"Let me take him," my mother said. Without waiting for my reply, she stormed into the living room and sat next to him. She spoke with him for a little while, then took his Pompeii-book in her hand. To my surprise, Victor seemed to listen to her. He got up and walked with her.
"We'll just be in our suite," my mom whispered as she walked past us. "I'll make sure he gets a bath too. Don't worry. You could use one as well, Emma. And a clean shirt. Yours is smeared with blood."
Then she left, with Victor walking right behind her. I was speechless. But also relieved.
"Emma?" a weak voice said behind me.
I turned and looked into Christoffer's gorgeous eyes. He was walking in, flanked by two officers.
"Christoffer!" I grabbed him in my arms the way I always dreamed of grabbing Victor.
"Easy, you're crushing me," he laughed.
I loosened my grip, but didn't let go of him. "I'm so sorry. I'm just so happy to see you again. Don't think I'm ever letting go of you again."
EPILOGUE
THE TRIP ENDED IN SICILY. Once the police were done interviewing everyone and examining everything, they allowed the ship to dock in the port of Palermo. Everyone was told to get their things and leave the ship. The cruise line told people to get on a bus and be transported to another ship they had docked close-by. But for me and my family, the trip was over. I was done with sailing and all any of us wanted to do was to go home.
Morten met us in Palermo and we stayed there for four more nights, waiting to get on a flight home. We stayed in a nice small local hotel where the food was great and there was solid ground under our feet. Christoffer was very upset and cried a lot the first day or two. I let him use my phone to talk to his mother as much as he needed to. On the third day, he seemed better and we went to the beach for a couple of hours.
In the afternoon, Officer Del Rossi called me. I was still at the beach and sat under a palm tree while talking to him.
"We know who he was," he said. "Apparently he was the father of a couple of conjoined children from Rome. The one was killed during the attempt to separate them and the other is still in a mental hospital…basically a vegetable. Apparently, Salvatore somehow, we still don't know how, lost them as children and didn't find them again until it was too late. He must have lost it by then and dug up the remains of his son Deedee. Apparently, he sewed the head onto his shoulder, pretending they were conjoined and took it on and off when he needed to. The wound was very infected. The twins were called Tweedledum and Tweedledee, after the nursery rhyme. Just Dumdum and Deedee as nicknames."
"Okay, that makes sense, I guess. And the victims had no connection to the twins after all? They were just random then? Because he wanted their skin?"
"Apparently, he was building a new body for his son. We found remains of what looked like the attempt to make a body or a suit or something made from the skin of his victims. But, not all of the victims were random, we think. Apparently, the Alessandrino's had a connection to the twins. Dr. Alessandrino was the one who separated the twins when one died during the surgery. It harmed his career badly. But, while Francesca Alessandrino was, indeed, planned, the rest seem to be random victims."
"He wanted the doctor to suffer for what he had done to his boys. He wanted them to feel the same pain he had felt," I said and looked at Morten, who was trying to teach Victor to snorkel.
"What was that?"
"Nothing. Just me thinking out loud. Well, I'm glad you called and told me all this, officer. And I'm glad that it is all over. Let me know if there is anything more you need."
"I believe we can call this case closed now and move on. Have a nice trip home," he said. "I do hope you'll give our beautiful country another try one day. It truly has a lot more to offer than what you got to experience."
I laughed. "Of course I will. Thank you."
"Goodbye."
I hung up and sat for a little while, staring at my boyfriend and son trying to put on a snorkel. It seemed like Victor was getting used to having Morten around. It was good to know that they liked each other.
Christoffer was already in the water when Morten and Victor walked out to him and got in. I watched their snorkels move around in the water and chuckled. Victor seemed to like it. He stayed in for a long time. I stayed in the shade and went on Facebook to check on Maya. No new updates for two days now. I was sad that there were no new pictures or anything. I was worried about her. I didn't know what it was, but I had this feeling of unease inside of me. Like she needed me or something.
No, it was probably just me thinking my baby still needed me. I was a mother. It was only natural to think this, right? To be worried when your baby wasn't with you. To think they couldn't take care of themselves when you weren't around.
