Free The Truth Is the Light by Vanessa Davie Griggs Page A

He’s ninety-nine years old, so the age lines up. He says he’s from Asheville, North Carolina. And he remembers both Pearl Black and your grandmother, Sarah,” Johnnie Mae said.
    â€œI don’t believe it. I don’t believe it’s him.” Lena’s voice was shaking somewhat now. “Is it possible someone may have stolen Ransom Perdue’s identity? You know, it’s also possible this is all just a setup.”
    â€œLena, in this day and age, anything is possible.” Johnnie Mae was silent as she thought a second, mulling over a few things. “I will admit: he looks much younger than the age he proclaims. Honestly, I wouldn’t have put him to be a day over seventy.”
    â€œSee.” Lena’s voice seemed to have gotten stronger. “How much would you like to bet it’s someone who merely stole Ransom Perdue’s name and identity?”
    â€œBut what about what he knows about Sarah . . . about Pearl . . . and about Memory?”
    Lena allowed a short pause before she said anything more. “He mentioned Memory?” Lena asked, referring to her mother, Memory Elaine Patterson Robertson.
    â€œYes. When I told him who I was and the things I knew, he asked me if by chance I might happen to know anything about Memory. And if so, did I happen to know where he could find her.”
    Lena made a loud grunt. “Humph. Okay, that proves he’s an imposter. Ransom Perdue left before Memory was ever born. I happen to know that for a fact. And he never came back. My grandmother, Sarah, believed her half-brother, Heath, or possibly even her father had Ransom run out of town, or worse, killed. He never knew about Memory, so how would this guy, who is claiming to be Ransom, know to even ask about her by name?”
    â€œI don’t know.”
    â€œI’ll tell you how. This guy didn’t know about the real Ransom being tricked away from his family before Memory’s birth. He may have stolen Ransom’s identity, got enough information after the fact to know about Sarah, Pearl, and even Memory since anyone trying to get information later in life could have access to that information.”
    â€œLena,” Johnnie Mae said, “I can see where you’re coming from. But there are things about what you’re saying that don’t make sense. Memory only learned the truth about Sarah being her real mother a few years ago herself. How would this man know about Memory and Sarah unless he was the real Ransom?”
    â€œYou see, that’s what I’m trying to tell you . Because Sarah was hidden away in those homes for almost seventy years of her life, and Memory didn’t meet Sarah until a few years ago, the real Ransom wouldn’t have known any of this. Maybe this con artist just recently took on Ransom’s identity. Or maybe he met Ransom earlier in life, then after Ransom died, he knew he could become Ransom and it wouldn’t matter to anyone.”
    â€œLena, why go to all of this trouble to fool someone? Especially now?” Johnnie Mae asked, a frown registering on her face. “When I met him today, he could have easily said he wasn’t the same Ransom Perdue I was referring to and that would have been the end of it.” Johnnie Mae became quiet. “Except . . . there was the Wings of Grace box.”
    â€œWhat Wings of Grace box?”
    â€œThis Ransom Perdue has one of those boxes in his possession,” Johnnie Mae said. “One like the real Ransom used to make. He would have had to go to a whole lot of trouble if this is merely a scam.”
    â€œYeah, but a lot of things aren’t adding up for me,” Lena said. “Aren’t you the least bit suspicious about how all of this is playing out?”
    Johnnie Mae pondered that thought. An elderly man named Ransom Perdue just happened to be at the same nursing home as her mother. And from what her mother and the nurses had indicated, he