The Case of the Vanishing Twin

After that conversation with Nora, Gwen decided to seek Donna out and have a talk with her.

1527 FARALLON WAY

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA

August 26, 12:55 p.m.

"Well, it's now or never," whispered Gwen as she sat in her parked car in front of Donna Dayton's house.

Gwen exited her car and boldly walked up to their house, and knocked on their door. When Donald answered the door, Gwen asked if she could speak to Donna about a male/female set of twins she was having a problem with and sought advice on dealing with it.

Gwen was shocked to witness Donald undergo an almost immediate transition over to the Donna personality. Donna invited Gwen inside and suddenly excused herself and said she'd be back in a few minutes. Gwen waited in the living room on a sofa, and in a little more than ten minutes, Donna returned, looking like a beautiful woman. Donald would not be present for the rest of their conversation.

"Hi. Let me formally introduce myself. I'm Donna. I am very interested to hear about your dilemma about a set of twins that you know. Please continue," asked Donna.

Gwen describes how Roni had stolen her girlfriend, Marsha, from her and broken her heart. She was looking to exact revenge on Roni for her part in the breakup. Gwen didn't yet want to tell Donna that she had already killed one of Roni's teachers at Laney College and attempted to frame Roni for the murder. Instead, she asked Donna if she had any ideas for getting back at Roni.

"Well," began Donna, "I have a little experience in this subject. Without getting into specifics--"

Gwen knew what she was referring to, so she just cut to the chase.

"You've been meeting and killing male twins who have sisters. I've been following your work, and I must say, you are quite impressive," said Gwen, trying not to show too much admiration for what Donna had done.

"So you know about my dirty little deeds, then," she replied.

"I do. And that's why I wanted to talk to you. I thought maybe we could work something out, whereby you take care of Roni's brother for me, and I'll do something for you. Killing him would break her heart. She so deserves to experience what a broken heart feels like," continued Gwen.

"I like the idea," said Donna, "but I'm not sure what you could do for me. I'd have you take care of my brother Donald for me, but as we both know, my situation is a little different than regular twins who hate each other. Unfortunately, you or I can't kill him without taking me out at the same time. Oh, if I could only get rid of him without committing suicide, my life would be fantastic.

"I'll tell you what. You find some way to get Roni's brother here, and I'll figure out some way to take care of him, and then you can owe me a favor. I'm sure I'll come up with something at some point. Maybe you could help me destroy one of my future twin victims. That could be fun. We could meet some poor bastard, have drinks with him, make him feel like he's going to score two hot babes, and then we take him somewhere and kill him. After that, we can have another drink and celebrate. What do you think about that?" asked Donna.

"I love it. I'm tired of always being the one looking for love and satisfaction, only to have my heart broken when someone I care about dumps me. I'm beginning to think that love is overrated, but I like the idea of experiencing satisfaction and just moving on until the next time. Donna, you've got a deal. I'll let you know when I'm bringing Roni's brother Robert over here, and you can put Donald on the shelf until we're done," said Gwen.

"I'll be waiting to hear from you, my dear," concluded Donna as Gwen stood up to leave. After hugging each other, Gwen was on her way back to her mom's house.

THE LATE MELISSA STEIN'S VACANT HOME

1987 MAGELLAN DRIVE, MONTCLAIR (OAKLAND), CALIFORNIA

August 26, 2:20 p.m.

The front door squeaked open, and then Gwen slammed it as she made a beeline to the kitchen to grab a glass of ice tea. It was a sweltering day in the low nineties, which didn't have very often in Montclair, even in the summertime. Because of that, most homes in the Oakland-Montclair area didn't have central air-conditioning installed when they were built.

Gwen sat down at her mom's 1960's style dinette table to sip her ice tea and calm her mind before she went downstairs to confront her captives. Two of them were going for a ride; they just didn't know it yet.

After enjoying her glass of ice tea, Gwen set the glass in the sink, already filled with dirty dishes and a few cockroaches scurrying to their favorite hiding spaces behind and under things. The kitchen was beginning to smell like stale food and musty sweatshirts.

I'd better clean up this shithole before the stench is so pungent that I need to wear a hazmat suit to come in here. Well, here goes--time to piss off my prisoners.

Gwen cautiously made her way down the creaking steps to the basement's dirt floor, opened the closet door, unlatched the shelf, and pulled it open.

"Everyone, get over to the back wall before I come in. And, yes, I have my gun with me."

As she entered the now stinky-smelling room, her three captives were standing against the back wall as commanded.

