“Like getting you was impossible?” Elijah smiled. “Everyone has an Achilles’ heel.”
“Yeah, well, if he’s got one it’s that journal, which you don’t have, or this conversation would be going in a completely different direction.”
Elijah sighed in frustration. He’d hoped for more from Jackson, but he should have known he wouldn’t get it.
A knock sounded at the interrogation room door. Tucci cracked the door slightly and popped his head in. “Phone call for you, Miller.”
Elijah nodded. He stepped out of the small interrogation room, closed the door behind him and reached for the phone from his partner.
“Miller here,” he answered.
Tucci hung close as if waiting to see his response.
“Elijah, we need your help.” The voice on the line was not any he’d expected—it was deep and tight and speaking the language of his youth. “We need your help, son.”
“Dat? What it?” Elijah’s pulse spiked.
“They’re all missing—Hannah, Abigail, the Englischer girl, even Daniel. They were here at the Stottlemeyers’ for Sunday church. And now they aren’t. Thomas drove over to Abigail’s place and they aren’t there, either. We’re quite afraid something has happened. The People are all together praying. Come, my son. Come and help us find them.”
“Keep everyone praying. I’ll be right there, Dat.”
NINETEEN
“Hurry, Abigail,” Hannah said. “There she goes, behind the stable, just like Daniel. We don’t want to lose sight of her.”
Hannah hurried toward the Stottlemeyers’ stable, tugging Abigail behind her.
“Where in the world could she be going?” Abigail said. “She doesn’t know her way around here.”
“No, but Daniel does. She’s following him. I saw him go around the stable first. Then I came to check on you, and Brittney had just left. I looked up across the lawn and spotted her exactly where I had seen Daniel.”
“But what can they be about, running off from Sunday gathering into these woods?” Abigail asked.
“Actually, I think I know where they are going.” Hannah shook her head. “And I cannot believe I did not think of this place before. It makes perfect sense now.”
“What makes perfect sense?”
“The hiding place. Jessica’s hiding place.”
“You mean Brittney and Daniel are going after the journal? You think they know where Jessica hid it?”
“Jah, that is exactly what I think.”
* * *
“Don’t you think we’d get more information if we stayed and continued to question Jackson? He knew Krups was headed out there. He as much as said so. He probably set the whole thing up.”
“I don’t think so. We have to get started while the trail is still at least warm.”
“But we couldn’t find Jackson yesterday and he’d been right under our noses in the city with nowhere to go.” Tucci glanced over at Elijah as they sped over the Pennsylvania countryside. “If Krups has Hannah and your sister, then how in the world do you think we’re going to locate them in the boondocks of Lancaster County? He’s had an hour start on us.”
“You forget that I know those boondocks.” Not to mention his Dat had asked him to come. His Dat actually called him and asked for his help as a cop and as his son. Elijah closed his eyes and tried to visualize what might have happened at the farm to Hannah, Abigail and Brittney. They’d gone to Sunday church. Listened to the preaching. Everyone would have seen them. Brittney would have been introduced to the other teens—Daniel included. Hannah would have helped with the Sunday meal. He’d seen at his cousin John’s that Hannah sort of took charge in this activity. She would have been missed if she had not been there helping. By the time his Dat had called him at the station, the Sunday meal would have normally started. Now everyone was gathered to pray that they found Hannah, Abigail, Daniel and the Englischer girl.
He too prayed.
* * *
“Are you sure you know the way?” Abigail asked Hannah for the third time since they’d started into the woods behind the Stottlemeyers’ barn. “We haven’t seen either Brittney or Daniel since we first came into the trees.”
“Well, this isn’t the usual way to get to Cyprus Cabin, but I know we’re heading in the right direction.” Hannah climbed over a patch of briars. “In fact, we should be getting very close.” She lowered her voice. “Did you know the hunting lodge is over one hundred fifty years old? This land used to belong to some wealthy Englischer from the city before the Stottlemeyer family bought it up. At one time, I think the cabin must have been quite nice. Not much to it anymore. But when Jessica was very young, I took her there and let her play ‘house’ while I worked on some knitting or whatnot.”
“So you and Elijah had a secret love shack?” Abigail teased.
“Ack. No.” Hannah blushed. “Your brother was a perfect gentleman…although he might have stolen a kiss or two. Shh. There it is.”
Hannah directed Abigail to look through a small clearing so that she could see the dilapidated cabin ahead. As she had remembered, not much was left of it, no windows and doors. Just the clapboard siding and roof remained. Vines and trees had grown thick around it—its grays and greens still soft and inviting.
“It’s charming.” Abigail smiled.
“I hear voices,” Hannah warned her.
The two women stalked closer to the small structure, trying to keep themselves hidden in the brush. Through the window holes, Hannah spotted Daniel and Brittney. They seemed to be in the midst of an argument.
“Come on,” Hannah said to Abigail. “Let’s see if they found the journal. I want to see this thing that has wreaked havoc on all our lives.”
