When I turned around, I felt a hot flush spreading across my cheeks.
“Have you ever heard of knocking first, Sheriff?” Daniel said in a half teasing, half serious sort of way.
Brody gave a short laugh and came fully into the room. “Glad to see that you’re doing so well, Mr. Bachman.” Then he turned to me and said, “We need to talk.”
“You can say anything in front of Daniel. Trust me. I’m going to repeat everything you tell me to him anyway.”
Brody shrugged, and placed his hands on the rail at the bottom of Daniel’s bed. The big man moved in a casual way, but I’d already noticed the tight set of his jaw. My heart sped up as I waited for Brody to speak.
“Do you have any idea where Asher Schwartz and Julian West are?”
His question completely took me off guard. I exchanged glances with Daniel and replied, “Ah…I wasn’t really convinced that you were even going after him. You weren’t very responsive about the shooting…and the dogs being turned out on us earlier,” I stammered, quickly trying to collect my thoughts and read Brody at the same time.
Brody nodded impatiently. “Don’t even go there. I’ve been around awhile and I’m aware of the fact that if you want to, you can bring in higher authorities to clean this mess up. But you’re not exactly working within the confines of the law yourself, and you certainly aren’t in your own jurisdiction.”
“Are you threatening me?” I interrupted.
“No, not at all, I’m just pointing out the obvious, clearing the deck so to speak.” He rose back up to his full height and took a step closer. The constrained desperation in his voice was barely noticeable, but I picked up on it. Once again, I had the distinct feeling that Brody wasn’t a corrupt cop, just a man who was used to working out of the box to take care of his business.
“No, I have no idea where they are.”
Brody hesitated and rubbed his hands through his cropped gray hair, before he took a measured breath and said, “What about Damon? Have you seen my grandson?”
It was as if a brighter light was turned on in the already well lit hospital room. Everything suddenly became clearer, even the poor quality water color painting on the wall and the vivid blue hue of the walls. The hearty beeps of the monitoring machine that was hooked up to Daniel pounded in my head and the nurses talking at the station right across from the open door were noisy chatter.
In an indirect way, Brody was admitting that he had lost control of the situation and he needed help. Inwardly, I sighed satisfactorily.
“I saw your grandson about an hour ago. He was driving Mariah Fisher up Rowan’s driveway at the time. I don’t know if he’s still there, though.”
Brody breathed a little easier at the news, but not enough to slow my own rapidly beating pulse.
“We may have a problem on our hands.” Brody met my gaze steadily.
“Oh, we definitely do. As I’m sure you already know Damon was at Asher Schwartz’s trailer today.” I shook my head warily and continued, “Your grandson isn’t hanging around with a good crowd.”
Brody nodded. “I’ve been doing my best to change that, but there are a lot of factors involved that you don’t understand.” He abruptly titled his head, looking at me intently. “I get the feeling that you’re a common sense type of person—not some idiot paper pusher. You’re willing to skirt the rules to get the job done. Am I right about you, Serenity?” Brody said the last part with the sternness of a father asking a child if he could trust them, while at the same time desperately wanting to do so.
I had an instant of misgiving, but went with my gut and said, “Yes you are, Sheriff.”
“All right then. Asher Schwartz has been selling Hash oil to the local kids for a while now, but recently he’s pushed his dealings into the Amish community. My grandson is involved, but I’m not sure to what extent. I’ve been waiting for Asher to screw up and give me an opening to bring him in, but the man’s squirrely as all get out. He’s made it known to me that he won’t be taken down easily—or alone.”
“Dabbing is serious business. People can die from a bad batch of butane.”
“I understand that.” Brody said in a tired voice. “I was hoping to get Damon to work with us on the case…but he refused to. Frankly, I’m at my wits end.” Brody flicked his thumb at Daniel. “After today, I realize how truly dangerous Asher Schwartz is.”
Daniel laughed. “He killed a man in a parking lot with his bare hands. Why on earth did you ever doubt what the man was capable of?”
Brody looked away in embarrassment. “Well, now that was a different thing. I mean, the guy that Asher did in was a rotten cracker. Schwartz was doing the community a favor at the time.”
My eyes narrowed and I quickly reconsidered my assessment of Brody Gentry. He was a good old boy after all. “And you gave him carte blanche to kill a man because it was convenient for you. And that’s the big dark secret that Asher has over you. I’m sure you’ve been worried about your grandson, but it sounds as if you’re really more worried about spending the rest of your own life behind bars.”
“It’s his word against mine. You don’t have anything on me, either,” Brody said defensively.
“Maybe not, but we have more important things to worry about at the moment. That badass who got his head caved in by Asher isn’t the only person he’s killed.” Brody’s eyes widened with sudden understanding, but I said the words anyway. “The woman’s body in Fisher’s burned out barn was none other than Asher’s ex-girlfriend.”
