Shattered Identity Page 12

  Lisa stepped closer to the glass and studied the diamond-swirled initials on the back of the hand mirror. “It’s a beautiful piece.”

  Susan nodded. “Yes, it is. We’re fortunate it didn’t end up at the bottom of the sea.”

  Scott spotted the slight tremor in Lisa’s body, and he grasped her hand before he directed his attention back to the museum exhibit designer. “I’m new to Ocracoke, but I’ve heard the story of the Elena. What do the employees here think? Did the crew really commit mutiny, or do you think the ship was boarded by rumrunners?”

  “We really don’t know. Of course the shipwreck happened during the Prohibition era, and the Eastern Seaboard was a haven for smugglers trying to get alcohol into New York. That’s why they were called rumrunners. A lot of them resorted to piracy of unsuspecting ships.” She shrugged. “I doubt if we’ll ever know whether or not that was the Elena’s fate or if it was a mutiny. Then again, it could have been a storm that did her in.”

  Lisa turned a pleading look toward Scott. He had to get her out of here before she burst into tears. He smiled to Susan. “That’s an interesting story. Thank you for sharing it, but we need to leave.”

  “Without seeing the rest of the exhibits?” Susan’s eyebrows arched. “There’s a lot more farther down the hallway.”

  “I know, but we’ll have to come another day. Thanks again.”

  Without waiting for the woman to question them further, he pulled Lisa toward the exit. When they walked into the sunshine, she gulped a deep breath of air and bolted for the car. He caught up with her just as she opened the door.

  “Lisa, are you all right?”

  She whirled to face him, her fists clenched at her side. “How do you expect me to be all right?” The words spewed like sharp barbs from her mouth. “In the past few days, I’ve been attacked, my home blew up, I found out I have a father I never knew about, and now this—my mother was tied in some way to the mystery behind the Elena.”

  “We don’t know that about your mother, Lisa.”

  “How can you say that?” she cried. “You saw that mirror. It’s the same one she had. It’s the one I remember somebody holding in front of my face. My mother must have sent it to Elena Dinwiddie.”

  “That’s a logical explanation, but we still don’t know anything for sure. Even if it is true, we don’t know why she would send it.”

  Lisa patted the large purse hanging from her shoulder. “I stuck the diary in here before we left Ocracoke. I think the answer is in it. Can’t we go somewhere and read it? Try to find out how my mother came to be in possession of that mirror? The answer may lead me to my father.”

  Scott nodded. “All right, if that’s what you want. But nothing in that journal has brought you happiness yet. I’m afraid you may not like any other answers you discover.”

  She blinked at the tears filling her eyes. “It’s too late to worry about that now. I don’t have a choice… I need answers.”

  He reached around her and pulled the car door open wider. “Okay. Get in. We’ll find somewhere quiet to sit so that we can read what comes next.”

  Lisa bit her lip and climbed into the car. Scott stared at her a moment before he closed the door and headed toward the driver’s side. He wished he had never found that journal. Lisa needed to concentrate on who had tried to kill her, not on events that transpired when she was a child.

  He sighed and shook his head. There was no use thinking like that. He knew from firsthand experience how unanswered questions about your past could block everything else from your mind. As long as she wanted answers, he would help her. He only hoped it wouldn’t wind up hurting her instead.

  Fifteen minutes later, Lisa and Scott sat at a picnic table in a shaded park across the street from the beach. Lisa stared at the families who played in the rippling surf with their children. A child’s laughter rang out, and Lisa smiled. A little girl sat on her father’s shoulders as the two walked into the water.

  “I wonder what it’s like?” she said.

  Scott glanced at her. “What?”

  “To spend time with your father.”

  He pushed to his feet and jammed his hands in his pockets. “I wouldn’t know.”

  A pang of regret sliced through her, and she touched his arm. “Of course you don’t know. I guess we’re alike in that way.” She pointed to the child and her father in the water. “Neither one of us ever had what that little girl is enjoying right now. She doesn’t realize how lucky she is.”

  “No, she doesn’t.” Scott rubbed the back of his neck and sat down. “Why don’t you get out the journal and let’s see if we can find any answers about the mirror?”

  Lisa pulled the book out of her bag and opened it to the spot she’d marked. “I’ve read everything up to this point. Most of it is about day-to-day stuff. There’s a lot about me and how I’m growing, and she writes a lot about how much my father loves me. She said at one point that he wanted to get a divorce, but his wife refused.”

  “So he kept your mother thinking he was going to marry her, even though you were three years old at the time?”

  “That’s right. Maybe he never intended to get a divorce.”

  Scott’s hand closed over hers. “Lisa, no matter what happened between the two of them, you need to remember that your mother said he loved you.”

  She tried to smile, but her lips trembled. “I’m trying to think that way, but it’s hard.” She glanced down at the page. “Well, this looks like it may be the last entry. Let’s see what she wrote.”

  “Do you want me to read it for you?”

  “No. I can do it.” She took a deep breath and then forged ahead.

