by Dana R. Lynn
“Isaac!” Ryder ran up to them, his face drained of all color. “Are you guys all right? How did this even happen?”
Isaac glared at the wreckage, his face tight with anger.
“This was no accident. I can’t prove it, but Zave was behind this. He needs to be taken down.”
TEN
Despite her protests that she was uninjured, Lizzy was forced to once again undergo an examination by a paramedic. Forced might have been too strong a word. Isaac had been so concerned, she had given in to make him feel better.
The paramedic proclaimed her to be none the worse for wear.
“I told you I was fine,” she murmured to the handsome officer who had not left her side since his car blew up. “You were worried for nothing.”
“Not for nothing, Liz. You could have been seriously hurt, and I wasn’t sure if you would tell me.”
Her heartbeat bumped up its pace at the nickname. No one had ever called her Liz. It was always Elizabeth or Lizzy. One felt too old, and the other sometimes made her feel like she was still a child. But Liz was the name given to a woman. It might be a name she’d never be called by anyone else, but here, in this moment, she was Liz to a man who had saved her life at least twice. It was a memory she’d treasure. A good one to keep alongside the bad.
“I would have told you, Isaac. If for no other reason than because you deserve the truth.” She wouldn’t look at him. His presence, so near her, was making it hard to keep her breathing even. Never had a man affected her this way. With most men, it was fear or anxiety. Isaac inspired none of that.
She knew it couldn’t last. But would it really be wrong for her to enjoy it while it did?
Isaac stood. She glanced up from where she was sitting on the bumper of the ambulance and saw a new man approach. Richard, his shirt said. His hat bore the name of a mechanic shop.
“Rich,” Isaac greeted him, shaking his hand. “Any news for me?”
“Yeah, but you’re not going to like it, Yoder.”
Lizzy raised her eyebrows. Yoder? It amused her.
Isaac saw her eyebrows and smiled back at her before returning his attention to the mechanic. “I’m sure I won’t like it. Tell me, anyway.”
“Your car had help catching on fire.”
Isaac’s face didn’t change. “It was sabotaged.”
“Sure was. Particularly, your electrical wiring was messed with. Wires cut and fused together. I’m guessing that whoever did this was hoping there wouldn’t be enough evidence left to tell the car had been messed with.” Richard wiped a forearm across his chin, leaving a streak of soot. Lizzy looked away to hide a smile. The only indication Isaac gave that he was amused was the slightest lift of one corner of his mouth. “Your guy’s good,” Richard continued. “The good news for you is that I’m better.”
Isaac’s grin erupted across his face. Lizzy smiled in response. “That you are, Rich. I appreciate the information.”
They watched the mechanic saunter away. Silence fell between them, but it wasn’t a heavy silence. Rather, it was comfortable. She realized that she had not felt this level of connection with anyone in such a long time.
The totaled cruiser was towed away, leaving scorch marks and ash in its wake. Lizzy shook her head. An hour ago, she had been sitting inside that car. What if they had been trapped inside it?
She shuddered.
Isaac slid his arm across her shoulders again. “Are you cold?”
She shook her head, wanting to snuggle closer into his warmth. “No. I was just thinking about that car. We came so close to being trapped inside it.”
“You know what? All of this drama is making me rethink my thoughts about God.”
She jerked away from him so she could stare into his face. “What do you mean? Rethink how?”
It would devastate her if he completely lost his faith due to her presence in his life.
He smiled at her, that beautiful half smile that made her breath catch and her pulse hammer through her veins.
“I don’t mean anything wrong by it. Quite the opposite.” He moved closer and held his hand down to her, silently offering her his assistance. She grasped his hand and allowed him to help her. When he squeezed her hand before letting it go, she had the absurd urge to lunge forward and grab his hand once more. She hid her hands in her cloak instead, chiding herself for being fanciful.
They began to walk. She wondered if he would continue.
