“Oh, yes. Rowan and I know each other rather well…” the sheriff turned to stare at Rowan and added, “don’t we?”
“Yes, Sir,” Rowan replied cordially.
Suddenly, the tension was so thick that I could have cut it with a knife. The two deputies were carbon-copies of each other; both athletically built with buzz cuts and arrogant twists on their mouths. I fleetingly thought about how well Todd would fit in with this crew when my gaze was pulled to the framed front page of a newspaper on the wall beside where we stood. The scene of a barn ablaze, surrounded by fire trucks and spraying water hoses raised the hair on the back of my neck. Without caring what anyone thought, I walked up to it and quickly skimmed the headline and then the date. With each word of the article that I read, my heart pounded heavier in my chest. Finally, I turned to face the sheriff.
“Can we talk in private?”
Sheriff Gentry’s mouth tightened before he sighed loudly. “That’s probably a good idea.” He flicked his hand for me to follow him. I took only a second to glance over at Daniel and Rowan before I left them standing in the lobby with the deputies.
The sheriff’s office was spacious and decorated in a western style that would have looked perfect in a Texas sheriff’s office, but felt pretty out of place in northern Indiana. I tried to relax in the brown leather seat and set my thoughts in order while Sheriff Gentry poured me a cup of coffee. I was a little worried that after Daniel’s strong brew only an hour ago, any more caffeine would peel my skin back, but I had accepted the offer anyway. It gave me a chance to study the sheriff keenly for a moment before we got down to business.
Brody Gentry was probably in his mid-sixties. His arrogant confidence put me in mind of Tony, but where the former Blood Rock sheriff was tall and wiry, like Clint Eastwood, this man was built similar to a polar bear. His gray haired head actually looked too small for his large body.
I also noted that he wore a wide banded wedding ring and that there were several group family pictures around the room. From the sheer number of grandkids, and people in general in each photo, it was safe to assume that the sheriff was quite the family man.
Sheriff Gentry handed me a cup and then took a seat behind the desk. He sipped his cup of Joe and waited for me to speak. His silence didn’t really bother me. I used the same tactic myself sometimes to intimidate people.
“You have a beautiful family, Sheriff Gentry,” I said.
“Brody, just call me Brody from now on.” The lines on his face seemed to become deeper when he went on to say, “So what exactly do you want to talk about?”
I ran my fingers through my hair and replied carefully, “Well, my original intent was to discuss the recent rash of barn burnings. As you already seem to be aware, the Poplar Springs’ Amish community searched me out and asked if I would check into the case for them on the QT.”
“And now…?” Brody appeared as relaxed as a cat sunning itself on the windowsill, but underneath the calm facade, I knew he was coiled as if he was a snake ready to strike. The occasional twitch at the corner of his mouth and the constant tapping of his foot was a dead giveaway.
“My condolences on the death of your grandson and his girlfriend in the nineteen ninety-seven barn fire; it’s a horrible crime for two young people to die like that,” I said steadily.
Our gazes locked for a second before Brody looked away and sniffed. The moisture I had seen in his eyes was real and for the first time since walking into the building, I felt a little kinship to the man.
“The kids were fooling around in my son’s storage building late one night. They must have nodded off. The fire spread quickly. The coroner told us that they died from smoke inhalation.”
“Was there an arrest?” I said bluntly.
“No. And that’s the most frustrating part.”
“I can relate. My own house burned down last year from arson, and it’s still unsolved.”
“Really?” Brody’s brows were raised, “Surely you have some inkling to who did it—right?”
“Yeah, actually, I know exactly who was responsible.” I paused and narrowed my eyes. “And I’d guess that you have a pretty good idea who set your son’s barn on fire too,” I prodded softly.
Brody nodded his head wearily and said, “It’s nice to know that we’re on the same page, Serenity. I was a bit worried that you were going to come trotting into town like a pent up race horse, so fixated on these new burnings that you wouldn’t even think to look into the town’s past.” He leaned over his desk. “The Amish are keeping secrets about that night eighteen years ago, protecting their own, I reckon. And until they open up to help me solve that case, I won’t lift a finger for them.”
I shuddered. The sheriff hadn’t minced any words. That the proclamation was coming from an elected official who was sworn to serve and protect his constituents was scary enough, but that was only a shard of what was on my mind. Poplar Springs was turning out to be a much more intriguing town than I had thought, and quite possibly a dangerous one.
I knew to tread very carefully. “Do you mind if I take a look at the file?”
He quickly opened up the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a manila folder. He unceremoniously dropped it in front of me. “It’s all yours.” He swallowed. “I really hope that you get the answers out of them people that I wasn’t able to. Austin was a good boy. Everybody loved him and his poor momma was never the same after he died. My daughter-in-law got all depressed, couldn’t take the thought of her oldest son burning up like that. She overdosed on prescription meds two years after the fire, leaving my only son, Michael, to care for Austin’s little brother on his own.”
I could feel my eyes widen and I didn’t even try to hide my shock.
Brody paused in thought and then he added, “My family needs closure, Sheriff. Any which way we can get it.”
