by Dana R. Lynn
Jill and Keith knelt on the other side of her, both of their faces pale and shocked.
“Isaac, she was fine fifteen minutes ago. Honest. And we didn’t let anyone in.”
He shook his head. “You didn’t need to. If I’m right, this oatmeal was poisoned.” He lifted his gaze from her for just a moment. “Who delivered the breakfast?”
Keith looked uneasy. “The woman at the front desk brought it to us. She said a delivery boy had dropped it off.”
Isaac processed that information. That was strange. It was a motel, so the door was on the outside. Although the woman at the front desk might not have questioned it; many people would have hesitated to approach a room guarded by the police.
“Keith, once the paramedics arrive, you’ll need to go and see if she could give a description of the delivery boy.” He hated to be pessimistic, but he really didn’t think their killer would be clumsy enough to allow himself to be recognized by a desk clerk. He was determined to follow every possible lead.
He looked back at Lizzy. He knew he couldn’t have done anything, but he felt as though he had failed her.
He stayed on his knees by her side, keeping track of her pulse and her breathing. Had she realized what was happening? Why hadn’t she used the phone he had given her? He remained where he was until the paramedics arrived five minutes later. Only then did he relinquish his place to the men who entered the room. When he mentioned his suspicion, the oatmeal and her orange juice were both saved to be transported to the hospital to be tested.
Watching the crew lift her onto the stretcher and roll it out to the ambulance, Isaac needed to do something. He went to the table and looked for the bag that the breakfast was delivered in. It was from a small diner a mile down the road. Calling Ryder over, he walked swiftly to his car. Behind him, Ryder’s long stride followed.
“We need to check out Gertie’s Diner. That’s where the food came from.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
He drove to the diner, praying the whole way that Lizzy would recover. He also prayed, for the first time in a long time, that God would guide and assist their investigation. Whoever had tried to poison Lizzy was still out there. He’d already killed a man, and Sue was still missing.
It was only a matter of time before he struck again.
SIX
The owner of the diner was a small round man named Clyde.
“Sure, I remember that order. I thought it was sweet. Who orders plain oatmeal anymore? I cooked it up and sent it with Sid, one of our busboys. He was supposed to deliver it and come right back.”
“Let me guess.” Isaac raised his eyebrows. “Sid never came back.”
“That’s it exactly. I can’t understand it. Sid is my best worker. He’s been here for two years and has never missed a day or been late. He’s like a clock. I don’t mind saying, I’m concerned.”
That made two of them, Isaac thought.
“Clyde, can you describe Sid for me? Is he dark-haired with a scar on his forehead?”
“Sid?” Clyde shook his head. “Nah. Red as anything, and no scars, although he does have some acne. He’s only seventeen.”
With a sick feeling, Isaac took down Sid’s address and next of kin information. Isaac thanked the man and left the diner. He hoped that they would find Sid alive and well, but he knew in his gut that Zave, or whoever their shooter was, had most likely done something to him and had delivered the poisoned oatmeal himself. He frowned.
“I think our killer did something to Sid,” he commented to Ryder, thinking out loud in an attempt to get his thoughts in order. “What I can’t see is him delivering the food himself. We had clearly noted in our description that the perp had a recent scar on his forehead.”
Ryder pursed his lips. “I agree. Which leads me to believe that he wasn’t working alone.”
Isaac called Jill. “What did the delivery boy look like?”
Jill responded instantly. “He was young. Dark hair. Beret and uniform on. Glasses.”
“Was there a scar on his forehead?”
Silence. “You’re thinking it was that Zave character. Honestly, the motel employee didn’t say she saw a scar. But as a woman, I can tell you that many scars are easy enough to disguise with cosmetics.”
Great. So they had a man who knew how to disguise himself. Their next stop was Sid’s home. It was difficult to not alarm his mother. After all, her son was missing, and a known killer had taken his identity. He didn’t relay all that information. When they knew for sure what had happened to the boy they would inform her. There was still the very slight possibility that Sid was fine.
Isaac did not have much faith about that being the case. He fully expected them to locate Sid’s body.
The Waylan Grove Police Department gathered every available person to search for Sid. He hadn’t been missing long, but he was definitely considered to be in serious danger. The search lasted through the day. The local dive team was called in to search the nearby pond and the creek bordering the town. Isaac scowled at the spectators lining the banks, craning their necks to get a glimpse of team members coming up from their search.
Isaac saw that one of the divers was emerging from the water. Pushing himself through the crowd, Isaac ignored the grumbles of the onlookers he shoved past. Grumbles which died out as he passed. People didn’t want to argue with a man in a police uniform, he figured.
The diver had something. Not a body, but a backpack. The water streamed from the bottom of the pack. No doubt whatever was inside was drenched, probably ruined. He stepped closer to see what the woman had found.
Olivia Bayle glanced his way with a nod of recognition. She might have been the youngest member on the team, but he knew that she took her work very seriously. The woman was highly dedicated, and just as ambitious. She brought the backpack over to where her team had assembled their base. The backpack was systematically unpacked, a digital photo taken of each item before it was placed in plastic evidence bags to be sent in for further analysis.