“When I left my parents’ house,” he began again, “I was so angry. I was mad at Dat, but also at God. I hadn’t lost my faith, but I also didn’t trust Him to take care of me these past few years.”
“So how has being in constant danger changed you?”
He laughed at her words. Her heart warmed at the sound, although she hadn’t meant for her comment to be funny. She was absolutely serious.
“Here’s the deal, Liz. There’s been danger, but we’ve been cared for. We’re still here, right?”
Hmm. She hadn’t quite thought about it like that. Suddenly, she was ashamed at the lack of trust she had shown in her own life. She said she trusted God, but she hadn’t trusted Him with her fears and her anxieties. In fact, the only one she’d trusted to help her manage her issues was herself.
That obviously hadn’t been working out for her.
“What do we do now?” The sun was going down. She was more wary than ever about spending her night in a hotel room.
“I think I’m going to see if you can sleep somewhere at the station tonight,” he announced.
She stopped. He walked a few more steps before he noticed she’d not followed. When he glanced back, his brows were puckered. “What?”
“Sleep in the station? Isn’t that kind of open? And there aren’t many police officers there at night.”
“It locks up. And I will be there, too. Not in the same room, obviously, but you’ll have someone keeping watch. I need to check on something. Tomorrow, I’ll have a new plan.”
* * *
Sleeping in his desk chair outside of the conference room where Lizzy was sleeping on a rollaway cot was not going to be remembered as his most restful night ever. His shoulders, neck and back all ached. Standing, he stretched and winced as many of his muscles protested.
He’d fought over an idea all night. It had come to him in a moment of clarity as a solution to how he could protect Lizzy. The next moment he was relieved to discard it as far-fetched and unnecessary. After all, he reasoned, the visual artist should be able to come out in the next day or so. He had heard on the radio while he was brushing his teeth that the level of the floodwater was rapidly decreasing. Surely that meant she’d soon be there. With a picture of the perp to circulate, one with a clear image, they’d possibly be able to find their guy.
Lizzy joined him at six the next morning. He knew she hadn’t slept well. There were dark circles under her blue eyes. She was past the point of being merely tired and was quickly rounding the corner to exhausted. He hated that she had to go through this. Still, he glanced up at her and she smiled as she came to join him. That smile was so genuine and so welcoming he immediately lost whatever he was thinking. That was a smile a man could watch his entire life with pleasure.
That jolted him.
He didn’t have a lifetime to spend with her. He had a few more days, and then she’d be going back to her life and he’d still be here living his.
It would feel a whole lot emptier when she was gone.
Stop. He wasn’t ready to deal with the ramifications of such thoughts or feelings, so he shoved them aside the best he could. And ignored the hollow sensation inside him. She was not meant to be his.
When he heard the chief enter the office, he nearly leaped to his feet with relief. Lizzy was eyeing him strangely, and he couldn’t blame her. He was acting odd, but he was determined to keep himself distant from her. Which
wasn’t going to be easy, but he had to do it. She was a temptation he could not afford.
“Chief,” he greeted his superior. “I heard on the radio this morning that the floodwater was going down. Think we could get the visual artist in here in the next day or so?”
The way she pressed her lips together and shook her head did not fill him with confidence. He had a bad feeling that he wasn’t going to like what she said.
“Isaac,” she said in a voice heavy with regret. “I am afraid that won’t be possible. I talked with her boss this morning. He had called to let me know that she has taken some time off. It seems that she had a family emergency with her mother. She won’t be back for a week.”
A week. Seven days with Zave running around and leaving Lizzy with a target on her back. He shifted his gaze to the pretty blonde standing so close to him. She stuck out around here, especially riding around with the cops. You didn’t often see women in full Amish attire sitting in a police cruiser.
The image of her lying on the floor after she’d been poisoned hit him like a semitruck. He couldn’t let anyone hurt her again.
The idea he’d been trying to avoid came back to him. He forced himself to truly consider it. Sure, it would be uncomfortable for him. But it might be the only way to keep Lizzy safe. He had to try it. Even if he didn’t like it.
