Read Online Double Identity by Diane Burke - Free Book Online Page B

women’s facial features weren’t distinct. He studied the photo and could instantly see they were probably in their late teens. They stood, grinning ear to ear, in their bathing suits, their arms strewn across each other’s shoulders.
    He glanced up. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s so exciting about this picture?”
    “Don’t you see?” Sophie grabbed a chair and scooted up beside him. She tapped the picture. “That’s my mother. I recognize her from a photo my dad always carried in his wallet.”
    Cain’s eyes followed the direction her finger pointed. He was immediately drawn to the woman standing in the middle of the photo. She was beautiful. The same long ebony hair. The same physical build. The same warm, friendly smile. And even though it wasn’t a good quality picture he instinctively knew that those large, expressive eyes were sea-foam green.
    “She’s beautiful,” Cain said.
    “Duh, of course she is, silly.” Sophie playfully elbowed him in the ribs. “But that’s not why I wanted you to see this. She pointed her index finger to the background. “Look, that’s this house. See. Recognize the front porch?”
    Sophie sat back and grinned at him, apparently very pleased with herself.
    “Don’t you see? This picture proves this house belongs to my family. Besides, there are other people in the picture. Maybe they still live around here and can tell us something more about my mother.”
    Cain knew this photograph would not substantiate her claim to this property but preferred not to disappoint her. The sheriff would do that soon enough. Instead, he asked Sophie if she had a magnifying glass. He’d been raised in Promise. Even though he hadn’t been born when this picture was taken, he knew almost everyone still in town. Maybe he’d be able to study the facial features and connect it with someone at church or someone he’d seen coming into Holly’s Diner.
    Sophie scampered into the living room and slid her hand down the flat side of a desk. Within seconds a hidden drawer popped out from the bottom.
    Cain jumped up, quickly crossed the room and peered inside. He saw a magnifying lens and a stamp collection album inside. “I don’t understand.” Cain continued to stare at the drawer.
    Sophie tilted her head to the side, a quizzical expression on her face. “Dad collected stamps. Is that important?”
    “Maybe. I don’t know. But that’s immaterial at the moment.”
    Cain squatted down, mindful of the sharp jab of pain in his leg but doing his best to ignore it. He pushed the drawer back into place. The etchings on the wood hid the drawer and made it appear like nothing more than decorative embellishment.
    “I’ve never seen anything quite like this. I would never have known a drawer was here.” He admiringly ran his hand along the wood.
    Sophie’s shoulders puffed up with pride. “Dad made this desk. He put a hidden compartment in every single piece of wood he carved. It was like his signature. He developed quite a reputation on the craft circuit for that skill.”
    Every piece he carved. Cain straightened and took a second look around the cottage. Maybe that’s why someone had broken into the house. Maybe they knew about the secret compartments. Obviously the thief had been searching for something. What if he hadn’t found it? What if it was still hidden in one of the many pieces of hand-carved wood in the home? Cain felt his first inkling of hope since Sophie had walked into his office. At least now they had a place to start. A bread crumb to follow.
    “Have you checked all the hiding places?” Cain couldn’t curb his enthusiasm.
    Sophie’s eyes widened and then she grinned. “I will now.”
    Slowly, piece by piece, Sophie opened the hidden compartments on each carved piece within the home. Cain watched in fascination as picture frames slid apart, sofa legs sprang drawers and boxes revealed false bottoms. The carvings were all pieces of art. The hidden additions to the etchings