Isler thought he had
heard and seen it all as a cop. Then he met the man who claimed to be Schuyler
Whitney. Sure enough, he checked the news bulletins with the man’s face. They
were identical with the exception of the beard. He believed Tyler: no man could
get a thick growth of beard that quickly.
He was with Damian as
Damian got his things together to leave the hospital. “It’s a shame we can’t
take the man with us, Herr Tyler.”
“No, he’s too weak
still.”
“Do you believe his
story?”
Damian stopped for a
moment and thought hard. The simple answer was yes, it made things fit in a
strange way. However, it made other questions pop up, the big was being, who in
hell was the other man? “Yes, Inspector.”
“So where is your
focus?”
“Pardon?”
“Are we still
searching for the man who claims to be Schuyler Whitney or do you begin a
search for the truth?”
Damian shook his head
in frustration. “I don’t think they’re mutually exclusive of each other.”
“To me they are! My
job is to cooperate with your government to bring in a murderer, not to solve a
double identity mystery.” Isler’s voice then softened a bit. “I see your face
clearly. Something eats at you, I know not what. The best thing is for you to
focus on bringing in the murderer.”
Damian slowly nodded.
“I know. The problem is, the murderer is on the run, with a fortune at his
disposal. He has the advantage.”
Isler allowed a grin.
“He was last seen in Paris.”
“What?!”
“A hotel employee
spotted him after the newspaper bulletin was published. Even with sunglasses,
the man’s features were clear.” He looked keenly at Tyler. “So how does a man
become another man?”
Tyler shrugged.
“Plastic surgery, I imagine.”
“My imagination, too.
That mystery is easy. Here lies the problem: this part of Europe contains many
clinics.”
That’s when it hit.
The man had a picture of Valerie Bryson, whose father ran a clinic right in
Switzerland. “Kenneth Bryson!”
Isler shook his head.
“Who?”
“Kenneth Bryson was a
plastic surgeon who got rich changing faces for the criminal underworld.
Unfortunately he died last summer. But I think his clinic was in Lucerne.”
Isler nodded. “It is
a place to start, but I just arrived in Bern. One case at a time, Herr Tyler.”
Damian looked at
Isler fully. He knew the man had a sworn duty, but he was also curious, just
like him. It was tough, but finding the murderous double was most important. So
was finding Raven. “Did anyone find Raven Whitney?”
“No, the land was
thoroughly searched. No sign of her.”
“A body does not just
vanish, Isler!”
“Agreed. They are
still looking, she has not appeared in a hospital yet…or anyplace else.”
Libby Webster watched
Raven’s unconscious form intently. Libby was a nurse from England who had made
her way to Switzerland and had quite a successful career in the hospital in
Bern. She was professional, competent…and quite opportunistic. She was in Bern when
a friend who was supposed to have the job fell from a ski injury…and took the
job herself. She was there for 5 years making a good living before an
almost-dead body made its way to her attention. She nursed him, aided in his
physical therapy, and was there when he finally began to speak. It was a good
thing, for Schuyler Whitney had much to tell, even though his memory was patchy
at points.
Libby stared at Raven
with curiosity, then thought of the woman in the other picture, a young
beautiful blonde posing with Sky just as some schoolgirl would pose with a
famous actor or singer, starstruck but nothing more. Libby hated both women
equally, even as Raven had fallen for the imposter, whoever he was. She hated
any woman or man who would get in the way of her millions…and of her having Sky
for her own. The money was good and would provide comfort, but she truly loved
the man for who he was…and heaven help the one who would get in her way.
Spencer Varney
entered the room and just stared open-mouthed at what he saw. “Mrs. Whitney!”
“No need for
formalities, Spencer,” Libby said with a smile. “And don’t call her Mrs.
Whitney, it angers me.”
Spencer was just as
annoyed. “She’s Mrs. Whitney until we can prove otherwise. How did she get here
again?”
“I told you, her
imposter husband threw her off a cliff close to where she fell. He didn’t know
the drop was not nearly as long as he probably calculated. She had a hard fall
indeed and has many breaks…and she apparently is blind.”
“Both arms broken?”
“And both legs, plus
some cracked ribs.” Libby stared at Raven as she spoke. “She appears to be a
survivor.”
Spencer nodded.
