Lamb to the Slaughter (Serenity's Plain Secrets Book 1)

by Karen Ann Hopkins

  Finally Bobby spoke. “Don’t pay him too much mind, Serenity. He’s all bark and little bite in the beginning. I guess you have another week, two tops, to come up with solid evidence that Naomi Beiler wasn’t a victim of an accidental shooting. After that, he’ll lean hard on you to close the case.”

  I nodded, accepting his words. Bobby knew the mayor better than anyone else. Not only had he worked on and off under the man for thirty years, they were also brother-in-laws.

  “I thought I was prepared for some backward thinking when I returned to Blood Rock, but I wasn’t expecting to be pissed off quite so quickly.”

  “Oh, trust me, this is only the beginning of the aggravations you’ll be dealing with,” Bobby said with a slight smile as he pushed the accident report papers from the night before in front of me.

  Just as I finished signing the last report, Jeremy peeked in and said, “Serenity, there’s a couple of men here to see you.”

  “About what? You know, I’m pretty busy today—can’t you handle it?” I said, trying to keep the sharpness out of my voice.

  Jeremy shook his head, “You’re going to want to talk to these two.”

  I rolled my eyes at Jeremy’s choice of timing to be mysterious and said, “Fine, show them in.”

  Bobby leaned back in his seat with a drawn out sigh, while Todd continued to smirk. I ignored them both and waited while Jeremy led the two men, dressed in camouflage clothes and muddy boots into the conference room. At a quick glance, I knew that they’d come straight in from the woods, without even stopping home to wash up.

  My curiosity spiked as the taller, middle aged man, said, “Sheriff, ma’am, Rodney and I were out bow hunting in the fields south of Burkey Road this morning when we found something that we thought you might want. Especially, since we read about that girl in the newspaper and all.”

  I stood up and moved around the table in a blink. Even Todd sat up straighter at the man’s words.

  “What’s your name, sir?” I asked, staring at the hunter green back pack in the man’s hand, my heart beating harder with each second that passed.

  “Jimmy Huskey, ma’am.” He tipped his ball cap at me.

  “What do you have, Jimmy?” I said.

  He held it towards me and I took it carefully. It was lighter than I’d guessed it was. I glanced at Bobby, who motioned for me to wait. He left for a minute and returned with plastic gloves, which he held out to me. Todd moved in close enough that I could smell his cologne and I wrinkled my nose, but didn’t ask him to back up. Taking a breath, I pulled the string, opening it up wide and reached in. My hand clasped a soft, plush object and I pulled it out. The stuffed rabbit was patched together with several different colors of fabric and I immediately thought of the Velveteen Rabbit as I looked at its sad, button eyes.

  I laid the rabbit gently onto the table and reached in again to bring out three pairs of woman’s panties. They were plain white and size small. After laying them beside the rabbit, I went in again, knowing that it was for the last time. The denim purse I pulled out was hand stitched with a red bandanna pocket on the front. A quick glance into the purse showed that it was empty except for a couple of tissues and a tube of lip moisturizer, but turning it over in my hands, my heart jumped and I took a deep breath. The name Naomi, was stitched in cursive across the back, the red of the thread matching the bandanna. I stared at the word, registering the time it had taken to sew the name on so neatly, and with an artistic flare, too. The face of the pretty Amish girl rose before me and for the first time, I felt a real sense of loss. Why did Naomi Beiler have to die?

  “Where exactly did you find this?” I asked Jimmy, not taking my eyes off the purse.

  “Oh, it would be difficult to explain in words, ma’am, being that we were out in the fields.”

  I looked up at Jeremy, “Jeremy, take these men back to where they were hunting and go with them personally to the spot that they found this back pack. Comb the area for any other evidence.” As he was turning to leave, I added, “And check out a map to see where the pack was in relation to Naomi’s body.”

  “Sure thing, I’ll get back with you later today,” Jeremy said, motioning to Jimmy and Rodney to follow him out.

  When they were gone, I turned to Todd and said, “Well, this proves that Naomi was running away.”

  “Which backs up what her parents told us,” Todd said.

