PERFECT SHADOWS

13

PERFECT SHADOWS 13

The interview room felt colder than usual. Detective Jaco van der Merwe sat across from Selene Marlowe and watched her eat oysters. Fresh oysters. On crushed ice. With lemon wedges placed neatly on the side. A glass of white wine stood near her hand. She sipped it slowly, like she had nowhere else to be. Like she was not in prison. Jaco barely blinked. In his mind, he was counting bodies. Ten. That was what they had confirmed. But now Adrian Marlowe might not have been one of them. Which meant one of the other bodies had been misidentified. Which meant the number could be higher. And then there was the body Selene once hinted at the one she said he did not know about. His thoughts were loud. Selene looked up at him.

“You can just ask,” she said calmly. “Instead of ogling me like that.”

He leaned back in his chair.

“You know I met your twin sister.”

Selene smiled slightly. “Of course I do. What did Sloan tell you?”

Jaco studied her face.

“There was no official record of you having a sibling,” he said. “Not even a twin. High school photos show two identical girls. Then suddenly nothing. Sloan disappears.”

Selene placed another oyster into her mouth.

“And now she’s an FBI agent,” Jaco continued. “Who claims Adrian Marlowe is alive.”

He shook his head slowly.

“Coincidences like that are hard to believe.”

His eyes narrowed.

“I think something else is going on. I think you stepped out once before. Acted like you had a twin.”

Selene laughed softly.

“You’re too forward, Detective.”

She wiped her fingers neatly.

“I never said Adrian was dead,” she said calmly. “You did.”

Jaco stiffened.

“You and your department counted ten bodies. One burnt beyond recognition. You assumed it was Adrian.”

She tilted her head.

“I didn’t correct you.”

Silence stretched.

“Long enough,” she added, “to get Sloan back.”

Jaco’s jaw tightened.

“I sent Sloan information a week ago,” Selene continued. “She’s the one who made the FBI interested in this case.”

He stared at her.

“How did you contact your twin while you’re in prison?”

Selene gave him a look that almost felt insulting.

“The prison uses the same internal digital system I designed years ago to monitor inmates,” she said lightly. “Come on, Detective.”

His stomach dropped.

She leaned forward slightly.

“I understand you’re skeptical. You probably think Sloan is another disguise of mine.”

She smiled wider.

“So I invited her.”

The door opened. Jaco turned.

Sloan Grey stepped inside. Blonde hair. Federal posture. Same face. Jaco’s breath caught. Two of them. Standing in the same room. Sloan looked directly at Selene.

“I don’t know what game you’re playing,” she said sharply. “But you need to give Adrian up. He needs to answer for his crimes.”

Selene’s expression did not change.

“I can’t do that,” she replied calmly. “Not until I finish telling what I did.”

Sloan’s jaw tightened.

“The longer you keep me here,” Selene continued softly, “the more Adrian’s injuries will worsen. He will give in… and die.”

Jaco felt the pieces clicking together in his head. Selene had surrendered herself. Knowing she would not stay locked up. She brought in her twin an FBI agent. She ensured international attention. Political pressure. Human Rights oversight. Audits. She had built a shield around herself before turning herself in. And now. She controlled the timeline. He could see it clearly. Four months before the murders. She had already planned the outcome. Every path led to her release. Even this interview request. It was never about confession. It was about strategy. Jaco looked at Sloan.

“Why didn’t Selene contact you earlier?” he asked. “To help her?”

Sloan hesitated. “Our relationship was… complicated.”

Jaco looked back at Selene. She was smirking. Then he looked at Sloan again.

“Mrs Marlowe,” he said slowly, “why didn’t you tell your twin sister what you were going through?”

Sloan swallowed. Selene answered instead.

“Because she ran from me.”

The room went still.

“She’s the body I told you about from day one,” Selene said pleasantly. “The one you didn’t know about.”

Jaco’s pulse spiked.

“I just never said she was alive.”

Sloan’s face drained of colour. Selene folded her hands neatly.

“Sloan used her international access to help Lucas traffic young girls from northern countries.”

“That’s a lie!” Sloan snapped.

Selene did not flinch.

“Before you deny it further,” she said lightly, “there is proof.”

