Deadly Amish Reunion

by Dana R. Lynn

  Needing something to occupy herself, Jennie grabbed the mop from the closet to clean up the mess from the spilled milk. Her hands shook as she turned on the faucet. A rock sat in the pit of her stomach, unsettling the bagel she’d indulged in earlier while running errands.

  Images from the past kept intruding. Steve’s face, dark with anger above her. His fist coming down fast. Luke telling her he loved her, that he’d never leave her.

  But he had left her, although not by choice.

  She dashed her fist across her eyes, swiping away the wetness.

  She was so done crying. He had sworn he’d never leave, and then he was gone. Three others had been killed in the explosion, and their wives had been able to bury them.

  She’d buried an empty casket.

  And her heart.

  Well, not completely.

  Jennie finished cleaning the floor and put the mop away, touching a picture on the wall as she passed. Luke Junior, or LJ, had curly blond hair, blue eyes and a smile that could melt stone. The one thing that remained of the love she’d shared with Luke. The reason she was able to get up each morning and smile.

  “Oh, no!” Shock rooted her feet to the floor. What if Steve went after him? What if he targeted her son to get his revenge? LJ was only four. He’d been taught not to talk to strangers, but he was still only a small child. No match for a man like Steve.

  It was a good thing she’d taken the day off for a dental appointment. Jennie worked as a computer technician Monday through Thursday, but her dentist was closed on Fridays. If she’d been at work, she probably would have missed the alert about Steve.

  She grabbed her keys and hurried to the door, brushing against the Christmas tree. A handful of ornaments tumbled to the tree skirt. She ignored them as she ran to the small shoe mat near the door and shoved her feet into her booties. She didn’t even take the time to lock the door. LJ’s preschool didn’t end for another hour, but she couldn’t wait. She needed to hold her baby in her arms now, to see for herself that he was well. Safe.

  She dashed down the steps at top speed, nearly colliding with another tenant. She didn’t know his name, only that he worked nights and she rarely saw him. He wobbled on the stairs.

  “Sorry!” she yelled, continuing her mad dash to get her son.

  Once outside, she had to slow down, although she didn’t want to. The landlord hadn’t spread salt on the icy walk yet. The path between the apartment building and the parking lot was slick enough to sled on. Meadville and the surrounding area was part of the northwestern PA snowbelt, so they got pelted frequently with snow and ice. After what felt like forever, she made it to her car and buckled herself in.

  The temptation to pray for safety for herself and her son hit her in a wave so hard, she rocked in her seat. She shrugged it off. God wouldn’t help her. Where was He all those hard years? If He had loved her, shouldn’t He have protected her? She couldn’t get beyond her bitterness.

  At least she had LJ. She’d also found her brother, Aiden, again. He’d located her four and a half years ago. If only Aiden were home, she and LJ would go and stay with him. But he wasn’t. He and Sophie had taken a trip to France for the holidays with their three-year-old daughter, Rose, and Celine. They’d invited Jennie and her son, but Jennie had declined. She’d never been on a plane before and wasn’t comfortable with her first flight being across the ocean. She was now regretting that decision. Had she gone with them, Aiden would have been with her when she heard of Steve’s escape. He would have known what to do.

  She couldn’t lose focus. The preschool was ten minutes away normally, but the icy conditions doubled her time. What if she was too late? If she lost LJ, she’d never survive it.

  Shifting her car into Park with enough force that the engine shuttered, she turned off the ignition and threw the door open. She hurried past a man dressed like Santa. Her eyes briefly met his as he waved at those passing and called out Christmas greetings. She averted her eyes, tensing. Ridiculous to be scared of a man trying to drum up business for his store. Still, something about him unnerved her. She nearly ran up the walk to the front door. The receptionist buzzed her in. She signed in then strode down to LJ’s room.

  “Mama!” LJ’s face split into a wide grin as he spotted his mother when she entered his classroom.

  She wanted to wilt against the wall. He was safe. No one had hurt him. Had she overreacted? No. She couldn’t take a chance.

  LJ’s teacher, Miss Prince, sat at a large kidney-shaped table, reading with a student.

  “I’ll be right back, Zoe.” She stood and walked over to Jennie. “Hi, Jennie. I didn’t know you were coming now.”

  “I’m taking LJ home early.” Jennie rubbed a shaking hand through her boy’s curls. “Get your backpack, buddy. We’re leaving.”

  “Goody!” He hugged her. “Are we going home, Mama?”

  Jennie didn’t answer. It didn’t matter. He was already gone, to get his belongings, chattering to his friends that he was leaving early.

  “Will you be back tomorrow?” Miss Prince smiled at him as he stopped again next to Jennie. “It’s the last day before we’re off.”

  Jennie startled. “Oh. I forgot. Next week is Christmas break.”

  “That’s right.” Miss Prince nodded. “With Christmas on Thursday, the schools around here are closed all next week. He’ll have school off until January 2.”

  Fourteen days before she’d need to decide what to do. The relief washed over her. She didn’t need to worry about making up an excuse as to why LJ wouldn’t be back. Because there was no way she was sending him to school until the danger was past.

