Amish Covert Operation

by Meghan Carver

  TWELVE

  An antiseptic odor tickled Katie’s nose, and she lifted a hand to rub away the irritation. But when a pricking sensation caused her forearm to jerk, she immediately stopped that movement. She slid her eyes open to find a white room and Adam dozing nearby.

  She inhaled deeply, forcing the memories to return. A nurse had stuck an IV into her arm, telling her it would give her antibiotics to fight infection. It sure hurt, though, and she longed to rub it, although she doubted that would help. Limb by limb, she took inventory of what was wrong and what pained her.

  Her left arm was sore from the tetanus shot they had stuck her with yesterday, saying something about it being standard procedure after a wound of that sort. Her leg wasn’t too bad, perhaps because the IV had contained both fluids and some sort of painkiller in addition to the antibiotic. A slight headache was coming on, but that could be because of the uncomfortableness of the bed and pillow, as well as her stress over her current condition.

  Sunlight streamed in the window, and she stared out at the cloudless sky. Had they kept her overnight partly because of the IV but also because it would be safer in the hospital? Whether that was true or not, she hated to put this financial burden on the community. She had no health insurance to pay the bill. The cost would be distributed among the members of her church district, and all would contribute. But that was the way of the Amish. Insurance of any kind was forbidden because it was deemed to be a reliance on man and not on Gott to provide. Neither did she have a husband with a steady income to help pay a bill that was sure to be large. She glanced around the room at the equipment and monitors. None of this was cheap, for sure and for certain.

  Being careful of her tether to the pole that held the IV bag, she stretched, working out the kinks in her back and neck. She did feel somewhat rested. Perhaps she had slept better than the past couple of nights because her protector was right here in the same room.

  Adam. She looked over at him on the cot, twisted in the sheet while he still wore his homespun trousers and blue shirt. He wouldn’t be much help like that, sound asleep, but perhaps he would wake easily if needed. After his years of training and experience, he was probably a light sleeper.

  His hair was mussed from his night of sleep. It was cut so short and so differently from the Amish men she knew. He was certainly different from her husband, who had had blond hair and fair coloring. Adam had a darker tone, with light chestnut hair and brown eyes that seemed to see to the depths of her soul. She continued to stare at him, picturing him with the traditional bowl-style Amish haircut. Ach, it didn’t take long to determine that he would still be handsome. Maybe even more so.

  The door swung open, and a nurse pushed through a rolling cart with a blood-pressure cuff dangling over a hook. Adam woke instantly, sitting up and pulling the sheet away from him. His gaze found her right away, a satisfied smile reaching his eyes when he caught her looking at him. Heat rose up her neck and to her cheeks, and she focused on the nurse, who positioned a cover of some sort on a thermometer and placed it in her ear.

  A gentle clamp went on her fingertip, preventing her from straightening her kapp. She should have just removed it last night to sleep, but she had been so tired that she had been asleep before she could even think about normal bedtime preparations.

  The nurse checked the thermometer and tapped on a computer keyboard on the cart. “Everything checks out, so I think you’ll be going home today, but it’s up to the doctor.”

  “Home would be gut.” Home would be gut, but she couldn’t go there. Where would she go?

  “It’s nice that your husband could stay overnight with you. Do you have children?”

  She had felt flushed already, but now the temperature in the room seemed to rise several degrees. Adam sat behind the nurse, and she looked at him to see him shake his head just enough to seem to signal to her that it wasn’t worth the time and trouble to correct the nurse. She would be discharged soon anyway.

  “Jah, I have twin girls. They are with friends.”

  “Oh, twins. How fun.” She spun to Adam, and Katie smiled to see how quickly he put on a straight face. “Breakfast will be here soon. Would you like a meal so you can eat with your wife?”

  Adam maintained his serious expression as he replied, “Yes, thank you.”

  “Good. I’ll order that, and the doctor will be in when he arrives, but it should be this afternoon, if not sooner.” She returned to Katie. “Let me know if your pain meds wear off.”

