by Debby Giusti
“We’ve got two injured,” Lucas quickly informed them. “The most serious victim is in the pasture.” He pointed the ambulance toward where Seth stood waving his arms.
As the EMTs cared for Simon, Lucas told Deputy Gainz what had happened. “I’m not sure who attacked one of the twins, but the same guy we saw last night, wearing a blue flannel shirt, knocked out Hannah and was carting her off. If I hadn’t come running, no telling what would have happened.”
The deputy glanced at the car. “How’s she doing?”
“Upset and maybe suffering from a bit of shock. You need to talk to her?”
“I’ll have to get a statement.”
While the deputy questioned Hannah, Lucas hurried to where the EMTs were loading Simon into the ambulance. “We’re taking him to the hospital in Petersville,” the head EMT told Lucas.
“How’s his condition?”
“He’s lost quite a bit of blood. I suspect the doc will order a transfusion, maybe two or three units. The lab work will tell more than our rapid screens here on-site.”
“I’ll meet you at the hospital,” Seth assured the lead EMT. He hurried to his buggy and followed the ambulance out of the gate.
“The other deputy and I will stay and search the grounds,” Gainz said to Lucas after he had questioned Hannah. “Watch yourselves getting back to the inn.”
Lucas didn’t need to be told. “If anything turns up, call the Amish Inn. Fannie will pass the message on to me.”
“I wish we had more information on this guy. Ms. Miller is kind of fuzzy about what she saw, but from what you said about his clothing, my guess is the same guy is coming after her. She says she’s got nothing that he wants, but he’s got to want something.”
“I think he wants her. If he was supposed to deliver Miriam to whomever the powers may be orchestrating all this corruption, he may need another woman to take Miriam’s place.”
The deputy rubbed his jaw. “Sounds like you know something about what’s going down.”
Lucas shrugged, not wanting to go into too much detail with the deputy. “I lived in Savannah for a bit. It’s a port city. There was a trafficking ring in the area, but no one could determine who was involved. Except women disappeared. Girls from the street, mainly. Some younger girls, runaways. They were never heard from again.”
Gainz stared at him with a questioning scowl.
“I read it in the local papers,” Lucas offered as an explanation.
“Yeah?” The deputy raised his brow.
“That’s right. I doubt this small mountain operation has anything to do with the Savannah group, but you never know. They use the port to get the women out of the country, maybe to the islands. The rumor was that one of the high rollers in Savannah involved in shipping had his own island in the Caribbean. There was speculation.”
“That the women were being transported there?”
Lucas nodded. “You ever hear of a guy named Eugene Vipera?”
The deputy shook his head. “He’s not from around here?”
“No, but I did a little research when I lived in Savannah and uncovered a trail that led to the lodge. I’m not sure if he’s in a partnership or owns it outright.”
“The lodge falls under Petersville police jurisdiction, so we never go up there. From what I’ve heard, it’s five-star and top of the line. You have to have money and be well connected to stay there.”
“Anyone from town work there?”
“No one I know. You could talk to the chief of police in Petersville, but you’d need to set up an appointment first. The guy’s less than helpful. There was talk that a few of his officers might be taking money under the table, but nothing’s been proven.”
Gainz narrowed his gaze. “All it takes is one bad apple, if you know what I mean.”
Lucas did know. Greed could corrupt the best of men.
Olivia? Lucas pursed his lips. Olivia hadn’t taken the money as their chief had suspected. She’d been a dedicated officer of the law who had gotten too emotionally involved in the investigation, and she’d been set up.
Lucas glanced at Hannah sitting in the passenger seat of the car. Her face was pensive and drawn. She deserved better than what had happened to her.
He slapped the deputy’s shoulder. “You let me know if you find out anything. I’ll take Ms. Miller back to the inn.”
“The attacker knows where to find her, Lucas.”
Gainz was right. If Lucas took her back to the inn, he was handing her over to the man in flannel.
But where else could she go?
* * *
Tensions were high as Hannah and Lucas left the Zook farm. She glanced back at the house where Miriam had lived. Her heart ached for Simon and his brother, Seth. The man in flannel was searching for Miriam, just as Hannah was. The Amish lad must have seen him and questioned why he was snooping around the farm.
Or had the attacker followed Hannah there? Had she been the reason Simon was in an ambulance heading to the hospital, his life hanging in the balance?
“You’re not to blame for anything,” Lucas assured her as if he could read her thoughts.
“Miriam and I parted on such bad terms,” Hannah admitted. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have come here today.”
“Yet if not for your cell phone, Simon wouldn’t have gotten the emergency medical care he needed.”
“Maybe.” Although Hannah wasn’t convinced. Lucas thought more of her than she deserved. If he knew how she and her mother had parted, he would be less understanding and probably not as willing to help her.
She glanced at him, sitting straight in the driver’s seat, hands gripping the steering wheel. His eyes scanned the road ahead as well as the forested area that skirted the narrow roadway.
“You’re worried.” She said it as a statement rather than a question. The pensive furrow of his brow was evidence enough of his concern. “Do you think he’s still hanging around?”
