The SPECTRE Of The VATICAN ©

Chapter 36 - What's in a Name.

Time: 23 Years Prior
Location: Paris, France

Amanda and Collette finally found Louise. They told her that they had been searching everywhere for Amelia but couldn't find her and they didn't see Andre anywhere either.

Amanda finally summoned the courage to speak up, "Just how well do you know this Andre guy?" Amanda asked suspiciously.

"Dad knows his father really well he said. They go back a long way, when Dad was starting up his business in Germany. They've probably gone someplace else for a while, I'm sure they'll be back. Maybe Dad's heard from them, I can call him if you like."

"Yes, do that please. I'm worried, it's just not like Amelia to do something like this," Amanda explained.

They went to the quietest corner of the club, a little wine bar, and Louise called her father.

She returned looking perplexed.

"Well . . . ?" Amanda asked.

"He hasn't heard from them, but he told me Andre was scheduled to be flying out to Berlin on the red eye, at one am. His Dad isn't well and he is going home for a visit. Dad arranged for his bags to be picked up from his hotel and delivered to the airport this morning. Andre had a hire car but doesn't know the city that well. He reckons Amelia is probably dropping him off at the airport."

"I don't think Amelia would do that, not without telling us, and anyway she's been drinking, that's why we got a taxi isn't it so none of us had to drive?" Amanda argued.

"Maybe she tried, it's a big place, maybe she ran out of time, didn't want Andre to miss his flight perhaps, it's the only possible thing that makes sense, to me anyway," Collette agreed hopefully.

"Look, it's nearly one am already, let's wait another half an hour or so and if she isn't back by then we'll turn the place upside down till we locate her," Louise suggested.

"You two can, but I'm looking now. I can't enjoy myself while ever I don't know where my sister is," Amanda said.

Carter watched as they searched every dance room until they were told it was time to go, as the club was about to close. Once outside they started to panic, started searching the surrounding streets until four am then they decided that they had to go home; exhausted and without Amelia. Margot would be furious when she found out, but what else could they do?"

Amanda snuck into the house when the taxi dropped her off, she didn't want to wake Margot, half from not wanting to disturb her sleep, and half not wanting to face the inevitable grilling about where Amelia was.

She woke up with someone screaming, then sobbing, crying, sobbing, someone was saying, "Oh no . . . no," over and over, it was Aunty Margot.

Amanda pushed through her headache and lack of sleep to rush downstairs from the loft where she'd been accommodated in her Aunt's apartment.

"What is it, Aunty Margot, what's wrong? My God, it's Amelia isn't it?" Amanda knew before her feet hit the ground floor that her twin was dead.

Carter felt her pain and anguish, he squirmed in his seat, she was also his Mum, the only Mum he really knew, the fact that his Mums were twins served to double the joy and the sorry he experienced in sympathy with them.

He looked down fascinated at the changing colours of his stem, as he'd decided to call it. He discovered he could extend it out of him at will sort of like an extended umbilical cord. It took his mind off the emotional horror playing out on the screen as Margot and Amanda rushed down to the morgue to formally identify Amelia's body.

Apparently the police had told Margot there was little doubt that the body they found in the alley near Le Balajo was Amelia because the young girl still had her bag with her, she had not been robbed and her bag contained her purse, cards and passport identifying her as an Australian citizen, Amelia Cheval, with her residential address and phone number in Paris on her visa. The Australian Embassy had also been informed of the discovery of her body and had undertaken to inform the next of kin in Australia.