Chapter
6
“The
attorney is going to see you in a minute” said one of the cops who had
arrested Ben and led Ben in the small room “Don’t try anything. The whole
station is watching you” he said and left. Ben couldn’t believe what was
happening. But finally he had figured out what was going on – Derek. It must
have been about him. They must have mistaken him from Derek and that’s why
they had arrested him. And that’s why the people on Franklin Street had acted
so strange. But did that mean that Derek had something to do with Tess? Ben
didn’t answer that question because he noticed the handle being pushed. Soon
he saw Tracy Nixon entering the room.
“Oh
my God!!!” she screamed when she saw a face of a nice guy she had meet on the
plane “I don’t believe it!”
“What?’
“It’s
you! God, here I am, thinking about this nice guy I meet on my way to Seattle
and here he is – the murderer. You son of a bitch, you’ll pay for what you
did to my sister! Gosh, they had you on a tape but I never got to see it. I
can’t believe that I didn’t figure it out earlier”
“Figure
what out? What tape? What are you talking about, Tracy?! I don’t even know
your sister! What are you doing here?”
”What
am I doing here?” she laughed “I am here to make you pay for what you did to
Lesley”
“And
what did I do? And who is Lesley anyway?”
“God,
you are such a creep!” Tracy screamed “I don’t know how could I be so
wrong about you back then on the plane. There I was, looking into your eyes,
guessing that you were sad because of a girl while all you thought about was
probably how to get rid of another witness. God, how could I be so blind, so
wrong?!”
“Tracy…”
“But
you know, you were damn good in pretending to be missing a girl. I believed you.
There really was something about your eyes. How did you do that?”
“Tracy,
I was not pretending. And what is going on here anyway? What am I doing here?”
“How
can you even ask, bastard!!! But don’t worry, you won’t stay here for long
– you will be transferred to he Seattle Federal Prison and you will spend the
rest of your life there”
“Prison?”
“That’s
right – the prison. That’s what happens to murderers, you know”
“Murderers?
Tracy…”
“And
don’t call me Tracy!” she screamed “For you I’m detective Nixon,
understand?”
“Whatever…
Look, this has been a terrible mistake” this time Ben was absolutely sure that
this was about Derek.
“A
mistake?” Tracy laughed “Oh, no, that’s not a mistake! You killed my
sister and you will pay for it… You know, that’s not the way I imagined my
sister’s killer. But I guess it just shows how wrong people can be sometimes
about others”
“Please,
just let me explain”
“Explain
what? Why you stabbed a knife straight into my sister’s heart? No, there is
nothing to explain”
“I
did not kill your sister” he said “Look, you have to listen to me just for a
five minutes”
“All
right then – speak”
“It
was not me who killed your sister. It was my twin brother Derek”
“A
twin brother?” Tracy started laughing “You know, this is the funniest excuse
I’ve ever heard in my entire life”
“You
have to believe me. It was my brother”
“Yeah
right, and I’m the Queen of England”
“Please,
believe me”
“In
your dreams”
“I
can prove it”
“How?”
“I
have a photo of him and me taken a few years ago. I just need to get to my hotel
room”
“You’re
not going anywhere… I don’t even know why I’m still listening to you”
“Because
the longer you are here, the more doubts you have about me” he looked at her
sharply “Isn’t that right?” he asked. Tracy one more time looked into
Ben’s eyes. They were no the eyes of a killer. They were not.
“All
right then, we’ll send someone to your hotel room. Just call the hotel to
forewarn them”
“Sure”
Ben answered and lifted the earphone. He dialed the number.
“Sparks
Hotel, Seattle” he heard a voice of the receptionist.
“Hi,
my name is Ben Evans. I’m staying at your hotel in room 173. I jus wanted to
let you know the police officers are going to search for something in my room
and I wanted to make sure that they will not have any problems with it”
“Of
course, Mr. Evans. As you wish” the receptionist answered and hang up.
“My
briefcase is in the wardrobe” he explained.
“Don’t
worry, we’ll find it” Tracy said and left “And we’ll find all the other
things you have been hiding” she continued.
Chapter
7
“We
have the briefcase” one of the police officers entered Tracy’s office.
“Great”
Tracy smiled and took the briefcase from him “Let’s see what we have here”
Tracy entered the room Ben was kept in.
“Thank
God” Ben sighed as Tracy placed the briefcase on the table.
“So,
where is this PHOTO?” Tracy asked being sure that the story about the twin
brother was just another lie. Ben nervously took the briefcase and started
looking for a photo. It took him about three minutes to dig it up.
