by Alison Stone
The officer’s wary gaze moved to Eli, then back to her. “The morgue is at Apple Creek Hospital. I can take you. It’s getting dark and it’s easy to get turned around on these country roads.”
“Let me drive you.” Eli placed his hand on her trembling arm.
Anna nodded, the corners of her mouth pulling down. “Is it okay if I leave my car parked on the main road?”
Eli took her keys, their fingers brushing in the exchange. Anna’s eyes snapped to his and he smiled reassuringly. “Let me move your car off the road.”
After he moved her vehicle, he guided her with a hand at the small of her back to his SUV parked in the Amish family’s yard. No one was outside the neat farmhouse. Just as well. He had all the information he needed for now. The officer in charge had informed him no one on the ground had been hurt in the crash. Thank God.
Eli opened the car door for Anna. Her long lashes brushed her porcelain skin as she ducked into the vehicle. With his hand still on the door handle, his focus drifted to the familiar farmhouse. A young girl emerged from the house, her pale blue gown rustling around her ankles as she sprinted across the grass toward the building next door. The Amish girl reached the neighboring house without so much as turning her bonneted head. Longing for a simpler life filled him.
Squaring his shoulders, Eli strode around the front of the vehicle. The case he was working on had never been easy. The death of Daniel Quinn was an unexpected complication. But even though he was dead, Eli still had to get answers. For the family. For himself.
TWO
“So, Special Agent Eli Miller, what cold case did you talk to my brother about?” Anna had waited until her FBI escort had pulled out onto the road. For a moment back at the farmhouse he had seemed slightly distracted, as if he had something more on his mind than the plane crash. Her shoulders sagged. She squeezed her purse in her lap and held it close. Tears blurred her vision.
He flicked a gaze in her direction, then turned his attention back to the road. “Call me Eli, please.” His mouth curved into a small smile, transforming his profile from the serious FBI agent to someone...well, someone not so serious. She ran her pinkie fingers under her eyes. She wasn’t partial to men in law enforcement, but her emotional state made her vulnerable to a handsome man with a friendly smile regardless of his chosen career.
Heat crept up her neck and she turned to stare at the cornfields rushing by outside the car window. Instinctively, she was leery of those in law enforcement. Yet Eli’s eyes radiated warmth, a kindness, so unlike her father’s penetrating glare when he was looking for an excuse to punish her. She blinked a few times to dismiss the memory.
“Are you going to tell me about this cold case?” Anna asked again.
Eli seemed intent on staring straight ahead at the road. “The cold case stemmed from an old case—a five-year-old Amish girl was kidnapped from Apple Creek.” His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel.
“Did they ever find her?”
“No.” The single word came out clipped.
“Why did you talk to my brother?”
“He was a student at nearby Genwego State at the time.”
“You contacted him just because he was a student at the time?” Anna shifted in her seat to look at him directly, fingering the locket on her necklace.
“When the child disappeared, a lot of college fraternities were in Apple Creek doing a pub crawl.” A muscle worked in his jaw, but he kept his full attention on the road. “You know, when they come into town and go from one bar to another? Back then at least five bars dotted Main Street. All but one have closed down since. We hoped someone might have seen something.”
“Ten years later?” Disbelief edged her tone.
Eli nodded. “It happens. Sometimes someone remembers something they didn’t think was important at the time. Did Daniel ever mention the incident to you?”
She shook her head, scrambling to remember. “Ten years ago...I was starting college. That’s the fall Daniel dropped out and enlisted in the army. He never mentioned anything about an Amish girl’s disappearance. Should he have?” Her stomach hollowed out. At the time, she had found it puzzling her brother had quit college so close to graduation, but he assured her he had a plan.
“Well—” Eli adjusted his grip on the steering wheel “—let’s take one thing at a time.” He didn’t say it, but she knew what he meant. Right now, she had to identify her brother’s body.
