Deadly Double Read online

  “They’re a beautiful couple, aren’t they?” Ecaterina said, breezing into the room. “You and your cousin Sheila don’t, uh, share too many features.” She smiled awkwardly. “Are you two first or second cousins?”

  Josie stared at the blond woman in the picture. “Sheila?”

  “Yes. That’s your cousin Sheila.”

  Frowning, Josie concentrated on the stunning and photogenic woman, but only drew a blank. She couldn’t remember ever having a white cousin. “I don’t know.” She exhaled with disappointment. “I don’t remember her.”

  Slowly her gaze traveled to the man in the photograph and something sparked within her. “He looks sort of familiar,” she whispered.

  “Well, I should say so,” Ecaterina chuckled. “He’s married to your cousin.”

  Josie took in the man’s dark hair and blue eyes, but his features weren’t quite right. They seemed wrong somehow. She stared at his eyes. They were the right shade, but they, too, were wrong.

  When she realized she wasn’t making any sense, she lowered the picture and touched the bruise above her eye. It throbbed as she struggled to remember how she had gotten it. The harder she tried, the more frustrated she became.

  “Open up,” Ecaterina instructed.

  Josie obeyed and was rewarded by having a thermometer shoved under her tongue.

  “I was supposed to give you a shot a few hours ago,” Ecaterina commented as she looked over a list of some kind.

  “No shot,” Josie mumbled, shaking her head.

  “Oh, I’m sure it’s not going to hurt.” The older woman said. “William said it’s supposed to relax you.” She picked up a small vial.

  Josie kept shaking her head.

  Ecaterina ripped open a small packet and revealed a new hypodermic needle.

  Josie yanked the thermometer out of her mouth. “No!”

  Ecaterina jumped from the bed and stared into Josie’s combative gaze with incredulity. “Look. I am only trying to help.”

  “I didn’t ask for your help,” Josie snapped, and tossed back the covers. She struggled to get out of bed, but her show of defiance ended when her wobbly legs failed to support her.

  The next thing she knew, she hit the floor with a yelp and a loud thud.

  Once again, Ecaterina came to her aid. “Sweetheart, you’re going to end up killing yourself at this rate.”

  Embarrassed and humiliated, Josie accepted the woman’s offered help and after a few minutes managed to get back into bed. “No shot,” Josie declared stubbornly. “No drugs.”

  “You just took Tylenol,” Ecaterina reminded her. “Come now, William wouldn’t prescribe something that would harm you. But if you don’t want the shot, I’m not going to make you take it.”

  “Who’s William? I don’t know any William.” The moment she said it, she realized it wasn’t true.

  The older woman tsked under her breath and then placed her hand to Josie’s forehead. “What did we do with that thermometer?”

  “I don’t have a fever.”

  “You thought you could stand up, too,” Ecaterina countered. She searched around the bed and found what she was looking for. “Now say ah.”

  Josie relaxed a little bit and did what she was told. A minute later, she discovered she was wrong again. She did have a fever.

  “You’re sicker than you think. Why don’t you reconsider taking that shot?”

  “No.” She inched away from the woman and then rubbed at her head again. When she pulled her hand away, her gaze narrowed on the jagged welt across her wrist.

  Her heartbeat accelerated at the sight of it. Tears welled in her eyes as a memory struggled to surface. Despite her fever, Josie suddenly felt cold and scared, but she couldn’t think of a reason why.

  “Josie?”

  A strange haze swirled around a faded image in Josie’s mind. The next moment, her head exploded with pain. Josie reeled back, and then slumped against the pile of pillows behind her.

  In no time the pain consumed her.

  Ecaterina didn’t know what to make of the young woman’s strange behavior. One minute she seemed fine and in the next seemed to suffer from some type of epileptic fit. Her gaze darted to the small vial and hypodermic needle. Maybe she did need this shot.

  “Make it...stop,” Josie pleaded.

  That was all it took, and Ecaterina gave her the shot. Minutes later, Josie calmed down.

  For the first time, Ecaterina wondered about what type of flu bug this woman had. And what happened to her wrists? Ecaterina frowned, and then covered the woman while she slept.

  Josie, however, dreamed of another pair of blue eyes. A pair that deepened with concern, twinkled with laughter, and glowed with love. She knew those eyes well and had dreamed of them often.

  “William,” she murmured. Warmth radiated throughout her body. As the pain evaporated, she welcomed the memories of an old love…a forbidden love.

  It had been a time of freedom, exhilaration, and self-discovery. She had found the man of her dreams, her soul mate.

  However, her feeling of euphoria soon crashed beneath a tidal wave of heartbreak.

  “Shh. There’s no need for tears.”

  She wanted to cry. She had to cry.

  “Josie, it’s all right. I’m here now.”

  She drew comfort from the man’s gentle voice and quieted down.

  “Shh,” he said. “I’m going to take care of you,” the voice promised.

  Josie believed him. Something warm brushed against her face, and she sighed with contentment.