  Bobby put on his own gloves and began placing the items carefully in the empty box that he’d gone out to get while we were talking. “It’s rather sad, isn’t it, that the only items the girl took with her were these. It speaks volumes for the Amish people’s placement of materialistic value in their society,” Bobby said.

  “What’s shouting at me louder is the question of why Naomi would have ditched her pack before she was shot. It makes no sense that if it were an accidental shooting, like we’re supposed to assume, that the pack wouldn’t have been with her body,” I said, looking up at the guys, hoping that they finally would agree with me that something was not right about this case.

  Bobby scratched his head and nodded. “Maybe we can get some forensics off of the items that will help us find the answer.”

  “How long will it take?” I already knew the time frame, but was so anxious, I asked anyway. After all, if Bobby was correct about the mayor, I only had a couple of weeks to find out what really happened to Naomi before the powers-that-be shut me down.

  “I can put a rush on it, but it depends on the people in Indianapolis. I’d guess maybe a week,” Bobby said.

  Daniel’s head popped in, and my mind froze, thinking back to the kiss the night before. I hoped that the blush I felt heating my face wasn’t noticeable to the guys in the room. Just thinking about his warm, firm lips moving on mine sent a pleasant tingle through my groin that I wished to God I didn’t feel.

  “Are you ready to go, Serenity?” Daniel asked in an upbeat voice.

  I’d actually forgotten about our trip to the Amish community and Daniel Bachman for a few minutes, even though the idea of it had plagued me most of the night before and into the early morning. How the hell was I supposed to act around him now that we’d swapped spit?

  I did my best to dismiss the thought of his tongue in my mouth and said, “I’ll be right out.”

  Daniel took the hint and disappeared. When I looked back at Bobby, he shrugged, shaking his head.

  “What?” I demanded.

  Bobby paused in the doorway, and said gently, “Be careful when mixing business with pleasure, my girl. It usually backfires.” Then he was gone and I was alone with Todd who was smirking again.

  “Do you want me to go with you and Daniel out there today?” Todd asked.

  Too quickly, I said, “No. You can file the accident report.”

  For once, Todd didn’t have a catchy comeback for me. Maybe he was learning to keep his mouth shut.

  Later, after I told Daniel about the back pack and was sitting in his Jeep traveling down the country roads toward the Amish community, I couldn’t help but think back to the story that Daniel had told me the night before. Hell, if I was having this much difficulty gathering information for a possible crime that happened a few weeks ago, I could only imagine how impossible it would be to solve an Amish cold case.

  “You’re awfully quiet this morning, Serenity. What are you thinking about?” Daniel asked. He didn’t say my name any differently than anyone else did, but when the word slipped out of his mouth it sent a shiver through me every time.

  “Oh, I have quite a lot on my mind,” I managed to say, continuing to stare out the window. It was another wet, dreary day in Indiana. I began to feel the tug of depression that kind of weather always brought on. And to think, we still had five more months of it.

  It had been just such a night three years earlier when my outlook on life had changed dramatically, triggering my move back to Blood Rock. Naomi’s death and Will’s involvement with her had distracted me enough to keep the memory away. But n
ow, watching the drizzle fall beyond the window, it came into sharp focus once again.

  I walked slowly toward the body lying on the pavement. Ryan had my back, but training and experience wouldn’t allow me to let my guard down. When I bent down, I felt the tingle of foreboding. I didn’t want to push the hood back, something inside me made me hesitate…

  Daniel cleared his throat, pulling me out of the past. “Are you going to pretend that we didn’t kiss last night?”

  His words shocked me. I hadn’t expected him to mention it, and the fact that he so brazenly brought it up raised my hackles. Within a couple of weeks, Naomi’s case could be closed and then I wouldn’t see Daniel again. Unless, I decided to have a garage put on the house. I certainly wasn’t interested in a one night stand. I had way too many other things going on to deal with that kind of crap.

  I leveled my glare at him, and said, “It wasn’t a big deal. Let’s just blame the wine, and forget about it.”

  His eyes changed, becoming darker and a look of disbelief flitted across his face. I realized then that I’d hurt his feelings and I wanted to take it back, but it was too late.