Anna slumped into the leather seat and leaned her head back. Before long, the silos, barns and cows were replaced by neat homes and sidewalks as they approached the center of Apple Creek. The last bit of sunlight lit the trees, whose leaves had turned a crimson red and yellow, providing a picturesque landscape. If the circumstances of her arrival had been different, she might have enjoyed the scenery.
Eli slowed his vehicle at a stop sign. Churches occupied two of the four corners of the intersection. Her mind drifted for a moment and she wondered if her brother had maintained his faith after all these years. He had been the one to first drag her to church when they had ended up in a foster home. In church she had found peace and comfort despite the turmoil surrounding their lives.
Silently she said a prayer, asking God to give her strength to deal with the task at hand. Closing her eyes briefly, a quiet calmness descended on her. When she opened her eyes, she noticed hitching posts in front of several of the stores on Main Street. Only one space was actually occupied by a horse and buggy. How peculiar to live as if from another time. Despite having lived in the Buffalo area her entire life, she had never realized the Amish had settled in the countryside little more than an hour away.
Eli drove a few minutes longer, then flicked on the directional and turned into a driveway marked by a large H. The small-town hospital was merely a single-story brick building that might have been mistaken for a school if not for the hospital sign out front.
Sensing Eli’s gaze, Anna laced her fingers and twisted her hands. In a few minutes she’d have to identify her brother’s body. Graphic images formed in her mind. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
“Come on.” He pushed open his door. “I’ll be with you the entire time.” He came around to her side of the vehicle and helped her out. Streetlamps chased away the gathering dusk.
“Why are you doing this for me?”
“Because it’s the right thing to do.” With a hand to the small of her back he guided her toward the hospital. Each and every detail—the chipped paint on the bench, the no-smoking sign, the fallen leaves littering the sidewalk—came into sharp focus, as if she were witnessing it all from above.
The automated glass doors whirred open. A sterile, disinfectant-like scent assaulted her. A gray-haired lady in a pink jacket lifted her gaze in mild interest. Eli flashed his credentials and the elderly woman nodded without saying a word.
Eli strode toward a door marked Stairs and opened it for her. “Down one flight.” Anna’s shoulder brushed his broad chest as she scooted past him into the stairwell. A cool draft floated up from the floor below, sending a chill skittering down her spine.
“I’ll be with you the entire time,” Eli reminded her, placing a reassuring hand loosely on her waist.
The clacking of her heels on the linoleum became the focus of her attention. Not Eli’s comforting presence. And certainly not the task waiting for her.
Reality in the form of a white placard with black lettering slapped her in the face. Morgue. She sucked in a quick breath, then swallowed hard. Nausea licked at her throat.
When they approached a second door, Eli caught her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. Suddenly, she was hyperaware of his touch, the intensity in his gaze. “You don’t have to do this. I met your brother. I can identify him.” The sincerity in his brown eyes weakened her resolve.
She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut.
She glanced at Eli, then back at the door leading to the morgue. “I have to do this. Daniel’s my brother.”
Eli nodded. “Okay.” His hand slipped down to hers. He gave it a squeeze but didn’t let go. The small gesture gave her comfort. “Are you ready?”
Anna turned toward the morgue entrance, then back toward Eli. His features softened and the beginning of a smile tipped the corners of his mouth. The shield around her heart shifted a fraction. She had been alone for so long that she didn’t know how to rely on anyone.
“Let’s go.” Eli pushed open the door leading into a large room. The legs of the stainless steel tables came into view. Her focus shifted from the table legs to the gray linoleum at her feet. Cool, heavy air floated along the floor, licking at her ankles. Eli ran his thumb gently across the back of her hand. “Ready?”
Closing her eyes, she filled her lungs. Would anyone ever be ready to identify a loved one’s body? An image flickered across her brain. Her beloved mother, her long blond hair cascading over the pillow in the casket. The beautician had tried her best, she really had, but no one could do her mother’s makeup as well as her mother. She used to sit at her vanity every morning perfecting her hair and face, wanting to look beautiful for Father.