  Soon a question nagged at the back of her mind. Who was promising to take care of her and why should she trust him?

  You can never trust anyone again, she warned herself.

  She struggled to open her eyes. It was hard; her eyelids were so heavy. Her lashes flickered, and she was able to make out something in the blurry light.

  A shadowy figure hovered above her. Through sheer determination, she brought the image into focus. Within seconds, a familiar pair of deep blue eyes crystallized.

  Josie sucked in a startled gasp of surprise. “William?”

  A wide smile curved onto his handsome face. “Yes, Josie. It’s me.”

  Chapter 13

  Josie studied the man above her and struggled to make sense of this apparition. It couldn’t be, she reasoned, and squeezed her eyes shut. Her mind had to be playing tricks on her. It wouldn’t have been the first time, she reasoned, but this was too cruel to be true.

  The cold returned. She shivered and grasped for the covers though it was like grabbing a block of ice to keep warm.

  “It’s all right, Josie,” William said. “Your body is going through withdrawal. You’re going to be okay.”

  She clamped her jaws tight and trembled violently.

  “It’s going to come and go, but you’ll be all right.”

  Josie didn’t feel all right. In fact, she was nauseous.

  “You want to throw up?” he asked gently.

  She nodded and was instantly scooped out of the bed. Seconds later she was hanging over the toilet bowl and emptying her stomach. When she finished, her abdomen ached, and her head spun.

  As before, a cool compress was placed against her head and a geyser of gratitude erupted inside of her and flowed from her lips.

  “Calm down. It’s okay. It’s okay.” William cleaned her up.

  Josie desperately wanted to believe that, but wasn’t at all sure he was who he claimed. A lot had happened since the loss of her career: the death of her father, Michelle, and her emotional breakdown.

  In such a short time, she went from being a strong independent woman to someone who was afraid of her own shadow.

  And then there was the accident. She curled into a fetal position against the bathroom’s cold tile.

  Splashes of a memory teased her from behind her closed eyes. She was knee deep in water while trying to scrub blood from her hands. And there was laughter. Who was laughing?

  “Wh
at have you done, Michelle?” a woman’s voice had asked.

  Josie continued to scrub at her hands. “I didn’t do anything.”

  “How can you say that, Michelle? You just killed Daniel!”

  Josie shook her head. No, she didn’t. She couldn’t have.

  Quivering, she remembered a flood of lights blinding her. “I didn’t kill him,” she croaked. “I didn’t.”

  Josie clawed her way out of the gloomy memory, desperate to seek refuge from the heinous accusation and confusion. She woke with a start and found herself back in bed and surrounded by darkness.

  “William?” Josie sat up.

  “I’m still here.”

  His voice drifted from her right, and she swiveled toward it. Her eyes grew wide as she struggled to make out his outline.

  With a soft click, a low glow of light revealed the impossible.

  “This isn’t happening,” she whispered, and clutched a hand to her chest. Her gaze roamed over him. “I don’t understand.”

  He waited until their gazes locked before he took a deep breath, and replied, “That makes two of us.”

  She frowned and glanced around the room again. “Where’s Ecaterina, or did I imagine her?”

  “She went home hours ago.” He crossed his arms. “You gave her quite a scare. Of course that’s my fault,” he admitted. “I didn’t tell her the truth about you.”

  She drew in a breath, and then proceeded with trepidation. “The truth?”

  He hesitated while he probed her gaze. “I kidnapped you.”

  Josie blinked, not certain she heard or understood him; but before she could question him, a collage of snapshot images flashed in her head. “The hospital.”

  “A mental institution,” he clarified.

  Her heart leapt as more pictures spun through her mind. Pressing a hand against her throbbing temples, she rejected his words. Why would she be in a mental institution?

  “How can you say that, Michelle? You just killed Daniel!”

  “I’m not Michelle!” Josie shook the voice from her head. “My name is Josephine!”

  William smiled. “I know.”

  “It’s Josephine,” she repeated.

  “I know,” he said, draping an arm around her shoulders. It was awkward comforting her. Now that she was conscious, his heart struggled to protect itself.

  Josie eased out of his arms. “So you believe me?”

  “Of course I do.” William pretended her withdrawal didn’t bother him and stood up from the bed.

  “Thank you,” she said softly. “I’m surprised that you helped after...?”

  Their eyes met again.

  William couldn’t ignore the pain and uncertainty reflected in them. “You needed my help.”

  Her gaze fluttered down to her hands. “No one would listen to me. They just kept drugging me to the point where I couldn’t think.”

  William watched her as she fidgeted with her hands.

  “They were stealing my life.”

  His mind immediately jumped to the Josephine Ferrell he’d met earlier. “Your sister?”

  More tears splashed down her face. “Everyone.”

  He frowned. “I met your sister today,” he began slowly. “She was introduced to me as Josephine Ferrell, as you.”

  Josie closed her eyes at this news and took a long while to compose herself. “She’s evil.”

