by Dana R. Lynn
Sid apparently had no trouble recognizing the seriousness in Isaac’s voice. His already pale skin grew even paler, making his freckles stand out. His red hair stood on end as if he had been running his fingers through it in agitation.
“I—I have met him before.” The tremble in the boy’s voice told Lizzy that he had more than just met Zave before.
“Details!” Isaac barked. Sid flinched. “I need details. I don’t know if you realize how much trouble you could be in. We are looking for this man on at least one count of murder. He used your vehicle and your name to attempt a second murder. I have no doubt that the deeper we dig, the more crimes we will find attributed to him. Right now, since you are sitting across from me, unless you give me something that tells me otherwise, you might very well be charged with accessory to murder.”
Mrs. Perry covered her mouth with her hand, a small sob escaping. But she didn’t say anything.
“Why isn’t she asking for a lawyer? It doesn’t make any sense.” Keith waved a hand in Mrs. Perry’s direction.
Jill was looking something up on her phone. “I’m looking at the family history here. Mr. Perry was sent to jail ten years ago. He died there a year and a half ago. It seems their lawyer did nothing for them except run up the bills. Mrs. Perry had to declare bankruptcy. My guess is she has lost all faith in lawyers.”
“It’s a shame,” Keith muttered. “If that were my son in there, he’d have had a lawyer first thing.”
Jill flicked him a hooded glance, although Lizzy wasn’t sure why.
Isaac and Ryder were both watching Mrs. Perry. They were waiting for her to request a lawyer, she realized. When it became obvious she wouldn’t, the interview continued.
“Dude, I didn’t kill nobody!” Sid abruptly sat up and put his elbows on the table. His pale face flared red, brown eyes snapping. “I got myself into some trouble earlier. I needed money fast, and a buddy hooked me up with Zave. I didn’t know what he was capable of then. When it came time to pay him back, I didn’t have the money. He told me he would forgive the debt, but I owed him a favor. I was so relieved not to have to pay him back I agreed. When he came back and told me he needed to borrow my car, I didn’t think anything of it. If that’s what he needed to pay my debt, that was fine with me. But then I was talking about it with my buddy and he said that this guy was bad news. Told me about how someone else had owed him a favor, and when the dude couldn’t pay it or refused to do it, this Zave guy had him killed. I was freaked out, and then I saw the police towing my car away. I got scared. I knew my mama couldn’t pay for a lawyer again. I panicked and ran. I don’t think I planned to leave forever, just long enough to get my head on straight.”
Sid began to cry in earnest. “He’s going to hear that I talked to you and he’s going to come after my family. I got a little sister to protect. She’s only fourteen.”
Isaac’s face changed at the mention of the sister. “I’ll be right back.”
He shoved his chair back and stood. He strode to the door, leaving the other three people in the room staring after him.
A moment later he joined Lizzy, Keith and Jill in the hall outside the interview room. His gaze snagged Lizzy’s. “Did you recognize him?”
“Nee, I have never seen him before. Oh, but, Isaac, my heart is breaking for him. Can you protect him and his family?”
He gave her a single nod. “That’s my plan.” He turned to Keith. “I need you to check on his sister. Then I need her brought here until we can figure out what to do. This Zave guy is pure evil. We might need to put the Perrys in some kind of safe house or witness protection or something to keep this family safe. If Sid and Lizzy will both testify, we might be able to put Zave away for good.”
EIGHT
Testify?
The Amish did not testify in court. She would have to get permission from her bishop to do so, and she had very strong doubts about him giving her permission. After all, he hadn’t wanted Rebecca to testify against her kidnapper.
But if she didn’t testify, would that mean that Zave would remain free to prey upon the innocent?
Isaac didn’t give her much chance to mull over the idea before he was back in the room and continuing with the interview. She didn’t pay attention to much after that. Her thoughts were consumed with what would be the right thing for her to do. What if she was asked to testify and knew her testimony would put Zave in jail for good, but her bishop denied her permission? To go against one’s bishop meant to risk being shunned by the community.
A fist closed around her cold heart at the idea of being separated forever from her family. Even Rebecca, who had deliberately chosen to leave the Amish life, still had access to her family because she had never been baptized in the Amish church. But Lizzy had been baptized two years ago. There was no choice for her.
She came out of her fog to realize that Sid and his weeping mother were being led out of the interview room. As they filed past her, Sid caught sight of her. He stopped and stared before approaching where she stood.
Lizzy tensed, ready for his anger. After all, she was, in essence, the reason he was now in the police station. If Zave had not decided to go after her and try to silence her, he would never have needed to borrow the young man’s car.
To her surprise, Sid did not attack her. Instead, he apologized.
“They told me an Amish woman was attacked. I’m so sorry. If I had not been so irresponsible, he wouldn’t have come to me to borrow a car. I would not have been able to be used to hurt you.”
“He would’ve just found someone else. You were just a tool he used. A man like that, he would have found a way.”
Sid nodded, his face sad. “Yeah, but I still feel guilty. I’ve never hurt anyone in my life. I’m still not sure how this even happened.”
She knew the feeling.
