“That’s all? There must be more to it than that. I certainly don’t enjoy female companionship that much,” I argued.
“Most women do. Besides, it only causes problems when men and women are socializing together. Just look at your friends Denton, Jory and Ruby. Maybe if they didn’t spend so much time together, Denton wouldn’t have hooked up with his best friend’s wife.”
I rolled my eyes and scoffed, “Good people can control themselves. Trust me. Denton has never been a good guy. I know from personal experience.”
“You’ll have to tell me that story sometime,” Daniel chuckled.
“Not on your life.”
It was about noon and the sun had finally burned away the thick cloud cover that had made the morning especially dreary. I reluctantly stepped over the mound of snow to enter the other building, really hating to leave behind the bright rays of sunshine that were finally warming my face.
My eyes quickly adjusted to the dim interior of the room as I looked around. There were women and teenage girls bustling around, pouring glasses of water and setting out platters of very plain looking sandwiches. The bishop guided us to the corner and motioned for us to sit down. Once again, he was trying to be subtle about seating us off to the side, but I certainly caught on to what he was doing.
Mareena appeared at my shoulder and leaned down, “I see you survived the service,” she smirked.
I had to give the girl credit for a sick sense of humor. “I’ve lived through worse.”
Mareena gave us glasses of water and moved on. I watched the girl balancing the tray on one hand while she continued to deposit the full glasses of water along the table.
“Rowan’s kids are tough,” I said out loud, but mostly to myself.
“Amish kids usually are,” Daniel replied.
“It’s truly amazing that more of the kids don’t runaway in the night.”
“It’s really not so bad, Serenity. There are a lot of good things that come along with being Amish.”
I sighed with irritation, “Yeah, you’ve already told me all about the wonderful large families and how close-knit the communities are. How you’re never alone…but what about those loner-type kids who have independent spirits?”
“It’s not easy being a kid anywhere nowadays. At least most of these kids have support from their families and friends.”
“Naomi sure didn’t,” I said bitterly.
“Hey, I didn’t say that the Amish have it perfect. I know that better than most. I’m just trying to get you to understand that freedom and technology aren’t the only things that make people happy.”
I met his gaze squarely, taking a breath to calm myself before I responded. “Don’t paint me as a shallow person. I’m not.” I leaned in and whispered fervently, “I’m more interested in these kids’ lack of higher education and life choices. I don’t give a shit about the absence of cell phones, internet and big screened televisions in their lives.”
My voice rose a little higher than I intended and several pairs of eyes looked our way. I shrugged off the uneasy sensation rising in my gut as I took a sip of water.
Daniel spoke with calm understanding, which annoyed me even more. “You aren’t going to be able to help these people if you don’t try to understand them better. Naomi’s situation was atypical. These families love and nurture their children. They would do anything for them. They provide them with the skills and knowledge that they need to be successful in their world. For most of the young people here, it’s all they need to be happy.”
“I don’t think Mariah is happy.”
Daniel looked away for a long moment and then met my gaze again. “So you feel the need to save her…because you couldn’t save Naomi?”
I wasn’t sure what to say and that didn’t happen very often. As much as I hated to admit it, maybe Daniel was correct about my Amish-bashing mind. But he wasn’t the one who had been held captive one night in a darkened barn, surrounded by a group of Amish vigilantes. I had every right to feel the way I did. But it was unsettling to think that I might be unconsciously imposing Naomi’s craziness into Mariah’s life.
While I was lost in thought, I caught a glimpse of Mariah following someone out the door.
I grabbed Daniel’s wrist and whispered urgently, “Come on!”
Daniel didn’t question me and I really appreciated it at that moment. He simply rose as suddenly as I had and joined me when I left the building.
Mariah was now walking alone down the steep driveway, but I wasn’t fooled. Asher’s friend, Julian, was about forty feet in front of her. To anyone else, the English man was just heading to his car, the same as any of the other Amish drivers.
I slowed a bit, using the line of parked buggies and the occasional white van as cover. As long as I kept the girl in my sights, I breathed easier.
When I glanced up and saw Daniel by my side without question, I suddenly realized how extremely patient he was being with me.
“We’re following Mariah,” I volunteered.
“I see her. Do you mind me asking why?”
When we reached the last buggy, I stopped Daniel with my hand on his arm. He followed my gaze to the black charger that was parked beside the road. Mariah was too smart to stop at the vehicle, though. She continued walking to the little white board telephone shed at the corner of the yard. Mariah took the time to look all around before she stepped into the building and closed the door behind her. Julian was sitting in the passenger side of the sports car and no one was in the driver’s seat.
My heart rate quickened.
Daniel’s hot breath was close to my ear. “What’s going on?” he whispered.
“That’s Asher Schwartz’s car,” I nodded at the vehicle and then back at the shed, “and Mariah is in there with him.”
Daniel’s eyes widened in surprise. “Not much gets by you does it?”
“Nope,” I sighed.
“Let’s go talk to him,” Daniel said, taking a step forward.
I stopped him, “Wait.”
Mariah emerged from the shed alone. She walked purposely back the same way she had taken on the way to the shed. I motioned to Daniel to continue waiting, and then lifted my chin towards the shed again.
