Page 21 of Twin Jeopardy

“We stopped at a place called Valhalla-Land. With a bunch of Viking stuff.”

“Oh my, yes. So kitschy. But you kids loved it.”

“Valerie and I called each other Vikings for weeks after that.”

His mom laughed. “I’d forgotten about that, but you did. Vince the Viking and Valerie the Viking. But what made you remember that?”

“This postcard has a picture of Valhalla-Land. And on the back, it says ‘Hello to Vince the Viking.’”

His mother drew in her breath sharply but said nothing.

“Mom! Are you okay?”

“I’m... I’m fine. Just a little surprised. It’s such an odd thing to write. And how would anyone know about that?”

“I don’t know. The reporter who wrote the story for the paper, Tammy Patterson, received a note too. Hers was more generic. All about how she got things wrong in her story and ‘You were sold a bunch of lies.’ She and I think we should show these to the sheriff, just in case someone is trying to scam us. But I wanted to talk to you first.”

“Yes, you should show them to the sheriff,” she said. “Not that it will do any good. No one ever caught any of the other people who tried to swindle us. There are some evil people in this world who will take advantage of a family’s grief.”

“Tomorrow we’ll talk to Sheriff Walker or one of his deputies,” Vince said. “I’ll let you know what they say.”

“I’ll tell your father when he gets in. It’s odd. And upsetting. What if this really is Valerie, reaching out to us after all these years?”

“Why send teasing notes?” he asked. “Why not just show up and say, ‘Here I am’?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s a kind of game. Valerie did always like games and teasing. The day she disappeared, we thought she was hiding from us, playing a joke.”

“If she’s alive, she’s twenty-five,” Vince said. “Too old for silly games.”

“I don’t know what to think,” his mom said.

“I’ll let you know what the sheriff says.”

They said good-night, and he ended the call. He felt worse than ever.

“Do you want me to go with you to the sheriff’s department tomorrow?” Tammy asked.

“They’ll want to talk to you too.” He looked around the room, at the silent computers and framed front pages of past issues of theEagle Mountain Examiner. “Are you going to write about this for the paper?”

He couldn’t read her expression. Was that hurt in her eyes? “Not unless something comes of it that’s newsworthy,” she said.

“What would that be?”

“I don’t know. If they catch someone trying to scam you.”

“Or if Valerie actually is alive and well.”

“People do show up sometimes,” Tammy said. “There was a case last year where a woman had been living in Europe with her kidnapper for years. I’m not trying to get your hopes up,” she hastened to add. “I’m just saying that’s one possibility.”

“Yeah. I guess we’ll find out.” He stood. “Thanks for meeting with me. I’ll let you know in the morning when I can go with you to the sheriff. I need to check my work schedule.”

He left the building. She followed, locking up behind them. “Do you want to go for a drink?” she asked. “Or coffee?”

“No. I need to go home.”

“All right. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She hesitated, then patted his arm. “I’m sorry my article pulled this person—whoever they are—out of the woodwork. Especially if it’s someone who wants to hurt you.”

“It’s not your fault. And maybe itisValerie.” He didn’t believe that, but it was something positive to cling to, at least for a little while. Over the years, he had thought about what it might be like to see his sister again, but after so long it was hard to picture her as anything but the rambunctious ten-year-old she had been. A grown Valerie would be a stranger to him. She would still be his sister—his twin. But they would have lost so much of their shared history. Would she even be someone he liked? Worse—would she like him, or what he had become in her absence?

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