“It was at first. Solving a cold case intrigues me. But the further I delved into this one, the less enthusiastic I felt. All parties involved have moved on. There’s been no further crimes—and no threat to the Strasburg community.”
Bobby toyed with his mustache. “If the investigation is pursued, will it affect your friend’s life?”
“It might.” I straightened in my seat and said firmly, “I’m afraid it will.”
He crossed his arms. “If you believed it was right to protect your friend, you never would have mentioned this to me. You would have just done it and not looked back. That’s the type of person you are. Following the rules isn’t as important to you as justice being served. The fact that you’re questioning yourself tells you what you have to do. There’s a person out there, living his or her life, while another man’s was snuffed out. Whether he deserved it or not might not be the issue at all.”
“What is the issue then?”
“A simple shooting would indicate a vendetta killing for one thing or another. Brutalizing the body afterwards points to an extremely sick individual—the type of person who might lose it again. And if that were to happen, could you live with yourself?”
My eyes teared up and I wiped the wetness away with the back of my hand. My heart pounded and it was difficult to breathe. Why is this happening? I screamed in my head.
“Do I have your confidence with this conversation?”
“Of course. I have faith you’ll make the right decision, and whatever that decision is, I’ll go along with it.” I began to open my mouth and he held up his hands. “Please don’t tell me anything that will keep me up tonight. It’s easier to plead ignorance if I really am ignorant.”
I nodded. “I get it.” My cell phone rang and I glanced at the number—Laura’s. “Damn. I forgot all about dinner at my sister’s.”
I stood up and pushed the files aside. “These will have to wait until tomorrow.”
“No worries. They aren’t going anywhere.” He inclined his head. “Perhaps being with family will help you make your decision.”
A rap on the door sounded. It opened just wide enough for Daniel to peek in. “I hope I’m not interrupting an important powwow—” he glanced at his watch “—we’re going to be late for dinner at Laura’s.”
I smiled and tried to ignore the burning in my chest. “I’ll be right out.” He got the hint and disappeared, shutting the door.
I looked back at Bobby. “Usually being with family does the trick, but I don’t think it’s going to work this time.”
Taylor snuck up behind me, slipping her arms around my waist. I set down the pot I’d been washing and turned around to return the hug. I wasn’t a touchy-feely type of person, but I made an exception for my only niece.
“Let me look at it again, Aunt Rennie,” she begged, touching the engagement ring.
I held out my finger and she carefully touched it, peering closer. Laura leaned in to take another look. “It’s gorgeous.” She smiled broadly. “You’re a lucky woman.”
I pretended to be happy and smiled back. Laura tilted her head and her eyes slightly narrowed. She sensed something was up.
“Taylor, why don’t you take the dog for a walk.” Her tone was more an order than a request.
Taylor glanced at Zeus, the elderly black lab lying on his furry dog bed in the corner of the kitchen. She rolled her eyes as she grabbed the leash off the hook on the door. “Oh, all right.” She looked back at me. “I know when I’m not wanted.” Taylor had a flair for the dramatic. She hung her head and sulked before her frown turned up into a grin. “When I get back, I want you to tell me exactly how he proposed. Did he get down on his knees or—”
“Go on!” Laura shooed her daughter out the back door with Zeus.
The dog moved stiffly and I suddenly realized how really old he was. In days gone by, he’d been a rowdy beast and the life of the family. I used to have to fight him off when I’d walk in the front door. Nowadays, he slept more than anything else and I often forgot he was even in the room.
Daniel was in the adjoining room with my brother-in-law and nephew, their voices carrying through the open doorway. Even though we couldn’t be overheard, Laura lowered her voice. “What’s going on? You’ve been weird all evening.”
I was expecting Laura to see through my act. She was perceptive, and even more so with me. But up until that moment, I hadn’t decided how I’d handle her.
Daniel laughed, and the hearty sound of it pinched my gut. I loved him—had agreed to marry him—and now, I feared I didn’t even know him.
I smoothed my hair behind my ears. “Is it that obvious?”
“To me it was. I don’t think anyone else noticed. You’re pretty good at hiding your emotions, so when I see the tell-tale signs that you’re coming unglued, I know it’s serious.” She stepped closer and squeezed my hand. “This should be a happy time, why are you freaking out?”
Laura was a little shorter than me and where my eyes were gray, hers were light brown. Otherwise, we could have been twins, except for her being five years my senior. Since our parent’s deaths, we’d grown closer. Laura had stepped up, filling the void left by Mom. She’d support me one hundred percent, but that wasn’t what worried me. Even though I had no idea what would happen with Daniel, I still didn’t want her to think badly of him. I couldn’t go there just yet, but I needed to talk to someone. If I didn’t, I’d go crazy.
I gripped Laura’s hand and tugged her into the corner by the refrigerator. “I think I made a mistake accepting Daniel’s proposal. He might not be the person I think he is,” I whispered.
Laura frowned and glanced towards the doorway leading into the other room. When she looked back, her eyes were moist. “Why would you say that—you love him, don’t you?”
