The Amish were quick to respond, parting to make room for me to pass. I skidded into the shady interior of the room where only moments before everyone had watched Miriam and Joseph marry. My eyes immediately went to the doorway leading into the reception room. It was shut.
Caboom. Caboom. Caboom. I slammed sideways into the door, frantically turning the knob, but to no avail. It was locked.
“Is there another way in?” I searched the pale, disbelieving faces around me.
A young Amish man with just the beginning of a beard ran into the building at full tilt. “The side doors are barred!” He gasped, cupping his face with his hands.
Daniel flew up behind me and I caught my breath. “Call 911. We have an active shooter and hostages.”
He drew his phone from his pocket and turned away without asking questions.
Pop. Pop. A different caliber gun was fired. Either there were two gunmen or the guy had multiple guns.
I scanned the crowd of people. No one was trying to flee. They were frozen there, shocked and staring at me. I recognized the bishop and hoped he was as clever as our bishop in Blood Rock. “Is there another way in?” I asked him.
He glanced around until his eyes fastened on a short, round man. “You know the barn—is there another entrance?”
The man pointed up. “There’s a crawl space above us that is used for storage. It opens to the other side of the wall.”
The bishop barked out orders in his language and the area was a sudden flurry of activity. Several men pulled up a table to the place where the chubby fellow directed. A few seconds later, another man climbed onto the table with a handsaw.
“They’re on their way, but it must be fifteen miles to town from here,” Daniel said.
“More like eighteen,” the bishop countered.
Jerimiah appeared at my side. He grabbed my arm. “My wife and daughter are in there.”
I looked into his watery eyes and my heart sank into my stomach. “I’m going to do my best to get them out.”
“Why would someone do such a thing…” a woman trailed off, beginning to cry.
Another shot exploded on the other side of the wall and I met Daniel’s wide eyes. He climbed onto the table and took the saw from the other man. He followed the seam between the plywood boards and forced his fingers in between them. With a grunting pull, he broke the board.
“There’s enough room for me to go through.” I tried to keep my voice from breaking as I climbed up beside Daniel with the bishop’s help.
“It’s not big enough for me to fit yet—you can’t go in there alone,” Daniel pleaded.
“Of course I can,” I hissed. “It’s my job.” I holstered my gun. “Now lift me up.”
Daniel’s eyes darkened and I thought he was going to refuse. He swallowed, shook his head and put his arms around me. He was strong and I was small. With little effort, he hoisted me into the opening and pushed me though.
I was in the dark and assaulted with stifling, hot air. The ceiling was only inches above my head in a crawling position. The pink insulation prickled my skin and I fought the urge to sneeze as I made my way closer to the place where the ceiling rose. I heard muffled voices and sobbing.
I shuffled faster until I could finally rise up on my knees. I squeezed in between a stack of wood and an old, dusty harness, and peeked down into the room below.
I counted five people on the floor—two men and three women. One of the men was the groom and the other was Isaiah Coblenz. My hand went to my mouth when I saw Miriam’s dead, staring eyes. Her head was turned at a grotesque angle and her arm stretched out to her husband, their fingers almost touching. A puddle of blood pooled around them.
I forced my feelings down and drew in a steady breath.
My eyes skimmed across the overturned tables and the once white table clothes now stained red. Broken bowls of food littered the floor, some still steaming. Many of the flower arrangements were untouched, lending to the surreal feel of the scene.
About eighty people were in the room, huddled in the corner. A line of men with black coats provided a barrier between Brent Prowes and the women. The children were kneeling in the center of the group. That’s where most of the crying was coming from.
Brent had a hold of Samantha. He dragged her with one arm, waving a handgun around with the other. The semi-automatic was slung over his shoulder with a strap. He had a pouch on his belt that probably held more ammo.
I raised my gun to my eye and followed his movements. Todd was my sharp shooter and I relied on him to make the difficult shots. I had good aim, but I wasn’t confident that I could make the shot on a man in motion with a struggling hostage.