  “I haven’t written in several weeks, but I can’t keep this to myself any longer. The truth about the Elena has almost driven me mad. Who would have thought a shipwreck that happened before I was born could ruin my life? When he told me the truth, I thought I could live with it, but I can’t. I mailed the mirror back to the real owner today. I hope it arrives safely. He told me I shouldn’t have done that. He’s afraid they might try to trace it, but they won’t be able to find out anything. But he’s not the one I fear. It’s the evil one who hates me and wishes I was dead. Lisa is three years old, and I can’t keep silent any longer. For her sake, I have to stand up to them. Tomorrow everyone on the island will know who Lisa’s real father is. Nothing matters now except that Lisa is recognized as his child. I don’t regret anything I have done. It’s all been for my sweet Lisa. Someday she will be a very rich woman.”

  Scott’s eyebrows arched. “Is that all?”

  “Yes, it’s her last entry. The date at the top of the page is the day she died. So, at some point during that day she planned to tell everyone who my real father was, but instead she committed suicide. Why would she do that?”

  Scott appeared to be mulling that over. The muscle in his jaw flexed, and he took a deep breath. “Your mother said there was someone who wished she was dead, but she indicates it’s not your father. Maybe she didn’t commit suicide after all.”

  Lisa gasped and jumped to her feet. “Oh, Scott, you don’t think…”

  He nodded. “Her words don’t sound like a woman who’s desperate enough to commit suicide. Maybe she was murdered.”

  Lisa sank back down on the picnic-table seat. All these years she’d wondered why her mother didn’t love her enough to stay with her. Could it be possible she and everyone else on the island had been wrong?

  Her body shook, and a rage as hot as molten lava bubbled up in her heart. No, everyone hadn’t thought her mother committed suicide. One person knew the truth because he had murdered her.

  She threw her head back and moaned. “No! No! No!”

  Scott gathered her in his arms and pulled her close. “It’s all right, Lisa. We’ll get through this
.”

  She buried her face in his shoulder. “How could anyone do that? I wish I’d never seen that journal.”

  Even as she cried out her anguish, a resolve was forming in her mind. Somebody on Ocracoke knew who her father was, and she intended to find him. Then the next step would be to track down the person who had killed her mother. Maybe then she would find answers for all the questions that had haunted her all her life.

  ELEVEN

  Scott always enjoyed Sundays, but this one had already exceeded his expectations. As he exited the small church he attended with his sisters, he lifted his face to the sun and soaked up the rays shining down from the cloudless sky. The preacher’s sermon had been one of the best he’d heard, but that wasn’t what excited him today. For the first time since he’d been on the island, Lisa had joined him and his sisters for Sunday-morning worship.

  He touched her elbow to guide her down the three steps in front of the church, and she smiled at him. “Thank you for inviting me this morning. I really enjoyed it.”

  “Good. Maybe you’ll come with us again.” She appeared happy this morning, and he hoped the service had given her something to think about.

  She glanced back at Betsy, Emma and Kate walking out of the church. “I’d like that. It’s very peaceful here.”

  Emma raced down the steps and caught up with them in the parking lot. “Lisa, are you coming to our house for lunch?”

  Lisa cocked an eyebrow and smiled. “Why? Are you cooking?”

  Emma giggled and shook her head. “No, but Kate and Betsy want you to come, too.”

  Scott put his arm around his little sister and faced Lisa. “And my vote makes four who want you to come. Brock is going to come by on his lunch break. So the whole family will be there. How about it?”

  Her mouth twisted into a grin, and she cupped Emma’s chin in her hand. “I’d love to eat with the Michaels family.”

  Scott smiled. “Good. And after lunch we can take a walk on the beach.”

  “I’d like that.”

  He glanced down at Emma. “You want to ride with us or Betsy and Kate?”

  Her eyes sparkled. “I want to ride with my big brother.”

  “Then it will be my pleasure to accompany two lovely ladies to the Michaels’ home for lunch.”

  Emma grabbed Lisa by the arm, and they hurried across the parking lot to his car. He stood still a moment watching them. The little sister he loved dearly and the woman who was slowly working her way into his heart. Was he being honest with her by continuing to see her?

  The last thing he wanted was to make her think there might be something in the future for them. Try as he might, though, he couldn’t stay away from her. Now with the new revelations about her parents, she needed someone even more. He had to be there for her as long as she wanted his friendship.

  An hour and a half later, Lisa and Scott spread a blanket on the beach and plopped down onto it. Lisa threw her head back, closed her eyes and listened to the waves rippling near her feet. “Umm,” she murmured. “The salt water smells good today. I’ve always loved the beaches on Ocracoke. I’m really going to miss being near the water.”

  Scott picked up a handful of sand and let it sift through his fingers. “Do you know where you’re going after you leave here?”

  “Not yet, but I’m thinking about somewhere in the mountains of western North Carolina. I visited there once and thought it was beautiful country.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, it’s different from the beach.”

  They sat without talking for a few minutes before Lisa spoke again. “I don’t know when I’ll go. I’d like to have some questions answered before I go.”