I sagged against the counter. “Very much, but love might not be enough.” I snorted. “I found out he hasn’t been truthful with me about his past—and there might even be legal ramifications. I don’t know how I’m going to handle the situation, either.”
Her face hardened and she looked a lot like mom. “I’ve seen how he dotes on you—puts up with your aloofness and the demands of your job. He adores you, Rennie. Don’t throw it all away because of your high ideals.” She offered a smile. “No one’s perfect. Maybe you can look the other way this time.”
My brow furrowed as I stared at my sister. She probably thought if Daniel got away, I’d never find a man who’d put up with me. Although she wasn’t as focused on justice being served as I was, she was a morally sound person, and her pleading eyes did affect me.
“I won’t make a rash decision. I’ll gather some more information and then decide.” Laura’s mouth tightened and I added, “Don’t worry, I won’t end it unless there’s a very good reason. I think if you knew the entire story, you’d see it my way.”
She embraced me and whispered into my ear, “Hang in there, it will all work out the way it’s supposed to.”
“Aunt Rennie?”
I pulled away from Laura and wiped the corner of my eyes. “Are you heading out, Will?”
He nodded. “I’m going to meet some friends in town.”
Will had filled out since the previous fall when he’d left Blood Rock for Montana. It was the trip of a lifetime, one he’d been planning for a while. He would have taken his beautiful girlfriend with him, an Amish girl escaping her life, but he never got the chance. After she’d been murdered, the trip had become an escape from the horror of losing her.
“How long are staying in Blood Rock?”
“For two weeks.” He glanced at his mother and back at me. “It’s great to see family and friends, and be in familiar territory again, but I’ve started a life out there for myself. I’m doing well on the rodeo circuit.” He smiled faintly and I raised a brow. “And I have new friends out there.”
“As
in a new girlfriend,” Laura teased. She wanted her son close by, but she was trying to remain upbeat about his decision to stay in Montana for the time being.
He was only twenty years old—way too young for the emotional turmoil he’d been through. He’d loved and lost. The resiliency of a youthful spirit was truly amazing. It was good to see him pushing his messy blond hair off his face and smiling again. But it was bittersweet too. If I lost Daniel, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to love someone again.
I reached up and tussled his hair. “I’m happy for you. Follow your dreams and live life to the fullest—without doing anything stupid or illegal.”
He laughed. “Are you getting sentimental in your old age?”
“Not me. I’m just as cynical as I always was.” I shrugged. “It sounded like something a good aunt would say.”
He hugged me tightly, and then his mother before he swept out the door.
Laura wiped a tear away and I gripped her shoulder. “At least he’s living in a beautiful place. You’ll enjoy vacationing out there.”
She chuckled and swatted me with the dishrag. I dodged away right into Daniel. One hand caught me, while his other held the cellphone to his ear. My heart stilled at the tense look on his face.
He slipped the phone into his pocket. “Are you up for a drive out to the Amish community?”
“What’s happened?” I reached for my purse.
He shook his head. “It’s nothing serious, no one’s injured or dead.” He rubbed his forehead. “It’s more of an intervention of sorts. Mervin and Verna need us.”
“Us?”
Thoughts of Daniel’s connection to the Lancaster community and Buddy Prowes were pushed to the back of my mind. If those kids needed my help, I’d get my shit together.
13
“I don’t see what this has to do with us. They’re teenagers—it happens.” I looked out the window at the plowed fields, basked in soft moonlight, trying to avoid meeting Daniel’s stubborn glances.
“This is a big deal. You’re right, it does happen, even among Amish teens. But what Mervin did was brave and idiotic at the same time.” The level of his voice intensified. “They’re going to be shunned.”
“Shunned?” My voice rose. “Are you kidding?”
Daniel exhaled. “It might be for a couple of weeks or the entire summer—it’s up to Aaron and the ministers to decide. What I’m worried about is that both these kids have been through so much already. Something like this could push them over the edge.”
“Why did the boy say anything at all? Did he want to get into trouble?”
“Not exactly. My people are raised with a heightened awareness of their sins—even as kids. They rebel and mess up like English teens. But instead of it being a game to keep their sins secret, some of them are overcome with guilt over what they’ve done.”
“Naomi was running around with Eli and Will—she didn’t seem to have a problem with her conscience, and for that matter, neither did Hannah or Mariah. They understood they were teens and it was expected for them to act out.”
“They’re not all like that. Mervin is a good kid. He wants to be with Verna, start a life with her, but he’s only sixteen and still too young, even by Amish standards. I think this was a desperate attempt at forcing the community to allow them to be together sooner.”
“Do you think he spilled the beans without Verna’s consent?” I asked. When Daniel shrugged, I added, “If that’s the case, she might be angry enough to break up with him.” I threw my hands up in the air. “I mean really, who tells their parents they had sex with their girlfriend? That conversation only comes up if she gets pregnant.”
His brows lifted. “Is that what you did as a teen? Lie to your parents about what you were doing with your boyfriends behind their backs?”
My cheeks burned and I opened my mouth, then snapped it shut. This isn’t the time to confront him about his own lies—and much more important lies at that. Focus on the problem at hand, I ordered myself.
