Doppelganger The Rewrite-The Novelization

by Turquoiseandpurple

A novelization of my rewrite of the 1993 Drew Barrymore. A writer discovers that his new roommate and lover is on the run from her evil ghostly double.

"DOPPELGANGER THE REWRITE"

THE NOVELIZATION

BY

GINGER D. ROBERTS

CHAPTER ONE:

"THE DEATH OF MRS.

GOODING"

Seventeen year old Holly Gooding was walking down the streets of Manhattan, New York. She wore a long silky black scarf around her head, thick black sunglasses, and a long black trench coat. As she was walking down the street she kept looking both ways as if she had the feeling someone was stalking her. That and she was watching for traffic. As she walked she passed by a woman walking her dog, a street mime, and three men playing their drums in the street.

Then…she froze in her tracks when she saw a woman dressed similarly like her coming towards her. "Oh no. It's her" Holly thought biting her lip nervously. She didn't move a muscle as the woman approached her. When the woman was close enough Holly was able to get a good look at her face, and was relieved that it wasn't who she had thought it had been. The woman walked by Holly and she continued walking. Behind her a lobster truck pulled up. She looked behind her and saw the woman was gone. She continued walking the streets on Manhattan.

That evening Holly took a cab home. It pulled up in front of the apartment complex she and her mother Mrs. Gooding lived in. Standing outside at the doorway was the doorman. He opened the back seat door for her. "Evening Miss Gooding" he said. "Good evening" Holly replied. "Watch your step" he told her as she stepped out of the cab. The cab drove off as Holly walked inside the complex. She got on the elevator and took it up to the thirteenth floor she lived on.

On the thirteenth floor in Apartment 214 Mrs. Gooding was in the kitchen about to prepare dinner for when Holly got home. Just then Holly got off the elevator, and walked up to the apartment door; her black high heels clanking loudly against the hard floor. She knocked on the door three times. Inside the apartment Mrs. Gooding walked out of the kitchen and over to the front door, where she answered it for Holly. "Hey honey. C'mon in. I'm about to start dinner" Mrs. Gooding said.

Holly walked inside and Mrs. Gooding closed the door. Holly followed Mrs. Gooding into the kitchen. When Mrs. Gooding's back was turned Holly quickly opened the silverware drawer, took out a large knife, and hid it behind her back. When Mrs. Gooding turned back around Holly removed the knife from behind her back. "Holly? Holly what are you doing?! Holly?!" Mrs. Gooding cried. Holly raised the knife in the air ready to strike. "NO!" Mrs. Gooding cried. Mrs. Gooding screamed in horror as Holly stabbed her right in the chest

Blood poured out of Mrs. Gooding's stab wound, and began to soak her white dress. Holly pulled the knife out of her chest and yelled in rage. Holly chased Mrs. Gooding around the apartment screaming like a madwoman. She stabbed Mrs. Gooding a second time which caused her to trip over a lamp cord. Both Mrs. Gooding and the lamp fell to the floor, and the lamp shattered; the light bulb in it flickering on and off madly.

Mrs. Gooding was on her hands and knees trying to crawl away from her homicidal daughter; her stab wounds bleeding onto the carpet. She slowly stood up off the floor, only to have Holly stab her a third time, causing her to fall right through the coffee table; shattering the glass to pieces. Holly stabbed her one last time to finish her off!

After the death of Mrs. Gooding Holly went to go live with her psychiatrist Dr. Heller. Then six months later Holly found an ad in the newspaper for a roommate in Los Angeles by a Mr. Patrick Highsmith. She hadn't been to Los Angeles in four years. She would get to see her brother Fred again after so long.

CHAPTER TWO:

"LOS ANGELES"

Dr. Heller wasn't too fond of Holly going to Los Angeles to stay with a strange man she didn't know. But Holly assured him that she would be fine, and if anything did happen she would call him right away. Trusting Holly Dr. Heller decided to let her go to Los Angeles. He even helped her pack and gave her a ride to the airport. Holly hugged Dr. Heller goodbye, and he left her at the airport. She waited patiently in one of the airport's seats until her flight was called. She grabbed her suitcases and boarded her plane. After a stewardess took her suitcases and stored them away she sat in an empty seat next to a window. Then the pilot announced that all the passengers on the plane buckle their seat belts. Everyone on the plane including Holly buckled their seat belts as the plane prepared for take off. The plane rode away from the airport, rose up its wheels, and soared off into the sky. It would take two days for the plane to travel from Manhattan to Los Angeles.

Holly looked out her seat window and saw how small the tree tops looked. It was a great view. The pilot played a movie for the passengers to watch so they wouldn't get bored during their flight. Many times during the movie Holly would look away from the movie and at the newspaper in her hands—at the ad she had circled with a red ink pen. She couldn't wait to arrive in Los Angeles, and meet this Patrick Highsmith. During the flight people pushing rolling carts down the rows of passengers came upon her seat and asked her if she wanted anything to eat. She settled for a turkey sandwich and a soda. The person told her they would be right back, and rolled their cart away from her seat. Five minutes later they returned with Holly's sandwich and soda on a food tray. Holly happily ate her sandwich and drank her soda. She hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast.

At dinnertime Holly had a chicken dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy. After dinner the pilot played another movie for the passengers. Holly watched the first half of the movie before going to sleep for the night. The next morning she had pancakes and sausage for breakfast. The pilot played a morning movie which she watched. Then at lunchtime she had a roast beef sandwich and soda. At dinnertime she had a steak and baked potato dinner, and watched the evening movie the pilot was showing. Then went to sleep for the night.

Then next morning the pilot announced to the passengers that they had arrived in California, and would be in Los Angeles by noon. Holly was so excited! After four years she would be going home to her birthplace where she grew up, and would see her brother Fred. She was so excited she could barely eat her breakfast, which was bacon and eggs. But managed to anyway. Then at noon when the plane finally arrived in Los Angeles. After two whole days the pilot announced they were docking at The Los Angeles Airport. The plane's wheels stuck out as it lowered itself to the ground, and rode until it arrived at the airport. Then the plane stopped moving and a stewardess told them it was okay to get out of their seats. As the passengers got up stewardesses handed them their luggage, and they stepped off the plane. A stewardess handed Holly her suitcases, and she also got off the plane.

She went inside The Los Angeles Airport and stepped into a phone booth with a phone book. She flipped through the pages of the phone book until she found a list of Los Angeles cab companies. Putting change into the payphone she dialed the number of one of the cab companies, asking her to come pick her up at The Los Angeles Airport. Then hung up the payphone. She stepped out of the phone booth, grabbed her suitcases, and sat down in one of the airport's seats to wait.

Ten minutes later she saw a taxi cab pull up at the entrance of the airport, through the glass doors. She stood up out of her seat, grabbed her suitcases, and made her way to the entrance. Setting down a suitcase she used her free hand to open one of the doors. Then picked the suitcase back up, and exited the airport. She walked to the back seat of the cab and got in; laying her suitcases in the seat beside her and on the floor board. Then closed the back seat door, and buckled her seat belt. "Where to miss?" the driver asked her. "To Angel's Court please" Holly replied. The cab drove away from the airport and down the street, heading for Angel's Court.

As Holly rode in the back seat of the cab she looked at the ad in the newspaper that was circled in red. Soon the cab pulled up in front of the apartment complex Patrick Highsmith lived in. Unlike the apartment complex she had lived in when she lived in Manhattan, Angel's Court was on the ground instead of in some tall skyscraper building. She stepped out of the cab for a view. She smiled at seeing the name Angel's Court, on account she loved angels.

Then walked back over to the cab and to the driver's seat. "Um excuse me? I know it's an inconvenience but could you wait here please?" she asked the driver. "No problem" the driver replied. "Thanks" Holly said with appreciation and began walking through Angel's Court. She walked up to an elderly lady who was feeding her pet pigeons that were in a cage bird seed. "Um excuse me? Do you know where Patrick lives?" Holly asked. "Right through there" the elderly lady replied pointing to the apartment on the right. "Thanks" Holly said and walked towards the apartment.

Inside the apartment Patrick Highsmith was on the phone with his landlord Mr. Gelly. He was a handsome young man in his early 20s with blue eyes, light fluffy brown hair, and was wearing reading glasses, and a dark blue baseball cap backwards that said TWINS on the back. "Mr. Gelly I have a check coming in two days. You'll get your money then" Patrick told his landlord. Just then his doorbell buzzed. "I want cash this time!" Mr. Gelly yelled from the other end of the line. "Alright. Just take everything I own. Bye" Patrick replied and hung up. "Butthead!" he yelled angrily at the phone. He scooted his rolling chair to the front door, got out of it, and answered the door. At the door stood a beautiful seventeen year old girl with green eyes, long dark brown hair, and burgundy lips.

"Hi" Holly said politely. "Hi" Patrick replied as he kicked his rolling chair away from the door. "You're Patrick right?" Holly asked. "Um…yeah. And you are?" Patrick replied. "Holly Gooding. I saw your ad in the paper. I'm sorry I didn't call first. I thought you wouldn't mind if I looked around" Holly said. "Mind? No please come in" Patrick said inviting Holly inside. "Sorry it's a little messy. I'm a writer" Patrick said as Holly walked inside the apartment, and Patrick closed the door.

The apartment was indeed messy. There were clothes, pieces of paper, and newspapers all over the living room. It looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a month. "My bathroom and bedroom is right in here" Patrick said standing at the doorway of his bathroom. Holly went into the bedroom to check it out along with the bathroom. Then walked back into the living room disappointed. "Your ad says two bedrooms. I only see one" she told him. "About that. I have a very busy schedule, so I haven't had time to buy a second bed for roommates to sleep in" Patrick replied. "And there's only one bathroom" Holly added. "About that. I only need the sink and my toothbrush to brush my teeth. But you have all that space in there. "Do you spend much time at home?" Holly asked. "Yes and no. I get ideas during the day. I write at night so…" Patrick began before Holly cut him off. "No it's good that you spend a lot of time at home" Holly interrupted.

Just then she heard a meow. She looked down on the floor and saw a tiger-striped gray tabby cat playing with a dead mouse it had killed. "Is that your cat?" she asked. "Cat?! That's Nathan! Nathan is great!" Patrick exclaimed. He walked over to Nathan and picked him up. "He's really talented. He makes his own clothes" Patrick said smiling. When he saw Holly wasn't impressed he said "If you got a problem he's mostly an outside cat" and set Nathan down on the floor. Just then the apartment began to shake. "Is it an earthquake?" Holly asked. "No. Some constructive workers have been doing work around the complex" Patrick replied. Just then the apartment stopped shaking. "Well I grew up in L.A. and I used to have nightmares where the town would just fall into the ocean. How much did you say it was a month?" Holly asked. "$20.50 But if that's too much for you I can…" Patrick began. "No that's fine. Unless you mind rooming with a woman" Holly replied. "Mind? Why would I mind? I mean it's the 90s and everything's cool. So when can you move in?" Patrick asked. "Well my suitcases are in the cab" Holly replied.

"Do you need me to help you bring them in?" asked Patrick. "Sure" Holly replied with appreciation. As Patrick and Holly exited the apartment Holly saw that the woman with the pigeons was no longer outside. The pigeons were outside alone in their cage. Patrick and Holly walked through Angel's Court until they approached the cab, where the driver had been waiting patiently for Holly to come back. Holly walked over to the driver in the driver's seat. "Sorry for the wait" Holly apologized. "It's quite alright Miss" the driver replied. She and Patrick walked to both sides of the cab's back seat. They opened the back seat doors and took out a suitcase. Then Holly walked back to the driver and paid him cab fare. "Thank you Miss. Have a nice day" the driver said and drove off down the street.