  “You mean about your father.”

  “Yes.”

  He took a deep breath. “You may never find the answers you want. I wouldn’t have found my family if they hadn’t looked for me.”

  She gave a snort of disgust and pushed to her feet. “Yeah, and my father knew about me. If he’s still living, he’s kept his secret well hidden for twenty-eight years.”

  Scott hopped up beside her. “I’m sorry, Lisa. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  She rubbed her head. “It’s okay. I’m still trying to cope with all this.”

  Scott opened his mouth to respond, but instead chuckled. “Well, would you look at that.”

  Lisa turned and laughed at the sight of Grady Teach walking along the beach with a metal detector in his hand. He moved slowly and scanned the surface as he moved closer.

  Lisa cupped her hands around her mouth and called out, “Hey, Grady, what are you doing?”

  He grinned and came to a stop beside them. “What I do every day. Looking for treasure.”

  Scott pointed to the metal detector. “It looks like you have the right equipment. Found anything lately?”

  He shook his head. “Nope. There’s too many others on our beaches now. Not like it was when I was growing up. I don’t know what’s happening to my island.”

  She smiled at the reference to his island. “Sometimes I don’t either.”

  He shifted the metal detector in his arms, repositioned his straw hat on his head and pushed his long hair out of his eyes. “Yep, it’s a new day on Ocracoke. Tourists crowd the streets, and there are bicycles everywhere. Not like when I was growing up.”

  Lisa nodded. “But we’re thankful for the tourists and all the money they bring to the island.”

  “Yeah, I guess so, but it’s hard to get used to. It’s different than when we were just a little fishing village on one of the barrier islands. Folks here cared about each other back in the old days, and we all worked hard.” He shook his finger at Lisa. “Now, take your daddy and his brother, for instance. They never had time for drinking and taking drugs like the foolishness we see nowadays. They was too busy learning a trade so they could make money to live on.”

  Lisa’s skin prickled at the mention of her father and his brother. Why hadn’t she thought of talking with Grady before? He might remember something that could help her search for answers to the mystery in the journal. “You knew my father and his brother well when they were growing up, didn’t you?”

  “Yep. Back in those days I knowed everybody living here.”

  “And you knew my mother, you said.”

  He grinned. “Yeah. Prettiest woman ever lived on this island. You look a lot like her.”

  “I don’t remember her,” she murmured. “Can you tell me anything about her? I know she was lonely when my father was gone. Did you ever see her around the island?”

  “Oh, yeah. Back in those days I hung out at the Sailors’ Catch nearly every night. There was always a bunch there, and you could always find a friendly game of cards. I remember your mama used to come two or three times a week. She’d get there late, and the fellers would tease her that she had to wait until her warden went to sleep.”

  Lisa cast a glance at Scott, and he shook his head. “Lisa, I don’t think…”

  Before he could finish, she cut him off. “Did she have any particular friends she met there?”

  Grady tilted his head to one side, closed an eye and tapped his temple. “Let me think. Everybody liked her, especially the men. She was the prettiest woman we’d ever seen around here.”

  Lisa leaned closer. “But was there someone she seemed to like better than anyone else?”

  Grady grinned. “Oh, yeah. There was one feller who was head over heels in love. Couldn’t stay away from her even though he knew she was married.”

  Lisa’s heart pounded. “Who was it?”

  “Ean Thornton.”

  Lisa tried to keep from gasping. “You mean Mr. Thornton who lives in the big Victorian house with the gingerbread trim? The one whose son Mike received a life sentence for
the murder of Jake Morgan?”

  Grady nodded. “Yep, that’s the one.”

  Lisa took a deep breath and tried to steady her trembling legs. “Thanks for telling me about my mother, Grady. I appreciate it.”

  “Glad to do it.” He glanced at his watch and arched his eyebrows. “I didn’t know it was getting so late. I’ve got a full afternoon taking tourists on walking tours around the village. See you two later.”

  As he hurried down the beach, Lisa turned to Scott. “Did you hear what he said? Ean Thornton could be my father.”

  Scott shook his head. “Don’t get too excited, Lisa. Just because he liked your mother doesn’t mean he was your father.”

  “But it’s possible.”

  Scott took her hand in his. “I know you want to find your father, but I have to tell you I hope it isn’t Ean.”

  Her eyes widened. “Why?”

  “You’ve worked at the police station enough to know why. He’s always thought Kate harassed his son when she was chief deputy on the island. He even accused her of making his life so miserable that he committed murder because of her. He hates my family.”

  “I know.”

  “Then you also know that the only thing he cares about in life is his son who’s in prison. He hasn’t stopped trying to get his conviction overturned.”

  Tears pooled in her eyes. “But he could be my father.”

  Scott held up a hand to silence her. “If he is, you’ll be better off not knowing. The man is a bully and a tyrant. Nobody can get along with him. You know how many complaints come in every week to our office from someone who’s had a run-in with him.” He grasped her arms and stared into her face. “I don’t want you to get hurt. You need to stay away from him.”