One item brought out was a very soggy wallet. Olivia’s gloved hands remained steady as she opened it and pulled out the driver’s license.
Isaac leaned in and saw the image of a smiling young man. Sid.
“That’s the kid we’re looking for,” he murmured. She nodded.
“We have his backpack. But there was no sign of him in the water.” Olivia dropped the wallet and the license into an evidence bag. “So the question is, how did the backpack get into the water?”
“Exactly.” Isaac rubbed his chin in thought. “And where’s the kid?”
Those were questions they could not answer at this point.
“I wonder if Sid was a victim, as we had originally thought, or was he complicit with Zave?”
“We’ll keep looking for him,” Ryder stated, still eyeing the bag as if he could glean answers from it if he stared long enough.
When the sun started to set, the fatigued volunteers and search crews disbanded.
“Isaac,” Chief Carson said, appearing beside him. “Do you think your dogs are ready to be used in a search?”
Isaac had become fascinated with the use of dogs in police work. He’d been given the go-ahead to become certified as a trainer and had three pups he was helping to train.
“I think one of them might be ready.” It was hard to keep the sudden thrill that flooded his system from showing in his voice. This was a serious event, and he didn’t want to let his enthusiasm for his dogs overshadow the very real problem of a missing teen.
“Excellent.” A small lift of her lips that barely passed for a smile appeared and was gone. “We’ll start the search at seven tomorrow morning.”
There was nothing left he could do here. Isaac looked at the watch on his wrist. Visiting hours at the hospital would be over in a little more than an hour. Had Lizzy woken up? He’d had no
word on her condition. Antsy to get to the hospital, Isaac told Ryder where he was heading, then he took off.
He walked into the hospital and couldn’t stop himself from rolling his shoulders beneath his jacket. Hospitals gave him the creeps. He had never been inside one before Joshua had been left for dead by the Englischers who had tormented him. Isaac knew that the doctors and medical staff had done everything in their power to keep Joshua alive. Maybe they would have succeeded if the boys had only used their fists. When the drunken youths had run him over with their car, however, he’d been injured too severely for modern medicine. Isaac could never enter a hospital without the memories flooding his mind, and so he had never gotten over his feeling of distaste for the places. Still, he wouldn’t let his past experiences keep him from doing his duty.
Or from seeing the woman he had promised to protect.
First, he had to confer with the doctor.
“She needs to remain overnight. We had to pump her stomach. You were right, she had been poisoned. Fortunately for her, whoever poisoned her used a very small dose.”
“Will there be any long-term effects?” Isaac shoved his curled fists into his pockets. He couldn’t get the image of Lizzy lying pale and still out of his mind.
“There shouldn’t be. She may find that her stomach is tender for the next few days. Also, she may have a lingering headache. An over-the-counter pain reliever should help.”
“She can take medicine after consuming poison?” He was shocked. He would have assumed that would send her into an overdose. Not that he expected Lizzy to actually take medication. The idea was surprising, though.
“We got the majority of the poison out of her system. By the time she’s released, the rest of it will have run its course. So yes, she can take minimal doses of meds to ease her discomfort.”
Isaac was relieved to know that she would recover. He had feared the worst, even though she was in the hospital receiving treatment.
He went up to her room. A nurse was checking her IV when he entered. She sent him a professional smile. One that extended both a welcome and a warning. He got the message.
“She’s still sleeping, Officer. Rest is the best thing for her right now.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He felt like a kid being chastised. He almost smiled at the thought. “I’ll do my best not to disturb her. I just plan on sitting here for a few moments.”
The stare she leveled at him clearly indicated that she didn’t trust him. He waited until she had left the room before he eased himself down into the chair next to the bedside. Her color was better, he was glad to note. It was not nearly as waxy as it had been when he had come upon her that morning. One could almost make the mistake that she was sleeping. Almost.
He sat for five minutes, just watching her. Being next to her, knowing that she would recover, he felt the peace that flowed into his soul. That gave him pause. He didn’t like the fact that he was feeling protective toward her. While he was often sympathetic toward victims he worked with, he had never let it go beyond that. Something about Lizzy, though, was different.
He frowned. She was nothing more than a witness to a murder. An Amish witness. A way of life he had turned his back on forever.
It was time for him to leave. He needed to keep searching for the criminal that was after her. He was out there somewhere, and Isaac would keep looking until he could no longer harm anyone.
He shifted forward in his seat.
Lizzy sighed and stirred. Isaac halted his movement, holding his breath. Would she awaken?
Fluttering like a butterfly, her lashes slowly rose to reveal confused blue eyes.
His breath caught. She blinked. Once, twice, three times. On the third time, her eyes remained open. Her head turned, and she sought him out. The corners of her lips lifted.
His heart skittered and skipped in his chest.
He was in so much trouble.
* * *
Where was she? Why was she lying down?