Patrick and Holly carried the suitcases through the apartment complex until they reached Patrick's apartment. Patrick set down the suitcase he was carrying to open the door. Then picked it up as he and Holly entered the apartment, where he closed the door with his foot. They carried the suitcases into his room and set them down on the floor beside the bed. "Thanks for helping me bring my suitcases in" Holly said. "No problem. Would you like something to eat?" Patrick asked. "Sure. I haven't had lunch" Holly replied. "I could make you a sandwich if you like" Patrick said. "That'll be fine" Holly replied. She followed him into the kitchen where she sat down at the table while Patrick prepared lunch. He fixed the both of them ham and cheese sandwiches with Coca Cola. As they ate lunch Holly ate like a horse. She hadn't eaten anything since that morning on the plane.

After lunch Holly told Patrick that she would unpack her suitcases later. She went to the bedroom to take a nap. Her arrival at The Los Angeles Airport and taxi ride to Patrick's apartment had worn her out. She walked over to the bed, pulled back the blanket, got into bed, and went to sleep. That evening when Holly woke up from her nap she began unpacking her suitcases. She unpacked her clothes, her socks and underwear, and her hairbrush and toothbrush. The last thing she unpacked was her black music box given to her by her father on her fifth birthday. She took it out of a Ziploc bag it was in and opened it. A tiny angel playing the trumpet began spinning around inside the tiny box as soft sweet music filled the room. She set it down on Patrick's dresser. Then hammered a nail into the wall above the bed, and hung a long thick wooden cross on it.

In the kitchen Patrick was chopping lettuce on a chopping board. Nathan was lying on the snack bar as a chicken and rice dinner was cooking in the skillet on the stove. "Nathan. Don't just sit there. Set the table" Patrick said sarcastically. Just then Holly walked into the kitchen. "Hey. I hope you like Chicken Highsmith. It's a family recipe. Are you okay? Do you feel jet light at all?" Patrick asked. "No I'm fine. Can I help?" Holly replied. "I'm almost done" said Patrick. "Well I can make the salad. I can't cook but I can cut" said Holly. Patrick grabbed a butcher knife hanging above the stove and handed it to Holly. "Have at it" he said. Holly took the knife and chopped up the rest of the lettuce. Patrick seasoned and tasted the dinner he was cooking. "Mmm. This is perfect" he said.

As Patrick prepared two plates Holly fixed two bowls of salad. During dinner as they ate Patrick asked "Did you get everything unpacked". "Um hm" Holly replied as she took a bite of her chicken and rice. "Since you're my room mate and I haven't had time to go out and buy a second bed; as long as you can stay here you can sleep in my bed and I'll sleep on the couch" Patrick offered. "Thank you Patrick" Holly replied with appreciation at Patrick's kindness. After dinner Patrick placed their bowls, plates, and silverware into the kitchen as Holly went into the bedroom to get ready for bed. She took a quick bath, put on her nightgown, washed her face, and brushed her teeth. When Patrick was done washing the dishes he changed into his nightwear and went into his bathroom to brush his teeth. Then he and Holly told each other goodnight, and he went into the living room to sleep on the couch.

Later that night Patrick was lying on the couch in the living room trying to sleep. But Holly who was talking in her sleep from within the bedroom was keeping him awake. In the bedroom Holly was tossing and turning in bed having a nightmare. In her nightmare she saw her dead father choking her with his belt, herself retrieving a knife from a silverware drawer, and herself wearing her sunglasses and headscarf smiling an evil blood-curling smile. Back in the living room Patrick lied awake concerned for Holly before he eventually fell asleep.

CHAPTER THREE:

"THE DOPPELGANGER APPEARS"

The next morning Patrick left Holly a note telling her where he was going. At Café Victor's on Santa Monica Blvd. at a table sat Patrick's bitchy writing partner and ex-girlfriend Elizabeth. She was in her late 20s, had blue eyes, and short curly brown hair. Six months ago she and Patrick had broken up and were now just friends and writing partners, much to her dismay. Patrick walked up to the window and gently knocked. Elizabeth showed him her wrist watch indicating he was late. He walked inside the café and sat down at the table across from her. "Check it out! I couldn't write this dialogue if I tried! I think we should change these two vampire lovers into real estate psycho sluts. What do you think?" she asked. "That's great" Patrick replied groggily. She noticed there were dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep.

"Patrick what's the matter with you?! You look like shit! What's up?!" she cried. "I didn't get much sleep last night. I got a new roommate" Patrick replied. "So what? The guy snores louder than you do?" Elizabeth asked. "No it's a girl. A woman" said Patrick. "A woman?! Well what is she like?! What does she do?!" asked Elizabeth. "I don't know! I didn't ask her!" Patrick replied annoyed. "Patrick, you take this woman in and you don't even know what she does?! What is the matter with you?! I mean I know you only think with your dick, but this is ridiculous! Now you're too tired to write!" Elizabeth ranted. A waitress brought them cups of coffee and plates of French toast Elizabeth had ordered for them.

Just then Patrick looked out the window and saw Holly standing across the street. She was wearing her black scarf around her head, her sunglasses, her white pearl necklace, and a red polka dot dress with a red sweater. "Patrick I want you. I've always wanted you. Take me right now here on the table baby" Elizabeth said flirting. She noticed Patrick wasn't listening to her, and was staring out the window instead.

"What are you looking at?!" she yelled annoyed. "Her. It's her" Patrick replied. Elizabeth looked out the window and she saw Holly as well. "How old is she? Fourteen?" Elizabeth asked. "No seventeen. This is really weird. How'd she get here so fast? She was asleep when I left" Patrick said.

"Well maybe you woke her up when you slammed the door!" Elizabeth retorted. "I did not slam the door" Patrick replied. "You always slam the door! It's all that repressed anger you have inside of you. I'm concerned about you Patrick. You're a grown man in need of anger management!" Elizabeth explained. "I did not slam the door! And I have no idea why she followed me here! But you know what?! I think I'll ask her to come join us before you and I get into anymore of our daily arguments!" Patrick replied angrily and stood up from the table. He headed out the door. "Jerk" Elizabeth mumbled to herself.

Patrick stood outside Café Victor's looking at Holly standing across the street. "Holly! Come on over and have breakfast! I'm sorry I didn't think of it before! I didn't want to wake you up!" he called out to Holly. Just then a truck drove by, and in the blink of an eye Holly was gone! "Holly!" Patrick called out. No answer. He shrugged and went back inside the café.

Elizabeth was surprised when Patrick returned alone to their table. "Well?! Where is she?!" Elizabeth asked. "She's gone" Patrick replied sitting back down. "What do you mean gone?!" Elizabeth asked. "I asked her to come join us. Then just like that she was gone. I guess she didn't hear me. She must have gone back to the apartment" Patrick replied. He ate his toast and drank his coffee.

After breakfast Patrick drove back to his apartment. As he got out of his car—across the street from Angel's Court behind a tree "Holly" was watching him. Inside the apartment Holly was wearing a white bathrobe with her hair pulled back in a purple clippie. She was on the phone with the mental institution her brother Fred had been staying at for the past four years. She was making arrangement to go visit him. The living room was clean unlike the previous day. She had spent the whole morning cleaning and tidying it up. She thanked the person on the other end of the phone and hung up.

Just then Patrick walked in the door. "Hi! How are you?!" she asked smiling. "Wow! I've never seen this place so spotless!" Patrick cried impressed. "Don't worry. I sort of like doing housework anyway. And you're out of detergent" Holly replied. "I'll be sure to pick some up" said Patrick. He paused for a second then said "You probably didn't hear me calling you." "Called me when?" Holly asked wiping the table off. "About an hour ago on Santa Monica. I asked you to come having breakfast with me and a friend" Patrick replied. "I wasn't on Santa Monica Blvd! I haven't left the apartment all morning!" Holly cried. "Sorry, my mistake. I saw a girl who looked just like you. Same clothes too" Patrick replied.

Holly suddenly became nervous and as a result began wiping the table harder. "No. It-It can't be" she said nervously. "Sorry. I have really lousy eye sight. It's Writer's Affliction. I'm bad with people's names too. Hey, are you okay?" Patrick asked putting a hand on Holly's shoulder. "Look just don't touch me!" Holly cried. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you" Patrick apologized. "Look it's not your fault! I have to call New York, and I'll pay for it okay?" Holly cried.

"Okay I'll just give you some privacy and go pick up some laundry detergent" Patrick replied, and walked out the door to go to the store.

Holly dialed the number to Dr. Heller's apartment in Manhattan. Instead of reaching him she got his answering machine. "This is .. Leave your name and number, and I'll get back with you as soon as I can. Beep!" the voicemail said. "Dr. Heller, it's Holly. Listen she's back. She's back in L.A. I don't know what she wants now" Holly said into the phone and hung up. Her nerves were shot over finding out her doppelganger had followed her to L.A. She went to Patrick's room, changed out of her bathrobe and hair clippie, and put on a green blouse, and dark blue polka dot skirt. She walked over to the dresser and opened her music box. The angel slowly spun around as soft lovely music began to play. Holly lied down on the bed, closed her eyes, and relaxed as the music soothed her, calming her nerves.

An hour later Patrick returned from the store with laundry detergent and a bag of groceries. As he walked into the kitchen he saw Holly was dressed and was cleaning the kitchen like she had been cleaning the living room that morning. "Hi" she said smiling. "Hey Holly. Are you feeling any better?" Patrick asked. "Yeah. I just rested for a little while to help calm myself down" Holly replied. She helped Patrick unpack and put away the groceries. Patrick took the box of laundry detergent to the laundry room.

That evening Patrick cooked a nice meal for him and Holly. Then when they were finished eating Patrick told Holly he had to go to his study to get started on a screenplay. Holly offered to wash the dishes. As Holly washed the dishes and fed Nathan Patrick headed off to his study to start typing his screenplay.

Later than night a point of view entered Patrick's study. He was typing his screenplay on his typewriter. The point of view got closer and closer to Patrick. When it was right behind him it put a hand on his shoulder. Patrick quickly looked over his shoulder and gasped loudly. To his relief it was only Holly. "Sorry I scared you" Holly apologized. "It's okay" Patrick replied. "What are you writing?" Holly asked. "I'm trying to write "Breakfast At Tiffany's" as a horror movie. Probably not a good idea" said Patrick.

"Can I read some?" asked Holly. "If you wanna read something decent…" Patrick opened the drawer of his desk, took out a short story of his, and set it in on the desk. …"That's about it" he replied. Holly looked down at the left hand corner of the short story that said NATIONAL SHORT STORY CONTEST WINNER PATRICK HIGHSMITH. Holly picked it up and opened it. "Page 39" he told her. Holly flipped to page 39 and began reading it. "I was still in college. I entered a short story I wrote in a contest. I won first prize. I thought it was gonna be that easy from then on" Patrick said.

"It's very good. You're very talented" Holly said impressed. "Thanks" Patrick replied. "It's very romantic" said Holly. "Well I'm sort of a romantic guy" said Patrick. "Listen I'm really sorry I yelled at you this morning. Please say that you forgive me, because I can't handle anyone being angry at me" Holly begged. "I forgive you. We all get that way sometimes. This is an unsettling city. I liked St. Paul because I thought it was too settle" replied Patrick.

"Um do you have a car?" Holly asked. "Yeah. It's not a great car, but it's a car" said Patrick. "Well I'm going to go see the old house that we lived in before we moved. I'm meeting Mr. Wallace there tomorrow at noon. He's our family lawyer; an old friend of my father's. And I was wondering if you would drive me. I mean I would pay you for your time. That is if you have time" Holly explained. "Sure I've got time" said Patrick. "Thanks. Well goodnight" said Holly. She left Patrick's study and went to his room to go to bed.

CHAPTER FOUR:

"A NIGHT OF SEDUCTION"

The next day at a quarter till noon Mexican construction workers were doing construction work in front of Angel's Court. Holly and Patrick were getting ready to go meet Mike Wallace at Holly's childhood house. As Holly exited Angel's Court she looked around cautiously. Patrick ran to catch up to her. "What's wrong? Are the cops after you or something?" Patrick asked. "No! Why would you think that?!" Holly asked confused. "Kidding. I'm kidding" Patrick said. "Oh I get it. The cops. Very…very funny" Holly laughed.