  “If that’s the way you want to handle it, fine by me.” He stared straight ahead and I could feel the friendly, fun connection that we’d shared for the past week snap. What a damn fool I was. But I certainly wasn’t going to admit it out loud.

  Daniel pulled into a driveway that led up to a two story, white sided house on a knoll. We passed the barns before we reached the house and Daniel slowed to wave at several teenage boys who were working at various chores in the barn yard. I looked closely at each of them, wondering if one might be Eli.

  When we parked and I opened the door, I was hit with the sharp odor of wood smoke burning and I could see the tentacles drifting from the chimney. I zipped up my jacket at the brisk, wet air and followed Daniel, who was now completely ignoring me, up the front steps to the doorway.

  He rapped firmly on the door and then we waited in uncomfortable silence. I stared at him for a second, trying to get him to look my way, but he wouldn’t, so I looked back down at the barns. I spotted the bearded man who was walking slowly up the hill to the house. My pulse quickened with nerves as I sensed the apprehension in the man from his posture. He obviously wasn’t looking forward to talking to us.

  When the door opened behind me, I swiveled to see an attractive Amish woman holding a small baby in her arms. Her eyes were the lightest blue and her skin was as pale as milk.

  “Hullo, what may I help you with?” the woman said, her voice huskier than I’d expected.

  “I’m Daniel Bachman. Do you remember me, Katherine?” Daniel asked the woman.

  Before she said a word, I knew she remembered him well, the way her eyes quickly passed over him in an admiring way, before shifting to me. Her ivory skin reddened and I felt a stab of jealousy. It didn’t matter that the woman probably had six or seven kids with a man who she was surely happily married to. All I could think about at the moment was that she had noticed how gorgeous Daniel was, causing the green eyed monster to rise up in me.

  “Oh, yes. I do. I saw you at the school house the other night. This is your girlfriend?” she asked, eyeing me from head to toe.

  Daniel said, “Yes, this is Serenity Adams.”

  “I see that Joseph is on his way. Why don’t you wait here in the house? It’s nippy out today,” Katherine said.

  We walked into the warm room and I was immediately overcome by the smell of fresh-baked cookies. I couldn’t help lifting my face and inhaling the pleasant aroma.

  Katherine, who must have noticed my gesture, said, “I just made cookies, would you like one?”

  I couldn’t deny that I hadn’t had breakfast and was probably going to begin drooling if I didn’t accept her offer. I said, “Yes, please, they smell wonderful.”

  Katherine motioned to the counter where the cookies were still warm on the trays. I ignored Daniel’s glance and picked two off the nearest tray. I slid by him and sat down in the first high backed chair I came to at the kitchen table.

  Katherine and Daniel began speaking in their language which I thought was rude, but I decided to treat my inability to join the conversation as an opportunity to look around the house. Besides the baby that Katherine was holding, there was another bigger one sleeping on the couch in the adjoining room and two more toddlers playing on the floor with wooden blocks.

  The house was almost uncomfortably warm and I unzipped my jacket, realizing, as I looked up, that the gas light that was hanging above me was where the heat was emitting from. The inside of the home had a cozy feel, with homemade quilts lying across the chairs and a tweed rug covering the hardwood floor.

  The sudden sound of a toddler wailing snapped me out of my daze. The child’s scream was enough to get Katherine hurrying across the room.

  I sat nibbling on my cookie not bothering to get involved, when Katherine did the unthinkable, handing the baby off to me as she passed by. What the hell, I thought, as I gripped the blanket encasing the baby without moving a muscle.

  A quick look at Katherine told me that she would be busy for at least another minute consoling the other child, so I darted a pleading look at Daniel, hoping he would rid me of the infant.

  Now, instead of ignoring me, he was grinning from ear to ear. Either, he had decided that he wasn’t angry with me any longer, or more likely, he enjoyed seeing me squirm.