“The guy in flannel?” Lucas glanced at her for a long moment before he turned his gaze back to the road. “I’m not sure where he is or why he keeps coming after you. I’m wondering if it has more to do with you rather than just wanting to know your sister’s whereabouts.”
“Maybe if he couldn’t have Miriam, he wants me.”
“You mean as a trophy of sorts?”
She nodded. “For whatever reason.”
“The deputy wonders if you’d be safer returning to Macon.”
A heaviness settled over her shoulders as she thought back to the one-room rental where she had been holed up for six weeks. “Do you think that’s what I should do?”
“No.” His voice was firm. “I don’t want you driving along the highway alone. The stalker’s determined. I can see him following you south. You’d have to stop for gas or to stretch your legs. You’d be vulnerable. No telling what might happen.”
She glanced out the window at the fading daylight. “I...I don’t want to leave, Lucas.”
“Then it’s settled. You’ll stay here.”
“But he knows I’m a guest at the inn.”
Lucas nodded. “That’s the problem.”
His shoulders tensed. Hannah felt the change more than she saw the shift. His eyes focused on the rearview mirror.
She glanced over her shoulder. Her heart lurched and a chill swept over her. “When did that car start following us?”
“It turned onto the roadway at the last intersection. The driver’s probably headed back to town.”
“We didn’t pass anyone on our way here.”
Lucas gripped the wheel even more tightly.
“Tell me the truth, Lucas. You’re hiding something from me.”
He shook his head and glanced again at the rearview mirror. “I’m not hiding anything. Let’
s see what happens when we speed up.”
Lucas pushed down on the gas and the Nissan accelerated. Hannah’s pulse thumped, seeing the vehicle behind them speed up, as well.
“There’s a turn ahead.” Lucas’s voice was tense. “We’ll take the roadway to the left that leads away from Willkommen and over the mountain to the inn. It’s not a well-known route. I’m sure the car behind us will continue along the main road to town.”
Fear raced down Hannah’s spine. In spite of Lucas’s calming voice, she recognized the very real danger that could be following them.
The sun was setting over the horizon as they made the turn. The two-lane road was narrow and not well maintained. The front right tire hit a hole, causing the car to shimmy. She gasped and reached for the dashboard to steady herself.
“Sorry. Your car’s not made for bumpy back roads.”
Hannah glanced over her shoulder, hoping the car behind them would bear right. Instead it had followed them to the left and accelerated.
“He’s behind us, Lucas. It’s got to be that same guy.”
“We’ll be okay.”
“We’ll be okay if we can escape him. His SUV is larger and faster.”
“The Lord will provide.”
That was what Hannah had believed when she’d attended church in Atlanta. She’d met Brian and thought they had a future together. She hadn’t known he was a thief.
Which was what her mother had called her.
Tears sprang to her eyes. She couldn’t escape, not from the man in flannel who kept coming after her, not from the memory of her mother’s hateful words, not from the mistakes she had made when it came to her heart.
“Night’s falling,” Lucas said. He glanced at her. “I doubt he knows the roadway.”
The Nissan’s engine chugged. She grabbed his arm. “What’s that noise?”
“The engine’s knocking. It doesn’t like going this fast over a bumpy road.”
“He’s gaining.” Hannah watched the car draw even closer.
The driver turned on his bright lights. The reflection flashed in Lucas’s eyes, blinding him momentarily. He growled and adjusted the rearview mirror.
“There’s no getting away from him.” Fear ate through her gut. She clutched the console with one hand and the dashboard with the other, trying to steady herself as the car bounced even more over the pitted roadway.
A large hole appeared in the pavement ahead.
“Hold on,” Lucas warned as he maneuvered the Nissan around the broken asphalt.
“We can’t keep accelerating,” she cried.
The last of daylight faded. Only the headlights were visible in the dark night.
“A small dirt road veers to the right around the next curve. We’ll pull off there.”
“He’ll follow us, Lucas. We’ll be sitting ducks.”
The road ahead went dark as they rounded the bend.
Fear gripped her anew. “What happened?”
He didn’t reply. Instead he made a sharp turn to the right. Tree branches scraped against the Nissan as it bounced along the narrow passageway.
Hannah raised her hand to her mouth to muffle her scream. The guy was right behind them, but all she could see was the darkness that swallowed them whole.
Lucas braked to a stop and grabbed her hand. “I cut the lights so he wouldn’t see us. Pray, Hannah.”
“Help us, God,” she groaned, holding back her tears.
She closed her eyes, expecting the SUV to come up behind them. In her mind’s eye, she could see the guy in flannel pulling both of them from the car. Strong as Lucas was, he wouldn’t be able to save them.
* * *
Lucas chastised himself. Foolish of him to be traveling on a back road at nightfall in Hannah’s old car. Why hadn’t he realized the guy would follow them?
At that instant he saw the headlights of the SUV round the bend.
His heart stopped for one long moment, knowing if the guy turned onto the dirt path there would be no way they could escape.