“Here
you go” Ben put the picture on the table and Tracy almost got hear attack when
she realized that Ben had actually been telling the truth about his twin
brother. So maybe he really wasn’t the killer.
“All
right then” she said “Maybe you do have a twin brother but that doesn’t
prove anything”
“It
proves that I was telling the truth”
“About
the twin brother yes, but…”
“God,
Tracy, what is going on here?” Ben said angrily and hit the table. His
briefcase accidentally fell on the floor and its whole content landed on the
floor. There was nothing unordinary there – just some papers from the Liberty
Corporation. But there was one thing Tracy was shocked to see – a photo of
Tess.
“What’s
that?” she asked harsh.
“That’s
a long story” Ben sighed.
“Then
why don’t you tell me?”
“Wait
a minute” Ben suddenly jumped “Do you know this woman?”
“I
do but the question is – what is photo of her doing in your briefcase?”
“She’s…
she’s my son’s nanny… Actually she’s the reason I’m in Seattle in the
first place”
“What
do you mean?” Tracy was more and more interested in Ben’s story.
“Well,
she showed up at my doorstep a few months ago claiming that the boy she had
brought was my son”
“And
you believed her?” Tracy laughed ironically.
“My
wife and I had a really strange story… Anyway, the boy turned out to be my son
but still I didn’t trust that woman. She told me she had been living in
Seattle so I decided to come here to see if the story checks up”
“Wait
a minute. What story? What are you talking about?”
“Do
I really have to tell you everything?”
“Yes,
unless you want to spend the rest of your life in jail”
“All
right, all right” Ben sighed and continued “Few years ago my wife died in a
boating accident… I mean, I thought that she had died, but she didn’t. She
came back about one year ago but she had amnesia and didn’t remember anything
about her past. A few months ago she got her memory back but she only remembered
everything till the accident and from the moment she turned up in Sunset Beach.
She didn’t remember anything about the five years between the accident and the
day she was found at a place called Dana point and brought to the Cedar Oaks
Hospital. She still doesn’t remember anything… Anyway, few months ago this
woman, Tess appeared at my doorstep with a five years old boy claiming that she
was my wife’s friend and that this boy was my and wife’s son. She told me
that she and Maria… I mean my wife… well, she said that they had lived
together in Seattle and that one day Maria just left Seattle to find me but she
never came back” Ben stopped and looked at Tracy. She was A LITTLE BIT
confused.
“Wait
a minute… I don’t get it… I don’t get it… When did your wife loose her
memory?”
“I
don’t know… Something like a year and a half… I don’t know”
“So
she had her memory when she was living in Seattle?”
“I
guess”
“And
you’re saying that she was pregnant and she didn’t tell you anything about
your child? I don’t get it”
“I
don’t either. That’s why I’m in Seattle. Tess’s story sounded too
unbelievable for me”
“And
I’m suppose Tess disappeared as quickly as she appeared and you have no idea
where she is”
“On
the contrary – I do have an idea where she is. She’s staying at my house in
Sunset Beach”
“Are
you saying you know where this woman is?”
“I
am. Why?”
“God,
the whole Seattle police is looking for her, I have driven the whole California
back and forth in search for her and you’re saying that she is living under
your roof!”
“Yes…
but wait a minute – what do you mean the whole Seattle police is looking for
her? Who is she? What has she done?
“Maybe
you should ask what hasn’t she done” Tracy laughed.
“What
do you mean?”
“Stealing,
forgery, false testimonies” Tracy started naming “Should I go on?”
“Oh
my God… Damn it!” Ben screamed “And I let her take care of my son… I
need to warn my wife… I need to go back home” Ben stood up and headed
towards the door.
“Not
so fast” Tracy stopped him “You’re not going anywhere, Mr. Evans”
“Damn
it, I need to get to my son!”
“I’m
sorry but I cannot just simply let you go”
“What
do you mean you can’t let me go? I think I’ve explained everything to you”
“That’s
what you think. I still have no proof that you’re not the one who killed my
sister. The police is sure. They’ve seen the tape”
“What
was on the tape?”
“My
sister’s killer”
“You
mean my brother?”
“No.
I mean a man with your face. I don’t know who that was”
“Damn
it, Tracy, you know it’s not me! You feel it. Come on, just admit it!” Ben
made Tracy look into his eyes “Come on, Tracy”
“I
don’t know”
“Yes
you do. Please, let me go. I need to go back home. And first of all I need to go
back to Franklin Street and check out
that room. This may be the key’
“What
key?” Tracy asked surprised.
