He couldn’t help being skeptical. “So if they did switch at school, where did the other one go all day then?”
She shook her head. “Dad was at work. Kat was always out shopping or having lunch with friends. And remember what the man down the street told you? Someone had hidden a key under a flowerpot in the back. It had to be Lindy so her sister could come and go at will.”
He shook his head, amazed at the way Charlie’s mind worked.
“The question though, is where has the twin been since Lindy’s murder? And why show up now?” she said.
“I believe the question is why Kat would lie about this daughter—if said daughter even exists.”
“I have no idea,” Charlie admitted. “Sometimes Lindy wasn’t as awful as other times. If I’m right, then I was dealing with two different teenage girls with their own motives for what they did.”
Shep had to admit the identical twin angle was making sense—if true. But just how dangerous was this other sister? More dangerous than even Charlie thought?
“Do you really think Kat is going to tell us the truth after all these years?” he asked.
Charlie checked her phone. Still nothing from Kat, he thought. “You don’t think she’ll try to skip the country, do you?”
It had crossed his mind. “I don’t think she’d do that to Cara, but I guess it will come down to how desperate she is to keep all of this a secret. If you’re right about an identical twin, then Kat is first class at keeping secrets. She’s also not above lying to us,” he pointed out. He wouldn’t put anything past her—and, he hated to point out, Kat hadn’t actually admitted there was a twin.
“We’ll see when she calls.”
When her phone rang, they both jumped. She checked the screen. “It’s Amanda.” He could see she didn’t want to take it.
“What’s up?”
She told him what had happened at work. The ringing stopped—and started again.
“Amanda,” Charlie barked into the phone. Earlier, she’d put her phone on speaker anticipating Kat’s call.
“I have to know. Greg will be so upset if you aren’t my maid of honor.”
Shep saw her roll her eyes. “Fine.”
“Tara will be so glad.”
“Wait, why will Tara be so glad?” Charlie asked.
“Because she is going to be one of my bridesmaids.”
“I thought this was a small wedding.”
“It is, but the best man has a friend who’s coming so I thought why not?”
“So Tara agreed to this?”
“Of course. It’s a wedding! Who doesn’t want to be in a wedding?” Amanda hung up.
“You’re going to be her maid of honor,” Shep said as he watched Charlie pocket her phone again.
“I had no choice,” she said with a groan.
He couldn’t help being worried. That couple was involving Charlie way too much in their romantic intrigue. Now the wedding?
Nervously, she pulled out her phone again. Like her, he was getting anxious. If Kat didn’t call soon... He got up from the couch and plugged in the Christmas tree.
“Is that a present under the tree?” Charlie asked and shot him a look. “You bought me a present?” She sounded both surprised and excited.
“The tree just needed something under it.”
She shook her head, but he could tell that it pleased her. He was betting she would shake that poor box half to death before Christmas, if he knew this woman, which he did.
Her cell phone rang, making them both jump again.
“Tell me it’s not Amanda,” he said.
“It’s Kat,” she said before she accepted the call. “You’re in town? Why don’t you come to my apartment?” He listened to her give the woman the address before disconnecting. “She’s on her way.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“I DON’T HAVE much time,” Kat said as Charlie let her into the apartment ten minutes later. “Cara has a Christmas Eve band performance tonight that I can’t miss.”
“Then let’s not waste time with anything but the truth,” Shep suggested.
Charlie took Kat’s coat and offered her a seat. Kat perched on the edge of the couch, her purse gripped in her lap, her knuckles white.
“Does Lindy have an identical twin sister?” Shep asked.
Kat nodded and looked away.
“Did you know she’s been stalking me?” Charlie asked.
Kat quickly denied it. “I didn’t want to believe she was back. I had so hoped you were mistaken. But I can’t deny any longer even to myself. It’s true. She’s here in Montana.” Her voice wavered. “Lacey is...Lindy’s identical twin.”
“Why didn’t anyone here know about her?” Shep demanded.
“She was raised by her father in Brazil.”
Charlie shot Shep a look. “I don’t understand.”
Kat opened her mouth, and after a moment, the words just seemed to pour out of her as if they’d been trapped inside for too long.
“I met Matt Garcia when I was on spring break in Brazil. He worked down there for a construction company. He was handsome, came from as a wealthy family in Spain and made great money so we were able to do a lot of traveling and eating at fancy restaurants. I loved the lifestyle, but Matt and I had a tumultuous relationship at best. He wanted to get married and raise a family and I didn’t. When I realized I was pregnant, he was delighted. He wanted a child. I...” She looked away. “I didn’t.”
Charlie could see how hard the confession was for her. But that, too, explained a lot, given how lenient she was with Lindy and her lack of mothering skills. Kat had often seemed as if she didn’t want to be bothered by Lindy—or especially by Charlie.
“When I gave birth to twins, Matt knew how I felt. He told me that he was taking custody of them both. He had plenty of money to fight me in the courts if I tried to take them back to the States. I had no money nor did I speak the language as well as Matt. I knew I would lose. I didn’t feel I had a choice. I couldn’t raise the two of them alone. I told him he could have them. I’d given birth to them at home. He’d immediately gotten them passports because he planned to take them back to Spain to show his family.
“He named them Lindy and Lacey. He was really the only one who could tell them apart.” She took a breath and let it out slowly. “I can’t explain why I did it. I knew it was over between us. I packed up to return to the States and at the last minute, I grabbed one of the babies from the crib and Lindy’s passport and flew home to the States.”