  What if it never was? Would she ever be free of the past?

  Once in the parking lot, she glanced around, searching for anything suspicious.

  “Look, Mama! Santa!”

  Turning her head, she saw the man she’d passed earlier climbing onto a motorcycle. He looked ridiculous. Without a glance her way, he rumbled down the street and around the corner. She felt silly, letting him bother her. Regardless, she stumbled to the driver’s door in her haste to get out of the parking lot.

  At home, she looked all the way around her car before turning it off. Not seeing anything, she quickly exited the vehicle and then moved around to the back to get her son. She kept a tight hold on his hand as they entered the building.

  Her phone rang. She grimaced. It was Randi again. She placed the earbuds in her ears as they arrived at the apartment.

  She forgot about answering the call when she twisted the knob and remembered with dismay that she had left the door unlocked in her haste. Unease rocked in her belly.

  She opened the door with caution and peeked in before entering.

  Nothing was out of place. The apartment looked just as she’d left it when she’d rushed out. Moving inside, she heard glass breaking under her foot as she stepped on an ornament.

  Alarm shivered up her spine. The ornaments had landed on the tree skirt, not on her carpet. With a shriek, she spun full circle, coming face-to-face with Santa Claus. It was the man she’d seen on the street.

  He was too large to be Steve.

  He launched himself at her, grabbing the earbud cord hooked to her phone. He quickly wrapped it around her throat and pulled. She couldn’t breathe!

  LJ screamed and launched himself at the man. The stranger shoved him away with a casual swipe before focusing again on Jennie.

  She was going to die. What would happen to her son?

  A moment later the cord around her neck went limp and the Santa was pulled away by two Amish men rushing through the open door. The Santa bounced off the wall with a vicious yell, his white beard lying on the floor of the apartment. She’d never seen him before in her life. Her eyes rose to meet his briefly. A shiver ran through her at his cold glare. He tore his gaze away before turning and bolting from the apartment.
His heavy footsteps thundered down the stairs.

  She was too shocked to care. Her world shrank down to the man standing in front of her, staring at her with confused eyes. Eyes she saw every day when she looked at their son.

  Luke, the man she’d mourned for nearly five years, was standing in front of her, looking at her like she was a complete stranger.

  TWO

  “Luke.” She was dazed, confused.

  It was Luke, wasn’t it? His face was altered. A long, jagged scar ran the length of his right cheek. His left profile, though, was the same as she remembered. His hair was longer than he’d worn it while they were married. It was still blond and curly but was in the typical bowl-cut style she’d seen on the Amish men in the surrounding area.

  A chill swept through her. What had happened to him? How was it that the man she’d loved and mourned was standing before her dressed like an Amish man? He’d left that life behind when they got married.

  “Mama, Mama.” LJ ran to her side, clinging to her legs. Her sweet baby. She squatted down to peer into his eyes. He seemed uninjured. Terrified, but other than that, unharmed. She stood and lifted him in her arms, settling his weight against her hip. LJ rested his head on her shoulder. She dropped a kiss on his curls.

  When she glanced up, she saw that both men were watching her. Luke’s eyes were still puzzled. Disappointment sizzled through her at the lack of tenderness he displayed. Had he used the accident to return to his community? They had never even discussed the possibility of her becoming Amish. She’d thought he was happy with their life.

  Raymond’s gaze, however, was much more concerned. Actually, as he focused his attention on her son, dread was dawning in his gaze.

  He doesn’t know, she realized. Raymond had no idea that she and Luke had been a couple. Was her husband ashamed of her?

  She opened her mouth to say something. Then closed it. She didn’t even know where to begin.

  “I think we need to decide what to do about the man who attacked you before we get sidetracked by anything else.” Raymond laid a hand on Luke’s shoulder all the while staring at Jennie and LJ. His voice interrupted her musings. She put her questions aside for the moment. He was right.

  Luke rubbed his chin, his eyes never leaving her face. He still looked perplexed. “I saw a news report this morning. A man named Steve Curtis escaped from prison. I don’t know why, but I thought you might be in danger.”

  Luke’s voice was the same one she remembered, softly spoken and deep, with just the barest edge of gravel in it. Textured—that was the word that came to mind when she thought of his voice. His words struck her as odd. “You don’t know?”

  He’d rescued her from Steve once before. That was how they had met. After that, she’d worked with Luke for several years on various housing projects. They’d been inseparable, and she had shared everything about her past with him. Surely, he had to know that the man was a menace.

  Luke opened his mouth. “How do—”

  “Later.” Raymond narrowed his gaze at his brother. Jennie itched to ask Luke what he was about to say. “He got away. Now what?”

  She shook her head. They’d both seen her attacker’s face. She didn’t understand the confusion. “That was not Steve Curtis.”

  “Are you sure?” Doubt rang clear in Raymond’s voice.

  “Of course,” she bit out. Then winced at the curt tone. Well, she had both their attention now. “I don’t know who it was. He didn’t speak, although I think his intent was clear.” She rubbed her throat with the hand that wasn’t holding on to her son. “I guess we should call the police.”

