by Dana R. Lynn
A door opened at the other end of the hall. Abram patted Katie’s shoulder and stepped out. His onkel smiled a greeting and started to move past. Abram put out a hand to halt him.
“One moment, Onkel Dean.” He hesitated. He didn’t know what had happened with Katie and Gary. The less he said about that until he knew more, the better. “That guy who does the deliveries? I don’t like the way he’s flirting with Adele. He gives me a bad feeling.”
In his periphery, Katie cringed.
Onkel Dean’s mouth firmed. “Ja. I’ve seen him flirt with her before. I’ll watch her. And him.”
Once his onkel was passed, Abram helped Katie to her feet and guided her toward the kitchen. “We’ll sit on the porch and talk, ja?”
She nodded, her face drawn and exhausted. The defiance she’d worn like a cloak had slipped from her shoulders. He missed the spark in her eyes.
The porch was screened in, protecting them from the deluge outside. “The guests like to see the outdoors without dealing with the weather.”
She nodded and sat at the table. “Gary used to make deliveries to my daed’s shop, too.”
He blinked, astonished that she’d volunteered any information so quick. He didn’t want to drag it out. Nor did he want to force her to tell details that would leave her feeling vulnerable. “He hurt you, didn’t he?”
She blanched. He exclaimed and shot to his feet as the little color that had returned to her cheeks bled away. When he touched her cold hands, she snatched them from his grasp and hid them in her apron.
“Katie.” Shock mingled with hurt reverberated through him. She was scared of him. Didn’t she know he’d never hurt her?
It wasn’t him. He knew that. He’d seen the effects of an attack before. His heart darkened. Ja, he’d seen this kind of reaction before. His cousin Marta, though, had recovered, thanks to her faith and the love of her family. They were overjoyed when she’d met her husband and moved on.
“I’ll never hurt you, you know that, ain’t so?”
Her lips pressed together. Not in defiance. A tear streamed from her eyes. No, she was broken.
Suddenly, her eyes flashed and she straightened in her chair. “Enough. I’m a grown woman and a cop. He can’t hurt me.”
“Did you go to the Englisch police?” He lowered himself back down beside her, holding his breath until it was clear she wouldn’t flinch away from him. He didn’t need to hear any more details of what had happened.
“How?” Half turning in her seat, her eyes met his. Her facade of calm was back in place, but now that he knew what to look for, he could easily spot the soul-deep woundedness in her gaze. “My parents wouldn’t let me.”
“I know we don’t usually go to the police, but in this instance—”
“They were ashamed of me. I think they blamed me for letting it happen.”
That knocked the breath out of him. “You? Katie, you were sixteen. How could you be responsible?” Now her reaction when he’d said no one could be held responsible for another’s actions made sense.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. All I know is that the last few months I lived here were impossible. And then they were gone, and I realized there was nothing holding me here.”
“Ja, there was. Or there should have been.”
There had been him.
Her mouth worked like she were trying to chew something really tough. “I would have stayed for you but, Abram, after the way Mamm and Daed reacted, I no longer knew how you’d react.” She averted her gaze. “Nor did I have faith to comfort me.”
Whoa. He hadn’t expected that. Hadn’t known Gary had destroyed that part of her. How did one survive without faith? He needed to step gently. “When my brother Levi was in Afghanistan and lost his arm while saving a friend, he let his faith go for a few years.”
“Levi was a soldier? I knew he’d left, but I never realized...”
“He left the Amish and became Englisch for a few years. He’s back now. He’s a deacon.”
Her eyes flared wide open. “I know that Marshal Delacure said you had a brother who was an elder of some kind. I didn’t connect it with Levi.”
“Well, he found his faith, so maybe you could, too. Gott didn’t abandon Levi when he was going through the darkest time in his life. Nor did He abandon you.” Katie wasn’t convinced; he could see that. If only he could find a way to wedge open her closed-up heart and help her believe again.
She frowned. “Maybe not. But I abandoned Him. I don’t even know if I could go back now.”
“You can always go back.” He cleared his throat and lowered his voice. “I wouldn’t have blamed you. My cousin went through something similar. I saw how devastated she was. She never told anyone who had hurt her until the one responsible was killed in a farming accident.”
She teared up, but didn’t say anything.
He continued, “If you want to go to the police now, I’ll go with you.”
She half snorted, half snickered. “Abram, I am the police.”
Oh. He’d almost forgotten that.
She sighed. “Even if I wanted to, it’s too late. This was ten years ago. If I had evidence that he was still doing things like that...”
Suddenly, she jumped up.
“What?”
“Abram!” She whirled and grabbed his forearms. “Didn’t Lieutenant Greer say that the crime ring might have had ties to human trafficking?”
“Ja, I think he did.”
“I remember hearing Gary on the phone, before the attack, talking about a buyer and a seller. His face was scary mad. What if he hadn’t been talking about his normal supplies? What if he was connected to the human-trafficking league back then and still is?”
Immediately, he understood.
“You think that he’s behind the disappearance of Beth.”
Katie paced the length of the porch and back. “We have no evidence. No proof. But the man is certainly on my suspect list.”