The aroma of food preceded Ryder into the room. In his right hand, he carried two bags. A drink carrier with four tall coffees was in his left. Isaac’s mouth watered as the salty smell of bacon, biscuits and hot coffee hit his nose. Next to him, Lizzy’s stomach complained loudly. He laughed as she blushed and wrapped her arms around herself, as if to hold the rumbling and gurgling noises in.
“It’s Ryder to the rescue!” Ryder strode over to them and deposited the bags carrying the food on the desk in front of him. “I have biscuits with bacon, eggs and cheese here, and coffee—” he set the drink carrier down with a flourish “—here. Help yourselves. For you, Chief.” He pulled a bottled water from his pocket and handed it to Chief Carson. She didn’t smile, but her dark eyes were definitely sparkling.
“Why, thank you, Ryder. I guess if you ever get tired of being an officer, you could become a waiter at some fancy establishment.”
“If she just insulted me, I don’t want to know,” he said to Isaac.
Isaac chuckled. He picked up a wrapped sandwich and gave it to Lizzy. She was already opening a coffee. As she peeled back the tab, she held it under her nose and sniffed in appreciation. She accepted the sandwich. “Denke.”
While they ate, Isaac brought Ryder up to speed. His buddy looked at Lizzy with a speculative air. “Lizzy, no offense, but if you stay here another week, it might be hard to hide you. You do sort of stand out, you know, dressed like you are.”
She set her sandwich down, her eyes growing wide, apprehension deep in their depths. Her brow furrowed as she began to gnaw on her lower lip.
Isaac glared at Ryder, despite the fact that he had been thinking the same thing less than thirty minutes before. He didn’t like the fact that Ryder was upsetting his girl.
Wait. One. Minute. He did not just think that. Lizzy was a wonderful young woman, and they had seemed to click, but she was not his girl. Nor was there a possibility that they would ever be together on a permanent basis. He needed to remember that.
Even if he wished she were.
“What are you glaring at me for?” Ryder demanded. “Don’t you think she’s fairly conspicuous? Maybe we should consider having her wear ordinary Englisch clothes for the time being.”
Now she was looking really alarmed. Isaac understood. For her to wear Englisch clothes, even to blend in, would be going against the rules of her church. If her bishop found out, she could be in serious trouble. One did not conform to save their life.
“Don’t ask that of her.” He spoke up before Ryder could continue. “Her manner of dress is part of her entire belief system. It defines her. And you don’t ask an Amish woman to allow any man who isn’t her husband see her hair.”
He could feel the eyes of everyone in the room on him. When he glanced at the only one whose opinion he actually thought mattered in this situation, he was relieved to note the gratitude in Lizzy’s expression. He had been right to speak up.
“What options do we have, Isaac?” Chief Carson sat on the edge of a desk facing them. There was no criticism in her voice, nor did he see any on her face. Instead, she appeared truly interested in his opinion on the matter.
He breathed in deep, preparing himself to say words that he had never expected to say. “I think I should take her to stay with the Amish community I grew up in. She could stay with my family.”
Ryder’s jaw fell open, part of his biscuit still unchewed.
Lizzy swung around to face him, her face going still.
Only Chief Carson appeared unaffected by his statement.
“How would that help? This Zave knows he’s looking for an Amish woman.”
Isaac began to pace, talking out loud as he tried to hash out his thoughts into some semblance of an intelligent idea. “She’s Amish, yes, but not from here. If Zave knew Bill Allister, which we can assume he did, then he probably also knows that Bill was from LaMar Pond, Pennsylvania, and not from southwestern Ohio. Why would he search for her there? He’s seen her with me, but I have never been dressed in Amish clothing, so he has no way of connecting me to the Amish communities nearby. She would completely blend in there, giving her time and space while we wait for either our visual artist to return or another one to be brought in.”