Of course it was. I was just being silly.
Christoffer had found something in the water and held it up in the air. My mom and dad clapped their hands when he ran to show them. I smiled. It was a nice ending to a terrible vacation after all. The next day, we would fly home and that would be it. It was over. I had spoken to Sophia and told her everything and, luckily, she wasn't angry with me at all. No, she was relieved that Christoffer was alright.
"I'm so sorry I put your son in danger," I said.
"Are you kidding me?" she answered. "I know you did everything you could. Heck, if it wasn't for you, he probably wouldn't be alive at all. I know I owe you one for this."
It was the best reaction I could have hoped for. I was so relieved.
I drew in a deep breath, then looked at my phone again, when it suddenly rang. I jumped when I saw who it was.
"Maya?" I said and took it.
"Hi, Mom."
Uh-oh. Something is wrong. I can hear it in her voice. Something is terribly wrong.
"What's going on, sweetheart?" I asked.
"Well…I was just wondering…I just wanted to…"
"Maya, what’s wrong? I can hear it in your voice. Something is wrong."
Maya started sobbing.
"Maya, sweetheart. Just tell me. It's gonna be alright. I promise you."
"No," she cried. "No, it won't. Not this time, Mom."
"What on earth happened?"
"I…I…I got mad at Dad and stole his car…"
"You did what? Where are you Maya?"
"Wait. There’s more."
I took in a deep breath to calm myself down. "Okay."
"I…oh, it's awful, Mom."
"Just tell me what it is. I won't get mad. Just tell me."
"Well…I…I…I kind of hit someone with it. It wasn't my fault, Mom. You have to believe me. Someone jumped right out in front of the car. There was nothing I could do."
"You hit someone? Who? What? Is he dead? Maya, you don't even have a license! Is this person alive?"
"I don't know. I don't dare to look. There’s blood, Mom. There was blood on the windshield. Oh my God, Mom. I'm scared. What if I killed someone?"
"Well, where is the person now?"
"Still lying in the road in front of my car. Oh God, Mom. What if this person dies? Oh, Mom, please." Maya was crying loudly now.
"Easy, Maya. Calm down. Now, just take it easy, will you? I'm sure it'll be fine. Now I want you to hang up, then call 112 and talk to the police and have them send an ambulance. Then, you call your Dad."
"I can't do that, Mom. He'll kill me."
"But you have to. You need someone to be there with you. The police will take you in for questioning. Dad needs to be there. I'll be back tomorrow, then I'll come for you."
Maya went quiet. "You don't think Dad will kill me?"
"No. Don't be silly."
"He's been really mad lately, Mom. I'm scared of him. He yells at Victoria constantly. I even saw him hit her once. Mom, do you think he'll hit me?"
"If he does, I'll kill him. But he's your only chance now, Maya. Just call him, will you? Then call me back so I know you're safe. But first, call for an ambulance."
"Okay," Maya said with a very w
eak voice.
"Talk to you in a few minutes," I said. "I'll wait by the phone."
"Okay."
Two hours later, I still hadn't heard from her. I called her dad again and again, but got no answer. When he finally picked up, he told me he hadn't heard from her either. He had no idea what had happened. I had to tell him everything.
"I'm gonna kill her when I find her," Michael hissed angrily into the phone. "She's been nothing but a pain in the butt since she got here. Now, she stole my car? And wrecked it? I'm gonna kill her!"
It was while listening to him yell and hiss that I finally understood what Maya had tried to tell me. That was when I realized that she had tried to run away. And now she had done it again. This time, not just from her dad, but from both of us. And, worst of all, she had run from the consequences of her actions.
THE END
Dear reader. Thank you for purchasing TWEEDLEDEE AND TWEEDLEDUM (Emma Frost #6). I know this one ends on a terrible cliffhanger, but I also assure you that you'll get a lot more of this part of the story in the next novel, where Emma starts the search for her runaway teenage daughter.
I truly hope you enjoyed this book. Don't forget to leave a review or to check out my other books if you haven't already read them.
