by Dana R. Lynn
“Did you hit your head? It looks bruised. Any dizziness, or blurry vision?”
“I did bang it against the steering wheel when I went into the ditch. But I don’t think I’m really hurt.”
Hmm. He’d have her checked out when the ambulance arrived, just the same.
“What happened?” He kept his voice calm, even though he was feeling anything but.
“You know I started working at the Early Intervention program a couple of months ago?” He nodded. He remembered Jace saying something about that. “I was finishing a home visit. It was my last one of the day. When I first arrived, I accidentally went to the wrong house. That man answered the door and he was very angry to see me there. It was downright creepy. Then, when I was leaving his neighbors after my visit, he came out of the house and started looking around. Not at me, but like he was searching for something. I started driving and he started running after me. I didn’t wait, just took off. Then next thing I knew, I was waiting at the stop sign, and he came up behind me and boom—” she slapped a hand on her steering wheel “—he’d shot out my back window and was coming after me. He rammed his truck into me, twice. The road was icy, and I lost control. I really think he would have killed me if you hadn’t arrived. How did you know I was in danger?”
He had to draw in three deep breaths before he could speak around the red haze threatening to overcome him. His normally calm demeanor was failing him as he tried to keep from thinking of what would have happened if he had been farther away. Thank You, Lord, for placing me here in time to help. Paul was a firm believer that the Lord was in charge.
“The family you’d visited with called nine-one-one. They were able to give the operator the address of the neighbor who attacked you. I was on my way there when I came across your vehicle. I need to check in and make sure an officer is on the scene. Then we can go from there.”
She nodded, relaxing briefly in her seat. Only for a moment, though. Her eyes widened slightly and she sat ramrod straight in her seat, grimacing. Maybe she was more bruised than she’d let on. “There was a woman inside the house when I arrived. Young, nineteen, maybe twenty or twenty-one. I don’t know what was going on in there, but she looked scared, Paul. Really scared.”
“I’ll get it checked out, Irene. I promise.” Paul moved to the front of the car and thumbed the radio on his shoulder to get an update. When he was told that several officers were en route to the scene, he gave the order that they inform him immediately of any findings. He took one step back toward Irene, then stopped. Jace’s shift would be ending soon. He’d want to know what had happened. Paul was his chief, but he was also his best friend. Jace should hear about it from him. Before he could change his mind, he reached back, pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed the familiar number.
“’Lo, Chief.”
Paul winced, even though he’d expected him to answer. He loved Jace like a brother, and this would not be an easy conversation. Jace was used to dealing with violence, but telling him that the shooting target had been his sister this time was not going to go over well.
“Lieutenant Tucker.” Paul hesitated. He always tried to keep things professional when they were at the station. They weren’t at the station, however, and this was an unusual situation.
“Jace...” He addressed the man as a friend. “She’s okay, but the woman shot at was Irene.”
Silence. Then Jace’s deep voice exploded over the phone.
“What? What happened? You’re positive she’s okay? Where are you?”
Paul gave him his location. “He rear-ended her, and her car went into a ditch. Her forehead looks bruised, but she seems lucid and aware. I’m sure she’s fine, but I have an ambulance coming, just to be safe.”
“She’s not going to want to ride in an ambulance.”
Didn’t he know that? If he knew Irene, her first priority would be to get back to her kids as quickly as possible. Plus, she had never liked hospitals.
“Did you get the guy?” Jace’s voice was calmer now.
“No. He ran off when he heard my siren. And I wasn’t about to leave Irene on the side of the road, especially not knowing if she was injured or not.”
“Appreciate that.”
Paul moved back to the side of the car.
A distant siren rent the air. The ambulance. Finally. It was starting to snow harder, which would make the roads more treacherous. Before this night was done, there would be more than one accident for the crew to work on. He would feel much better knowing that Irene was taken care of.
“The ambulance is here now,” Paul said to Jace. “Why don’t you call your mom and let her know what’s going on so she doesn’t worry.”
“How bad does Irene look?”
Bad? Paul nearly smiled. Irene never looked bad. Even bruised and shaken, the red-haired woman was perfect. Of course, he couldn’t say that, although he had a suspicion that Jace was on to him.
“She looks fine. Maybe a little shaken.” Blue eyes glared up at him. “Make that mad, will you?”
An unexpected chuckle floated down the line. “She’s glaring at you, isn’t she?”
“Sure is. And I much prefer that.”
A pause. “Yeah. Me, too.”
An angry Irene was much easier to deal with than a shaken or frightened one. He got that.
“Put her on, will you?”
Paul handed the phone to Irene, then moved away again to give her some privacy. When the ambulance crew came over, she returned the phone to him.
Paul gave them room to do their job. And he did his—setting up flares to warn oncoming traffic to take precautions. By the time he returned to the car, Irene was done being checked out. The paramedics were recommending a trip to the hospital to get her head checked out. As expected, she was set against going.
“You should go to the hospital to get checked out.” Paul bent over for a closer look at the bruise. She rolled her eyes, making him grin.