Lucas had made a tragic mistake with Olivia. Had he made another mistake with Hannah, as well? One that would cost Hannah her life?
He squeezed her hand. Her slender fingers wrapped through his and held on tight, as if she needed him.
Olivia had needed him and she had died because of his inability to answer her call for help.
Lord, please.
The SUV passed the turnoff and continued on.
Lucas let out the breath he was holding. “It worked. He didn’t see us.”
Hannah gasped with relief then started to cry. “I...I was so frightened.”
He pulled her into his arms. “I never wanted to frighten you, but it was the only way to get rid of him.”
She nodded and sniffed. “It’s okay. We made it. But what if he comes back?”
“We’ll return the way we came and work our way through Willkommen to the inn. I need to use your phone to call Deputy Gainz and tell him we were followed. The cops are looking for a black Tahoe. Maybe they’ll be able to apprehend him on that back road.”
“And if they don’t?” she asked.
“Then we’ll find another way to keep you safe.”
EIGHT
The night was black as pitch by the time Hannah and Lucas returned to the Amish Inn. Last night she had felt a sense of relief to find lodging and a place of reprieve after eluding the attacker. This morning, the hearty breakfast in the bright and welcoming dining room had wiped away the fear she had experienced the night before and made it seem almost like a dream. Then the vile man had struck again and again and again.
She glanced over her shoulder to ensure he wasn’t following them now.
“He’s not behind us, Hannah,” Lucas assured her.
She turned back to stare at the inn, seeing the room where she had stayed. He had known she was there. He would know she was staying there again tonight.
“I...I can’t, Lucas.”
“What?”
“I can’t stay here. He knows where to find me. Someone who works at the inn provided information about my whereabouts this morning. They could do so again.”
Lucas pulled in a stiff breath. “It’s late, Hannah. You won’t find a motel for miles if you head south on the highway. You’d be vulnerable there, too.”
“What if I just keep driving?”
“Back to Macon?”
To a one-room apartment furnished to a minimum with only a single bed, small dresser, table and two straight-back chairs. When she’d first rented the apartment, she’d been grateful for someplace to hole up, someplace cheap while she tried to elude Brian and find a way to survive. She was no longer worried about Brian but rather a new, more deadly threat.
“I’m not going back to Macon.”
Lucas glanced her way. “Is there someplace safe you could stay? Maybe with a relative?”
She shook her head. “I’ve got no one except my sisters.” Sisters who had disappeared.
He pulled into the entrance of the property but skirted the road to the front of the inn and, instead, drove along a narrow path that led away from the main lodging.
Two Amish homes, nestled on the side of a slight incline, came into view. She had hardly noticed them before due to a stand of tall pines that partially obscured the houses from view.
“Fannie lives here?” she asked.
“In the main house. She gave me lodging in the grossdaadi house.”
“Gross what?”
He laughed. The sound filled the car and helped to ease the tension in her neck. “Grossdaadi means ‘grandfather’ in Pennsylvania Dutch. The Amish often build a house for their parents once they get older. The son and his wife help care for the aging folks, who are the grandparen
ts to their children. Thus, their home is called the grossdaadi house.”
“But Fannie doesn’t have children.”
“That’s right. She bought the property after her husband died. The inn itself belonged to an Englischer and his wife. An Amish family lived on the adjoining farm with the two houses. After Fannie’s husband died, she sold the property they had owned together and bought both parcels of land, the inn and the Amish farm.”
“And made a success of the inn.”
“The farm would have been difficult for a widow to maintain by herself, but the inn was a better fit. She had worked in the kitchen for a number of years and then moved into the other aspects of B and B management after her husband died. When the previous owners decided to sell the place, Fannie knew the opportunity was too good to pass up.”
Hannah smiled at Lucas. “Evidently she also had a good eye in picking honest folks to work for her.”
He braked to a stop in front of the larger of the two houses and turned off the engine. “I came here with a hard heart and a lot of anger. Fannie put me to work, knowing that physical labor would help diffuse some of my frustration. I had a bum leg and felt a bit useless.”
He chuckled, as if remembering how needy he had been. “Fannie refused to coddle me. In fact, she was just the opposite. If I wanted room and board, I needed to do the tough jobs even if I was still recuperating from my leg wound.”
Hannah didn’t question him about his injury. Lucas was opening up and baring his soul. She wouldn’t do anything to stop him from sharing a bit about his past.
“She was right,” Lucas continued. “Work was what I needed.” He patted his thigh. “My leg healed. My anger dissipated with time. Fannie’s tough love helped me through it all.”
“Which is why you’ve considered joining the Amish community.”
He nodded. “They embrace peace. They’re quick to forgive and don’t harbor grudges. They rely on God—or Gott, as they say—and they believe in hard work. Plus, they shun worldly ways.”
He reached for the door handle before adding, “I’ve seen a lot of corruption and hardship and filth in my time. I started to believe the whole world was dark and evil. The Amish folks made me see how good people can be. That changed my life.” He glanced at her. “Maybe the Amish faith could change your life, as well.”
