Mirror Image

Twenty-Six

The rest of the weekend went by in flurry of fun. They went to a movie on Saturday night as a group putting Sara in the middle between Lacey and Zena. Percy and Terry sat on the outside. They talked about Anya and how to keep away from her, when she turned up at Mario's after the show.

Sara's observations about the people in the restaurant had them howling. But Lacey found her skin crawling when Molly and Izzy turned up to sit down with Anya. What were they planning? She turned the flash off on her phone and snapped a quick picture. She wasn't sure why, but she wanted proof of their meeting.

By the time Lacey and Zena drove Sara back to Concord to catch her flight home, they had brainstormed about the Halloween party and decided on their costume ideas. Vowing to keep them a secret, they used their own money to order what they needed online. Sara's costume would be delivered to Pettigrew mansion. It had a heavy headpiece and mask. Percy was sure he could rig some amazing special effects to scare the skin off their classmates.

"Mom, have we found out anything about Uncle Theodore?" Something about his disappearance still bothered Lacey. She finished the pile of filing Mrs. Hall had left for her, and her mother had a worried wrinkle on her forehead.

"We traced down the results of the medical testing in the hospital where he vanished. They came in overnight. Because the FBI is involved and the US Marshals are trying to trace him, they opened up to us. We're lucky your father has so many friends in weird places."

"So, what was he in there for?"

"Violent headaches and the fight he was in. He had what looks like a terminal tumor. He must have walked out of the hospital through the other exit of the bathroom. The report shows when he came in, he was in prison orange. There were two guards on his room, which was a double, but the bathroom connected to another room on the other side, so four patients used one big bathroom with two stalls and two showers."

Her mother was reading from a PDF file she had up on her computer. Lacey followed along from where she stood behind her.

"He knocked out the guard that was on the bathroom door. He stole clothes from the other side, dressed in them, and walked out." Lacey said as she scanned the rest of the page.

"Looks like it. Finally, we know why and when. That was almost three months ago." Her mother said.

"So, where he is now is anyone's guess. The test results and prognosis, say probably cancer, and less than three months to live."

Lacey pointed to the bottom of the screen as her mother scrolled down.

"Poor man. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy, not even Theodore. He's probably gone now." Lacey said.

The phone rang, it's shrill tones, making them jump, it only rang once, but her mother reached for it anyway.

"Never mind, I think your Dad picked up. You'll let Zee, know?" Deanne spun her office chair to face Lacey.

"Yeah, does Dad have this report too?"

"He forwarded it to me."

"Sweetheart, we have news about what the cadaver dog found. Matt just called. There were two bodies in that grave. I'm not sure how it got dug without Papa Juan knowing about it. He has some explaining to do." James' brusque tone was at odds with his grim face.

"What?" Lacey and her mother said it together.

"The FBI have Juan in for questioning now. He says he didn't kill them, and he didn't know about the first body. But he does know who the second one was. Theodore Pettigrew is dead."