A minute later, Asher finally came out, and we met him just as he reached his car.
“Hello, Asher. Do you remember me?” I said sweetly.
Asher hesitated for a step and then fully stopped. He was dressed the same as I had seen him before in khaki pants, brown coat, close cropped brown beard—Mister Chameleon.
A wide and very phony smile erupted on his face. “Of course, I do. How are you, Sheriff?”
“I’m great,” I pointed at Daniel, “This is Daniel Bachman.”
“Hello,” Asher said, reaching out to shake Daniel’s hand.
At that moment I wished very badly that we were standing in my own jurisdiction so that I could officially bring Asher Schwartz in for questioning. Unfortunately, I had no power to do anything in Poplar Springs. The sudden realization of how out of control the situation really was hit me as if I was just smacked in the face.
“Do you have a minute to talk?” I asked.
Asher began backing away from us. “You know, really, I don’t have the time today.”
“Maybe you’ll be a little more willing to talk to me if Sheriff Gentry is by my side,” I threatened.
Asher’s abrupt laugh surprised me. He smirked and met my gaze. “I’m not worried in the least about that. But you can go ahead and try.” He turned and moved quickly around the side of the car. Before he climbed in, he said, “Enjoy your dinner with the Amish. You might want to plan to hit the steak house by the interstate afterwards. I remember the Sunday noon meals to be quite unsatisfying.”
Daniel and I watched the Charger pull away in silence. Once the black car had disappeared
around the bend in the road, Daniel said, “I was wrong about him. He really is a bastard.”
I would have laughed if I wasn’t so angry. I began walking up the driveway toward the car. I glanced at Daniel who was even with me. “We need to pay Sheriff Gentry a visit.”
Daniel smiled. “I knew you’d say that.”
I tossed Daniel the car keys. “I’m calling Todd.”
“You came up with twenty-six missing women in a four state region that are possible matches to fit our burn victim?” I asked Todd in astonishment.
I immediately figured half of them had purposely vanished on their own accord, and the rest were probably involved in their own criminal behavior that added to their disappearances. But still, it was a large number of women to work through.
“Let me work on it for a couple of more hours. I think I can whittle it down to about nine possibilities. Three are from the Indianapolis metro area,” Todd said.
“Start with them first.” I could hear the muffled background noise of people talking and knew that Todd was sitting beside Rosie at the front desk of the Blood Rock Sheriff’s Department. Rosie was our elderly receptionist and unofficial personal therapist. The woman was incredibly wise and she wasn’t shy about telling everyone else that they were idiots. A small stab of homesickness washed over me and I asked, “How’s Bobby doing?”
Todd snorted, “As annoying as ever. He’s still in a tizzy trying to get last year’s files sorted.”
I smiled into the phone picturing Bobby exhausted and rubbing his eyes with a pile of folders on the desk in front of him. Bobby put everything off until the last minute and then he completely freaked out when the mayor came storming in wanting to see this or that. It was really quite comical to watch the two old men bantering back and forth. It was something that I didn’t realize I enjoyed so much until this very moment.
“I’m glad things are quiet there for you guys. Tell Rosie, I said, hi.” I heard Todd immediately relay the greeting to Rosie and then Rosie said loudly enough to clearly penetrate the phone line, “You tell Serenity to hurry up and get her skinny butt back here. I’m tired of being surrounded by a bunch of idiot men.” Todd quickly said, “Ah, Rosie says, hi, too.”
I chuckled as I looked out the window at the sun glistening off of the snowy field that we were passing by. The bottoms of the corn stalks poked up through the snow, making me think of rows of skeletons littering a battlefield. Once again, Naomi popped into my thoughts. I shivered and had to blink away the image of her body lying among the dried up, autumn cornstalks.
“I really appreciate this, Todd,” I said.
“No problem. It’s been incredibly boring around here anyway. I’ll call as soon as I have something for you.”
When I hung up, I glanced over at Daniel.
“What’s wrong?” Daniel asked, taking his eyes off the road for a moment to meet my gaze.
“I came up here to investigate some barn burnings, but it’s grown into something much more sinister. And I don’t like it one bit.”
“I really don’t know how you’re keeping everything straight in your head. There’s a lot going on in this town,” Daniel snorted.
“Brody’s department could be doing the same kind of research that I’m having Todd do right now. The fact that they aren’t, is ringing an alarm bell in my mind.”
“What do you think the story is with the woman’s body?”
I took a deep breath, “The woman was dead when she was placed in the barn. The fire was set to get rid of her and any evidence on her body.”
“How can you be so sure?”
I shrugged. “It just makes the most sense.”
“But what about the other fires, and Rowan’s house explosion?”
“I have some ideas, but I need more time…and answers from the sheriff.”
A few minutes later, we parked in the little parking lot beside the sheriff’s department. As timing would have it, Brody was walking out of the building by himself as we approached. We intercepted him on the sidewalk.
“Sheriff, do you have a minute?”
Brody stopped, but said, “It’s a busy Sunday. What do you need?”
