Shattered Identity Read online

  “Then it’s true? I wanted to tell you because I thought Grady had made it up.”

  She shook her head. “No, it’s true. It’s probably all over the island by now.”

  “But I thought…” His voice drifted off, then he cleared his throat. “It doesn’t make any difference what I thought. Do you need someone to talk to? I can try to help you figure out what to do about this.”

  Tears filled her eyes. “Oh, Travis, thank you. I do need a friend.”

  “Then I’m available. I’m still at my office. Have you eaten yet?”

  “No. I haven’t left the station.”

  “Then why don’t you meet me here?” he suggested. “We can grab something to eat later.”

  “That sounds good. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  “Good. I’ll see you then.”

  Lisa grabbed her purse, threw her cell phone inside and ran to the door. She had to get out of here before Scott came back. If he had already heard about the incident at lunch, he would probably be furious with her. He’d warned her about approaching Ean, and she hadn’t listened. Now it looked as though she was going to pay dearly for her poor judgment.

  On the sidewalk she broke into a jog and headed toward the offices of Fleming Enterprises. She only hoped Travis could think of something that might stop the rumors from flying. If not, there was only one thing to do—leave the island. That’s what she’d intended before this nightmare began, and now she’d have to follow through. But things had changed in the past few weeks. She’d fallen in love with Scott and couldn’t stand the thought of leaving him.

  It couldn’t be helped. The secrets from her past couldn’t be allowed to hurt Scott and his family. She would do everything she could to make sure that didn’t happen.

  Scott exhaled and climbed from the police cruiser. It had been a long day, and he was glad to be back at the police station. The incident with the near-drowning had turned out all right, but it had been touch-and-go for a while. Now all he wanted was to get home, eat some dinner and go to bed. He hoped Brock had arrived to take over. Then he could take Lisa to Treasury’s house and get home.

  When he entered the station, he looked around in surprise. Where was Lisa? After looking in the break room, he walked back to her desk and spied her message. Gone home? Why hadn’t she waited, as he’d told her to do?

  Irritated at her disregard for his concern, he pulled his cell phone out and dialed her number.

  “Hello.”

  He frowned at the panting in her voice. “Lisa? I came back, and you were gone. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. I just had to leave.”

  Her answer didn’t make sense. “But why? Is something wrong?”

  “I told you I’m fine. Let’s just leave it at that.” The sharp tone of her voice felt like a jab in his stomach.

  “Are you home yet?”

  “No, but I will be later.”

  “Then where…” He stopped and sank down in the chair at her desk. There was only one reason she would be so evasive with him. She had to be with someone else. “Are you with Travis?” He closed his eyes and hoped her answer would ease his pain.

  “Yes.”

  He took a deep breath. “I see. Well, I just wanted to make sure you’re all right. Have a good night.”

  He disconnected the call before she had time to reply and slipped the phone in his pocket. Regret that he hadn’t told Lisa how he felt washed over him, but he shook the thoughts from his head. It wouldn’t have done any good. He could never compete with a man as rich and handsome as Travis Fleming.

  “Hey, Scott, what’s the matter? You look like you’re in outer space.”

  Scott glanced up at Brock, who had entered the station. Scott rubbed the back of his neck and pushed to his feet. “I’m tired. That’s all.”

  For the next few minutes, he caught Brock up on all the calls he’d answered today. When he’d finished, Brock glanced around. “Where’s Lisa? I thought you’d drive her back to Treasury’s.”

  Scott took a deep breath. “No. She had other plans tonight. I talked to her, though, and she said she’d be home later.”

  Brock’s eyes narrowed. “Other plans? How do you feel about that?”

  Scott shrugged. “Not much I can do about it. I think I blew my chance with Lisa.”

  “I’m sorry, Scott.”

  “Yeah, me, too,” he said wearily. “Now I’m going home. Call me if you need me.”

  “Will do.”

  Scott stopped outside the police station and stared up at the stars. Not too long ago he and Lisa had looked at the stars together and talked about how beautiful they were on Ocracoke. He had thought God might be opening a new door in his life, and he hoped Lisa would be the prize behind the door. Now it didn’t look like that was ever going to happen.

  He squinted at the stars that dotted the heavens. “God, I love her so much, and I do want her to be happy. Watch over her for me.”

  His assurance that God had heard his prayer comforted him, but he couldn’t get Lisa out of his mind. Something wasn’t right, but he had no idea what it might be. All he could do was to wait for God to show him.

  Lisa had never been in Travis Fleming’s office before. She’d driven by the building for years and had never given a thought to what went on inside. The Fleming family had roots on the island that went back to the early twentieth century, and over the years their business ventures had flourished and expanded to faraway places on the mainland as well as overseas.

  The picture of a woman and a young boy sat on Travis’s large mahogany desk, and she picked it up. “That’s my mother and me.” She glanced up at Travis, who had reentered the room carrying a tray with two cups on it. “There was still some coffee in the pot, and I poured us some when I left those papers on my secretary’s desk.”

