Raymond fell forward.
Patti ran past Carter and grabbed Layla as he turned to fight off the dog.
Raymond shot at the dog. The dog yelped and let go. Blood poured from its shoulder as it dropped to the ground, whining.
Raymond turned back, enraged, and rushed towards Patti and Layla with gun drawn.
She heard the cock of the hammer, and then the shot. A surprised look crossed Raymond’s face, and then he crumpled to the ground.
Patti fell to her knees to shield Layla.
Carter raced towards her and then his arms were around her and Layla, holding them, caressing their faces, as if he needed to touch them to make sure they were alive.
“Thank you, God. Thank you, God.” He looked at Patti.
Layla sobbed.
“You’re OK, sweetheart. You’re OK.”
Patti closed her eyes and savored the feeling of safety.
He whispered in her ear. “He’s dead. He can’t hurt anybody anymore.”
Sirens squealed and a moment later the yard filled with men and women wearing FBI jackets.
Marcus yelled orders and took control of the situation.
Two officers were tending the dog, who was now wrapped in some kind of bandage. A patch on their arms said K-9.
A woman agent lifted the sobbing Layla, cuddling her. The little girl reached out for her babysitter, who was still holding her own daughter close. Both women came together, hugging the crying children between them, until their sobs subsided.
Patti sank into Carter’s waiting arms once more.
She shifted just enough so that she could see Raymond on the ground, dead.
Patti looked back at Carter. “Jamie’s dead. He told me he killed her. He told me.” As she said the last words, the tears she had been holding back gave way.
Carter held her tight.
“He kil…killed Jamie. He admitted it.” Patti sobbed. She’d never see her sister, her twin, again. Never be able to ask for forgiveness.
“I know.” Carter kept his arms around Patti as she sobbed.
When the storm subsided, she looked up at Carter. “You know?”
Carter’s gaze met hers. “They found Jamie.”
“Where? What happened? I need to see her.”
“Some tourists found her...her body in the Everglades.”
She gasped, then closed her eyes.
Give me strength, God. I trust you. I know you are here with me now.
“They know it is Jamie for sure?”
He shook his head.
“Maybe, it’s not her? They could be wrong.”
“The general description matches Jamie.” Carter grimaced and shook his head. “Patti, you don’t need the details. Just remember—”
“I do. I do need the details. Now tell me.”
His hand brushed her hair out of her eyes and he moved closer. “They don’t have a positive ID yet, they need your DNA to be sure.”
She swallowed hard. The Everglades. General description fit, but couldn’t make a positive ID.
Her stomach heaved as she understood the implications of his words.
Carter’s hand was on her back, comforting and safe.
She looked up at him. “Take me to my sister.”
36
Exhausted, Patti laid her head on Carter’s shoulder as the limo moved away from Miami International.
Alligators crawled under her eyelids. She jerked to a sitting position.
“Are you OK?” Carter tightened his hold on her.
He hadn’t left her side since the yacht.
The FBI had provided a plane for them.
“I’m a mess right now, but I’ll survive this. God is with me—with us. Sabrina needs me.”
“Yes, she does.”
“Where did you say we were going again?”
“Homestead, Florida. It has one of the nearest hospitals to the Everglades. It won’t take us long to get there. Just a few minutes. They’ll do a cheek swab and then we can go back to the safe house. To Sabrina and Anna. They’re waiting for you.”
“I want to see Jamie.”
He shook his head, his voice gentle. “You don’t want to do that, Patti. That’s not the way Jamie would want you to remember her.”
“Do you think it matters? I see her that way every time I close my eyes.”
“But it will get better. Now, it’s just your imagination. If you see the real thing, it may never go away.”
She had no energy to argue so she nodded. But she knew she wasn’t leaving that hospital without seeing Jamie. What a stupid waste of her time being angry and bitter.
God, I am so sorry. I will never let unforgiveness keep me from a loved one again. I promise.
“There it is.”
She looked up to see an ultramodern facility. For some reason, she’d just assumed it would be a quaint old-fashioned hospital.
