by Diane Rapp
“It might be better for them to stay aboard.” Natalia leaned her head against his shoulder. “I just witnessed a tense confrontation between Kate and her daughters. I’m positive the girls had nothing to do with the break-in or the malevolent mind I felt, although I did see that the girls wanted to protect their inheritance. Kate is positive that her real sons are among the twins, so we still have a job to do.”
Jason wrapped his arm around her waist. “It’s only the first evening of the cruise. Who would expect us to solve everything this promptly?”
Chuckling, Natalia stroked his cheek. “Those girls might still be up to something, so Kate wants you to remain undercover and watch them.”
“Good idea. Why do you think the fake twins should stay aboard?”
She shrugged. “I saw them in Kate’s future.”
Chapter 5 ~ Interviewing the Twins
The next morning Natalia decided to work in a new disguise. If she performed her act on stage, she didn’t want anyone to know she also worked security. A short blonde wig, blue contact lenses, and blue eyeshadow transformed her appearance. She slipped a lanyard over her neck, unbuttoned the top two buttons of her white blouse, and tucked it into a very short navy skirt. The name displayed on her I.D. read “Jennifer”.
A wolf whistle from Jason expressed his appreciation for her long legs and cleavage. “The blokes will have ever so much to admire with that outfit, Tally.”
“That’s the idea.” She patted his cheek seductively and slipped her feet into a pair of sleek Italian leather heels. “The guys should stare at my attributes while the girls focus on these designer shoes. No one will remember my face.” She used a comb to sweep long blonde bangs over her left eyebrow and used hairspray to freeze them in place.
Jason coughed and waved his hands. “Leave us a bit of breathable air, Tally. Do you really need so much spray?”
She patted the stiff strands of hair and nodded. “That will do nicely. See you for lunch.” Her heels clicked across the floor and out the door.
The Twins Project participants met in a small conference room near the theater. A breakfast buffet offered fruits, sweets, coffee, and egg sandwiches. Each set of twins sat together at long tables arranged in a U-shape, quietly talking as they ate.
Kate greeted them from the front of the room. “Thank you for participating in these interviews. I’d like to introduce Dr. Phyllis Chamberlain, who will ask the questions and write the book for our Twins Project.”
The doctor stepped forward to polite applause. Dr. Chamberlain was an unimposing woman, attractive and slender in her mid-forties, who was dressed in a navy skirt with matching vest over a peach-colored silk blouse. Her light brown hair hung loosely to her shoulders as she adjusted rimless glasses to read her notes.
Holding up slender hands to halt the applause, she said, “Thank you but there’s no need to clap for me. I’m here to learn from you. Our research team needs information about the lives of twins who were separated at birth. My assistant, Jennifer,” she gestured toward Natalia, “will pass out a short questionnaire. Over breakfast, there will be plenty of time to fill in the data before our interviews take place. Jennifer will gather them when you’re finished.”
Natalia’s role of the assistant, Jennifer, allowed her to sit in on each interview. She noticed that the fake twins, Pete and Kent, attended this meeting. Perhaps Kate had requested their presence.
Allowing for thirty minutes to complete the paperwork, Phyllis announced, “Before we begin individual interviews, I’d like to ask a few general questions to the entire group. Please be honest.” She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and read from cards in her hand, “Raise your hands if you already knew your twin before yesterday.”
The Chinese girls and the fake twins all raised their hands. “Good. Your interviews will help establish whether your relationships altered your life choices.” She gazed at the other four groups of twins and asked, “Did any of you feel that you might have a missing sibling?” All eight hands were raised, tentatively at first, then with eagerness.
Phyllis smiled knowingly. “This appears to be a common feeling among twins who were separated at birth. However, adopted children in general share similar feelings.” She turned to Natalia. “Would you gather the questionnaires, Jennifer?”
Natalia brushed fingertips as she collected the paperwork. Flickering impressions flew through her mind during the process, but she hit a blank when she touched the Latino twins. How could that be?
