Chapter Two

Maura sits down in her desk chair, her eyes not leaving Frankie's phone. Jane smiles back at her, her arms wrapped around-she shakes her head. "I don't understand. I don't have a twin. Paddy would've told me." She gets to her feet. "Do you think Paddy is behind this?"

Frankie shrugs. "I don't know. This seems too big even for Paddy."

Maura sits down again, thoughts racing. "Why and how is this woman pretending to be me and why is she pretending to be a Doyle?" Maura doesn't want to think about what people were going to ask her once they found out Jane was back with a woman identical to her calling herself Maura Doyle. "Can you find out this woman's real identity?"

"I can try. But Maura, talk to Hope. Find out if she knows anything. I'll text you the picture. Show it to her."

Maura nos, rubbing her temples. Standing, she collects her things. "We should get to my house. Your mother will need help with dinner." She hurries to the door, tears blurring her vision. "Is it strange to feel like I've been replaced?"

"You haven't been replaced. No one can replace Dr. Maura Isles. We're gonna figure this out."

Jane drops the last box from the van onto the floor with a loud sigh. "That's the last one!" She sinks to the dark blue couch with a groan. "I hate moving!"

"Would a beer make you feel better?"

Jane looks to her right to find Maura holding out a beer. "I knew I loved you, sis. Where's the munchkin?"

Maura joins her on the couch with a glass of red wine. "Hanging her posters in her closet. I told her she couldn't hang them in her room but the closet was fine." She takes a sip of her wine. "You have to admit, at least the place is furnished. I would've chosen a different couch but this one's nice too."

"Yeah because I am not hauling our ugly couch from our old house in here," Jane mutters, taking another swig of beer. But before she can say anything else, the soft patter of bare feet running into the room makes her look up.

"Come see my room!' Red faced and smiling, Avery pulls on her mother's arm. "Please! Come see!"

"Okay, okay." Maura stood, kissing her on top of the head. "We need to make your bed. Put the sheets on."

Avery smiles proudly at them. "I already did."

They walk into the room and Avery rund over to her twin bed, covered in a pink and blue bedspread. All her stuffed animals are lined up against the pillows.

"You put the sheets on by yourself?" Jane doesn't miss the proud look in her niece's eyes.

"Yep!"

"Baby, I'm so proud of you!" Maura embraces Avery in a hug. "That wasn't an easy thing to do."

Avery shrugs. "It wasn't that hard." She wraps her arms around Jane's waist. "What do you think, Aunt J?"

"I think its beautiful, sweetie. And I think we need to celebrate and go out for pizza."

"How about the restaurant we went to yesterday? I liked their hamburgers," Avery suggests.

"As long as that creepy woman isn't there." Jane sits down on the bed. "She kept staring at us and I swear she took a picture of us."

"She what?" Maura demands, "Are you sure?"

"Jeez, Maur, chill. It's not like she knows who we are or anything." Jane struts toward the door in her silly pose. "Lets go to a bar so dark we forget who we are, where all the scars of the never's and maybe's die-let's go! Out tonight!"

"Jane! Stop!" Maura shakes her head. "We never should've watched Rent."

"And yet we did! And I will keep singing until you agree to go for pizza. I have to gooo out tonight!" Jane spreads her arms out wide.

"We'll get pizza delivered," Maura said, "How's that for a compromise?"

"Perfect, sis!" Jane plops down on Avery's bed. "Can we all sleep here tonight? My bed isn't made up yet."

"And who's fault is that?"" Maura kisses Avery's head. "What kind of pizza do you want?"

"Pepperoni and cheese and olives and pickles and-"

Maura cast an amused look at Jane. "She's been hanging around you way too long."

At Maura's, she stares into her dessert, unable to force herself to participate in conversation. Her thoughts are racing. She can't get the picture of Jane and that woman out of her head. She needs to call Hope. She knows this. But something stops her. Something she's not sure of quite yet.

"Can we run the photo?" Maura blurts, loud enough that all eyes look at her. "Can we find the identity of this woman who looks like me?" She can't keep the desperation out of her voice. It travels through her body like a deadly snake, leaving her unable to sit still. It reminds her of Jane, how she used to-

"Nina's on it. She's doing facial recognition."

Maura nods. This should make her feel better but part of her doesn't want to know. She can already feel the jealousy and anger swarming in her gut-as Jane would say. This woman, whoever she is, has stolen Jane away. Made her believe lies.

And her biological father has something to do with it.

"Maura, honey, give me the bowl before you break it."

Maura looks down to see she's squeezing her dessert bowl so hard her knuckles are white. "Sorry, Angela." She stands, grabs her keys and phone, heading for the door. "I'm going to the station." The air is cool but somehow it helps un-fog her mind as she makes the short trip to her car. As she's getting into the car, her phone rings. It's Nina. "Anything?" She doesn't bother with a greeting. There's no time.

"Yeah." A pause and then, "her name is Maria Doyle. We'll need DNA to be sure but-"

"She's my twin." Maura can't speak above a whisper as the unexpected and unwanted tears clog her throat. She pinches the bridge of her nose. "I can get you DNA." She backs out of the driveway at a speed that at any other time would make her recite all the ways one can get into a traffic accident. But right now she's on a mission: to bring Jane home. But instead of going in the direction of the station, she heads for Hope's house. She has to know. She has to get some answers.

Hope's car is in the driveway and Maura walks with determination, as if the fury raging inside her is propelling her forward. She rings the bell but doesn't have enough time to think over what she's going to say before the door opens, revealing Hope's look of surprise.

"Maura?"

"I just came to ask you one question," Maura says, moving past her into the house. She pulls up the picture Angela took of Jane and this imposter. "Do I have a twin?" She shoves the phone in Hope's face. "She's pretending to be me and has made Jane believe she's Jane Doyle."

Hope goes pale. "Yes," she says, "You do have a twin."

The numbness spreads through her body like ice coming out of the machine. "And you knew?" She can't keep the anger from her voice. "Were you ever planning on telling me? Did you think she was dead too?"

"Yes but Maura, I didn't know she was alive until just now."

"Well my twin is pretending to be me," Maura says. She puts her phone in her purse. "I gotta go. I'll keep you informed."

"Maura! I'm sorry! I didn't know."

Maura can't manage a smile. All she can do is glare. "Yeah. Maybe someday I'll believe you."

A/N

I want to thank all of you who reviewed and followed and favorited. It means a lot! I love this story and I'm happy ya'll do too!