Shattered Identity Read online

  “I’m having some lemonade. Can I get you some?”

  He dropped into a chair opposite her and smiled. “No, thanks. Brock and I’ve been over at the health center with Doc, and I wanted to check on you before I went home.”

  Lisa pushed the glass of lemonade away and crossed her arms on the table. “How is Deputy Clark?”

  “They’ve airlifted him to a hospital on the mainland. Doc thinks he’ll recover all right, but he needed to be at a facility that could offer better care than his emergency setup.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.”

  Scott shifted in his chair and clasped his hands on top of the table. Her heart fluttered at how near he was. She could almost reach out and touch him. He glanced from her to his hands and pulled them back to his lap.

  Her cell phone on the table beside her rang, and she glanced at the number before answering. “Hi, Jeff.”

  “Lisa, are you all right? I just saw on the news that your house blew up!”

  She winced and pulled the phone away from her ear. “Calm down, Jeff. I’m fine. Where are you?”

  “When I got off work this afternoon, I took the ferry to the mainland. I’m in Swan Quarter tonight, but I’ll be home in the morning when I bring back Travis Fleming’s boat. But I’m worried about you. Do you need anything?”

  She chuckled. “Everything I have is gone, Jeff, but I’m fine. I’m at Treasury Wilkes’s bed-and-breakfast.”

  “Good. I won’t worry about you then. And I’ll see you when I get back tomorrow.”

  “See you then. ’Bye, Jeff.”

  She disconnected the call and glanced at Scott. He stifled a yawn. “Is there anything I can do for you before I go on home?”

  She wanted to ask him to stay longer and keep her company, help her drive away the fears that had filled her mind for the last few days. But he was tired, and he had to be at work early. She shook her head. “No, but thanks for coming by.”

  He pushed the chair back and stood. “I’ll come by and take you to work in the morning.”

  “Okay.”

  The muscle in his jaw jumped, and she wondered if he was going to say something else. After a moment, he gave a curt nod. “Good night.”

  She caught up with him before he got to the first porch step and touched his arm. “Scott.”

  He whirled to face her, and she gasped before she released her hold on him. The wild-eyed glare he directed at her sent chills down her spine. It reminded her of a savage tiger she’d once seen in a zoo. The animal had growled and pawed at his cage in anger at being trapped. The freedom he wanted was out of his reach. Now Scott Michaels looked at her as if he shared that animal’s fate.

  “What is it, Lisa?”

  She wanted to thank him for praying for her today, but the words froze in her throat. She shook her head. “Nothing. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Without a word he rushed down the steps and to his car. She watched the lights disappear down the driveway before she blew out the oil lamp on the table and walked into the house. Something she didn’t understand had bothered Scott. She racked her brain for what she could have done to offend him. Then it came to her. She had fallen into his arms when she had first seen him at her house.

  Lisa rubbed her hand across her eyes and groaned. She shouldn’t have done that, but she was so frightened at the time. It had seemed so natural to seek comfort from a friend.

  Her face grew warm at a new thought. Maybe Scott thought she’d wanted more than friendly support. If he’d interpreted it as a plea for a romantic involvement, she’d have to apologize. She’d told herself over and over romance was the last thing on her mind. It still was, she insisted, even if that brief moment had shown her in his arms was exactly where she wanted to be.

  She clenched her fists at her sides and gritted her teeth. She needed something to take her mind off Scott Michaels. Her mother’s journal. She’d put it in her purse before leaving the station. That was what she needed to distract her.

  Lisa hurried upstairs and into the bedroom that for now was her home. Her heart skipped a beat when she pulled the diary out. If she had left it at her house, it would be in shreds now. She rubbed her hand over the smooth cover and sank into the chair by the window.

  She forced the events of the day from her mind and opened the book to the spot she’d quit reading the night before. Those entries had left her disturbed because they portrayed a woman who grew increasingly desolate as the months went by. According to her mother’s entries, she had followed through on her desire to escape her unhappy life. Night after night she had left the house for the Sailors’ Catch after her mother-in-law had gone to sleep. Lisa’s heart ached for her mother’s unhappiness.

  It still didn’t seem real that these were her mother’s words, but they were. Lisa pressed the book open and began to read the next entry.

  August 15, 1982.

  I haven’t written anything in weeks, but now I must share my thoughts with someone. Since there is no one I can trust, I have no choice but to write them down. The life I’ve hated will change soon. Not in the coming weeks, but sometime in the future. It’s all because he came into my life. Even for you, dear diary, I can’t speak his name. There are reasons it can’t be shared now, but in time to come everyone will know. I never thought I could love like this, but he has brought a joy to my heart that makes me want to sing. My mother-in-law must suspect something because I catch her staring at me. She pretends to care about me now because I’m expecting a child. But little does she know that the child I carry is not her son’s. The father is he whose name I guard in my heart.

  The journal tumbled from her lap as Lisa sprang to her feet. She pressed her fist against her mouth to keep from screaming. This couldn’t be happening. Not to her, the daughter of a respected island fisherman who had died at sea.

