Page 59 of Twin Jeopardy

“I got all As on my last report card,” she said.

“I knew you were smart,” he said. “I’m good at reading people. I’ll teach you how to read them too. The two of us will make a fine team.” He stood at last. “We’ll be good together. You’ll see. After a while you won’t even think about your old family anymore.”

I’ll never forget my family, she thought. And that had turned out to be true. But over the years, she saw them differently. She saw them the way Paul saw them. It was an ugly view, but then, much of life was ugly. Paul had taught her that. She had learned a great deal from him. She had learned that a smart, daring person could get whatever she wanted from people who weren’t as smart—money, admiration, sex.

Revenge.

Chapter Nineteen

“Should we tell the sheriff we think the fire at your parents’ home might have been started by V?” Tammy asked as she and Vince made the drive back to Eagle Mountain.

“We don’t have any proof at all that V started the fire,” he said.

“Except that the fire was in Valerie’s room, and V has connected herself with Valerie.”

“That isn’t proof, though, is it? And Junction isn’t in Travis’s jurisdiction. Not even close. Plus, my dad refuses to say anything to the Junction police about our troubles with V. He doesn’t want to believe they’re connected.”

“Then what are we going to do?”

“I don’t think we can do anything but wait for her to make another move. Travis has already admitted whoever this is hasn’t left much evidence for them to trace.”

Goose bumps rose on Tammy’s arms, and she hugged herself, trying to fend off the sudden chill. “It feels like she’s getting more dangerous—that attack on me and now this fire.”

“The attack on you was terrible,” he said. “And the fire was frightening and destructive, but she didn’t try to burn down the whole house.”

“If that neighbor hadn’t seen the smoke and called 911, the whole house might have burned.”

“I’m worried she might hurt my parents,” Vince said. “But they won’t move out of the house, even temporarily.”

“They can’t believe Valerie would hurt them.”

“But someone pretending to be Valerie might. I tried to tell Dad that, but he won’t listen.”

“My mom never listens to me either,” she said. “We’re still kids to them, and they’re still our parents. The police in Junction are still investigating the arson. Maybe they’ll get lucky and find a witness or something else that leads them to V. In the meantime, you and I will have to keep our eyes open.”

“It’s not like either of us have the skills or the time to investigate this full-time,” he said. “And I don’t have money to hire a private investigator.” He pounded his fist against the steering wheel. “It’s so frustrating.”

“It is,” she agreed. “But we’ll get through this. I have an idea we can try. I’ll have to talk to Russ and see if he will agree, but I think he will.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m thinking I could do another story for the paper, about Valerie. V’s version of what happened that day is so different from what actually happened, a new story might draw her out again.”

“‘Draw her out,’ how? What if she tries to kill someone? What if she tries to kill you?”

Her stomach knotted with fear. “I’ll be careful,” she said. “I won’t go anywhere alone. And it will be worth it if we can draw her out.”

“But how are we going to catch her? What if your article just results in another taunting letter or phone call, or a sneak attack?”

Tammy chewed on her thumbnail, thinking. “We’ll have to set a trap,” she said. She sat up straight. “I know! We can say there’s going to be a memorial to honor Valerie and keep awareness of her alive. In the park. The public is invited. She’ll be sure to come. We can alert the sheriff, and they can have a deputy there. We can watch for anyone behaving suspiciously.”

“It might work,” Vince said. “Do you think the sheriff will agree?”

“We can ask. And the memorial itself will be news enough that I won’t have any trouble getting Russ to run a small piece.”

“If it’s a memorial, we’ll need to tell my parents. They’ll want to come.”

“They can come. But don’t tell them it’s a trap for V. Just say it’s something you wanted to do to honor your sister. Tell them it was my idea, if that helps.”

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