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

by Karen Ann Hopkins

  I didn’t know if the girl would suffer permanent damage from the ordeal, but for the moment, she was taking small gulps of air and her eyes were dilated. I stood up, wiping the mud onto my jeans that had transferred from the girl to my hands. I turned to Reuben.

  “What happened to her?” I was still experiencing a major buzz of an adrenaline rush through my veins and it made my voice stutter a bit.

  “Christina was following the other children in the dark, playing, when she slipped into the hole that was dug for the new ice house. The recent rains had filled the hole with water and before the other children realized that Christina was no longer with them, she’d gone under. Rebecca and I were on the porch enjoying the cool air when we heard the shouts. Anna has the gift of healing, so we came here, not even knowing that my in-laws had company until we saw the car.”

  I took another breath. “The EMP’s should be here soon. Anna, please bring a thick blanket and get her wrapped snuggly,” I said. The older woman quickly got to her feet and scurried out of the room.

  I turned to Mo, “I think I could use that cup of coffee now.”

  A ghost of a smile briefly lit the man’s face before he turned and went to the counter. After I had the strong brew in my hands, I sat quietly, observing the loving interactions of the family as I tried my best to mold into the chair that I sat in.

  Another fifteen minutes passed before the ambulance finally arrived to the remotely located farmstead. I greeted Beth and Raymond, filling them in on the details. They had Christina, who was now babbling toddler nonsense, onto the gurney and loaded into the van with her mother in no time at all.

  Since the rest of the family couldn’t drive to the hospital in a car the way anyone else would, I offered to take them into town so that they could be together while Christina was evaluated. Before I crossed the threshold outside into the night, which was far darker than the well-lit streets where I lived in town, Mo’s voice called me back.

  I turned to face the man, who had chosen to stay at the house and wait for the return of his family. He looked as if he’d aged from the ordeal with his granddaughter, his eyes not quite as bright and his stance not so straight.

  Gruffly, he said, “Thank you for saving my little Christina’s life—for there is no doubt in my mind that when Reuben brought her in, she was very close to being with our Lord Jesus. But our Lord wasn’t ready for her and we weren’t ready to let her go. Thus, you were with us this night. Sheriff, did you feel the hand of God guiding you here?”

  I swallowed, “Maybe, but not to perform CPR on a child who’d nearly drowned. Actually, I came here to talk to you about Tony Manning. Do you know him, Mo?”

  The kindness left Mo’s eyes to be replaced with steely determination. “Well, the Lord works in mysterious ways, indeed. I’m glad you came, Sheriff, for my granddaughter’s sake, but mind that you listen to me well. I have nothing to say to you in regards to events of the past.”

  Dammit, if saving a member of his family wasn’t going to get the guy to open up, nothing was. Frustrated, I turned to leave. I’d only made it two steps off the porch when Mo’s words echoed a previous speaker, sending a chill down my neck.

  “Leave this thing with the girl well enough alone. You’ll soon learn that we take care of our own.”

  I looked over my shoulder and was about to march my butt back up the steps when Reuben’s slight cough, obviously trying to get my attention, did the trick. I glanced at his distressed face and decided to let Mo’s comment go—for now anyway.

  I turned back once more to see Mo as he went into the house. The sight of the closed door made an impression on me, but I couldn’t worry too much about it. At that moment, I had to figure out how I was going to squeeze Reuben and the five children who’d appeared out of nowhere into my little car.

  As I walked to the car, my own determination strengthened. The goal of finding out what happened to Naomi was at the forefront of my mind, but not far behind was the resolution that I’d also discover Tony Manning’s secrets too.

  24

  NAOMI

  October 20th

  Naomi peeked out her bedroom window and watched the buggy pull out onto the roadway heading to the schoolhouse. She let out a long sigh as she sat on the edge of the bed and took one last look at the stark, pale blue interior, collecting her thoughts. Unlike Will’s, Naomi’s room had no posters adorning the walls or anything at all that told of her love of horses and the outdoors. The only personal item displayed sat on her dresser in a delicate porcelain frame. It was the Lord’s Prayer. Without thinking, Naomi crossed the room and picked it up. She silently said the words in her head. She was a believer and becoming English would not change that.