  Lisa stared at the book for a moment before she reached down, picked it up and reread the entry. She had wanted to know her mother better, to understand the woman she’d never known, but she hadn’t wanted this. No one should have to read such horrible revelations.

  She wondered why she wasn’t crying. This warranted tears, but she had none to give. Earlier she had checked off a mental list of the personal belongings she had lost in the last few days—her house and its furnishings, her clothes and her car. None of that seemed important compared to what had just been taken away from her. Her name, her identity—everything that had bound her to a family and a home had vanished.

  She walked to the dresser and stared into the mirror. The blond, blue-eyed girl she’d always been stared back at her. “Who am I?” she whispered.

  The image in the mirror had no answers.

  EIGHT

  Scott steered the cruiser through the village traffic. This morning he couldn’t concentrate on his job, which was unusual for him. A deputy never knew what to expect on Ocracoke patrol. With all the tourists on the island every day during the summer, anything could happen. Scott had hoped there would at least be enough activity this morning to keep him busy. Nothing major, just something to keep his thoughts off Lisa and all that had transpired between them.

  He hadn’t slept. Every time he closed his eyes, her face popped into his head, and he was wide awake again. He’d never been so confused in his life. When he’d held her in his arms after the explosion, it had felt so right. But it wasn’t. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t become attracted to a woman. It could only lead to hurt for both of them.

  The thought of how they’d parted the night before made him groan. At the time all he’d wanted was to get away from her before he said or did something he’d regret. The way she looked at him made him want to pull her out of that chair and kiss her. But that wasn’t about to happen, not if he could help it.

  This morning when he’d driven he
r to work, she’d barely spoken. The air conditioner couldn’t have made the car any chillier than it had been on their short ride. She’d rushed into the station as soon as they’d arrived and had begun to prepare for the day’s work, all the time completely ignoring him. He was glad the new deputy had arrived from the mainland, and he could concentrate on filling him in on his assignment to be with Lisa.

  Scott guided the car into the parking lot at the police station and pulled to a stop. He dreaded going inside, but he wanted to see how she was doing. After a moment he climbed from the car and walked inside. Lisa glanced up and without any greeting got up and walked to the break room at the rear of the station.

  Jason Lewis, the temporary officer, looked up from the desk where Deputy Clark had sat yesterday. Scott winced at the memory of the older man lying in the health center. “Have you heard any news about Deputy Clark’s condition this morning?”

  The young man stood and stretched. “Sheriff Baxter called about fifteen minutes ago. He said he’d regained consciousness, and the doctors think he’s going to be okay.”

  “That’s good news.”

  “Yeah.” Deputy Lewis closed the file he’d been working on and yawned. “I hate sitting around like this. It makes me sleepy. Why don’t you stay here for a while, and I’ll take patrol for you?”

  Scott glanced at the break room, but he couldn’t see Lisa in there. “Sure. Do you know the route?”

  “Yeah. I pulled some duty over here before they hired you. I know my way around Ocracoke well.”

  Scott tossed him the keys to the squad car. “Thanks. Enjoy your ride.”

  He grinned. “I will.”

  Scott waited until Jason had left the office before he walked to the break room. He stopped at the door and peered at Lisa, who sat on the small couch at the back of the room. Her hands covered her face, and she leaned forward with her forearms resting on her knees.

  “Lisa, are you all right?”

  She jerked to a sitting position and wiped at her eyes. “I’m fine.”

  He took a step closer. “You don’t look fine. What is it?”

  She pushed to her feet. “I don’t want to talk about it.” She clenched her fists at her side and strode toward the door.

  Scott couldn’t let her go like this. He propped his arm across the doorway to block her exit. “Wait a minute.”

  She gritted her teeth and glared at him. “Please get out of my way.”

  Scott’s eyebrows arched at her icy tone. Their parting the night before flashed in his mind yet again. Could she be upset with him because she realized how he wanted to get away from her? If he was the reason for her anger this morning, he needed to do something about it.

  “No, I won’t get out of your way. Not until you tell me what’s bothering you. I know you’re upset over your house and the text message, but I get the impression it has something to do with me.” A muscle twitched in his jaw. “Have I done something to offend you?”

  She slumped against the doorframe as if all the air had gone out of her body and pressed her hands to her temples. “I can’t take much more of this, Scott.”

  He took her by the hand and guided her to the couch, then eased down next to her. “We’re going to catch this guy, Lisa. I promise you. And we’re going to see that you’re safe.”

  Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I appreciate that, but I don’t know what you can do. Nothing has stopped him yet.”

  “Lisa, I told you I’d protect you…and I will.”

  She shook her head. “You can’t put your life on hold to watch after me. I don’t want to impose on you anymore.”

  He sucked in a breath. If he could only tell her how much he wanted to be with her. “You haven’t imposed on me.”

  “Yes, I have. While I’m at it, I want to apologize for falling into your arms yesterday. I didn’t mean to act like a silly female. I’m sorry I did that.”

