Secrets in the Grave

by Karen Ann Hopkins

  The rain pelted down on Ma, but she ignored it. Her eyes flashed with the lightning when she turned to me. “How long since she ingested the poisons?” she called out to be heard above the wind.

  Eli moved closer, still holding onto the horse. “When I found her, she said it had only been about an hour. So maybe an hour and a half in total.”

  Ma’s face dropped into a frown. “We may be too late then,” she muttered.

  Bobby squeezed in and faced Ma. “I believe she ingested the same herbs that Fannie did. Tansy ragwort, pennyroyal, parsley, and peppermint. We need to get her to the emergency room. She’s already bleeding.”

  Ma pulled a jar from her pocket. Dark liquid sloshed around inside of it. “This might slow the bleeding.” Her gaze didn’t waiver as she looked at Bobby. “If there’s any hope, she needs it now.”

  Bobby took a breath and nodded, moving aside so Ma could climb into the back seat with Hannah. My eyes popped wide when Ma slapped Hannah’s cheek.

  “Wake up, Hannah. You must drink this.” Ma looked at Bobby over her shoulder. “Go to the other side and hold her up.”

  Bobby did as he was told. Another clap of thunder rolled over us. I glanced up to watch the gray clouds billowing across the sky with the harsh wind. Father stood stoically in the rain beside me.

  “Where’s Aaron?” I asked Father.

  Father raised his shoulders, shrugging. I looked back at the house. Shifting on my feet, my stomach clenched. Where’s Serenity?

  I was turning to go back to the house to search for her when Ma’s voice rose above the gusts of wind. When I looked back, her eyes were closed. She had one hand on Hannah’s head and another above her. The jar lay on the ground beside the Jeep, empty.

  The chanting brought me back to another place and time. I was in my childhood yard. Lester’s head was resting in my lap. Ma was speaking the same strange words. Words I didn’t understand. Words that scared me.

  As if we were in the eye of a hurricane, the storm diminished around us. The rain lessened to a drizzle and the clouds lifted, revealing blue sky. The wind died down to a stiff, cool breeze. I held my breath, unable to tear my eyes away from the three people huddled together in the small space at the back of my Jeep.

  Ma’s voice was a continuous rambling that rose and fell with the wind. Bobby’s eyes were closed, too. His mouth moved in his own silent praying. Hannah’s eyes were the only ones open. They shone out of her face with a brilliance all their own, and they were terrified.

  “I don’t want to die,” she cried out.

  A coughing fit overtook Hannah. Her body rocked violently and she doubled over in Bobby’s arms. Bobby’s eyes met mine and they glinted with unshed tears. Ma didn’t slow her chanting. Hannah lay still.

  I heard the sloshing through the puddles before I turned my head. Eli was running to the house. The horse jumped into a half rear and Father grabbed for the reins to steady the animal.

  I looked back into the Jeep. Hannah wasn’t breathing. Her head lolled back on Bobby’s shoulder and her skin was deathly white.

  The same heavy stillness overtook the air that I’d felt when Lester had stopped breathing and Mervin had gulped for breath. I took a shuddering breath and closed my eyes. Whatever it was shouldn’t be seen.

  With my eyes squeezed tightly together, I began praying. Praying for Hannah and Serenity, even my own soul. There wasn’t any rhyme or reason to the words in my head. They poured out from my terrified heart.

  The wind settled. All was quiet. The world seemed to be waiting, as if drawing in a deep breath.

  Several long seconds passed. Hannah lurched forward, sucking in a gulp of air. Ma held onto her, crying a triumphant thank you to the heavens, and sinking back down to murmur soothing words in our native tongue to Hannah.

  Bobby breathed, “Praise God.”

  The wind whipped back up and rain pelleted us from the sky once again.

  “We best get her to the hospital,” Bobby called out.

  I hesitated, looking back at the house. Time was of the essence. Hannah needed more medical help, but I didn’t want to leave Serenity. Why wasn’t she here?

  Ma lifted her face, pale and tight with fear. “Oh, no,” she whispered.

  The explosion blasted in my ears and a shock of heat hit me, knocking me into the side of the Jeep. It took everything Father had to hold onto the horse as it bolted sideways.

  When I opened my eyes, the left side of the Peachey house was a pile of burning rubble. Red hot flames flicked into the air, battling with the downpour for supremacy.

  Ma’s hand grasped my arm.

  “I’m so sorry, son.”

  I pulled away from her and ran towards the inferno and sickening smoke.

  “Serenity!”

  27

  SERENITY

  When I finally had the nerve to open my eyes, clumps of debris were burning around me. The grass was scorched black and a thick cloud of smoke blotted out the sky. I lifted my face to the rain, thankful for its cold wetness. The sound of the howling wind and booming thunder were music to my ears. I was alive, and I could wiggle all my toes and fingers.

  With concentrated effort, I pushed up on my elbows to take a better look at the scene. The sharp pain that shot through my leg rolled me backward onto smoldering splinters of wood. I shimmied sideways on my back to avoid being burnt. Drawing in a sharp breath, I swallowed and lifted my head to see my leg. A large portion of the jeans were gone and a swath of shredded, black skin was exposed. Hot bile rose in my throat and I quickly turned away, forcing my throat to swallow. It could have been worse, I tried to convince myself.