“Honestly, I do not believe you are responsible for any of this. But if it makes you feel better, I forgive you.”
Before he could respond, the door to the office swung open. A teenage girl with long red hair, wearing a pair of shorts and a shirt advertising a high school track team, stormed into the room. Her face was streaked with tears, but she looked mad.
Uh-oh. Family drama. Lizzy felt the first desire to smile that she’d had all day. This lovely young girl didn’t appear to be injured in any way. She just appeared to be offended.
“Mama, what’s going on? These cops dragged me away from my track meet. Do you know what that’s going to do to my reputation? I can already hear the gossips now, going on about how Angie Perry was taken out of an official meet by the cops. What’s Brian going to think?”
Ryder rolled his eyes and hurriedly persuaded the small family to move into a conference room. Jill grinned and went in with them.
“Thank you,” she saw Ryder mouth to the other officer. The girl, Angie, was still complaining loudly when the door closed, leaving the office in blissful silence.
Lizzy couldn’t help it. She saw the look that Isaac and Ryder exchanged and snickered. She tried to cover it up as best she could. Beside her, Isaac chuckled. Soon the whole group was laughing quietly.
The laughter died too quickly.
“What’s going to happen to them now?” Lizzy asked, her heart aching for the trials that were just beginning for the little family.
Isaac shrugged, his face unhappy. “I don’t know, Lizzy. I wish I could tell you that everything is going to be fine. It’s possible, though, that they’ll have to go into witness protection. That’s never easy.”
Miles had once explained witness protection to her. It sounded dreadful. No contact with anyone from your previous life. Not family or friends. If you had gained some sort of fame or notoriety for a certain hobby or skill, you had to give it up so that you wouldn’t run into someone who’d recognize you from it. She thought of the girl she’d just been laughing at. Would Angie still be allowed to
be on the track team?
She thought of herself at fourteen years old. How would she have felt if she had had to give up all of her friends, everything that was familiar to her, because one of her siblings had gotten into trouble? She probably would’ve resented that sibling. She winced in sympathy for the family. No, they would not have an easy time adjusting.
But they would be alive, and they would have a chance to build a good life.
Hopefully, it would be enough.
Isaac’s phone buzzed. He looked at it and smiled. “Finally.”
“You get some good news, buddy?” Ryder hooked his thumbs into his pockets and leaned back against a desk.
“Could be. They found the second bullet in Allister’s car. It’s a match for the one I pulled out of the wall. I’m off to check on it.”
He was already on his feet and putting his jacket back on. His face was set, completely focused on getting a job done.
Did that mean she was being left here? She didn’t want to be whiny, but she sure hated not having any control over what was happening. She had made a point of being in control of what happened in her life as much as possible for the past few years. But in the past three days, she’d been in a whirlwind of chaos and activity and she felt like she could not get a good grasp of anything happening around her. It made her feel unsettled and she didn’t like that.
Isaac was watching her face. His eyes were sympathetic. She didn’t want sympathy. She wanted control. Something she had not had a lot of in the past few days. And she was tired of it.
“Come on, Lizzy. Why don’t you come with me?” Isaac’s words surprised her, but she wasn’t going to turn him down. She shoved her black bonnet on over her kapp and swung her black cloak over her shoulders.
Ryder raised his eyebrows. “You could leave her here with us. We don’t bite.”
Lizzy held her breath. She didn’t mind Ryder so much, or even Keith. Although she felt better when Jill was with them. But she didn’t want to stay. She would feel safer, and more in control, if she went with Isaac. Plus, she would have more of an idea of what was happening.
“Officer Yoder.” The chief stepped forward. Lizzy bit her lip. The lovely African American woman wielded her command the way Lizzy wore her cloak. It was so familiar that she was comfortable in it. Once she donned it, she didn’t even think about it anymore. “This is not normal procedure. We don’t take civilians with us on investigations.”
Lizzy felt her hope sink. She was going to be stuck here at the station while Isaac went about his business. She couldn’t ask him to stay with her. That would be needy and rude. Suddenly it all caught up with her and she wanted to wilt with exhaustion.
Isaac pulled out a chair next to a desk. “Hoch dich anne,” he murmured, telling her to sit down. “I will be right back.”
Gratefully, she sank down into the chair. Isaac asked the chief if he could talk with her for a moment. They went into another room. When the door shut, she saw the chief’s name on a gold plate on the door. Sighing, Lizzy closed her eyes to rest while Isaac and the chief discussed her fate.
* * *
Isaac faced his chief, knowing that what he was going to ask was unusual, and that was putting it mildly. She had not been mistaken when she said that taking civilians along on investigations was an extraordinary thing to even suggest. He knew that. However, Lizzy was another case.
“Well, Isaac?” Chief Carson lifted one well-groomed eyebrow in question.
He cleared his throat. “I know it isn’t normal to take someone out with us. But I have several reasons why I think I should take her with me. The first reason is that we only have two people who can identify Zave right now. One of them is a seventeen-year-old kid who will probably be going into witness protection. Fortunately, the marshals are coming in from the opposite direction of the floodwaters. The idea is that he’ll be able to testify once we catch our perp.”