Take care,
Willow
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BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR
MYSTERY/HORROR NOVELS:
ONE, TWO ... HE IS COMING FOR YOU (Rebekka Frank #1) - http://www.amazon.com/One, two ...
THREE, FOUR ... BETTER LOCK YOUR DOOR (Rebekka Frank #2) - http://www.amazon.com/Three, Four ...
FIVE, SIX ... GRAB YOUR CRUCIFIX (Rebekka Frank #3) - http://www.amazon.com/Five, Six ...
SEVEN, EIGHT ... GONNA STAY UP LATE (Rebekka Frank #4) - http://www.amazon.com/Seven, eight ...
NINE, TEN ... NEVER SLEEP AGAIN (Rebekka Frank #5) - http://www.amazon.com/Nine, ten ...
EDWINA - http://www.amazon.com/Edwina
ITSY BITSY SPIDER (Emma Frost #1) - http://www.amazon.com/Itsy Bitsy Spider
MISS DOLLY HAD A DOLLY (Emma Frost #2)- http://www.amazon.com/Miss Polly
RUN RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN (Emma Frost #3) - http://www.amazon.com/Run run
CROSS YOUR HEART AND HOPE TO DIE (Emma Frost #4) - http://www.amazon.com/Cross your heart
PEEK A BOO I SEE YOU (Emma Frost #5) - http://www.amazon.com/Peek a Boo
HORROR SHORT STORIES:
EENIE, MEENIE - http://www.amazon.com/Eenie, Meenie
ROCK-A-BYE BABY- http://www.amazon.com/Rock-a-bye
NIBBLE, NIBBLE, CRUNCH - http://www.amazon.com/Nibble, Crunch
HUMPTY, DUMPTY - http://www.amazon.com/Humpty, Dumpty
CHAIN LETTER - http://www.amazon.com/Chain Letter
PARANORMAL ROMANCE/SUSPENSE/FANTASY NOVELS:
BEYOND (AFTERLIFE #1) - http://www.amazon.com/Beyond
SERENITY (AFTERLIFE #2) - http://www.amazon.com/Serenity
ENDURANCE (AFTERLIFE #3) - http://www.amazon.com/Endurance
COURAGEOUS (AFTERLIFE #4) - http://www.amazon.com/Courageous
SAVAGE (Daughters of the Jaguar #1) - http://www.amazon.com/Savage
BROKEN (Daughters of the Jaguar #2) - http://www.amazon.com/Broken
A GYPSY SONG (The Wolfboy Chronicles) - http://www.amazon.com/A Gypsy song
I AM WOLF (The Wolfboy Chronicles) - http://www.amazon.com/I am WOLF
BOX SETS:
REBEKKA FRANCK SERIES - http://www.amazon.com/Rebekka Franck
DAUGHTERS OF THE JAGUAR - http://www.amazon.com/Daughtersof the Jaguar
THE AFTERLIFE SERIES - http://www.amazon.com/Afterlife
HORROR STORIES FROM DENMARK - http://www.amazon.com/Horror Stories
THE WOLFBOY CHRONICLES - http://www.amazon.com/THE WOLFBOY CHRONICLES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
WILLOW ROSE is an international Best-selling author.
She writes Mystery/Suspense/Horror, Paranormal Romance and Fantasy. Originally from Denmark, she now lives on Florida's Space Coast with her husband and two daughters. She is a huge fan of Agatha Christie, Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Isabel Allende. When she is not writing or reading, you'll find her surfing and watching the dolphins play in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. More than 600.000 copies of her books have been downloaded.
Connect with Willow online:
http://www.willow-rose.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/willowredrose
https://twitter.com/madamwillowrose
The following is an excerpt from Willow Rose's Bestselling Horror Novel HUMPTY DUMPTY.
HUMPTY DUMPTY
1
"I'M NOT DOING IT," Ella said and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
Her mother sighed and rubbed her head with her eyes closed. "You have to Ella," she said. "It's not up for discussion."
Ella looked at her mother defiantly. She was biting her lip and felt her cheeks begin to redden.
