Double Life Read online

  “Sure. Why not?” Ash held out his arm.

  Maris snapped on a pair of surgical gloves and removed a syringe from the bag. “I don’t remember you being the squeamish type. You haven’t developed a phobia for needles, have you?”

  “If I don’t pass out you can take that as a no.”

  Maris swabbed his arm and then prepared the vein. Glancing up with an enigmatic smile, she said, “Don’t worry. I’m very good at what I do. You won’t feel a thing.”

  EMMA HAD DINNER WITH HER FATHER that night. All through the meal, she kept thinking about Ash even though she’d promised herself earlier that she wouldn’t dwell on what had happened between them. She didn’t want her father thinking that something was wrong. The last thing he needed was to worry about her.

  But as they stood at the sink doing the dishes, he brought up the subject of Ash. “Why didn’t you mention last night that he was coming home?”

  “I wanted to tell you, but Helen asked me not to say anything until she’d had a chance to see him for herself. I guess there was some question as to whether he really is Ash.”

  “He does look different,” her father said, putting away the freshly dried plates. “But I’d know him anywhere.”

  Emma looked at him in surprise. “You saw him?”

  “He stopped by for a minute or two this afternoon.”

  Her mouth dropped. “Ash was here? Why?”

  Her father shrugged. “He said he wanted to say hello. But between you and me…” He picked up a dripping pan from the sink. “I think he was looking for you.”

  “Me? Why?”

  “I don’t know, Emma. You tell me.”

  Emma concentrated furiously on scrubbing a pot. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Dad. If Ash stopped by here…I’m sure it had nothing to do with me. He knew that I was running errands for Mrs. Corbett.”

  “Maybe he thought you’d be finished sooner. I kind of expected you home earlier, too. What’d you do today?”

  Emma didn’t know whether to be relieved or suspicious at her father’s abrupt change of subject. “I had lunch with Laney Carroway and then we rode out to Shell Island with Rick Bledsoe.”

  “Shell Island?” Her father had been in the process of putting away the pan, but he paused and glanced back at her. “Why would you go out there?”

  “Rick said that they go out there every so often to try and keep the vandals away.” Emma finished the last of the pans and pulled the stopper out of the drain to let the water out. “Dad, do you remember that time you took me out there when I was in the seventh grade? I was doing a report on local history for school.”

  “Sure I remember. What about it?”

  “I never told you this, but I had the strangest feeling while we were out there. Almost like a premonition. Later, when those bodies were found, I always wondered if I should have said something.”

  “There’ve always been rumors swirling around about that island. I doubt anyone would have taken you seriously. Besides, you always did have a big imagination. That’s all it was, Emmy. You’ve never had a premonition about anything else, have you?”

  “No. But whatever it was, it’s made me have a strange connection to that island all these years. That’s why I went out there today. I wanted to see if I still felt that connection.”

  “Did you?”

  Emma paused. “No, not like I did before. But I am still curious about it. Did you ever know any of the people who used to live there?”

  He frowned, thinking back. “Seems to me a couple of the men worked for the Corbetts at one time.”

  “What were they like?”

  “Hard workers, the best I remember.”

  Emma used the dishcloth to wipe off the counters. “Did you know anything about their religion?”

  “They were pretty devout,” he said. “No cussing, no drinking. I never asked for any particulars. Wasn’t any of my business.”

  “Laney and I saw a pentagram painted on the floor of one of the houses today, and it made me remember all those rumors about sacrifices and rituals. You don’t think there was anything to those stories, do you?”

  “If you mean do I think those people were devil worshippers, no I don’t. That’s just talk. I saw a special about it the other night on TV. Some of those people they interviewed believed in blood sacrifices and had some kind of strange attachment to cats. Crazy stuff.” He shook his head. “Those guys that I knew weren’t into anything like that. They were good people.”

  “I’m sure you’re right,” Emma said. “It was probably just some kids fooling around out there. I saw a lot of other graffiti, too. It’s just…after what happened out there, it made me wonder.”

  Her father’s expression hardened. “I don’t think you should go out there anymore if that place bothers you like that.” He went over to his easy chair and sat down. He looked a little pale tonight. Emma was worried about him but she didn’t want to fuss.

  “I satisfied my curiosity this afternoon. I don’t plan on going back out there again,” she assured him as she dried her hands on a dishtowel. “You didn’t forget to take your medicine today, did you?” she tried to ask casually.

  “I have a bad ticker, Emma, I’m not senile.”

  “I know that. But I also know how you are when you get busy.”

  “I took my medicine,” he said grumpily. “I’m fine. Just a little tired tonight, that’s all.”

  “Maybe you need to ease up a little on the workload,” Emma said. “Cut back on your hours.”

  “You mean I should think about retiring.”

  Emma shrugged. “Might be kind of nice not to have to get up and go to work every morning. You’d have time to do all the things you’ve always wanted to do.”

  He leaned his head back against the chair and closed his eyes. “Those things I always wanted to do cost money, you know.”

  “You’ve got some savings and a retirement plan. You’d be okay.”

  “I need a couple more years,” he said. “Then things won’t be so tight.”

