Identical Stranger

Sophie’s lips parted. Jack thought she was going to say something but instead she slipped the black loafer on her foot as he steadied her arm.

“Do you have your phone on you?” he asked the valet.

“Sure.”

“Sophie, give him your number. Let’s see if your phone will ring.”

“Good thing I turned it back on,” she said as she rattled off her number.

A second later they heard a ring that Jack tracked down to the far side of the garage, where he found it had landed against the tire of a truck. As he picked it up and glanced at the lit screen, he saw numerous alerts that “Danny” had called. He handed it back to Sophie. She scanned the screen momentarily before turning the device off and shoving it in her pocket.

“Let’s get out of here,” she said as she settled her handbag on her shoulder.

“Sure.”

She waited until the valet was far ahead of them before tugging on Jack’s sleeve. “The car didn’t veer to avoid me,” she said. “It swerved to hit me.”

* * *

“WHY DID YOU wait to tell me that?” Jack asked as they took their first deep breath of fresh ocean air. The rain Sophie had previously avoided now created a welcome cleansing, and she closed her eyes to turn her face upward.

“Sophie?”

She let Jack lead her under the portico, relieved when the valet left to help an arriving customer. “I don’t know,” she said. “I guess I didn’t want to make a fuss.”

He looked down at her as if to speak, but his expression suddenly softened. With one finger he touched her cheek. A raindrop glistened on his fingertip and he met her gaze. It was a strange moment full of currents Sophie didn’t understand, but that was okay. This whole day had been a time out of time, one bewildering moment following another.

“Jack?” she finally said.

He blinked away whatever place he’d been lost in. “You sound just like Sabrina,” he said. “She didn’t want to make a fuss either. And now she’s gone.”

“Well, I’m right here. Weren’t you going to try calling her again?”

He pulled out his phone and a moment later shook his head. “It goes right to voice mail.”

They walked back into the lobby. Feeling shaky, Sophie took a chair by the door as Jack continued on to the front desk.

After leaving the hairdresser, she’d headed to Seaport almost on autopilot. This town and this hotel were familiar—she’d been vacationing here for years, first with her parents and then alone after she graduated from college. She’d felt sure this was the place she could figure things out before returning to Portland and explaining herself to Danny and her mother.

In light of what had happened within the last hour, that plan now seemed ancient.

She thought again to the parking garage—could she be mistaken about the driver’s intentions?

Jack sat down next to her. “Sabrina is still not answering her room phone, her own phone, anything. I’ve called the town’s other hotels and the hospital. The front desk has no record of her checking out. She’s just vanished.”

“People don’t just vanish,” Sophie said.

She saw him flinch and wondered what nerve she’d inadvertently touched. “Actually, people do,” he said softly. “At least for a while, sometimes forever.” He seemed to shake off whatever had distressed him and leaned toward her. “Tell me why you stayed down on the bottom level of the garage and what happened between the time I left and returned.”

“You said something about your phone reception and I stopped to dig my phone out of my purse, turn it on and offer it to you,” she began. “Then I became aware that an engine had started and I turned around. A whitish car inched out of its spot, then turned and started my way. I was still standing in the middle of the lane so I moved aside. The driver gunned the engine and the car sped up. I dodged farther right—that’s when I think I lost my shoe, but the car veered, too, so I tried to get behind the support. As I ran, I think my bag slipped down my arm and then the car tore it out of my hand. It made the corner with screeching brakes and shot upward toward you. I thought it might hit you... I just stood there like an idiot, too rattled to move. And then there you were—well, you know the rest.”

“You felt the attack was purposeful?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Did you see the driver?”

“Kind of.”

“Kind of?”

“I think he was about my age. I don’t know—it was a blur.”

“Sophie, think carefully, does anyone know you’re here?”

“In Seaport? No.”

“Think for a little longer. You must have told someone you were coming to the coast.”

“I didn’t even know I was coming until I was practically here.”

“Okay, you said something about your mother guessing where you were and you’ve mentioned a guy named Danny a few times.”

“My mother could have guessed. I don’t know that she did, but she might have.”

“Would she have told Danny?”

“If he asked. But he would never try to run me down.”

“You positive?”

She thought for a second. “Yes. He’s my boyfriend. Sort of. Probably not anymore. He asked me to marry him this morning and I kind of...left. That’s no reason to kill someone.”

“You’d be surprised,” Jack said.

“Come on,” she joked as she resisted the urge to elbow him. “Look at me. I’m not the kind of woman to excite men to grand passion.”

“You underestimate yourself,” he said. “Okay, we’re going to the police.”

“Why would we—”

“Because you look exactly like Sabrina. If someone wasn’t going after you specifically, then it figures they mistook you for her. The next step could be a great big rock falling on your head. Don’t argue with me.”

She broke into laughter. “You know, that whacko might have been after you, not me or Sabrina.”

