One of the things that bothers me the most about Martin's disappearance is the fact that the Cranes, Alistair and Julian went to the trouble to create the 'Faux Martin'. Why do this? If Martin was killed or made to disappear over something like Blackmail, or to cover up illegal business deals and practices, or to conceal another murder. Then why the imposter? With their wealth and Political influence the Cranes could have made Martin's death appear to be an accident, self defense, or even a suicide. (Hey, you get two or three people to say the same thing about his death and the police will have to accept your version of what happened.) The only thing that makes sense about the imposter, is that Alistair needed Martin alive.
Living, Martin can do things, like sign contracts, Lease Agreements, Sales Agreements. If Martin disappears, then he is still alive. Alive until his body is found. Alive until Pilar, his wife, has him declared legally dead. Alive to do what the Cranes want him to do.

What is it then, that Alistair Crane needed Martin Fitzgerald alive for? This is the reason way Martin disappeared and why the Crane Empire can be destroyed if it ever can to light. I do not think that Martin knew something about the Cranes and they wanted his silence. I think that Martin had something that Alistair desperately wanted and or needed. Something like property. A tract of land that was nessecary to a developement deal that Alistair and Crane Industries was working on.

Think about it for a minute. Martin dreamed of buying that small island and building a dream house for Pilar and the family. He dreamed of retiring to New Mexico with Pilar someday. Martin dreamed big and was working towards obtaining those dreams. He was working nights and weekends to save the money for these things. Maybe, just maybe, he had already purchased the island or another piece of land for the future. Or, he inherited some land from his family. Land that Alistair needed for his project.

Alistair, learned who owned the property he needed for his project, a Factory, a Mall, a Business complex, a Resort, whatever and tried to buy the property from Martin, but Martin wasn't interested. He wasn't going to sell it or lease it. At least not under the terms that Alistair was offering. So Alistair called him at home and demanded that they meet the next day to negoitate a deal. Martin left for work that morning, but went to meet with Alistair instead. After touring the property and discuessing Alistairs plans for it, they returned to the Crane Mansion. Alistair tried to come to an agreement about the property, but Martin refused his less than generous terms. Finally, Alistair resorted to threats to try to pressure Martin and they agrued loudly and posibly even struggled. Martin tried to leave the Mansion but ran into Sheridan instead.

Sheridan had gotten up and went downstairs to sleep on the couch. She was awaken by Alistair and Martin arguing about his property and became scared. She grabbed the letter opener from the table and hid. When Martin came out of the Library and headed for the door, he ran into Sheridan, who in a panic, stabbed him with the letter opener. Martin collasaped striking his head on a table or something and lay there unconcious. Alistair came out and found Sheridan standing over Martin with blood on her hands, scared out of wits. He checked Martin and told Sheridan that she had killed him. Alistair then summoned Julain and they hatched their plan to cover this up.

They sent for a casket, had Martin loaded into it and carted off to some distant place. Then the arrangements for Sheridan were made. The next day she was sent to Paris and placed in the care of French Doctors who tried to convince her that it had just been a dream, a really bad dream. Julian located a man to impersonate Martin and close the deal with Alistair, denying Pilar and her children, not just a father, but their fortune as well. The Faux Martin signed long term Lease Agreements with Alistair allowing him to develop the property and make a small fortune off it. Then Faux Martin went his merry way, living high until the Crane's Blood money ran out and he settled in New Mexico.

One last thing. I think that Martin was still alive when he was taken away that night. The casket was used to conceal him from privying eyes and to minimise the Crane's invovlement. He was shipped off to a private clinic until he recovered from his injuries, but remained in a coma. This forced Alistair to go the 'Martin Imposter' route to get the land so he could close the deal in time. Now, Martin is in a coma still, instiutionalised someplace, living in seculsion believing his family is dead, alive with no memory of his past and living under a fake name, in hiding and plotting his revenge, or he is dead. The fact that his body has yet to turn up makes me think that Martin is still alive, someplace, out there