They walked to Patrick's car where Patrick opened the driver's side of the car and got in. Holly opened the passenger door but accidentally dropped her small black purse. As she bent down to pick it up, her slip showed from underneath her dark blue polka dotted dress. The construction workers AKA hardhats noticed. "Look at the little cuddlelita!" cried one of the hardhats who had long black hair in a ponytail. Picking her purse up off the ground Holly looked over her shoulder at him.

"What did you say?!" she asked angrily. The hardhat responded by grabbing his penis. Holly was now truly offended and insulted. "Holly we're gonna be late. Just give me your purse" said Patrick trying to avoid any trouble. But Holly didn't seem to hear him. "Look, I am not a piece of meat!" she cried throwing her purse in the backseat. "You wouldn't want someone saying that to your sister, now would you?!" Holly asked the hardhat as she walked over to him. "My sister wouldn't be dressed like she had big hips" the hardhat replied.

"Okay I understand" Holly said. As soon as the hardhat turned his head around Holly kicked him hard in the balls with her knee, causing him to fall down on the ground. Patrick quickly backed the car up. "Holly hurry up! C'mon!" he cried. Holly smiled as she walked over to Patrick's car. "You bitch! I'll kill you!" the hardhat yelled angrily. "I'd like to see you try it fuck face !" Holly yelled back getting in the car. She flipped the hardhat off as Patrick drove away down the street.

At twelve o'clock noon Mike Wallace stood in the driveway of the old Gooding mansion lighting a cigarette. He had gray hair, glasses, and was wearing a dark brown business suit. He and Holly's father had met in college when he was studying to become a lawyer. Just then Patrick and Holly pulled up in the driveway. They got out of the car and Holly gave Mike a hug.

"Hi Mr. Wallace" Holly said. "What's with the Mr. Wallace? Michael right? Just like old times" Mike replied. "Um this is my friend Patrick" Holly said introducing Patrick to Mike. "Have you been getting your monthly checks?" Mike asked. Holly nodded. "I was a little surprised when you asked for the keys. The house has been sealed for four years" Mike said handing Holly the keys to her old house.

"Well I just wanted to go inside and look around" replied Holly. "Would you like me to go in with you?" Mike asked. "No. Thank you" said Holly. "Well then how about dinner later? This evening?" asked Mike. "Some other time" Holly replied flattered by the offer. " call" Mike told her. She nodded and he got in his car and drove off.

As Patrick and Holly walked towards the iron gate with the huge two story house behind it Patrick said "Wow. Just like out of a Betty Davis movie. Where do your parents live now?" "They're both dead" Holly replied. "I'm sorry" said Patrick. When they reached the gate Holly struggled to unlock it. Patrick saw a woman on the second floor of the house dressed entirely in black watching them through the upstairs window.

"Does someone live here? A caretaker or something?" Patrick asked. "No why?" Holly asked feeling a bit nervous. "I thought I saw someone up in that window. Do you need some help with that lock?" asked Patrick. Holly was now scared. She knew that it had been her doppelganger Holly 2 Patrick had seen in the upstairs window. They had to get out of there fast! "You know what?! Let's go back! I'm really hungry and I wanna get something to eat! So we'll go wherever you want!" Holly said nervously leading Patrick away from the gate and house. Patrick looked back at the house curiously. "C'mon Patrick! Let's go!" Holly demanded. As they got in the car to drive off a strong wind began to blow.

That evening when Patrick and Holly came home from eating out at a fast food restaurant Holly got in the shower to calm her nerves. She stood under the showerhead as warm water poured down her body .

Patrick was in the kitchen filling a tea kettle with water and set it on the stove. Holly came out of the bathroom wearing her white bathrobe. She walked into the kitchen where Patrick was. "Feeling better?" Patrick asked. "Yeah" she replied. "Good" said Patrick.

"This wind is incredible" she said. "Yeah. Kinda spooky isn't it?" Patrick replied. "I like it. It makes me feel calm" Holly said.

Just then the toaster went off making Holly jump and gasp. "It's just the toaster. I'm making Toast Highsmith" said Patrick. Unknown to them someone was watching them through the kitchen window outside. "What's Toast Highsmith?" Holly asked. "It's a family recipe. It's toast with mustard and grape jelly. It is to die for" replied Patrick. "Listen I want to thank you for giving me a ride today. You're a great guy" said Holly. "Don't say that" said Patrick. "Okay. You're a great writer, and a good guy. And you're very kind" Holly said. "I'm not that kind. Really" Patrick said.

In the living room Patrick's record player began playing a romantic tune on a record. In the kitchen Patrick and Holly got into the mood of the tune and began kissing. Holly 2 was watching Patrick and Holly through the kitchen window as the strong wind was blowing behind her. Soon they were both kissing deeply. The strong wind outside started blowing stronger! Patrick untied Holly's bathrobe, and pushed it down her bare shoulders and breasts kissing her neck. They slowly fell on the kitchen floor passionately. Suddenly the kitchen window burst wide open, and a huge gust of wind blew in, knocking over the garbage can where garbage spilled all over the floor. As this was happening Patrick and Holly were making deep love—Holly 2 watching them in the window smirking.

CHAPTER FIVE:

"HOLLY'S CONFESSION"

The next morning Patrick woke up on the kitchen floor. As he opened his eyes the first thing he saw was a dead worm. He quickly sat up and saw Nathan by his side. "Gross Nathan. This is not a jungle. I feed you enough food" Patrick scolded Nathan for killing the worm. He looked around him and saw the garbage can knocked over, and garbage all over the floor. He noticed a cut on his left shoulder. He hissed in pain as he touched it. There was also one on his right hand. He stood up and walked out of the kitchen, heading for the bedroom.

In the bedroom Holly was lying on the bed. Her music box was playing and she was staring at her refection in the small box's mirror. Beside her music box was a framed photo of her brother Fred. Just then Patrick entered the room and approached Holly. "Morning" he said. "Morning" Holly replied not taking her eyes off her music box. "What are you doing?" Patrick asked. "Just looking" Holly replied. "Neat!" said Patrick reaching out to touch the music box.

Holly grabbed it before his hand could reach it. "You know what? This thing is very personal to me, and I never let anyone touch it. My father gave it to me when I was very little" she said. "No problem" Patrick replied. He noticed Fred's picture. "Who's he?" he asked pointing to it. "My brother Fred. He's cute isn't he?" Holly replied. "Just like his sister" said Patrick touching Holly's shoulder. Holly jerked her shoulder away.

"That's one of the reasons I came out here is to visit him" Holly said. Just then she noticed the cut on Patrick's right hand. "What happened to your hand?" she asked. "Well last night things got a little out of hand" Patrick replied smiling. "What do you mean things got out of hand?" Holly asked confused. "Last night we were great together" Patrick said still smiling. "What do you mean we were great together?! We didn't do anything you and I!" Holly snapped.

"But…but" Patrick said confused. "Look, you and her can do all the dirty things you want. But I don't want to have to hear about them okay? And don't confuse me with her! She may look like me but she's not me" Holly said. Patrick was now totally confused. "Ookay. She looks like you but…" he began before Holly cut him off. "She's my doppelganger! Do even know what that is?! You don't believe me do you?! You think I'm wacko! Well I'm not! You yourself said you saw her yesterday twice! And you can ask Dr. Heller 'cause he believes me, and he's a psychiatrist who went to Yale Medical School! And if you just so happen to see her again, be careful because she is very dangerous and capable of anything! So watch out!" Holly explained.

After Patrick got dressed and left for Cafe Victor's Holly walked into the kitchen, and saw garbage all over the kitchen floor. "This is where he must have done it last night with her!" Holly said in disgust. She noticed the kitchen window was wide open from the strong wind last night. She closed it and locked it. Then picked the garbage can up off the floor and sat in back up. She got a dust pan and a broom, and began sweeping up all the garbage off the floor, and dumped it back in the garbage can which took ten minutes. Then she got a mop and bucket of soapy water, and began mopping the floor; ridding it off the garbage's germs.

At Café Victor's Patrick and Elizabeth were going over their screenplay. "I think the male vampire should be black and a cop. And the female vampire cop should be white. We got an interracial vampire/cop love story. What do you think?" Elizabeth suggested. "Ellie do you speak any German? What does doppelganger mean?" Patrick asked. "Patrick you just came up with the big one of the year! We're gonna make a trillion dollars! It's high concept! It's hip! It's now! It's happening!" Elizabeth cried thinking Patrick had come up with the perfect idea for their screenplay.

She got a mini dictionary out of her purse, and flipped through it until she got to the Ds. "Here it is. Doppelganger: The ghostly double of a living person that haunts its flesh and blood counterpart. What do you think?" Elizabeth asked as she snapped her mini dictionary shut, and put it back in her purse. "So wait?! This thing is a ghost?!" Patrick cried. "Sort of. You know who knows about this stuff? Sister Jan" Elizabeth replied.

"That phone sex operator you used to work for?! Why would she know anything about doppelgangers?!" Patrick asked. "Patrick she taught Catholic school! She used to be a nun! Why do you think they call her Sister Jan?!" Elizabeth cried. "I don't know! I thought maybe it was some sort of feminist endearment like dude!" Patrick replied. "Patrick, that is so incredibly not funny. C'mon! Put some words on paper! We've been fucking around with this idiotic story for four months!" Elizabeth cried.

"Hey maybe the reason we're not getting anywhere is because we don't have talent okay?! Maybe we suck! That's a possibility! Maybe we're just writing another piece of crap that's…"Patrick ranted but stopped in mid sentence when he saw Elizabeth's friend Rob enter Café Victor's. "Patrick are you in love with a psycho slut or what?" Elizabeth asked. "Hey Elizabeth!" Rob called out to Elizabeth waving. Elizabeth and Patrick waved back. "Hey, asshole" Patrick said under his breath. Standing next to Rob was a middle aged man with brown hair and a goatee.

"Speaking of psycho sluts. Who's he pimping for now?" Patrick asked. "That's Larry Spaulding. Mr. Disease of the week! Big time producer! That guy's richer than God Patrick!" Elizabeth replied. As Rob and Larry walked over to their table Patrick nervously began to stand up, but Elizabeth threatened him to sit back down. "Hi Rob! How are you doing?!" Elizabeth asked in a cheery voice. "Elizabeth! You look fantastic!" Rob cried. "Oh this old thing?" Elizabeth asked referring to her brown jacket. "I was wondering if you guys would like to come to a party me and Larry are going to tonight" Rob said. "Sure! Get friendly with the man with the check book!" Elizabeth replied. "But Ellie…" Patrick began not wanting to go to the party. "Shut up!" Elizabeth snapped at Patrick, then asked Rob sweetly "What time?"

CHAPTER SIX:

"THE PARTY"

That evening when Patrick came home he found his apartment trashed! All of his furniture had been knocked over! "Holly?!" he called out. No answer. He looked down on the floor and saw a trail of blood. He followed the blood trail all the way to his bedroom. When he entered his bedroom, what he saw made his mouth hang open in pure shock! Holly was strapped down to the bed by ropes and a gag was in her mouth! Her white blouse was splattered with blood from a stab wound in her upper stomach! She looked over at Patrick with wide terrified eyes.

Patrick ran over to Holly, removed the gag from her mouth and began untying the ropes. "Hang on Holly!" Patrick said. "Patrick hurry!" Holly cried. Just then the bedroom door opened all the way, and in stepped Holly 2! She wore sunglasses, a black scarf around her head, and a red polka dotted dress. She approached Patrick and Holly with no expression on her face. In her right hand was a butcher knife! Patrick's back was turned to her as he continued untying the ropes bonding Holly. Holly turned her head up, looked across from her, and saw Holly 2 approaching them. "Noooo!" Holly screamed as Holly 2 raised the knife in the air and slammed it down!

