deserved to die for the living hell you've put me through all these years!"
Britha regarded her sister with a menacing look. "I almost got away with it. In fact, I could still get away with it if I play my cards right."
Barbro wagged her finger at her sister. "Please don't pout, but gambling's out."
"Why did I kill Philip Blackmore?" Britha screamed insanely. "I should have killed you!"
Dropping her alligator jacket to the floor, she launched herself at Barbro. BOOM! They fell to the floor in a heap, legs kicking, arms swinging.
Oh, God! I stared in horror as they rolled around on the floor like mud wrestlers, their hands locked around each other's throats. I hoped they were both taking daily doses of Fosamax. We didn't need any broken hips on this trip.
"Stop that!" I instructed, rushing over to where they were grappling on the carpet. "You're going to hurt each other!"
"Get off --!" choked one twin.
"Can't breathe!" the other gasped.
I darted a look from one flushed face to the other. Gee. It would be nice if I could tell them apart.
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG! BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG! BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG!
I startled at the sound. Oh, my God! What was that? The fire alarm?
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG! BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG! BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG!
I looked down at the twins. Oh, this was handy. Nothing like an unscheduled fire to speed up the strangulation process.
I made a megaphone of my hands and yelled down at them, "You need to stop this right now! THE HOTEL IS ON FIRE!"
"Grrrrrrh," choked out one twin.
"Arrrrrrh," choked out the other.
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG! BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG! BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG!
Oh, honestly! I dropped to my knees and seized their forearms, trying to pry them apart. "Let go! Come on now. Britha. Barbro. WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!"
Thwack! An errant hand smacked me in the mouth. "Ow!" I cried, my hand flying to my lip. "That hurt!"
BAM! Another hand cracked me on the nose. "OW!" My eyes stung with tears. My lip seeped blood. I dodged another flailing arm and jumped to my feet. Okay, now I was pissed.
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG! BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG! BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG!
There was only one solution. I had to take out the bad twin. The question was -- Which one was Britha?
I shifted my gaze back and forth. They were identical except for one thing. One characteristic. One feature. Something so ordinary that no one ever noticed. Boy, they sure looked absolutely identical to me. WHAT WAS IT?
I grinned with sudden inspiration.
I spied their camera on the desk and raced toward it. I powered it up and pressed the button Nana had shown me in Pisa. Tiny images appeared on the display screen. Statues. Bridges. Fountains.
"Gaaaaaa...!" croaked one twin.
"Euwwww...!" croaked the other.
I punched faster. A bunch of holes poked into a piece of stone. What the --? Oh, yeah. Those were the holes in the cathedral in Pisa that the day-vil kept screwing with. Wow. That made a really boring picture. Punch, punch, punch. People. The Duomo. Aha! The photo I'd taken on the gallery of the Duomo. The twins with their name tags. And the closeup shot showing every hair, every pore, every detail.
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG! BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG! BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG!
I searched up, down, left, right. Their eyes. Their mouths. Their -- A slight inconsistency caught my eye. It looked like a mere speck on the screen, but this could be it. A difference so small, so insignificant, that no one ever noticed. I squinted more closely. This was it! It had to be!
I looked desperately around the room. A weapon. I needed a weapon! My gaze fell on the liter of bottled water on the desk. Aha!
I raced toward where the twins were entwined on the floor. One on top, one below. Damn. It was hard to see anything with them in this configuration. "Excuse me, ladies, could I trouble you to roll over a little?"
"She...!"
"I...!"
With a grunt and a growl they rolled onto their sides like chickens on a spit.
"Thank you. That's perfect." I checked out one twin. I checked out the other. Nodding, I raised my liter of bottled water like a baseball bat. "I'm really sorry to have to do this, ladies, but if we don't get out of here, we're going to be toast."
I swung downward, delivering a walloping blow to the back of Britha Severid's head. THUNK!
She startled. She gasped. She wilted into unconsciousness.
Her hands fell away from her sister's throat, freeing her.
I separated the two women, praying my hunch had been right.
"Did you kill her?" the conscious twin blurted out, rubbing her throat.
I gave her an odd look. "Of course, I didn't kill her. I just