Elusive Identities

by Olivia Jaymes

  "Did Susannah Gates have any children?"

  Another question from Ella. Chris shot her a glare. She wasn't even supposed to be here.

  "She did," Wally confirmed. "A young daughter about one and a son about three."

  "Did she take her children with her when she left?"

  Where in the hell was Ella going with these questions? They didn't have anything to do with connecting Jane to Gates.

  "She did."

  Even Wally looked confused by the turn the questioning had taken.

  "Let's get back to your investigation, Wally," Chris said. "Who else did you talk to?"

  "We talked to everyone that called in but as I said they didn't lead anywhere. The missing person files were also a bust."

  Chris took a sip of his coffee. Too cold now. "You looked through the missing persons in King County, correct?"

  "No, Pierce County. Police departments weren't connected back then like they are now. In 1989, we were just getting to the point where we were trying to do that. I suppose you can look nationwide by now. Just press a button and there it is."

  "We can and we are. Knox and I have been working that list."

  With no luck, however.

  Wally shrugged. "That's about it. There were no other leads so we had to shelve the case. We never closed it, of course, but we couldn't waste manpower on it when there were so many other cases that needed our attention. The investigation was going nowhere."

  Hiding his frustration, Chris reluctantly packed away the papers into the folder. "I do appreciate you meeting with us today, Wally. Is there anything else, anything at all that you can remember about the case?"

  "It's all in my reports, son. There's nothing hidden here because there wasn't much to the case. We found a body that we couldn't identify. There were no witnesses and all leads were no help. There wasn't anything else we could do."

  They all thanked Wally again. He slapped Knox and Chris on the back and invited them back to go fishing sometime. He shook Ella's hand a little too long and thanked her for stopping by. He said she brightened up the place. To her credit, she didn't outwardly act creeped out, although she probably was.

  Walking out of the house and down the steps, they waved to Wally who stood in the doorway. Ella walked straight to the blue Civic.

  Not so fast.

  "You don't mind if I catch a ride back to Seattle with you?" Chris asked, following on her heels. "Knox has things to do. Right, Knox?"

  The other man wore an evil smirk. "Yes, I do. Things. Stuff. It would be a great help to me if you could ride back with Ella. So I could do those...things."

  Ella rolled her eyes and groaned. "No need for theatre, gentlemen. Yes, Chris, you can ride back with me. Just don't yell at me too loudly, okay? I'm a jumpy driver."

  Chris wasn't making any promises.

  9

  Ella had barely pulled out of her parking space before Chris started in.

  "Are you going to explain to me what you were doing there? You could have blown this entire investigation."

  She'd expected this.

  "I hardly think my mere presence could have blown your entire investigation. That seems a tad overdramatic."

  Honestly, Chris Marks wasn't nearly as mad as she'd expected him to be. He was far more Zen than she'd given him credit for.

  "How about answering my first question? What were you doing there?"

  "The same thing you were doing there," she replied placidly. "I wanted to ask Wallace Wade about the investigation. I was as surprised as you were when he told me that he was expecting you any moment. He jumped to the conclusion that we were together so I decided not to disabuse him of that notion. It seemed easier."

  "Easier," Chris repeated. "For whom? Wait, that would be you. It was easier for you."

  Now that wasn't fair. She'd been honest and upfront.

  "I told him when I got there that I was a reporter but I don't think he was listening because he immediately started talking about you."

  The fact was the former detective Wallace Wade was a huge flirt. He considered himself something of a ladies' man from what she'd been able to see and his wife Jenny, bless her, appeared to let him think it. When she'd rolled in that coffee cart, she'd given Ella a big smile and a wink.

  Snorting, Chris rolled his eyes. "I'm sure that was the case. He seemed to really like you."

  "I think he likes most women under the age of fifty."

  "Okay, let's start again," Chris sighed. "You wanted to ask Wally about the investigation. Why?"

  "I told you yesterday. I want to do a story on this cold case. You told me to go ahead. So I did. Surprise. We both started at the most logical place. Wallace Wade."

  "How did you even know about him?"

  "I can do research, too. It was easy. I looked up the old newspaper clippings."

  Blowing out a noisy breath, Chris moved restlessly in his seat. "What was all that about whether Susannah Gates had any children?"

  She squirmed under Chris's direct gaze. Just how much was she willing to tell him?

  Not this much.

  "You said you were hoping to find a family member."

  He seemed to accept her explanation, which was a relief. It was none of his business that she had personal reasons for wanting to be a part of this investigation. She did, however, feel badly about her lie by omission. He'd asked her point blank yesterday if she could be related to Jane and she'd said absolutely not. Now she knew that wasn't the case, but she hadn't enlightened him as to what had changed. She was, in fact, making it more difficult for him to solve Jane's murder.

  I just can't talk to him about this. No.

  He grabbed the dash of the car as the vehicle suddenly sped up. "Shit. Slow the fuck down, Ella. Are you trying to get us killed? You were about two inches from that guy's bumper."

  "I had the right of way."

