Chapter XVII
One Small Step Forward
Two Very Big Steps Back
The library's security system had been installed in the mid eighties and had not been updated since. Sara squinted at the computer screen as Archie ran through the footage one more time. The time and date stamp put the footage at three pm of January, the third. The images captured, though, were definitely of the night in question. Through the shadows of the night and the snow of the aged equipment, she and Archie watched the killer pull the SUV up to the very edge of the driveway. He struggled with the body, but eventually placed Emmaline's body in the plaza. He leaned down and placed the body at the foot of the steps. Then he bent over and placed a kiss on the girl's cold forehead. Then he left. The camera didn't catch his face. Sara wanted to scream, 'Turn around!' but she didn't. She watched the body language and the way the 'Doll Collector' walked. Something was off. She frowned and looked at Archie. "Run it again, Archie, from where he put her down to the end." The Asian tech nodded and with a few rapid clicks of his mouse, the video started to replay.
Archie had spent almost his entire professional life watching surveillance tapes. He'd also spent numerous hours watching the CSIs watch the tapes. He could tell when they were stumped, when they had something or when they saw something that broke the case wide open. The look on the lovely Sara Sidle's face, though, was none of the above. Her brows were furrowed in concentration. A line cut down her forehead, right above her nose, signaling that she was in deep thought. The lab rats who knew her well called that particular line the 'Sidle Fault' because you never wanted to be on her bad side when it showed up on her face. They got to the end of the tape and she scowled, "Again, please."
Sara watched the killer move. She scrutinized every motion, every aspect of every movement. When the tape came to an end the third time, she was sure. There was something in that stride, a certain aura to it. The mantle of power and authority came out in the stride. This man had power and he wielded it with almost a cocky grace. It sort of reminded her of Sofia's delicious swagger. That was when the penny dropped. The connection was made in her mind. It tore through her synapses, lighting a fire of thoughts and theories. They were not looking for a cult or even a man.
The Doll Collector was a woman.
Kirstin and Elise Holloway started their morning the same way they started every morning. It was a Tuesday and like all children, they had to go to school. At least that was what Lara was yelling at them. The house keeper aside, two alarm clocks were buzzing and the early morning rays of the desert sun were peeking through windows. It was, unfortunately, time to get up.
Choices about clothing were effectively taken out of the girls' hands. Two identical school uniforms had been laid out for them.
About thirty minutes after Lara's first wake up call they went downstairs. The girls were identical, from the tips of their highly polished blue pumps to the blue headbands in their hair. The only identifying (try using 'distinguishing' or 'way to tell them apart') feature was the embroidered letters on their uniform blazers, an E for Elise and a K for Kirstin.
As physically alike as they were, the two girls were just that, two people. Two different people who just happened to share DNA. They were the highly privileged daughters of Tony and Moira Holloway and they lived in a gated community in the most affluent part of Henderson.
Joseph, their driver, got them into the car and they were whisked away to their school, The Warren Walker Academy.
Kirstin flipped through her blue science notebook. "Your hand writing sucks." Her twin only shrugged, "You should pay attention instead of doodling."
Kirstin would have rolled her eyes, but her sister spoke the truth. Math and science bored her, so her notes for those classes usually consisted of drawings and not equations.
Not that she was about to concede victory to her sister. "You're just jealous." Elise rolled her baby blue eyes and flipped open her cell phone, a series of pings and musical tones told her that she already had messages. "It doesn't matter, though, we're not going to third or fourth block today. That speaker is coming today. The chick who's running for Senate." Kirstin took off her headband and twirled it around her finger. "Oh yeah, sounds boring. Any way we can get out of it?" Both girls thought for a moment, going over schemes in their heads. Having a double had come in handy more then one time in their short lives. After a moment, both girls sighed. The administration had long ago caught on to their tricks and they would most likely have to sit through the entire speech and pretend to take notes. Well, Elise would actually take notes because there was most likely going to be some kind of quiz afterwards. Kirstin would probably waste time drawing.
It was, Kirstin realized, not boring at all. Especially since the speaker had started out with this huge presentation on the projection screen. She had never really thought about politics much. Her father dabbled in them, but for the most part, politics were not a part of her thirteen year old world. When Q and A time came, Elise elbowed her ever so slightly and they looked at each other, having a conversation with only their eyes. Without a spoken word, they both raised their hands.
They walked through the quad, shoulder to shoulder. Kirstin and Elise both had a tray of food and a bottle of designer mineral water for lunch. They passed by the stone picnic tables one by one. Each table had a different clique of people seated at it. One table had a group of soccer nuts chattering away about David Beckham and America's spectacular loss in the World Cup and another had a giggling group of girls discussing MTV's My Super Sweet Sixteen. Another table, one of the more outlying ones, had a group of kids gathered around, arguing about something called '52' Snatches of "Batwoman" and "Kahndaq". The girls avoided the comic geek table, arguments about Star Trek and Dungeons and Dragons were definitely not what they wanted to hear over lunch.
The two ended up at one of the tables that were closest to the Library. Their friends and acquaintances floated by and within five minutes, everyone was happily chatting and eating. Constance, Elise's best friend, was half way through a long story about her brother and their riding instructor when she stopped. Kirstin turned to see the VIP of the day coming their way. She saw, out of the corner of her eye, the various reactions of her table mates. Shock and intrigue and, most importantly, Elise's face was laser focused on the Wanna-Be-Senator. Kirstin turned, and put on a smile.
Two of them, like two halves of the same person, identical twins. She had not considered two girls. Two perfect little girls, mirror images of one another. They sat there, on the stone bench, standing out against their flawed friends, like beacons in the night (You've used both "sat" and "standing" in the same sentence. It's not wrong; it just sounds a li'l but… off). They were just waiting for her to find them.
They walked down the halls, she was between Kirstin and Elise. Their parents, if you could call them that, were in New York for the week. At the end of the day, after Elise was finished with Student Council and Kirstin was done painting the scenery for the school play, their driver would pick them up and take them to their soulless mansion. Little girls were meant to be cherished, loved, not ignored. "If you like, you can come with me today. I'm filming a commercial for my campaign..."
The girls looked at each other, blue eyes meeting silently. They nodded, "Okay."
Elise and Kirstin had ridden in limos more time then they could count. They had seen large houses before. They'd never been kidnapped. They hadn't realized anything was wrong or off until they were locked in the basement. That's when the icy cold fingers of fear invaded their psyches.
Author's Note: Okay, now I'm using things I can be sued for again. I feel better.
As noted, MTV owns My Super Sweet Sixteen. I wouldn't claim that as mine, no way no how. That show both scares and disgusts me. Batwoman, Kahndaq and the comic book 52 belong to DC Comics. I'm not sure who owns Dungeons and Dragons, but it's not me.
The Warren Walker Academy is quite real. I stole the name and made up the rest.