“Indeed. But why isn’t she in a hospital?”
“Right now she’s safer
in my room than in a hospital. Her husband is on the run and if he knew she
were alive, she would be in danger again. Besides, she can help us.”
“I doubt she will.”
“Ye of such little
faith, Spencer.”
“You never told me,
Libby. How did you rescue her?”
Libby quietly led
Spencer to the living room. “She wakens sometimes, I have to remain absolutely
still then.”
“You two haven’t
officially met?”
“No. It would
complicate things.”
Spencer thought about
this. “Right, now, you’re probably right. Anyhow, back to the rescue?”
“I’d followed them for
a while, days actually. I learned where they were skiing. I was actually about
to kill him in his cabin but someone from Monticello came to visit.”
“What?!”
“Yes, someone named
Damian Tyler.”
Spencer let out a
rare laugh. “I don’t know who he wants more, the imposter to arrest or his wife
to bed. He is persistent, and somehow easy to let out a little truth to.”
“What?”
“The night before they
left for Switzerland, Tyler visited me. Don’t worry, he knows nothing about me
besides former employers, but I think I gave him a clue that solved a murder
the imposter committed.”
Libby frowned. “A bit
foolish, don’t you think?”
“It was another visitor
I told him a bit about, he took it from there,” Spencer shrugged off. “So what
happened then?”
“Well, the man chased
Tyler down a slope and I think he tried to kill Tyler.”
“You didn’t intervene?”
“There was no time.
The wife was coming back. I made my way to their slope and waited. She had an
accident and fell. He carried her to a cliff. I think it was an impulsive
decision to do it there. He threw her down, more like he dropped her. She
bumped against a few rocks and screamed a bit. The snow impact made a powder shield
he couldn’t see through, so he assumed she was gone. I had to make a decision:
kill him or rescue her.”
Spencer nodded in
agreement. “You did right. What now?”
“Well, there’s a
complication: she’s blind.”
“Quite a fall she had.”
“I’m not sure it was
from injury or if it’s psychological.” Libby picked up the day’s newspaper and
showed it to Spencer. “He’s on the run.”
“He’s got Sky’s money,
he can spend it to death hiding.”
Libby glared at him. “No!
I won’t let that happen!”
“Right now he has a
slight advantage.”
“I know…I know.”
Damian had briefly
phoned Miles Cavanaugh, then made a call to London. The recipient answered
after three rings.
“Hello, Draper Scott.”
“Mr. Scott, this is
Damian Tyler, Calvin Stoner’s partner. We met once or twice, I think.”
“Yes, Damian. I
vaguely remember. This is quite the long distance call, what can I do for you?”
“No as long as you
think. I’m in Bern.”
“Switzerland? I didn’t
know Derek Mallory gave vacations- wait a minute, aren’t the Whitneys in
Switzerland right now?”
“Yes, you’ve been following
the Gunther Wagner case?”
“When items appear in
the London Times.”
“Well, we have Sky
Whitney as the killer, I came to St. Moritz to collect him. Only things got
complicated, actually very complicated.”
“And is this where I
come in?”
“You might. I know you
went to Europe to investigate Kenneth Bryson’s clinics.”
“Still investigating.
Hard to concentrate when April’s ready to deliver.”
“Well send her my
congratulations when it happens. Anyhow, did you investigate the Lucerne clinic
at all?”
Draper lowered his
voice. “That’s an open investigation right now, but I will tell you that the
Lucerne clinic is a big deal.”
“I imagine it would
be. All right, I’ll lay it out for you. Sky Whitney had a plane crash in the
Alps around 1978, then appeared in Monticello 2 years later. Here’s the kicker.
I came to St. Moritz to arrest Whitney but he got away from me. A few days
later in a Bern hospital, I met a man who looks just like Sky Whitney, except
with a full beard. I talked to him and he seems to be the genuine article. So
the question is, who’s the man posing as Whitney and where did he have the
surgery?”
Draper Scott
whistled. “That’s quite a story.”
“It is. I know it’s an
open investigation and I don’t know what the records will show, especially if
Dr. Bryson didn’t keep detailed files.”
“I understand. Can you
give me a number where I can reach you?”
Damian gave him Isler’s
office number then said goodbye. “Now comes the hard part: waiting,” he thought
grimly