“He didn’t aim at me,” Jack said softly.

“Oh. Well, since Sabrina is missing, I think going to the police is a reasonable thing to do.”

“So glad you agree,” he said with sarcasm and she laughed again. She never laughed like this. Obviously the day’s events were catching up with her.

They took Jack’s car and within minutes were speaking to an anxious-looking police sergeant who kept glancing at the clock. Jack and Sophie both produced their identification and the sergeant looked it over without much interest until he got to Jack’s PI license. “Just out of curiosity, were you formerly military or civil police?” he asked.

“I was a cop in Los Angeles for seven years before going out on my own,” Jack said.

“I know a guy who did that, too,” the sergeant said as he handed back their papers with a quick peek at the wall clock. “What can I do for you folks?”

Sophie was content to let Jack explain her garage encounter. He didn’t mention that they’d been searching for Sabrina’s vehicle but she figured he’d get around to it eventually.

“Ah, this stuff happens all the time,” Sergeant Jones said with another glance at the time and a general shuffling of papers. When he saw their interest in his obsession with the clock, he smiled. “It’s my tenth anniversary,” he confided. “I completely forgot about it last year, and let me tell you, my friends, that is not a mistake I am ever going to make again. I made a reservation at her favorite restaurant but I keep thinking I should do something else. She’s always complaining about how old her mixer is—”

“Don’t get her an appliance,” Sophie interrupted.

“Really?”

Sophie nodded.

“Buy her flowers,” Jack said, and Sophie looked at him in surprise. He smiled. “Red roses for passion,” he added as he met her gaze.

The sergeant grinned. “Yeah, and I can pick those up at the grocery store on my way home. Now, what was I saying?”

Sophie spoke up. “Jack just told you about the driver who almost—”

“Oh, yeah. I remember. Thing is, some stupid kid gets all excited because he sees a pretty girl and wants to impress her but he’s not nearly as cool as he thinks he is and goes too far.” He glanced at Jack and added, “And you feel protective, of course, because she’s your girl.”

Sophie opened her mouth, but Jack jumped in. “I hope that’s all it is,” he said. “The guy could have killed her, you know.”

Now the policeman glanced at Sophie again. “I wouldn’t worry about this, Ms. Sparrow. You aren’t hurt, right? And without an ID on the car, there’s really not much I can do. I mean, do you have any idea how many newish white sedans are running around in this city?”

Sophie thanked him—for what, exactly? she wondered—and started to stand. That’s when Jack brought up Sabrina and revealed what she thought must be the minimal amount to drive home the fact that the woman felt threatened enough to elicit Jack’s help. “We were searching for her car when the incident with the wild driver occurred. It’s important to remember that Sabrina Cromwell and Sophie Sparrow look very much alike and that Sabrina seems to be missing.”

The sergeant once again checked the clock before stifling a sigh. “Did you find her car?”

“No.”

Sergeant Jones made a few notes. “Do you have her plate number?”

“It’s her husband’s SUV so run Daniel Thorne Cromwell, Astoria, Oregon.”

“Okay,” Jones said as he jotted notes. “We’ll keep our eyes open, but honestly, people like this are usually off looking at the beach or shopping or something. You know this, Mr. Travers, from your own experience both as a policeman and as a detective. Chances are good she’ll show up. She’s an adult, right? No law says she can’t get a wild hair. There was no sign of a struggle?”

“No,” Jack said.

“Nobody at the hotel is alarmed?”

“No.”

“Did you check the hospital?”

“Earlier today.”

He made a note. “I’ll check again just to be on the safe side. If I learn anything, I’ll let you know.” The sergeant looked over at the wall clock and they finally took the hint.

Once again they found themselves outside as overhead lights glittered on falling drops of silver rain.

“Why didn’t you tell him about Sabrina and the rock?” she asked as he opened the passenger door.

“Because I promised her I’d keep everything she told me quiet as long as I can. I’m doing my best. She’s concerned about her husband finding out. He’s a long ways away right now.”

“In Antarctica,” Sophie remembered his saying. “Doing what?”

“He’s part of an international team of biologists and other scientists investigating climatic changes. He’s been gone a couple of months. Sabrina doesn’t want him to worry.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“I feel that the stakes have changed. I feel Sabrina needs help and it’s clear to me that it’s not going to come from Sergeant Jones. He’s right that most people who leave suddenly and without explanation usually have a good reason. But most people haven’t been followed for days or felt invaded enough to ask for professional help.”

“She must have been terrified,” Sophie said softly.

He ran a hand through his gorgeous hair and looked her in the eye. “The bottom line is that right now it’s clear we represent her best chance of being found.”

She noticed he used the word we, and as good as it made her feel inside, it frightened her, too. Was she up to the task? Well, she would just have to be. “You’re really worried about her,” she whispered.

“Yeah,” he said, “I am.”

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