Free FORGET ME NOT (Mark Kane Mysteries Book One) by John Hemmings

glass doors to admire the grounds again. In the
distance the leaves on the trees were gently waving in the light
breeze and shimmering in the sunlight. Greg came in and set the
coffee cups, cream and sugar down on the table. The coffee smelled
like an expensive Italian variety.
    “One of Gloria’s hairbrushes was still in the
bedroom. I used to brush her hair for her you know towards the end;
it was really the only intimacy that was possible. Fortunately that
bedroom hasn’t been occupied since Gloria passed away. It was a
guest room and I haven’t actually had any guests. Sally, my
daughter in law, left it in the room on purpose. She’s very
thoughtful. She said it was too personal a thing to give or throw
away. I haven’t touched it. I thought it better for an expert to
examine it first to see if it’s any help. I would like the brush
back afterwards though, if possible.”
    He walked over to the credenza and picked up
the brush, which he had already placed in a zip lock bag.
    “I had all the carpets professionally cleaned
yesterday. After what you told me on Tuesday I couldn’t get it out
of my head that things might be lurking in there.”
    “You’ve done well,” I said. “I’m afraid I
didn’t fare too well with Susan.” I told him the gist of the
paucity of information that I had been able to obtain from her.
    “It doesn’t really help one way or the
other,” I said, “because there’s little I can do to research her
background. Everything she told me may be true, or there may be no
truth in it at all. Copies of the amended birth certificate, ID
card, and social security number don’t prove anything; they would
be easily accessible to someone who wanted to assume the identity
of the real Susan. I really needed something concrete from her
background that I could check. I’ve got my assistant checking the
newspaper files at the public library and on the internet to see if
we can verify the plane crash which Susan said killed her parents,
although the details were a bit vague; but even if that turns out
to be true there’s still no way of verifying that she was the one
who was adopted by the Grangers. Still, if there is a report of
such an event then the article will probably contain details of the
unfortunate victims which will at least be a start.
    “Obviously Gloria had a daughter who was put
up for adoption,” I said, “but whether it was Susan is still a
matter of conjecture. I’m sure you’ve heard of identity theft. It’s
pretty difficult to get away with nowadays if the person whose
identity is stolen is still alive; it’s normally only a matter of
time before it’s discovered, usually by the person whose identity
has been stolen. But theft of a deceased person’s identity is still
difficult to establish, particularly if it occurred a long time
ago. Have you ever read Forsyth’s ‘Day of the Jackal’, where the
hit man assumes the identity of a dead man?”
    “Yes, ages ago. I think I was in college
then. I read once that the author had difficulty finding a
publisher because they thought no-one would buy a book in which the
outcome was obvious from the start.”
    “Well, that’s publishers for you, what do
they know? But suppose Susan is not the real Susan. If she knew, or
knew of, the real Susan, and the real Susan died, then assuming her
identity would be relatively simple once she got hold of the birth
certificate. The problem is that we have no point of reference. I
will try to find out where she went to school, perhaps even find an
old school photograph, but a person’s appearance may change
considerably over the years. If I knew where she grew up I could
check police files, but even if she’d been in trouble as a juvenile
it’s unlikely her prints would still be on file. They probably
haven’t got that far back with their computer records yet
anyway.
    “I still have matters to discuss with her and
I may hit on something which helps. She’s promised to give me
copies