Patrick woke up screaming on the couch. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Holly holding a butcher knife—just like the one from his nightmare. Nathan who was lying on him screeched in panic at seeing the knife and quickly jumped off of him, and ran off. "No please don't!" Patrick begged fearfully. Holly looked at him confused. "What's wrong?!" she asked. Then looked at the knife in her hand and said "Sorry I scared you!" She had just made herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and was about to cut it in half when Patrick woke up screaming.

"I know you're a little jumpy with my situation. But it's my problem. I never should have even told you. (pause) Look, if you want me to go then just say so. And you can keep the money that I already paid you" Holly said with regret in her voice. Patrick got up off the couch and walked in the kitchen. "Are you hungry? There's not much in the fridge, but we can order Chinese. My treat" Holly offered while standing in front of the refrigerator looking inside. "No thanks. I'm not very hungry. I have this headache and I thought a nap might make it go away" Patrick replied. Holly closed the refrigerator door and said "I have some medicine in my purse. It's real safe if you want to take some."

"No thanks. I'll be fine" Patrick replied washing the butcher knife off and hanging it back up above the stove. "Listen as a friend I need to ask you a favor. I mean we are friends aren't we?" Holly asked. "Yeah we're friends. What's the favor?" Patrick asked. "Well I was wondering if you would take me to visit my brother Fred in the mental institution tomorrow. I haven't seen him in four years, and he is in a mental institution. And I'm a little scared of those places. So I was hoping you would come with me" Holly explained.

"I've got a meeting" Patrick replied walking to the refrigerator and taking out a can of Diet Coca Cola. "Please? I'll pay you. It would just mean a lot to me" Holly pleaded. "Okay I'll cancel it" replied Patrick. He figured Holly visiting her brother that she hadn't seen in four years was more important than some meeting. He could just reschedule it. "And don't worry I'm still gonna pay for gas" Holly promised. "No charge" Patrick replied as he opened his can of diet cola.

He looked at his wrist watch and said "I gotta go jump in the shower!" "Where are you going?" Holly asked. "To this producer's party. It's gonna be really dull! So I have to go" he replied. "What time are you going?" Holly asked. "Nine. (pause) Would you like to go?" Patrick asked. "Um sure. That would be great" Holly replied. "Okay, I'm going to get in the shower, and you go get ready" Patrick said. He placed his Diet Coke back in the fridge, and headed for bedroom, and into the bathroom.

While Patrick was in the shower Holly was in the bedroom changing. She slipped on a short sleeveless black dress, black panty hose, and black high heels. She pulled her long brown hair back in a black rubber band, and put on her white pearl necklace she always wore. For the final touch she wrapped a hanker chief around her neck, and put on her blue sweater. When Patrick came out of the shower he put on a green shirt, and a pair of jeans. Holly was waiting for him on the living room couch. Just then he came out of the bedroom, and into the living room. "You look ready really nice Holly" he said. "Thank you" Holly replied flattered. "Ready?" Patrick asked. "Let's go" Holly replied. She stood up from the couch and she and Patrick walked to the front door, and exited the apartment.

As they were driving to the party the cars in front of them moved along nicely. No rush hour which was usually the norm in Los Angeles. At the producer's party Elizabeth was chatting with Larry Spaulding when Patrick and Holly arrived. Elizabeth saw they had arrived, and walked over to them. They were standing beside the refreshment table that had a bowl of caviar on it. "Would you like some caviar?" Patrick asked. "No thanks" Holly replied. "I hate that stuff" Patrick said looking at the caviar. "I don't like it either" Holly replied.

Just then Elizabeth walked up to them. Patrick introduced Elizabeth and Holly to each other, and they shook hands. "Nice crowd. I feel like spitting in the punch bowl" Patrick complained looking at the punch bowl on the refreshment table. "Patrick, that's disgusting" Holly replied. "Sorry" Patrick apologized. Elizabeth silently and rudely mocked what Holly had just said. Patrick got annoyed and gently hit her to make her stop.

Just then Rob walked up to them. Patrick introduced Rob and Holly to each other. Then Rob begged Elizabeth to dance with him. But Elizabeth had no desire to dance with him. Despite him being her friend she found him sleazy. "I'll dance with you if you promise not to lay a hand on me, or I'll break your face in" she threatened. Then she and Rob headed out onto the dance floor and started dancing together.

On the dance floor Rob was criticizing Patrick. "Why do you even want to go out with that guy? He's a nobody. He's boring! His roommate's boring! His…his fucking dog's boring!" Rob complained. "Cat actually. And if you don't take your hand off my ass I'm gonna snap it off!" Elizabeth threatened again. Rob nervously held his hands up in defense. "She's very nice! Elizabeth!" said Holly. "Yeah she's a good friend and a good writing partner" replied Patrick. "This is fun" Holly said referring to the party.

Just then a song called "Kianga" by Maxayn Lewis and Wil Wheaton Jr. started playing. "Oh I love this music!" a lady cried. "Me too!" another lady cried. Holly was beginning to enjoy the music as well. Behind her a chubby bald man stood eying her—as if he was fascinated by her.

She excitedly stuck her tongue out and moved her legs back and fourth. Then looked at Patrick and asked "Um…do you think that we should dance?" "I don't really dance much. Just watch" he said. "C'mon" Holly said smiling leading him out onto the dance floor. "Once dance. That's it" Patrick said. As Holly began dancing to the music she removed her rubber band, and Patrick took off her sweater, and removed the hanker chief from around her neck.

She danced wonderfully! She shook her hips as she ran her hands up and down her body. She was truly into the music. A few seconds later Patrick excused himself to go get a drink. He sat down at the snack bar and ordered a glass of vodka. Just then the chubby bald man walked up to Patrick. "Hi. I'm Richard Wolf. How do you do?" he asked and shook Patrick's hand. "Patrick Highsmith" Patrick replied introducing himself. "Patrick Highsmith, the screenplay writer?!" Richard cried excitedly. "Yeah" Patrick replied. "What a coincidence! I have a picture that's about to go, and I could use a rewrite! You interested?!" Richard asked.

"Um sure" Patrick replied. Richard dug a card out of his pocket. "Here's my number" he said handing the card to Patrick. He looked out onto the dance floor and saw Holly dancing madly. She was shaking her butt off. So much that everyone was staring at her. She was stealing the spotlight. "Great dancer" said Richard who was quite impressed with Holly's dance moves.

Across the room Larry Spaulding was chatting with a woman in a white dress. In his hand was a glass of red wine. Just then some guy accidentally bumped into him; causing the wine in his glass to spill all over the woman's dress. From Holly's POV the woman morphed into Mrs. Gooding with blood all over her white dress screaming. Holly screamed bloody murder and nearly lost her balance. Patrick quickly ran to her and caught her before she could fall.

"Are you okay?" he asked her. "I don't feel so well" she replied weakly. Patrick apologized to Elizabeth, Rob, and Larry telling them that he had to leave the party early on account Holly wasn't feeling well and take her home. Rob and Larry understood completely. Elizabeth however was pissed off at Patrick for leaving the party early, and bitched at him over it. But he didn't care. He hadn't even wanted to come to this producer's party in the first place.

Helping Holly to his car he opened the backseat door, so she could lie down on the drive home. When Patrick arrived at Angel's Court he got out of the car, and helped Holly out of the backseat. He helped her through Angel's Court with an arm around her shoulder, and her arm around his shoulder. When they reached his apartment he helped Holly to the bedroom where he undressed her, and helped her into her nightgown. Then laid her in his bed and kissed her goodnight on the forehead. Then got ready for bed himself, and went into the living room to sleep on the couch.

CHAPTER SEVEN: "VISITING FRED"

The next morning Holly was awoken to the sounds of birds chirping outside. Just then Patrick walked into the bedroom and saw that Holly was awake. "Good morning Holly. How are you feeling?" he asked. "What happened last night?" Holly asked sitting up in bed. "You were dancing at the producer's party when something scared you. You weren't feeling well so we left the party early so I could bring you home, and put you to bed" Patrick explained.

Holly's mind was a bit fuzzy from last night's events. She remembered dancing in front of everyone, but she couldn't remember what it had been that had scared her. "How do you feel?" Patrick asked. "Better" Holly replied. "Good. I just finished cooking us some breakfast" said Patrick. "What did you cook?" Holly asked. "Pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and orange juice" Patrick replied. Since Holly was better she didn't need any help from Patrick getting out of bed. "Do you need any help getting to the living room?" Patrick asked. "No I'm fine" Holly replied. "Okay" said Patrick. The two walked out of the bedroom, and into the kitchen. On the table were two plates of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon with two tall glasses of orange juice.

During breakfast Holly ate like a horse. She hadn't had anything to eat the night before and she was starving. After breakfast Patrick cleared the table, and Holly went to go take a shower to get ready to go visit Fred in the mental institution. When she got out of the shower she put on a long-sleeved white shirt, a grayish skirt, panty hose, dress shoes, and her burgundy lipstick. Before she and Patrick left the apartment she wrapped her hair up in her scarf, and put on her sunglasses and trench coat.

When she and Patrick arrived at the institution she unwrapped her long black scarf from around her head, took off her trench coat, and placed them in the passenger's seat of the car. "This is a little hard. We were really close before the killing" Holly said as she and Patrick walked up the steps of the institution. "Who did he kill?" Patrick asked. "Well I don't think he did it. He wouldn't" Holly replied. "Who was he accused of killing?" asked Patrick. Holly paused for a second and replied "My father" as she and Patrick went inside the institution.

When they were inside Holly took her sunglasses off. "Fred stayed her in L.A. while me and my mother moved to New York. Some family huh? Sometimes I think there's a little family curse" said Holly. "But why do they think Fred did it?" Patrick asked. "One night I was in my room, and I heard my father and Fred arguing. I went downstairs and saw my father hitting Fred. My father was very strict. Then Fred pushed my father out the window. My house is on a hill and he rolled down. And it took them three days to find the body" Holly explained.

"And how old was Fred when this happened?" Patrick asked. "I was fourteen so he was eleven" Holly replied. "An eleven year old boy threw a grown man out of a window?!" Patrick cried in disbelief. "Seems strange doesn't it. I knew that I wasn't him. But I didn't know about the doppelgangers at that time. I told my mother and the police everything I saw, or what I thought I saw. But Fred…he knows" Holly explained. "He knows what?" Patrick asked confused.

They stopped at Fred's room where a staff let them in. In the room was a fourteen year old Fred Gooding lying in bed with his hands folded on his stomach – staring at the ceiling. The truth was he was comatose and had been ever since the death of his father. On the night stand beside his bed was an old black and white framed picture of him and Holly when they were kids. Holly slowly walked in the room and stopped at the foot of Fred's bed. "Fred?" Holly asked softly, "It's me Holly". She looked over at the staff standing in the doorway. "How's he doing?" she asked him. "He hasn't talked in four years so…who knows" the staff replied.

"I need to use the telephone. Could you show me where it is?" Patrick asked the staff. "We're not supposed to leave visitors alone" the staff told him. "I'll be fine" Holly said. "Okay I'll give you ten minutes. If anything goes wrong hit that button right there" the staff replied pointing to a small button on the wall. "Nothing will go wrong" Holly promised. The staff and Patrick left the room closing the door behind them—leaving Holly alone with her brother.

Holly walked up to where Fred lied in bed and stood over him. "Fred I know it wasn't you. I know about the other one. (Pause) Fred please talk to me. The same thing is happening to me" Holly said sadly. A tear slid down Fred's cheek. Holly knew he could hear her. She gently wiped the tear away with her thumb. Tears flowed down her cheeks as well, and she wiped them away. It broke her heart to see her brother in this condition. For the past four years she had prayed he would recover. Ten minutes later Patrick and the staff returned. Holly told the staff she would come visit Fred again very soon and she and Patrick left the room.

