"Mom’s…twin?" Joe choked out the words. "What twin? Mom doesn’t have a twin—" He broke off as his mother began to sob against her husband’s chest. "Mom…." Joe moved hesitantly to put his hand on her shoulder, attempting to comfort her. He was frightened by her tears and frightened by the situation.

"Mom’s sister?" Frank spoke almost at the same moment. "We never knew she had a sister—"

"It’s a long story," Fenton sighed. He held Laura close and patted her back gently. "Honey, don’t cry so…." he murmured.

The sound of a door opening behind them made both boys turn. Megan and Vanessa stood framed by the doorway. Both girls were pale and anxious-eyed.

"We heard voices—" Megan began. "Ohhhh – Mrs. Hardy!" She moved across the kitchen towards Laura and Fenton and put her arm about Laura, gently. The weeping woman stretched one hand out blindly and felt for Megan’s hand; the girl took the groping hand in her own and held it. "We were so scared it was you," Megan whispered.

Laura raised her head from Fenton’s shirt front, blinking tears from her eyes. "Me?" she gulped. "Oh…I guess you would have thought that, wouldn’t you?" She cast a covert glance at the woman lying on the floor. "We were…identical. People always – always got us confused…." Her voice trailed off into choked sobs once more.

"Megan – could you and Vanessa take Laura into the other room, please?" Mr. Hardy requested. "Honey, go with the girls," he urged his wife, gently turning her into Megan’s embrace. Vanessa stepped to her other side, and the two girls escorted Mrs. Hardy from the room. Fenton moved deliberately to stand beside the body, and stared down at it, his face grim and set.

"Dad – what is this?" Frank demanded, trying to keep his voice low and controlled, but failing miserably. "We’ve never heard of Mom having a twin sister – and the first time we know about it is when she shows up dead in our kitchen?"

Fenton didn’t answer. He knelt down and looked intently at the dead woman, and then automatically reached to touch a pulse point…even though it was evident to all three of them that she was dead, and had been for some time. Carefully, he did as the boys had done – checked for wounds without disturbing the body, then put his hand into her jacket pockets. Numbly, Frank and Joe watched his actions.

"Dad?" Joe tried this time. "Why didn’t we know about Mom having a sister?"

Still no reply. Encountering the key, the detective pulled it out and stared at it, obviously recognizing it as one fitting the Hardy door lock. He shook his head and tried another pocket. Joe and Frank watched tensely, both of them biting back questions that their father evidently wasn’t about to answer.

Fenton withdrew a small, flat wallet from the second pocket. He opened it carefully, and his sons bent over his shoulders to see what it contained.

"Linda…Kaye…Scarpetti?" Frank murmured, reading the name on the driver’s license. "That’s her name?"

Fenton slowly rose to his feet, still holding the wallet. "Let’s go into the other room," he suggested quietly. "As I said, this is a long story….You’ve called the police, I take it?" he asked abruptly, glancing from one of his sons to the other.

"Yes, but they said it might be a while before they could get anyone here." Joe responded. "Most of the on-duty officers were deployed downtown for the parade…and I don’t suppose the Medical Examiner ordinarily works on the Fourth of July."

His father sighed. "Medical examiners are always on call."

Fenton made sure the back door was locked, then led the way toward the family room, closely trailed by Frank and Joe. They found Laura seated on the couch, with Megan beside her and Vanessa sitting on the floor in front of them. She was still weeping softly, and Megan was holding her hand and gently patting it. When the men entered the room, all three occupants looked up.

"Fenton…"

He went swiftly to lean over his wife and kiss her cheek "There’s no doubt about who it is, Laura…it’s Linda, all right." He indicated the wallet he held. "ID."

"How did she…?" Laura tried to steady her voice. "…die?"

Her husband shook his head. "I’m not sure. Nothing obvious, no bullets or knife wounds—I’m sorry, honey!" he broke off, as she blanched. "I don’t know what caused her death…we’ll just have to wait for the authorities." he concluded gently.

"Mom—Dad—please…" Joe stood in front of his parents, his blue eyes shifting frantically from one to the other. "Please, tell us…tell us…." His voice trailed off in uncertainty. Tell us…something!

Mr. and Mrs. Hardy exchanged glances, and Laura nodded. "All right," Fenton said reluctantly. "But as I told you, it’s a long story. So settle down to listen."

Joe obediently sank to a seat on the floor beside Vanessa, at his mother’s feet. Frank, however, shook his head and remained standing, leaning against the back of one of the recliner chairs. Megan gave him an imploring glance. Don’t be difficult! He could almost hear her saying it, but he frowned stubbornly and stayed where he was.

"Why haven’t we ever heard about her?" Joe queried. "Where has she been?"

"I don’t know where she’s been." his father replied. "That’s why this is such a strange thing to have happened. We haven’t heard from or about her for many, many years." Fenton heaved a deep sigh, and crossed the room to sit down in his favorite recliner chair. "I guess the only way is to start at the beginning…."