Doppelgangster - Laura Resnick [87]
“So you’re saying the killer could stand at the window of Bella Stella’s and fire his gun around a corner to kill Charlie, as long as he knew Charlie was in there?” I said. “He could walk right past witnesses like Bobby and Nathan at Vino Vincenzo, and just will them not to see him? Then simply open a locked vault to kill Danny, even though he didn’t have the combination? And then leave again, still without Vinny and the others seeing him?”
“Yes, that’s exactly how I believe this is being achieved,” Max said. “The fatal curse imbued in the doppelgangsters made the victims utterly vulnerable to the murderer’s deadly intent, no matter what precautions they took.”
“Whoa,” said Lucky, clearly impressed.
“But the killer is not normally invincible,” Max said. “These doppelgangsters are quite sophisticated, so making them must cost him enormous energy. Therefore, I postulate that they are essential to his plan. Not to confuse the evidence trail, as we previously discussed. That’s obviously useful, since the killer doesn’t need an alibi for a murder if the time of death can’t be established, but that’s a . . . a bonus, you might say. An example of how comprehensive our adversary’s strategy is.”
Max paused in thought for a moment, then continued, “Yes, I now believe each doppelgangster’s primary function is to curse the victim by making him utterly defenseless against the intended murder. After that, whatever time, place, and method the killer chooses to employ, it is invariably successful. So successful that no obstacle can thwart him and no witness can identify him.” Max concluded, “Therefore, once Doctor Dapezzo saw his own doppelgangster today, his death was virtually certain no matter what precautions he took.”
“But if the killer is that powerful,” I argued, “why go through this elaborate charade with the doppelgangsters? Why not just walk up to the victims, curse them to their faces, and kill them?”
“Well, there’s one obvious reason,” said Lucky. “He’s already killed three people and no one’s caught him, and no one can figure out who he is.”
“And,” I recalled, realizing the full significance of it now, “we got laughed off the stage last night when we tried to explain the danger to his next victim.”
“Yes,” Max agreed. “These are both excellent points. This method masks his identity, his activities, even his very existence. He calculated that no one would suspect doppelgängerism. And even if they did, he felt confident no one would listen to such a theory.”
“He got that right,” Lucky said morosely.
“Also,” I said, thinking about it, “the whole idea of a doppelgänger is spooky. It creeps me out, it scared Charlie witless, and it terrified Danny. That fear gives the killer psychological power over his intended victims. Maybe inspiring such visceral fear even gives the killer a kick, some sadistic satisfaction.”
“Hmm. Interesting point.” Max frowned thoughtfully. “This is a subtle plan using innovative tactics, so we should not underestimate our adversary. I doubt that either his motives or his intentions are simplistic. There is something exceptionally . . . devious occurring here.” Max sniffed the air. “I forgot about the coffee!” He rose to go get it.
When he came back with the pot, I said, “I just thought of something else, Max. We know now that Johnny’s doppelgangster was telling us the truth about seeing Danny’s doppelgangster.”
“Ah, yes! Hmm. So they’re not self-aware,” Max mused as he poured the coffee. “That is to say, a doppelgangster evidently has no idea it isn’t the real individual. Otherwise, why would Johnny’s duplicate have told us about seeing another such creature?”
“It acted just like Johnny because it really believed it was Johnny,” Lucky said.
“Exactly. Moreover,” Max said, “there’s an obvious corollary. The doppelgangsters cannot recognize each other.”
I gasped. “That’s right! When Johnny’s double met Danny’s double, he was as clueless about its true nature as the real Johnny would have been.”
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,