Murderous Twins

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

“We made the headlines,” Lloyd said the following morning, tossing the Post down on the table as he joined Blaine for breakfast. “Well, we didn’t, thank God.”

Blaine chuckled as he read the headlines and then the story about Ms. Hawthorne’s mutilated body, which had been found by one of the people who worked at the mall. “A mugging? What mugger does that to his victim?” Blaine said with a shake of his head.

“You know the cops have undoubtedly already figured out it was more than a robbery gone bad,” Lloyd replied as he dug into his omelet. “This is good. Gruyere?”

“Yep. From the specialty shop a couple of blocks from here. I debated between it and the smoked Gouda, but decided this was more versatile.”

“A good choice.”

Lloyd waited until they’d finished eating before saying, “Tell me about last night. I sat at the bar, bored out of my mind, wishing I was with you so I could watch.”

“I know what you mean. I feel the same when it’s your turn.” Blaine went on to describe exactly how he’d killed Ms. Hawthorne—in detail. “It was very satisfying,” he said in conclusion.

“I can imagine,” Lloyd replied—and he had, having pictured every move in his mind’s eye as Blaine talked. “Now, we wait.”

“We do. While I don’t think anyone knows who was with her last night, we don’t ever take chances. Not that I can’t deny it emphatically, if someone did see us and gives the cops my description. The waitress undoubtedly will if she figures out we were at the restaurant. If that happens, I have an ironclad alibi.” Blaine winked at Lloyd. “We’ll follow the case, as we always do, until the furor dies down.”

“I hope I can wait that long,” Lloyd said under his breath.

* * * *

It had been three years since they began their killing spree. Well, not a spree. Not as far apart as we’ve spaced them. I wonder, if we’d never met, if we’d both be killing to sate our…needs. Lloyd thought back to the night he’d first heard of the man who turned out to be his twin brother.

Blaine had graduated from college and was debating whether to remain with the company he was working for in Chicago or take a job offer with a life insurance firm in Denver—or so Lloyd had found out later.

Lloyd had been in the city to visit a friend from the university. They were eating dinner on a Friday evening at a downtown Chicago hotel when a couple had come over to their table.

“Blaine,” the woman had said. “I thought you were working late tonight, and here you are, dining at one of my favorite restaurants.”

Lloyd had looked blankly at her, replying, “I think you’re mistaken. My name is Lloyd. Lloyd Thomas.”

“Come on, quit teasing,” she’d said. “Or…” She’d eyed Lloyd’s friend. “Is there something you haven’t told us about yourself, Blaine? I promise I won’t tell a soul if you want to keep it a secret.”

“Honestly, ma’am, you have me mistaken for someone else. I’m not this Blaine person, I promise.”

“What’s the man’s full name?” Lloyd’s friend had asked, sounding intrigued.

“Blaine Ayers. He and I have worked together for the last six months so I should know what I’m talking about.” She had studied Lloyd, then said, “If you aren’t Blaine, you’re his doppelganger.”

Lloyd had chuckled, promising her he wasn’t her friend—even going so far as to show her his driver’s license to prove it. She and her husband had finally left, although it was obvious she didn’t know whether to believe him or not.

“So, you have a twin?” his friend had asked.

“Not that I know of, but…” Lloyd had wondered if it was possible. He’d been abandoned at a Safe Haven fire department in New York City when he was only days old and had spent the next eighteen years bouncing from foster home to foster home—some good, some not. Always, he’d felt like an outsider. A cash cow for the people who had fostered him.

He’d managed to save enough money working after school so that, with a scholarship, he’d been able to go to the college. He’d graduated with honors in Business Administration with an emphasis on marketing, and then had gotten a job directly out of school with a firm in Cleveland. He had been there for two years. When his friend had suggested he come to Chicago during his vacation to visit, Lloyd had taken him up on it.

His friend had laughed. “You should check the guy out, since you know his name. He probably looks about as much like you as I do, but hell, it could be fun if you find out he is a relative.”

“A long lost one,” Lloyd had muttered.

From there, they had moved onto other topics, but in the back of his mind Lloyd had wondered if it was possible that this Blaine was his brother, if not his twin.

* * * *

It hadn’t been hard for Lloyd to locate Blaine Ayers. His name and number were listed in an online phone directory and he had a LinkedIn profile. One with his picture.

No wonder she thought I was this Blaine guy. He’s the spitting image of me.

Lloyd had written down the address and then, Saturday afternoon, had rented a car and gone to check it out. The address belonged to an apartment building in what appeared to be an upscale part of the city. Lloyd had parked across the street, and then spent fifteen minutes trying to get up the nerve to take the next step.

What have I got to lose? If it is just a coincidence that we look so much alike, we’ll have a good laugh and I’ll leave.

Steeling himself, he’d gotten out of the car, crossed the street, and gone into the building’s entryway. He’d picked up the phone receiver beside the bank of buttons, found the button tagged for B. Ayers, and pushed it.

“Yes?” a voice had said over the phone.

“This is going to sound strange,” Lloyd had replied. “But I think, maybe, you and I are related.”

“Oh, really? How, and why?” There had been a definite tone of disbelief in the man’s voice.

Lloyd had quickly explained about the woman the previous evening who had been certain he was Blaine Ayers.

After a long pause, the man had chortled. “This, I have to see. I’ll be right down.”

Lloyd had watched the lobby, and the elevators at the back of it. A couple of minutes later, one of the doors had opened and a man Lloyd knew had to be Blaine stepped out and came toward him. His lips had pursed in a whistle as he looked at Lloyd. Then, slowly, he’d smiled as he opened the lobby door to let Lloyd in.

“This is unbelievable,” Blaine had said after introducing himself. “What’s your name?”

“Lloyd Thomas.”

“Well, Lloyd Thomas, why don’t you come upstairs and we’ll talk?” Blaine had replied. “I have a feeling we’ve got a lot to discuss.”