In Plain View (Amish Safe House, Book 2)

by Ruth Hartzler

  “Hey there,” she said in a sweet voice, and Hugh did the quick introductions.

  “Well, come inside,” Amy said.

  They went around the side of the house and entered from the front porch. Hugh led them to the living room while Amy went to get the drinks. They waited for her to return before they got down to business.

  “Does your wife know what you found out there?” Ryan asked.

  “Yes, he told me,” Amy said, her voice trembling. She leaned forward to set her lemonade on a coaster on the coffee table in front of her. “My word,” she said, and though everyone waited for her to say more, it didn’t seem as if she was going to.

  Ryan broke the silence. “I just wanted to ask you all a few questions, even you, Mrs. White, if you don’t mind.” She said she didn’t mind, so he went on. “Did either one of you see anyone on your property for the last few nights?”

  “Few nights, has he been dead that long?” Hugh asked.

  Ryan shook his head. “No, not that long. I would say last night is when he died, just from looking at him, but you never know about things like this. He, or someone else, could have been around here for a while.”

  “No,” Hugh said. “No one has been here.”

  “Well, what about that black car?” Amy said, and her husband turned to look at her.

  “Right!” he said. “We were coming home from the church meeting on Sunday, and we saw a black car pulling out onto the road ahead of us. They were pulling out of one of my fields. Near the pasture actually, with the cows. There’s a few dirt paths running up and down the fields, and they were coming out of one of them.”

  “We just figured someone had needed to turn around,” Amy said. “People do it all the time.”

  “What kind of car was it?” Ryan asked.

  “A black sedan, that’s all I could tell,” Hugh said.

  Ryan nodded and wrote something on a pad of paper. “And this was last Sunday?”

  Hugh nodded. “Right.”

  And so the conversation went for about half an hour. Kate listened mostly, but answered the few questions that were sent her way. By the time they were done, the glasses were empty, and everyone gathered on the front porch. Ryan shook everyone’s hand. He and Kate climbed into his police cruiser and he took her back home.

  Kate stood in the drive and watched the man leave. His cruiser became a small dot on the horizon and then it was gone. Ryan had barely said a word to her on the short journey. What did this mean? She thought there had been a growing attraction between them, but then again, he thought she was an Amish woman, and Amish do not date Englischers.

  Kate shook herself from her thoughts just as Isaac came out of the house. He stood on the porch as she went to him.

  “Everything go okay?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are Hugh and Amy all right?”

  Kate nodded, and then she smiled and told Isaac that she wanted to lie down. She didn’t look back as she moved along the side of the house, but she was sure Isaac was leaning over the railing to the porch and watching her go.

  Proverbs 18:10.

  The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

  Chapter 3.

  Going for a walk was the best thing Kate could do, if she wanted to clear her head, and clearing her head was her priority at this time. She could not get the murder out of her head. She had the urge to sort things out, which was no help at all. She figured she’d be able to do better than any of the local cops could, although she had a feeling Ryan was one of those who’d do well in the city if he ever decided to move. All at once, Kate realized that her thoughts were prideful. I’m turning Amish, she thought with a giggle.

  As Kate walked down the road, she pushed all thoughts of the murder, and Ryan, from her head, focusing instead on the world around her, which was the one good thing about being dumped in the middle of nowhere.

  The scents of the city were so different to the scents of the country, and Kate was beginning to think she preferred the county. She thought about how clean everything smelled without any big industry. She was beginning to understand why so many people had another home in the country. That idea was a silly one, so Kate pushed it from her mind. She did not need a home in the country; she didn’t make enough to pay for one, and she still had absolutely no idea when she would be permitted to return home. What Kate needed to do was to make the most of every moment she spent in the country. She would miss it when she returned home. It was lovely to be able to walk somewhere without worrying that she might be run over by someone who wasn’t looking where he was going.

  It was when she was walking past the Kauffmans’ pond that Kate found herself thinking about what it might be like to live in the country for the rest of her life. She knew it was a possibility, if things didn’t get sorted out, and she didn’t feel like it was going to be anywhere near as much of a problem as she thought it would be at the beginning of her time in exile. Of course, the country would be far nicer if there weren’t a murderer out there.

  Kate really needed to call her boss, David Harper. He had given her a throwaway cell phone to use if she ever had an emergency, and right now, this sure felt like one.

  Kate reached inside her Amish dress for the small pocket sewn specially to hold the phone, and finally came upon her treasure. Pulling the phone from the pocket, she called her boss and waited in anticipation.

  “Hello, Kate?”

  “Hi, sir. I’m sorry to call you.” The shakiness of her voice hung in the air as she tried to find the right words to use. “They found a homicide victim - the vic was found here. They found him submerged in a pond, so they can’t precisely pinpoint the time of death.”

  “Okay, but why is telling me about that worth risking your cover?” Her boss’s voice sounded frustrated, even a little annoyed.