  When she finished, she carefully set the frame down, and feeling a sudden rush of adrenaline, she scurried back across the room and went to her knees. Reaching far under the bed, she found what she was looking for and pulled it out. The pack was hunter green and as plain as everything else in her life. Thankfully, it was also light weight and she slung it over her shoulder easily.

  Even though the house was dead silent, Naomi still tiptoed soundlessly down the stairs. She slowed at the entrance to the kitchen to look around before she entered. Her heart beat furiously, and no amount of swallowing or breathing would calm her nerves.

  She passed through the kitchen as if she was a ghost, hardly seeing the long wooden table with its mixture of chairs and benches. She purposely ignored the line of coats hanging on the pegs and instead focused on hers as she put it on. Naomi didn’t want any last minute reminders of who she was leaving behind. If she thought too much about sweet little Emma or rambunctious Marcus, or even surly Samuel, she wouldn’t have a strong enough heart to be able to do what she was about to.

  Naomi blocked out the faces of her dear siblings, and after repositioning the pack onto her back, she reached for the door and turned the knob. Hesitating only a second, she glanced back into the kitchen, lit only by the dim evening light coming through the window. She pushed the door open, leaving the house in a rush. Naomi didn’t want to give herself any time for second thoughts. Worried that she’d change her mind, she took two steps at a time, skipping off the porch and heading toward the barns.

  The cold air bit into her face and glancing up, she saw the dark, wintry clouds piling high atop each other. It certainly wasn’t the best weather for hiking a few miles through fields to meet up with Will, but Naomi also knew that the harsh weather would keep folks close to their hearths and the safety of buildings, which suited her needs just fine.

  She didn’t slow for the few chickens still pecking around outside of their coop, instead, she jogged through the middle of them, sending them squawking away in all directions. When she reached the gate leading to the back field, she shimmied over it fluidly, and took off at a run through the short grass of the cut hay that afforded no cover at all.

  When Naomi reached the hedgerow, she parted the brush with her hands and entered the thick foliage without a backward glance. She breathed easier once she was hidden again and her heart began to settle when her thoughts returned to Will and the strong possibility that she’d be kissing him by nightfall.

  If Naomi had turned around to gaze one last time at her family’s farm, she might have noticed something that would have crushed all her plans. But she didn’t. The Amish girl was free in her thoughts of escape, joyfully making plans in her mind about the bright future that was laid out ahead of her as she cut a path through the thick foliage beneath the trees.

  When Naomi disappeared into the tawny autumn leaves of the hedgerow, her Mother stood silently watching from the window of the chicken coop. Patricia’s face showed no emotion, being as still as her feet were. Then one single tear drop slipped from her eye. She hastily wiped it away, giving her body life once again.

  25

  DANIEL

  November 18th

  I rapped on the door impatiently, trying to see in through the drawn curtains in the window bes
ide it. My heart had been pounding since I’d received the call from my sister some thirty minutes prior. Rebecca’s voice was still sharp in my head, telling me how thankful she was that my girlfriend had been visiting with our parents when my youngest niece had fallen into the water filled hole and nearly drowned. I’d listened to her tell the story of how Serenity had performed CPR on the child, bringing her limp body back to life. Of course, that whole part of the story was wonderful and I was thankful that Serenity, with her emergency training, was present. But what was piercing my mind like a sword was the question that my sister couldn’t answer for me—what the hell was Serenity doing there in the first place?

  I knocked on the front door with more force just as it finally burst open. Serenity was a sight to behold, wrapped in the unexpected pink robe, which barely covered up the cleavage showing from beneath a lacy black camisole. Her blond hair fanned out around her in messy disarray, leaving me without words. Unfortunately, Serenity didn’t have the same problem.