“How does he know the man who tried to kidnap you?”
“Well, if they are both involved in the same ring, that would be enough, right? My guess is they have no clue that I’m a cop. Even if they saw us today, I didn’t help with the search. I was steamed about it then, but in retrospect, it was a good call. No, I think that something happened, and they think that Beth and I were in league together.”
She fascinated him. The way her mind worked. “What do they think you two know, or did? That’s the important thing, ja?”
“Ja.” She shook her head. “I mean, yes.”
He grinned at her slip back into Pennsylvania Dutch. “I think it’s time you called Marshal Delacure again and set up a meeting.”
She turned and smiled at him. The light blazing in her eyes burrowed inside his chest. He wondered if he’d ever truly be free of her now.
“You’re absolutely right,” she told him. “We need to make a plan. One way or another, Gary and this crime ring needs to end.”
SEVEN
Even as excited as she was about this possible new lead, Kate still didn’t want to go back inside. Coming face-to-face with Gary was not on her bucket list. If she’d never heard his voice or seen him again, she wouldn’t have complained.
Except now she had the opportunity to see that he answered for his crimes. Spinning it around in her brain, it seemed likely that he had committed many crimes, not only against her. If he were the leader of the new crime ring, she needed to see him brought to justice.
A sudden urge took her by storm. Pivoting on her heel, she crossed the porch to Abram in three steps, bringing her close enough to feel the warmth of his breath on her face. His eyes widened a bit, but he didn’t back away.
“Abram.” She kept her voice low, unsure how to ask what she wanted. “I want to pray.”
The awe dawning on his face made her shift her gaze
away. Her cheeks warmed. Doubtless, she was the color of a ripe tomato about now.
“Ja, that’s a gut thing to do when you’re in trouble.”
Puffing her cheeks, she blew out a calming breath. “Yeah. The thing is, it’s been so long, I’m not sure how to begin.”
His finger grazed her cheek, leaving a tingling path in its wake. “Katie, would you like me to pray for you?”
She nodded, unable to speak around the emotion clogging her throat.
He bowed his head. Their foreheads touched, but neither backed away.
“Dear Gott, we ask for Your protection and guidance. Show us the right way to go. Keep Katie safe, and help her heal. Let us bring Beth home. Amen.”
She nodded and stepped back, clearing her throat. “Thanks.”
The simple prayer touched her.
“Let’s go.”
Striding back inside the building, she saw that Adele was again by herself at the reception desk. Breathing easier, Kate ran up to her room and dropped her bag off. She pressed her apron, the familiar presence of her weapon steadying her. She had a job to do and people to serve. Pulling out her phone, she called Marshal Delacure.
“I’m at my hotel in town,” Amy Delacure told her. “Why don’t you join me here and we’ll get all our ducks in a row.”
After agreeing, Kate ended the call. Her phone would need to be charged soon. She didn’t have time now, but the moment she returned she’d be sure to plug it in. Slipping it back into the pocket hidden in her apron, she checked her appearance in the mirror. Something plinked against the windowpane. Walking over, she looked out and groaned. Mixed in with the rain were bits of ice. Hail. Sighing, she grabbed her bag and tugged out the light cloak and then exited her room. Closing her door, she returned downstairs to join Abram.
“She said to meet her at her hotel,” she told him. He merely nodded and held the front door open for her. Always the gentleman, she smiled at him.
“What?”
“Nothing.” She ducked her head and quickened her step, remonstrating her foolish heart for getting soft where he was concerned. It didn’t matter how kind or brave he was. No matter how far he went to help her, the truth that stood between them would never change. Abram Burkholder was a baptized member of the Amish church, whereas she barely even knew what she believed anymore. One prayer in a desperate moment didn’t change the fact that she spent nearly a decade of her life willfully trying to ignore God or His existence. She wasn’t even sure where one went from there.
A huge drop of ice bouncing off her nose brought her attention back to the moment.
“Yuck.” She wiped her nose. It hadn’t hurt, but the cold wetness on her nose was irritating.
Abram laughed. It nearly stopped her in her tracks. That gorgeous rolling laugh that had always made her want to laugh along, even when she didn’t know what he was laughing at. She hadn’t heard it in so long. The wound in her soul ached.
She’d missed that sound in her life.
“Let’s not stand out here in the open,” Abram murmured. “I know you can look after yourself, Katie, but I don’t care to take any chances.”
Scanning the area for danger, she strode to where the buggy was still parked. She reached out a hand to open the door so she could climb inside the black buggy. That would be the smart thing to do. Instead, she pulled herself up onto the front seat and yanked her cloak closer around her neck and arms. It wasn’t much protection against the rain, but she couldn’t make herself move to the back.
When he sat down next to her, the faint sway of the buggy caused her to lurch to the side. Their arms brushed. She pulled back, but the tingling running up and down her arm was as bad as sticking a bobby pin into an electrical socket. Absently, she rubbed her opposite hand up and down her arm, stopping when she caught Abram peeking out the corner of his eye at her, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. Had he felt it, too?
