Page 63 of Criminology of a Character

“That’s what I assumed, but I’m no expert,” Bel said. “I couldn’t place why.”

“It’s the eyes,” Frank said. “They are too far apart. They’reactuallyquite far apart, more so than most women, but on her, it’s exotic. She wearsthemwell, but they are noticeably wide. Anyone looking at the woman in this photo would instantly notice her face was extremely unique, while Anne has classic features with eyes fairly close together. Plastic surgery can do a lot. It can alter people’s ears, noses, chins, and cheekbones. It can increase or decrease breast size, add implants to parts of the body, and remove fat from others, but the two things it can’t do are change a person’s height and move their eyes. To shift someone’s eyes closer together, the surgeon would have to break the skull first, which risks blindness and brain damage, and a neurosurgeon would need to be present. Regardless, it’s never done. This procedureis occasionallyperformedon young children when necessary for quality of life, but never cosmetically on adults. The risks are too high.”

“So, eyes and height aregive aways?” she asked.

“Yes, but it’s not an exact science unless the individuals are vastly different, which these women are,” he said. “If this woman’s eyes were closer together, I couldn’t be certain, but this is a straightforward case. The stranger in the selfie and Mrs. Blaubart aren’t the same person.”

“I see what you mean now,” Bel said. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” He paused. “Is everything okay with Anne?”

“I realize it’s confusing, but I can’t say more,” she said. “It’s… I don’t know what it is. That’s why I called. I’m trying to figure something out, and please keep this between us.”

“Of course,” he said. “I’ve been following your career since I operated on you. I’m invested in your success, and you’re good at your job. You wouldn’t ask me a weird question without reason.”

“I don’t have the time to prank call you,” she laughed.

They spent the next few minutes catching up, and whenthey finally said their goodbyes, Bel dialed Olivia to recount her day,starting withher conversation at the Wyatt’stoher butterfly discoverytoDr. Victor’s expert opinion.

“So Annalise Sept has identical personality traits and habits as Anne Blaubart, and she’s missing, but because of the timeline and her eyes,it’s impossible she’sAnne,” Oliviasummed up, her voice as frustrated as Bel felt. “Gum wrapper butterflies have appeared four times ina matter ofweeks, two of which have been at crime scenes. Annalise might not be Anne, but something’s going on.”

“Do you have time to play devil’s advocate with me?” Bel asked as she threw cash down on the table for her meal. It was too late to return to Bajka, so she’d found a motel for the night. “What if we’re looking at this wrong?”

“Okay, I’m game. Hold on… Ewan, can you take the chicken out of the oven? Thanks, babe… all right, I’m back. Sorry, I didn’t want dinner burning.”

“No worries. I can call back if you want to eat.”

“Start talking, lady,” Olivia demanded. “I’m invested.”

“Okay, okay,” Bel laughed. “So, what if our theory focuses on the wrong things? We’ve taken these coincidences to mean Anne Chambers and Anne Blaubart are two different women, but people change. Especiallygirls in college who lose their parents and eventually marry wealthy surgeons. Anne would’ve had to tone down her wild streak to fit into her husband’s world, and a slightly inappropriate scar would no longer be a funny party laugh. So what if Anne isreallyAnne, and there’s no identity theft?”

“Okay, keep going.”

“Dr. Jake L. Hyde doesn’t exist. He isn’t real,” Bel continued.

“But didn’t you meet him?”

“I met a man someone wanted me to believe was Hyde, but there’s no such person. The FBI has no leads on who owns the island.Seemsthe surgery operation didn’t just cater to criminals. Some upper-level government officials and federal agents who betrayed our country passed through their doors, and it seemed one of them created a convincing fake ID for Hyde.”

“Government officials? That’s scary.”

“I know.” Bel got into her car and turned on the Bluetooth speaker. “But the point is, Hyde isn’t real. He wasn’t the man I met, so who owns the island? Who runs that surgery operation? This is probably insane, but what if Anne Blaubart is Jake L. Hyde?”

The connection went silent.

“Olivia?”

“I didn’t hang up. I’m thinking.”

“Okay.” Bel eased onto the main road and aimed for the motel.

“Anne came from a wealthy family, but were they‘own an island’wealthy? She attended an expensive college, but not‘that’expensive. The Chambers don’t strike me as a family who owned a private luxury resort.”

“What if the island was just land when Anne inherited it?” Bel asked. “The buildings looked newer, so maybe the property was always in the family, but it wasn’t until after Anne graduated that it became a resort.Couldbe why she disappeared after college. She wasn’t in the country.”

“Okay, I’ll bite,” Olivia said. “The records of the island’s true ownership have been destroyed, so Eamon could own it for all we know… Bel, close your mouth. I don’treallythink it’s him. I’m just making a point.”

Bel chuckled as her partner continued.

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