boyfriend's found out and killed him, Miss Costa"?

  "How dare you, Inspector. If you have no more questions I would like you to leave”.