Page 85 of Just Between Us

He was clearly nervous, his hands wringing in front of him. “Did you, uh, say something to me back there?”

My face was the picture of kindness and innocence. “Just said good morning.” My smile widened and my eyes held him in place.

“Oh, um ... I thought you said ... okay. Sorry to have bothered you.” His shoulders were slumped, and worry was etched in the deep wrinkles of his leathery face. It was quite shocking how similar the two men looked, but the man in front of me lacked the playful essence of the person I had greeted every day.

I set my shoulders in challenge. “Are you feeling okay, Bootsy? You don’t seem yourself.”

His hands fidgeted, but he only nodded.

I turned and waved over my shoulder. “Okay. Have a good day!”

Once I had put a little distance between us, I moved as quickly as I could across town and to the office. JP was already there when I threw the door open, and it banged against the wall.

JP jolted, and I dropped my heavy leather tote to the floor. “Bootsy is Bowlegs!”

“What?” He scowled.

“BowlegsisBootsy!” My hands were open in ata-dagesture, and I was a little miffed JP wasn’t as excited as I was about this new revelation.

“Bowlegs is dead, Veda.” The derision in his voice was thick, but it didn’t bother me. I knew I was right.

“Is he, though?” I paced across the scratched wooden floor of the office. “I know it’s bonkers, but hear me out ...” I strode toward my corkboard masterpiece and swept an arm toward it. “It’s been here the whole time.”

“Whoa.” MJ’s voice filled the small office as her eyes widened at my board and she walked through the door. “What the heck is that?”

JP sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s Veda’s slow descent into madness.”

I made a face at him but continued. “Good morning. I was about to prove to your stick-in-the-mud brother that your beloved Bootsy is, quite possibly, actually Bowlegs.”

“But Bowlegs is dead.” MJ frowned.

I sighed.Why could no one see this?

I pointed at the board. “Yes, but he’s alsoalive.” Their blank faces didn’t deter me, and I barreled ahead. “Bowlegs ‘dies’ ...” My fingers moved in air quotes and I pointed to the other evidence. “Your father pays the funeral director fifty thousand dollars to keep quiet the fact that his death is a lie. He also pays Bowlegs for the inconvenience of giving up his identity and assuming the identity of his identical twin.”

I studied the board. It was clearer to me than ever. “With only one man public facing, but both in his pocket, Russell has even more power. If he was dead, Bowlegs could move undetected, posing as his identical twin brother if he ever was encountered. One twin is off doing your father’s bidding while witnesses all over town can claim to have seen him. All at once he’s everywhere and nowhere.”

Goose bumps erupted on my arms, and I sighed in satisfaction as MJ and JP were stunned into silence.

MJ’s eyes danced over the corkboard. “So you’re saying that the Sinclair twins are both alive, but sometimes it’s actually Bowlegs we see in town. Dad has them posing as the same person so they can do things for him and not get caught?”

I planted my hands on my hips and grinned. “Exactly.”

JP’s arms were still crossed, but his eyes were moving over the strings and notes I’d made on the board. “How can you be sure?”

“I had a hunch, but this morning I caught him off guard. I called him Terrance in passing, and he answered without hesitation. He slipped up but then desperately tried to backpedal. He was panicking.”

MJ stepped forward to examine the board more closely. “Holy shit.”

I studied my boss’s face as worry crept in. Old memories of my fall from grace at Franklin & Mirth floated to the surface. No one had believed me then either. When I had uncovered the truth about how the business they were about to acquire was breaking a host of child labor laws, no one would listen. I was explicitly instructed to keep quiet about it and allow the deal to proceed with the utmost discretion. Instead, I stood my ground and quietly contacted the Department of Labor, expecting the entire deal to fall apart. Instead, I was blacklisted for my actions while my bosses went on to make millions.

I gritted my teeth, lifted my chin, and waited for the blow when he brushed me off like they had done.

“Good work, Veda.” JP nodded and he sat in his chair before swiveling toward the computer. “Now we just have to figure out why.”

I exhaled the breath I’d been holding.They believed me.

MJ raised her finger. “I might know why.”

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