The mere thought stirred old fears and insecurities. Anna let go of Eli’s hand and crossed her arms. She drew her shoulders to her ears, trying to shake the chill.
“Anna?” Eli’s concerned voice broke through her trance. From one nightmare to another. Slowly, she opened her eyes. She forced herself to lift her eyes to the form draped in a white sheet. Her lips thinned into a straight line and she stifled a sob. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Eli nod to the only other man in the room. He peeled back the sheet, revealing her brother’s face. Bright fluorescent lights cast an unnatural pallor on his whiskered jaw. Darkness pushed on the periphery of her vision. Her heart raced.
Dear Lord, get me through this. Give me strength.
Anna slid her gaze across her brother’s features, allowing a numbness to dull the ache in her heart. Her brother’s cleft chin, the subtle bump in his nose—the one she shared—and the flat pane of his forehead. Cold, hard reality set in. Her big brother was dead.
Buzzing filled her ears. All the colors came into sharp focus. Blinking a few times, she struggled to concentrate on her brother through her watery gaze, knowing this would be the last time she’d ever see him. Tonight she’d sign the paperwork to have the funeral home pick up his body for cremation. Dear Lord, help me. After she cleaned out his apartment, she’d go back to Buffalo and inter him next to their mother.
“It’s him,” she croaked out. “That’s my brother, Daniel Quinn.” She turned and buried her face in Eli’s shoulder and cried, really cried, for the first time since she had received the news.
“Okay. It’s over now.” Eli made a soft hushing noise next to her ear, smoothing his hand down her hair.
“I’m sorry.” Anna lifted her face and brushed at her tears. Heat burned her cheeks. She had no business seeking comfort from this man. An FBI agent. A stranger. Cupping her cheeks, she stepped back.
“Let’s get the papers signed and get you out of here,” Eli said.
* * *
After Anna took care of the paperwork at the morgue, Eli guided her up the stairs to the main lobby. Before they reached the exit, a clamor came from down the hall. The double doors leading to another part of the hospital swung open, then bounced off the wall. A tall, well-dressed man strode in. His facial features contorted in obvious pain. He held on to a woman at her waist. Her wailing and sobbing scraped across Anna’s already fried nerves, and she froze by the stairwell to let them pass.
“Beth,” the man cooed in the woman’s ear. He ran a hand down her blond hair, pulling it back from her face. “Please,” the man pleaded, apparently unsure of how to handle the woman’s grief.
Eli put his arm around Anna’s shoulders and pulled her close. It seemed the most natural thing to lean into him. To accept the comfort he was offering. “Let’s get you out of here,” he whispered.
The woman stumbled forward. A groan escaped her lips. As her companion guided her toward the exit, her unfocused eyes drifted to Anna and Eli. Her head snapped up. “Who are you?” Her words slurred as if she had been drinking. She slapped at the tears trailing down her cheeks, wearing off her smooth foundation.
“I’m sorry. I don’t think you know me. I’m not from Apple Creek.” She struggled to keep her voice from shaking. Eli’s grip tightened around her shoulders.
“You’re his sister.” The coldness in the woman’s eyes chilled Anna to the bone.
“I’m sorry....” Anna swallowed hard, confusion clouding her brain.
“Mrs. Christopher,” Eli said, “now is not the time.”
“Get out of my face.” The woman pinned Eli with her steely gaze. The two apparently knew each other. With lightning speed, the woman reached out and brought her palm against Anna’s cheek with a resounding smack. “Your brother dragged my baby onto that plane. She wasn’t supposed to be there.” A tear dripped from her quivering chin.
“Mrs. Christopher, please, everyone is hurting here.” Eli tucked Anna behind him.
Anna’s mind whirled as she stood dumbfounded, her hand pressed to her stinging cheek. Her mouth worked but no words came.
Mrs. Christopher’s eyes narrowed into hateful slits. “My baby girl is in there.” She jabbed her long manicured finger toward the double doors but didn’t turn her head. “They don’t know if she’s going to make it.”