  “That’s not it. The vic had a tattoo. I’ve seen that same one on two men, and they both turned state’s evidence. The state ended up giving them immunity and putting them into WITSEC. I think someone might be trying to hunt them down.”

  “Tell me more.”

  “These guys were notorious thugs for Logan White. They were his goons, his hitmen. They did his dirty work for him, so that he could keep his hands clean.”

  “I see where this is going. Keep your nose clean, and I mean it. Let the local badges do their thing and keep your cover safe.”

  Kate knew he was right, but she was frustrated. It was hard to be a helpless girl stuck on a farm. “Understood.”

  “It shouldn’t be much longer, I promise. It’s just a bit difficult trying to track down a mole in your own organization.”

  “Could you at least do one thing for me then?” She knew the chances were slim, but the ever-burning determination in her heart wouldn’t allow her to give up without trying. “Can you at least relay the information about the tattoo to the local police investigating the homicide?”

  Silence was the response, and silence hung on the air for what seemed like an age before David finally answered. “I wish I could, Kate, but that would raise too many questions. If there were a better way I might consider it, but any direct contact with them about the case would put up red flags. Please, just let this play itself out.”

  Defeated, Kate exhaled slowly before responding. “Sure.”

  Ephesians 2:8-10.

  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

  Chapter 4.

  Kate was at the Kauffman farmhouse in the late afternoon, having a cup of meadow tea with Beth and Isaac, when a loud bang rattled the front door of the large home. “Just a minute!” Beth rose to her feet, excused herself politely, and walked to the door. Kate listened intently from the living room to see if she could tell who had stopped by.

&
nbsp; “Excuse me, ma’am.”

  “Oh, it’s you, Ryan. Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, of course. I actually just came by to fill you all in with a little bit of information about the body found in your neighbor’s pond. Do you and your husband have a few minutes, perhaps?” Beth must have nodded, because Kate soon after heard the door gently shut, and then Ryan followed the woman back into the room.

  “Kate,” Ryan said. “I wasn’t expecting you to be here, but I’m glad you are. I was going to stop over at the cottage next to inform you of what we’ve been able to find out so far.” His smile made Kate feel safe, even though she knew she wouldn’t really be safe until she was back home, her real home. “Not like it’s a long drive from here, but thanks for saving me the gas mileage,” he said with a wide grin.

  Ryan sat down near Isaac and faced the two women. “Okay, here is what we know so far. We ran the vic’s prints and then came back to a man named Ethan Jackson. He was from the next town over. He lived there for years, which is why it’s odd that his corpse was found here.”

  Kate could not contain her impatience. “But who is he? Does he have a record?”

  Ryan looked impressed with her enthusiasm, or at least that was how she interpreted the expression that was plastered across his face at that moment. “Actually, he does. It looks like he’s been a petty criminal most of his adult life. B and E’s, a few charges of larceny, and here’s the kicker, he was sentenced to four years, but only served a year in prison for aggravated assault. Still not sure how he got such a light sentence given the circumstances of the case, but someone was watching out for him.”

  “What do you mean?” The question gnawed at Kate as she sat still, curious to know more about this man.

  “I’ve spoken with a few other officers and detectives, and the general consensus is that he might’ve been involved with larger crime.”

  Confusion clouded the room. Beth and Isaac had been silent since Ryan first sat down, but it was clear to Kate that they were trying to figure out what all this meant. “You think just because he got out of prison a little early that a gang boss pulled some strings to have him released?” Isaac asked. “I think that’s a bit far-fetched, officer.”

  Clearly embarrassed by her husband’s forthright words, Beth stood up immediately. “Would anyone like some tea or lemonade?”

  “Yes ma’am, if you wouldn’t mind. I could use a nice glass of something fresh before I get back to this investigation.” Ryan smiled sweetly as Beth left for the kitchen, and then turned toward her husband. “Isaac, I don’t know all the facts yet, but we just aren’t sure. Right now, a lot of what we think is just conjecture, but some of it makes sense.”

  “You’re leaving something out,” Kate said. “You have to be.”

  Ryan shifted uncomfortably in his seat before answering. “All right. Look, don’t say this to anyone else, please. The main thing we have to go by, right now, is a tattoo found on the victim. Using a photograph of the vic, I cross referenced that and his tattoo with the Gang Unit’s database of criminal aliases, and that’s how we found out what they called him on the streets. I don’t want that information to be made public yet, so I really can’t say it, but with everything else, it just seems like this guy got in too deep with the wrong crowd and was taken out. Now we just have to figure out why he was targeted, and who did it.”

  “Who ordered the hit,” Kate said without thinking.

  Ryan nodded at her in agreement. “We don’t know if that’s the case yet, but it might be.”

  At that point, Beth returned to the living room with a tray of cups and some fresh lemonade. She poured everyone a glass before sitting back down beside her husband. “I haven’t heard everything you were talking about,” she said, “but I still can’t believe this is happening so close to home.”

  Ryan shook his head. “Petty criminals are one thing, but we’re concerned he might’ve been involved in gang activity,”

  “Gang activity,” Kate said, “or organized crime?”