Lizzy slowly fought her way out of the fuzzy cocoon she was stuck in. After a few minutes, she noticed the IV hooked to her arm. Why was she in the hospital? A dual ache throbbed behind her eyes. She blinked to clear them. There was a window to her right. Outside, she could see that it was dark. Stars were liberally strewn across the sky, glittering like the sequins on a black velvet dress she’d seen Rebecca wear once. She frowned, wrinkling her forehead as she tried to remember what had happened.
And then she became aware of the man at her bedside.
Isaac.
Why was he here? He was staring at her like he’d never seen her before. His eyes had a new wariness to them. Something must’ve happened.
Wait a minute. She remembered ordering breakfast that morning. She had been eating oatmeal. It had had a funny taste to it, but she didn’t notice until after she’d eaten several bites.
“I was poisoned, wasn’t I?”
Her voice was rusty. She really needed a drink of water. She tried to swallow, but it didn’t help.
“Thirsty.”
“Wait a minute, I’ll get help.”
He dashed out the door. She watched him leave, then wearily shut her eyes again. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so completely worn out, as if she had just run here all the way from home. Everything felt weighted down. Her legs, her arms. Even her eyelids felt like they had weights attached to them.
Distantly, she became aware of voices. Isaac had returned with a nurse. Oh, she had told him she was thirsty. At the memory, she became conscious of the raspiness in her throat.
“Well, it looks like she’s fallen asleep again,” a cool voice remarked.
The nurse was going to leave. She had to stop her, or who knew how long it would be until she got a drink. But opening her eyes seemed to take too much of her energy.
“Awake,” she murmured, her lips slow to do what her brain commanded.
Someone took her hand and patted it in a comforting way. She dragged her eyes open. Her lids felt as if they were weighted down with cement blocks. Isaac was still standing beside her bed, shifting on his feet and looking around awkwardly.
“Here you go, dear.” The nurse appeared at her other side, a cup filled with water and ice in her hands. She held the straw to Lizzy’s lips. The water was cold, and it tasted so good. Lizzy took three long swallows before letting her head relax back against her pillow.
“Visiting hours end in five minutes,” the nurse warned Isaac. She started to leave the room. Isaac rolled his eyes. Lizzy bit her lips to suppress the smile trying to escape. It would be rude and she didn’t want to offend the woman. She was doing her job and looking out for her patient.
She sighed when the door closed behind her. “When will I be able to leave?”
“The doctor said they’re keeping you tonight to make sure you’re stable. I’ll have someone come and pick you up in the morning.”
Her stomach flipped. The water she had drank churned in her belly.
“Hey, don’t look like that. I will do my best to make sure it’s someone you know, or maybe a female cop. I haven’t forgotten what you told me.”
She didn’t want it to be any other cop, regardless of whether or not they were female. Isaac was the officer that she had started to trust. He was the one she wanted to get her.
Realizing how selfish she was being, Lizzy fought to keep her disappointment hidden. Isaac had a duty to do. Being related by marriage to Miles, she knew that when police officers talked about their duty, it was not something that they took lightly.
“Has there been any progress? Do they know who poisoned me?”
It was probably the guy who had shot Bill. But how had he located her so fast? And how had he gotten past the cops? She shivered.
“Are you cold?”
Her eyes widened. She hadn’t expected him to be so observant. He was waiting for her
to answer him. “Nee. I am not cold. I am concerned that someone was able to get to me even with the police outside my door. I thought I would be safe. Wasn’t that why I had to stay in that motel instead of going to see my family?”
A tide of color washed up Isaac’s face, blending with his hairline. It had not been her intention to embarrass him, but she meant what she said.
“I understand your concern. I really do. I have asked the same questions. I’ll be honest with you, Lizzy. I really think that Zave is the man we are looking for. I’m just not sure what his connection is with the kid from the diner.”
What? This was something she hadn’t heard about. Despite the overwhelming exhaustion she was experiencing, she used her hands to push herself up into a sitting position against her pillow. She needed to be alert right now.
“Mach langsamer,” she said, telling him to slow down. “What kid are you talking about? I haven’t heard any of this before.”
She hated feeling like she was being left out of so much relevant information.
“Attention visitors: visiting hours are now over. They will resume again at eight o’clock tomorrow morning.”
Isaac glanced at the clock in the corner of the room. She wasn’t about to let him leave yet, though. She needed answers. She deserved answers.
“Okay, I’ll tell you as much as I can, but then I have to leave. It seems that the man who poisoned you had used the identity of a young man who worked at the diner. His name is Sid, and at this moment he remains missing. We have located his backpack at the bottom of the pond. But we have yet to find Sid.”
Her throat went dry, as if someone had stuffed a wad of cotton down it. She reached out and grabbed for the water the nurse had left on the nightstand and took a couple of quick swallows so she could continue asking him questions.
“Do you think he’s dead?”
He hesitated. “I’m not sure. I don’t know why someone would kill him and get rid of his backpack and not dispose of his body at the same time.”