“When I was a teenager, I only had one boyfriend—and that was Denton. I waited until I was seventeen to lose my virginity to him. But I guess it was a little too late. He was already fucking my best friend. Remember, I told you all about it.”
He reached over and cupped my hand. I had the urge to jerk it away, but didn’t.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. It wasn’t right.” He paused. “Can’t you see how a boy like Mervin would feel the need to unload his guilty conscience?”
The inside of the Jeep was quiet for several long seconds. “I suppose so,” I lied. “I still don’t see how we can help. This is out of my realm of experience.”
“Having an outsider’s perceptive can help. I want Mervin and Verna to know they’re not alone—they have sympathetic friends.”
I stared out the window and heavy silence filled the cab. A row of peonies lined the side of the driveway we pulled into. Their sharp fragrance spilled in through the crack in the window. The pink flowers were muted in the moon’s dull light, but I imagined their brilliance in the sunshine. It would have been a nice evening if a couple of kids weren’t going to be humiliated in front of their entire congregation because of raging hormones, and my fiancé wasn’t somehow connected to a murder that took place years ago. I dug my fingers into the side of my forehead.
Why couldn’t I catch a break?
Daniel parked and shut off the engine. I turned the door handle and his hand shot out, grasping my arm.
My head snapped back at him. “Let’s get this over with.”
His face softened and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Thanks for coming.”
I nodded stiffly and tried to pull away, but he held firm. He leaned over and the smell of musky cologne and warm flannel teased my nostrils. His lips brushed mine and his prickly stubble scraped against my cheek. It was a feeling I usually relished, but not today. I kept up the act to avoid raising his suspicions and kissed him back. My heart wasn’t in it, and he knew it. His tongue stalled and his muscles tensed. When he pulled back, he was frowning.
“Is something wrong?” he asked slowly.
“I’m just tired and distracted. You know how that goes.”
His expression was distant, as if he were remembering something. My heart thumped and I stared at him, holding my breath.
He inhaled deeply and I drifted closer. The air in the cab was thick with my need to hear Daniel’s secrets. I touched his shoulder and he turned to me. The cloud lifted from his eyes and the moment was gone.
“Isn’t it great to be a grownup? We can go home later and have as much sex as we want,” he said with exaggerated cheerfulness.
I blew out between my teeth and stepped out of the cab. The grass was covered with dew and a whip-poor-will’s repeated call interrupted the quiet countryside. Moses and Anna, Daniel’s parents, lived in the small white house close to the road. His sister, Rebecca, and her family had the larger farmhouse on the hill. I swallowed down the bitter taste of betrayal and lifted my chin. As difficult as it would be, I had to treat Daniel as a potential fugitive until I had information to clear or condemn him. The thought that he might run had occurred to me and I held on to the thought, even though my heart screamed, No, he wouldn’t do that. I’d learned a while ago that anything was possible—especially with the Amish. And at the core, he was still Amish.
Daniel rapped his knuckles on the door while I scratched the dog’s head, who had greeted us with a wagging tail. He was fluffy and spotted, with one blue eye and the other brown. Seth Hershberger’s puppies popped into my mind and the memory of puppy breath assailed my nostrils.
Moses opened the door, his white beard was long and scraggly, but his dark eyes were surprisingly alert for having unsolicited visitors this late at night.
He grunted. “Haven’t we had enough turmoil in the community already
? What ill news do you bring us now?”
I saw Daniel flinch and shift a hard gaze to Moses. He was an honorable man, but a grumpy one. And he hadn’t forgiven his son for leaving the Amish. After all these years, I didn’t think he ever would.
Daniel cleared his throat, refusing to acknowledge his father’s words. “We’ve come to talk to Verna.”
Moses stood up straighter. “The girl doesn’t need counsel from the likes of you.” He stepped closer, but didn’t let go of the door. “You’ll poison her mind worse than it already is.”
My face flushed and I couldn’t remain silent. “Now wait a minute. Mervin asked Daniel to come—you can’t isolate the boy and Verna.” I wagged my finger. “They’re crying out for help, and if you ignore those cries, and something bad happens, it will be on your conscience.”
Staring at Moses was like seeing an older, gray-haired version of Daniel. They both had the same stubborn features and strong bodies. And right now, Moses was glaring at me with the same look that I’d received from his son on more than one occasion.
His eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth, but before he could respond, Anna pushed by him.
“Aren’t you going to invite them in, Mo?” she asked.
His lips pressed together. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Anna was a petite woman and even now, when it was probably past their usual bedtimes, her hair was still pressed up neatly beneath her cap. A spatter of flour smudged her face and her apron was covered with it. She turned to me. “You’ll have to excuse my husband, Sheriff. We’ve been dealing with an unruly teenager. But you already know that and that’s why you’re here.”
“Something like that,” I mumbled, glancing at Daniel. His stony stare at his parents showed no emotion. “Sorry to bother you so late in the evening, but after everything those kids have been through, we thought we should come straight over.”
Anna wiped her hands on her apron. “I’m finishing up the bread for this Sunday’s service. Rebecca is hosting church and I volunteered to help with the sandwiches.” She fell silent and looked at Moses.