  She slowed down and moved into the right lane, her heart racing in her chest.

  "They can put that on our damn tombstone. They had the right of way but now they're dead. I think I should have driven."

  "I'm a very good driver. You're alive, aren't you?"

  "So far."

  Her fingers tightened on the wheel as she worked up the courage to ask the question that had been bugging her since last night.

  "Do you have a DNA sample from Jane?"

  He didn't bat an eye at the question, thank goodness.

  "They were able to extract some DNA from her teeth and jawbone, which is really a miracle if you think about it. Luckily we have a profile that we can compare if someone comes forward and claims that she's their sister or cousin. If they're not a relative then that's going to be trickier. I doubt dental records will still exist that we can compare with Jane's."

  "You're saying that they may not be able to prove that Jane is who they say she is."

  "Exactly, although we might get lucky and they have an old photo of her wearing the same clothes but that's a long shot at best." Chris scraped his fingers through his short, dark hair. "The sad fact is that finding out Jane's real name is practically an impossible task. But I have to believe that somewhere out there is a relative."

  The guilt inside of Ella grew about ten times larger. She wasn't just making Chris's job harder, she might be making it impossible. Crap.

  Or not. I might not even be related to Jane. It's only a remote possibility, after all.

  A possibility that Ella wouldn't know unless she was willing to take a DNA test and allow it to be compared to Jane's.

  Am I ready to do that?

  At this moment, Ella didn't have an answer. But she had a whole bunch of questions.

  Ella pulled into the parking lot of the consulting firm and put the vehicle into park. She'd been quiet for most of the drive. Chris had thought that he would prefer it that way but he found that he rather liked her sharp questions and observations about Jane. She'd fallen silent about a third of the way into the trip and he hadn't wanted to bother her, especially as w
hat she'd said turned out to be true.

  She was a jumpy driver.

  She kept hopping into one lane and then back into another, muttering under her breath. Frankly, they were lucky to be alive. She really needed a defensive driving course. Chris had learned at the police academy.

  "Safely home," she said with a smile. "I told you that you'd be fine."

  "It was pure prayer that got us back here in one piece."

  "So dramatic."

  He looked out of the window at his SUV sitting in the parking lot and then back at the woman sitting next to him. Well, shit.

  "What are you going to do now?" he asked, already wishing that he hadn't brought it up. This was probably a huge mistake. But...

  "What do you mean? Are you asking me to a late lunch?"

  Food hadn't even occurred to him.

  "No," he answered. Dammit, now he was thinking about a burger. "I was asking what you're going to do now. You know, on the case."

  A corner of her lips curved up in a half smile. "What are you going to do next?"

  Seriously? Chris didn't want to play games but he would if she insisted.

  "I asked you first."

  "I asked you second."

  He'd had enough. He was trying to be nice.

  "Fine, don't answer. I was just thinking that maybe you could tag along with me but–"

  "I will, I will." She twisted around in the driver's seat so she was facing him, a look of panic on her face. "I'm sorry. I was thinking that you were going to try and discourage me again. This case is important to me."

  He could see that it was, although he didn't know why. His reasons were far more obvious. He wanted a job but her? The chances were high that there would be no amazing scoop here that would end up on the front page of the newspaper - or in her case on the six o'clock news.

  "If you come with me, we're going to have some rules."

  That statement seemed to amuse the hell out of her.

  "I'm serious, Ella. We're going to set some ground rules and you are going to stick to them."

  "Do you get rules, too? Or is it only me?"

  Rubbing at his temple, he could feel a headache beginning to bloom. It had her name written all over it.

  "What rules do you want me to have?"

  "I don't know. I just think that it should be fair."

  Was Ella like this with everyone? Confusing and frustrating.

  "I have no idea what you're talking about," he finally replied, deliberately keeping his tone even. "Let me ask you a question and don't answer it with another question, please. If I don't let you tag along with me are you going to go behind my back?"

  To her credit, Ella didn't even hesitate to tell the truth. "Yes. You can't stop me from talking to people, Chris. I may not have all the information that you have but I have some and I'm going to look into this murder."

  "Because it's important to you?"

  Something passed over her features. A shadow that he couldn't quite decipher but it was gone as quickly as it had come. In its place was a steely determination that he had to admit that he admired. Her elfin chin had raised and her full lips were firm. Even her eyes sparkled with passion. There'd be no deterring her from her set path. It would be better to have her with him where he could keep her out of the way and make sure she wasn't causing any trouble. What was it that his dad used to say?

  Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

  Ella wasn't his enemy but she could be trouble with a capital T.

  "Yes, it's important to me. I assume it's important to you as well."

  "It's my job." He pointed to his vehicle parked several feet away. "If you come, I will be driving. You're a menace on the roads. I will also be in charge. You've never done any investigative work so you are in watch mode, got it? I don't want you to go off half-cocked and get yourself hurt or killed."

  Her brows rose and her eyes widened. "This is a thirty-year-old case. Do you think it's actually dangerous?"