“It’s because of you my life is this way!” Brent shouted. “You did this—each and every one of you!”
His voice was desperate. He’d already killed at least five people, one of them a woman he had loved. There was no reasoning with him now. The only way to end this was for him to die.
But Seth Hershberger wasn’t thinking like I was. I held my breath as he pulled away from his wife and took a few steps closer to the gunman.
Seth raised his hands. “Please Brent, don’t do this. The children and women are scared. The Lord will forgive you—we all will forgive you.”
“Forgive me?” Brent snarled. “Just like you forgave Buddy when he threw boards at you or when he struck his wife?” He shook Samantha and she clamped down on his arm with her mouth.
He hit her on the side of the head with his gun and her struggling lessened, but didn’t stop entirely.
“I saw the note you wrote Buddy—and I understood what it meant. You wanted God to bless him for his actions. Why would you do such a thing?” Brent demanded.
Seth looked upwards and shut his eyes as though he was praying for help from a higher authority. When he looked back at Brent, he said in a voice scaling higher, “It’s my people’s way to forgive. We follow the way of grace in all things. It’s what our Savior guides us to do.”
Brent brought his arm up and aimed the gun at Seth. The room became dark and I focused on Brent’s head, holding my hand steady. My finger began to press the trigger when Samantha’s elbow came free and she swung it at Brent’s face. He ducked, and his arm jerked, pressing his gun into her stomach.
“It’s your fault—you fucking whore!” Spit flew from his mouth. “You’re the one who told me if I did Buddy in, you’d be with me. But you were screwing another man that very same night!”
The revelation stalled my finger on the trigger as I listened.
“It’s over. You’ve killed innocent people—for what? Revenge?” She lowered her voice and I strained to hear. “You stupid fool. I never wanted you.”
Brent brought his face within inches of Samantha’s. “You were able to fool everyone else, but you can’t fool God. He knows what you did. You’re going to rot in hell right beside me for killing Buddy.”
He shoved Samantha at the Amish, stuffed the handgun into his pants and grabbed the rifle from his shoulder. Several voices gasped.
Amish men spread their arms wide and the women dropped to their children, shielding them the best they could.
I was too terrified to move.
Brent’s rifle was in his hands and he aimed at the cowering crowd.
All I saw was Brent’s head when my finger closed on the trigger.
20
My gun discharged with an explosion that momentarily deafened me. Brent fell forward and his rifle discharged several rounds into the floor. When he landed, the back of his head was blood and brain matter.
The wailing sound of sirens grew louder and the door below me splintered, breaking apart. Daniel, Jerimiah and the bishop fell into the room with what appeared to be a fence post. Martha was the first to run away from the group of hostages, dragging her daughter with her. She knelt down to Jerimiah
and flung her arms around his neck before he even had the chance to get up.
Several men dropped to their knees beside their fallen people. I heard the bishop praying and several women sobbing. I couldn’t breathe as my eyes searched the Amish crowd as they straightened up, dazed and slow. A woman clutched her arm and a man carried a little boy whose white shirt was stained with blood. As the group separated, I saw another woman on the ground, not moving.
Louise clutched the side of an elderly woman, but neither of them appeared injured, and I spotted the little girl from breakfast in her father’s arms. She was crying and alive. I finally breathed.
Daniel looked up and met my gaze. I returned my gun to its holster and scooted to the edge of the storage space. I slid down the wall into his strong arms.
When I pressed my face into his chest, my eyes filled with tears, even though I fought to hold them in. Poor Miriam. After all the years of waiting, she finally married, and then she died, along with her husband, father and three other people. The senseless killings left my mind numb. A day of happiness had turned into a massacre, and I couldn’t stop it from happening.
John and Toby were the first law enforcement through the door, followed by a sea of uniformed officers, some holding their guns out and others talking on their radios. Several pairs of paramedics were right behind them.