After Natalia delivered the papers to Phyllis, the psychologist announced, “To begin our interviews, let’s speak with the two sets of twins who grew up knowing each other.” She shuffled through the papers. “Pete and Kent, please join us at the table in front. The rest of you may use this time to eat more breakfast and quietly chat. These interviews won’t take long.”
Pete looked tired and pale as the brothers walked to the front table. Natalia sat down next to Phyllis and wrote her own notes, including sketches. At age 39, the brothers were clean-cut and boyishly handsome with brown hair and intelligent hazel eyes. Natalia understood why Patsy thought these imposters might pass for Kate’s sons.
Phyllis asked about their childhood, and Kent replied, “We were both born and raised in Miami, Florida. Our parents decided that we could earn money by performing in commercials as kids.”
Phyllis asked, “Did that decision bother you?”
Casting her a sly smile Pete shrugged. “We got lots of treats for acting as kids. And as we got older, acting in plays was a cool way to meet chicks. We got cast as twins in a local soap and made lots of money, so we kept working as actors. The work was easy, and we even scored a national commercial.”
Natalia realized that Patsy probably got her idea for the fraud after viewing that commercial. As actors the twins were a perfect choice to play the role of Kate’s missing sons, but how could she hurt her mother so callously?
Phyllis asked about their common shell-fish allergy and jotted down more notes. She didn’t seem aware of the ruse involving these twins, so Natalia kept the information to herself.
Phyllis announced, “We’re finished with this interview, thank you.” The fake twins rose and left the conference room. Phyllis raised her eyebrows in surprise and made a note on their paperwork.
The Chinese twins, Melany and Penny, were called forward. The girls resembled China dolls with their jet-black hair and dark, almond-shaped eyes but both spoke with American accents. Neither behaved like meek Asian women, and Natalia decided that their attitudes were formed by parents who doted on them, just like typical Americans.
“I see that you are 26 years old,” Phyllis commented. “When the Chinese government first opened adoptions to American parents in 1991, girls were offered for adoption. The ‘one child policy’ in China gave parents a motive to give up girls in hopes of having a son to carry on the family name. Your adoptions were among the earliest to be processed.” She asked, “Do you know how your adoptive parents applied for the adoption?”
Nodding, Melany stated, “My parents hired an attorney in Williamsburg, Virginia, who specialized in foreign adoptions. The process took almost a year, including six months spent in China, to complete the adoption. I hear about that ordeal on EVERY birthday.” She rolled her eyes.
Penny piped in with her story. “My folks hired a D.C. lawyer and the process was difficult and expensive. When I was six they both accepted teaching jobs at William and Mary College, and we moved to Williamsburg. Melany and I met on our first day in elementary school, but the teachers didn’t know what to do with us. Here were identical twin girls from two different sets of parents.” She giggled. “We bonded immediately, became best friends.”
Melany added, “The school usually didn’t let sisters attend the same class, but our parents believed another separation would be psychologically damaging. We promised to behave and that was that.” She brushed her hands together.
Phyllis asked, “Did you notice simil
ar behaviors, common choices, or mannerisms as you grew up?”
Both girls nodded vigorously. Penny offered, “Actually, we practiced acting alike so we could fool other kids at school. That’s the fun part of being twins.”
Sighing, Phyllis excused the girls, who remained in the room and listened to the other interviews. Phyllis leaned closer to Natalia. “I’ve seen that happen before. Similar traits in these girls won’t benefit our study.”
*****
While Natalia sat in on twin interviews, Jason worked the bar outside two other conference rooms. As traffic slowed, he stepped into one room and listened to Patsy. She stood confidently before the group and delivered a speech about the benefits members could receive by ordering enhanced DNA reports. Evidently markers for genetic illnesses could be flagged before symptoms appeared.
He stepped out into the hall and glanced through the glass windows of the room where Kim was lecturing. She used audio-visual aids to demonstrate how laboratory workers processed DNA samples in Genetics Ultra. White-coated technicians dripped liquid into rows of tiny test-tubes while others created sheets full of DNA markers.
