by Dana R. Lynn
And then he saw it clearly. He heard a laugh. It was a younger Jennie. His mind recalled that day, eight years earlier, when they had finished the first haus they had worked on. Jennie had been painting, and he had worked on the roof. When they were finished, he’d taken her out to a restaurant to eat. And later that night, before he’d left, he’d kissed her.
His eyes flared open wide, his pulse thumping through his veins.
“Hey, Luke.”
For a second, he thought the voice was part of his memory. When he heard it again, he turned to find Jennie standing several feet away, her head tilted to the side as she considered him with concern. “You okay?”
“Jah.” He swallowed, shoving the memory aside. “I’m gut. Just thinking.”
He wasn’t about to tell her that he’d been thinking about her. Or that he’d been remembering their first kiss. The tips of his ears warmed, but he strove to retain a facade of nonchalance.
She waited. When he said nothing more, she shrugged and let the matter drop as he had hoped she would. “Your uncle has some errands he wondered if we’d run for him.”
Luke frowned. “I’m not sure—do you think it’s safe?”
She chewed on her lip. “Well, if he had asked us to drive into town, I’d say no. As it is, all he’s asked is that we walk to the Amish store and pick up some baking items for your aunt. I’ll admit, I wouldn’t mind the trip, but I don’t want to go by myself.”
He thought about it. They would be staying in the Amish area. They could even cut through the back paths. After a moment he nodded. “I think we could do that. Give me a moment to put this ax back in the barn.”
As he walked past, she dropped in beside him. He clasped his hands behind his back to avoid the temptation of reaching out and grabbing hold of her hand. When she tucked her own hands beneath her black cape, he wondered if she was fighting the same temptation.
Then he scolded himself for wishing it was true.
A squeal of tires on the street had them both whirling to face the road. A car thundered past, stopping in front. Luke threw his body in front of Jennie as the driver pointed a gun in their direction.
“Get down!” Pushing her down against the barn, Luke covered her body with his as the gunner opened fire.
* * *
Debris rained down around them as a bullet hit the barn, leaving a fist-size hole in the wood. A second shot hit just inches away from Jennie’s head. She couldn’t breathe, feeling the wood exploding around her.
As scared as she was for herself, she was terrified for Luke, hovering over her. She didn’t want to save her life at the cost of his. Even as she tried to push him away so he could get lower, he moved off her, groaning.
The car raced away.
Blood was streaming from a wound in Luke’s shoulder. A large chunk of wood, debris from the garage, had impaled him straight through his coat.
“Luke!” she screamed.
“Ach, don’t worry so, Jennie girl,” he said, smiling at her, his eyes lined with pain. “It’s nothing. Just a large splinter. Far better than a bullet, ain’t so?”
“Luke, don’t joke. You’re hurt.” She could barely choke out the words.
“It’s not so bad. I’m alive, and so are you.”
She agreed, struggling to remain calm.
Within seconds, he was surrounded by family and friends. She stepped back to allow them room, but his lids snapped open again. He searched frantically among the host of people surrounding him, prodding and asking questions, until he found her.
“Jennie.”
She stepped closer. He sat up and his coat flapped open. Underneath, his shirt was covered with blood, but it didn’t seem to be spreading.
“Where’s LJ?”
“The child’s taking a nap,” Luke’s aunt assured him. He didn’t seem to hear her.
“Check on him, please?”
Jennie caught some of his urgency. “I will.”
Pausing only long enough to be sure Luke was okay, she flew back into the house and up the stairs. LJ had been placed in the room at the end of the hall. His door was shut. Jennie ran to the door and opened it.
Her heart stopped. The window was wide open, the cold air rushing in. LJ was nowhere in sight.
Her baby had been kidnapped.
Taking the stairs two at a time, she leaped down the last three and rushed outside, shouting as she went. “Luke! Luke! LJ’s gone! LJ’s been taken!”
Luke shot up from where his aunt had been tending him, ignoring his bleeding shoulder. “Are you sure?”
She nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. “The window was open and he was gone. The door to the room was still closed.” She gulped, unable to manage any more.
Luke took over. “Onkel, there had to have been two of them. The one in the car shot at me. There’s no way he could have gotten to LJ without us noticing. His partner was probably on foot. He must have gone through the back pastures.”
“We’ll search for him. Jennie, go into my office and call for your police.”
Jennie didn’t hesitate. She took off and went into the office. She dialed with shaking fingers.
“911. What’s your emergency?”
“Someone has taken my son. He’s only four.” She choked on a sob. Hold it together, Jennie. LJ needs you to be strong.
“Ma’am, can you verify your location?”
Stumbling a bit over the address, she gave the dispatcher the information, as well as LJ’s appearance and what he’d been dressed in.
“A police car has been dispatched from Union City, ma’am. They should be at your address within ten minutes. Can you stay on the line until they arrive?”
She didn’t want to. “My son. I should be looking for my son.”
“Ma’am, you need to stay on the line. If we need any more information, you’re our contact.”