I sniffed, wiping the back of my hand across my eyes as I watched everyone doing their jobs.
“Are you all right?” John touched my arm.
I dared to look up, willing myself to bury the emotions deep inside of me. “I’m fine.” I lifted my chin. “The bride and groom weren’t so lucky.”
“Was it our guy, Brent?” Toby asked, scanning the room.
I pointed to his body. “I took him out with a single shot before he opened up on the crowd. It might have been much worse.”
“How did you know he’d come here?” John tilted his head, his eyes probing.
I leaned against Daniel. “I put myself in his shoes and followed my gut. If I was a killer and I knew all the people who had ever pissed me off were going to be in one room, this is where I would have been. Miriam’s wedding signified the end of any possibility of him being with her. It was the final straw. Brent hated Isaiah Coblenz for taking his business and keeping his daughter away from him. He also hated Seth Hershberger for being kind to Buddy, even when Buddy had been so horrible to him. Brent couldn’t understand the Amish philosophy of forgiveness.” My eyes strayed across the room. Samantha was sitting on the ground, hugging her knees. Her date stood next to her, looking as stunned as everyone else. “And then there’s Samantha Prowes. When I learned she was attending the wedding, I had the feeling something bad was going to happen.”
John rubbed his chin. “How did you know Brent was Buddy’s killer?”
“When Jerimiah told us about Brent beating the dog, I just knew. Classic psychology. Only really bad guys kill dogs or family pets for no good reason. But there were a couple pieces of the puzzle that didn’t jive my theory. One was the note left in Buddy’s car and the other was Samantha.” I glanced between John and Toby. “Things were said in this room that answered those questions and put the final pieces of the puzzle into place.” I nodded at Samantha. “You need to arrest her on conspiracy to commit murder on Buddy Prowes.”
John’s brows lifted. “Do we have enough evidence to convict her?”
“She’s a lawyer, so who the hell knows for sure, but I can attest you have at least sixty adult witnesses in this room, plus me, who heard Brent accuse her of asking him to murder his brother. Her response to the accusation didn’t help her. I think you have a closed case.”
John’s face brightened as he looked at Samantha. “Good work, Sheriff. I knew you’d be helpful on the case, but I never dreamed this instrumental in getting our man…and woman.”
“And saving countless lives,” Toby added.
“It’s all part of the job.” My eyes wandered over Miriam’s body again.
A man in a suit knelt beside the body, being careful not to step in the blood. The puddle had spread, finding its way to a cluster of roses scattered across the floor. Their white petals soaked up the blood, turning red. I stared at the petals, unable to look away.
A uniformed man approached John. When he spoke, it sounded distant, almost dreamlike. “The media is already arriving and the sheriff is busy keeping the Amish from leaving. What should I do with them?”
“Rope off an area down by the road and tell the reporters to set up there. I don’t want any of them harassing the families.”
John nudged me. I was almost too numb to feel his touch.
“I’m afraid you won’t be able to head back to Blood Rock for a few days. This is going to be a nightmare to get sorted out.” I raised my gaze to his and he frowned at me. His eyes flicked to the broken door. “Why don’t you get some fresh air—we’ll do a formal interview later.”
I freed my gun from its holster and handed it to him. “I’m sure you’re going to need it for the forensics.”
John’s lips pressed together and he took the gun.
The smell of death and gun powder was strong in the air and I couldn’t wait to get out of the building. I turned to leave when Daniel’s hand folded around mine, stopping me.
I looked into his eyes and my heart sank.
“I think there’s a piece of the puzzle you haven’t figured out yet.” He took a deep breath. “That’s one of the reasons I came to Lancaster—to talk to you about it.”
Toby’s brows shot up, and John’s eyes popped wider as he stared at Daniel. He’d just made the connection with Danny Bach.
“Not now, Daniel. It isn’t the time.” I pleaded at John with my eyes.