  She left quickly, and Katie’s abdomen twisted with anxiety at the prospect of leaving the safety of the hospital. Her attackers were out there, looking for her, and that knowledge made her pulse race. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Maybe for this brief moment, she could heal.

  The breakfast wasn’t bad for hospital food, according to Adam. After the trays were removed, Adam spoke to the sheriff again. It seemed that the forensics team couldn’t lift a single fingerprint or locate even a few fibers from the Hochstetler place. Whoever the attacker was, he hadn’t left a single clue.

  As Katie dozed, still waiting for the doctor to arrive with the discharge orders, the door opened. She groggily opened her eyes, expecting the doctor.

  “Timothy!”

  The tall, light-blond man held a straw hat in his hands and quickly stepped forward to grab one of Katie’s hands and kiss her on the cheek. A frown creased his high forehead. “Sister, are you all right?”

  “Jah, I will be fine. Everything is better now that you are here, safe and in one piece.” Katie’s heart leapt within her chest at seeing her bruder again after more than a month of separation. She nodded to Adam, who had stood and stepped forward. “This is Adam Troyer. He is a special agent and is the reason I am alive.”

  Adam shook Timothy’s hand. “I wouldn’t say that, but I’m glad you’re here. How’d you manage it?”

  “The Amish Taxi is how I got to the hospital. But how I knew that my sister was here is not important.” Timothy turned back to Katie, anguish carved across his countenance. “This is all my fault, and I am afraid that my presence here may make things worse. But I could not be a part of that group of criminals any longer. I saw a chance, and I took it.”

  “Nein, mein bruder. All is within Gott’s will. I do not understand it, but I accept it.”

  “It was not mein will.” Timothy turned his straw hat in his hands, nearly crushing it as he spun it round and round, anxiety radiating from him. “It was forced upon me. I had no choice. They threatened you and the twins if I did not do as they said. Are my nieces all right? Where are Ruth and Rebekah?”

  “They are fine and in good care. They are hidden away with some friends.”

  “Who is in this group of criminals?”

  “There are too many people involved, and I have only met those I am forced to deal with. I do not know everybody’s names.”

  Adam leaned in, intense concentration creasing his forehead. “Who is your handler? The man who tells you what to do?”

  “I know him as Vic Barthold, but I do not think he is the one in charge. He is what you Englischers call a middleman. I am afraid that if he is caught, Katie may still be in danger because there are men above Vic. I do not think that anyone knows Vic’s real name or true identity.”

  Adam looked at the ceiling, deep in thought for a moment as if he were running the name of Vic Barthold through his mental grid. “I can’t place the name, but I’ll check with my supervisor.”

  Katie shifted on the bed. “What about the man you hired a couple of months ago? The one who dressed in Amish clothing but did not look or act Amish? Who is he?”

  “I do not know his real name. Vic, the man who seemed to be in charge of me, the one who forced me into this smuggling in the first place, sent him to me and said he would be there to watch over me and make sure I did as they wanted. He would even ride with me to deliver the furniture
. Vic called him Little Joe. The story Vic told me is that his father is Big Joe, in one of the Amish districts in Holmes County, Ohio, but clearly no one in Indiana knows him. He tried to disguise himself as Amish so that he would be less noticeable.”

  Adam crossed his arms over his chest and sat on the edge of the bed. “What exactly did they tell you to do?”

  Katie struggled hard to maintain the sense of peace she had had earlier that morning. This was the question she had longed to ask her bruder for many weeks. And now he was here, about to tell all he knew. Was she ready and prepared to know the truth?

  Whether Katie was ready or not, Timothy plunged forward, apparently eager to get it all off his chest and into the hands of a law enforcement officer, who might be able to do something about it. “I make furniture that then is sold to Englischers in stores all around the Midwest. Vic—my handler—stopped me on a routine trip to deliver some finished product to the buyer. He said he had a business proposition for me, and when I refused, he held a gun to me. He already knew about you, Katie, and the girls. He said he would harm you if I did not do as he said. There was nothing else I could do but go along. Now I know too much, and that got you involved.”