* * *
Elijah and Mitchell arrived in Lancaster from the city in record time and drove straight to Stottlemeyer’s where much of the Sunday gathering had disbursed. A few families had gone home in order to be on the lookout for their missing friends. Only a few remained huddled in prayer and communion. Among the women, Elijah spotted his mother.
He gave her a strong, steady embrace.
“Your father’s gone home in case of any news there.” Her face was drawn with worry.
“What can you tell me? Where did you see them last?” Elijah asked her.
She shook her head and shrugged. “After service, Abigail and the Englischer girl were resting on the back porch. Hannah was directing Sunday meal as always. Then all of a sudden they were all gone. It was time to sit down and eat and we couldn’t find any of them. Kasey and Geoffrey said that Daniel was gone, too. Your father sent Thomas to Abigail’s to see if they had walked home, even though I can’t imagine them doing that without speaking to a soul.”
Elijah nodded. “Has anyone seen any strangers about today? Tourists? Passing cars? Vans? Anything unusual?”
The women shook their heads.
Elijah’s hope was fading as he looked around at the vast countryside around them. “Did the women arrive in a buggy?”
“No, by foot.”
“And Daniel?”
“Rode in with his family,” his mamm answered. “They are still here and so is the buggy.”
“Any of Stottlemeyer’s horses missing?”
“Nary a one. Mr. Stottlemeyer went and counted them all.”
“Are Kasey and Geoffrey still here?”
“Jah, just there.” His mother pointed across the lawn.
He nodded for Tucci to follow him over to the group of teens. “Maybe Daniel said something to his friends?”
“I sure hope so. ’Cause otherwise, we got nothing. No vehicle to follow. No trail. Nothing to put out an APB on. They haven’t been missing long enough to conduct a search.”
“Well, under the circumstances, we can
call in some local cars to troll the surrounding areas.” Elijah shook his head. “I should have insisted that car stay on Daniel. Or that he stay with me.”
“He had a detail?”
“Yes, but only for twenty-four hours. You know, budget cuts. Lack of officers on duty. Not enough manpower to keep anyone on him for longer.”
“So, we have nothing,” Tucci said. “We certainly can’t chase around every one of Krups’s company cars.”
“No. But a GPS. We could chase a GPS.” Elijah stopped fast and grabbed his partner hard around the upper arm.
“Who out here has a GPS?”
“Abby does. Abby has a cell phone. Maybe, just maybe, she has it with her.” Oh, Lord, please let Abby have that phone with her.
“Hey. It’s worth a try. I’ll get a locator on it right now.” Tucci turned back to the police car. “You go ahead and talk to the kids.”
The young couple sat on the ground in a patch of clover near the stable. Geoffrey stood as Elijah approached. “Are you here to find Daniel?”
Elijah nodded. “Did he say anything to either of you about leaving this afternoon? You have any idea where he might be?”
“I have no idea where he is,” Kasey said as she stood from the ground and dusted her skirt. “But he was not happy to see Miss Brittney Baker at church today. And as soon as the service was over, he made a beeline for her and they exchanged a few words.”
“Did you hear any of what they said?”
The kids shook their heads.
“Okay. Thanks. If you think of anything else—” Elijah started to turn away.
“Sir, I don’t know if this is helpful or not. And I only just thought of it because we are at Stottlemeyers’ today, but…” Geoffrey hesitated.
“What’s that?”
“Well, Jessica and Daniel, they had a special place,” the teen explained.
“A special place?” Elijah repeated his words just as they stirred a flowing of memories of his own special place.
“Jah, it was near here. In the woods somewhere, I believe.”
Elijah was filled with hope again. “Yes, I know exactly the spot.”
* * *
“Is it here?” Hannah walked into the shack and confronted the two arguing teens. Abigail followed in after her.
Daniel stopped feeling around the boards on the floor and looked up. Hannah still could not see his eyes below the brim of his black hat. “Mrs. Nolt, Miss Miller. You shouldn’t be here. I was just telling Miss Baker that she, too, should leave. It’s not safe here.”
“Brittney, you should be resting,” Abigail said. “I don’t know how you had the strength to walk all this way.”
“I knew when I saw Daniel at church that he was scared. When I saw him running into the woods, I had to come. This is all my fault. I have to fix it.”
Abigail put her arm around the girl. “Here, come and sit. Rest because you will have to walk back in a bit.”
“You should walk back now,” Daniel said. “It’s not safe here.”
“Not safe?” Hannah repeated, looking around at the old wood. “Daniel, why do you think Jessica hid the journal here?”
“Well, she told me that the hiding place had something to do with you. She told Brittney the hiding place had something to do with me. I know she wouldn’t lie to either of us, so I think both are true.”
“This hunting cabin would make sense, then, if she brought you here.” Hannah smiled.
“Jah, everyone was thinking this journal was at Nolt Cottage or in the stable,” Daniel explained, “but this morning when we were sitting at Stottlemeyers’, I thought of this place. Jessica showed it to me years ago. She said it was your special play place when she was a child. That you brought her here, Mrs. Nolt. And she brought me here, too, so…”
“Then where is it?” Brittney asked. “Daniel’s right. We all need to get out of here. Krups has people watching all of you. It won’t be long before they are here.”