23
I let out a relieved sigh when I parked by the cabin. At least all of Rowan’s helpers had finally gone home. The night seemed extra crisp and there was a stark contrast between the frosting-like layer of snow on the ground and the inky blackness of sky. There was a soft light shining in Rowan’s kitchen and I purposely headed in that direction. The dog, who I had found out earlier in the day, was called Ben, trotted up to greet me in the driveway. I reached down and stroked his thick black and white fur as I glanced up at the sky. Pausing for a moment, I gazed at the twinkling stars that seemed to shine so much brighter during the coldest part of winter, and thought about what I was going to say to Rowan. There wasn’t going to be any easy way to break the news to him, but the right words and a gentle tone might just make it a little easier to hear.
I knocked a couple of times and then opened the door a little ways and peeked in. Cooking smells of whatever the family and workers had eaten for dinner still lingered in the air and blissful warmth radiated from the room. It was only nine o’clock, but I worried that everyone was already in bed. I’d already discovered that the Amish usually turned in early.
“Hello,” I whispered loudly, chancing to open the door further still as I stepped into the room. The kitchen was so warm that it was almost stuffy. As the heat absorbed into my skin, I was suddenly so tired that I yawned.
“You look exhausted, Serenity,” Rowan’s voice slipped up from the side as he walked quietly into the room from the hallway.
“It’s been a long day.”
“How is Daniel doing? Anna told me that he was shot,” Rowan said cautiously.
I raised my brow at his tone and studied his stoic features for a moment before I answered.
“He’s doing all right—probably be out of the hospital tomorrow,” I paused and weighed my words carefully, “but it could have been a very different story.”
Rowan ran a hand through his thick, dark hair and then leaned heavily on the table. It was obvious that he was quite disturbed, but I still wasn’t sure exactly why.
Finally, he glanced up and said, “I’m sorry for what my brother did to Daniel. It seems that I’ve spent my entire life apologizing for him. He’s a restless spirit, always has been.”
Anger flared inside of me. “Restless? He’s a damn criminal, Rowan. He’s killed people—yes, plural. That woman who was found i
n the bishop’s barn is your brother’s ex-girlfriend.”
Rowan’s eyes widened at the news. He pulled the chair out that he had been leaning against and sat down. “Are you sure?” he asked.
I nodded. “My partner back in Blood Rock has been working on this since I arrived. By process of elimination, he investigated all the reported missing women in a four state region. At the same time that he came up with the name, Kristen Humphrey, a buddy of mine in the Indy police department touched base with my partner. They compared notes, and it turns out that the last time your brother was arrested in the city on drug charges, the girlfriend was brought in too. She was a real smackhead, but she also liked her hash oil. It was difficult for the local coroner to establish the exact method of death, but he was sure that she was dead before the fire. The coroner also stated that there weren’t any definitive signs of blunt force trauma or asphyxiation, which leads me to think that maybe it was an overdose and Asher was trying to hide the body in a burning building.”
“I met the woman one time. She was not right in the head. I suspected that she was on something at the time, but wasn’t sure,” Rowan admitted.
“By all accounts she was pretty much a transient—born in California, but had lived in nine states in the last four years. That’s why she was so difficult to track down. No one really missed her. The only person who even bothered going to the police was an elderly landlady in Indy who became suspicious when Kristen didn’t show up for some kind of weekly card game,” I told him.
Rowan shook his head. “It’s sad isn’t it?” He looked up with bright eyes and added, “What about the other barn burnings…and mine. Why would Asher have set those fires?”
“He didn’t, at least I don’t think he did.” Seeing the confusion on his face, I took the seat beside him and said, “All along, I suspected that you had two arsonists on your hands. The first three fires and your barn were completely different than the Fisher burning. That one was the only one to happen at night and it was the only barn that was right on the road. The location of the bishop’s barn first made me think about a teenage prank, but the body didn’t fit into that theory. The puzzle pieces began to fall into place when I saw Mariah Fisher meet privately with Asher after the church service this morning.”
Rowan’s eyes widened and he blurted out, “Why would she have any dealings with my brother?” The horrified look on Rowan’s face made me feel a little better for some reason.
“I hate to say it, but I think Mariah and some of the other Amish kids have been buying drugs from Asher. He’s a smart dude. He probably figured that if he hid Kristen’s body in the bishop’s barn, Mariah and the others would be more likely to make an effort to cover for him. I’m making presumptions on a lot of this, but one thing is for certain, my own eyes don’t lie. I saw Mariah meet with Asher in the telephone shed at the Mast’s farm today.”
Rowan swallowed and met my gaze with moist eyes. “Our community is festering, rotting from the inside out. God is punishing us for our sins.”
I couldn’t breathe. At the same time that curiosity was blazing inside of me, dread of what Rowan was about to say was even stronger.
“Go on,” I urged in a whisper.
Rowan gazed off into space for a moment and then abruptly turned to me again. His face was open and I took a shallow breath, preparing for whatever the truth was.
“It all started back about twenty years ago, around nineteen ninety-five…”
Even though I was immediately mesmerized by Rowan’s quiet voice, when my phone vibrated in my pocket, I couldn’t help but look at it, immediately worried that it might be from Brody or worse yet, the hospital. I reluctantly held up my hand to stop Rowan. I didn’t know the number on the screen, but it was a local Poplar Springs’ area code. As I gazed at the number for an instant, my heart began banging against my chest.
