“I plan on setting up some more cameras. Discrete ones,” he added, “in places there are holes.”
“Okay.” She nodded.
“They won’t be tied to the main security system. I’ll have access to them.”
“Right.” She stood up and walked over to the edge of the balcony. She looked over the edge at all the guests enjoying themselves below.
“I should have been looking out…” she started, but Wyatt’s hands on her shoulders stopped her statement.
“It was my job. We can’t be everywhere at once. If I had stayed outside at the tiki bar, I may have seen something. But the truth is, I would have just assumed it was another teenager going to enjoy the beach.” He sighed.
She hadn’t thought of what this was doing to him. After all, it was the reason he was there.
She was about to say something to him when her phone rang. She was going to ignore it, but something made her hit the answer button instead.
“Hello?” she said, looking back out to the sunset.
“Hello, my name is Crissy…” a soft voice said and then Jade heard the woman take a deep breath. “Am I speaking with Jade Oswald?”
“Yes, this is Jade,” she said, turning back to Wyatt.
“I… I’m sorry to bother you but…” the woman started. “This may sound strange, but… I think I’m your twin.”
Jade stilled. Her heart felt like it stopped. How many calls like this had her parents received over the years? People trying to claim the long-standing reward for information on Amber’s whereabouts.
One article recently dubbed it the Anastasia Nikolaevna case of this century.
“Hello? Are you still there?” the woman asked.
“Yes, I’m here,” Jade said softly. “Do you have a video app?” she said, knowing that most of the calls could be squashed quickly enough. Amber and Jade had been identical in youth. There was no reason to expect the same wouldn’t be the case in adulthood.
“Yes, I…” she said, and Jade heard the phone fumble. “Brock, how do you connect a video call?”
Instantly, her video app rang, and Jade answered it.
On the screen popped up an image of a short dark-haired woman sitting on a sofa with a brightly colored painting behind her. There was a dark-haired man halfway in the frame.
Jade swayed as she looked back at a face and eyes that matched hers perfectly.
“Amber?” she managed to say as she felt Wyatt’s hands wrap around her, holding her steady.
“My god. It’s really you,” Jade cried out.
“Yes,” Amber said with a nervous giggle. “I…”
“Where are you?” Jade asked quickly as her brain snapped into gear. She was so ready to jump through the phone and hug her sister.
“Florida. Miami tonight. But I’m in Key West,” Amber answered.
“Key West. So close.” Jade sighed thinking about just how close. Miami. Had they really always been that close? “What… what happened? Where have you been?” Jade asked.
“That’s a very long story.” Amber sighed. “You’re in the Bahamas?”
“Yes, my parents…” Jade smiled, thinking of how excited her parents would be. “Our parents own a resort down here. We moved here a few years after you went missing. They thought it would be safer,” she added with a frown.
“The man who took me. He’s in custody right now,” Amber said.
“Did you just find out who you were?” Jade asked. So many more questions raced through her mind.