  Ryan seemed to be caught off guard by her statement. “Organized crime? Whatever made you say that?”

  Kate thought quickly. “Back home, my best friend went on rumspringa and watched a lot of crime shows on TV. She always told me about them, even though I didn’t want to hear.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful!” Beth exclaimed, leaning over to grasp Kate’s hand. “You’re getting your memory back.”

  Ryan remained silent, so Kate smiled at Beth and continued. “He has a tattoo that is probably delegated to members of some sort of group, and you haven’t gone into detail about the cause of death, so I’m guessing it was an execution.”

  Ryan chuckled. “You sure are a smart girl. Especially for someone who has grown up around chickens and cows, and corn and cabbage.”

  “My friend was always going on about criminal cases.” Kate smiled sweetly, and shot a glance at the three present. None of them seemed at all suspicious.

  Ryan paused for a moment and then stood up. “Thank you all for your time and hospitality. I will be sure to let you know of any future developments.”

  Isaac stood up. “Do you think the crime has come out as far as our community?”

  Ryan shook his head. “No, if anything, the organized crime syndicate is opening up in the vic’s town of residence, not here. But, since the corpse was found so close, I just want you to be on alert and let me know directly if anything happens or if you see any suspicious people around your property.”

  “Of course,” Isaac and Beth replied in unison.

  As Ryan walked toward the exit, Kate followed closely behind. As he opened the door and stepped out, she caught the doorknob with her left hand. “So, are you going to find out what’s going on? It sounds pretty dangerous.”

  “I was about to say, Danger is my middle name, but that’s probably a bit too cliché, eh?” Ryan winked at Kate.

  She couldn’t help but laugh. “It does sound bit corny. Anyway, be careful, won’t you, Ryan.”

  At that moment, something passed between them. Kate was unprepared for the uncomfortable feeling that followed, so she spoke to break the moment. “Although I’m not from this community, I’ve grown close to Beth and Isaac, and their daughter Rose,” she said. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to them.”

  Ryan nodded. “I promise you, Kate, whatever I find out, you’ll be the first civilian to know about it.”

  She smiled sweetly. “Thank you, Ryan. I appreciate it.”

  Ryan slowly disappeared into the day as he got into his cruiser and drove off, leaving only dust from the dirt road behind him.

  Kate stood in the doorway after he was out of sight, and contemplated her next move. Something big was happening; she could sense it. The next step would be to find out more about the victim. How was he involved in organized crime, and why was he killed? Those two questions would be at the forefront of the investigation; her investigation, at least. That tattoo is more important than these cops will ever know, Kate thought. She had her hunches, but until something else came to light, Kate wanted to remain optimistic.

  Although she was hiding from her past life, it felt like it was still hunting for her. And now, it was closing in. What if someone she had dealt with as a Federal Agent were to see her? The fear trickled down her spine, but her courage and determination halted it in its tracks. “I’m not going to let you ruin this town,” she said under her breath as she shut the door.

  2 Timothy 3:16.

  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

  Chapter 5.

  Kate tried not to grimace as she studied the hopeless white knot balanced between her two oversized needles. This was ridiculous. She had graduated in the top five of her class. She was qualified to handle high level equipment. She was part of over a dozen highly classified cases with complex procedures. Surely she would not be bested by two sticks and an oversized strin
g.

  Nevertheless, Kate had begun to enjoy the Amish knitting circle days. She glanced around at the circle of baby dresses, intricate blankets, and perfectly stitched socks the other ladies were crafting as they chattered away about the community. Naomi was going to make her much-loved jelly, with Gloria helping her. Lillian was fussing about how her husband was tilling the field on his own again, not wanting to disturb their nephew to share the workload.

  The smell of a berry cobbler was seeping in from the kitchen. Kate swallowed as her mouth watered. Sweet things all had to be made from scratch in this community, the old fashioned way. While a berry cobbler wasn't a Spiced Latte with cream, it was the next best thing in this place.

  She pulled out her needles from the mass of wool and tried to untangle the wool as best she could. This place wasn't so bad once you got used to the whole thing, Kate thought. She still wanted many conveniences from her old life, of course. Microwaves for example. A single-serve coffee pot. Bottled soda. But those cravings were getting less painful as time went by.

  Some things never changed though. Like crime. And undercover or not, the agent in her was going crazy over the fact she could not work on the case at hand openly. She wondered how much longer it would be before they found the mole. The sooner she could get back out there to her old life, the better.

  Kate thought back to the tattoo that had been on the victim. She wondered if his presence was in some way connected to the mole. Of all the crime rings that could have shown up in this tiny quiet area, it had to be one of the most classified and elusive ones on which she had ever worked.

  And to make things all the more vexing, she was stuck playing an Amish woman with amnesia. She should not have any personal interest or knowledge of a top secret crime ring. These guys were no rookies. They practically danced circles around the law, and had their hands in major criminal activities in at least three major cities, and some number of small towns if her hunch was correct.