[Apologies for the, er, Great Hiatus. I will *try* to pick this up again ... let's see how it goes ...]

The Twins

Alice and Eddie had grown up as nearly inseparable though dissimilar twins. The first time Eddie went camping with his scouts, Alice made not one, not two, but three attempts to hijack the excursion and stow away on the bus, much to Eddie’s chagrin and the scout leaders’ amusement. When Alice began dance lessons, Eddie would sit in the studio’s lobby and do his homework, so Alice could say hi to him during her water breaks. When, in their teenage years, they gave up their various separate activities to spend more time together competing in tennis doubles, their friends could only roll their eyes.

Alice’s friends would ask, “don’t you spend enough time with your brother?”

“I can’t believe you can put up with her,” Eddie’s groupies would say.

“You are siblings; how can you stand each other?”

“How can you give up all your other extra-curriculars and friends?”

“What, are you joined at the hip?”

“Not exactly,” Eddie would reply. “But do you think that is surgically possible? It would make life so much easier.”

It would, for Eddie at least. In life, as in tennis, Eddie was the more able, Alice the more energetic of the two. She would get lost, and he would go find her. She would miss the ball, and he would watch her back. While some might have seen the relationship as a more parasitical type, the twins and their close family and friends knew it was one of symbiosis and symmetry. Eddie was mental, Alice was moral support; she cheered him on in every endeavor, always the first, always the last. And when the daily grind became purposeless, empty, and dull, Alice always knew how to goad it back life. “Let’s go do something!” she would say.

“You’re kidding me,” was Eddie’s weary response. “Do something, just for the sake of doing something? You can’t make me, not in a thousand years.”

But she could, and she did, with just the right sort of coaxing. And so together they would roam the mountains of West Virginia, or build a model airplane in under two hours, or race their bikes along the Potomac.

Going to college was therefore just another great adventure for the two to share. They applied to the same schools, took the same placement tests, and sat in on the same classes when visiting as prospectives. Any school that accepted one twin but not the other was automatically ruled out, though there was never any danger of this, as the twin’s scores were always nearly identical. Sayers College accepted the two with very little reserve, and their first year there was one of excitement and novelty for both. The second year began much the same, with the same expectations, yet certain circumstances – such as the discovery of a body in the college library – forced both twins to realize that life would never be the same. Alice began to think about reality and the human condition, and Eddie began to realize that he could not spend the rest of his life trying to convince his sister to sit down long enough for a game of chess.

Twins

And so she was. Of course, she could not expect to sit in on interviews with Lieutenant Radley; neither could she ask for his files or information. That was the police side of things. But Alice had a few ideas up her sleeve, and with a mischievous grin, she decided to tackle the case her own way.

She ran into Eddie outside the student union. He raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on?”

“Oh, you know,” she tried casually … and failed.

“No I don’t,” he replied dryly, “and I don’t know if I want to. You had better get rid of that look on your face before someone notices.”

“What look?” Alice tried with a desperately bright grin.

“The one that says ‘don’t stop me now, I’m having such a good time doing something I know I shouldn’t’ … what are you up to, girl?”

“You’re crazy.”

“You’re my twin; what does that make you?”

“Your polar opposite. I have to go now,” and she turned quickly before things got embarrassing.

“Well, whatever you do, you shouldn’t be getting involved in the investigation. I won’t go through the reasons, but I’ll leave it to your, um, good judgment …” Eddie looked sideways at his sister. “Yeah, never mind. Just don’t tell mom and dad.” And with that, Eddie was off.

Alice smiled to herself. It was going to be a wonderful day.

Back to Radley

She strode determinedly into the library. Oh, there he was again at the circulation desk, the guy with the cute hair … she paused. He was sorting out books, with his back to her. Did she dare? To her own astonishment, she stepped briskly up to the desk.

“Excuse me,” Alice paused and waited for him to turn around. He turned around. Panic moment. What was she going to say? “Umm … do you know, is Lieutenant Radley here yet?” There, she had found something to say. Clever girl.

“He’s been here since opening,” the boy replied cheerfully. “Along with the Sergeant. Watch out though,” he added confidentially, “the Sergeant looks like he hasn’t had his morning coffee yet.”

Alice beamed. Cute hair, and a sense of humor. “Thanks.”  She skipped off to the Jefferson Room.

She approached the lofty wooden doors and knocked firmly; after a moment, Sergeant Brinkley’s head emerged to peer down at her. “Hello.”

“Hello …” She paused, then smiled brightly. “Good morning.”

Sergeant Brinkley had most definitely not had his coffee. “May I help you with something?”

“Yes, I’ve come to see Lieutenant Radley …”

Brinkley did not move. She tried again.

“Would that be alright if I come in and talk to him?”

Brinkley’s face whisked away inside, and after a moment, the door opened further – grudgingly – to allow her in. Alice stepped into the darkened room and stood while her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the hushed room.

Lieutenant Radley sat at his desk, chewing on a pencil. He rose when Alice entered, and smiling, offered her a chair. “What can I do for you, Miss Parker?”

Alice sat down firmly and looked him straight in the eye. “I want to help with the case.”

“Oh?” Lieutenant Radley expressed no surprise, but folded his hands and held them to his mouth in thought. “And in what manner have you considered helping?”