She indicated that he should continue.
This was where he had to be double careful. He took a deep breath and braced himself. “Lizzy is an adult who looked directly into the killer’s eyes. She’s very calm and contained and could easily identify him.” So far, so good. All of that was true. “We are a very small police department. At the moment, we only have five police officers here. She needs to be kept under guard, that’s true, but—” he hoped Lizzy would forgive him “—you should also know that I am the only officer she trusts.”
“Explain that.”
Isaac briefly described Lizzy’s history. He’d looked up her case, and it was gruesome. When he told the chief about the young Amish woman’s past trauma, he saw the sympathy spark in her gaze, while her face remained still. “She trusts me, maybe partially because she knows I was raised Amish. I believe it would be less traumatic for her to come with me. Plus, it would not be such a drain on our department. If all goes well, we will have more evidence and soon be able to make an arrest.”
He waited.
She frowned at him. Never a good sign. He knew his argument was a weak one. Any of the other officers at the station would have been more than capable of watching over Lizzy while he was gone. He didn’t want to leave her, though. It was that simple. For some reason, he knew that she had started to trust him. After the experience she had had, it was amazing that she trusted any strange man. He didn’t want to put her in a position where she would be uncomfortable.
Then he recalled her expression when he had mentioned the possibility of her testifying. He knew exactly what had been going through her mind. He had grown up in an Amish community. He knew that asking her to testify was not something that was done.
What would happen if her testimony was needed?
He forced his attention back on his chief. He couldn’t allow himself to get distracted with anything else right now. He had a killer on the loose. Whether or not Lizzy agreed to testify at some later date was irrelevant. If they couldn’t find Zave, her life would always be in danger.
He would do everything in his power to protect her and bring her home to her family. His chest ached as he considered her leaving for good.
“You okay, Isaac?” The chief gave him a quizzical look. He realized he was rubbing his chest to soothe away the sudden ache.
He dropped his hand, feeling his ears grow hot. What was he doing? “Yes, Chief.”
She smiled at him. He blinked in surprise. He liked the chief, and he had great respect for her personally, and for the authority she held. That being said, he could probably count on one hand the times she’d smiled at him. She was a very serious person.
“Your reasons are a bit weak, Isaac.” He sighed. She was going to deny his request. “But I’m going to allow her to go with you, for reasons of my own.”
He didn’t know what to say. And what did she mean by reasons of her own? What possible reason could she have for wanting Lizzy to go along with him?
Whatever they were, he wasn’t going to stand here and debate. He had a killer to find.
“Thank you, Chief.”
Before she could change her mind, he left the office and went to find Lizzy. “The chief said you could come with me.”
Immediately, she stood and followed him out of the office. “Before we leave here, I want to stop by and see our weapons expert. I’m curious to see what he has to say about the bullets we gave him.”
The examiner didn’t even blink at seeing Isaac arrive with Lizzy. “Glad you could come down. I looked at both of the bullets that you sent me. Check this out.”
Obediently, Isaac looked. He had no idea what he was looking for.
“Now, as you know, bullets are never exactly alike, but both of these bullets have five grooves of equal width. They appear to have come from a Smith and Wesson nine-millimeter revolver.”
If they could find the actual gun, the bullets could be matched to it. Thanking the examiner, they left.
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“Where do we go now?” Lizzy asked. He realized she was practically running to keep up with him and slowed his stride. Ach, she was a little thing. He hadn’t realized before how much taller he was than her. His protective instincts hiked up a notch.
“Well, we know the kind of gun that was used. My guess is that he didn’t buy it by any legal means. I am going to ask Ryder to continue searching for the logo that was on Bill’s hat. I know that the LaMar Pond police are searching for Sue. I think we will go to town and see if anyone else has seen Zave around since the poisoning. It’s not likely that he stuck around, but maybe we can find something that will help us locate him.”
The next few hours were absolutely exhausting. To her credit, Lizzy never complained as they talked with shop owners and business people all through the main district of Waylan Grove. Whenever Isaac would show the photo taken from the traffic camera, he was met with blank stares.
“He knew something,” he said after one restaurant owner shooed them away quickly, complaining that they would drive away his customers. “Did you see how nervous he got when he saw the picture? He didn’t even wait to hear anything more. He just looked around and forced us to leave. My guess is he’s had dealings with our guy and is afraid of being seen talking to us.”
“The way that Sid was afraid Zave would know he’d told the police about their interactions.” Lizzy pursed her lips and tilted her head to look up at him. The look was so beguiling, for a moment Isaac stared at her, his heart thudding.
Realizing he hadn’t responded, he gulped and looked away from her. She was far too attractive for his peace of mind. Miss Lizzy Miller was the most alluring woman he’d met in his life. And she was also a woman he couldn’t afford to allow himself to become attracted to. In his mind, the only woman he wanted to become involved with was one he could see himself marrying one day. Maybe it was his Amish upbringing, but he still thought that courting and walking out with a woman was the way to go. But that woman could not be Amish. He was never going back, and he couldn’t ask a fine woman such as Lizzy to leave the life she believed in. Which meant they had no future.