  Emma knew better than to argue with him. “Just take care of yourself, okay.”

  “Stop worrying about me,” he muttered, already half-asleep.

  “Good night, Dad.”

  “’Night. Be careful walking home.”

  “I will.” Emma dropped a kiss on top of his head. “Don’t sleep in that chair all night. You’ll have a stiff neck in the morning.”

  He grunted in response and Emma watched him for a moment, then showed herself out.

  Instead of walking up the drive, she used the shortcut. A storm was blowing in from the gulf, and the air was heavy with moisture.

  Just as she emerged from the trees, the leaves began to whisper overhead and then the rain came. She was close to the summerhouse and she decided to head for the nearest shelter.

  Running through the shower, she stepped quickly into the gazebo only to realize that someone else had already had the same idea.

  “Come in,” Ash said softly. He sat in the dark smoking. The tip of his cigarette glowed as he lifted it to his mouth.

  Emma’s heart tumbled in her chest. “I got caught in the rain coming back from Dad’s. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

  “You’re not. I’m just sitting here watching the rain.”

  “I didn’t know you smoked.” She ran a hand through her damp hair.

  “I do a lot of things I didn’t use to do.”

  His voice sounded odd, not at all like Ash’s. Even the accent was different. Emma said tentatively, “I’m glad I ran into you tonight. I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  “Well, here I am. Talk away.”

  His indifferent tone threw her off. “I think we should discuss what happened today.”

  “Really? Because I don’t see the need to go there. I kissed you, you kissed me back, end of story.”

  “But it wasn’t just a casual kiss, Ash. You—”

  “I what?” He flipped his ciga
rette out into the rain and stood. “What is it you think you read into that kiss?”

  Emma bit her lip as tears sprang to her eyes. “Why are you doing this?”

  “I’m not doing anything.”

  “Yes, you are. Last night you made it clear that you didn’t come back home because of me. Today you grilled me about my personal life as if you were jealous of who I see. And then you kissed me…the way you used to kiss me. And now this…attitude of yours.” She peered at him through the dark. “You keep sending me all these mixed signals and if I didn’t know better…”

  “Go on. If you didn’t know better…”

  “I’d think you weren’t Ash,” she said softly.

  He moved toward her in the dark. It was all Emma could do not to back away from him. She suddenly felt very afraid.

  “Maybe you just need a little more convincing.” He reached up and traced a finger down her throat.

  Emma jerked away from him. “Don’t do that.”

  “Why not? You enjoyed it this afternoon.” He moved in even closer.

  Emma took a step back from him and felt the wall of the gazebo behind her. He put a hand on the wood above her head and leaned in.

  She moistened her lips. “What are you doing?”

  He smiled down at her. “You may not be sixteen anymore but you’re still an attractive woman.” His eyes gleamed in the dark as he cupped the back of her neck and pulled her to him. “Come on,” he coaxed. “Let me convince you that I’m Ash.”

  Before she could answer, he bent quickly and kissed her. His mouth pressed hard against hers as his arms tightened around her. Like earlier, the kiss wasn’t gentle. But there was no desperation in it, either. Certainly no passion. It was cold and calculating, a kiss that was meant to taunt.

  When Emma tried to push him away, he held her even tighter and panic welled in her chest. Images burned through her mind…of being held down…of her clothes being ripped off her body…the searing pain as the knife blade bit into her skin…

  With a gasp, she pushed him away as hard as she could. He released her then and stepped back from her. But she could tell that he was still smiling and her blood went cold with fear.

  “Who are you?” she asked on a shaky whisper.

  “You know who I am.”

  Her chin lifted. “You’re not Ash. He would never do what you just did.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  She inched toward the door, but he saw what she meant to do and he moved between her and the opening.

  “Let me go,” she warned. “Or I’ll start screaming loud enough to wake up the whole county.”

  “Don’t do that, Emma.” His voice had gone very quiet.

  Emma put a trembling hand to her mouth as she stared at him in the dark. “You’re not Ash, are you?”

  He shook his head very slowly. “No, I’m not your precious Ash. And I’m going to need you to keep your pretty little mouth shut because I have no intention of going back to prison. No matter what I have to do.”

  HE COULD SEE HER TREMBLING in the dark. She was terrified and he hated like hell having to do that to her. But if she kept picking at the pieces, she’d eventually put everything together on her own, and it was better that he take control of the situation and try to repair the damage as best he could.

  “Who are you?” she asked raggedly. She was still afraid of him, but she hadn’t run away yet. He wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not.

  “Just stay calm and I’ll tell you what you want to know. But keep your voice down, okay?”

  He’d positioned her so that she was facing the door and he saw her cast an anxious glance over his shoulder. “Why should I believe anything you say?”

  “Because if you go off half-cocked, you’re only going to cause trouble for both of us. You don’t want that. Come on, sit down,” he said. “I won’t hurt you. I won’t even touch you.”

  She made no move to do as he said. “Who are you?” she asked again.

  “My name is Tom Black.”

  “Where’s Ash?”

  He lifted one shoulder. “I don’t know. Dead probably.”