“Well …” She hadn’t considered that, actually. She paused and thought about it. “Well, sort of – helping out – around campus – with people …”

“Ah.” Lieutenant Radley leaned back in his chair and pursed his lips. “As a sort of eyes-and-ears patrol?”

“Oh. Well, yes, I guess so … something like that.”

Lieutenant Radley considered, chewing his pencil meanwhile. “Well, I don’t know if it’s exactly what the Chief had in mind when he assigned me to the case, you know.”

“Oh, I don’t mean to interrupt your investigation,” she assured him, “I just feel that, perhaps, I might be useful, I don’t know how … but I need to do something.”

Radley nodded. “I can imagine your interest, Miss Parker; perhaps you feel guilty, in a way, for finding the body. Perhaps you want to see justice done, not only to the victim, but to you, for having to come across such a sight. Perhaps …” he paused, and stared above her head. “Miss Parker,” he sat up in his chair and looked her straight in the eye. “I am afraid I cannot officially ask you to aid in this investigation. However, were you to discover, on your own, any information pertaining to the case –  well! I don’t see how I could prevent you from doing so. And were you to relay any of that information to me, I would not be able to give you public credit, but you would certainly have the private satisfaction of helping solve a most reprehensible crime.”

Alice beamed and shook Lieutenant Radley’s hand. “I will. Thank you.”

She leaped outside the Jefferson Room and skipped past the circulation desk. He was still there. She waved to him, and he waved back. “How did it go?”

With a breathless excitement she whispered, “Don’t tell a soul – I’m on the case.”

The Morning

Alice awoke the next morning, bright and chipper, excited about a new day – and then she remembered.  With a shiver and a shrug, she sprang to the sink, determined to wash it all away. No, that won’t work. With a bounce and a bang, she wrapped her bathrobe around herself and snatched up her towel and shampoo, slamming the door to as she ran off to shower.

She hummed to herself as she dressed and hurried up the hill to meet Eddie for breakfast. Eddie remarked on how quickly she ate, but nothing would induce Alice to stop and think. Instead, she cleaned up her place and took off in a flash. “Where are you going?” Eddie called after her.

“No time – class in half an hour – need to talk to him – see ya later!” and she whisked away around the corner, headed off energetically towards the library.

The Night

Alice sat on her bed and smiled to herself. Not only had her mom been a huge relief in taking the news calmly and rationally, and offering sound advice, but her father had been a huge relief in being absolutely fascinated with the incident. He asked questions, demanded details, and offered solutions – even suggesting coming to visit and discuss the case with Lieutenant Radley. Alice had not thought this was the best idea, but agreed to keep him updated with any information that might come to light.

Now that the conversation had come to an end, though, Alice was thrown back into the darkened dorm room. She weighed the phone in her hand, then set it down on her desk and jumped back into bed. She huddled against the wall, clutching her blankets around her like a frightened child clutches his mother’s skirts. Dear God, she thought, Dear God, help me through this night; help me through this ordeal; send me an angel to take me away from these shadows of darkness … suddenly she leapt with fright as the door creaked open and a figure stood silhouetted against the hallway light.

“Alice?” Tessa came in and closed the door, dropping her bag to the side. “Alice, are you alright?” Tessa shook her head in frustration. “No, of course not; what a stupid question. You’re not alright; you’ve just been put through the most horrid thing you can probably think of. Here, I’ll make you some tea,” and she turned to find the hot pot.

“No,” Alice reached out from under her blankets. “I mean, please – no thank you – I just …” she shivered and bit her lip. “I just. Can’t. Sleep. I’m so afraid of – of …”

Tessa understood. “No worries,” she said. She pulled a pillow on the floor and sat down, leaning against Alice’s bed. “I have to finish my Dante reading; I’ll probably be up for a long time.”

“Oh, you don’t have to,” Alice began.

“But I do,” Tess reassured her. “And I will. Dr. Hugo will kill me if I haven’t finished Paradiso by tomorrow. So don’t worry; I’ll be up. Now just lie down. You’ll be safe.”

“Do you mind if I don’t lie down? Do you mind if I just sit here while you read?”

“Of course not. Just sit, then.”

And so Alice sat and listened to Tessa’s silent journey through Paradise. She watched the light below the bedroom door flicker as shadows of girls passed through the hall; she thought of Eddie, strumming his guitar, and of Mother, trying to make Morley sit. She thought of Dad in his study, and Aunt Catherine; she thought of Lieutenant Radley, and she smiled as she imagined him chewing on his pencil. And through the night she thought of many things which had happened in her life, and she watched the shadows under the door grow fewer and slower with each passing hour. 

Later ...

The rest of the day was spent in a general sort of confusion. With police and detectives swarming the library, Alice quickly sought refuge in a less conspicuous place. She and Eddie sat in his room and tried to study, the doors along the hall banging furiously with excited dorm members rushing around to pass on the news. Soon enough the twins gave up pretending, and after a quick peek out the door, rushed out to the car and drove off. “Where to?” Eddie asked.

“Anywhere.”

When they returned, Eddie dropped Alice off at her dorm. “If you need me, call. And you should probably call Mom and Dad, too.”

“Oh, yeah.” Alice hadn’t thought of that. “Will do. See you tomorrow.”

“Get some sleep,” Eddie suggested. “I’ll meet you for breakfast.”

Alice watched him drive away, then with anxious steps, she hurried upstairs to the safety and solitude of her room.