They would have the proper equipment to make the...she closed her eyes for a moment, not wanting to think about what she was about to do and why.
The limo pulled up under the portico and stopped.
Patti reached over and opened her own door.
I can do this. I can do this with God’s help. And Carter’s.
Carter walked up to the information booth.
After a moment, the woman pointed to an elevator.
Not waiting for Carter, she headed towards it.
He caught up with her and grabbed her hand.
They rode down the elevator in silence.
A woman stood waiting for them as the doors slid open. She gave them a nervous smile. “I’m Cynthia. I’ll take you to the lab.”
“I want to see my sister.”
“Uh...I...was...uh…told that you were here for a DNA swab, not a visual identification.” Her face turned splotchy. She pushed her blonde hair behind her ear and glanced at Carter. She bit her lip for a moment and wouldn’t look at Patti. “I really wouldn’t recommend it.”
“It’s her sister. It’s up to her.”
Patti let out a relieved breath.
He trusted her enough to let her make her own decisions.
“Well, I need to get the DNA swab first and then...” Cynthia took a deep breath. “And then I’ll take you to the...to her. Is that OK?”
Patti nodded.
Cynthia held open a door and they walked into a small office. “Go ahead and sit down.”
Carter grasped her hand and they both sat down, their knees touching.
The woman grabbed a package off the desk and ripped it open. She held up what looked like a giant Q-tip. “I’m going to rub this on the inside of your cheek.”
Patti opened her mouth and waited as Cynthia swabbed her cheek. It was over in less than a minute.
The technician put the swab in a glass tube and screwed the lid on it. “Let me just take this to the lab and then...are you sure you want to do this?”
Patti bit her lip. No, she wasn’t sure at all. “I am.”
“I’ll take you as soon as I come back from the lab.” She walked out the door.
Patti waited for Carter to tell her not to do it.
Instead, he just squeezed her hand.
The door opened. A nurse stepped in holding a clipboard. “I was looking for Cynthia.”
Patti looked up. “She’ll be right back.”
The nurse threw a glance her way, but then the clipboard clattered to the floor.
Carter dropped her hand and knelt down to get it. “Here let me help you.”
He tried to hand it to her, but the woman stared at Patti, not noticing Carter.
“Why are you down here?”
Patti licked her lips and forced herself to say the words. “I’m here to identify my sister.”
“Well, you’re in the wrong place. This is the morgue.”
“I know that.”
“You think your sister’s in the morgue?”
“We were told to come down here.” Carter told her. “They took a DNA swab and—”
“You’re in the wrong place.” The nurse ignored Carter and smiled at Patti. “Follow me, please.”
They didn’t want her to see Jamie, but it was none of their business. Jamie was her sister. “But—”
She crooked her finger at Patti. “No buts. Come with me.” Her tone was firm, but she smiled as she said the words.
Carter held out a hand and she reached for him. Their fingers interlocked and they followed the nurse to the elevator, which was open and waiting for them.
“I don’t understand. The nurse already took the swab. I want to see my sister. I’m not leaving without seeing her. I have a right to see her. I don’t care what anybody says.”
“I’m not trying to keep you from seeing your sister.” The nurse kept walking. “I’m taking you to her.”
The elevator doors slid open. The nurse turned to Patti. “Come on. Let’s go.” She glanced at Carter, her voice all business. “You can come, too.”
Carter squeezed Patti’s hand as the nurse hit a button on the wall. The automatic door opened.
Patti took a deep breath, the smell of antiseptic emphasized where she was. Her stomach grew queasy and her knees shook. Maybe, Carter was right. She didn’t want to see her sister this way. She didn’t want this to be the last memory of her twin. Her hand clenched Carter’s. “I can’t. Not a good idea.”
The nurse turned back and grabbed her hand. “It’s a great idea.”
“Look, if she doesn’t want to see her sister, then...”
Ignoring Carter, the nurse pulled Patti down the corridor. At the nurse’s station, she dropped Patti’s hand and walked over to a man in a lab coat, probably another doctor. The nurse whispered to him.
He nodded and looked over at Patti and Carter.
