Chapter 3

Pepe' didn't know what to think. Nash had changed his appearance. And he had never known the man to do that. The hair didn't look like a wig, but it had to be. It was, at least, 2 inches longer than he had seen Nash sport only 3 or 4 scant days ago. And the tan. The tan was much darker, and it looked real. You can always tell the fake tan stuff. It smudged or smeared, and even the odor-free kinds always had some sort of smell to them. There was no smell, and he had been close enough to the man to be able to tell. But, the oddest thing was the question, 'Who do you think I am?' Was that some sort of test? Was Nash testing him? And why? It was confusing. And, on top of that, Nash, if that was Nash, was not acting like himself.

Pepe' pulled out his phone and made a call.

Nash hung up the phone and shook his head. Joe watched his partner's puzzled expression as they headed back to the SIU Headquarters. Nash was still trying to work it out as he parked the Cuda.

"What…who was that?" Joe asked. He had started to get out of the car. But, he sat back down when Nash didn't move.

Nash shook his head. "Apparently, there is a tanner, longer-haired version of me wandering the street of San Francisco. And his name is Sonny Crockett."

"What?"

Nash shrugged. "That's what Pepe' told me. Oh, by the way, he's front-desk clerk at the Ritz-Carlton now. He said I came in with a tall, slender black man. His name is Ricardo Tubbs." He paused. "Pepe' said I asked him a very odd question. 'Who do you think I am?' He said, he thought that it was an undercover thing. And he was talking so fast, you know how he gets when he's excited. He said the whole disguise, non-disguise thing threw him. He said I wasn't acting like me."

Joe didn't know what to make if it. He was the one who did the solo side gigs for their detective agency, not Nash. And Nash would never go as far as to change his appearance. That just was not his style.

"That makes no sense." Dominguez stated.

"No, it doesn't." Nash agreed. "Let's go talk to Pepe'." He said as he turned the Cuda around and headed back into the heart of the city.

Nash glanced at Dominguez as he drove. "Tell, Harvey to run this Sonny Crockett. I want to know all that there is to know about him."

Joe pulled out his phone and relayed the order.

Moments later Joe's phone rang. It was Harvey.

There was silence on the line for a moment or two. "What is it, Harv?"

"Does Nash have a twin brother?" Harvey finally asked.

Joe couldn't speak for a moment. He glanced at Nash. "What? No! He wouldn't…he would have told me!" He shook his head.

"What?" Nash asked, noticing Joe's reaction. "What is it, Bubba?"

Harvey continued telling Joe his findings. And Joe repeated them so that Nash could hear. "A tanner, longer-haired version of Nash."

"That's exactly what Pepe' said, remember?" Nash said as they speed towards the hotel. He had no idea what the joke was, but he was going to find out.

Harvey continued to fill them in on the other information he had found. Joe put him on speaker. "James Sonny Crockett is your age, Nash. He shares your birthday. He is an army veteran. He went to college at the University of Florida, on an athletic scholarship. He played Gator's football, until he shattered his knee. There had been talk of him going pro. He served on the Metro-Dade Police Department in Miami as a detective sergeant on the Vice Squad for almost a decade, working his way up through the department. He now has a P.I. business, Crockett and Tubbs Investigations. Ricardo Tubbs is his partner in that business. He and Sonny were partners in Vice. Their agency is based out of Tallahassee, Florida. They've been in business about 5 years. Sonny's been married twice. A child with his first wife, Caroline. A boy named Billy. His second wife Caitlan Davies-Crockett is deceased."

"The picture?" Nash asked.

"Just like I said, Bossman…a tanner, longer-haired you." Harvey repeated.

"That name, Caitlan Davies, that sounds familiar." Joe said.

They waited as Harvey typed the name into his computer. "That's because she is/was somewhat famous. She was a singer who was very popular in the Miami club scene. She was killed by a drug lord."

The inspectors arrived at the hotel 7 minutes later, just as Harvey finished filling them in. They hurried inside.

Pepe' was manning the desk when they walked in. He repeated the story of his encounter earlier in the day. But, he stated, the two men had just left a few minutes ago. He had no idea where they were going or what they were driving.

"What are you going to do?" Joe asked as they left the hotel and headed for the Cuda.

Nash shook his head. He didn't know if this guy was two steps ahead of him or what. But, he had no twin. Nick had never mentioned a twin. In his entire life, he had never heard anything about having a twin. So there had to be something else. But he was not a major figure, nobody worthy of being impersonated. What would be the endgame? It had Nash puzzled, and he didn't like it.

######

"He died, Nash!" Nick stated, after Nash had asked him about his twin. Nash had not expected this. He had, just casually, jokingly made the comment. He had not expected this admission from Nick. "We considered ourselves blessed to have you, and we moved on. We, your mother and I, were expecting twins when you were born. But…." He shook his head. "Your mother took it so hard that we lost the baby. We had a name picked out and everything. It was…." He paused. "We were going to name him James Allen Bridges. But, we…we had our boys, you and Bobby. And then, pretty soon after that, Stacy came along…we just…." He fell silent.

Nash nodded and put his hand on Nick's shoulder. "That's…." He didn't know what to say. That revelation changed everything. "Why didn't you tell me?" He paused. "Did Bobby know? Does Stacey know?"

Nick shook his head. "We didn't…we didn't tell you. We didn't tell anybody. We weren't hiding it. We just…. You've never lost a child, Nash. Be grateful for that. It's a pain that never goes away."

Nash hadn't told Nick about Sonny. And Nash knew his father wondered how he had found out that bit of information. Nash had no idea how he was going to tell his father that his other son might be alive. But he had to make damn sure that Sonny Crockett was who he claimed to be.

TBC