She clasped her hands together in her lap, trying to pretend that the attraction between them wasn’t a distraction from her duty.
Duty. That’s what she needed to focus on. The sooner they found Beth and locked Gary away, the sooner her life could resume. Funny how unappealing that was.
A vibration against her hip startled her. Reaching under her apron, she fetched her phone and looked at the number.
“It’s Marshal Delacure.” She unlocked the device and accepted the call. “Hey, Marshal. Where’re on our way.”
“Okay, listen, I got called out for a few minutes and am actually not too far from the B&B. Is there somewhere else you want to meet?”
“Let me ask Abram.” She removed the phone from her ear, then screamed as the buggy lurched awkwardly.
A sharp snap came from in front of them.
“What was that?” she yelled at Abram.
His knuckles on the reins were white. “The bridle’s breaking.”
Sure enough, one of the leather straps on the right side of the bridle had broken. She’s never seen that happen before. Abram had always taken excellent care of his tack. He’d never allow it to get worn enough to break naturally.
He tried to rein the horse in. The uneven reins, though, confused the horse. Instead of slowing, the beast trotted at an angle. Kate screamed as he barely managed to steer the horse out of the path of an oncoming pickup truck. The driver honked and yelled rudely out his window.
The buggy lurched again. The cell phone clenched in her fist flew out of her hand and soared through the opening in the front of the buggy; it crashed onto the road, shattering.
Abram sucked in a harsh breath.
Whipping her face to the front, her heart slammed in her chest. They were nearing a curve in the road. The buggy was weaving, picking up speed as the road started to slant down. Looking beyond the curve, she saw the lake sprawling out like a great yawning pit.
“Abram.” Her throat was dry, making it hard to get the word out.
“Ja!” He didn’t remove his gaze from the horse or the road.
“I can’t swim.”
Her fingers ached from gripping the edge of the bench to hold herself steady. Prayers she hadn’t thought herself capable of uttering rose to her mind in a litany of desperate pleas.
Maybe they’d make it. If he could control the horse long enough.
The curve loomed ahead. The horse started to swerve. A hard snap ripped through the air. Untethered, the horse continued on. The buggy, in the grip of inertia and the downward slope of the land, continued sailing forward. They flew over the berm and crashed through the shallow wooden guardrail.
She screamed as the buggy caved in, trapping her legs like a safety bar on a roller coaster. The box flipped and tumbled, hitting the water roof first.
Her scream cut off as the front of the buggy dipped below the water and the bitter cold liquid gushed into her mouth. She struggled to move, but was trapped.
* * *
Abram held his breath and kicked himself free of the wrecked buggy. Turning back, his heart nearly stopped beating in his chest. Katie was so still. Her legs were wedged under the crumpled metal. Reaching in, he took hold of her arms and tugged. Her torso moved in his direction, then stopped. Her apron was caught on a shard of broken buggy. Grabbing it in his hands, he yanked until the white fabric was torn and he could pull her free. It took some maneuvering, but he managed to shift her so her legs slid free.
His lungs burned with the need for oxygen. He had to hold on for a few more seconds. He seized Kate’s too-still form and pulled her out of the car and brought her head above the surface of the cold water.
The lake wasn’t that deep. It was only a few strokes before his feet found purchase on the sand beneath the water. They’d been under less than two minutes, but cars were stopped all along the berm. A siren wailing in the distance alerted him that help was approaching, fast.
It might be
too late.
Staggering to the soggy grass, he placed his burden down and dropped to his knees beside her, heedless of the mud or the gapers surrounding him. He only had room in his mind for Katie.
She wasn’t breathing.
Come on, Katie. Breathe. You can do it.
Nothing. Her lips and skin had a blueish tint, which sent horror coursing through his veins. What had Levi said? Chest compressions. And rescue breaths. He recalled Levi saying rescue breaths weren’t taught anymore due to possible contagion.
He didn’t care.
Plugging her nose with his fingers and tilting her chin, Abram covered her mouth with his and blew. Her chest rose. He blew again, giving her life-saving oxygen.
Swiftly rising, he wiped the wetness from his cheek and blinked, then moved into position and began chest compressions.
Someone landed across from him. Marshal Delacure. He ignored her.
“Breathe, Katie. Breathe. You’re too stubborn to die.”
She gasped and choked, her eyes popping open. Marshal Delacure grabbed her by the hip and shoulder and turned her on her side. Katie sobbed as she expelled the water she’d swallowed.
Abram wilted back on the grass. Bracing his arm on his knee, he covered his face with his hands. He didn’t realize he was crying until Marshal Delacure stood beside him rubbing his shoulder.
“She’ll be fine. The ambulance is pulling in now. You saved her.”
Wiping his eyes clear with his thumb and forefinger, he nodded at her. “Ja. She’ll live. Gott is gut.”
“Yeah. Well, she’s fortunate you were with her when the accident happened.”
“Accident?” His head snapped up. “That was no accident. Bridles don’t snap like that. Especially not bridles less than a month old. Those were cut on purpose.”
“When would they have been cut?” Her gaze bore into his.