“A
key to what really happened to my wife. I need to find out what Tess did to
Maria, but please just let me go” Ben looked imploringly at Tracy. At the same
time a police officer entered the room. He turned to Tracy:
“We’ve
checked his documents. Looks like his passport and ID’s are OK”
“So,
you really are Ben Evans from Sunset Beach, California” she looked t Ben and
sighed.
“I
am”
“We’ve
checked the fingerprints” the officer continued “It really looks like he’s
not the killer”
“Damn
it!!!” Tracy shouted “I thought that we finally did have this bastard!”
“We
thought so too” the officer said and looked at Tracy “I’m sorry, detective
Nixon… I mean, Lesley was your sister”
“Yeah”
Tracy sighed and the police officer left. She turned to Ben “I’m sorry for
the misunderstanding. It’s just that…”
“Hey,
you don’t have to explain. Your reaction is absolutely understandable. Your
sister was killed and you thought that you’d caught the killer”
“Yes”
Tracy wiped a tear from her eye “Anyway, I’m sorry for all those things I
said, you didn’t…”
“Don’t
worry, it’s OK… Can I please go now?”
“Yeah.
Here are your belongings” Tracy showed him his documents and wallet lying on
the table.
“Thanks”
Ben answered, took his things and one more time looked at Tracy “I’m really
sorry about your sister… God, it was my brother who killed her… I’m
sorry… I promise that I will do anything I can to help you catch him”
“You
don’t have to”
“I
do. He did so much evil… God, you have no idea what else he did… He has to
pay for this. He has to” Ben vowed.
“Ben,
I will call you later about Tess, all right? I still have to tell a few people
that I’m going back to California”
“Sure.
I’m staying at Sparks Hotel”
OK.
Bye” Tracy smiled and Ben left”
Chapter
8
Ben was
walking down Franklin Street, thinking about everything that happened. He
couldn’t believe that his brother was actually still alive and making trouble
again. He had killed again. Ben had to stop this once and for all.
He
reached house number 17 and entered the front yard. He had decided to search
Tess’s apartment once again to see if he could find anything on her.
The
door was open, apparently the police had forgot to lock it. Ben went inside and
headed straight towards the door to the locked room. He picked the piece of
metal he had found the day before and started dealing with the door.
“You
just had to come back, didn’t you?” he suddenly heard a voice. He didn’t
even have to turn around to see who it was. He knew it – DEREK. Ben for a
moment remained in stagnancy and after a while he turned around and looked at
his brother’s face. Derek smiled ominously “Hello, brother, did you miss
me?”
“You
bastard!” Ben shouted and wanted to hit Derek, but Derek was faster and
avoided the stroke.
“Is
that how you greet your long lost brother?” Derek smiled again.
“You
creep!” Ben looked at him scornfully.
“Hey,
hey, hey, stop calling me with all those nasty names. That’s really not nice,
you know”
“No,
I don’t. All I know that this time you’re gonna pay for what you’ve done
to my wife”
“You
mean…” Derek laughed making it understood that Ben was supposed to choose
between Meg and Maria.
“I
mean Meg” Ben answered immediately.
“Oh,
that’s quite a change. The last time I remember, you were back with your
wife… I mean your first wife… Well, as a matter of fact, the only real one
you’ve ever had”
“Just
shut up, Derek!”
“Gosh,
what a lucky man you are, dear brother. You have a loving wife who is living in
your house, your beautiful lover Meg…”
“Meg
is not just my lover!” Ben shouted.
“Then
how would you call a woman who is sleeping with other woman’s husband?”
Derek laughed.
“You
bastard!!!” this time Ben really lost it and Derek felt Ben’s fist on his
jaw. Derek hit the wall but he didn’t fall down.
“Well,
well, well. Have you been training all the time since our last meeting?”
“I
would have if I had known that we were to meet again”
“Come
on, Ben. You didn’t really think that I had died that night I fell off the
cliff”
“Actually
I did. I thought that you had finally left us alone”
“Sorry
to disappoint you”
“Very
sorry, I bet” Ben laughed.
“You
know, I should start getting used to surprising you. I’m starting to like
it”
“After
all those things you did, I guess nothing is ever going to surprise me”
“That’s
a pity because I have quite a few surprises left for you”
“Oh
really, like what?”
“Like
this” Derek answered smiling and pulled the gun. He pointed it at Ben “What
do you say now, brother?”
“It’s
all you can do, isn’t it?”
‘What
do you mean?”
“You
can only threaten, blackmail, kill. That’s all you can do, isn’t it?
You’ve never done anything good in your entire life, all you did was
destroying people, even those who loved you”
“And
who would that be?”
“Parents”
“Parents?!”
