The Sound of Secrets. Irene Brand
yet that I wanted to take home with me. But I’m happy for you. When’s the wedding?”
“We haven’t set a date yet. We’re planning a small church wedding with just three attendants. Kaitlyn wants to be a flower girl, and of course you’ll be my maid of honor. As I told you, Mick asked his friend, Drew Lancaster, to be the best man. You remember Drew, don’t you?”
Staring straight ahead so Portia wouldn’t detect that she had more than a casual interest in Drew, Rissa said, “Yes, I met him during the investigation into Garrett McGraw’s death.”
A frigid gust of wind staggered the sisters as they walked arm in arm. Rissa had grown accustomed to a slightly milder climate and the strong blast chilled her to the bone.
Portia seemed less daunted by the strong gale, and she continued, “I wanted your help in choosing the dresses we’ll wear. We’ve never had the same tastes, and I need your input. We’ll have to shop in Portland—there are no bridal shops in Stoneley.”
“The logical thing would have been for you to come to the city to shop for your bridal attire. There won’t be as much choice up here.”
“I know, but Mick wants to keep the wedding simple. He’s a little put-off with the Blanchard wealth and social standing anyway, and I don’t want him intimidated by an expensive wedding. Detectives make a good salary, but he has a daughter to care for…and kids are expensive.”
“And where will you live?”
“Mick has an adorable little cottage overlooking the ocean. It’s small, but he’s adding another bedroom and a bathroom for us.” Portia looked quickly at her twin. “I’ve wondered if I’m leaving you in the lurch since I won’t be paying my share of the rent. You like the apartment so much—I hope you won’t have to give it up.”
“Don’t worry about that. The profits from my show will easily make up for your share of the rent.”
A tremor in her voice, Portia said, “It’s hard for me to imagine that you and I won’t be living together anymore. We’ve always been inseparable. Now I’ll be staying in Maine with a husband and a daughter, and you’ll be in New York by yourself. I wish you’d move back to Maine.”
Although Rissa had been having similar thoughts about being separated from Portia, she laughed nonchalantly. “Do you think I could ever be happy in Stoneley again? There probably aren’t more than a half dozen people in this area who have even seen a Broadway show, let alone have any idea of what it takes to write and produce one.” She shook her head, realizing that she sounded pretentious again. “I’ll miss being with you, sweetie. But you and I have to go our separate ways now. I need to be around people who understand me and my purpose in life.”
“I know! But it will be different,” Portia murmured.
“Very different! While I was driving last night I got a little nostalgic. I remembered so many things about us. Being a twin is wonderful. When we were little, I never bothered with a mirror. If I wanted to know what I looked like, I looked at you. And do you remember the time I wanted a new hairstyle, and while you were asleep, I cut your hair to see how I would look with short hair?”
“Do I remember? That’s the first time we ever had a fight. And I thought Aunt Winnie was going to spank you.” They both giggled remembering the experience.
With a grimace, Rissa said, “Instead of spanking me, she cut my hair, and she didn’t know any more about styling hair than I did. After I saw what you looked like, I’d made up my mind I didn’t want short hair, but I got it, anyway. Even now, I dread going for a trim—I’m afraid I’ll hate it like I did my first haircut.” They both giggled.
“And I never had any trouble buying a gift for you—I just bought something I liked.”
“But we didn’t always choose the same kind of clothes,” Rissa commented.
“That’s because we’re not entirely identical—we are separate people.”
“Well, it’s been a great ride while it lasted.”
“Oh, don’t talk like it’s all in the past, sis. Surely we’ll have more fun times together.”
“Count on it!” Rissa agreed. “I’ll leave your room in the apartment the way it is now—mess and all,” she added with a grin because Portia’s room was always cluttered. By contrast, in Rissa’s bedroom, everything had its place. “It will be ready whenever you want to bring your family to visit.”
They came to the end of the cliff walk. “Let’s go back through the spruce forest,” Portia said. They turned to cross Bay View Road but paused when they saw a police cruiser approaching.
“Well, well!” Rissa said with a teasing glance at her sister. “Here comes that wonderful man now.”
Portia shook her head. “That isn’t Mick. It’s his partner, Drew.”
The large cruiser slid to a halt and the window lowered before Rissa got control of her emotions.
“Hello, ladies,” Drew said in a deep-timbered, composed voice that Rissa remembered all too well. He was ruggedly handsome with short, chestnut-brown hair and assessing dark eyes that were presently flickering with amusement. “I think I need to visit an optometrist—I’m seeing double.”
Bending forward until her eyes were on a level with his, Portia said, “Oh, you tease. This is my sister, Rissa.”
“It’s great to see you again, Rissa.”
“Same here,” Rissa replied evenly, having regained her composure. “I understand we’ll have the responsibility of keeping the bride and groom cool, calm and collected during their wedding.”
“So I’ve been told, but who’s going to keep us from being nervous?”
“We’ll have to lean on each other,” Rissa answered, irritated because she was enjoying this good-natured bantering. But her smile faded when she thought about Drew’s small-town position—he could never be husband material. Like oil and water—city and small town wouldn’t mix. She was determined to put him out of her mind.
“What are you doing out here?” Portia asked. “Not on official business, I hope.”
“Actually I am. We had an anonymous tip about an altercation between a man and a woman here in the gazebo last night. The message came from a cell phone and we couldn’t trace the call. Mick was busy on another case so he sent me to investigate. What do you know about it?”
Rissa cleared her throat and pulled on her left earlobe, one of their secret communication codes. Portia looked at her quickly, having gotten the message that she shouldn’t give out any information.
“Nothing happened that should concern the cops,” Portia said. “Just a family matter—and I’m sure that Father wouldn’t want any publicity about it. He’s seen about all the police and reporters he wants to during the past few months.”
“Well, I’ll take a look anyway, if you don’t mind. Is the gate locked?”
“No, it shouldn’t be. During the daytime, it’s usually open for the help and delivery service to come and go,” Rissa said.
Putting the cruiser into motion, Drew said, “Enjoy your walk.”
He had intercepted the secret message that passed between the two women. Mick had mentioned that the twins were super close. He hoped his buddy wasn’t making a mistake marrying a twin who might keep secrets from her husband. Not that Drew was in the market for a wife, but he didn’t think he would want to marry a woman who was identical in appearance to her sister, even if she were as pretty as Rissa. And considering the shady circumstances involving the Blanchards now, he had better steer clear of any personal involvement with any of them.
“Do you suppose he’ll find anything that might cause more trouble for the family?” Rissa asked anxiously