Irene sighed. “I need to get home to my kids.”
“I had Jace tell your mom where you were. He will make sure that they’re taken care of. Besides, your car will need to be towed. There’s no way you can drive it with the back window blown out. Go to the hospital, and we will bring your car back when it’s drivable. If all it needs is a new windshield, that should be tomorrow morning.”
He received another glare for his trouble. Why did it have to be this hard? He kept hoping that she would forgive him. Then again, what would he do if she did? It wasn’t like he would be any good for a fine woman like Irene. He had way too much baggage. Too many other responsibilities around his neck.
A sudden noise caught his attention.
Irene started to speak. He raised his hand. When she started to look huffy, he said, “Wait. Do you hear something?”
Irene tilted her head, her curls brushing against her cheek as she did. He averted his gaze and was momentarily distracted by the fact that her left hand was ringless. He was sure she had still been wearing her wedding band last time he saw her.
There it was again. A scratching noise. And now a faint mewling sound. Coming from inside her SUV. Paul moved closer and leaned in. Irene backed away from him. Whether that was because he was too close or because it was him, he didn’t know. And now was not the time to ponder it. If something was in Irene’s car with her, he needed to get to the bottom of it, fast.
“Irene, I need you to do exactly what I say.” He kept his voice at a low murmur, the epitome of calm and casual, even though his heart was beating fast.
For once, the stubborn woman nodded without arguing. Guess she was still pretty freaked-out. And who wouldn’t be?
“Go get in my cruiser. I need to see what’s in your car, but I don’t want you here when I do. I need to focus on this completely.”
He didn’t say, And y
our presence is already too distracting to me. Although he could have. He surely could have.
Paul made eye contact with her, making sure she understood how important this was. She moved towards his car, wobbling slightly on the uneven road. He held on to her elbow until she was steady, then let her go. He watched as the female paramedic led her safely to his cruiser. The paramedics wouldn’t leave the site of an accident until the patient either joined them in the ambulance or signed a refusing-treatment form. So at least, she wouldn’t be alone and unguarded.
The moment he felt she was reasonably safe, Paul shined his flashlight into the back of the car. Nothing was there that he could see. But then he heard the mewling again. This time it was louder.
Moving to the back, he grabbed his gun in one hand and the light in the other. Bracing himself for a fight or to duck, he flashed his light in the back window—and nearly dropped the light in his shock.
Curled up on the floor of Irene’s SUV was a small child. A little girl, although he was unsure of her age. No more than two, he guessed. Judging by her dress and bonnet, she was Amish. She was shivering.
She was also covered in blood.
TWO
Paul pushed his gun back into the holster and yelled for the paramedics.
“I have a child here! Possibly injured.”
He opened the door, stepping back to let it swing upward. The dome light came on, causing the little girl’s eyes to squeeze shut. She whimpered and curled into a tighter ball. The poor little thing was scared to death. Who did she belong to? And how on earth had she gotten into the back of the car?
“It’s okay, little one,” he crooned softly. “I’m going to help you. What’s your name?”
No response. She didn’t even look up.
Paul heard shuffling feet, and the male paramedic stepped up beside him, only his eyes showing the level of his concern. In a job working with those who were injured or dangerous, you learned quickly to remain calm at all costs. That was the only way you survived. Paul knew from experience that bad things could happen when you didn’t. When you lost control, who knew what sort of damage would result? When the man started to climb into the back of the SUV, the child drew back in terror.
“Let me.” Sydney, the female paramedic, moved forward and climbed in, making soothing noises. The girl still pulled back, but her distress seemed to lessen. When Sydney moved toward her, the girl whimpered but was calm enough for the woman to examine her.
He felt someone at his side and knew without turning that Irene was there. Of course. Why would she do what he asked and remain in the car? After all, he was only the chief of police. It wasn’t like he had any authority. Not with her, at any rate. Even if she didn’t like him, she knew him too well to be intimidated by his authority.
“She has Down syndrome.”
“What?” He looked at the little girl again.
“You see her eyes, and her face—I’m a special-education teacher, remember?” Irene’s voice was hushed, soothing. A mother’s voice. “Oh, she’s beautiful. And so scared. Paul, is that blood on her dress?”
Sydney beat him to it. “Yes, but I don’t think it’s hers. I can’t seem to find any visible bleeding injuries on her. But she is dehydrated. When she opened her mouth, her tongue was white and seemed dry. Her eyes seem a little sunken, too. I wouldn’t rule out abuse, either. She needs to go to the hospital.”
“How is it we didn’t hear her before?”
Paul wanted to know that, too.
Sydney tilted her head. “My guess? She was either momentarily stunned or the noise from everything else drowned out the sound.”
Paul had another thought, one that chilled him. “Or she’s been conditioned to make no noise.” Irene and both paramedics looked at him, startled. Maybe even a little confused. But he could see the dawning horror as the meaning of his words sank in.
“You mean she might have been punished for making any noise.”
He nodded. “Yeah, that makes the most sense to me. Sorry to say.”