Derek laughed “They loved only you. You were always the good one. I was never
able to have everything you did… But actually, I did have something… I had
Maria. Oh yes, I did. And then I had your little precious corny girl. Oh what a
lover she was! Do you want me to tell you? What am I saying?” Derek laughed
“You know exactly how it was like, don’t you? I forgot that you were
there”
‘You
son of a bitch!!!” Ben screamed and hit at Derek, but he was still holding the
gun. Suddenly they heard a voice:
“Not
one more word! Derek frightened realized that they were surrounded by the
police.
“Put
that gun down!” the other police officer ordered and when Derek didn’t
listen, a few cops run to him and overpowered him. He didn’t even try to
escape. He tried to pull away a little, but the police officers held him too
strong.
“You’ll
pay for this!!!” he started threatening Ben.
“I
don’t think so” suddenly they heard Tracy’s voice “Take him to the
car” she turned to the officers and they led Derek to the car.
“What
are you doing here?” Ben asked surprised.
“hey,
you didn’t think that I was just going to let you disappear like this, now did
you?” she smiled.
“You
had the number to the Sparks Hotel”
“And
how was I supposed to know if you had been telling the truth?”
“You
were following me?” Ben couldn’t believe it.
“Bingo”
“You
know, first time I’m actually glad that women are so…”
“So…
What?” Tracy looked at him questioningly.
“Nothing,
nothing” he blushed “My fiancée would kill me if she found out what I was
going to say”
“Your
fiancée?” Tracy looked at Ben confused “I thought you said you had a
wife?”
“I
do”
“Then
there’s something I really don’t understand. Can you please explain it to
me?”
“Maybe
some other time. First I need to talk to my brother”
“Sure…
I can give you a lift to the station if you want”
“Thanks”
Ben smiled and they headed towards Tracy’s car.
Chapter
9
“So,
what’s going to happen to Derek?” asked Ben when he and Tracy reached the
station.
“Well,
he is going to spend the next couple of years in jail for killing my sister and
for other crimes he has commited. Actually, I don’t think he is ever going to
be free again”
“You
mean he will spend the rest of his life in jail?”
"Yeah,
I’m sorry”
“Don’t
be. I mean, I’ve got used to people hating my brother”
“But
still it’s sad”
“It
is, but don’t worry about it. I can handle it” Ben smiled “Can I see my
brother now?”
“Sure…
Do you want somebody to come with you?”
“No,
no, I’ll be fine” Ben answered and let one of the officers show him the way
to where Derek was kept. The officer left. Derek slowly turned around and looked
scornfully at his brother.
“Look
who’s here” Derek laughed “What do you want?”
“I
want answers, Derek”
“Answers?”
“Yes
– answers… I know that you know Tess”
“So
what?” Derek didn’t even try to deny it.
“You
worked with her on something and I wanna know what it was. What were you two
doing together in Seattle?”
“Oh,
we were doing many things” Derek laughed.
“Damn
it, Derek! You have lost this time. Why can’t you just tell me the truth? It
will save you a lot of trouble”
“Save
me a lot of trouble? I don’t think so. It can only bring more troubles for
you”
“Oh,
I think I can handle everything. I mean, after all those things you’ve done to
hurt me, nothing can surprise me”
“We’ll
see” Derek laughed ominously. he knew that this was the right time to tell Ben
about him and Tess imprisoning Maria and about Benjy not being Ben’s son.
Derek couldn’t wait to see his brother’s face when he learns all this.
“Don’t
worry, nothing will surprise me” Ben sighed.
“Not
even the fact that Benjy is not your son?” Derek looked at him meaningfully.
“What
did you just say?” Ben wasn’t sure if he had heard it right.
“I
said exactly what you heard – Benjy is not your son”
“What
the hell are you talking about? Of course he is my son”
“You
really believed it?” Derek laughed “Some strange woman appears at your
doorstep claiming that she has brought your son and you believe her?”
“Of
course I didn’t believe her. But we run a paternity test and it confirmed that
Benjy was my son”
“God,
Ben, you are such a fool. You have always been”
“Shut
up, Derek!” Ben looked at him icily but Derek only started laughing
“What?”
“Nothing.
I just can’t believe that you actually believe that your beloved Maria gave
birth to your child and didn’t tell you about it”
“Are
you suggesting that Maria dispise me so much that she didn’t tell you about
having my baby?”
“God,
Ben, how could she possibly tell you about something that had never happened?”
“What
do you mean?”
“Don’t
you get it? Benjy is not Maria’s son”
“How
come he’s not Maria’s since he is mine?”
“He
is not yours” Derek repeated “God, how easy it is to make a fool of you,
dear brother”
“What
the hell are you talking about?”