  Katie felt as if her heart would slam out of her chest. The love her bruder had for her was overwhelming. He hadn’t been doing any of this for himself or because of a pull away from the Amish community. It had all been for her and her daughters.

  Timothy drew a deep breath and continued. “I was supposed to begin using a new supplier. There, along with my order of materials, I picked up packages of social security cards and birth certificates. Identity documents I assume were falsified. Then I would hide the papers in panels of the furniture I made. Ach, I knew what I was doing was criminal, but I did not know how to make it stop.”

  “What happened to the furniture after you were done?”

  “It was delivered to the different furniture stores across the area. The orders that contained the false documents had fabricated customer names, and then, I assume, men involved in this criminal ring picked up the furniture at that end point, with the documents stashed inside.”

  Adam stood and walked to the window to look out and then returned to perch on the bed. “That answers a lot of questions that ICE couldn’t figure out. We had suspicions of a criminal counterfeiting ring in Northern Indiana, but we couldn’t figure out where those documents went. Bringing in the Amish on their part was a smart strategy. Who’s going to suspect an Amish man in a buggy to be involved in criminal activities?”

  “Jah, exactly.” Timothy sat heavily in the chair, his forearms resting on his knees and his head hanging. “And now they have found out that Katie knows something, since she went to my workshop and found that social security card. That means that my cooperation with them will not protect her any longer.”

  Katie sat forward, her hands flying to her throat. “But I do not know anything. I did not know what that card was for or why it was there. I only wanted to talk to you.”

  “I know that, but they do not, especially now that you have a law enforcement officer protecting you.” He nodded toward Adam. “It looks suspicious to them.” He paused. “And you do know something. Did you figure out my note?”

  Adam groaned, probably remembering the visit with the bishop.

  “Jah, but it was not easy to find the right copy of the Ausbund.”

  “So now I am in need of protection, as well.” Timothy looked at Adam. “Can we work together to make this all stop?”

  Katie bit her lip to try to keep the tears from flowing. Tears of joy that her bruder was back, but also tears of sorrow that more danger seemed to lie ahead.

  * * *

  Adam sat up straighter, his mind tingling as he connected the dots. Months of legwork had not yielded the results he was getting with a single conversation with Timothy. Hope surged that this case could finally be closed.

  An odd sense of eagerness settled over him as he rubbed the back of his neck. This case felt different. More final. He glanced back at Katie as she straightened the sheet. Did it have anything to do with her? He just wasn’t as eager as he usually was to move on to the next case.

  He forced himself to focus on Timothy, the man with almost all of the answers. “What does your handler know about the law enforcement that’s after him? Has he mentioned any names or agencies or departments?” It was always wise to know what one’s opponent knew.

  “I do not know how much he knows. He has always been quite careful around me to say only what I need to know to do what he wants me to do. There has been no mention of law enforcement.” Timothy crumpled the hat that he still held in both hands. “Ach, I am sorry that I cannot be more helpful.”

  “You’re right. That’s not very helpful. And we still don’t know exactly who is after Katie.” Adam scrubbed a hand over his chin. “But it’s not your fault. Not at all. These guys are good, and they’re careful. I’m sure this Vic Barthold has a dozen different identities at his disposal.”

  “What more can I do?”

  “As soon as Katie’s discharged, let’s get back to the sheriff’s office. I’d like you to tell him what you’ve told me. He knows the area and the people better than I do, and he’s been quite helpful to me. Also, a team of ICE agents are going to rendezvous there, so we can formulate a strategy for tonight. Sound good?”

  “I will do whatever I can to be helpful.” Timothy grinned at Katie, and she nodded in agreement.