  “What the fuck are you doing banging on my door at six o’clock in the morning?” she hissed out.

  Her nasty response to seeing me shattered any romantic thoughts and I said, “Yeah, I could ask you the same thing about why you were at my parent’s home last night.”

  Serenity’s mouth dropped open and her eyes were wide with frustration. “You’ve got to be kidding me—that’s why you’re putting dents in my door?”

  Her voice was still turbulent, but it had come down a couple of notches, and I reined in my own anger, saying, “You have absolutely no right to be sneaking around behind my back, harassing my folks.”

  Serenity pulled the robe up tighter around her neck, blocking my sight of her lovely skin. She turned and said over her shoulder, “It’s too damn cold to talk outside.”

  Taking her words for an invitation inside, I followed her and closed the door behind me. I stayed on her heels until she plopped down on the suede looking sofa and crossed her legs beneath her robe. She looked up at me with agitation for some seconds before she jerked her head to the other side of the sofa, indicating that I should sit down.

  I was stubborn and remained standing for a minute more, avoiding her eyes, which had suddenly changed. They were now regarding me with amusement, making me feel even more uncomfortable than when they were shooting fire.

  I looked around the room, ignoring Serenity. At a glance, the pictures on the walls were all of faraway places. I recognized the Eiffel Tower in one of them and the Golden Gate Bridge in another. The palm trees and beach scene above the couch captured my eyes for a longer time. I envisioned walking leisurely along such a beach with Serenity beside me.

  “I didn’t know that you were such a travel buff,” I said, trying to erase the hostility of the previous moments.

  “There’s a lot that you don’t know about me,” Serenity said smugly.

  I looked away, wondering at the coy, almost flirtatious expression that she was now giving me. Feeling stupid standing there in the middle of the room, I finally sat down, purposely settling into her space and causing Serenity to move sideways to keep from touching me. I could almost feel the warmth coming from her skin. I distracted my thoughts by staring at the shaggy black rug.

  Remembering the way she’d kissed me, melting against my chest as if she were born to be there, I became brave. “Yeah, it’s too bad that you’re such a difficult girl to get to know. God knows I’ve been trying.”

  Seeing Serenity’s eyes widen was worth the comment, but I was disappointed at the way she sidestepped the conversation.

  “Why is it such a big deal to you if I visit with your parents anyway? It’s not as if you’re seeing them on a regular basis.”

  Why was she being so damned difficult? I wished that I was pressing myself into her, instead of talking about my parents.

  “I think you at least owe me an explanation as to why you went out there last night.”

  Serenity puckered her lips to the side in thought before she finally answered. “Oh, all right.” She locked her gaze on me and said in almost a whisper, causing me to lean in closer to hear her. “That story you told me about your dad, the bishop and the other guys…well, I did a little bit of digging and I found out some interesting information to go along with it.”

  Sweat beaded on my neck as I remembered back to that night and the way I’d felt when I’d seen my father covered in blood. I shivered and said, “Go on.”

  “At about the same time that went down, a girl named Rachel Yoder killed herself by stepping in front of a train in broad daylight. After talking to her sister yesterday, I found out that Rachel was the girl from your story—only she wasn’t really raped. Her relationship with the English man was consensual. She couldn’t live with what she’d inadvertently caused to happen to her lover—so she did herself in with the train. And, that means, that there was no justice at all in what a few members of your community did to the man.”

  I sat quietly digesting what Serenity had said. Vaguely, now that she had brought it up, I recalled an accident with a girl and a train—I could even remember staring at the casket that held her body, which was too mangled to be opened for family and friends.

  Serenity went on, pulling me back into the present.

  “Do you know what the real kicker is? I found out who the guy was, and you’re not going to believe it.”

  With real apprehension, I asked, “Who was it?”

  “Unless there are two guys with the name from the same town and about the same age, it appears that Rachel’s English lover was none other than Tony Manning.”