Impatience and anxiety vibrated in her blood as she waited. Ten minutes had never seemed to take so long. What was Luke’s family doing now? Was Luke searching? Of course he was. Luke would do anything for LJ. If the kidnapper was nearby, Luke would search until he found his son.
If she’d had her phone on her, she could have walked outside and seen what was happening. Unfortunately, she’d shut her phone off and left it in her room to save the battery. Plus, the Amish dress she was wearing had no pockets.
She slammed the phone down when the police pulled in, running to meet the troopers before they had completely stopped the car. “My son is missing. Someone took him.”
She could see the look in their eyes. They thought she was being melodramatic. “Call Trooper Carter with the state police if you don’t believe me. Tell him LJ Beiler is missing. This is the second kidnapping attempt in four days. He’ll tell you.”
The condescending smiles disappeared. One of the troopers immediately got on his phone; the other had her repeat the details she’d already told the dispatcher.
The troopers joined in the search, one on foot while the other drove off to search the surrounding area in his cruiser. Jennie was told to remain near the house in case LJ came home. She was given explicit instructions to call the police if he returned.
A minute later, she was alone in a mother’s worst nightmare.
TEN
Luke trudged through the snow, ignoring the wet flakes pelting his cheeks as he searched for his son. LJ had been missing for twenty minutes. Every minute he was gone, Luke’s sense of desperation grew.
Around him, he could hear the other men searching, including the police trooper that had joined them on foot. They’d all spread out to cover more area. Luke veered to the right, taking the path that would lead him behind the lumberyard. The path was rocky, and he stumbled more than once over tree roots and debris. His shoulder still ached from being impaled with the wood from the barn.
He w
ouldn’t let himself be distracted by the injury.
Part of him worried about what would happen if he found the man. Luke had no weapon, and his Amish beliefs forbade him from using a weapon, even if he had one at his disposal. Not that he wanted to. Luke had flouted a few rules in the past few days in his quest to keep Jennie and LJ alive, but he would not take a life. Not even to save his own.
He would, however, willingly put himself in harm’s way to protect those he cared about.
Like he had earlier when he and Jennie were being shot at.
A flash of color to the left caught his attention. It was a bold color. Red. Like a scarf. It was moving. Walking as quietly as he could, he followed who or what was moving around in the woods.
After a few minutes, he was rewarded with a low whimper. LJ. His son was ahead. Scared, possibly hurt, but alive. Sending up a silent prayer of thanks and a plea for guidance, Luke kept moving closer.
“Quit your whining, kid,” a man’s voice growled.
LJ stopped whimpering. Since there was no other sound, Luke doubted the boy had been harmed. He needed to stay focused if he were to get to his son and bring the boy home to his mother.
Five minutes later, his prayers were answered. He saw his son being hauled over the shoulder of his kidnapper. A man that Luke had seen once before when he’d set his own sister’s house on fire with her inside it.
Morgan Griggs had Luke’s son.
Briefly, Luke wondered who’d driven the car. Was it Steve Curtis? He doubted it. Trooper Carter had Curtis’s picture all over. While Luke didn’t have access to a computer, he knew that in the Englisch world, most people walked around connected to the internet with their tablets or their smartphones. Even Jennie normally carried a phone with her.
There was no way Curtis could come here undisguised and not be recognized by someone.
Morgan was slowing down. He pulled his phone from his pocket but seemed to have trouble using it with one hand. Luke tensed as the man grabbed hold of LJ with both hands. When Morgan set the child on the ground, Luke edged closer, careful to stay concealed behind the trees.
“Don’t move,” Morgan barked. “I mean it.”
LJ didn’t move, his little body trembling as he stared up at the man, eyes bulging and fearful.
Morgan dialed a number. “Where are you located? Yeah, I think that Amish store is somewhere up ahead. I can meet you there.”
Luke edged closer. When a twig snapped under his foot, he halted. Morgan didn’t react. “I heard the Amber Alert, so you know the place has to be crawling with cops... How should I know? It was your idea to lure her away by stealing the kid. I know he wants us to bring her.”
Morgan hung up the phone. Luke needed to act now.
With a roar, he raced into the clearing, putting himself between Morgan and LJ. Morgan leaped toward him. Luke was waiting. He took the other man’s weight and pulled him down.
Morgan, however, had more experience as a fighter. He managed to squirm out of Luke’s hold. He might have gone for LJ again, but running feet were crashing through the woods. Luke’s yell had brought the others running.
With a hateful glare at Luke, Morgan sprinted away.
LJ launched himself into his father’s arms. Luke knelt on the ground, holding his son close to him, not knowing who was shaking more.
“Luke, ist er gut?” Onkel Jed demanded, racing up beside them. The older man dropped to his knees beside them, breathing heavily.
“Jah, er ist gut,” he responded, telling his onkel that LJ was fine.
More shuffling sounds heralded the arrival of others. The police trooper shouldered his way to the front of the line. “How did you locate him? Is he hurt?”
Luke stood, LJ in his arms. “Nee, he is gut. He was taken by a man named Morgan Griggs. Griggs murdered his sister Friday by burning her haus down.”
The Amish men all muttered, appalled at this news.
