Chapter 2 - The Interrogation
Detective Raynor was a man who looked like he hadn't slept since the late nineties. He sat across from Sarah in the resort's opulent library, chewing on a matchstick. Outside, sirens wailed against the crashing waves of the Pacific. The wedding venue was entirely locked down.
"So, Ms. Bennett," Raynor rasped, clicking his pen. "You're telling me you have no idea who the woman in the tank is. Even though she's wearing a dress identical to yours, and holding a locket identical to yours."
Sarah pulled her cashmere shawl tighter over her shoulders. The kids were asleep in the adjoining bedroom, watched over by a female officer. "That's exactly what I'm telling you. The locket belonged to my grandmother. There's only one in the world. Or, so I thought."
"We pulled the body out," Raynor said, leaning forward. His eyes were sharp, evaluating her every micro-expression. "The water logged her pretty bad, but we ran a rapid facial recognition scan. Her name was Chloe Vance. Ring a bell?"
The room spun. The air vanished from Sarah's lungs. Chloe.
"That's... that's impossible," Sarah whispered, the color draining from her face. "Chloe was my twin sister. She died in a boating accident twenty-two years ago. They never found the body."
Raynor stopped chewing his matchstick. "Well, Ms. Bennett, it looks like they finally found her. And she hasn't been dead for twenty years. The coroner estimates she was killed less than twelve hours ago. Strangled."
A cold dread pooled in Sarah's stomach. Her sister had been alive. Alive, and someone had murdered her on the eve of Sarah's wedding, dressing her in a mocking replica of her bridal gown.
"Where is Michael?" Sarah asked, her voice trembling with sudden, fierce anger.
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"Mr. Harper is currently being questioned in the east wing," Raynor said slowly. "Why? Do you think your fiancé has something to do with your dead sister?"
"When I looked at him on the altar," Sarah said, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper, "he wasn't surprised. He was terrified. He knew she was down there, Detective. He knew."