When they exited the institution Holly put her sunglasses back on as she and Patrick walked down the steps. When they reached Patrick's car, Holly grabbed her scarf from out of the passenger's seat, and wrapped it back around her head. Then grabbed her trench coat from out of the passenger's seat, and put it on. Then she and Patrick got in the car, and drove away from the institution. Patrick noticed Holly was quiet on the way home. When they got to Angel's Court he parked his car and turned off the engine. He and Holly got out of the car, and entered Angel's Court. They walked through the complex until they came upon Patrick's apartment. Patrick unlocked the door and he and Holly walked inside the apartment. It was now lunch time.

"Hey Holly, are you hungry? I could fix us some sandwiches for lunch" Patrick asked. "No thanks Patrick. I'm just gonna go lie down for a while" Holly replied sadly. "Okay. I'll come check on you later" Patrick said. As Patrick headed into the kitchen Holly went into the bedroom. She walked over to the dresser, and opened her music box, where sweet angelic music began to play. Holly lied down on the bed with her hands folded on her stomach. She closed her eyes and smiled as the beautiful music calmed her—helping her overcome her sadness at seeing Fred's condition.

That afternoon Patrick went into the bedroom to see how Holly was doing. He saw her lying on his bed with her eyes closed—taking in the music coming from her music box. He walked over to her and kissed her on the forehead. Holly opened her eyes, looked up at Patrick and smiled a small smile at him. "Hi. How are you feeling?" he asked. "Better" Holly replied. "Good" said Patrick smiling. Holly sat up on the bed as Patrick sat on the bed beside her. "How did your time alone with Fred go?" Patrick asked.

A tear slid down Holly's cheek. "Even though he didn't talk or move I knew he could hear me. A tear fell from his eye when I told him that I was going through the same thing he's going through. He could sense and feel that it was me, and could feel the same thing I was feeling" Holly replied. "I'm no doctor but what I can deduce is that the only time he responds to human contact is when you're with him" Patrick said.

"I just want him to get better Patrick. I want him to break out of this comatose state he's been in since my father died. I wanna be able to be with him again. After being away from him for four years I've missed him so much" Holly replied. "Don't worry Holly. I'm sure that eventually he'll come out of this mental state he's in. He'll be alright" Patrick said. He and Holly hugged tightly for the longest time.

That evening Patrick was in the living room listening to a message on his answering machine. "Mr. Highsmith? My name is Stanley White. I'm your new neighbor. I just moved into Apartment 6. I have a package for you. I'll be home all evening. Come at anytime. Beep!" said the answering machine. "Package for me?" Patrick asked confused, "Holly I'm going over to Apartment 6 for a minute to pick something up!"

Holly was in the kitchen getting a carton of milk out of the fridge. She walked over to the snack bar where Nathan was sitting with a small bowl. "Did that Wolf man ever call you?!" she asked. "No. Richard Wolf. Hey maybe he sent that screenplay over!" Patrick replied. Patrick exited his apartment and headed on over to Apartment 6. He knocked on the door and Stanley opened it. He was a middle aged man with slicked back blond hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a yellow shirt with a red necktie, and tan pants. He was two feet shorter than Patrick. "Mr. White? Hi, I'm Patrick Highsmith" Patrick said shaking his hand.

Stanley pulled him inside his apartment, turned him around, shoved him against the wall, and checked him all over like a cop would. Then turned him back around and held out his badge. "My name is Stanley White! I'm with The Federal Bureau Of Investigation!" "The FBI?! What do you want?!" Patrick asked. "Is Holly Gooding living with you?" Stanley asked. "Yeah she's living with me! She's my roommate. I'm renting out a room! Aw, that's illegal! Wait, can we work something out?!" Patrick replied. "Are you doing her?!" Stanley asked. "What?" Patrick asked confused. "ARE YOU FUCKING HER?!" Stanley yelled.

"That's a little personal don't you think?" asked Patrick. Stanley slapped him silly. "Maybe it is" Stanley replied as he began pacing the room "You do realize of course that your girlfriend is the prime suspect in the murder of her mother." "The murder of her mother?!" Patrick asked shocked and confused. "About six months ago in New York people saw her enter the building, go up the elevator, and knock on her mother's door. A little while later her mother was dead. There was no one in the apartment except the two of them. That's an open/shut case right?! Wrong! She came up with some weird mumbo jumbo bullshit alibi and got off! Now we know she did it, but she walked!" Stanley explained.

"Look I know nothing about this. I think I should go" said Patrick and headed for the door. But Stanley blocked his path. "I'M NOT FINISHED ASSHOLE!" Stanley yelled. "Okay" replied Patrick. "Has she told you anything ? Any reason as to why she is here?" Stanley asked. "She says she's here to put her family's estate in order, and to see her brother Fred" Patrick replied.

"Ah yeah we know, he's crazy. So now she's after him!" said Stanley. "Wait a minute! She's after her brother?!" Patrick cried. "You see when the father died he left a trust fund to the mother, the son, and the daughter. If only one relation survives winner takes all! We're talking big bucks here! Seven, eight million!" Stanley explained. "Holy shit!" Patrick said shocked.

"So now that the mother is gone we think, no we know she's after the brother! She didn't make you any offers did she?" said Stanley. "Offers?" Patrick asked. "You know a deal! You scratch my back—I lick your balls!" Stanley replied. "No she did not" said Patrick. "You aren't even thinking about holding out on me are you? 'Cause if anything happens to the brother, then you are first in line as an accomplice" Stanley said.

"You know what?! This is bullshit! I know she loves her brother! I was with her today! She had not seen him in four years. Nobody's that good of an actress!" Patrick yelled. "No but she is crazy too. Or to be more precise she's suffering from this multiple personality thing. She can be different people at different times. Trust me she has killed before, and she will kill again" Stanley explained. "What am I supposed to do? What do you want me to do?" Patrick asked. "Well I'm not allowed to give you legal advice, but if I were you I would get the fuck away from her fast!" Stanley replied.

Patrick left Apartment 6—shocked and disturbed from everything Stanley had explained to him. Suddenly he heard a loud popping sound that made him jump. But to his relief it was only neighborhood kids running by playing with toy guns. As soon as he entered his apartment Holly walked into the living room. While he had been over at Apartment 6 she had changed her clothes. She was now wearing a sleeveless red polka dotted dress, and had removed the headband she always wore-letting her bangs down over her forehead.

"How'd it go?" she asked. "Terrible. There was no package, screenplay, or anything" Patrick said in a disappointed tone. "I'm sorry Patrick. Hey I know! How about I help you make dinner?!" Holly suggested. "You told me you couldn't cook" said Patrick. "Well I can't…except for bread. My mother taught me how to bake it. It's an old family recipe I have in my purse" Holly replied.

While Patrick got started on dinner Holly fetched the Gooding recipe from her purse. While the main course cooked on the stove the bread baked in the oven. When everything was done Patrick and Holly set the table. The main course was on two dinner plates placed on the table, along with champagne glasses, and a bottle of champagne in the middle. The bread was on the chopping board along with the butcher knife for slicing. They both sat down at the table and began eating their meal. They took turns filling up their glasses with champagne. Holly cut her and Patrick each a slice of bread and placed them onto their plates.

As she ate her dinner she took sips of her champagne and bites of her slice of bread. "Patrick? Would you like some more bread?" she asked. "No thanks" Patrick replied. "Tell me you don't like it. It's okay. I can take it" Holly said. "No it's good. It's just…" Patrick replied. He paused for a second then said "On second thought I think I will have another piece." Holly smiled as she cut another slice and handed it to Patrick, who ate it along with his dinner and champagne.

"Are you sure nothing else is bothering you? You seem worried" Holly said. "I'm just upset that producer didn't call" Patrick replied. "Don't worry he'll call. You gotta have faith. You're good Patrick. You're good—even when you're down. And when you're good then you should never blame yourself for misfortunes that come your way" Holly explained. "Did you blame yourself when your parents died?" Patrick asked.

A sad look crossed Holly's face as she stood up from the table, and carried her empty plate over to the snack bar. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you" Patrick apologized. "You didn't. And to answer your question yes I did blame myself when my father died. Then my mother and I moved to New York, and that's when I started seeing Dr. Heller because I needed the help. And then when she died—I felt guilt again. But I knew that I was good, and that I wasn't to blame" Holly explained as she carried Patrick's plate, the empty wine glasses, the empty champagne bottle, and the chopping board over to the snack bar.

"How did your mother die?" Patrick asked. "She was murdered" Holly replied. "Did they catch who did it?" asked Patrick. "No. And do you know who the prime suspect was? Me. They thought I killed my own mother" said Holly. "Well, I'm full. You've had a rough day. I think I'll go spend the night at a friend's house" Patrick said getting up from the table and heading towards the door. Holly quickly ran over to him and grabbed him by his shirt. "No wait! Please don't go!" she begged as she turned him to face her.

"You've got a lot of stuff going on that I know nothing about. I can't help you" said Patrick. "You are helping me! Thank you! Stay with me and be with me" Holly replied leading Patrick towards the bedroom. "Holly I don't think this is such a good idea! You're under a lot of strain! You'll just say it wasn't you in the morning!" Patrick said. "I won't. I feel really comfortable with you and I want this" Holly replied. "Holly, I really like you" said Patrick. "I like you too" replied Holly. In the bedroom Holly removed Patrick's shirt, and got on top of him on the bed. He unzipped her dress as she kissed him all over his bare chest moaning with pleasure and unzipped his pants.

CHAPTER EIGHT: "HOLLY GETS FRAMED"

The next morning Holly was sitting in a chair beside Patrick's bed, watching him sleep. She smiled as her music box on the dresser behind her played its soft soothing melody. Suddenly Patrick awoke with a startle. He looked over at Holly sitting beside the bed. "Good morning" she said. "What are you doing?" he asked. "Looking at you. Thinking about last night" she replied. "Are you…okay with last night?" he asked. Holly smiled widely and replied "Last night was great." Patrick also smiled. "Really? It was you and me right?" he asked. Still smiling Holly nodded. Just then there was a loud knock at the front door. Getting out of bed Patrick wrapped his long white bed sheet around his waist and headed into the living room.

When he reached the front door he asked "Who is it?!" "Gas man!" a male voice replied. Patrick opened the door and there stood a tall skinny nerdy gas man with spiky black hair and large glasses holding a tool box. "Hi! One of your neighbors reported a leak! We're just taking precautions! Do you mind if I check your kitchen?!" the gas man asked. "Sure. C'mon in" Patrick replied inviting him inside.

The gas man walked into the kitchen and set his tool box down on the snack bar. "Don't worry I'll let myself out" he told Patrick, "Have a good day!" "You too" Patrick replied as he headed back to the bedroom. The gas man noticed the butcher knife lying on the chopping board from the night before. He gently stroked it eying it with fascination.

Later that day Patrick and Holly were at Los Angeles Central Park. Patrick was sitting on a park bench reading a book. He looked up from his book and saw Holly hugging and comforting a sad old woman. That evening when he and Holly got back to his apartment the phone was ringing. "Hello?" Patrick said into the phone. "Mr. Highsmith? Hi it's Richard Wolf" the voice on the other end replied.

"Mr. Wolf!" Patrick cried in surprise. Holly covered her mouth with both hands—surprised as well. She smiled, gave Patrick a thumbs up, and headed for the bedroom so that Patrick and Richard could talk in private. "I fired this writer and I need a replacement writer right away. Are you interested?" Richard asked. "Absolutely! I mean I'm sorry for the other guy. Where can we meet?" Patrick replied. "Where ever you want. You name it" said Richard. "How about Café Victor's? Eight o'clock?" Patrick suggested. "Sure. I had breakfast there last week. I'll be a little late though" Richard said.

"Oh one more thing. I have this writing partner. She's very good. Can I bring her along?" Patrick asked. "Sure! I need all the help I can get!" Richard replied. "Great! See you at eight!" Patrick said and hung up the phone. Then picked the phone back up and dialed Elizabeth's number.

