Dead Ringers

Staying

"Who?" My mind is reeling.

Sofia looks at me. "The Double Doctor."

"How does what happened to me tell you that it's this Double Doctor?"

"The same thing happened last time with the eyes. Last time he was here though, he wasn't so bold."

"Probably because that was his trial run," Detective Miles muses. "Now he knows it works, so he's going big."

"That does make sense," Sofia agreed.

I hold up a hand and wave it. "Hello. Still lost over here."

"Well," Detective Miles begins.

Sofia holds up a hand, silencing him. "First, you have to make a choice. Do you still want to be a part of this case, just knowing what you do of the Shadow World? This case is completely wrapped up in the Shadow World. Know that if you say yes, there will be no going back. Once you enter the Shadow World, there is no leaving."

I look Sofia in the eye. "Yes. I'm staying on this case."

Sofia presses her lips together and nods. "Impressive. Most people would have backed down."

"I'm starting to get why whoever's behind this tried to take you out first," Detective Miles mutters.

I glare at him, and go to make a retort, but before I can, my phone goes off. Instinctively, my hand goes to my pocket, only to find it empty. My phone continues to ring. I look at Sofia. "Where is my phone?"

Sofia's eyes go wide as her lips form an 'O.' "I don't have it."

My eyes move to Detective Miles. He's holding my phone out to me. "You dropped it over here when you jumped up."

"And you couldn't have given it back to me earlier?"

"It's your desk buddy. You wanna answer it?"

I lean far enough forward to take the phone from him. Pressing accept call, I hold it up to my ear. "Hey, Elliot. What's up?"

"Mr. Hardy wants to know where you are."

"What?" I pull my phone away from my face for a second and it lights up revealing the time; one ten. I shoot up from my chair putting the phone back against my ear, "Crap. Tell him we're on our way. We ran into. . . complications."

"Alright. Will do. Don't take too long though."

"Yeah, yeah. Give me a minute before giving me the address." I spin toward Detective Miles. "Do you still have my gun?"

"You never gave me your gun."

"Not you." Detective Miles just looks at me before flicking his eyes to the coffee table. I follow his eyes to my gun. "Oh, yeah." I step up to the table and pick up my gun.

"'Yeah' what?"

"Not you, Elliot."

"I'd feel better if you'd put that gun away instead of waving it around," Sofia remarks.

I jam the gun into my holster. "That's what I was going to do."

"What were you going to do?" Elliot asks.

"I wasn't talking to you."

"But you haven't hung up the phone yet."

"He does have a point," Detective Miles comments.

"Are you seriously listening to my conversation?"

"It's not exactly easy for us not to hear at least half of it," Sofia replies.

"I feel very confused right now. Are you still talking to me?" Elliot asks.

"You know what? Elliot, just send me the address." With that, I hang up the phone. "We need to go."

"Where?" Detective Miles asks.

My phone goes off, announcing a text. I open it. "358-B 7845 Brookston Lane." I begin walking to the door.

"Why?" Detective Miles is following behind me.

"I have some questions for Thomas Hardy."

"The last target? I'm sure he knows less than you."

"Call it a hunch."

We walk out of the shop, Detective Miles takes the lead, and I follow him to his car.

"Based on what?" He asks.

I give him an annoyed look over the roof of the car. "You do understand what a 'hunch' is, don't you?"

"Yes. I also know that when someone has a hunch, they usually have a reason for it." Making his claim he gets in the car.

I roll my eyes. I'm grabbing the handle when it happens. The hairs on the back of my neck rise. I get the same feeling I had had before at the last crime scene. I spin in a circle, but the street is empty, and a building is behind me.

Shaking my head, I get in the car. Detectives Miles is looking at me.

"What?" I ask as I buckle up.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Nothing. Just my nerves."

"It's not too late to leave the case," Detective Miles says, watching me from the corner of his eyes as he drives.

I glare at him. "That. That is exactly why I'm not going to leave the case."

"You're very stubborn."

"How observant of you," I comment, the sarcasm dripping from my voice. "Just drive."

The rest of the ride is in complete silence.