  A couple of hours later, after a late lunch, the doctor finally arrived to tell Katie that she could go home. She said danki and then just shrugged at Adam. She had no home to return to, but Adam determined not to worry about that until after his meeting with his ICE team. She stepped into the restroom with her clothes and a comb the nurse had loaned her and emerged several minutes later, looking refreshed and put-together. Her sage-green dress accentuated the flashing blue of her eyes, and it looked as if she had combed her hair, straightening the part in the middle and smoothing it back into a bun underneath her prayer kapp.

  Despite what he had heard about the difficulty of sleeping in a hospital, Adam felt well-rested and even energetic after a full night of sleep and both breakfast and lunch. A renewed hope that the conclusion of the case was near filled him as he led Katie and her brother to the elevator and pushed the down button.

  The ride down was quiet, but at the door, Timothy pulled Adam back. “He’s here!” His voice was a hoarse and panicked whisper.

  His adrenaline spiking instantly, Adam thrust his arms out to hold Katie back from going through the automatic sliding door. All three stepped back in unison, and Adam tilted his head toward a nearby hallway to indicate they should congregate there, away from the windows. “Who’s here?”

  “Vic. My handler. He is in the driver’s seat of that white cargo van.” Timothy and Adam peeked around the corner of the hallway. “The unmarked van just pulling away.”

  “This isn’t good.” Adam scraped a hand across his jaw. “They know we’re here. The trick will be getting out of the hospital and to the sheriff’s office without being seen.” He looked at Katie and her brother. “Either of you know a back way out?”

  Katie shook her head. “Nein. I try to spend as little time as possible at the hospital.”

  “Okay, we’ll figure something out.” He grabbed Katie’s hand and, with Timothy following, led her down the hallway and around a corner. He peered carefully out every single window they passed, careful not to get so close as to be seen from the outside, but the van was nowhere to be found. The hallway continued to wind around, and with a couple of turns, Adam found an exit door near the back of the building.

  A thorough check through the window of the door revealed no threats outside, so Adam pushed the door open and cautiously stepped halfway out to survey further. A narrow street wound past, and he scanned both ways to see if the white cargo van had found the
m. The alley was vacant, but through a passageway between two other hospital buildings, he could see what looked like a farmer’s market.

  He quickly turned back to Katie. “What’s going on over there?”

  Her eyes widened with realization. “Jah, of course. It is the Saturday farmer’s market held every weekend in the summer.”

  “As large as a craft festival, since many come to sell more than just produce. It is in the parking lot of the outdoor shopping mall.” Timothy nodded. “A gut hiding place.”

  Still holding Katie’s hand, Adam led them across the alley and through the passage to the farmer’s market. Tents and awnings and canopies stood sentinel over tables of produce and craft goods, arranged in a way to provide walkways for customers. A few of the vendors had pulled pickup trucks into the fray, to sell sweet corn or melons out of the truck bed, but there was no way to drive a vehicle, let alone a large cargo van, through the market. Adam felt fairly safe that Vic wouldn’t come gunning for them with his vehicle as long as they were within the confines of the farmer’s market.

  “Let’s stay close to the vendors and away from the open middle.” Adam reluctantly dropped Katie’s hand. A glance back confirmed that Katie and Timothy had fallen in behind him in single-file formation, with Timothy protecting Katie from the rear. “And let’s wind our way back to my SUV so we can get to the sheriff’s office.”

  As he tried to match the walking speed of the other customers, Adam kept his eye on the perimeter of the market, the closest place Vic could drive. Just when they passed a wagon full of early corn, Adam spied between the booths the white cargo van cruising slowly, the driver hanging his arm out of the window and craning his neck to peer between the booths and vehicles.

  “He’s here.” Adam kept his voice low.

  Timothy immediately stepped backward, and Katie and Adam followed, ducking behind the wagon and the tractor that had pulled it. The sweet-and-sticky smell of the ripe corn tickled his nose, and he stifled a sneeze. In between the slats of wood that formed the sides of the wagon, Adam spied the cargo van moving forward. Figuring there was no better way to stay hidden than to keep his opponent in his own crosshairs, he motioned to Katie and Timothy to follow.