“I
can’t believe you haven’t figured it out earlier. But as I said, you have
never been smart, so let me enlighten you – Banjy is not yours and Maria’s.
He is mine. Mine and Tess’s” as Derek said that, Ben froze. He looked
shocked about his brother “What’s wrong, brother?” Derek laughed “You
said nothing was able to surprise you. But I guess finding out about me being
Benjy’s father is. So, won’t you say anything?” Derek laughed again and
looked at his brother. Ben still was staring at one point. He knew that Derek
was telling the truth, he wouldn’t make something like that up, but still
there was something he didn’t understand?”
‘What
about the paternity test?”
“We’re
identical twins, you idiot! We have the same DNA and that’s why the paternity
test came out positive”
“Oh
God!” Ben sighed.
“You
should said ‘Oh Derek’”
“I
don’t believe it. You actually were capable of thinking of such a sick
plan?”
“I
am capable of many things. And admit it – this plan was brilliant, wasn’t
it? Tess convinces you and Maria that Benjy is your son, what of course results
in you breaking up with Meg. You remove her from your will and put Benjy
instead. And then you and Maria have a car accident and Benjy inherits all the
money. And since Tess is his…”
“You’re
sick, Derek!”
"Maybe,
but I’m also brilliant, aren’t I?“
“Go
to hell!!!” Ben shouted and left, feeling probably the worst pain ever. Not
only wasn’t he Beny’s father, but he also let Derek come between him and the
woman he loved, and that’s what he couldn’t stand.
Chapter
10
One
look was for Tracy enough to tell that something was wrong with Ben. He looked
as if he was agonizing. Well, maybe because he was.
“Ben,
is everything OK?” she asked with concern in her voice.
“I
don’t know… I… I just feel as if someone hit my head with a big stone”
“Do
you want some coffee?”
“No,
thanks. I just need some fresh air”
“All
right. Why don’t we go outside and talk”
“OK”
Ben agreed. They left the station and started walking down the street.
“So,
what happened between you and you brother?” Tracy started “I mean if you
don’t mind my asking”
“I
don’t, but I would appreciate if you let me tell you everything later. I
can’t deal with it right now. OK?”
“Sure.
That really must be something big”
“It
is” Ben sighed and continued “So, what are you planning to do about Tess’s
case?”
“I’m
flying to Sunset Beach tomorrow and I’m going to arrest her”
“And
what if she gets away today?” Ben asked worried.
“Don’t
worry, she won’t. Sunset Beach’s police is watching her. If she tries
anything, she will land in jail before she realizes what’s going on. But since
it was my case, they want me to finish the job”
“You
mean they left you the pleasure of fettering Tess?”
“Exactly”
Tess smiled “And I will do it with great pleasure”
“You
know, I have no idea what she has done here in Seattle, but for what she has
done to me and the people I love in Sunset Beach, I could kill her with my own
hands”
“She’s
really got in your hair, hasn’t she?”
“Oh,
oh she has. Together with Derek they did so much evil, they hurt so many people.
God, they might have taken me the only chance for happiness I had”
“If
you’re talking about your wife… fiancée… whatever… if you’re talking
about love, then I’m sure that everything will be fine” Tracy smiled.
“Do
you really think so?”
“I
do. I’m sure that you and the woman you love… whoever that is… will solve
your problems”
“Well,
I hope you’re right, because I really can’t live without her. She is
everything to me”
“It
shows. From the way you talk about her. Anyway, do you think you can tell me
something more about her?”
“Later,
OK?” Ben asked “I don’t feel like talking about it right now”
“Sure”
“You
know, something is really strange here…”
“What
do you mean?”
“I
mean the way Derek got caught… That’s totally not like him, he didn’t even
try to escape. I don’t get it”
“Do
you wish that he had escaped?” Tracy asked surprised.
“No,
of course I don’t. I just wonder why he didn’t try to”
“Well,
maybe he knew that he didn’t have any chance”
“I
don’t think so. There’s something more to this. Why do I get the feeling
that troubles with Derek haven’t come to an end?” Ben looked at Tracy but
she didn’t know the answer to that.
***
“Is
everything set?” Derek looked meaningfully at a dark figure standing right in
front of him in the corridor. The man smiled and answered:
“Have
you doubted in me?”
“No,
of course I haven’t. I’m just making sure”
“There
is nothing to worry about. Everything is ready”
“How
much time do we have?”
“Three
hours”
“Great.
See you then”
“See
you” the man answered and disappeared. Derek rubbed his hands ”Get ready,
Ben. I’m coming”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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