  William drew a deep breath. “I still don’t quite understand what’s going on.”

  Josie sighed. “I don’t know what to tell you. A lot of this doesn’t make much sense to me either.” Her eyes opened, and then captured his gaze. “But thank you.”

  William folded his arms. “I had to do something.”

  “But this is going to cause you a lot of trouble.”

  “Potentially,” he agreed. “If I’m found out, but I don’t plan for that to happen. Right now, the authorities don’t know if your disappearance is a kidnapping or if you left voluntarily. Once we get you back on your feet, it should be a breeze to convince the authorities you’re the real Josephine Ferrell.

  “After that you can have your sister arrested for fraud and probably a wealth of other charges for the things she’s done to you. If we play our cards right, no one will ever need to know I took you from Keystone. Maybe we can keep that secret between us?”

  “Deal.” Josie agreed with his logic, but the plan was too simplistic to be trusted. “So it will be my word against Michelle’s?”

  “No.” He frowned as he moved over to the armchair across from the bed. “We should be able to find plenty of people to corroborate your story: friends, family…”

  “Significant others?” she supplied softly.

  William paused. “Yes, uh, those, him, one of those could help.”

  She studied him while the corners of her lips softened. “There might be a slight problem with that. I don’t have any family or friends here in the states. My father was all I had and he’s dead.”

  “My condolences. I didn’t know. When?”

  “A year ago, I think. What’s today’s date?”

  “October 15.”

  “It was just April...” Her mouth fell open as if the information floored her.

  “Surely, there are aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, or even distant cousins?”

  Josie sighed. “I couldn’t pick out a cousin from a police lineup. I hardly know anything about my parents’ families. I was never around them. Surely, if I don’t know them, they’re not going to be able to tell the difference between me and Michelle.”

  “Wasn’t your father a wealthy businessman?”

  She fell back among the bed’s pillows. “My father left me a sizable inheritance.”

  “Which I’m guessing is what Michelle just stole from you,” he said, and then watched as a cloud of despair settled over her features. “Sorry.”

  Josie shook her head. “You have nothing to be sorry for,” she said with a long measure of remorse. “You were the only one willing to help me.”

  “I was the only one who knew who you were.” He paused before continuing, “I guess that leaves medical records. We can get on the phone and order a copy of your medical and dental records.”

  “That’s right,” she perked up. “I’ve been seeing the same physicians in France for years.”

  “See, there you go. We’ll be able to prove your identity in no time,” he encouraged. “Of course, you could always just sing for them,” he joked. “You’re Josephine Ferrell, the great jazz and blues singer.”

  Her gaze refused to meet his. “I can’t,” she whispered.

  “Why not?”

  Josie raked her hands through her hair. “I need to get some more rest,” she said suddenly. “I’m very tired, and my head hurts.”

  William frowned. “Are you feeling nauseous again? Do you need me to help you to the bathroom?”

  “No,” she said, curling beneath the covers. “I just need to rest. We can call my doctors first thing in the morning.”

  “Of course we can.”

  The silence between them grew tense, and Josie hoped William wouldn’t ask her any more questions. She truly wasn’t up to it. Everything overwhelmed her at that moment. Maybe tomorrow she would be able to make better sense of it all.

  “All right.” William clicked off the light. “Get yourself some rest.”

  “William?”

  “Yes?”

  She hesitated, and then decided that she couldn’t ask. Not now, anyway.

  “Don’t worry,” he said, when she didn’t respond. “I’ll still be here when you wake up in the morning.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise.”

  Chapter 14

  The moment Josie closed her eyes she spiraled down a twister of disjointed memories. She tried to scream, but the velocity at which she fell swallowed her voice.

  She was frightened and certain she’d never reach the bottom of the spinning vortex. Having never been a religious woman, she felt a
wkward in her prayer for help. Suddenly, everything stopped when she landed in a memory.

  She was lying on something soft while tears were blanketing her face. Her heart pounded as she struggled to stifle her tears. Slowly she became aware of voices. Someone was in the room with her. The chore was difficult but she managed to lift her head and pry her eyes open.

  Her dear friend, Calvin Anderson took her into his arms. “It’s going to be all right, Josie. You’ll see.”

  “This can’t be happening,” Josie heard herself say. “I just talked to my father this morning. His plane was supposed to…”

  “I know, sweetheart.” His arms squeezed around her. “Sometimes, these things happen without warning. He’s in a better place now.”

  “He’s all I have.” She buried her head against his chest. “He can’t be gone. He just can’t.”

  As suddenly as she’d arrived at the painful memory, a powerful force gripped her soul and pulled her into another one.

  She sat solemnly in the front pew of the First Baptist Church as she listened to a beautiful rendition of His eyes are on the sparrow. Though the song reflected hope, Josie felt everything but the elusive emotion.

  After the song ended, an endless parade of her father’s business associates and their bejeweled socialite wives took the podium to recount funny, happy, and bittersweet stories of Charles Ferrell.