  “I’m not.” The words were out of his mouth before he realized it.

  Lisa cocked her head to one side and stared up at him. “You’re not? But after the way you acted last night, I thought you were angry with me. I didn’t want you to think that I have designs on you or anything like that. I needed a friend at the time, and I thought we were friends.…”

  The scent of her perfume filled his nostrils and sent a longing he’d never known rippling through his body. He might tell himself that he wasn’t going to get involved with a woman, but his heart told him he’d already passed the point of no return in his feelings for Lisa.

  He reached for her hand and cradled it in both of his. “I acted like a jerk last night, Lisa. I should have been more understanding of what you’d gone through.” He paused for a moment and took a breath. “I still have trouble dealing with my past. I come with a lot of baggage, and I wouldn’t wish that on any woman, especially you.”

  She smiled, and his heart did flip-flops in his chest. “I have my own demons, Scott. Right now, there’s someone who’s taken away everything I’ve owned in this world. And the worst part is, it looks like he wants to take my life, too.”

  Scott squeezed her hand tighter. “I’ll never let that happen.”

  “When you left last night, I went to my room and began to feel sorry for myself because of what I’d lost—my house, my car, my possessions, and I thought your friendship. I didn’t see how things could get any worse, but they did.”

  “What happened?”

  Her lips trembled. “I should have listened to you about the journal. You said I might not like what I found.”

  “I only wanted to protect you.”

  She sniffed. “I know, but I didn’t listen. I read my mother’s diary, and I lost the last thing I had that was mine. I lost my name.”

  He frowned and shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

  A tear trickled from the corner of her eye. “I found out that my mother had an affair while she was married. My father wasn’t John Wade. It was someone else.”

  For a moment he couldn’t speak. Lisa’s face crumpled into a mask of despair, and in her eyes he saw a hurt similar to the one he’d experienced since childhood. He put his arm around her, drew her head to his shoulder. He turned his mouth to her ear. “People often say they know how you feel when something happens to hurt us, but in this case I understand,” he whispered.

  “You do?”

  “A year ago a private detective found me in San Antonio and told me I had three sisters who had been looking for me. I’d never known who I was until that moment. I grew up not knowing anything about my father. Since I’ve been here, I’ve come to know him through the stories my sisters tell. I know how much it hurts to have a piece of your life missing. I don’t want that for you.”

  She raised her head and stared at him. “What are you saying, Scott?”

  “I’m saying let’s concentrate on our first priority now—finding out who wants to hurt you. Then I’ll do everything I can to help you find out who your father is.”

  Her eyes lit up. “You will?”

  He nodded. “I will.”

  Lisa returned her head to his shoulder and snuggled against him. “Scott, will you do something else for me?”

  “What?”

  “Will you come to Treasury’s house tonight and be with me when I read the next entry in my mother’s journal?”

  His grip on her tightened. “If that’s what you want.”

  “It is.”

  “Then I’ll be there.”

  She released a long sigh. “Thank you for being my friend.”

  Scott’s heart fluttered as Lisa’s words flowed over him like a soothing ointment. This latest revelation had forged a new bond between them. Both of them suffered deep wounds inflicted by adults who let their self
ish desires interfere in the lives of the children they should have protected.

  Years ago, she had lost her mother and the man she thought was her father. Now that she knew the truth, she could have other family she’d never known. Maybe even somebody who lived on Ocracoke. He’d found his family, and it had answered all his questions about his true identity. He wanted answers for her, too.

  As he’d said, though, first they had to find out who wanted to silence her forever.

  Lisa wiped her mouth on her napkin and laid it on the wicker table beside her plate. Dinner on Treasury’s back porch tonight had been more enjoyable than sitting in the big dining room with all of the inn’s guests. Across from her Scott sipped his iced tea and stared off into the distance.

  “What are you looking at?”

  He set the glass down and straightened in his chair. “The sky. I’ve never seen so many stars in my life.”

  She gazed up at the twinkling dots in the nighttime sky. “Ocracoke is a haven for people who like to do stargazing because there’s nothing obstructing their view.”

  Scott chuckled. “Yeah. When I first came here, I could hardly believe there wasn’t a traffic light in the village and very few streetlamps. You don’t need a telescope to get a view of God’s handiwork.”

  She picked up her fork and placed it on her plate. “Speaking of God, I want to thank you again for praying for me when the house blew up.”

  He pushed his plate out of the way and crossed his arms on the table. “I pray for you all the time, Lisa.”

  Her eyebrows arched. “You do?”

  “Praying for my friends and family every day is natural for me. Isn’t it for you?”

  She shook her head. “No. I’ve never had much time for religion. My grandmother didn’t believe in God. She said all that Bible stuff was a bunch of superstition.”

  “I’m sorry she felt that way. I don’t know how I could have survived everything that’s happened to me if I didn’t have my faith to keep me going. I’ve been in situations before that I couldn’t control. All I could do was turn it over to God and put my life in His hands.”