Jaco’s laptop pinged loudly on the table. All three of them looked at it. He hesitated then opened it. Files. Transfers. Encrypted communications. Travel clearances. Names of girls. Lucas’s name. Sloan’s credentials attached. Jaco felt his chest tighten. Sloan stepped back.

“This is manipulated-”

“It’s not,” Jaco said quietly, eyes still scanning the screen.

Selene leaned back, watching them both.

“In fact,” she added gently, “I lied to Sloan. I told her Adrian was alive to lure her back into the country.”

Sloan stared at her twin.

“You-”

“Adrian is dead,” Selene finished calmly.

The silence that followed was heavy. Sloan’s composure cracked.

“Please,” she whispered. “Selene… consider this.”

Selene’s eyes softened for a second.

“You’re alive,” she said quietly. “Be grateful.”

Jaco slowly closed the laptop. His mind was racing. Layers. Every move layered. Manipulation on top of manipulation. Selene had dragged her own twin back into the country. Exposed her. Triggered international involvement. Controlled the police narrative. Positioned herself as victim and informant. He looked at her now really looked at her. She had not been surviving. She had been orchestrating. From the beginning. Jaco stood up slowly. He knew what he had to do. Her cell needed to be raided. Every inch. Every device. Every hidden access point. Because this-

This had been planned long before anyone realised they were playing. And he was only now understanding the rules.

...........

The raid happened at dawn. No warning. No announcement. Detective Jaco van der Merwe stood outside Selene Marlowe’s cell as a new team of guards took position. The old shift had been removed quietly during the night. Every officer now wore body cameras.

“Open it,” Jaco ordered.

The metal door slid aside. Selene sat on her bed. Cross-legged. Calm. Waiting. She looked up at them and smiled.

“Good morning, Detective.”

No fear. No confusion. Only amusement.

“Search everything,” Jaco said.

Two female officers stepped forward and pulled her to her feet. They searched her thoroughly. Clothes. Hair. Mouth. Shoes. Nothing. Her bedding was stripped. Mattress cut open. Foam spilled onto the floor. Nothing. The small metal desk was unscrewed from the wall. The toilet tank was opened. The vent cover removed. Concrete around the edges tapped for hollow sounds. Nothing. Her few books were flipped through page by page. Spines cracked open. Nothing. The ceiling light was dismantled. The floor tiles checked. Still nothing. Jaco felt frustration building in his chest.

“Check the plumbing lines,” he said.

Maintenance arrived. Pipes opened. Water shut off. Still nothing. Selene stood near the wall, hands behind her back, watching them destroy her space. And she was grinning. Not wide. Not hysterical. Just satisfied.

“You won’t find it,” she said softly.

Jaco ignored her. A technician brought in a signal detector. They scanned for hidden devices. No unauthorised signals. No secondary phones. No transmitters. Nothing.

“How?” one of the guards muttered under his breath.

Jaco turned sharply. “Keep searching.”

They searched for two hours. By the end, the cell looked like a construction site. Mattress ripped open. Floor dusty. Walls scratched. Selene finally spoke again.

“You’re looking for something physical,” she said gently. “That’s your first mistake.”

Jaco walked toward her slowly.

“Explain.”

She tilted her head.

“You raided my cell.”

“Yes.”

“You changed guards.”

“Yes.”

“You searched me.”

“Yes.”

“And yet,” she said, smiling slightly wider, “you still don’t understand how far ahead I am.”

His jaw tightened. The new guards shifted uneasily. She stepped closer to the bars.

“You think I was operating from inside this room?”

Silence.

“Detective,” she continued, voice almost playful, “I walked into this prison on purpose.”

The words felt heavier than they should have. Jaco stared at her. Every calculation he had made felt late. She looked around at the destroyed cell and then back at him.

“You can strip this place to the bricks,” she said. “You’ll still be reacting.”

He felt it then. That cold, sinking understanding. The plan had never depended on smuggled phones. Or hidden devices. Or corrupt guards. It had been set in motion long before she was arrested. Outside. Beyond these walls. Selene clasped her hands together peacefully.

“Are you done redecorating?” she asked sweetly.

Jaco signalled for the officers to step out. One by one, they left. He stayed behind for a moment longer. She met his gaze without blinking. He realised something unsettling. The raid had not shaken her. It had entertained her. As he finally stepped out and the heavy door shut between them, Selene sat back down on the broken mattress. And she was still smiling.