  I wondered if the pink-cheeked baby was a boy or girl, but I wasn’t going to unwrap it to find out. I’d only shown interest in my nephew and niece when they were able to walk around and talk a little bit—then they were my best buddies. But when children were this small size, they completely freaked me out. I held the baby stiffly for another minute until Katherine finally had the child on the floor calmed and came back to claim her little bundle from me. I passed the baby off, sighing with relief. I didn’t bother to look Daniel’s way, knowing that he was probably laughing at me on the inside.

  Joseph arrived with a rush of cold air. Daniel and I rose to greet the man, who shook both of our hands and then settled into the stoic look of a man not wanting to be there.

  Katherine managed to hustle the small children from the room, even waking the sleeping baby to do so. I would have liked it if she’d stayed, feeling that Katherine was a woman who might actually have talked to us honestly—or have allowed her facial expressions to give her away.

  Daniel spoke to the other man in Pennsylvania Dutch while I waited. I tried to look patient, but more than likely, failed to do so.

  Probably sensing my growing frustration, Daniel turned to me and said, “Eli Bender is Joseph’s son.”

  “Can we talk to him?” I asked.

  Joseph answered, “I do not see the point of it. I’ve told Daniel that Eli courted Naomi for a few weeks before they quit each other. The relationship was not serious.”

  I stared at the man, anger swelling in me and said, “Really, not very serious? That’s not what I’ve heard.”

  Daniel shot me a warning look that I ignored. He was pissed at me, so who knew whose side he was on anyway.

  “I have to get back to shoeing that horse now. You two have a nice day,” Joseph said, picking up his hat from the counter.

  I had had about enough of being blown off. The stress of having only a couple of weeks to discover Naomi’s truth was beginning to fray my insides. I was just about to let Joseph Bender have it when Daniel stealthily came close and put his arm around me. The tight pressure of his arm told me to shut up. Reluctantly, I remained quiet.

  Once we were back in the Jeep I rounded on Daniel and hissed, “I am through being the silent woman at your side. I appreciate the help you’ve given me so far, but really, all this cloak and dagger nonsense has to stop. The Amish don’t need to be treated as if they’re bombs that are going to explode if I push them a little bit.”

  Daniel didn’t answer me, instead, turning around and silently driving back down the gravel to the roadway.
He waved at Joseph as he passed the open barn doorway where the man could be seen hammering on a shoe held to an anvil.

  Once we turned onto the road, Daniel finally turned to acknowledge my presence in his vehicle.

  “Are you quite finished?” he said in level voice.

  His calm demeanor made me feel foolish, and I leaned back against the seat and sighed. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “I’m taking you to the welding shop where Eli works. You can grill the kid there,” Daniel said.

  “Oh. Is he eighteen?”

  “Yes, Serenity, old enough to talk to you without an adult present, but young enough to still blab his mouth if we catch him in the right frame of mind,” Daniel said, letting his gaze flick over my face briefly before turning back to the road.

  From the look that passed, maybe I still had a chance with him. But did I want to bother with a relationship with a known woman collector? People could change, I knew, but the man on the seat beside me frightened me more than any other male I’d encountered. I guess my heart knew that it really could be broken if I fell hard for Daniel.

  Once we arrived at the welding shop, I waited in the Jeep while Daniel went in. He’d mumbled something about how breaking the ice would be easier with him alone and I agreed, not wanting to rile the man any further. I was definitely in foreign territory here.

  When Daniel finally emerged some ten minutes later, he was accompanied by a tall, young man who I had to admit was good looking. Not as handsome as my nephew, but damn close. The boy’s straw hat covered longer hair than I’d seen on the other Amish boys, and as he climbed in, his blue eyes flashed arrogance.

  Daniel introduced us, “Serenity, this is Eli Bender, Joseph’s son.”

  I turned to the young man who sat sullenly in the back seat. Forcing a nonchalant demeanor, I asked him, “Eli, would you mind telling me about your relationship with Naomi?”

  He sat quietly for a minute, and then he looked straight at me and said, “I loved her…more than she did me.”

  I softened a little toward the boy when I saw the sorrow attempting to distort his features, but he held it in, taking a sniff and staring back at me. I noted how differently Eli was handling his grief from my nephew and I suddenly wondered which boy Naomi had really loved.