"Hey Ellie it's me. Listen I know you're mad about what happened at the producer's party, but I have great news. This producer I met at the party named Richard Wolf just called! He fired his writer and wants to meet us at Cafe Victor's at eight!" Patrick said. "Fine Patrick. But this better be good. You owe me" Elizabeth replied on the other end of the line. "Great! I'll see you in a minute! Bye!" Patrick said and hung up. Holly came back into the living room. "What did Mr. Wolf say?" Holly asked. "He fired this writer and is thinking of hiring me as a replacement. I'm meeting him at Cafe Victor's at eight" Patrick replied. Holly's face lit up with joy. "Oh Patrick that's wonderful!" she cried overjoyed and hugged him tightly—before breaking away from him. "I don't know how long my meeting with Mr. Wolf is going to take, but if I takes longer than I expect I'll call you and let you know" Patrick said. "Okay Patrick. Good luck" Holly replied and kissed him on the cheek, as he made his way to the front door—which he exited through.

On the way to Cafe Victor's Patrick noticed how quiet Elizabeth was. She was still ticked off at Patrick about the other night at the producer's party when Patrick had to leave early to take Holly home. She felt Patrick had embarrassed her in front of Rob and Larry Spaulding. "Ellie you haven't said a word for (looks at wrist watch) thirty seconds. That's a good record. I've been timing you. Would you like the top up?" said Patrick. "No I'm fine" Elizabeth replied not looking at Patrick.

At the old Gooding house Holly 2 applied an eyebrow pencil to her eyebrows, a fresh coat of burgundy lipstick, and placed a shiny sharp butcher knife in a black bag. She left the house wearing her black sunglasses, black head scarf, and black trench coat and began heading for the mental institution where Fred was. As she approached the mental institution she entered through the front door, and walked up to the night nurse on duty who was sitting behind a desk. "Hello my name is Holly Gooding. My brother Fred is a patient here, and I need to see him. I'm leaving for New York in the morning" she explained.

"I'm sorry miss it's impossible! Visiting hours are…" the nurse began before she was cut off. "I know when visiting hours are. I just need to see him for a second" Holly 2 replied. "I'm sorry! You can't! You'll have to come back in the morning!" the nurse cried. Holly 2 pulled cash out of her trench coat pocket, and handed it to the nurse. But the nurse pushed it away. "Put your money away Miss Gooding. You'll have to come back tomorrow" she told her. "I see" Holly 2 said putting the cash back into her pocket, "Well, at least I know Fred is in good hands. Thank you".

Holly 2 left the building but not the premises. Time to put Plan B into action. She quietly tiptoed to the back of the building until she came upon Fred's room. Back up front the nurse said to a janitor "It's time for my break! I'll be back in five minutes! Watch the phone for me!" "Sure the janitor replied. The nurse left the front desk as the janitor began mopping the floor.

Holly 2 unzipped her black bag and took out a power drill. Fred was sleeping peacefully in his room—unaware of what was going on outside it. Holly 2 turned on the power drill and stuck it in the keyhole of the door. After a few minutes the knob fell off of the door from the inside. Immediately she ran into the room where Fred was asleep in his bed. He woke up and saw her looming over him with a butcher knife raised in the air. He held his hands up in defense but Holly 2 stabbed him in his left palm—causing blood to splatter onto his face.

Up front the janitor heard Fred screaming from the back of the building. He dropped his mop and ran to go get help.

In Fred's room he screamed louder as Holly 2 stabbed him over and over. Outside Fred's door the nurse and janitor stood where the nurse unlocked the door. They entered and saw Fred in his bed bleeding to death from the multiple stab wounds. Holly 2 was gone. "Oh my God! Why did she do this?! Call the police right away!" the nurse cried to the janitor.

At Café Victor's Patrick and Elizabeth were sitting at a small table waiting for Richard Wolf who hadn't shown up yet. "If this is someone's idea of a joke is not fun-ny. Patrick are you sure you told this guy the right place and the right time?" Elizabeth asked. "Of course I'm sure. I don't go around imagining things" Patrick replied. "I know you don't. You're Mr. Reliable! But maybe he talked to your evil twin Skippy, or your doppelganger double twin…thing" Elizabeth said.

Just then a waitress passed by their table. "My name's Patrick Highsmith. Could you see if anyone has called for me?" Patrick asked. "I'll go check" the waitress replied and walked off. A few minutes later she returned to their table. "Sorry. No one called for you" she told Patrick. Patrick sighed in frustration and replied "Thank you". "You're welcome" she said and walked off again. Patrick had been stood up by Richard Wolf!

After dropping Elizabeth off at her house he headed straight home completely disappointed. As he approached Angel's Court he saw it was surrounded by police cars, an ambulance truck, and yellow tape. Cops were questioning his neighbors. He parked his car, got out, and entered the complex. "Sir you can't come through here!" a cop told him. "I live here!" he told the cop. The cop let him pass. As he approached his apartment he saw the door was wide open.

As he entered he saw there were cops and paramedics in his living room. Two paramedics were holding onto Holly's arms with her hands behind her back—dragging her into the living room. "I didn't do it! Take your hands off of me! Patrick!" she screamed frantically when she saw Patrick. "What the hell's going on here?!" Patrick cried. "Who the hell are you?!" a middle aged black woman demanded. "I'm Patrick Highsmith! I happen to live here!" Patrick replied. "Well I'm Detective Pougat from The Homicidal Department! Fred Gooding was knifed by his sister Miss Gooding!" she said.

The two paramedics lifted Holly onto a gurney where one of them injected a sedative into her arm—causing her to cry out in pain. Then they began wheeling her out the front door. "Patrick tell them it wasn't me" she said weakly due to the sedative taking effect. "What are they gonna do to her?!" Patrick cried. "Calm down!" said Detective Pougat. "There's no way she could have attacked her brother!" Patrick yelled angrily.

In the back of the ambulance truck Holly awoke from the sedative wearing off. She looked down and saw she was strapped down to the gurney by belts. She looked up at the driver. "Where are you taking me?" she asked weakly. Just then the truck came to a stop and the driver turned off the engine. "What do you want?" Holly asked. The driver turned around in his seat, revealing himself to be Holly's dead father! "Daddy? No this can't be" Holly said scared. Mr. Gooding got out of his seat and walked to the back of the ambulance. He removed his belt and flexed it. "Daddy don't! Please don't hurt me!" Holly begged. Mr. Gooding ignored her plead and wrapped his belt tightly around her throat choking her.

"Holly wake up. You're dreaming" a voice said. Holly opened her eyes and saw Dr. Heller standing above her. She was in a bed in a room at the mental institution. Mike Wallace was in the room standing behind Dr. Heller. "It's me Dr. Heller. I flew out as soon as I got your message. You're gonna be okay" said Dr. Heller. "And Fred?" Holly asked. "Fred is going to pull through. I just spoke with the chief surgeon. The knife didn't lacerate any arteries" Mike said.

"I didn't do it. I swear I didn't do it" Holly said as tears welled up in her eyes. "I know you didn't" Dr. Heller replied. "It's her. I'm gonna stop her. I'm gonna stop her, even if I have to kill her" Holly said as a tear slid down her right cheek. "Holly you just need to get some rest" said Dr. Heller as he pulled Holly's blanket up to her chin. Just then a staff entered the room. "There's a guy in the waiting room by the name of Patrick Highsmith. He brought Holly her clothes" the staff told Dr. Heller.

Dr. Heller left Holly's room—leaving her alone with Mike. He went into the waiting room where Patrick was sitting. Patrick stood out of his seat as Dr. Heller walked up to him. "Patrick Highsmith? Hi I'm Joshua Heller. I'm Holly's psychiatrist" Dr. Heller said introducing himself and shaking Patrick's hand. "Do they think she did it?" Patrick asked. "Yes. But they don't have a case. There were no witnesses" replied Dr. Heller.

"Do you think it was…"Patrick began. "A doppelganger" said Dr. Heller finishing his sentence. "She told me you said these things exist" Patrick said. "Patrick, you've been a very good friend to Holly. But you have to understand the situation you've stumbled into. Now most people don't understand MPDS—multiple personality disorders. But they serve as an alternative—a way with dealing with a very ugly reality. The most interesting thing about MPDS is that they reach into the deepest darkest regions of the mind. Fear, anger, and hatred" Dr. Heller explained.

The next morning Patrick and Elizabeth went to The Homicidal Department. Patrick was in Detective Pougat's office while Elizabeth waited outside on a bench. After about thirty minutes Patrick exited the office, and Elizabeth stood up from the bench. "Well?" she asked. "They think she did it" Patrick replied. "Of course they do! What are you stupid?!" Elizabeth cried. "Ellie they don't have any real evidence. All they know is that they saw a girl in a scarf. But the homicide lady told me something interesting about Stanley White. Now I figured that since he was keeping surveillance on Holly, he would know when and if she left the apartment. But the homicide lady called The FBI Field Office. There is no Agent White. He has no involvement with the FBI at all!" Patrick explained.

"So who the fuck is this guy White?" Elizabeth asked. Patrick shrugged. He had no idea, but he was going to find out.

That afternoon Patrick and Elizabeth headed to Angel's Court, and pulled up near Apartment 6 in Elizabeth's car. "Ellie you still got that baseball bat you keep in the back seat?" Patrick asked. "Girl's best friend? You bet" Elizabeth replied. "I think it's time we paid Mr. White a little visit" said Patrick. "Good boy" Elizabeth said smiling.

They got out of the car and Elizabeth got her large baseball bat out of the back seat. As they entered Angel's Court Elizabeth noticed Patrick looked a bit nervous. "What's the matter? Chickening out Highsmith? Bwak bwak bwak!" Elizabeth teased. "Ellie quit it" Patrick said annoyed. They continued walking until they reached Apartment 6. Patrick knocked on the door. "Mr. White?!" he called. "Avon calling Mr. White!" Elizabeth joked. She pressed her bat against the door—noticing it was open. She and Patrick went inside the apartment.

"Mr. White?!" Patrick called again. "Anyone here?! You better not try anything 'cause I have a very big bat in my hands!" Elizabeth warned. Patrick walked into the kitchen and screamed. Elizabeth hurried into the kitchen, and the sight before her made her look away in disgust. There hanging from the ceiling cord was Nathan with a gash on his stomach—his gray fur soaked in blood! "Nathan!" Patrick cried in shock.

That night at Patrick's apartment Patrick was busy packing for a trip to go stay with his parents who lived on the East coast. "I don't feel right just running away like this" he told Elizabeth. "You're not running away honey. You're just protecting yourself" Elizabeth replied. She walked over to the cupboard where Patrick kept his extra clothes that he had no room for in his closet. She opened the cupboard and started taking out clothes for him to pack. "I hope you pack your winter clothes when you go East. It's going to be cooooollld" she said.

Just then she found something that she did not expect to find! What she found in the cupboard and took out was a butcher knife with dried up blood on it! "Patrick?! Patrick check it out!" she cried. Patrick did a double take realizing what she was holding. He walked over to her and was about to say something when she cried "No! Give it a rest Patrick! We are calling the cops!" "Now hold on Ellie. This wasn't here last night" said Patrick. "What do you mean hold on?! I'm holding a knife with blood on it! We are calling the cops!" Elizabeth yelled.

Just then the doorbell buzzed. "Who is it?!" Elizabeth asked. No answer. Elizabeth grabbed her trusty baseball bat, and saw Patrick was wrapping the knife in a handkerchief. "What are you doing?!" she cried. "Ellie this is my problem and my decision. You let me make it okay?!" Patrick said and hid the wrapped up knife behind his back. "Yeah your funeral asshole!" Elizabeth snapped.

The doorbell buzzed again. Elizabeth walked to the door and opened it. There at the doorway stood Holly and Dr. Heller. "Patrick! Company!" Elizabeth said then looked at Holly and asked "Out on bail?" as Holly and Dr. Heller stepped into the apartment. "I hope you're not leaving on my account" Holly told Patrick. "No it's for health reasons" Elizabeth lied then looked at Patrick and said "Patrick I think we should go visit your sick cousin now before it's too late!"