"Jesus," said Gwen, holding her free arm up to cover her nose. "You guys stink badly. You should take showers more often. Oh, sorry, you can't."

Gwen tossed handcuffs onto the bed and instructed Roni to put them on her brother, with his hands in front of him.

"Now, kiddies, Roni and Robert are going to go for a ride with me. I've met a brother and sister who are twins, just like you, and they're just dying to meet you. Well, at least the sister is. She has this thing about other twins. I'm sorry, Miss Fontaine, but you're going to have to stay here. I don't want to risk keeping track of three of you in a car. I'd end up shooting at least one of you. So you sit on the bed, and you two come with me," said Gwen as she went out the door first so she could keep her gun trained on the twins as they exited the room.

Nikki sat on the bed as instructed as she watched Gwen walk out first, and then Roni and Robert followed her out. Unbeknownst to Gwen, someone had left a small piece of cardboard on the floor in the room. Someone had used it to level the small table against the wall opposite the bed.

When Gwen was out of the room and could no longer see the bed where Nikki was sitting, Nikki grabbed the cardboard piece, and as Gwen swung the shelf-door closed, she inserted it against where the shelf latch would click locked, which prevented it from completely locking. No one noticed Nikki's little ploy, and Gwen followed Roni and Robert up the stairs and closed the door from the basement to the kitchen.

Gwen and her captives walked out to her car parked in the driveway and had Roni get behind the steering wheel, and Robert sat in the front passenger seat. Gwen could then watch them both safely from the back seat, with her.32-caliber pistol resting on her lap.

I waited about ten minutes before seeing if the secret door would open. I didn't want to tip my hand before it was safe. This bitch Gwen has gone off the deep end, and there's no way to tell what she might do. When I shoved on the door, it didn't budge. What the--I know I got that piece of cardboard in the right place. This time I'm going to get a running head start and see what happens.

Here goes. Bang! The door flew open as if it were late for an appointment. I hit it with enough force that several, if not most, of the canned foods on the shelves flew off and scattered all over the dirt floor in front of the closet.

I need to get to a phone. I know right where that nutjob is going.

Fortunately, Gwen's mom was old school, and there was still a landline in the house, and it was connected and working.

Jesus, what's the OPD number. Guess I'll do it the old-fashioned way. I'll dial zero.

"Operator," said Nikki with unmistakable urgency, "this is an emergency. Please connect me with the Oakland Police Department."

"Right away, ma'am," said the operator.

"This is the Oakland Police Department. How can I direct your call?" asked the operator.

"Homicide Division, please. This is an emergency," replied Nikki.

"This is Detective Wheeler. How may I help you?"

"Oh, my God, Fran. This is Nikki. I don't have time to explain everything, but you need to get to Donald and Donna's house right now. Gwen Stein kidnapped me, Roni, and Robert Blake, and she's taking the twins to Donna. You know what that means."

"Oh, shit!" said Wheeler. "We're on our way. Are you okay right now?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll tell you everything later. But in the meantime, can you send a car to pick me up at Gwen's mom's house in Montclair?" asked Nikki.

"I'll get someone on the way right now. Hang tight. I'll have them bring you to Donna and Donald's house. I'm so glad you're all right. Max and I thought something horrible had happened to you."

"See you soon," replied Nikki.

1527 FARALLON WAY

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA

August 26, 4:15 p.m.

As Gwen's car approached Donna Dayton's house, she had Roni pull into the driveway. Gwen got out first and told Roni and Robert to get out also. She then had the twins walk up the stairs, with her following them. She held her handgun down to her side so the neighbors wouldn't see it and call the police.

Gwen told Roni to knock on the door and then stand back. When the door opened, Donna was standing there, dressed in full womanly regalia.

"Please come in, won't you?" said Donna.

Roni and Robert walked in, with Gwen following close behind.

"Have a seat in the living room," said Donna.

"You heard her. Sit down over there," demanded Gwen.

"What are you doing?" said Donna loud enough for all to hear.

Donna walked into the kitchen and over to the stove.

"You're supposed to be resting and leaving me alone," said Donna.

"I can't let you get away with your murderous ways any longer," said Donald. "Something has to be done about you, and it seems that I'm the only one that can do so."

"What are you talking about?" demanded Donna. "What? You can't be serious."

"I've never been as serious as I am right now. You just think you can control me whenever you feel like it. But I've learned how to bide my time while you think you're in charge, and now I'm taking over. I must stop you today."

"I won't permit you to take over anything. You're a weak, poor excuse for a real man. Stay back and let me do what I have to do."