“I understand. And I promise you, I’ll do my best.” I picked up the folder and glanced back up, asking, “Is it possible for me to take a look at whatever you have on the recent fires?”
Brody spread his lips tightly, clearly agitated. Scoffing, he said, “I don’t think it will help with the cold case, but you’re welcome to what I have.”
Feeling as if I was treading on thin ice, I pressed forward and asked, “There’s one more thing. Do you know anything about the gas explosion that killed Rowan’s wife?”
Brody’s expression changed so dramatically that I quickly leaned back and poised my hand close to my jacket opening. I had the hesitant feeling that the topic was probably a sore subject for the sheriff, but I wasn’t prepared for such a violent reaction.
“That was just an accident. And you would be well enough to leave that one be and focus on the true crimes that we’re dealing with,” Brody warned me.
I shrugged. “Fair enough, I have enough to keep me busy.”
I left Brody Gentry with an unspoken truce and a loose alliance that could swing either way, depending on what I kind of dirt I dug up. But as I walked down the corridor alone toward the lobby, I knew one thing was for certain. There was no way in hell that I was ignoring the fire that killed Rowan’s wife.
If anything, I was now more convinced than ever that there was foul play involved, and that there was a connection to the barn fire that had killed Brody’s grandson and the recent rash of fires.
And who the dead woman was in the bishop’s barn wasn’t far from my thoughts either.
13
I pushed the file folders aside and took a sip from the water bottle that Daniel had just returned with. I glanced at Rowan, who was still pressing his face up to the news article displayed on the computer screen in front of him. I had to smile. It had taken about ten minutes to explain the basics to the Amish man, but once he’d gotten the hang of it, he cruised through the news articles quicker than I had.
The Poplar Spring’s library turned out to be a much bett
er source of information than either the sheriff’s department or the fire department. Besides the extensive file that Brody had on the fire that had killed his grandson in ninety-seven, the other folders on the arsons only contained a single page report each. I did manage to glean some useful names and addresses, but other than that, they weren’t very helpful.
The newspaper articles were a different story, though. After sifting through them for over an hour, I came up with a clearer picture of a troubled town with high unemployment and a seedy, trailer-trash element on its eastern side. My reading branched out from the arsons, to twenty years of burglaries, vandalism, domestic violence, and assault. Looking at a plot map, I was shocked to see how close the Amish community was to the criminal hot spots.
The town had been bustling back in the eighties, but when several factories closed down in the early nineties, the place became a mid-western ghost town. Businesses closed, people had to go on government assistance to survive, and subsequently lost hope. I had seen firsthand in Indy how the downfall of the economy affected the very core of society. People became depressed, they drank more, played around with drugs, and soon enough violence and crime sprang up in previously calm areas.
Except that Poplar Springs’ hardships hadn’t affected the Amish in the same way they had everyone else. The Plain people’s businesses were flourishing from both a steady growth of families and the ever increasing tourist trade. It now occurred to me that there could be a lot of disgruntled, jealous and vindictive people out there who would want to hurt the Amish and their prosperity.
Taking a deep sigh, I frowned at Daniel.
“Not finding anything helpful?” Daniel asked, taking the seat across from me.
“On the contrary, I found out more than I bargained for.”
I quickly jotted down a couple of sentences on the paper before me and shook my head at Daniel’s raised brow. I wagged my thumb towards Rowan, who was still fully immersed in reading the screen.
Daniel got my drift and with a curt nod, he reached over and picked up the notebook that I had shoved his way.
After reading the note, Daniel’s eyes met mine. His mouth was set in a grim line when he said loudly, “I saw a little diner on the corner. Is it any good, Rowan?”
Rowan reluctantly looked away from the computer and replied, “I’ve eaten there a time or two. It’s decent food.”
“Sounds perfect to me, I’m famished.” I stood and quickly gathered the folders together in a neat stack.
“All right then. How do I turn this thing off?” Rowan asked, putting his hat back on. He watched over my shoulder with rapt interest as I logged him off.
“Now that you know the basics, you can come here anytime to do research,” I told Rowan.
“Yes, thank you for taking the time to get me started. No one has ever actually taught me how computers work.” Rowan walked beside me and we followed Daniel out into the bright sunlight of the library parking lot. The air was still cold, but the rays made all the difference in the world. I slipped my sunglasses on and tilted my face to the little bit of warmth shining down.
“I didn’t think that you had many opportunities to use a computer,” I said absently.
Rowan shrugged and kept perfect pace with me as we headed towards the diner. “From time to time I’ve needed to check information about farm equipment or livestock sales. Usually one of the drivers will look everything up for me, but it’s nice to actually know how to do it myself. I won’t be as dependent on others that way.” He glanced down and said softly, “Thank you.”
I noticed Daniel look over his shoulder, but I ignored him. “You’re welcome.”
The cheeseburger and fries were extra salty, just the way I liked them and as I took a bite of the burger, I waited for Rowan to answer Daniel’s question.
Rowan shifted in his seat across from me and Daniel uncomfortably for a lingering moment and finally said, “Yeah, I knew Austin Gentry.”