  Lifting my chin, I gazed around at the devastation. I’d been thrown clear of the brunt of the burning wreckage. The sight of only half of the house standing made me blink. How did I survive that? A cloud of smoke puffed off the nearest pile in my direction, making me cough. The movement caused throbbing in a hundred places on my body.

  My injuries flitted from my mind when I saw lavender material flapping in the wind. This time when I pushed up, I took a deep breath and ignored the stinging pain. It was Ada Mae—at least what was left of her. My gaze swept over her glassy eyes and bloody dress. A broken board jutted from her stomach, pointing straight to the sky. Her mouth gaped open. I wondered if she’d had a chance to ask forgiveness for her evil deeds before she died. The thought made me shiver.

  The flash of white about twenty yards away stilled my heart. The bishop’s beard.

  I was struggling to rise when Daniel clasped my shoulders. He held me in place, dropping in front of me. A gust of wind blanketed us with pelting rain. Daniel leaned in closer to shield me from the onslaught.

  His wide, brown eyes searched mine. “Are you all right? Speak to me. Say something,” Daniel ordered with panic in his voice.

  “I’m okay, I think.” My voice was raspy to my ears. “Except my left leg.” When Daniel’s eyes shot downwards, I added, “It’s not broken, just burned and cut up pretty bad.”

  I nodded towards Ada Mae’s body. “She’s wasn’t so lucky. I think the bishop is over there,” I said, motioning with a weak flick of my hand.

  Bobby plopped down beside us, forcing Daniel to lean back. “Thank the Lord above you’re alive.” He grasped my wrist, taking my pulse and searching my eyes. “You’re like a cat—more lives than you know what to do with,” he muttered, sounding grumpy, but there was no mistaking his wide smile. He was happy to see me.

  Daniel met my gaze, his face grim. I nodded. He rose and touched my head before he left. Bobby wrapped his coat around my injured leg and chattered about the scope of the blast and the miracle of my survival, but I barely listened. My gaze followed Daniel as he gingerly made his way through the burning debris to reach the bishop. I help my breath, fearing the worst.

  For several unbearable seconds, Daniel hovered over the bishop. The old man’s beard rose and fell with the wind. The rain shifted to a sprinkle. I blinked, trying to clear my eyes.

&
nbsp; I exhaled loudly and Bobby paused to look in the same direction. Daniel was helping Aaron Esch to his feet. The bishop clung to Daniel’s side as Daniel dragged him away from the house and closer to me. A sizzling crash turned all our heads. Another portion of the house collapsed, sending flames and smoke shooting high in the sky. I was sure the billowing cloud could be seen from miles away.

  “Was anyone else in there?” Bobby breathed.

  I tilted my head to listen. The sound of distant hoof beats on the pavement echoed in my ears. They were coming. The entire community was on their way.

  “Eli,” I whispered. “Eli was.”

  Daniel sucked in a breath and laid the bishop down beside me.

  “Find him.” The bishop waved Daniel away. His voice was scratchy and shaky, but the usual authority was unmistakable.

  Daniel did as he was told, abandoning the bishop to search through the wreckage.

  Bobby moved over to the bishop. “All things considered, you don’t look so bad,” Bobby teased. He gently probed the man’s many injuries without asking permission. Bobby was a coroner, not a doctor, but he was the most qualified medical personnel we had at the moment.

  “Such a shame,” the bishop mumbled. “So much needless death—so much evil.”

  I looked at him, meeting his gaze. “At least you have closure. You finally know what happened to your sister, and Ada Mae is dead.”

  The bishop shook his head defiantly. “I didn’t wish to see her punished in such a way. She was a troubled woman. The devil worked his mischief in her weak mind. She was as much a victim as Robyn and Fannie.” He took a steady breath. “I forgive her sins.”

  I was about to respond, to chastise the bishop for his ignorance, when the man closed his eyes and dropped his head, praying.

  Bobby shot me a warning look. I sighed and shrugged. Maybe I was jealous that my heart wasn’t so forgiving. Three women had died needlessly. Sure, Ada Mae’s mother might have been an accident, but Ada Mae had murdered Robyn and Fannie. Maybe Hannah was dead too, and she tried to do the same to Marissa. Being messed up in the head didn’t give a person the right to take a person’s life. It wasn’t my job to pardon criminals. I brought justice to the victims.

  But glancing at the bishop’s peaceful face, still in silent prayer, I had to respect his ability to let go of a grudge. It was probably much healthier in the long run.

  While Bobby was talking on his cell phone to central dispatch, I took the opportunity to rise on shaky legs. Clenching my teeth through the pain, I limped through the wreckage. I stepped over shards of glass, crumpled tin and splintered, smoldering wood. The rain stopped. There were breaks in the dark clouds, sending slivers of sun shining down. I made my way around the upside-down wood-burning stove lying in the yard and past one of the kitchen chairs hanging in the branches of a scorched tree.