"Sorry. That's not going to happen. I'm stopping you now," replied Donald.

"Don't you see? I've got another male twin right here in our house. You know what I have to do. I can't stop now," pleaded Donna.

"Do you even know why you are killing these innocent men?" asked Donald.

"Well, because..."

"Because what? Because you died and I lived? Do you think I had anything to do with your death? I would have loved growing up with a real sister instead of the nightmare of having you in my head all the time. It's not the fault of all male twins that you died. It's too late to hope that you'll eventually get over your obsession. This is a matter of life and death, and I'm afraid there's only one way I can stop you."

As Donna started turning all of the knobs on the gas oven range and then blew out the flames, allowing pure natural gas to begin filling the air, she started pleading with Donald.

"Please don't do this. I still have work to do. You deprived me of a life. You can't deprive me of the satisfaction of seeking out my revenge on all of these guilty male twins. You just can't. Don't you see?" cried Donna.

Donna walked back to the living room, but she held a gun in her hand this time.

"Donna?" asked Gwen. "Why do you have a gun? Are you going to shoot Robert right here in your house? Someone might hear. We need to take both of them somewhere else and kill them."

"Gwen, put your gun down," demanded Donna.

"What do you--"

"I said put your gun down--right now. I won't repeat it," replied Donna.

"Okay. Okay."

Gwen set her gun on the coffee table next to the sofa.

Sirens blared as several police cars pulled up outside Donna and Donald's house. The police cars screeched to a halt in the street. The officers, as well as Detectives Wheeler and D'Agosta, exited and took positions behind the vehicles. Wheeler held up a bullhorn she had grabbed from her car and started shouting.

"Donna Dayton and Gwen Stein, this is Detective Wheeler from the Oakland Police Department. You need to come outside right now and surrender. If you have any weapons, leave them inside, or we will fire on you."

Gwen stared at Donna with a quizzical look on her face.

"What do we do now? And what is that horrible smell? Is that gas?" asked Gwen.

"Never mind about the smell. Roni and Robert, you need to leave right now," said Donna. Roni, Robert, and Gwen noticed a change in Donna's voice, but they didn't understand the dynamics between Donald and Donna well enough to realize that Donald was now back in control.

"Donna, what are you--"

"Stop talking, Gwen. You two, out of here right now before it's too late," yelled Donald.

Roni and Robert didn't wait around for further confirmation that they should leave, and both of them ran out the front door with their hands up, yelling to the police, "We're unarmed. We're unarmed. Don't shoot."

As they ran down the stairs, several officers rushed up to them and guided them to safety behind a patrol car.

Inside the house, Gwen was in a state of confused bewilderment and looked at Donna, still waiting for an explanation of the current situation.

"Gwen, this needs to stop right now. What you and my sister were about to do is pure evil and cannot happen. Donna has already killed several innocent men just because they happened to be born twins with sisters. Donna is my twin sister, but she died when she was still in our mother's womb, and she has been with me my whole life."

"You're Donald right now?" asked Gwen.

"That's right. But I couldn't allow Donna to continue what she was doing any longer. For a while, she was too strong for me to stop her. But I've adapted, taken control, and I'm stopping Donna--and you--from doing any more evil."

"But you can't--"

"I'm afraid I can. And I'm doing it right now," said Donald.

Donald stared deep into Gwen's eyes, and she knew that she could do nothing more.

"It's time, Gwen. It's time, Donna," said Donald as he started to squeezed the trigger on the gun in his hand.

"Donald, you can't do this to us," screamed Donna in Donald's head. "Please! Don't--"

As the trigger struck the firing pin on the bullet in the chamber, it caused a small spark to emit from the gun, igniting the natural gas that filled the air. The bullet struck Gwen in the heart and killed her instantly. There was a gigantic explosion that ran through the house like little Satan's angels, grabbing onto every interior wall before blowing them out to the backyard, into the street, and causing the roof of the Dayton home to collapse down to the first floor.

The police car bringing Nikki to the scene pulled up just in time for her to witness Donald, Donna, and Gwen's demise.

Donald had finally emerged from his lifelong mental fog and took control of his life from his evil twin sister Donna. Since birth, she had lived in his mind, had recently started taking control of his body, and gone on a killing spree against male twins with sisters. The only way for Donald to stop Donna required that he take his own life, along with Gwen, who had fallen under Donna's evil spell.

The vanishing twin's case ended in a flash of light and a thunderous explosion--and one bullet for Gwen Stein.