John’s lips curved to the side and he looked at me with a sharp, calculating gaze. Then his expression relaxed. “We have a lot on our plate at the moment. We’ll catch up with you soon, Daniel. You need to comfort Serenity right now. She needs you.”
Toby winked at me before he followed John into the crowd of officers.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t truthful with you,” Daniel said in a soft voice.
I disengaged my hand and headed for the door.
When I stepped out into the sunlight, I dropped my head back and closed my eyes.
“Thank you.”
I opened my eyes to see Martha standing in front of me. Her daughter was under her arm, staring at the ground, Jerimiah a few steps behind her.
“Jerimiah told me how you risked your life to go into crawl space to save us.” She reached out, took my hand and squeezed it. “You’re an angel.” Her eyes watered and she covered her mouth, hurrying away. Jerimiah dipped his hat and mouthed a thank you before he caught up to his wife and daughter.
Blinking cruisers and ambulances crowded the driveway. I looked down to the road to where the gray pickup was still parked. Cows grazed beyond the frenzy of activity and chickens flapped their wings to escape being stepped on.
The sky was the deepest blue and little white puffs of clouds floated above. I lifted my face into the warm breeze.
“It seems like the most terrible things tend to happen on the prettiest days,” I said out loud, but I meant to only think it. I looked up at Daniel and shielded my eyes from the sun. “Will the people here actually forgive Brent for what he did?”
“The way of grace is the Amish way. Healing from a tragedy like this can only come from forgiveness.”
I shook my head. “I could never forgive him. Lives were taken today, stolen away from innocent people—you can’t get over something like this.”
“I didn’t say they’d get over it. This day will haunt their dreams forever. But they’re a resilient people. They will move on…and they will forgive.”
Maybe I wasn’t so different from Brent after all.
I knew I would definitely hold a grudge.
/>
21
Daniel pulled off the road and parked the Jeep. No cars were in Samantha’s driveway, and the house looked empty. I wondered about her son and what would happen to him if she served prison time. He’d probably end up being raised by his grandmother with some visitation from his biological father. It was a tough situation for the kid to be in, but living with a mother who’d arranged her first husband’s murder wasn’t any better. A woman like that would be paranoid as hell. And that wouldn’t make for good mothering or a pleasant upbringing.
“Why did you bring me here?” I glanced at Daniel, who was staring at the woods behind the house.
He raised his chin in the direction of the trees. “That’s where Buddy was shot.”
I followed his gaze, but didn’t say anything.
“I was here that night—in the house.” He drew in a deep, unsteady breath and I turned to stare at him. “Samantha and I were involved at the time. It had only been going on for a few weeks before Buddy’s murder, and ended about a week after.”
My mouth was dry and my lips frozen, but I forced myself to speak. “Why didn’t you tell me about this when I first mentioned the case to you, right after the marshals showed up?”
He swallowed, looking straight ahead and I didn’t blink. “I was afraid to say anything.” He glanced my way. “From the very beginning, you didn’t trust me. It took so long for you to let me in—for you to accept my love. When I asked you to marry me, I wasn’t sure you’d even say yes.” He ran his hand through his hair with a tug. “The last thing I wanted to do was bring up my past, my bachelor days, when I used to flit from one girl to the next, like a lost soul.”
His words settled in my mind and my eyes narrowed. “A man was murdered here, while you were screwing his ex-wife. That’s a hell of lot more important than hurting my feelings.” He opened his mouth and I thrust my hand into the air. “You changed your name and were faking your identity. You had Mervin and Seth cover for you—probably even Jerimiah.”
“I already told you when I left Blood Rock I was fighting my own demons. Those first few years were incredibly tough on me. I went from having no freedom, to having too much, and then I’d lost my family—my parents and my siblings were strangers to me.” When my eyes remained hard, he added, “I’m not trying to make excuses. I just want you to understand where I was at that point in my life. I wasn’t in a good state of mind in those days.”