Whatever their conference was about, it gave Patti time to breathe. She looked over at Carter. “I don’t know what to do.”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, Patti. And you already know what I think, but I’ll support you, either way.”
Another nurse joined the conference. They were all staring at her as they whispered to each other, nodding and throwing nervous smiles in their direction.
What was wrong with these people? Didn’t they know how to deal with grief-stricken family members?
The man said something and then walked over.
The nurses followed behind him with silly grins.
Patti chose to forgive them and not take offense.
They were just nervous. Obviously, they expected her to fall apart when she saw Jamie’s...Jamie. And they were probably right.
“I’m Doctor Terry. I’ll take you to your sister.”
This was her last chance to turn back. Could she live with what she was about to see?
Give me wisdom.
Her mind calmed. She couldn’t live without seeing Jamie again, no matter what. Feeling like a zombie, she followed the doctor, Carter close by her side.
The doctor stopped at a cubicle. Monitors beeped.
A patient lay in the bed.
“Is that your sister?”
Patti’s gaze followed his finger to the patient in the bed. Her knees buckled, but Carter was there holding her up and guiding her towards the bed—to her twin. She was bruised and battered, but it was Jamie.
“Jamie.’ Patti’s body shook with sobs.
Dr. Terry stepped forward. “We weren’t able to get an ID on her. She’s been in a medically-induced coma but we’re in the process of bringing her back. In fact, I was here waiting for her to regain consciousness.”
“I was told to come here for a DNA swab, that my sister was dead.”
“Obviously a mixup in communications. The police also pulled an unfortunate young woman out of the swamp, who later died.” The doctor’s face showed compassion. “But as you can see, your sister is quite alive. Thank God the nurse went down to speak with Cynthia about a report—she thought at first you were your sister, and had somehow miraculously recovered. You two bear a striking resemblance to each other.”
“We…we’re identical twins.” She looked at Jamie again. “Is...is...she going to be OK?”
The doctor nodded. “Should be, barring any unforeseen complications. I’m cautiously optimistic.”
She squeezed Carter’s hand. “It’s a miracle.”
He smiled back. “It certainly is.”
Patti looked up at the doctor. “Can I hold her hand?”
“Sounds like a great idea to me.”
Patti gently picked up her twin’s hand and leaned close. “Jamie, I’m here. Hurry and wake up. I have so much to tell you.”
Someone brought her a chair and she sat down. She held Jamie’s hand and prayed.
Finally, Jamie’s eyelids fluttered and she squeezed Patti’s hand.
Patti said the words she’d thought she’d never be able to say again. “I love you, sis.”
EPILOGUE
Palm Beach, Florida
July 4th
“We need more hamburgers.” A voice called.
Carter laughed as he flipped another burger onto a bun. “Are you kidding me? How many burgers can one man eat, Marcus?”
“Don’t worry about it, Caldwell. Just keep cooking.”
Patti smiled as she wheeled Jamie out on the patio.
Sabrina squealed in the pool.
What a difference a few weeks could make.
Her sister had been home for a few days and insisted on having a barbeque at her house.
The doctor assured them there would be no permanent damage from the beating, but her broken leg kept her in a chair.
Marcus sat at a table with his beautiful wife, Olivia.
Their two boys were in the pool with Sabrina.
“Anna has made a mountain of food. So everyone better eat up.”
Jamie turned and grabbed Patti’s hand. “Isn’t this wonderful, sis?”
Tears threatened, but she managed to choke out her agreement.
****
The sun dipped below the horizon as Patti sat on Jamie’s patio alone.
The others had left for the beach already, but she’d helped Anna with the cleanup detail.
She let out a contented sigh.
God had been merciful and spared her sister.
Across America, her fellow countrymen celebrated their nation’s birthday and their freedom, once again.
Patti had learned the cost of that freedom. And she would never again take it for granted.
When the story of the foiled terrorist plot hit the news amidst the benefit shooting, it had been a media circus, but thanks to Marcus, Jamie and Patti’s names were never part of the story.
More than one hundred people had been arrested in conjunction with the ongoing investigation.