A ripple of pure shock went through Olivia’s body. She thoughtof calling Jim and Carol, but something told her to handle this on her own.
Falling into the crowd, she followed the woman, who seemed to be making her way to a taxi stand on a side street. The crowd was not as thick there, but there were still a half dozen people in line for the cabs. Olivia wondered if she should get into one and follow this woman to wherever her destination was, but the woman walked instead to a Dunkin’ Donuts, where she went in.
Staying at a distance but watching the woman through the big windows, Olivia saw her asking the cashier for something, maybe a bathroom. He pointed in one direction.
Olivia dumped her margarita in the garbage, no longer interested in it. She leaned against a tree in a darker spot off to the side, waiting for the woman to come out. Olivia’s body was filled with adrenaline and also a sort of determination. She just had to see this person’s full face a little closer.
After a few minutes, the woman was thanking the cashier and heading for the front door. Olivia stood taller and waited. This was it.
The woman pushed open the glass door and Olivia stepped forward from the tree to get a clear look. The nose, the chin, all the same as Faith. The eyes were a softer blue and the hair was way shorter and a different color but wow, this was her clone if it wasn’t her.
“Excuse me, are you…?” Olivia ventured, stepping toward the woman. “You look like someone I know.”
The woman glanced at Olivia and her eyes grew wide and frantic. Her head whipped left and right and Olivia thought the woman might bolt.
“Wait! Don’t run away,” Olivia said, and lowered her voice.“I’m Olivia, the Channel 9 intern. You have to be… You’re Faith, right? Are you Faith?”
The woman opened her mouth to speak but her jaw just hung there and no words came out. She shook her head but still didn’t speak. She turned quickly.
“Wait,” Olivia said, and grabbed her elbow. “You really look like Faith. Are you sure you’re not…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Olivia saw tears in the woman’s eyes. That’s when it was confirmed in Olivia’s mind.
“Don’t cry,” Olivia said. “Please, come sit.”
There was a bus shelter a few feet away. It had large advertisements for perfume and jewelry on the side, making the interior private, and no one was sitting there. Olivia gestured that way, but Faith shook her head.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Olivia said gently. “I just noticed you on the Strip and wanted to talk to you.”
A single tear traveled down Faith’s cheek.
Olivia pointed to the bus shelter again, and Faith followed in a robotic state, sitting stiffly on the hard bench and looking at the ground.
Everything felt surreal to Olivia, and yet she had a strange sense of calm. She knew she had to be the grown-up in this situation, not the eager intern anymore. She took a long breath.
“Faith, the most important question is… are you OK?”
Faith lifted her eyes to look at Olivia. For a moment she didn’t say or do anything; then she nodded ever so slightly as more tears welled in her eyes.
“Did you…? Did someone kidnap you? What’s going on here? I’m so confused. I’m so happy to see you alive but I’m so confused.”
Faith shook her head and stayed mute. Olivia sighed. Thiswas not going to be easy. She went for a different tactic, lowering her voice to a whisper.
“Faith, I told you I won’t hurt you and I won’t.”
“Does anyone else know?” Faith finally said in a hoarse, ragged whisper.
“No,” answered Olivia. “Only me. I noticed you on the Strip. Faith, I’m so happy you’re alive! I just can’t believe it!”
“Are you going to turn me in?” Faith asked warily.
“So you weren’t kidnapped?”
There was a beat of silence before Faith answered.
“No.”
Olivia thought about it. Was she going to turn Faith in? She could break the case wide open right here, right now. She could stand up and yell for cops, tackling Faith to the ground if she tried to run, screaming for help from the people in line for cabs, handing Faith over to the police triumphantly.