  Lisa smiled and set the framed picture back in its spot. “Your mother was very beautiful. Where is she now?”

  He handed her a cup, took one for himself and sat down in the chair next to her. “She lives down in Florida on a beachfront estate I bought for her. She loves the water.”

  She took a sip of the coffee. “You sound like a good son.”

  He stared at his mother’s picture for a moment before he responded. “I try to be. She had a tough time living with my father. When I was about ten, she decided to leave the island, but my grandfather and father wouldn’t let her take me with her. I visited her on holidays and in the summers.” A shadow crossed his face. “When I’d leave, she’d cry and tell me how sorry she was she hadn’t stayed with me, but she’d been driven away by my father and grandfather.”

  “How awful for her and for you.”

  “Yeah. All they were interested in was an heir to the fortune my grandfather had amassed, and they were through with her after my birth. I promised her that when I was in control of everything, I’d take care of her…and I have.”

  “I’m sure she’s very proud of you.”

  He took a long drink of his coffee. “Is your coffee all right?”

  “It’s fine.” Lisa lifted the cup to her lips and swallowed.

  Travis leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. “Now tell me what made you approach Ean Thornton today. I thought your father was killed in a boating accident.”

  “So does everybody else.” For the next few minutes she told Travis about the discovery that another man was her father, her suspicions about the Elena, and her thoughts that perhaps her mother was murdered.

  When she finished, he stared at her, amazed. “This is incredible. So you think your real father might still be alive and that he might have some link to the sinking of a ship years ago.”

  She drained her coffee cup and set it back on the tray. “I know it sounds wild, but th
at’s what I believe. And I wanted to find out the truth.”

  “Do you still want to do that?” he asked.

  She thought for a moment before she answered. “Before I came over here, I was ready to give up and leave the island. But you’ve been so kind and understanding, it makes me believe that other people might be, also. Maybe I need to stay here and find out who my father is. Then I can put some closure to this whole nightmare.”

  He set his cup next to hers and shook his head. “But you may not like what you find out.”

  “I know. Scott has warned me of that. In fact, he’d be furious if he knew I talked to Ean today.” She sighed. “But with Grady spreading the news, he’ll probably find out sooner or later.”

  “I suspect he will. And you’re okay with that?”

  “I can’t say I’m okay with everybody knowing, but it’s hard to hide the truth. If it’s going to come out, I might as well face up to it.”

  Travis scooted to the edge of his chair and propped his hands on his knees. “This is a big decision, Lisa. Are you sure you want to find out the answers?”

  “I do.”

  He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “No matter what it costs you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I’ll help you.” Travis glanced at her cup. “More coffee?”

  She shook her head. “No, thanks. Are we going to dinner? I’m hungry.”

  He stood and held out his hand. “I think it’s time we left.”

  She grasped his hand and pushed to her feet. Her legs wobbled, and she braced her free hand against his chest. “I feel a little dizzy.”

  He eased her back into her chair. “Why don’t you sit down a minute? It’s probably because you haven’t eaten.”

  She blinked her heavy eyelids and tried to focus on him. There appeared to be two of him standing in front of her and wavering back and forth. She rubbed her hand across her eyes. “I have the strangest feeling…”

  He walked back behind his desk and sat down, then folded his hands on top and leaned forward. “Rest a minute until you feel better. In the meantime I’ll tell you a story.”

  She frowned. “What kind of story?”

  He arched an eyebrow. “About a man who made a fortune being a rumrunner in the early part of the twentieth century.”

  She yawned and shook her head. “What man?”

  “My grandfather was just a kid himself, but when Prohibition came along, he saw an opportunity to make some money. He scraped together every penny he could to buy a boat, and he ended up making a fortune smuggling liquor up the East Coast.” He paused for a moment. “Then he got the idea of branching out a little more. He and his crew started to board the ships they came across and rob them. The Elena just happened to be one of them.”

  She tried to sit up straighter, but her body wouldn’t respond. “Your grandfather robbed the Elena?”

  Travis chuckled. “Yeah, and after that he and his crew had a lot of money. So they stopped their rumrunning, and he settled on Ocracoke. It was remote enough that he could begin a legitimate business. He bought his first boat and started his commercial fishing business. Before long he had a fleet.” His tone filled with admiration. “That man was the shrewdest businessman I’ve ever known, and he taught me everything he knew. The only regret of his life was that his son didn’t take after him. My father hated the business, and he didn’t love my mother. He only married her to give my grandfather an heir and was glad when she left. For my sake, though, he hung in there until I was grown and could take over the business. That’s what my grandfather wanted, too.”

  Lisa laid her head against the back of her chair and closed her eyes. “I don’t understand. Why are you telling me this?”

  “Because I want you to know about my family. Anyway, I went away to college, and I thought things were fine. That is, until I found out my father had been having an affair with the wife of one of our employees and had fathered a child. He had told my grandfather that he was going to leave the island and take the woman, who was by then a widow, and his three-year-old daughter somewhere else to live.” His voice hardened. “The worst part was that he had given his mistress my grandfather’s mirror from the Elena, and she was threatening to tell the story unless my grandfather agreed for them to leave.”