“I am so sorry.” Anna’s chest grew heavy.
“You will be,” the woman said. “I will make sure of it. Your brother was reckless. He had been drinking. Someone saw him at the diner with a beer. Before he took my baby up in his plane.”
Anna’s heart stuttered. She struggled to catch her breath. The conversation seemed to wind down in slow motion. She slipped her hand around the crook of Eli’s arm, grateful for the support.
Eli led her past the grieving couple. The man—speaking for the first time—hollered after them. “Special Agent Miller—” disdain evident in his tone “—I suggest you keep Miss Quinn away from us. Her brother has destroyed my family.” He lowered his voice. “It would be best if she took care of her business and left Apple Creek immediately. Our family has suffered enough without her here as a constant reminder.”
“I wish Tiffany well,” Eli said, his voice tight. “Miss Quinn has experienced a terrible loss of her own. If you’ll excuse us.”
Anna locked gazes with Mr. Christopher. Fury shot from his eyes. The fine hairs on the back of her neck prickled to life, convincing her if she didn’t leave town, he’d make her wish she had.
* * *
Outside the hospital’s main entrance, a black limousine straddled the ramped pavement. Tom Hanson, the driver, leaned against the hood and read the newspaper under the artificial light, seemingly unaware he was being observed. The Christophers were the only people pretentious—and rich enough—to have a chauffeured limo in Apple Creek. Mr. Christopher had created a cable-industry empire and located it in his hometown. The company had satellite offices all over the East Coast but kept their main headquarters in rural Apple Creek. Eli suspected they enjoyed the “big fish in a small pond” cachet it afforded.
Despite Beth and Richard Christopher’s angry display in the lobby, Eli’s heart ached for them. All the money in the world couldn’t buy them happiness if their family was ripped apart. He hoped Tiffany pulled through.
Once inside his vehicle, Eli shifted in his seat. The yellow light from the parking lot lamppost cast Anna’s face in deep shadows. “Are you okay?”
Anna’s pink lips pulled down at the corners. “Did you know about the poor girl who was on the plane with my brother?” An accusatory tone laced her question.
“Yes.�
� Tense silence hung heavy in the air.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to burden you.”
“You couldn’t hide it from me forever.” A dark line creased her forehead. “I know you don’t know me, but I’m not a fragile woman. Don’t hide anything from me. Not when it concerns my brother.”
Eli glanced toward the main entrance of the hospital but didn’t say anything. Tom opened the back door of the limo and the Christophers disappeared inside.
“How did those people know I was Daniel’s sister?”
“Probably because you’re with me.”
Covering her face, she sighed her frustration. “Don’t they realize this is the last place I want to be? There’s so much I need to do before I can go home.”
Eli reached across and touched her delicate hand, drawing it away from her face. He was secretly pleased when she didn’t pull away. “I can help you.”
“Why would you help me?”
Because your brother is the last solid link to Mary’s abduction. He turned away, afraid he’d chase her off if he told her the truth. He stared at the SUV logo emblazoned on the center of the steering wheel until it blurred. “I’ll be in town for a few weeks. I’m here if you need me.” He met her gaze.
Anna nodded, skepticism evident in the delicate lines around her eyes. Tipping her head back against the headrest, she yanked the rubber band from her hair, allowing her chestnut hair to fall in loose curls over her shoulders. For the briefest of moments, he wondered if her hair felt as silky as it looked. “Can you take me back to my car?”
“Sure.” Tugging at his tie with one hand, he turned the key in the ignition with the other. They drove through the center of Apple Creek. Most of the businesses were closed for the night. When they reached the country road, his headlights cut through the blackness. Silence stretched between them as Eli struggled with how much he should tell Anna about his suspicions regarding her brother. Daniel was dead, so nothing could hurt him now. But what about Anna? She seemed fiercely loyal to him. He wrapped his fingers tightly around the steering wheel. She had suffered enough for today. From what he knew of her childhood through his investigation into her brother, she had suffered enough for a lifetime.