  She didn’t give either man the chance to argue, not that either of them made a sound as she pulled out her phone and dialed. While they waited, she went into the kitchen under the guise of getting her son something to eat. In truth, she wasn’t sure if she was more unsettled by the escape of her stepfather and her subsequent attack, or the reappearance of her deceased spouse.

  Within fifteen minutes, two Pennsylvania State Police troopers stood inside her apartment. Raymond and Luke discreetly edged toward the kitchen, letting her talk with the troopers privately.

  “We’ll want to talk with you, too, when we’re done,” one of the troopers said to Luke and Raymond.

  Luke frowned, but neither he nor his brother protested. Jennie remembered that the Amish she’d met while she and Luke had been together hadn’t been keen about involving outside law enforcement, for anything.

  The troopers efficiently took her statement, then went about investigating the apartment. One trooper headed out into the hall and the other disappeared into the kitchen.

  “You said you saw this man at your son’s preschool?” the trooper in the hall asked.

  She nodded. “Yeah. I saw him leaving the school on a motorcycle as we were walking to the car. He must have taken a shortcut.”

  “Did you see the motorcycle when you arrived home?”

  She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “No. If I’d seen it, I wouldn’t have gotten out of my car.”

  He accepted that with a grunt and made a note on his tablet. Her mind wandered.

  Her attacker had been inside waiting for her. Just the idea of someone hiding in the home that she shared with her son made her queasy. He must have beaten her there by mere seconds. Where had he parked the motorcycle? She knew she hadn’t seen it. He must have parked in the back of the building and come in through that entrance.

  She frowned. Who was he? It had to have been Steve’s doing. No one else had anything against her. Steve, however, had gone to prison not once, but twice, because of her. The second time, she was sure he’d be there until he died.

  How had he escaped prison?

  And almost as important—who had helped him?

  What if Steve came next to finish up his lackey’s failed attempt? The questions continued to whirl through her brain like a vortex, making her dizzy.

  Suddenly the haven she lived in seemed like a cage.

  They couldn’t stay there. But where could they go? A longing for her brother welled up inside her. Aiden would know what to do. Not only was he her older brother, but he used to be a cop before he married Sophie and began teaching criminal justice at a university. But he wasn’t even in the country. He didn’t plan to return until next week. She had no family other than Aiden. She didn’t have enough money saved up for a hotel, nor would she feel comfortable in such a place.

  And what about her job? She dismissed that as unimportant. She could always find another job. Companies were always looking for tech support. And she knew that she was skilled with computers and other technology.

  Panic was pulsing in her veins when the first trooper tromped back up the steps and into the apartment. In his hands, he held a cheap Santa suit.

  “Fresh motorcycle tracks in the yard out back near the dumpster,” he reported.

  She’d been right. Not that it brought any comfort.

  Within half an hour, the troopers were ready to leave. As it was a few minutes shy of noon, most of the other tenants were at work. Their parking lot had no camera surveillance, so even if her attacker had parked in the lot outside, there was no record of it. Jennie had never taken note of what kinds of vehicles were parked at the apartment complex on a daily basis.

  The troopers quietly talked with Luke and Raymond for a few minutes before returning to ask Jennie to come down to the station later to look at some images in their data files.

  “You got a look at his face,” one trooper remarked. “It’s possible that you might be able to ID him.”

  “Of course.” She didn’t want to, but it wasn’t like she had a choice.

  “Thanks.” The trooper smiled and walked out the door. “Come in soon, Mrs. Beiler.” The door shut behind him and his partner.

  “What?” the brothers said simultaneously.

 
Shocked, Jennie turned to stare at them.

  “Your last name was Forster,” Raymond insisted.

  Luke’s face was the color of all-purpose flour. “Why did they call you Mrs. Beiler?”

  Astonishment held her frozen as the truth finally sank in. He didn’t remember her. Jennie swallowed hard.

  “Because that’s who I am.” She narrowed her eyes at him, took in the disbelief, the shock as he swayed on his feet before catching himself. “We were married six years ago. This is your son. And I am your wife.”

  * * *

  His wife. He had a wife. And a son?

  His shattered heart started beating like a freight train. Was that sweet little boy with the blond hair and blue eyes truly his flesh and blood? But why would this woman lie? This woman that seemed so familiar, yet not. It seemed incredible that he could have forgotten this lovely woman with her dark brown hair, hanging in a ponytail partway down her back. Her eyes were dark brown with glimmers of gold in them. There was such an air of fragility about her, but he could also sense that she had a solid core of strength.

  “I—I was in an accident. I have no memories of my life from seventeen until I was twenty-two.” He forced the words out of his tight throat. How did someone forget that they have a wife? “How old is your son?”

  He winced at her frown. He couldn’t say our son. It just wasn’t real to him. Not yet.

  “Here,” Raymond interrupted. “Let me take him, jah? We will go into the other room while you two talk.”

  The child wasn’t keen on the idea of leaving his mother at first, but Raymond managed to coax him out of her arms. As soon as Luke was alone with Jennie, he moved over to sit on the couch. She joined him but sat perched on the edge, ready to take flight at a moment’s notice.