"We're not staying. We just came to pick up Holly's things" said Dr. Heller. "If you don't mind I'd like to keep the apartment" Holly told Patrick. "Holly this is a mistake! We talked about returning to New York—returning to therapy!" Dr. Heller cried. "No" Holly replied. "You're too vulnerable to be out on your own right now" said Dr. Heller.

"Look, she going to come back and she's going to try to kill Fred! I can't let her do that!" Holly cried. "Patrick you're going to miss your flight!" said Elizabeth. "Holly you know I have your best interest in mind. You cannot handle this situation by yourself" Dr. Heller told Holly. "Like hell I can't! You don't own me! You're not my father!" Holly snapped.

"I never said I was Holly" Dr. Heller replied, "Fine. You're free to do as you wish. You have my number in case you need to reach me." Then he looked at Patrick and said "Nice meeting you Patrick." "Likewise" Patrick replied. When Dr. Heller left Elizabeth said "Patrick I think we should give Holly here some privacy. So get my coat and let's take a walk." Patrick grabbed Elizabeth's coat off the coat rack, and slipped it on over her shoulders. "Don't worry I'll be fine" Holly told Patrick and made her way to the bedroom. Patrick and Elizabeth exited the apartment.

As Patrick and Elizabeth were taking a walk Patrick took out the wrapped up knife he had been hiding in his leather jacket. He was about to say something when Elizabeth cut him off. "Don't even think about it Patrick Highsmith!" she yelled. "Ellie you know she didn't hang Nathan! This knife wasn't here last night! Don't you get it?! She's being set up!" Patrick cried. "Listen Dick Tracy, why don't you let the cops do their job?!" Elizabeth cried. "Because she's as good as nailed if I make any calls!" Patrick replied. "So what?!" Elizabeth cried. "So what?!" Patrick yelled in disbelief.

Inside the apartment, in the bedroom Holly was unpacking her things when Patrick walked in. "Holly? I believe you. I don't think you attacked Fred. Listen if you want to beat this thing…then I want to help" he said. "Why?" Holly asked. "When I was in school I never got into fights. I've always been a chicken. I don't want to be chicken anymore. I've always admired people who stood up for themselves and chose fate over fear. Holly…that's not what this is about" Patrick explained. He and Holly hugged tightly.

CHAPTER NINE: "SISTER JAN"

The next morning a POV from behind a tree down from where Patrick's car was parked watched Patrick and Holly approach the car. Patrick noticed someone from behind the tree down from the complex watching them. "That's weird" he said. "What's weird?" Holly asked. Patrick looked at the tree and saw that whoever had been behind it a second ago was no longer there. "Nothing. Never mind" Patrick replied and he and Holly got in the car and drove off.

As Patrick was driving he asked "Holly do you have that picture of your father with you?" "Yeah. Yeah I always carry it around with me" Holly replied. "Can I see it?" Patrick asked. Holly dug the small photo of her father out of her sweater pocket, and handed it to Patrick. Patrick looked at the photo of Mr. Gooding who was grinning happily in it. They passed by a house and Holly saw Holly 2 standing behind a tree in the front yard of the house watching them. Holly knew she and Patrick were being followed!

"Patrick I just saw her!" Holly cried. "What?" Patrick asked. "It's her! It's The Doppelganger! A woman killed my mother, and the couple in the apartment next door said they saw me—not my father!" cried Holly. "It's okay I believe you" Patrick said putting an arm around Holly's shoulder.

At Elizabeth's house the sound of her doorbell buzzing woke her up. She walked into the living room wearing a dark green silky robe. "It's eight in the morning. It's practically night time. Who is it?!" she yelled. "It's me! Open up!" Patrick replied from the other side of the front door. "Patrick?" Elizabeth asked as she opened the door, where Patrick and Holly stood in the doorway. "Oh check it out. Bonnie and Clyde. Wait I'll go get the silverware" Elizabeth joked. "Very funny" Patrick said as he and Holly walked inside the house, "Listen I need to ask you two favors."

"Two favors?! You need to ask me two favors?! Let me tell you something Patrick Highsmith! I've been doing you nothing but fucking favors for the past six months! I've been waiting for you alone like a dog! I've been suffering! I'm stuck with this major boner for you! You've been totally ignoring my fucking feelings! I've been hoping we would get back together! Now you come barging in here with Homicide Snow White here!" Elizabeth ranted referring to Holly.

"Would you watch your mouth Ellie?!" Patrick said angrily. "Watch your dick pinhead! It's terminally lodged in your brain! And another thing dog boy, if you and Jacqueline The Ripper think you can hide out here while you're on the run, you got another thing coming pal!" Elizabeth replied. Just then Rob walked into the living room wearing a light blue robe with his boxer shorts exposed. "Good morning Patrick! Good morning Miss…um…Room mate!" he said. "Gooding" Holly corrected him. Rob snapped his fingers and replied "Gotcha."

Patrick smiled. He knew Elizabeth had been sleeping around with Rob. "You were saying about six months of suffering?" he asked her. "Okay so you're a slut—I'm a slut! Who wants coffee?!" Elizabeth replied. "Can I speak to you alone please?" Patrick asked her. They walked into the hallway—leaving Holly alone with Rob. Rob walked over to Holly to chat. "My God you're a handsome woman, you know that?" he asked her. Holly smiled—flattered by his compliment.

"So what's the favor prick?" Elizabeth asked Patrick. "You know that phone sex nun you used to work for?" Patrick asked. "Sister Jan" Elizabeth replied. "I really need to talk to her" Patrick said. "Oh great I'm your secretary now. Am I booking your appointments too?" Elizabeth asked sarcastically, "What's the second favor?" "I need Holly to stay here with you" Patrick replied. "Oh no! God!" Elizabeth complained. "It's only for an hour! I promise!" Patrick said. "Fine! But this is the last time I'm doing you any favors! Understand?!" Elizabeth yelled. "Yes Ellie I understand. And thank you so much for doing this for me" Patrick said with great appreciation.

Patrick pulled up in front of the building Sister Jan worked at; Intimate Strangers. When he walked inside he saw a woman with glasses and short strawberry blond hair talking on the phone to a customer. "Yes, I'm a Vegas showgirl. And I do remember noticing you at one of the shows" she said. She listened for a moment then said "Me too. I felt the attraction right away." She listened for another moment and said "I'm turned on just thinking about that." "Excuse me. Can you tell me where Sister Jan is?" Patrick asked. She pointed to her left and said into the phone "Yes, I am touching myself. And I'm totally naked. I haven't got a stitch on."

As Patrick walked into Sister Jan's office she was getting off the phone with a man whose credit card was invalid. He sat down in a chair in front of her desk. She was in her thirties with short slicked back blond hair. "Can I help you?" she asked him. "I'm Patrick Highsmith. Ellie told me about you" Patrick replied.

"Yes she called. I can't spend much time with you. Ellie said you wanted to ask me about doppelgangers. What is it that you want to know?" Sister Jan asked. "Is this doppelganger thing real, or is it some kind of schizophrenic condition?" asked Patrick. "In nature every element is dual. Every entity has an opposite comprised of the same elements as the entity. Think about it. Every day has a night, male has female, good has evil. Have you met your doppelganger yet?" Sister Jan explained.

"This isn't for me. It's for a friend. (pause) Now…if this thing is true—where did it come from? Why is it here? What does it want?" Patrick asked.

"Why? Where? What? There's a theory you can take it or leave it that doppelgangers exists in a limbo state—between our world of the living and world of the dead. Does that make them the walking dead? Maybe. The why and the what. It was probably forced out by some kind of trauma. It just wants to survive like any other entity. It's very suspicious like an animal in the jungle. Totally instinctive; totally unreasonable. You see once you split—once there are two of you, the doppelganger doesn't want to reunite. It enjoys its freedom. It'll do anything to defend it. Legend has it that a doppelganger is an omen of death—that if you meet your doppelganger you die" Sister Jan explained.

Patrick's eyes widened and his mouth hung open in shock. Now he knew why the doppelganger was after Holly—to kill her! He swallowed hard in fear and shock. "H…how do we…reunite…it?" he asked nervously. "Love! Plain! Simple! The best side of man's soul. You reunite the two halves by commenting the doppelganger—by pacifying it. It'll do anything to avoid love. Always trying to scare love away. Drive it off. Love does the trick. Love allows both halves to coexist peacefully" Sister Jan explained.

Just then the phone on Sister Jan's desk rang. "Intimate Strangers. How may I help you?" she said into the phone. Patrick turned around in the chair, looked out the window, and saw Holly 2 standing across the street from the building! He quickly jumped out of the chair. "I have to go! Thank you!" Patrick told Sister Jan and hurried out of her office.

Patrick exited Intimate Strangers through the entrance door, and across the street saw Holly 2 walk behind a brick wall. He quickly began to follow her. Just then she stopped on railroad tracks and just stared at him with an emotionless look. She was twenty feet in front of him. "Who are you?!" he called out to her. She didn't say a word and started walking again. Patrick ran to the nearest payphone, dug change out of his jeans pocket, slipped it into the coin slot, picked up the phone, and dialed Elizabeth's home number.

At Elizabeth's house in the living room Holly was sitting in a chair next to a painting of an angel conquering a demon. "Did you paint this?" Holly asked Elizabeth. "That Holly is from my blue period—also known as my bullshit period" Elizabeth replied. "Do you believe in angels? I do" said Holly. Just then the phone rang. Elizabeth got up out of the chair she was sitting in to answer it. "Hello?" she said into the phone. "Ellie it's me!" Patrick replied from the other end of the line. "It's Patrick!" Elizabeth told Holly. Holly got up and walked over to Elizabeth. "I want to talk to him" Holly told her. "Patrick, Holly wants to talk to you" Elizabeth said into the phone.

"I can't talk right now! Just keep her there Ellie!" Patrick cried and hung up the payphone. He ran back to the railroad tracks, where he saw Holly 2 twenty feet away staring at him. It was obvious she had been standing there the whole time he had been on the phone. "What the hell?" Patrick asked himself and began to follow her. He followed her across a beach and under a busy freeway. He looked in the far distance and saw her disappear into a dark alley. Bravely he followed her.

In the alley he was walking around looking for her. "Hello?!" he called out. Suddenly someone grabbed his ankle! Patrick screamed, looked down, and saw it was a hobo. The hobo held up a cigarette in his free hand. "Care for a smoke?" the hobo offered. "No I don't smoke. Did you happen to see a girl walk through here?" Patrick asked. The hobo shook his head and let go of his ankle. "Thank you" Patrick said and continued walking.

Suddenly a sinister figure appeared behind Patrick! Patrick kept walking—unaware he was being followed. Just then the figure stepped on an empty soda can—making a loud crushing noise. Hearing the crushing sound Patrick stopped walking, turned around, and saw that he was being followed by…Mr. Gooding! He was wearing the same black trench coat as Holly 2. He smiled evilly at Patrick—a butcher knife in his right hand. Patrick's eyes widened in horror.

"Shit!" he cried and ran as fast as he could through the alley. He met a dead end at a fence. He looked behind him and saw Mr. Gooding running towards him. He managed to slip through the fence just in time. Mr. Gooding violently shook the fence—yelling enraged that Patrick had gotten away.

CHAPTER TEN: "ENDGAME"

That night at Patrick's apartment—in the kitchen Patrick and Elizabeth were sitting at the snack bar looking at Mr. Gooding's photo. In the living room Holly was sitting on the couch listening to her music box that was sitting on the coffee table. "It's got to be him! Same face—same hair!" Patrick cried. "Patrick calm down! Look somebody attacked you alright? We should call the police" Elizabeth said. "Yeah and tell them what?! A dead man attacked me?! They'll give me a room right next to Fred's!" Patrick cried. Patrick slapped his hand over his mouth, knowing he shouldn't have mentioned Fred. Then looked over at Holly on the couch. "Sorry" he apologized to her.

