Chapter 9

Looking back in retrospect, I guess that I had become somewhat dependent on Mister Jolly because he seemed to be around when I needed some support. The fact that he was almost old enough to be my father wasn't important any longer because he had proven he could deliver the goods of a much younger man and with a great degree of experienced skill. It was something that was important to me in a way that the excitement of some younger lad simply could not fill.

I was sorely tempted to share with him my duplicitous undertaking but I feared it would cause my sister more harm than good so I kept my mouth shut. That was probably a mistake but it was one I would have to live with and I hoped that things would turn out for the better in the end.

The telephone call came from someone in the foreign office who identified himself as "Mister Wimple" with a nasal sounding voice that sounded more like a female than a male.

"Is this the residence of Miss Claudia Applegate?"

I perked up right away.

"This is Claudia Applegate speaking. What did you want with me?"

Of course, I was Claire and my sister Claudia was still run to ground over on some silly Swiss mountain probably bedded down with assorted dodgy friends from her jet-set pack.

"I am sorry to inform you that your sister Claire has been killed in an accident on the Swiss border. She had your name and number in her purse notating you as her "Next of kin". The embassy with take care of the details and we will ship the remains to a facility of your choosing when you have time to inform us of your arrangements."

Needless to say, I was stunned to receive word of my own demise but, of course, I knew it was Claudia and not I whose remains would be shipped. I put the receiver down with a shocked reaction not quite certain what my next move should be. The subterfuge of taking Claudia's place had suddenly turned sour and I felt sort of rudderless without my own identity any longer.

When Jolly showed up to see if I needed anything for the day's agenda, I was sorely tempted to divulge the entire sordid affair but a little bird told me it might be better just to play along with the flow of the situation a while longer just in case there was something I was not yet aware of. It was that sense of caution that probably saved my life yet again without my even knowing the true circumstances.

I put two and two together and made the false assumption that the incident on the fox hunt and now the "accident" in Switzerland were attacks on my sister Claudia from her dodgy associates in the entertainment industry and that they might be after me again because they were not sure which twin I really happened to be. It never occurred to me that the assassination attempts were really directed at me and not Claudia because I had put all the ugly business about the research lab out of my mind.

Jolly and I left the town house and went on a tour cruise on the river with all of the other tourists bundled up against the elements. I explained it all to Jolly and he was a bit mystified about the entire "twin sister" thing looking at me with a different expression on his face. I knew that his immediate suspicion was that I was not really Claudia but Claire and he was absolutely correct in his suspicion. I was still reluctant to come clean with him but after some hesitation, I admitted the true facts to him and he seemed mollified to have his suspicions confirmed.

"I thought you were not quite right to be Claudia because you were a bit too inexperienced in certain areas."

I knew what he was talking about and felt a bit mortified because my sister's anal proclivities were quite beyond my fumbling efforts to be accommodating at the very start.

Jolly seemed quite concerned for my safety and told me,

"It might be advisable for us to head out of the city and find a better place blend in with the crowd. Your sister was always one to look for the edgy people and the entire fashion world is filled with odd-balls of all categories. We need to find a place where strangers stick out like a sore thumb."

I agreed with him and we hit the motorway within the hour. I called the foreign office back and told them the name of the funeral parlor just down the street from the town house but we both decided it would be best to stay away from the funeral because I would be too easy of a target.

My contacts back in New York told me that the Justice Department was looking for me and had already searched my apartment and confiscated my computer. I had hoped it would have died down by now but it looked like the trial of the former Vice Presidents of the research lab was heading to a conclusion and they needed my testimony to insure they got what they deserved. I was glad the deal merely stipulated my affidavit was all I was required to give and I had no intention of serving up my carcass for possible liquidation. That thought made me suddenly realize that the recent events in Switzerland and even the incident up in Sir William's estate might be directed at me and not at my sister Claudia. I didn't say anything to Mister Jolly because we were busy enough just tending to Claudia's problems, there was no need to confuse the issue with my legal problems as well.

The village that we went to was apparently one that his ex-wife's family lived in and had lived in for a very long time. He was known there and was accepted as an "insider" and not some strange person from out there in uncharted territory. Since I was hanging on his arm, I was accepted as well and nobody asked me any personal questions that that was considered "bad form" in those parts. I really liked his ex-sister-in-law with her red hair and her way of looking at you like she knew what you were thinking but wasn't about to spill the beans.