Page 51 of Twin Jeopardy

He spoke softly. “Hello?”

“Vin, Vin, Vinnie, Vince.”

The singsong chant sent a cold shock through him. “Who is this?” he snapped.

“‘Vince and Tammy sitting in a tree,k-i-s-s-i-n-g.’”

“Who is this?”

“You know who this is. Or have you forgotten your sister so soon? The twin Mommy and Daddy gave away. You thought you would all be happier without me. But I can’t let that happen, can I?”

“Valerie?” He choked on the name as fear and disgust—that someone would stoop to impersonating his sister—warred with hope that she was alive. “Is that you? Where are you?”

“Closer than you think. But I’ll never tell.”

“Valerie, I—” The phone went dead. He stared at the screen, then hit the recall button. Nothing happened.

“What is it?”

He glanced back to find that Tammy had rolled onto her back and was looking at him. “Crank call,” he said, and set the phone aside.

“You said, ‘Valerie.’” She sat up now and put a hand on his arm. “Tell me.”

He told her about the call. The whole experience had been surreal, but talking about it solidified the details in his mind. He hadn’t dreamed it. “Did it sound like Valerie?” she asked.

“I don’t remember what she sounds like. It was so long ago. But she used to sing that rhyme, about kissing in a tree.”

“I used to sing that rhyme. It’s something kids do.”

“She started out the call saying ‘Vin, Vin, Vinnie, Vincent.’ She used to do that too, when she was trying to annoy me.”

She leaned against him, soft and warm against his back. “We should call the sheriff.”

“What are they going to do? Add this to their growing file of harassment?” He lay back down and pulled her close. “I don’t want to deal with them now. Do you?”

“No.” She laid her head on his shoulder.

“I had another call from Valerie once,” he said. “Or someone claiming to be her. I was fifteen and home with a friend. My parents were out, and when I answered the phone, the person on the other end said she was Valerie and needed me to help her. Then she hung up. It sounded just like her.”

“Oh, Vince, what did you do?”

“I told my parents and they called the police. They traced the call to a broken pay phone somewhere in another state. I remember being angry at Valerie for teasing me that way. My parents finally persuaded me that it had to be a cruel joke. This was probably the same thing.”

“Whatever it is, it’s horrible,” she said. “But we’ll get through it. Together.”

“Yeah.” He tightened his arm around her. As if that was all it took to protect them both. “I’m scared,” he said. “Then it feels silly to be scared of someone who writes vague notes and makes prank calls.”

“It’s like being harassed by a ghost,” she said. “That’s pretty scary.”

“I don’t believe in ghosts,” he said. “Whoever is doing this is a real person.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, except that I’m here for you.”

“As long as you don’t get hurt again. You should think about keeping your distance from me, at least for a while.” He had to force the words out, but keeping her safe was more important than his own feelings.

“No way.” She squeezed him tighter. “I’m sticking with you.”

“I’m that irresistible, am I?”

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