“Did you look behind that loose brick in the old fireplace?” Hannah said.
Daniel paused for a moment, then rushed over to the fireplace. He ran his hands over the rows of brick.
“Lower.” Hannah also made her way to the old chimney. “Here.”
She pulled away a dark brown brick. “It’s this one.”
Daniel reached his hand into the dark space. “There’s something here.” He pulled out a small quilted bag like the ones that she and Jessica used to make to sell in the local tourist shops. He opened the bag and inside was a tiny electronic device that looked like a big cell phone or a small tablet.
“That’s it,” Brittney said. “That’s it. Recorded on it are security codes to half the buildings and accounts that belong to Krups and others.”
“So much trouble just for this little piece of nothing I can hold in my hand. I would like to take a hammer to it so that it cannot hurt anyone else.” Hannah took the piece from Daniel and lifted the electronic tablet. She truly wanted to smash it to pieces for all the pain it had caused her. “How does it work?”
“My stepdad said that it has a USB port and will hook up to any computer,” Brittney said. “If you know the password, you can read anything on it. But only he knows the password.”
“That’s right, little lady,” a deep voice sounded from the front of the cabin. “That’s why we’ll go spring your dad right after we get what we need from here. Take her to the car. And bring me the journal. Now.”
Hannah, Abigail and Daniel huddled together against the fireplace. At the door was a short, gray-headed man dressed in a fine suit. He held a gun and directed two other muscular and mean-looking men with him, who also had guns.
“You can’t, Krups. I won’t go back to him,” Brittney said. “Isn’t that right, Abigail? Your brother said he wouldn’t let that happen, right?”
“Get her out of here,” Krups yelled. “Tie the others up.”
One large man with dark, oily skin grabbed Brittney without care and slung her over his shoulder. Hannah and Abigail both cringed thinking of her bruises and how tender she must still be.
The third man was bald, angry and as strong a man as Hannah had ever seen. He snatched the journal from Hannah’s hands and tossed it to Mr. Krups. He pulled a rope and knife from his pocket.
“Stand over there.” He pointed them away from the fireplace.
“You look strong,” he said to her. “Here. Tie up the others. Ankles and wrists.”
He handed her the rope. She reached for the knife as well.
“Nice try.” He laughed. “I’ll cut the rope when you’re ready. Thanks.”
Hannah trembled as she worked the ropes around Daniel’s ankles and wrists.
“Be brave,” she whispered to them in their Pennsylvania Dutch. “The Lord is with us.”
Tears were in the boy’s eyes as she tied his ankles. “I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I’m so sorry.”
“Quit your yacking in German.” The man waved his gun. “This is America. Speak English.”
He came close, checked to see the ropes were tight, then cut the ends. “Now her.”
Hannah moved around to Abigail.
Abigail stared hard at her. Her face like a stone. “Hold it,” she whispered in their own tongue. “When he checks the ropes.”
Hold what? Hannah’s trembling fingers fumbled and she dropped the ropes to the floor.
“Hurry up.” The man gave her a scolding look. “Haven’t you finished tying her yet?”
Hannah picked up the rope and started to wrap it around Abigail’s wrists.
“I don’t know why you’re going to all this trouble. It will take us thirty minutes to get back to the farm. You’ll have plenty of time to get away,” Hannah said.
“You’re not going back
to the farm, darling,” he said. “You’re going to have a little campfire.”
Krups stomped back into the cabin. “You’re taking too long.”
In the one second they looked away, Abigail slipped something into Hannah’s hands.
Her cell phone. Abigail had her cell phone and didn’t want that brute of a man to find it.
“Leave it on,” she whispered.
Hannah froze, the ropes and cell phone in her small hands. Already she could smell the cabin beginning to burn.
“Come on,” Krups said again. “Just shoot them and let them burn. We got to get out of here.”
* * *
Was it possible that the old hunting cabin was still there and that was where they had all gone? Elijah ran from talking to the teens toward the car to get his partner.
Tucci was already waving him to the space behind the barn.
“GPS?” he asked.
“Yep,” Tucci said. “Your sister’s cell phone says she’s two miles into these woods. I’ve got a headset and device on me. Leslie back in I.T. is going to guide us through to the location.”
“May not be necessary.” Elijah started to run. Tucci followed. “There’s a cabin back here. I thought it had been torn down long ago. But according to those kids, it’s still here and Daniel and Jessica used to frequent it.”
Elijah and Tucci sprinted through the woods, half going on his memory of the cabin’s location, half listening to Tucci’s tech speaking to him from the city.
It was difficult terrain as the path had grown over. There were many briars. And the space was thick with trees.
“Leslie says we’re close,” Tucci said. They slowed as they were both breathing heavily from the exertion.
“Do you smell what I smell?” he asked.
Tucci nodded. “Smoke!”
Elijah and Tucci both pulled their weapons and proceeded toward the burning cabin, which they could just now see through the thick foliage.
“They’re there.” Elijah made a halt motion with his hand. “There’s only one door. I see one man at the car. Let’s go in at the same time from opposite sides.”
Plain Secrets Page 17
