Near Miss

Chapter Thirty: Accident

"An accident?" Greene said.

"Yes, I think it was an accident, like we originally thought," Rhiannon explained. "I mean, it was just a coincidence, right? Or maybe they asked to meet each other there..."

"Who asked who? You keep accusing Dorian and Lucia, but do you have any actual evidence?"

"Loads," Rhiannon enthused. "And you'll have plenty of reasons to arrest them. Lucia for, I don't know, manslaughter and attempted murder?"

"Those are serious charges," Greene frowned.

"Those are valid charges!" Rhiannon protested. "She's the really awful one here. Maybe Malachi stole a car, but he's not ultimately responsible for the accident."

"What?"

Greene's tone was disbelieving, dismissive, and altogether rather demeaning. It wasn't a sharp gasp of disbelief, it was a flat acknowledgement that whatever idea Rhiannon happened to be expressing was ridiculous and far-fetched.

"He's dead, Rhiannon. How could he be responsible for anything?"

"No, he's not dead," Rhiannon revealed. "He's alive. That body you found, that man that got run over by the car- that boy- that was Dorian Lindquist. He's been dead for almost a week now, and Malachi has been impersonating him. Taking over his life."

Greene leaned forward. For the first time, he looked rather interested in Rhiannon's idea. "So, you say Dorian was the one who was killed, then?"

"Yes," Rhiannon agreed. "He must have had Malachi's driver's license on him, or something like that. But, remember, his hands were crushed- you couldn't check the fingerprints, and you couldn't see any of Dorian's scars. That's why he was riding a bike, because he can't legally drive!"

"So..." Greene frowned. "Wait, then. You're saying Malachi was actually in the car, when he ran Dorian over?"

"Yes!" Rhiannon grinned. "He and Lucia stole the car from that rental lot, and that day once he finished work, Lucia picked him up and drove him over to Carkeek Park. Probably to meet his brother, and threaten him about something. Malachi had already been impersonating him for a week!"

"How do you even know that?"

"It was the trailer," Rhiannon explained. "He moved the trailer, or at least he says he did. We only have his own word that the trailer was in the parking lot, though- Dorian actually did take it out for a vacation. He had an injured leg, yes, but his friend was the one driving." Without waiting for Greene to ask another annoyed question, Rhiannon plunged into her explanation. "Lucia's boyfriend isn't Dorian- it's Malachi- and he was going to propose! He just accidentally dropped the ring in the trailer park lot. They'd committed nefarious schemes together, or at least they were planning to, so it didn't really make sense for them to break up, didn't it? Malachi lent Dorian the RV just before school started, so he could impersonate Dorian for all of the people he was going to meet. That waitress who thought he'd hurt his foot- he was just practicing limping!"

"So you think he'd already been impersonating Dorian for a week?" Greene seemed intrigued.

"Oh, yeah," Rhiannon agreed. "That's why they were going to meet! It must have been a little while after Dorian came back. He parked the RV by his building and saw his friend off and got on the bike and went to meet his brother in Carkeek Park. You see, Malachi did get there in a car- he just never got out. And then Lucia was driving, and she must have hit him by accident." Rhiannon frowned. "Well, I guess it could have been on purpose."

"I suppose we'll have to ask," Greene said wearily. Then, he added: "I always did think those scars looked fake..."

"The ones on Dorian's- I- I mean, Malachi's hands?" Rhiannon widened her eyes in agreement. "Yeah, now that you mention it, they did. Much too fresh-looking to be old scars. I wonder how-"