  “No way!” I exclaimed, trying to put the puzzle together in my head. I remembered Tony working at the stock yards and occasionally driving a pickup truck while the Amish loaded hay or produce onto it. The guy always had a dangerous feel about him and the youngsters stayed well out of his way. I could slightly recall a few of the teens hanging around with Tony, and then, only until it was forbidden to do so. I couldn’t recollect anything at all connecting Tony to the girl hit by the train.

  After the shock of learning that the recipient of my father’s beating was Blood Rock’s previous sheriff, another thought flooded into my mind, and I looked angrily at Serenity and said, “So you went to talk to my parents about that night—and what happened? Even though I told you the story in confidence, you still wasted your time on it.”

  “How do you know that it was a waste of my time?” Serenity growled, her eyes throwing daggers my way.

  “Obviously, it wasn’t a waste since you saved my niece, but why the hell didn’t you talk to me about it? I could have saved you the trouble of going all the way out there for nothing, because that’s what I’m sure you got out of my father—nothing.”

  Serenity scrunched up her face. “What good would you have brought to the discussion? You haven’t spoken to your parents in fifteen years. Besides, you were pissed at me.”

  Again, my blood was reawakened by the sight of the ivory skin at Serenity’s collar bone and lower, which was now exposed due to her outburst. I leaned in, close enough to smell the warm vanilla scent coming from her, and said, “What makes you think that I was pissed at you?”

  Serenity rolled her eyes and began to rise when I made my move. I reached out and grasped her wrist. “You didn’t answer the question,” I said before bringing my mouth a breath away from hers.

  Her words were somewhat ragged as she said, “You seemed pretty angry with me.”

  “You know what? I’m not angry anymore,” I closed the distance and covered her lips with mine. The jolt I experienced touching her scared the hell out of me, but I didn’t stop. The only way I could stop now was if she insisted. But I didn’t think she was going to do that.

  I pressed Serenity into the sofa, as my left arm went around her waist and my right hand touched her face tentatively. She was kissing me back with enthusiasm, and I felt I could begin breathing again. I was confident that she wasn’t going to bolt. My tongue delved inside her mo
uth, and I loved the feel of how her tongue laced in and out of mine in perfect rhythm.

  Serenity’s raspy intake of breath made me bolder still, and I slipped my hand into the robe, pushing the material away. Her breast was full, but not too large, and I held it in my hand, running my thumb over the material that covered the nipple in stroking movements until Serenity moaned, saying, “Oh, please, Daniel, please…”

  I lifted my head and said in my own, barely controlled voiced, “Please, what? Tell me, Serenity. Tell me what you want from me.”

  I stared down into Serenity’s lustful eyes and wondered what they would look like if they were filled with love. Would I even know the difference? I wanted Serenity to acknowledge that she wanted me—that she was ready to surrender to me fully, or I wasn’t going any further.

  “Don’t be silly, Daniel. You know what I want,” Serenity said, trying to reach up and bring my head down to hers again, but I wouldn’t let her.

  “No, I need to hear the words.” I began stroking her nipple again at the same time I lowered the weight of my groin onto the soft place between her thighs. Serenity spread her legs, clutching me around my hips. The feel of her wrapping around me made me want to forget about my stupid verbal requirements. I was almost going to say so when she spoke again.

  Serenity’s eyes were open and sure now. “Daniel, I want you to…”

  Before the last words tumbled from Serenity’s mouth, her cell phone went off. Her eyes cleared in an instant as she looked towards where it sat on the coffee table, lighting up with each new ring.

  “No you don’t,” I told her.

  “It could be important. Get off of me so I can answer it.” Serenity was all business now, and I rolled away cussing out loud as I did so.

  Serenity grabbed up the phone and brought it to her ear as she fluttered away into the other room. I was left with a yearning deep within me and a racing pulse. I decided that the next time I tried to seduce her I’d hide the damn cell phone beforehand. The hell with how pissed she got about it—it would be worth it.