Jason noticed a man staring through the glass, watching Kim intently. Jason shrank back into the doorway to observe the man in secret. He appeared tall and slender with a shock of nearly white hair, a matching goatee, and a thick moustache. Wearing an expensive blue pin-striped suit, horned-rim glasses, and striped red tie, he looked like a model for a “dress for success” advertisement. The man watched Kim’s lecture for a few minutes then turned away, taking long strides down the corridor.
Without hesitation, Jason followed him. The man was obviously familiar with the ship, taking outside stairs that were usually used by crew members. Soon Jason watched him pull out a set of keys and enter Diamonds & More, a pricey jewelry store. The store’s signage claimed that it specialized in diamonds, emeralds, tourmaline, and other fine jewelry. The man entered a code into a control panel. He flipped switches that flooded the entire store with lights illuminating glass cubicles filled with sparkling gems in gold and platinum settings.
Reaching into a cabinet, the man extracted a bottle of glass cleaner and proceeded to clean several displays. As other employees filtered into the store, he flipped a sign and swung the double doors into the open position. Jason noticed his gold name badge and wrote Xander Pendleton, Manager in his notebook. While he was writing, Jacquie Ludlow entered the jewelry store and Xander greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.
Jacquie spoke to the manager using animated gestures and flashing a broad smile. Pendleton gazed into the petite woman’s eyes with a tender expression and handed her a long rectangular jewelry box, decorated with a bright red bow. Jacquie covered her mouth with a trembling hand and opened the box. Viewing the contents she rose onto her toes and planted a kiss on Pendleton’s mouth.
Other girls in the shop crowded around to watch Pendleton latch the sparkling diamond bracelet over Jacquie’s slim wrist. Soon everyone started singing “Happy Birthday” to her.
Jason wondered what kind of relationship warranted giving such an expensive bauble as a birthday gift, and why was Xander Pendleton so interested in Kim’s lecture? Perhaps a complete background check on the jeweler was in order.
*****
Timothy and Shirley examined the display of laboratory equipment as a friendly lab technician explained about sorting DNA strands from samples. Shirley approached a man standing along the wall and whispered, “Have you got the information we need?”
His eyes narrowed. “You’re not supposed to contact me in person. I’ve dropped off the schedule to your room.” He quietly left the room.
Timothy appeared at Shirley’s side. “That didn’t look friendly.”
She shrugged and pursed her thin lips. “He’s angry that I contacted him publicly and I guess I don’t blame him. I’m just so nervous about all of this.”
“I’m relieved that the boy is okay, just saw him walking down the hall with his brother. Let’s book a couple of shore excursions and see if we can get close to the boys on our own. Maybe Drew will show up to connect with his boys.”
Shirley sighed and walked out of the room. “If we hurry, we might be able to book those shore excursions.”
*****
The next set of twins who Phyllis interviewed were Paul and Abby, a brother and sister. The fraternal twins were born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, thirty-four years ago. Their DNA profile confirmed that their ancestry was Swedish, and Natalia recognized their Nordic features. Both twins stood over six-foot tall with wispy blond hair, pale blue eyes, and lean, athletic physiques.
Phyllis asked, “Did either of you ever try to find family members?”
Paul answered immediately, “I filed paperwork to open my adoption file. I learned that I was abandoned on the doorsteps of a hospital, so no one knew my mother’s identity. A state welfare agency handled the adoption, but the paperwork never indicated that I had a twin sister.” He smiled at Abby. “I’m relieved we both submitted DNA to Genetics Ultra and discovered each other.”
“I always wondered about relatives, but I didn’t know how to find them.” Abby squeezed Paul’s hand and tears dampened her pale eyelashes. “We’re both athletes. Paul works as a ski instructor and I teach competitive swimming in high school. I married my college sweetheart but we don’t have any kids yet. I sent in a DNA sample because I felt something was missing from my life.”
Phyllis read through their paperwork a few moments. “Paul grew up in northern Michigan while Abby grew up near Chicago. Is that correct?”