“Sound thinking, except for one thing,” Chief stated. “The Amish are peaceful people. There would be no way to protect her there.”
This was where he really needed extra air. He knew what he should say, but the words wanted to stick in his throat. He cleared it, twice. “Yes, there would. Because I would go with her.”
ELEVEN
Lizzy was stunned at Isaac’s suggestion. For a moment, she was unable to speak. Then the words broke free and rushed out of her. She could not allow Isaac to make this sacrifice for her. What about his family? Wouldn’t she bring danger to his family?
“Nee, Isaac! You cannot do this! It’s not a gut plan.”
It was his turn to be speechless. He stopped pacing and stared at her. After a second or two, his eyebrows rose in question. “How is this not a gut plan, Liz?”
His sensible voice, and the use of his personal nickname for her, only made her more stubborn. “You know why. What if your mother is angry at you and won’t let you stay? And even if she does let us stay with her, you said I could not go to my family because that would bring danger to them. How is this any different?”
“She’s got a point, Isaac,” Ryder opined from the side.
“Jah, she does.” Isaac crossed his arms across his chest, still managing to look handsome even while he was being obstinate. He probably didn’t even realize how Plain he was sounding at the moment. “Lizzy, your family would have been in danger because of the possibility that Zave could link them to you. The Allister family had been driving yours for years. You said so yourself.”
“So?”
She wasn’t going to like this. He was going to use logic. “So—” he drew the word out “—we already know that Sue’s place was tossed and that she is missing. It’s possible that Zave wanted information about you, the Amish girl that Bill was driving. We know that he is aware you saw him. Would Sue have known where you were headed?”
She paled. “Sue’s driven me to my cousin’s house before. And to my aunt and uncle’s—Addie’s parents’—house. My family is in danger!” she gasped. Had Zave gone to her family?
He was shaking his head. “I already thought of that. Your uncle is aware of the danger. He has agreed to contact the police in the area if anything suspicious happens, or if there is any trouble.”
She needed
to sit down, she thought as the sudden panic drained out of her, leaving her legs feeling weak. She collapsed into a chair. Isaac left his position near the wall and strode over to her, crouching so they were almost eye to eye.
“There is no reason why Zave should think to look at my family. The two communities aren’t connected in any way. And if my mom won’t let me stay, I’m sure we can think of something else. I wasn’t shunned or actually kicked out of the community, so there’s a good chance we would succeed. I really think we should give it a try.”
She tilted her head to the side to study him. A bit more of the ice she’d built around her heart melted away.
“You’re going to be the one to stand out,” she murmured, some of the argument leaving her. “Not many policemen live in Amish communities.”
He smiled, but she heard his swallow. “I’ll be undercover.”
“Undercover?”
He sighed. “I’ll be dressed as an Amish man. So I will blend in.”
“Will your bishop allow that?” Chief Carson asked from behind him. Isaac stood, his ears a bit pink.
Lizzy had forgotten that others were present, and it seemed he had, as well.
“I’ll have to check on that. Of course, we’ll have to respect his wishes if he says no. But it’s worth a shot.”
“Agreed.” She nodded decisively. “I will send someone over there to ask. I want you two to lie low for the moment until we find out one way or another whether we can pull this crazy idea of yours off.”
“Um, Chief?”
“Yes, Isaac?”
“If we are able to do this, I can’t be seen driving to the community. Plus, it would be a dead giveaway if my truck was spotted at my old house.”
A chuckle off to the side had her gaze swinging over to where Ryder was lounging against a desk, his legs straight out in front of him. “That would defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it?”
They all laughed along with the sarcastic officer, but Lizzy couldn’t dispel the sense of guilt that had started to blossom inside her. Part of her was hoping that going to his home would encourage Isaac to return to his family and to the Amish way of life. It was a selfish wish, though, based on her wish that they could allow the attraction between them to develop along the natural course it might take if they were two young Amish people courting. Her cheeks flushed.
