Page 50 of Duplicity

Romeo just stood there, grinning like the spectacle was highly amusing to him.

“This is my father, Warren Alvarez,” Cat said. “Dad was a police officer for thirty years.”

He had retired with accolades, commendations, and a pension befitting a career of service. She smiled, glancing between the twins and her dad. Simon and Peter probably didn’t consider it a good thing that her father had been in law enforcement.

“Don’t worry.” Romeo leaned over and clapped Simon on the shoulder. “None of us were there when Lucas took down your father.”

Peter said, “Neither were we.”

Cat reached over and shoved her brother’s shoulder. “Dude!” She should slap him upside the head, but that wouldn’t help the pain he was in. Sometimes, her brother could be such an idiot.

Her father gave him a chiding look. “Romeo.” Dad shook his head.

“What?” Romeo glanced around.

“How about you tell us what happened?” Cat suggested. “Maybe we could go inside, and you can walk us through it.”

It didn’t take much convincing to get them all inside, and the final piece of the puzzle happened to be her father talking to the lieutenant on scene—Romeo’s boss. Her brother didn’t walk as fast as he usually did. Peter held the door for them.

A couple of officers glanced over. Someone, who was being held back, called out, “Peter!” He only lifted two fingers and kept going.

“You have groupies now?” Romeo quipped.

“Like you don’t?” Peter grinned at her brother.

Simon glanced at Cat as they stepped from the street onto the sidewalk in front of the neighborhood grocery store. Trash overflowed the can, and tied-up grocery sacks stuffed full sat on the ground beside it, along with fast food bags and empty cups with the lid and straw a few inches away.

As soon as they stepped in, Simon opened his laptop and folded it back on itself, so it resembled a tablet with the keyboard underneath.

She walked with Peter and Romeo.

“I was here. Getting some mints.” Romeo stopped in the middle of the center aisle and turned around. He still probably needed to see a doctor. Despite that burst of energy, he wasn’t all right. He might’ve been jazzed to see her dad or wanted to watch the first time Dad met Simon and his brother…but she could see the pain in his eyes.

She scanned for cameras. Simon ducked left, going into the neighboring aisle. His head extended over the top shelf as they were barely six feet high.

Romeo pointed at her or behind her at the shelves. “Something hit the back of my head.” He looked around. “I don’t see anything. Maybe whoever it was jumped up, reached over, and pistol-whipped me?”

Cat hissed.

“I hit the other side of the aisle and then the ground.” He pointed at stock items scattered over the floor. Gum and mints had rolled everywhere, along with cough drops and pain medication bottles.

Peter said, “Someone attacked you out of the blue. You weren’t responding to a call?”

“No.” Romeo didn’t shake his head. “I think I overheard someone talking. I need to think about it, but maybe someone was on the phone?” He turned and looked at the mirror up in the corner of the wall, an oversized circle with a warped reflection of Simon in the next aisle. “I looked…and then I don’t know what happened.”

“Got something,” Simon called out.

Peter headed for him. She hesitated. Taking care of her brother in this moment was more important. “You need to get checked out.”

“I’m fine.” He might’ve been trying to whisper, but it came out louder than that.

“We both know that’s not true.” Cat studied his face, trying to get a read on how bad it was. He wasn’t going to listen to her—she could see it—so she stepped back. “You put yourself and others at risk when you don’t admit there’s a problem.”

Cat turned and spotted Peter looking at her, reflected in that warped mirror. She walked to the end of the aisle and found the twins.

Simon pointed to the floor. A cell phone. “It’s one of them. This phone is on my network.”

TWENTY

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