“He stopped here to make a phone call,” Luke explained. “The person who shot at us earlier was supposed to meet him—”
“Hold on!” the police trooper interrupted. “You were shot at?”
Luke rapidly took him through the morning’s events, making sure to describe the car. He also mentioned that he believed it was the same car that had tried to run him and Jennie off the road several days ago. The moment he finished talking, the trooper moved away, calling his partner with the news.
Luke wanted to get LJ back to the haus so he could get the child warm and assure his mamm that he was well. Jennie must be going out of her mind with worry. Luke’s shoulder ached, and his leg was hurting something fierce, but he wasn’t ready to set LJ back down. LJ didn’t seem ready, either. The child clung to him, his face pressed against Luke’s neck.
The moment they appeared in the yard, Jennie was there, running out to meet them.
“Mama! Mama!” LJ wriggled to get free.
Luke set him down and watched the reunion between mother and child.
“Where did you find him?” Jennie asked.
He found it hard to speak for a moment as her luminous gaze told him he was her hero. He cleared his throat. “Morgan had him.”
“How—”
He shook his head. “I’ll tell you what happened. Let’s get him in the haus. He’s been out in the cold too long.”
LJ wasn’t willing to walk, so Luke helped Jennie navigate the icy drive and the steps of the front porch. Once she was inside, Luke had to force himself to remove his arm from around her. He could still feel her warmth after she moved away from him.
It didn’t surprise either Luke or Jennie when Trooper Carter showed up later that evening.
“We’ve done a full check on Morgan Griggs. We’ve also looked into his sister. It might interest you to know that Randi owned a blue Honda Accord.” He showed them a picture of the make and model.
“That looks like the car we saw,” Jennie confirmed. “It must be fairly new. The last time we got together she had a red CRV.”
Carter nodded as if he expected that answer. “I figured. It seemed odd that you wouldn’t know what car your best friend drove. Anyway, Randi reported her car stolen last week. My guess is her brother was the thief.”
“Well, Morgan wasn’t driving it today.”
“Jah.” Luke spoke up. “He was on foot and meeting up with someone else.”
“So we have at least two people who are after you.”
“Three,” Luke said. Jennie and Trooper Carter both looked at him. “When Morgan was talking on the phone, he specifically told the person on the line that ‘he wants her brought to him.’ There has to be another person.”
Next to him, Jennie seemed to deflate. “He must have meant Steve. I don’t think I’ll ever be free of that man.”
“Is there anyone else you know, anyone you can think of who might have been in league with Steve and Morgan? Anyone at all?”
* * *
“I don’t know that many people that well,” she said slowly. She went over who had she seen in the past week. “One person who might be upset with me is Pete Walsh. He’s a guy I know who always made me uneasy.”
Trooper Carter wrote the name down. “We’ll look into him.”
“What about that Deets person?” Luke asked suddenly. “The man who was taking pictures of LJ at school?”
Tante Eleanor gasped behind them.
Trooper Carter nodded. “Still looking for him.” His phone rang. He excused himself to take the call.
Jennie let her shoulders droop. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take before I lose it.”
Tante Eleanor walked over to the table. “Gott is there for you, Jennie. He will be your help in these difficult times. If you let Him.”
Jennie’s brown eyes were troubled. “I’ve ignored God for so long, blaming Him for not helping when I neede
d it most. Will He still hear me?”
Her face filled with compassion, the older woman laid her hand on Jennie’s shoulder. “We all fail at times. It’s our nature, jah? Gott is always there. You can trust Him.”
Jennie was so tired of fighting on her own. The idea that God really had stuck with her was incredible. She was just too worn out to work it out now. But maybe she didn’t need to work it out for herself. Eleanor had said all she needed to do was trust.
Could it be that simple?
Not easy. Trusting someone else, even God, wasn’t easy for Jennie. She’d been taking care of her own problems for too long for it to be easy to trust anyone else to help her.
God, if You’re still there for me, if it’s not too late, I want to believe. I’m in a bind and I could use some help.
Jennie sat there as peace flooded her vulnerable soul. She was overwhelmed. There was no lightning or skywriting. In the grand scheme of things, her situation was not altered to any extent. Yet, she was different, knowing that to God, she mattered.
“Jennie?”
She realized that Luke and Eleanor were watching her with wary eyes. LJ had fallen asleep, leaning against her side. She hugged him close, then turned to respond to the unasked questions reflected in the faces surrounding her.
“I’m fine, Luke.” How did she explain the profound change she’d just gone through? Metaphorically speaking, God had just released her from the cocoon her self-imposed isolation had placed her in. “I can’t really explain it. I sat here, at your aunt’s table, feeling more helpless than I’ve felt in a long time.”
He made a noise. She waved his concern away.
“It’s okay. Really. I prayed, truly prayed, like I’ve never done. I can’t even remember the words I said, only that it was from the heart. Now...”
“You’re at peace,” he finished for her.
Their gazes connected. The air hummed between them. “Exactly.”
Tante Eleanor frowned as her eyes ping-ponged between them. “Jah. That’s what happens when you reach out to Gott. He is bigger than our problems.”