Paul added, “If we enjoyed the same sport, we might have met in high school or college. I hate to get water up my nose and Abby prefers to stay out of the cold. Does that mean anything for your study?”
“Any data we record helps the study, but twins don’t always share the same interests.” Phyllis laughed. “But according to your questionnaire, you both like jalapeno peppers on your pizza and avidly watch reality television.”
“Oh, I forgot!” Abby held up her right wrist and commented, “I broke my arm when I was twelve, and Paul claims that he felt pains in the same wrist.”
“The skin itched like crazy,” Paul said and rubbed his right wrist. “Our doctor took X-rays but claimed I was experiencing normal growing pains. I grew six inches that year. Now I believe that I felt Abby’s pain while she healed, because six months later the pain disappeared.”
“My cast was removed at that time,” Abby added.
Jotting notes about the experience, Phyllis said, “Twins often feel phantom pains when a sibling is injured, but we can’t establish a physical reason. Thanks for mentioning it.” Phyllis checked her watch. “We’ll take a break for lunch and continue with our interviews at 1:30 p.m.”
Natalia closed her notebook and followed the twins to the pool area. Several twins continued on to a nearby buffet line while others ordered hamburgers and sat together around the pool. Natalia discovered Jason nursing an iced tea in a shady corner.
“Hey there,” she said, sliding into a padded plastic deckchair. “Is this drink waiting for me?”
Jason pretended to look around and nodded. “Just be sure my girlfriend doesn’t find out we’re meeting like this. She’s ever so jealous of beautiful blondes.”
Natalia sipped the iced tea with extra lemon. “I think she’s busy working, so we’re safe for now.” She handed her notebook to Jason as a waiter delivered two orders of burgers and fries. “Guess you knew I’d be hungry.”
“Aren’t you always hungry? I’m surprised at how much you can eat and remain so thin.” He wriggled his eyebrows.
“Metabolism, darling. Perhaps psychic energy burns calories. I used enough of it today as I touched six sets of twins.” She pointed at the notebook. “We interviewed three sets of twins so far, but I didn’t see anything special when I touched them. I don’t believe they’re suspects.”
Jason asked, “Have you met a distinguished gent named Xander Pendleton w
ho is the manager at the Diamonds & More establishment? He sports white hair with matching moustache and goatee, and he’s ever so tall. I saw Pendleton watching Kim with rapt attention while she gave a speech, and he later gave Jacquie Ludlow an expensive diamond bracelet for her birthday.”
Natalia shook her head. “I don’t remember meeting him at check-in. Perhaps we should go shopping for jewelry.” She held up her naked left hand. “A girl should always know her exact ring size, just in case a lad wants to pop a certain question.”
“Shop away, darling. I ordered a background check on the gent but your psychic skills might deliver more information.” He dipped a fry into garlic mayonnaise and took a big bite.
Natalia cut her hamburger in half and used a paper napkin to catch stray juices while she ate. Caught up in her thoughts about the interviews, she felt Jason’s hand grip hers. A quiver rippled up her arm and a vision formed about swimming in turquoise water while a dark ominous shape approached. Startled, she met Jason’s startled gaze and jerked her hand away.
“What’s wrong, Tally?” he asked, stroking hair away from her frightened eyes.
She explained, “When I made contact with the Latino twins, Roberto and Geraldo, I hit a blank wall. It felt similar to the times I’ve touched you and saw nothing. But just now I saw a scary scene from your future.”
He calmly picked up her hand and waited. Natalia sighed and relief flooded her mind. “I can’t see anything. Maybe it’s a false alarm.”
“Perhaps not…a few minutes ago I was thinking about beautiful places to dive on these islands. So tell me. What did you see?” he asked.
Unnerved, Natalia admitted, “I saw us snorkeling and watching fish swim underwater, then a dark figure approached from below holding a spear gun. Someone was in danger.”
“That makes sense. I also felt worried about how we could protect the twins while they’re swimming in the ocean. We’d better make a plan.” He patted her hand and finished his hamburger.