Sydney moved to pick up the child. The little girl backed away, eyes flaring wild. The male paramedic—Trey?—tried to reach in and get her. Immediately, she went into a frenzy, shrieking and biting.
“Oh, hey, don’t do that!”
Irene moved forward. Paul reached out a hand to caution her to stay back, then felt his own jaw drop when the child launched herself out of the car and into Irene’s arms. Her little arms wound up about the woman’s neck and clung tight. Almost strangling Irene. Her grip looked painful, but Irene didn’t flinch. She held the child securely in her arms, murmuring comforting sounds. The child settled down.
“I guess I’m going to the hospital, after all.” She smiled at the girl. Her eyes were sad. Paul could almost see her thinking. Some mother somewhere was missing her baby. Suddenly, her gaze flashed back up to Paul’s. “Oh, my! I was in my client’s house for almost an hour and I forgot to lock my car. When I got in, I didn’t even look back there. Paul, I think that this baby was from that house, the one where the man who was shooting at me lives. I remember thinking I heard a child cry out when I was there.”
Paul shook his head. Not in disagreement, but in horror. “I wouldn’t be surprised if this sweet little thing was kidnapped and he was shooting to stop you from getting away with her once he realized she was gone. But now I have to see how she got there.”
He stepped back to allow them to move past him to the ambulance.
“I need to call this in, see if we have any reports of missing children from the Amish community.”
“Would Rebecca know?”
Sergeant Miles Olsen had recently gotten engaged, and his future wife’s family was Amish. Rebecca had left the Amish community years ago before she was baptized, allowing her to keep her ties with her family. She was also deaf, and sometimes communication with her family broke down. “I’m not sure. Somehow, I doubt it. And I also need to check with the officers at the scene.”
Paul returned to his car and made a call to the station. As he’d expected, there were no reports of any young Amish children vanishing in the area. Considering the discomfort most Amish felt at the idea of involving the police in their community problems, he wasn’t surprised.
His next call should have been to child services. He hesitated. If there was someone willing to shoot Irene to keep the identity and location of this child secret, he didn’t feel comfortable letting her stay with a regular foster family, who wouldn’t have the means to protect themselves and the other children in their care. No, for the moment, this was still police business.
And that brought another concern to the front of his mind. Irene would be in the hospital, but when she left, would that man still be after her? Things obviously weren’t on the up-and-up, and she had gotten a very clear view of him. Not to mention his house and the vehicles. Would he come after her again?
And what about that sweet little girl? He called the station again. Remembering the girl’s reaction to Trey and himself, he asked for Sergeant Zerosky, fondly known as Sergeant Zee. She picked up, and he sent her over to the hospital to keep watch. He knew she’d protect both Irene and the child.
He pushed the button on his radio again to speak with the officers on the scene.
“There wasn’t much to find where the shooting happened. Some glass. Tire marks,” Sergeant Gavin Jackson reported. “We’re back at the house where the shooter lived. It’s a mess. And Olsen found blood on the floor of the back bedroom. I can’t tell how recent. It’s dry. It’s gonna take us a while longer to process this scene.”
“Okay, this is a possible kidnapping, and maybe even a murder case. I have a child in custody, presumably kept in that house, who was then stashed away in a vehicle. She’s on her way to the hospital right now. While you’re processing the scene, keep your eyes peeled for anyt
hing that might help us to identify a small Amish girl. Oh, and Irene says she probably has Down syndrome.”
“Irene? Jace’s sister?”
“Yeah. She was visiting a nearby home. And the child was in her car when she came out—not that Irene noticed at the time, with that maniac chasing after her. We just found the kid about twenty minutes ago. Listen, someone will have to interview the neighbors, too. See what they know about the people at that house.”
“Sure thing, boss. I’ll keep ya posted.”
Paul disconnected. He sat for a minute, musing about the sequences of events. He liked to be able to envision things in his head in order to understand how all the loose pieces fit together.
By the time the tow truck had arrived and pulled the SUV out of the ditch, Jace had appeared. He parked his cruiser behind Paul’s, but kept his lights on. Jace stepped out of his vehicle, then sauntered over to meet Paul, looking like a man without a care in the world. Paul knew better. He could see the tense set of Jace’s shoulders.
“Hey, Paul.” Jace stopped beside him, his eyes grim as he watched his sister’s SUV being towed away, a jagged hole where the back window should have been. “I’m going to go to the hospital to see my sister, then I will drive her back to my mom’s house. She’s got Reenie’s kids.”
Paul smiled. Only Jace could get away with calling Irene “Reenie.”
“She’s fine. She had been starting to refuse treatment—against my better judgment—when we made a little discovery.”
Jace whistled after Paul had finished bringing him up-to-date. “Whoever said life in a small town was dull? And we have no idea where this child came from?”
“None. It’s a mystery. I do want to head to the hospital to get a report on the child’s condition.” And on Irene’s.
Paul drove back toward LaMar Pond. The struggle not to speed was causing his leg to ache with tension. The last thing he needed was to cause another accident on this snowy night, but he was so concerned about Irene that his nerves were taut.
