Tweedledum and Tweedledee (7 page)

Kill. Kill. Kill.

Maraldi felt a chill of joy. This was truly enjoyable. More than he had ever expected it to be.

But, as it turned out, Maraldi and the cheering crowd had completely underestimated the twins' strength. Just as they had both of their faces in the dust and were bleeding from their many wounds, they did something officer Maraldi had never seen them do before. Something he wasn't even aware that they were capable of. Somehow, they managed to rise to their three legs and stood tall in front of the dog. They clenched their four fists and started hitting the dog non-stop. They swung their arms like cartwheels and knocked the dog back with such strength, the crowd went completely quiet.

A few seconds later, they burst into another cheer. This time for the twins.

Spider-boys, spider-boys!

Maraldi watched with a strange enthrallment as the twins threw themselves at the dog and, with their bare hands, grabbed its neck and strangled it till it fell to the ground. People held their breath while waiting for the dog to get back up. But it didn't move. It lay on the dirty floor completely lifeless.

The twins crumbled back down and started walking on their hands again, crawling like a spider while the crowd cheered and clapped.

Maraldi was clapping wildly too. He couldn't stop smiling and was hearing nothing but that clinking, clanking sound of money inside of his mind.

A buck or a pound is all that makes the world go 'round.

17

April 2014

T
HE MAN WAS TIRED,
but he hardly noticed it anymore. He had been working all night on his project, cutting and sewing…Bits and pieces, making it all fit together nicely.

The boy's skin turned out to be even nicer than he had dared to hope for…Soft and smooth, very elastic. Perfect for his purpose.

The man smiled as he carefully held parts of it up in the light and turned it. He sat down with a piece of the boy's skin and looked at it for a moment, as if it was a present he needed to enjoy. Then he sewed it onto another piece.

He was working hard, but enjoying every single moment of it. On the table next to him lay the remains of a skinned body…something that, to most people, would represent horror and their worst nightmare, but to the man it was pure beauty.

The man yawned, but it was not time to sleep yet. First, he had to finish his project. Even if it was the middle of the night, the man felt energized as he looked at his finished product. He stood up and held it out for a better look, smiling from ear to ear at his accomplishments. A few spots of blood were removed with some rubbing alcohol. The finished jacket was put on the bed and the remains of the boy thrown inside the bathtub in the bathroom. Wearing thick gloves, he poured acid on the remains of the boy, covering the entire body in it. Slowly, the bones and the meat started smoking and melting and soon there was nothing left. The man then opened the plug and let it all wash out, knowing it was going to end up in the ocean.

"There, Deedee. All traces are gone. No one will ever know."

"Are you done with my present?"

The man put the acid and the gloves back in his suitcase with the rest of his equipment. Then, he smiled from ear to ear. "Yes. Yes, I am, Deedee. It's all finished. I'm certain you will be pleased."

"Can I see it? Can I see it?"

The man went into the bedroom of his lower deck suite. There was a case on the bed. He was struggling slightly with the pain in his shoulder, but decided to ignore it. He had, after all, just cleaned the wounds. Of course it was going to hurt a little. It didn't matter.

The man sat on the edge of the bed. He put a hand on the case and opened the lid.

"I hate being in this thing," Deedee said.

"I know," the man answered. "But take a look at this."

He held the jacket up in the air for Deedee to see.

"It's beautiful," Deedee said with a gasp.

"I know. It's perfect for you. Let me help you put it on."

The man carefully placed the jacket on Deedee, making sure it fit nicely. "It's a little too big, but I can adjust that if you like," he said.

"No. It's perfect," Deedee said. "How do I look?"

The man couldn't stop smiling. "You look great, Deedee. You look really great."

He grabbed his camera and took a picture.

"Don't," Deedee said. "I don't like looking at myself. You know that."

"But I really want to take your picture. You look so good. Don't be shy."

"Okay then. If you must."

The man smiled and took a series of pictures. He showed one of them to Deedee.