Motioning for more with his hand, Daniel prompted, “Were you friends?”
Rowan glanced out the window beside our table. “Not exactly friends. But we knew each other. He was spoiled and a bit arrogant, but he was all right.” He looked back at us and met my gaze evenly. “He shouldn’t have died that night.”
I swallowed down my food and quickly admonished, “Of course not. It’s a horrible way to die and he was still just a kid.”
“No, that’s not what I meant,” Rowan shook his head. “Austin shouldn’t have been sneaking off to a barn in the middle of the night with his girlfriend. I’m sure that he would still be alive today if he had a little more sense.”
The callousness of his words chilled me and I glanced sideways at Daniel to see his reaction. Daniel was shocked, too.
Daniel beat me to the punch. “Wow, man. That’s pretty damn cold.”
Rowan’s dark eyes looked away. “It is what it is.”
I pressed forward, “Do you have any ideas who might be the culprit?”
Rowan rounded on me, and with steel in his voice, he demanded, “Why are you so focused on something that happened nearly two decades ago, while we have burnings from the past few months that we need to solve?”
I didn’t waver. Calmly I said, “I think they may be connected.”
“Really?” Rowan stretched the word out, making it clear that he didn’t agree.
“And then there’s the explosion that killed your wife,” I plowed on, staring unflinchingly into Rowan’s eyes.
Rowan let out a breath and shifted forward to rest his elbows on the table. He pressed his fingers into his head as if he was trying to remove a deep pain before he met my gaze once more.
Rowan’s discomfort was pulsating in the air, but I was able to push aside any sympathy that I might have and patiently wait for him to answer me. Rowan was definitely hiding something. I was sure of it now.
The plastic covered blue booth seats were small and Daniel was sitting close enough that our legs pressed against each other. Even for the dramatic conversation and my desire for answers from Rowan, I was hyper aware of Daniel’s close proximity and how weirdly right it felt. We were literally on the same side this time and it shamed me to admit that it was a wonderful feeling.
Rowan’s gaze finally rose from the table top. In a quiet voice, he said, “There was a gas leak, I already told you that.”
Just as softly, I said, “Did it ever occur to you that foul play may have been involved?”
“No.”
I squinted and bit my lower lip. It was a pivotal moment. If I said the wrong thing, it would screw up any chances of Rowan opening up. But then again, if I said the right thing, a big piece of the puzzle might fall into place.
“I’m sorry to bring up bad memories. It was just a thought, that’s all,” I assured Rowan.
Rowan’s gaze became fierce and he said, “We need to find out who is setting these recent fires before someone else gets hurt.”
I didn’t like being spoken to in such an angry tone and I couldn’t help but narrow my eyes and lean in toward Rowan, who held his ground, returning my heated glare with his own.
“I’ve been here for a total of two days and I’m doing the very best I can to sift through all the information. If you don’t like the way that I’m handling the case, then go ahead and send me home. But if you do that, I can almost guarantee you that with this town’s climate of bad blood, secrecy and poverty, you’ll never find out the truth.”
My words hung in the air the same as the foul stench of decaying flesh. I didn’t like the way Rowan stared at me, his mouth slightly gaping. And I certainly didn’t like having to go all Clint Eastwood on the Amish man, but my patience was wearing thin. I couldn’t shake the needling sensation at the back of my mind that something very dangerous was on the horizon. Poplar Springs definitely had bigger issues than just the barn burnings.
“I understand, Sheriff Adams. I wish you to stay, and I will interfere with your investigation no longer.” He placed his hat on his head and abruptly stood up. “I have chores to do at the farm. Can we be going now?”
I inwardly smiled at the win, but I managed to keep my face blank. I nudged Daniel as I quickly wrapped my burger and fries in a napkin to take for the ride back to the Amish community.
Sometimes things worked out perfectly, I thought. Next stop was going to be Joanna Fisher’s place, and I definitely didn’t want Rowan hanging around in the shadows for that conversation.
14
“You sure didn’t hold anything back with Rowan,” Daniel chuckled when we were finally alone in the car.
I pulled out on the roadway, remembering the way Rowan and I had gone the day before to get to the bishop’s farm, but going in the opposite direction instead as I listened to my phone’s robotic voice guide me.
“Of course not, he has his own agenda, the same as everyone else in this town and it needed to be reined in.”
“I thought you’ve already been to the bishop’s place?” Daniel asked as he glanced out the window in confusion.
“Yeah, I remember how to get there. But we’re making a couple of other stops first.”
“Mind if I ask, where?”
“I think we need to check out the other three barns that burned down. There’s so much going on around here that it’s difficult to make sense of it all, but there’s one thing I’m fairly certain of. The recent fires are connected to the one in ninety-seven that took Sheriff Gentry’s grandson and his girlfriend.”
“What makes you so sure about that?”
“Mostly just a gut feeling at this point—nothing concrete—but the bad blood between the sheriff and the bishop, and even Rowan, is unmistakable.”
“They definitely don’t trust each other. That’s for sure,” Daniel commented.