After hearing my father's words, I tensed up a little. My first immediate thought was that they had found his parents. He'll be going home, I thought. I was almost certain that's what Dad had meant. But when I thought back to his words, I hesitated. He said he found something out about Jasper.
"What did you find out?" I asked, and he looked at me before gesturing towards the hallway. We left the living room and walked up the stairs, down to his office. He sat down in his desk chair and moved the mouse to wake up his laptop. He opened up a file filled with words and numbers that I could never dream of understanding, and highlighted a small portion of it.
"After sorting through hospital records, it appears that Jasper may or may not have had a twin," Dad spoke, clicking on a few files. I wasn't sure if I had heard him correctly. If Jasper had a twin, did that mean Nora kidnapped him or her as well? Or was that twin with Jasper's parents? I relayed these questions to Dad, who rubbed his hand over his mouth. He looked thoughtful for a moment. "We're not sure. Nora took all of his files with her, including his birth certificate. They have separate files for births such as twins, triplets, and so on and so forth. We looked into it, as much as we could. Again, we have to be wary of confidential rights. From what we could find, it seems that there is a possibility he could have a twin."
"This makes me wonder why Nora only took Jasper," I said. I lifted myself up onto his desk and crossed one leg over the other. We sat in silence for a moment, thinking this over.
"There are many logical reasons behind that. Nora has a lot of problems, as I'm sure you know by now. Given the logical reasons...the other baby simply could have been out of her reach at that time, leaving Jasper under her care."
The wooden desk felt oddly cold beneath my legs, and chills spread throughout my body, causing my toes and fingertips to tingle. Images of my nightmare flashed through my mind. Why had Nora's hands been bloody in the dream? And why had Jasper turned the gun on myself and the other baby? These questions remained unanswered for the time being, but hopefully I would find a way to answer them.
"Do you think the other twin is alive?" I whispered, wondering where in the world he or she could be.
"If there is one, who knows. My guess is yes, considering there were only traces of Jasper in Nora's home. We took the bloodhound in and he found nothing apart from Jasper. Normally this would ease tension, but it only worsens it. Now we just need to figure out why she took Jasper."
"She could have simply taken him because of her mental disabilities," I offered, trying to be helpful. I knew it wouldn't do much, though. I wasn't fit to be a detective or even close to one, I left those things up to my dad.
Dad tilted his head to the side, "If you look at the hints, do you really think she took him just for the hell of it?" I ran through the hints in my head. There were surprisingly quite a few of them. They had all raised many questions, some of which I wasn't able to answer on my own. The fact that she kept Jasper in one room. Not the cellar itself, but one room. The fact that she kept him fit, slightly educated, and isolated from the outside world. She must have had reasons for factors specific as those.
"How will you ever find those answers without questioning Nora herself?" I asked, threading my fingers together. I couldn't imagine stepping foot inside her jail cell, sitting down and questioning her. It would be too much for me. I wouldn't be able to refrain from chucking my chair at her and then smashing her face into the nearest wall. Perhaps after I had finished those actions I could find some rationality, and then ask her some questions.
"Research, if we have to. That is what we've been doing, after all. We're working towards speaking with Nora, though, if that's what it takes."
"Do you really think you could get information out of her?" I asked, curiously. Dad looked at funny and motioned for me to hop down from his desk. I did so and he leaned forward, pressing a few keys on his keyboard.
"It's funny that," he said. He brought up a black and white video clip and pressed the play button. A grainy image of a woman dressed in a striped hospital gown came up. She began pacing back in forth in a rehab center-like room, her hands pushed into her hair. She tugged at her roots and suddenly let out a deranged cry. The audio quality was bad, and it crackled through the speakers but it was still understandable.
"Where is he!" she shrieked. "Where is my baby?" Her voice echoed off the walls and caused the speakers to hiss in response. I jumped back a little at her sudden outburst and clamped my hand over my mouth. She began smashing her fists against the white wall, battering it again and again until splatters of blood appeared. A loud buzzing noise overtook her cries and she quieted. Her door opened and she backed into the corner of her room and huddled down, pushing her hands into her hair again. She crouched into a little ball and rocked back and forth.
A man in blue scrubs lifted a clipboard up and flipped the front cover over. Dad smacked the pause button and zoomed in on the patient's name. I leaned forward and looked at the screen. Of course.
Nora Helson.
"Is that...her?" I whispered, my eyes locked on her face. She looked like a rabid, wild animal. One they had caught and shoved in a little, metal cage to be tested on in a lab. Had she been that way with Jasper? Dad replayed the clip and I listened to her cry out again. She was asking for Jasper, so chances were that she wasn't.
"Yeah, that's her..." Dad said with a sigh. He paused the clip again and minimized it, leaning back in his leather, wingback chair. He steepled his fingers together beneath his chin and looked up at me expectantly. "I'm not sure what we'll be able to get out of her. A few of us have been tossing the idea of taking Jasper along back and forth."
My eyes widened at his words and I immediately shook my head. "No. No, you can't do that to him. Even for questioning...he can't face her again."
"Sweetheart, there's a chance he'll need to face her in court. After all, he's a legal adult now just as you will be in two weeks." I bit my lip and looked away for a moment. He was right. Jasper's birthday was back in June, and mine would be coming up in two week's time.
Even if Jasper had to go to court...would he really have to face Nora? Hadn't he spent enough time with her.
"Would I be able to go with?" I asked, hopefully. It might be a little easier on him if I could go with. Dad looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Possibly. You wouldn't be able to say much, but I'm sure he could use your support." He smiled at me gently and reached up, giving my shoulder a pat. "You've seen enough for one night, yeah? Why don't you go see if your mother needs help in the kitchen?"