"How handsome I look," Deedee said.

"Yes."

"Thank you."

"We're not done yet," the man said. "There is still a lot of work to do. This is just the beginning, Deedee. Soon, I'll have all of you dressed and then we go for the most important thing. Do you know what that is, Deedee?"

"My face."

"Yes. We need to get you a new face. And I know exactly who is going to give you that."

18

April 2014

N
ONE OF US SLEPT
well that night. Except for Christoffer who slept like a baby and never even noticed that Victor kept having nightmares and woke up screaming in the darkness. I did what I could to calm him down. When I asked him the next morning what he dreamt, he simply said…

"That I didn't have a face."

We took off on our trip to the Isle of Capri. We saw the Blue Grotto and all the other sights the island had to offer…like the small famous harbor Marina Piccola, the Belvedere of Tragara—a high panoramic promenade lined with villa, the Faraglioni—the limestone crags called sea stacks that project above the sea, the town of Anacapri, and the ruins of the Imperial Roman villas. I found everything very interesting, especially since I had never been there before. But Victor didn't find any of it as alluring as Pompeii. He was very quiet most of the day and I wondered if something was bothering him…If it was those dreams that wouldn't leave him. Christoffer, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy this trip more than the one on the previous day. He thought the Blue Grotto was spectacular and wouldn't stop talking about it afterwards.

We came back to the ship late in the afternoon. I was exhausted from all the walking and threw myself on the couch and took off my shoes as soon as we landed. I had paid for a nice big lunch at a wonderful small Italian place on the island, so none of us were hungry and we decided to meet up and eat a late dinner on the boat.

"We could use a nap," my mom said when we said goodbye in the hallway. She poked my dad in the side with her elbow and winked. "Right, papa bear?"

Papa bear?

"That sounds nice," my dad chuckled. "Mama bear."

Oh my God!

Now I was just lying on the couch while Victor indulged himself in Christoffer's book. Christoffer watched TV. I closed my eyes and dozed off. I was awakened by a message on the speakers from our captain.

"Due to unforeseen circumstances, we have to postpone the departure from Sorrento till later tonight. We hope to be able to set off towards Sicily before midnight. Thank you for your understanding."

I looked at the boys. Victor didn't seem to care, but Christoffer looked at me for an answer.

"Postpone the departure?" I asked and sat up.

"Why?" Christoffer asked.

I shrugged. "I have no idea. Maybe it’s something technical."

Or could it have something to do with Mr. and Mrs. Colombo? Hadn't they found the boy?

I heard voices in the hallway and got up. "Stay here," I said to the boys and left the suite.

As if Victor would ever leave the suite. If it was up to him, he'd stay in there the entire trip.

In the hallway, a crowd had gathered, surrounding a man in uniform. Voices were debating vividly. I walked further down and realized there was turmoil near the end of the hallway, down by Alonzo Colombo's suite. I walked faster and suddenly spotted a flock of police officers standing outside his suite. Some walked inside, while others worked outside. Some were wearing blue plastic suits. I’d been around long enough to know a forensic team when I saw one.

So they finally called the police for help. Good for them. It seemed like they were doing a very thorough job. A guy was dusting for fingerprints on the door. As I was about to turn around and go back, I saw Alonzo Colombo coming out of the suite. I smiled until I noticed he wasn't walking willingly. He was flanked by two officers and had his hands cuffed behind his back. I gasped.

What the heck was going on here?

Alonzo Colombo was taken away and he didn't even look at me as they walked past me.

"I heard he killed his wife." The voice behind me belonged to my dad. I turned and looked into his eyes.

"He did what?"

"The couple staying in the suite next to us told us he killed her this morning. They were fighting loudly and then he pulled a gun on her. Shot her right through the temple." My dad pointed at his own head to show me. I was appalled.

"They say he probably killed his son as well. He's been missing since yesterday morning, as far as I was told. Mr. Colombo probably threw him overboard or something."