  She gasped, on the verge of tears. “What did you do to him?”

  “I didn’t do anything to him. That’s the God’s honest truth.”

  “Then how do you know he’s dead?” she demanded, her fear momentarily forgotten in her anger.

  “I don’t know that he is dead. I’ve never seen him. But twelve years is a long time, Emma. Maybe you should think about giving up the ghost.”

  She turned away. “If you’re not Ash, how did you know about the gazebo? Why do you keep coming down here?”

  “I followed you here last night. I’ve been studying a lot of old home videos and it was pretty clear to anyone with two eyes that you had a thing for Ash Corbett. You were crazy about him. And then when we met on the road last night, I could tell you were still carrying a torch. I figured if anyone could see through me, it would be you. Especially if you got too close. So I decided to convince you that it was over between us.”

  “But you said things that only Ash could know.”

  “No, I didn’t. Think back, Emma. All I did was respond to what you said.”

  Her eyes gllistened in the dark. “Why are you doing this?”

  “I have my reasons.”

  “You’re after Helen’s money,” she accused.

  “No, I’m after Ash’s money. His mother left him a trust fund. It’s just been sitting there all these years not doing anyone any good. I don’t see the point in letting all that money go to waste, particularly when I don’t have any.”

  “You’ll never get away with this. If I tell Helen what you just told me—”

  “You won’t do that, though.” Her breath quickened, and he said, “Relax, I’m not going to hurt you. I don’t have to.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “What do you think would happen if you march up to the house right now and tell Helen Corbett what you just learned? I’ll come in right behind you and say that you made the whole thing up to cause trouble for me because I didn’t return your advances. Who do you think she’ll believe?”

  Emma said furiously, “I’ll find a way to make her believe me. You can’t know everything about Ash.”

  “I know enough. You don’t think I would have walked into this thing unprepared, do you? Face it. All the bases are covered, Emma, and you’re still an outsider. You try to make trouble for me and the family will close ranks. That’s what people like the Corbetts do. They protect each other. The only thing you’ll accomplish by revealing the truth is to get yourself fired. And maybe your old man, too. Is that really what you want?”

  “I can’t let you get away with this,” she said on an angry whisper.

  “Why not? Who am I hurting? Helen Corbett? She’s not exactly your biggest fan, in case you haven’t noticed. Wouldn’t it feel good to stick it to her for a change? And besides, that money doesn’t belong to her. She wouldn’t even miss it.” He paused. “Look how happy the old broad’s been to have her grandson home. If you take that away from her, she might have another stroke. You want that on your conscience?”

  “You can’t put this on me. You’re not her grandson. This isn’t right.”

  “But if she never finds out the truth, where’s the harm?”

  “She will find out. It’s only a matter of time before you slip up. What about when the DNA results come back? She’ll know then.”

  “They’ll come back a match so no worries there.”

  Emma watched him in the dark. He could tell that she was trying to figure him out. A part of her needed to believe that he was Ash. That was the only reason she was still there.

  “How can the samples match if you’re not Ash?” When he merely shrugged, Emma said through gritted teeth, “Answer me, damn it. It’s the least you can do.”

  “A sample of the real Ash’s DNA will be substituted for mine.”

  “How did you get his
DNA?”

  “Emma, just leave it alone, okay?”

  Her mind was working furiously, trying to put it all together. “There’s only one way you could have a sample of his DNA. If you didn’t see him…if you didn’t hurt him…then someone else must be helping you. Someone with access to the family, to this house.” She paused. “I’m right, aren’t I? You’re not working alone. You never could have pulled this off by yourself. Someone has been feeding you information. Coaching you on how to act, how to speak, even how to hold your head. They told you about me, didn’t they? Who is it? Who’s behind this?”

  “I don’t know who it is. I was contacted through an intermediary.”

  “An intermediary? What do you mean?”

  “Just what I said. A third party has made all the arrangements. He’s the one I’ve been dealing with.”

  “A third party,” Emma murmured. She glanced up. “It has to be David Tobias, Helen’s lawyer. She said that he’d arranged for you to have a DNA test. That’s how the swap will be made, isn’t it?”

  He was amazed and none too pleased by her perception. “It doesn’t matter. We’re going to pull this off with or without your help. But if you insist on involving yourself, you’ll only end up getting hurt. So for your own good, just forget we ever had this conversation.”

  “I can’t do that. What you’re doing is illegal. I’d be an accessory after the fact.”

  “Emma, I’m telling you, for your own good, forget we ever had this conversation.”

  She caught her breath. “Are you threatening me?”

  “I told you I wouldn’t hurt you. I meant it. I’m not a violent man.”

  “But you don’t know what the others would do. Is that it?”

  He wanted another cigarette, but instead he took a mint from his pocket and popped it in his mouth.

  Emma stood quietly for a moment while she tried to digest everything that he’d told her. He had no idea what was going to happen next. If she ran off to tell Helen, how far was he willing to go to stop her?

  But to his surprise, she sat down abruptly and turned to stare out at the rain. “Did they kill Ash?” she asked after a moment. “The people you’re working with, I mean.”