New Release and Giveaway! THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LOOKING GLASS by Kathleen Harryman

Opening the file, I look at Pete’s report. While a sister is mentioned, there are no photographs, nor is there an age or date of birth. At the time, this missing information didn’t bother me. Now, it sends anger slithering through my veins. The answer to the problem of Kate’s coming death should have been contained in this file, not left to a chance encounter. The oversight is going to cost Pete, but for now, I smile. The sister isn’t just Kate’s younger or elder sibling. No, she is her twin. Her identical twin.

I flip through the photos I have taken, cropping and enlarging the woman’s face on the screen. There is no telling them apart. For the first time since getting Kate’s cancer diagnosis, my body relaxes.

The waitress sets my gin and tonic on the table and I dial Pete’s number.

“I’ve sent you a number of photos. You need to start explaining why you failed to tell me that Kate has an identical twin sister.”

Pete owes me, and I am collecting my debt – plus interest.

No one feeds me incorrect information without paying the price, and Pete is about to discover that price. With Charles leaving to go live in some godforsaken remote place in Scotland, there is no one to stop me.

The phone echoes with the urgent fumbling of a man not prepared to accept his fate. My lips grow thinner.

“Well, I haven’t got all day. Frankly, I’ve waited long enough. How many years is it since you compiled the information on Kate for me?” I don’t wait for Pete to answer. “I’ll tell you, Pete. Six years. Six years, and in that time, you never bothered to check that the information I paid for was complete. You know I’m not a tolerant man, Pete. Tolerance is for fools, and I will not be treated like a fool.”

“You didn’t specify how far back to go, so I only did a preliminary scan of the time before Kate was taken in by her aunt. I did inform you about the sister. The aunt sold her to a couple who couldn’t have children. You weren’t interested in the sister at the time.”

I put down my glass with a thud. The occupants of a table near me look over but are soon engrossed in their conversation once again.

“Don’t you ever try and weasel your way into thinking that this is my fault. It’s not going to go away that easily. The issue here isn’t whether I was interested in the sister at the time or not, it’s that you should have done your job properly. You didn’t, you were sloppy, and now you owe me.”

“Mr. Thornton…” Pete stutters, and I can sense him gathering his excuses.

“I wouldn’t go down that road if I were you, Pete. People like you are ten a penny. You have no living relatives, no wife or children. It’s fair to say no one will miss you.”

“Are you threatening me?” Pete sounds stunned.

The poor man really is stupid, despite being an excellent private detective. If he thinks his sloppy work won’t have any consequences attached to it, he’s a silly, silly, silly man.

“No, Pete, I’m not threatening you. I am telling you that you have twenty-four hours to finish getting all the information on Kate and her sister. And, to clarify – when I say all the information, I mean down to blood type and pimples, or you can kiss your existence goodbye. I hope I have made myself understood.”

“Yes.” Pete bites out the word like someone is holding a gun to his head and threatening to pull the trigger.

The image makes me smile.

“Good. I shall see you tomorrow at ten a.m. sharp, at my office.”

“But that’s only sixteen hours away.” At least Pete can do the maths.

“Then you’d better get going, before I move our meeting forward.” I hang up, leaving Pete spluttering into his phone.

Picking up my drink, I start working out my options.

First things first. I have to get the real Kate out of the way and into her final resting place. I will have to curb my impatience and ride out the forty-eight hours left.

The sun no longer feels unwelcome. Like my brightening mood, I find its radiance has a warming effect.