With the sun out and the milder temperatures, it wasn’t uncomfortable having a conversation outside, but it still irritated me that Brody wasn’t showing any inclination to invite me into his office for a meeting. I caught a glimpse of Daniel peeking at me with one eyebrow raised. I ignored him. This had to be handled extremely delicately.
“All I have is one question. It won’t take long.” I tilted my head and watched his expressions closely. “What’s the deal with Asher Schwartz? He has a rap sheet a mile long in Indy and he’s been involved in criminal activities in Poplar Springs that include murder. Why aren’t you gunning for him? If he was in my jurisdiction, I know I would be.”
A curious flash of fear passed over Brody’s features and then, just as quickly, he relaxed. “It was self-defense. No witnesses and Asher’s word against a dead man’s, who had an equally long rap sheet of his own. Some cases just aren’t worth the tax payer’s money.”
Brody sniffed and shifted on his feet. He was a really big guy, and standing in his shadow would have been intimidating if he had been a different sort of man. But I was convinced that he was the type who would rather run from a fight than make a stand. I knew a lot of guys like him. The easy way was always the best way in their book.
I raised a questioning brow. “On a first name basis with him?”
Brody cracked a little smile and said, “I know everyone in this town…and I’m a friendly man. You might learn a thing or two from my actions, Serenity.”
I gave him my deadliest stare and asked, “I need to know, Sheriff, before I bother going any further with this investigation, whether you’ll prosecute Asher Schwartz if I discover that he’s involved with the arsons in the Amish community…and possibly other criminal acts?”
I had to give Brody credit for not blurting out what I wanted to hear, just to pacify me. He hesitated for a long moment before he steadily met my gaze. “There are a lot of factors in play here that I’m not going to discuss with you. But I will say this. Asher has a big mouth and he won’t be taken quietly.” Brody took a step closer, leaning down to the side of my face. He whispered so quietly that I wasn’t even sure if Daniel could hear him. “Asher is a cancerous wart on my community. He needs to be brought down, but as long as he’s able to talk, I won’t touch the man.”
Brody stood up tall again, and tipped his gray hat to Daniel. He left us alone on the sidewalk just as an uncomfortable burst of apprehension struck me. It was the same type of feeling you get when you’re swimming in the ocean and you suddenly have a horrible feeling that something is beneath you in the dark, greenish water, and it’s about to bite your foot off.
I finally breathed again and looked up at Daniel. “This town is a lot more messed up than I originally thought.”
Without hesitation, Daniel said, “I’m right here with you, however you want to proceed.”
Daniel was watching me with a still, unreadable face. His eyes were warm and alive, though, and for a moment, I was completely at a loss. I certainly wasn’t used to the sickening feeling of trepidation spreading quickly inside my gut, but having Daniel standing there at attention, waiting for me to make my move, was encouraging. Suddenly a thick knot lodged in my throat and I struggled to swallow it down. Oh, how I wished that Daniel and I really were more than just partners. I was tiring of the cat and mouse game. Even now, sparks were tingling inside of me as I gazed up at his handsome face.
But I couldn’t mention to him what Brody had just insinuated. It was just too dangerous. I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but the less Daniel knew about it, the better for him. I was about to go down a very slippery slope, one that I wasn’t even sure myself if I would be able to climb out of.
&nbs
p; I cleared my throat. “Todd gave me Asher’s address. That’s our next stop.”
Daniel’s smile and his immediate willingness to follow me deeper into the mud gave me a burst of hopefulness for an instant, but as I turned away and walked to the car, I wondered if I should just keep on driving, right out of this town for good.
20
It was a typical trailer park, only with the snow and the bare, skeletal trees, it was even gloomier than usual. Absently, I had already counted a dozen different dogs chained to dog houses in the front yards and there were enough older model cars in the driveways to fill a junk yard. Children’s large, plastic toys littered most of the simple porches and even on this cold day, several people were outside on those porches smoking cigarettes.
This was the perfect place for Asher Schwartz to blend into. People that lived in places like this didn’t snitch on each other. They had unwritten rules that everyone automatically knew and followed. And with the depressed, chipped paint look of most of the homes, the main portion of the inhabitants of the East Side Trailer Park were probably unemployed and living on government assistance. They were trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty. Asher would be king in such a place.
“This neighborhood has a rough look about it,” Daniel commented.
“No kidding,” I muttered. In the academy I had been trained to trust my instincts, which I usually did. But I knew cops that were by nature jumpy, and ended up making the wrong call in a sticky situation. I certainly didn’t want to wind up on the evening news for shooting an innocent person. The thought made my hand inadvertently slip into my jacket. I touched the cold steel of my gun, and immediately, my heart rate calmed.
I turned two more times before I saw the black Charger parked on the one lane road. The trailers were lined up tightly along the lane, and I had to slow the car down considerably to maneuver through the parked vehicles making the lane even narrower. The trailer that the Charger was parked in front of was a little better kept than most of the others. The bushes were trimmed neatly and the stone walkway from the carport to the house was shoveled free of snow. It occurred to me that even though Asher had strayed as far away from his roots as a man could, he had maintained the same compulsiveness to have a very clean and manicured property that all Amish people seemed to have.