Page 23 of Twin Jeopardy

“Did it sound like her? What you remember?”

“It did.” But was that because it was her, or because he wanted it to be her? “I think you’d better go,” he said. “I need to call my parents.”

He thought Jackson would argue, but instead, he patted Vince’s back. “I can stay here if you want. You can tell your folks you called me for moral support. We’ll hide the beer and stuff before they get home.”

“Thanks, but I’ll be okay by myself.”

Jackson gathered up the beer and pizza, the pot and the DVD, and said goodbye. When he was gone, Vince braced himself and called his dad’s cell phone. “I had a call just now,” he said. “From someone claiming to be Valerie. She said she needed help, and she started crying. It sounded real.” A sob broke free on the last word. He couldn’t help it.

“We’ll be right there,” his dad said.

His parents came home right away. Vince had pulled himself together by the time they arrived, but he could tell his mom had been crying. Her eyes were red and puffy, and when she hugged him, she held on too tightly, for a little too long.

He told them about the call, and they contacted the local police and the FBI agent who had worked with them when Valerie first went missing. The cops arrived, then two FBI agents. They matched the number from the call to a pay phone in Nebraska, then said the pay phone had been vandalized, probably before that call was made, though they couldn’t be sure.

They never heard from the caller again, and everyone agreed it had likely been a scam. But for months afterward, Vince replayed the call in his head. Valerie’s voice, begging him to help her.

Chapter Eight

“We can take this into evidence, but without more context, there’s not a lot we can do.” Sheriff Walker faced Tammy and Vince across his neat desk Sunday morning, the letter and postcard side by side on the almost-empty expanse of oak. “Unfortunately, it’s not unusual for twisted people to prey on the families of crime victims this way.”

“We don’t know that Valerie’s disappearance was a crime.” Vince flushed when Travis turned to look at him.

“That’s true,” Travis said. “But it’s a crime to pretend to be someone else for the purpose of extorting money or other compensation.”

“The letter writer hasn’t asked for anything,” Tammy said.

“Not yet.” Travis considered the letters once more. “If you receive any other correspondence like this, handle it as little as possible. We might be able to recover prints or DNA.”

They promised to keep the sheriff informed of any developments and left his office. Outside, on the sidewalk, Vince pulled out his keys. “I have to go,” he said. “I promised my parents I’d have lunch with them.”

“Before you go, there’s something I need to say.” Tammy had been rehearsing this little speech all morning, and she needed to get it out before she lost nerve.

He stopped and turned to face her, expression wary.

“You asked me last night if I’m going to write about this,” she said.

“Have you changed your mind?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Not unless you want me to. If you think it will help us find who did this, I will.”

“No. The last thing I want right now is more publicity. It draws out the scammers.”

“I’m your friend, Vince,” she said. “First. Reporter, second. I want to make sure you understand that. I want you to feel free to talk to me without fear of what you say ending up in the paper.” Having him believe anything other than that hurt more than she wanted to admit.

“Thanks,” he said. “I appreciate it.”

“Good. I wanted to make sure you knew that.”

Embarrassed now, she turned and led the way down the sidewalk toward the lot where they had parked their vehicles. They hadn’t gone far before she spotted a familiar figure. “Hey, Mitch.” She waved.

Her brother stopped and waited for her to catch up. She turned back to Vince. “Vince, this is my brother, Mitch. Mitch, this is Vince Shepherd.”

The two men shook hands. “How’s it going?” Vince asked.

“I’m headed over to Riverside Condos.” Mitch glanced at Tammy. “Elisabeth signed a lease on an empty unit there, and I want to make sure there’s no problem with the paperwork.”

“Vince lives at Riverside,” Tammy said.

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