"I don't know," Hanna replied, "what did she say about it?"
"Not much. My mom gave me a gold locket with a rose etched into the top for high school graduation, not long before I had to leave to avoid Gordon killing me. It's just a small thing but it's personal and she offered it as proof that she's my sister," Marissa said. "But if she was left behind here in Europe, she never met my mom and certainly never received a gift from her."
"Could it have been from Gordon?" Hanna asked.
"Maybe, but it was supposed to have been a secret between my mom and I. Not even Trace knew."
Hanna sprang from the bed, energized with new ideas. "Well, how is it said, first things first?"
Marissa frowned. "That's the expression. What are you doing, Hanna?"
"You still trust me, don't you?"
"Of course I do."
"Then first things first." Hanna spun on her heel and exited the hotel room, leaving Marissa thoroughly confused.
Hanna schooled her expression into one of helpless innocence before knocking on Alex's door.
Marissa's double opened it and stared at the blonde.
"What is it?" Her tone was unreadable, but Hanna didn't let it deter her plan.
"I, um, got locked out of my room. I think Marissa has the only key card and she must be asleep or in the shower or something." Hanna tried to channel Sandy's stereotypical teenage clueless act. She looked shyly at Alex. "Can I use your bathroom? Please?"
Alex nodded. "Sure, that's fine. You know where it is," she said as she watched the young woman go ahead of her.
"Thanks for saving Marissa," Hanna said. "She and I used to be enemies but now we're, like, really close." She stopped to stare at Alex. "I kind of had to tell you, but your hair is sticking out in the back, you might want to comb it or something." She looked down, continuing her shy act. "You and Marissa have such pretty hair, it's too bad to let it go without fixing it."
Alex bent over a bag near the mirror opposite the bed. She pulled out a brush and raked it through her copper locks. "Thanks, Hanna, that's really sweet of you." She stopped and stared at the young woman. "Don't you need to use the bathroom?"
Hanna nodded. "Do you have any bottled water in the little kitchen area? We're out and I'm so thirsty."
"Let me see," Alex walked into the kitchenette, giving Hanna just enough time to grab the hairbrush, pull some strands from it and carefully place them in the plastic bag she was carrying in her jacket pocket. "Here you go."
Hanna accepted the bottle with a smile. "Now I'll just use the bathroom and stop being a pest," she said.
"No problem," Alex answered.
Hanna couldn't believe how things were falling into place when she went into the bathroom and saw the locket that Marissa had described laying on the long bathroom counter. It was small, round and gold, decorated with a tiny rose, just as Marissa had said. Then she placed the small bug inside a light fixture next to the mirror. She quickly took a couple of pictures of it with her phone before flushing the toilet and running the tap at the sink for a few seconds.
"Thanks," she said as she exited the room. Now she had everything she needed to begin her own investigation.
"Do I want to know where you've been?" Marissa asked when Hanna came back into the room.
"I do not know, but I do need to find a DNA lab nearby. After I borrow your hairbrush," Hanna said.
Marissa narrowed her eyes. "You went to see Alex to gather physical evidence."
"Yes."
"Were you successful?" Marissa inquired.
"Yes." Hanna's typical deadpan reply felt right for the situation. "I took hair from her brush and then I took pictures of the locket, which she had left in the bathroom. Either she is a careless spy or she did not suspect me."
"I'd be willing to bet on both," Marissa said. "Can I see the photos while you gather evidence from my hairbrush?"
"Sure," Hanna passed the phone to Marissa before putting on gloves and gathering the sample.
Marissa stared at the locket in the photograph. Sure enough, it was the same piece of jewelry. She peered at the images trying to detect any differences in her own. There didn't seem to be any, but this didn't necessarily mean that Alex had a true tie to Marissa's mother.
"Done," Hanna announced, labeling the bags. "Do you know where I can have these tested? It is my first time in Vienna."
Marissa was lost in thought over the locket photographs. "Oh. Ask Carl Meisner. He's in my phone and my address book," she said, retrieving a leopard print book from her bag that looked like it had belonged to her when she was about Hanna's age. Even the handwriting was loopy and juvenile when compared to the writing on the notes that Marissa had sent to Hanna on their most recent mission.
Somehow, the address book and its youthfulness made Hanna sad. How many normal things had Marissa missed out on because of her father's ruthless drive? She took the book as if it was the most precious object in the world, copied Carl's contact information and gave it back to its owner with the same care.
Half an hour later, Hanna was going back to the hotel from her quick errand to the lab, burdened by more information on the mystery of Alex. She'd insisted on waiting while the lab tech ran the panels, making sure to receive everything back so it couldn't fall into the wrong hands. Now she carried a paper that confirmed what they had feared: Alex was Marissa's twin, no doubt about it.
Marissa was asleep once more when the young woman entered the room. The remains of the day's sunshine was still spilling in the window, though it had dimmed a little while Hanna had been gone. Nevertheless, Marissa had been so exhausted that she hadn't bothered to draw the drapes. Hanna laid down next to her, tired herself and feeling too vulnerable to relegate herself to a separate bed. The agent stirred a little, but Hanna said nothing in order to not disturb her sleep. Within a few minutes, Hanna was asleep, too, dreaming of hairbrushes and lockets.