  Lisa’s eyes flew open, and she leaned forward. “Y-you’re talking about me and my mother.”

  He nodded. “I am. You see, Lisa, I’ve always known about you and your mother.”

  She tried to smile, but her lips wouldn’t cooperate. “Then that means…”

  “That’s right. We’re brother and sister.”

  “But, Travis, why have you never told me?”

  He shrugged. “Because I didn’t want anyone to know our business was started by illegally gained money, and I thought the secret was safe. My grandfather and your mother are both dead, and my father has Alzheimer’s. Then I read the newspaper about you finding your mother’s diary. I suspected what you’d found out.” He opened a drawer in his desk and reached inside. “I had to know what was in it.”

  Her breath froze in her throat, and chills raced up her arm. He held her mother’s journal. “H-how did you get that?” she stammered.

  “Jeff gave it to me. Right before I shot him.”

  Her eyelids drooped, and she forced them open. “You shot Jeff?”

  A laugh rattled in his throat. “Are you having trouble focusing? It could be from what I put in your coffee to help you relax.”

  She wanted to rise, but she doubted if she could stand. “I don’t understand.”

  He sighed, shoved the diary back in his desk and came around to stand in front of her. “Then let me explain. When I heard you were going to leave the island, I thought I’d hurry you along. Jeff was still angry over not being in your grandmother’s will, so I hired him to scare you, to hurry your exit from the island.” He exhaled sharply. “Then when I read the paper, I knew we had to take drastic measures. If you had stepped in your house that day, it could have all been over. Jeff couldn’t wait to find out if you were dead. He had to call, and from what I hear that’s what set off the explosion.”

  Lisa rubbed her forehead and tried to concentrate. “But I didn’t die.”

  Travis sighed. “I was at the Sandwich Shop when Grady came running in telling everybody about Wayne Simms. I had a cell phone that couldn’t be traced, and I sent you a message. Did you get it?”

  Her head lolled against the back of the chair. “That was you?”

  “Yeah. Too bad about Wayne, but I sent flowers to his memorial.” He paused for a moment. “Anyway, after Jeff stole the diary, he read it before he gave it to me and decided he wanted more money. He shouldn’t have done that.”

  Even as sleepy as she was, she could hear the evil in his voice. Something clicked in her drugged mind. “You,” she whispered. “You’re the evil one my mother wrote about.”

  He leaned against the front of his desk and crossed his arms. “Is that what she called me? If I am, it’s her fault. I came home from college one weekend and found out Dad was determined to leave with the two of you, and he wanted you named in my grandfather’s will.” He leaned closer. “No way was I going to share my inheritance with you. I took the lighthouse key my dad had and sent a note to your mother telling her to meet me there. I signed my father’s name.”

  Lisa shook her head. “No, don’t tell me anymore.”

  “But that’s not the end. I left the door unlocked like he always did. She was shocked when she got to the widow’s walk and found me instead of my father. She put up quite a fight, but in the end I threw her over the side.”

  Tears streamed down Lisa’s face. “You’re evil just like my mother said.”

  He straightened to his full height. “I call it d
etermined. My father almost went out of his mind with grief, but my grandfather was glad. He convinced my father they had to protect me. He never had been able to take a stand against my grandfather, and in the end he agreed. He told me later she didn’t even have the mirror. She had mailed it back to the ship’s owner.”

  Lisa’s chest heaved with sobs. “Why did he protect you?”

  “Because I’m his son.”

  “And I’m his daughter.” She tried to push to her feet but sank back in the chair.

  He stared down at her. “I don’t think he ever forgave himself for deserting you. He never missed an opportunity to see you when you were growing up. He attended all your school plays and sporting events. He never did that for me.”

  “H-he did?”

  “Yeah, and one day, before I took him to the nursing facility, his mind was clear. He made me promise I would tell you he really loved you.” He chuckled. “So now I’ve told you, and you’re the only one left who knows the truth.”

  Lisa rubbed her forehead and tried to think. “No, there’s someone else, the park ranger who gave your father the key. Surely he suspected something.”

  Travis shrugged and chuckled. “I don’t know. He died soon after your mother’s death. His boat exploded while he was fishing. The islanders could hardly believe two tragedies could happen so close together.”

  “I’m going to tell Scott and Brock. You won’t get away with this.” She gritted her teeth and pushed to her feet, but her legs collapsed. Travis caught her before she fell.

  He held her upright and reached for her purse. He looped the strap over his shoulder and hoisted her into his arms. “I don’t think you’re going to tell anybody.”

  Her eyes blurred, but she tried to focus on Travis’s face. “What are you going to do?”

  “Don’t worry, little sister. It’ll be over soon. It’s too bad you’re so distraught over everything that’s happened. I’m sure the villagers will think it caused you to jump from the lighthouse widow’s walk like your mother did. What a tragedy.”