I swallowed hard and brought the phone to my ear. “Hello…”
“Ms. Adams, this is Brandy—Brandy Warner.”
The girl’s rapid, distressed voice immediately registered and I made eye contact with Rowan. Judging from his worried eyes and slightly gaping jaw, he was as concerned as I was.
“Yes, Brandy, what can I do for you?” I said steadily, not allowing the spastic racing of my own heart to affect my voice.
“I need your help. Nathan and Cody went to stop them, but he’s going to get really mad, and I’m worried about what he’ll do to them if they confront him…”
Brandy’s voice had reached an almost hysterical pitch when I interrupted her, “Whoa, wait a minute. You’re talking too fast. Who are they trying to stop and who is going to get mad?”
The silence lasted only a few seconds while Brandy hesitated, but it was an eternity. “The Amish kids—Mariah, Jory, Jacob and the rest. They were going to meet Asher Schwartz in the woods tonight…to buy some new stuff he has.”
“Do you know where they’re meeting?”
“Yeah, it will be hard to find in the dark, but I can find the place.”
“Are you home right now?” I asked as I stood up and motioned for Rowan to do the same.
“Yeah…”
“Listen up, Brandy. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Get a piece of paper and draw the very best map you can to show me the way to this meeting place.”
“But…”
“No, you’re not coming with me. But your map will get me there and I’ll take care of everything. I promise.”
I hung up and met Rowan’s anxious gaze. “I’m going with you,” he told me.
I nodded slowly, “I’m not going to argue with you on this one. I think I’m going to need your help anyway.”
Rowan quickly scribbled a note to his kids telling them that he had gone with me to talk to someone about the fires. He left it on the kitchen table, tucked up neatly beneath a plate with a slice of wrapped pie that Mareena had probably made earlier in the day.
He picked up his hat and sighed heavily, “I’m ready.”
“You had better be. This isn’t going to be pretty,” I said honestly as I opened the front door and we rushed out into the cold night.
And then the snow began falling again.
24
The snow was coming down in heavy, wet sheets that made the going even tougher. Brandy’s directions had been right on, but now that it had been snowing steadily for nearly half an hour, the barely-there path was all but nonexistent. I could see well enough from the hazy glow of the white all around, but I was afraid that we had lost the trail a while back and were now aimlessly stumbling over roots and downed branches, going in circles.
I pulled my toboggan down lower and trudged after Rowan, acutely aware of his labored breathing as we began to go uphill again. Our huffing and the rhythmic crunching of our boots in the snow were the only sounds in the woods. The winter storm seemed to have draped the entire area in a heavy blanket that silenced the world around us in a very lonely and creepy way.
I instinctively reached into my coat and touched my gun. The action calmed my nerves somewhat. I left my hand pressed against it while I looked around, squinting to see through the quietly dropping, large flakes that relentlessly continued to fall from the sky. Dammit. As if our job wasn’t difficult enough, now we had a mini-blizzard to deal with.
At least the physical exertion was keeping me warm. I was actually sweating under the black coat. My thoughts had been jumbled ever since we had left Rowan’s place. He was about to tell me something very important when Brandy called, but the moment was long gone now. We were both too busy worriedly listening for any sign of a group of teenagers to chat. We certainly didn’t want to accidently stumble right into them or worse yet, have Asher see us before we saw him. As I took quick intakes of cold, wet air, I wondered if Asher would actually harm his own brother. When I’d met him the very first time, the animosity between the brothers was tangible, but how far eithe
r of the men were willing to take it was anyone’s guess.
I inwardly prayed that when the time came, Rowan would support me in anything I had to do. Brody’s earlier suggestion that taking Asher down floated around statically in my mind. It certainly wasn’t an ethical thought, but in reality, it might truly be the only way to get the community back on track. Not only had Asher murdered before, but he had no qualm about selling his wares to kids and using violence to save his own ass. A part of me acknowledged that he had signed his own death warrant, but the other more practical side, still wanted to follow the rules and bring him in alive to face a judge and jury of his peers.
Of course, the ultimate outcome might be out of my hands anyway.
Rowan suddenly stopped and I nearly bumped into his back. I was close enough to his tall form that the wool fibers of this black coat tickled my nose. I took a step back and looked carefully around.
Rowan lifted his hand, bringing his gloved finger to his lips, holding me silent. I tilted my head to listen.
Faintly at first, but gaining volume, I heard the muffled sound of voices. The same as a jolt to the heart, I stopped breathing altogether. In the back of my mind, I had thought that maybe Brandy had led us on a wild goose chase, or perhaps the weather had ultimately foiled the kids’ plans, but now I had the sickly realization that a group of Amish and English kids were out here in the woods with Asher.
Not taking any chances, I brought my gun out and aimed it toward the sky in a holding position. Rowan’s brows raised, but he didn’t say a word. He motioned for me to follow him and together we climbed up a steep ridge. At one point the grade was too much and I had to put the gun away to grab a sideways growing thick sapling to pull myself up behind Rowan. When we finally reached the crest of the hill, I was out of breath and dropped into the welcoming snow. I crawled to the edge to take a look around.
Whispers from the Dead (Serenity's Plain Secrets Book 2) Page 18