  "Probably not, but you cannot be too careful when investigating something like this. The killer got away with it, Ella, and he's not going to like us poking our noses in his business. So follow me and it will all be alright. Don't go out there on your own."

  She held out her hand. "Deal."

  He accepted it, noting how soft her skin was. This was such a terrible idea. He should be kicked in the ass several times for being an idiot.

  "Deal. Now let's get some lunch. Then we have a lot of work to do."

  "Fine, but first I have this one thing to do."

  Ella placed the newspaper article she'd printed up on the desk between herself and her boss. She’d finally cornered him in his office, carefully sitting down in the lone empty chair. Most surfaces were covered with books, folders, or the plethora of memorabilia Galen had brought from his previous jobs. The walls were covered with news stories and photographs, some with famous people.

  "Why didn't you tell me?"

  Tapping away at his phone he finally lifted his head to look at the paper. He picked it up and read through it, then scowled and placed it back on the desk.

  "I'm not sure what you're talking about, Ella. What didn't I tell you?"

  "Why didn't you tell me that you investigated the Jane Doe case that I'm looking into? Why didn't you say something?"

  His brows knitted together and he picked up the story, quickly perusing it.

  "Because I had no idea that your Jane Doe and this Jane Doe were one and the same."

  He could he not know?

  "You heard me describe the case. You had to know that it was the same murder."

  Placing his phone down, he leaned forward, his elbows resting on the scarred oak. "I didn't know. Ella, think about it. Do you know how many Jane Does we have every year in this city and county? It's been thirty years, so do the math. It's far too many, of course, but cut me some slack, okay? This was one article I wrote three decades ago when I was first starting out. I don't even remember it. It was too long ago."

  "You don't remember it?"

  She sounded far more scandalized than she'd planned to but the way he said it... It was like the case was nothing to him.

  "No, I don't," he replied firmly, almost dismissively. He hated meetings and he didn’t like to sit still in his office. "And when you're my age and a few years from retirement you won't remember every case that you covered. either."

  A flush crawled up her cheeks and she nervously fidgeted in the chair. "I mean...I know I won't remember them all but this was a murder case."

  "Seattle may be one of the safest cities in the country but it does still have violent crime. I didn't memorize them for the last thirty years." His gaze swept her from head to toe. "And I don't get personally involved either, advice that I hope you follow. Don't get emotionally involved with this, Ella. It was a long time ago and there isn't anything you can do for this Jane Doe."

  That wasn't true.

  "I can help find her identity or her killer."

  "It won't help her," he repeated. "She's gone and she has been for a long time. You can't bring her back to life."

  "I can give her family and friends closure."

  Galen shook his head. "Perhaps, but it isn't your job to do that. Let these cops work on the case. You report on it, then you move on to the next story. That's what we do. We report and inform. If we do our job right, we report on it accurately and honestly, and with integrity."

  "So don't get involved?" she said, bitterness in her tone. He didn't understand just how close to home this case might be. "Just watch from the sidelines?"

  He sat back in his leather chair, his gaze still resting on her. "How else can we stay unbiased? And make no mistake, Ella, that's what we're supposed to be. Unbiased. I know that's not popular right now. Everyone has to have an opinion about everything but back when I started out in journalism we reported the news and let people make up their own minds about what they thought about it. I'd like to think we can still do that. But if you're part
of the investigation, how are you going to be able to report it without your bias coloring it? That's my question back to you."

  Ell had heard this mini-speech from Galen before. Sometimes to her and sometimes to other reporters. He certainly believed what he was saying and if this were any other case...

  But it wasn't. He didn't need to know that, though.

  He lifted the article up again, perusing it. "Damn, this was a long time ago. I was just a cub reporter back then looking to make a name for myself."

  "So you do remember? I mean...now that I've reminded you?"

  He shrugged. "A little bit. I worked the crime beat so this was my usual day. Talking to cops and getting the story."

  "You talked to Wallace Wade then? I talked to him this morning. He's retired now."

  "Wally? I've known him for years. He was nice to reporters. Not all of the cops were." Galen sighed and shook his head. "I bet he liked you. He always had an eye for a pretty girl."

  Rolling her eyes, Ella stood and reached for the article, slipping it back into her messenger bag.

  "He hasn't changed."

  "I'm not surprised." Galen steepled his fingers and let out a long breath. "Just don't get too wrapped up in this, okay? You need to stay objective. If you're going to do stories like this you can't get emotionally involved with every one. You'll burn out before you're thirty-five if you do."

  It was a good warning, but it was far too late.

  10

  "So tell me something about yourself."

  Ella and Chris had stopped at a local eatery for lunch. It was the usual chain restaurant with music too loud but it served decent cheeseburgers. Ella had ordered hers with ketchup only and Chris had ordered the works. They were sharing a large basket of crinkle fries.

  He dipped a fry into the splotch of ketchup on his plate. "What do you want to know?"

  Chris wasn't against sharing any information about himself; he simply wanted to know what she was trying to get at. As a reporter, she was probably naturally a little nosey. Which was fine as long as she didn't want to know something truly personal likes his hopes and dreams.