"I don't get it Patrick! Is the sex that good?!" Elizabeth whispered loudly. Patrick didn't reply. "Look why don't you guys just go somewhere?! I can't believe I'm saying this! Patrick you're not the hero type! What are you going to do?! Duke it out with her dead dad?! Play exorcist?! What?!" Elizabeth cried.

Just then the phone that was sitting on the snack bar rang. Patrick got up to answer it. "Hello?" he said into the phone. "Is Holly Gooding there?" a voice from the other end asked. "Yes she is" Patrick replied. "Can I talk to her please?" the voice asked. "Sure just a second" Patrick replied. He removed the phone from his ear and looked over at Holly. "Holly it's for you. It's not Dr. Heller. It's a woman" Patrick told her. "It's her" Holly said.

She stood up from the couch as Patrick handed her the phone. "What do you want?" Holly asked over the phone. "I want to talk to you. I want to see you" the voice AKA Holly 2 replied. "Where?" Holly asked. "At home. You remember home. Tonight at midnight. I will not harm you, but if your friend comes with you I will harm him" Holly 2 replied. "No I'll come alone" Holly replied and hung up the phone.

"You are not going anywhere alone! That thing is an omen of death!" Patrick cried. "Patrick please. I'm really tired and I don't want anyone else getting hurt. Especially you. So please just give me your car keys" Holly replied. Patrick dug his car keys out of his jeans pocket and handed them to Holly. "This has got to stop. And if it means dying at the hands of my doppelganger, then so be it" Holly said and headed for the front door—exiting the apartment.

"I'm stuck in a freaking nightmare" Patrick said. "Well Patrick I'm glad to hear you say you're stuck. 'Cause for a second there I thought you were going to suggest we follow Elvira" Elizabeth replied. Patrick looked at Elizabeth, whom had just given him an idea. Elizabeth knew what Patrick was thinking and said "No. No!" in protest.

On the road Holly was driving in Patrick's car. For someone without a license she was doing very well. Behind her were Patrick and Elizabeth in Elizabeth's car. "She's changing lanes! You're going to lose her!" Patrick cried. "Don't tell me how to drive! I hate it when you do that! I see she's changing lanes! You think I'm blind?!(pause) You've done some very stupid things in your life Patrick, but this is Guinious Book Of World Record stupid! Very very stupid!" Elizabeth yelled. "Watch the road!" Patrick cried. "Excuse me?!" Elizabeth snapped.

Holly pulled up in the driveway of The Gooding Mansion and got out of Patrick's car. She ran up to the locked iron gates, and using the keys Mike Wallace had given her unlocked the gates, and ran up to the front door of the house. As Holly entered the living room it was dark inside, with the only light being the moonlight shining through the windows. She walked around in the dark looking for Holly 2. All the furniture was covered in white sheets.

Unknown to her Holly 2 was sneaking up behind her with a syringe in her right hand. Unlike earlier that day Holly 2 wasn't wearing sunglasses or her black head scarf around her head. Instead her long brown hair was exposed and she was wearing a black headband—just like Holly was. She put her free hand over Holly's mouth so she couldn't scream. Holly tried to squirm out of her grasp as she injected the syringe into her arm—the green liquid entering Holly's blood stream.

Suddenly the liquid took affect—rendering Holly unconscious. Holly 2 dropped the empty syringe and lifted Holly in her arms. She carried her over to the couch in the middle of the living room. She gently laid her on the couch and watched her—making sure she didn't wake up.

Outside Patrick and Elizabeth pulled up in front of the mansion. "You coming?" Patrick asked. "Fuck no! Patrick this is dangerous! You want to make a big mistake like this you do it on your own!" Elizabeth cried. "Okay you go to the police and tell them…just make up a story" Patrick replied. He got out of the car with Elizabeth's bat. "Careful you idiot!" Elizabeth called after him. She drove off as Patrick headed for the house.

In the living room Holly 2 looked out the window and saw Patrick was approaching the house. She got a butcher knife ready. In the back yard Patrick found a ladder lying on the ground. He picked it up and placed it against the side of the house below an upstairs bedroom window. He tucked the bat into his belt and began climbing up the ladder. When he reached the window he smashed it with the bat. He stuck his hand through the large whole in the glass, where he unlocked the window from the inside. The window came open and he crawled through it.

He got to his feet and maintaining a firm grip on the bat headed for the staircase. At the top of the stairs he saw Holly on the couch in the living room. He carefully began walking down the stairs. As he was reaching the bottom of the staircase, Holly 2 who was hiding under it stabbed him in the leg! Patrick screamed and rolled down the stairs. Holly 2 came out from under the staircase and leaped at him with the knife.

Patrick grabbed the wrist of the hand the butcher knife was in. Holly 2 angrily punched Patrick in his right eye with her free hand. Patrick shoved his free hand in her face as an attempt to push her off of him. After struggling for a few minutes he finally kicked her away with his good leg and crawled away. "None of this would have been necessary, if people were more FUCKING REASONABLE!" Holly 2 shouted angrily.

Patrick looked up at Holly 2 as she glared down at him in rage. "Please don't do this! Don't kill Holly!" he begged. Holly 2 smirked evilly and replied "Don't kill Holly? I'll have you know I've been planning this for four years straight!" "What?!" Patrick cried shocked.

On the couch Holly was awake now due to the chemical wearing off, and all the noise waking her up. She was looking over at Patrick and Holly 2 across from her. Just then Holly 2 morphed into The Gas Man. "One of your neighbors reported a leak. We're just taking precautions!" she said in The Gas Man's voice. Then she morphed into Stanley White. "My name is Stanley White! I'm with The Federal Bureau Of Investigation!" she said in Stanley's voice. Then she morphed into Richard Wolf. "I'm Richard Wolf. How do you do?" she said in Richard's voice. She morphed into Dr. Heller. "I'm Joshua Heller" she said in Dr. Heller's voice. She morphed into Mr. Gooding, then back into herself.

Patrick had a shocked look on his face. For the past week—the people he had encountered had all been Holly 2 in disguise!

"During the four years Holly and her mother lived in New York, I pretended to be her psychiatrist to manipulate her. The night her mother was killed she was out looking for me, like she had been the whole day. But I managed to slip through her fingers and get to the apartment before she did. There I killed her mother and teleported my way out of there before the cops came. Also that night you and her made love in your kitchen—the reason she didn't remember it the next morning was because I mind controlled her that night through telepathy. I was standing outside your kitchen window watching the two of you. I also mind controlled her at the producer's party by making her dance seductively. And last but certainly not least I mind controlled Fred into pushing her old man out the window while I was still inside of her—before she had even experienced biblocation! But she had thought Fred had done it by his own free will. She saw the whole thing. She never forgave him. But then, you know how little girls feel about their daddies" Holly 2 explained.

Patrick looked up in horror at everything Holly 2 had just told him. "I'm really not going to enjoy killing you" Holly 2 said. "No please! Wait!" Patrick begged fearfully. Holly 2 raised her butcher knife in the air and cried "No Patrick! It's time!" "No!" Holly screamed. She was running away from the couch and charging at her double. Suddenly the entire house began to shake as if there was an earthquake, and the lights flickered on and off.

Holly 2 tried to stab Holly but Holly kicked the butcher knife out of her hand. The ceiling and walls began to crack and pieces of the ceiling fell onto Patrick. Both Hollies were on the floor. Holly was on top of Holly 2 who was reaching out for the knife as Holly tried to stop her. A family portrait of The Gooding Family fell off the wall, where the glass in its frame shattered.

"Run Patrick! Run!" Holly screamed. "No Holly! I'm not leaving you!" Patrick yelled. Just then the triple glass doors next to the couch burst wide open, and a strong gust of wind blew into the room. Holly 2's supernatural rage was causing all this to happen—the ceiling and walls cracking, the lights flickering on and off, and a huge gust of wind blowing into the room.

Patrick crawled over to where the bat laid near the staircase, and he grabbed it with both hands. "Hey you! Over here!" he shouted to Holly 2. The two Hollies looked over at where Patrick was. "Come over here and get me!" Patrick shouted to Holly 2. Holly 2 got to her feet—throwing Holly off of her. She grabbed the knife and went after Patrick. When she was close enough to him Patrick hit her with the large baseball bat—knocking her down. She got right back up and prepared to stab Patrick.

Holly sat on her knees and saw her double was about to kill Patrick. She began to cry—knowing she was about to lose someone she loved very much. "No please don't kill Patrick! I'm the one you want!" she sobbed loudly. Holly 2 turned her attention away from Patrick and over to Holly. She began walking over to where Holly was when Holly sobbed through tears "Please! I love Patrick!"

Holly 2 lowered her knife staring at Holly—tilting her head. She was sensing Holly's love for Patrick. She could feel Holly's love for Patrick! Just then she dropped the knife and lifted Holly to her feet. Then she became transparent and went inside Holly!

The two Hollies were now reunited as one! The house stopped shaking, the ceiling and walls stopped cracking, and the wind stopped blowing as the lights came on and Holly fell to the floor. Patrick carefully stood up and looked down at Holly lying on the floor across from him. "Holly?!" he called out. Holly was unconscious with her eyes closed lying on her back. She didn't move a muscle.

As Patrick tried to walk over to her he fell down, forgetting he had a wounded leg. He crawled over to her instead. "Holly?!" he asked. Holly remained motionless. Patrick checked her pulse—realizing she didn't have one! "Oh God!" he cried in panic.

Outside police sirens could be heard. Just then the front door burst wide open, and Elizabeth and the cops came barging in with guns!

"Don't shoot!" Patrick cried holding his hands up. Elizabeth and the cops stopped dead in their tracks as they saw Holly unconscious on the floor. "Call an ambulance!" Patrick cried. He tried giving Holly CPR as the cops went to inspect the house. "Oh my God!" Elizabeth cried in shock.

The next day in a holy sanctuary Patrick, Elizabeth, Rob, and a few others were gathered around an open casket with Holly inside! A priest was wishing Holly eternal salvation. Then he closed the casket and everyone left except Patrick and Elizabeth. Elizabeth put a hand on Patrick's shoulder for support. "Patrick? Are you coming?" she asked him. "I'll be along in a minute. I just need to be alone for a second" he told her. Elizabeth understood and left the sanctuary so that Patrick could mourn Holly's death.

A few minutes later the double doors of the sanctuary opened, and there stood Holly! Holly was wearing a short white see-through dress and all her long brown hair was gone! As she walked up to Patrick he knew it was not Holly but instead Holly 2! Holly 2 put her arms around him and began making out with him. Suddenly Patrick felt a sharp blade go into his back! He lost his footing and fell down! As the life went out of his eyes the last thing he saw was Holly 2 glaring down at him evilly!

Patrick woke up screaming, realizing he had been having a nightmare. He looked around him and saw he was in a hospital room. He felt himself and saw there were no stab wounds in him—only the one in his bandaged leg. He looked across from him and saw Holly in the hospital bed. She was still unconscious, but had an oxygen mask over her face to help her breathe.

Grabbing his crutches Patrick carefully stood up and walked over to Holly's bed. He set her music box down in her lap and opened it. The little angel inside the box spun around as soft sweet music began to play.

Patrick walked back over to the chair, sat back down in it, and closed his eyes—going back to sleep. The sound of the music box playing woke Holly up. She slowly opened her eyes, and saw her music box sitting in her lap playing its soft soothing melody.

Just then she began having flashbacks:

Mr. Gooding in the back of the ambulance truck flexing his belt.

Holly began pushing the box away from her.

Holly 2 stabbing Mrs. Gooding in the chest as she screamed.

Holly pushed the box even farther away from her.

The two Hollies fighting over the knife while the house shook and crumbled.

Holly pushed the box all the way out of her lap! It fell to the floor and shattered to pieces! Then Holly closed her eyes—glad the nightmare was finally over!

THE END