Someone Else

Chapter 19 (Jeff)

Jeff pressed the heel of his palm against his chest as he watched Cleo pull away. He needed to find a way to tell her the truth, make her understand. He didn't want to wait until tomorrow.

"So?" The gunman asked.

Jeff put on a false smile. "I know you're wondering what the hell's happening and to be honest, it's a pretty funny story."

"I'm sure it's a riot," the man replied. "You're Ben's twin brother, right?"

"No, I'm just a guy who looks an awful lot like him."

"So why are you going by his name and staying at his house?"

"Like I said, it's a funny story."

"Let's see if I laugh."

"I take it that Ben Flanagan had something to do with your..." Jeff motioned toward the man's bandaged hand.

"If you're asking about my lack of thumb, then, yeah, he had something to do with it." The man vented the anger directly at Ben's face or at least a close approximation.

Jeff took in the dirty bandage wrapped around the nub where the guy's thumb should be, thinking of the stubby appendage stuffed inside the duffle bag. Pinpricks of fear crept across his skin. "So this Ben's a real bad dude?"

The man looked at him like he was an idiot. "Let's just say he's not someone you want to mess with." The grip glanced at his mangled hand. "But it seems you've already crossed that bridge."

The grip directed Jeff back to Ben's house. As the Range Rover crept closer, Jeff was certain that Ben would be waiting for him. He seriously considered flinging open the door and rolling out onto the blacktop Ladybird style.

"So what's really going on?" The grip asked, after they pulled into Ben's driveway.

"Nothing's going on. I found Ben's wallet this morning and saw that we looked so much alike...it was weird, you know?"

"You found his wallet?"

"Yeah, on the side of the road down 224. That's why I went to his house in the first place. I was going to return the wallet," he lied. Partially lied. If Ben had been home, he may have done the honorable thing. "But he wasn't home, so I...well...one thing led to another and...you know." He shrugged his shoulders, as if wearing Ben's clothes and helping himself to his identity was the next logical step.

Jeff knew the story sounded contrived, so he pulled out the wallet and flipped it open to Ben's driver's license. "See, this is Ben." He pulled out his own license. "And this is me."

The grip surveyed the two photos. "You guys do look identical." When he spoke again, his voice had lost some of its edge. "Hey man, this sucks for you—Jeff, right?"

"Yeah, Jeff Rydell." He reached out to shake hands, hoping that putting a name to his face—a name different than "Ben Flanagan" would help somehow.

The grip bumped Jeff's fist with his bandaged hand. "Tommy Gaines. And I'll be honest with you with you, Jeff Rydell. Normally, I think shit like this is hysterical. But right now, I owe Ben a little bit of money—fundage I don't currently have—so, by bringing you to him...well...it might buy me some time. Pretty sure he's not gonna be too happy about you running around impersonating him."

"It was stupid. I know that." Jeff started to imagine what Ben might do to him. "But, like, Cleo's the only one who thinks I'm Ben. It's not like I went around all over town pretending to be him." His eyes darted to the door handle.

"Doesn't matter," Tommy said, sounding resigned. "If I didn't owe Ben that money, I'd probably let it slide."

Jeff realized Tommy was only scrambling to save his own skin. The grip had no idea that along with the wallet, Jeff had found the bag of money. "How much do you need?"