"Wow. I…don't know what to say. I was with them last night because the wife was sick…I…They were fighting and he seemed to have a temper and everything, but this…I never suspected he would…I mean, it was his son?"

My dad shrugged. "Guess the tabloids will have a lot to talk about the coming days, huh?"

"I can't believe it. He seemed so upset that the son was missing."

"He's probably just a great actor. They say he tried to tell the police that the wife committed suicide. He even placed the gun in her hand and everything. He probably thought everyone else had left the deck to go on trips, so no one would hear anything, since we're so far away from everyone else on this cruise, but the Swedish couple next to our suite were home. The wife didn't feel well and they decided to stay onboard. They called the police when they heard the shot. Personnel from the ship were all over him before he could escape."

"But they never found the boy's body?" I asked, puzzled.

"No. If he threw him overboard, it'll take a while before he resurfaces. The police consider the case to be almost closed. We'll be able to dock out as soon as they’ve secured all the evidence from the suite."

19

April 2014

I
WAS SHOCKED,
to put it mildly. My dad and I agreed to meet up in an hour to go for dinner. I walked back to my suite and locked the door behind me. Victor still had his nose in Christoffer's book and I wondered if he had even noticed that I was gone. Christoffer looked up and I smiled.

"It's nothing. Just some technical issue they need to fix," I lied, so he wouldn’t be scared. I wasn't going to ruin his trip with this.

Christoffer returned to his TV show. I sat down, feeling slightly fearful. I couldn't believe I had been so close to this guy. I had seen his anger in full display. I was just glad he hadn't pulled the gun while I had still been in the room. It was scary to know a man like that had been right down the hallway from us.

"Is it okay Victor is reading your book?" I asked Christoffer.

He nodded. "Yeah. It's really boring."

"But you let him know if you need it, alright? Your teacher told you to read it on your trip."

"I know," Christoffer said. He turned off the TV and walked to his room and closed the door.

I went to the minibar and found a light beer. I opened it and drank.

Suddenly, Victor lifted his eyes from the book and looked out the window. It had gotten dark outside.

"She killed herself," he said.

"What was that?" I asked.

"That lady you saved. She killed herself. That's why we're not leaving."

"No. You've got it wrong. Her husband shot her," I said. "I was just out there. The police arrested the husband."

But Victor didn't listen to what I said.

"She was upset because of her son," he said. "She felt guilty. She knew he was dead. She knew that he had died. So she wanted to die too. She couldn't bear to wait for someone to tell her she was right."

"No, Victor. The husband killed her. He tried to make it look like a suicide. You've got it all wrong."

"He didn't like guns. It was her gun," Victor mumbled.

"So what? He could have shot her with her own gun," I said, feeling tired and not wanting to go on with this conversation. I was, quite frankly, a little freaked out.

"No gunshot residue," Victor said, right before his eyes returned to the book.

I didn't take much notice of what he said and turned on the TV. I grabbed another light beer and drank it. A little later, my dad knocked on my door.

"Are you guys ready to get something to eat?" he asked.

We walked downstairs and ate a nice dinner at one of the ship's many restaurants, then returned to our deck where two officers were waiting for me in front of my suite.

"Mrs. Frost?" They said with a heavy Italian accent to their English. "We need to ask you a few questions."

I invited them inside. I put Victor to bed and asked Christoffer to get himself ready, then tucked him in as well before I returned to the living room where they were sitting.

"It won't take long, Mrs. Frost," one of the officers said.

"That's okay. I'm not going anywhere," I said. "I just didn't want the kids to hear anything."

"Of course not. As you probably know, this is regarding the Colombos. We understand you spent some time with them yesterday?"

"Well, I did. Mrs. Colombo was in trouble. She had passed out because she had forgotten to eat. She was diabetic. So I called for a doctor and he took care of it. Really, I didn't do much."

"We’ve already spoken to the doctor. But, as we understand it, Mr. and Mrs. Colombo had a…uhm, a quarrel while you were both present. Is that true?"