Her mother looked at her, and then slapped her across her face. "Stop that," she said. "It's going to happen whether you like it or not. You're doing as I tell you, end of discussion."
Ella groaned. The old house sighed as the winds picked up outside. Ella's mother hurried to the window of the kitchen where they were standing and closed it. As she did, she saw black clouds gather in the sky above. The wind caused the house to shake. A vase fell from the top of a shelf and shattered all over the floor. Her mother sighed deeply.
"I have to clean this up. Go to your room. You're doing as I told you and I will hear no more of it."
Ella growled as she walked past her mother and stepped on pieces of the broken vase with her bare feet on her way out, crushing them further and making more of a mess.
Her mother picked up the broom and ran after her, chasing her out the door. "Get out you ... you ... Humpty Dumpty!"
That was what they called Ella. Humpty Dumpty. Everyone did, even her own parents. Why? Well first of all she was clumsy. Always tripping over her own two feet, or walking into corners of tables or hammering her feet into things. It all came down to her sight, really. Ella didn't see very well. She had been born with a defect in both her eyes forcing her to wear brick-thick glasses just to be able to see anything. But even while wearing them, she would constantly bump into things - and people. Sometimes things broke even when she didn't touch them, but simply because she was near. Light bulbs popped, shelves fell down, and windows suddenly blew open and smashed into walls.
Second of all it wasn't just her clumsiness that earned her the nickname. It was also the way she looked that made everyone - even those nice kids in school who tried really hard not to - think of the character from the silly nursery rhyme. See Ella was fat. But not like other kids were fat. She was so round she had no neck at all, it was like her body was one big oval lump, looking just like an egg, making her so similar to Humpty Dumpty himself that it almost hurt. It didn't matter how nice the kids were, they couldn't help but giggle when she passed by in the hallway of the school, and some couldn't help but hum or even sing out loud:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again
It's easy to imagine Humpty Dumpty, or Ella as her real name was, having a hard time accepting this as a part of her life and even if it quickly became a natural part of the other kids' daily lives - she suffered tremendously and dreaded every day she woke up in her bed.
Ella wasn't alone in life. She had a family. She had a mother, a father, an older sister named Louise and then there was Jacob. Jacob was her baby brother who Ella loved more than anything in this world. He was the first thing on her mind when she opened her eyes and the last thing s
he thought about before going to sleep in the old house on Enoe just outside the town of Karrebaeksminde. They lived on an island, a place where only a dozen people lived all year around since most houses were summer cabins and hotels. The island was packed at summertime but desolate and empty in the winter. Ella preferred the winters when she could take Jacob in her arms and walk to the beach and watch the big angry ocean throw its waves up on the sand and leave beautiful seashells for her to pick up. Ella liked the darkness that fell on Denmark at wintertime; she liked the heavy grey clouds and strong icy winds that kept the tourists away. She liked that no people were around to stare at her or make strange facial expressions because of her hideousness.
"You're so ugly people are afraid of you," her mother said with disgust, not wanting to look at her own daughter because she repulsed her so much, because she couldn't understand how such a strange creature could have come out of her graceful body.
At first her parents had thought that something was very wrong with their daughter. She was a normal child at birth, but as soon as she turned a year her body had started to mutate. They did all they could to prevent it from happening. They restricted her diet till she was given nothing but vegetables, but still her body kept growing. On the doctor's orders they tried to give her more exercise. They ran with her at the beach, took long walks in the forest and they even bought her a trampoline so she could try and jump some of that extra fat off. But no matter how hard her parents tried, they couldn't stop the inevitable. Ella was getting fat. It didn't matter that both her parents were skinny, it didn't matter that her older sister was as gorgeous as any model seen in a magazine.
In her room Ella looked out at the ocean from her window. The strong winds made the waves even angrier, she loved how they foamed and splashed onto the shore. The black clouds made the day even darker much to her enjoyment. It suited her mood. She clenched her fist hard and the nails left small white half-moons in her palm. Then she felt tears behind her eyes. Just the very thought of what her mother had told her was going to happen stirred her up inside and forced her to strongly restrain her anger.