I returned his smile half-heartedly and quietly left his office. My footsteps pattered delicately down the hallway as I walked with careful steps. I paused at the top of the steps and looked over my shoulder. Jasper's door was closed, and the light was off. Turning back, I went down the stairs and located my mother in the kitchen. She smiled at me from across the island, and waved me over with her chopping knife.
"So? What did you think?" she asked, meaning the news I was just given. I exhaled loudly and placed my hands on the island, leaning my hips against it. What did I think? I thought it was downright crazy.
I chose my words carefully, "It peaks my interest, to say the least." She stopped cutting for a second to look up at me.
"Oh? And how so?" she wondered curiously, resuming her cooking. She turned her back to me and I nibbled on my lower lip, conjuring up a way to relay my thoughts to her.
"Food for thought," I started, looking down at my hands splayed across the island. "The differences between Jasper and his possible twin. You know, since his twin most likely lived a normal life. The wonders if they're identical or fraternal. If his twin is male or female. If he even has one to begin with. Stuff like that. You could say it's something that will definitely keep me up at night."
She turned back, frowning at me a little. "Well, honey, don't stress about it. He might not even have one, you know. And if so, don't worry about it. Our main concern is Jasper." I nodded slowly, smiling a little. In all seriousness, I didn't want to worry about anyone but Jasper.
Unfortunately, that thought made me think of Mason and his outburst today in the car. I wanted to be a friend to him, but we were like fire and gasoline in one room--no good. I pushed those thoughts out of my mind and looked at the cutting knife in Mom's hand.
"Do you want some help?" I asked her, eyeing the mystery meat sizzling on the stovetop. Upon closer examination, I saw, with relief, that it was just chicken. Mom looked at her food as well before shaking her head.
"No, thanks. This recipe takes too long, and I don't want to tie up your time like that. But, I would like to talk to you." She tossed the towel down in the sink and gestured to the back porch. I grabbed two glasses of tea before following her outback. We took our seats in the wooden chairs and sat back, getting comfortable.
I turned my head, looking at her while taking a sip of the cold, refreshing drink. "So, what's up?"
"It's about Jasper...well, you and Jasper, really," she started, folding her hands together around her glass. I nearly choked on my drink and quickly looked away as my eyes watered slightly. I waited until I had correctly swallowed my drink before looking back at her again.
"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice a little hoarse from my mini choking session. I coughed and plunked my glass down on the pavement next to me. As long as we were talking about me and Jasper in the same sentence, it was best to remain safe than sorry.
"Charlie, did you ever see...the look he gets in his eyes when he looks at you? I mean, it's different. I haven't seen him look at anyone that way," she said, an honest, open look on her face. She shrugged a little and sipped her tea innocently. I ground my teeth together to keep my mouth from flopping open in surprise. Was she serious?
"No, I haven't noticed," I told her, thought it was partly a lie. Jasper did look at me a little differently. But perhaps I looked at him differently, too. Maybe what she saw was trust, and hope. She must have mistaken the trust for something...more. I knew for a fact Jasper trusted me, so it was only natural for him to act differently around me. But now that he was on the road to recovery, did his looks mean something?
More importantly, did his kiss mean something? It seemed I was repeatedly asking myself that very question.
"Oh, come on!" she said, sounding very much like Aunt Sophie. "You had to have noticed, Charlie. I think he likes you." She had a childish, girly look on her face. This time, my mouth fell right open as I stared at her in shock.
"No way!" I hissed, looking over my shoulder. Luck was on my side today. Hopefully, he would stay upstairs. I knew if he came downstairs, he was likely to listen in. He knew wrong from right, but everyone had a curious streak somewhere within the depths of their personalities, though some of us denied and defended that part of us.
"Oh, please." She rolled her eyes and took a defiant sip of her tea. I felt it safe to drink mine again, so I did and washed down a moutful of colorful words. I turned to her, readying myself for a long explanation of why I didn't like Jasper, and why he didn't like me.
But when she looked at me expectantly, and I parted my lips to speak...I found no words. Bugs hummed and buzzed off in the distance, and a bird chirped loudly to her mate. Besides nature's natural songs, the night was silent. Guiltily, I closed my mouth and slumped my shoulders in defeat. So maybe she was right, but she didn't have to act so happy about it. A wave of despair swept over my when another thought crept into my mind.
"What happens when he leaves?" I whispered, afraid to hear her response. She simply ruffled my hair the way she used to when I was a child. I reached up and smoothed my roots down after she pulled her hand away.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much, hon. At this point we're not sure where Jasper will go, and I'm sure if he leaves...you two will keep in touch. Even if the friendship is not something more, you certainly have a special connection." She leaned down and kissed the side of my head lovingly and gave me a small smile before going inside.
I sat there for a moment, dumbstruck. As much as I didn't want to believe it, mother's had a knack for noticing details of their children that someone else might not notice. And whether we wanted to believe it or not, most of the time they were right.
_
I went inside what seemed to be ages later, and followed my nose's orders to the kitchen. Mom looked up at me and snatched the stack of plates away before I could take one.
"Um..." I trailed off, confused. She gave me a hard look.
"You can't eat tonight, go upstairs, young lady." Her cold tone surprised me and I turned on my heel, feeling anger bubble up in my veins. I slammed my door shut and leaned up against it, eyes closed. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. I wasn't sure why she was suddenly mad at me.
I gasped a little at the sight of a lit candle sitting on my nightstand. There was a rose and a piece of paper on my bed. I went over to it and picked it up. A smile spread across my face as I read the neat, careful handwriting.
Go out to dinner with me, Charlie?
- Jasper