  When I saw Daniel kneeling on the ground, the breath caught in my throat. I sped up, dragging my wounded leg until I reached him. Eli was there. Part of the roof was on top of his hips and legs. His right arm was bent back grotesquely. The other one was completely gone.

  I flopped down in the charred grass beside Daniel and leaned in close to Eli’s face. My eyes widened when his flicked open. They blinked and settled on me. He made a scrappy, hissing sound.

  I dropped my ear to his mouth to hear him.

  “Did…Hannah…die?” he wheezed.

  I glanced up at Daniel, my heart pounding even harder. “Where’s Hannah?”

  Daniel leaned over me, answering Eli. “She’s going to be all right. My mother arrived and took care of her. She healed Hannah.”

  “Baby?” Eli struggled to get the word out. His blue eyes were becoming unfocused. I knew that look. I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly.

  “I don’t know for sure, but I think she lost it,” Daniel said in a steady voice.

  Eli managed a tiny nod. Then his eyes closed. “Tell her…I love her.”

  He gulped for air, then his head lolled to the side. His chest stopped rising.

  “Dammit,” Daniel exclaimed. “Can you do CPR?”

  “He’s lost too much blood. No amount of CPR will bring him back,” I replied.

  When I heard Katherine Bender’s wailing cry, I swallowed down a knot in my throat that nearly choked me.

  Daniel put his arm around my shoulder and lifted me up beside him. We stepped back together to give Katherine space. She pulled Eli’s head into her lap and bent to rest her check against his. Her body rocked back and forth, her moans muffled by Eli’s hair.

  The clouds parted, allowing a wide sunbeam to spray down over Katherine as she held her son. More Amish people gathered around the pair, eyes closed and heads dropped.

  The sound of the sirens seemed out of place and almost unwelcomed as the crowd grew larger. Stoic, dark-clad men stood beside women whose colorful skirts flapped out from beneath black coats. The children huddled closely to their parents, looking at the scene with frowns and sniffles.

  Esta broke away from the group, running to her aunt. Not too far behind her were Verna and Mervin. The teens weren’t holding hands, but anyone paying attention would see that they were a couple. Their shoulders bumped against each other until Verna gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. She sprinted forward to where Esta stood staring down at Ada Mae’s remains. Esta turned into her sister’s tight hug.

  The girls’ sorrow would lessen with time, especially after they learned the horrible things their aunt had done. For now though, it was difficult to watch.

  The sirens grew louder until two ambulances drove up as far as they could into the burnt yard. People parted, allowing the medical personnel to reach the bishop and me.

  Daniel’s arm encircled me tighter, turning me around. I didn’t protest, leaning into his warm strength. Beth and Raymond arrived first and I let them help me onto the gurney. The make-shift tourniquet Bobby had made with his coat was damp with fresh blood and I was feeling light headed. Besides my injured leg, my left shoulder thrummed painfully, probably out of joint.

  Daniel held my hand as I was lifted into the ambulance, only letting go when Beth insisted he drive separately to the hospital. I managed to smile when Daniel lost the argument and stepped from the ambulance with a long face.

  “I’ll see you in twenty minutes,” Daniel promised through the crack of the closing door.

  Beth checked my pulse. “Rough day at the office?” she joked.

  “Worse than most,” I replied.

  I relaxed back on the cushion and stared out the small window as Beth wrapped my leg in gauze.

  Black smoke dotted the blue sky. The storm was moving swiftly away to the east. If I were a superstitious woman, I’d think that it had arrived to wash away Ada Mae’s evil, and now that the task was complete, it was leaving.

  But I wasn’t superstitious. Closing my eyes, I attempted to erase the last image of Ada Mae’s face from my memory. It was useless to try, though. Her pained look of regret when Eli fired the gun would haunt my dreams for a long time to come.

  It was just part of the job.

  28

  SERENITY

  “Is she still sleeping?” Todd’s loud voice boomed in the room. I resisted the urge to keep my eyes closed for a little longer and opened them.

  Daniel was still in the chair by the bed and Bobby sat in the one in the corner. The hospital room was brightly lit, but beyond the lone window, it was inky black.

  I rubbed my eyes. “How long have I been asleep?” I asked groggily, pressing the button to raise the bed into a sitting position.

  Daniel glanced at his watch. “You fell asleep right after your sister and niece left. I guess it’s been about five hours.”

  “Why did you let me sleep so long?” I growled, my mind sparking awake.

  “You were in a house that blew up. You needed your rest,” Daniel retorted.

  “That’s right. We have everything under control. Focus your energies on healing,” Bobby said.

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sp; My gaze shifted between Bobby’s expectant expression and Daniel’s frown. Then I looked at Todd. His usual smirk was absent for a change.

  Even though I was pumped up on painkillers, my mind was clear enough to recognize Todd’s desire to share news.

  “What do you have for me?”

  Todd walked further into the room, ignoring Daniel’s narrowed eyes and his snort.

  “Jenny Reynolds, the Amish driver, stopped by the office this evening. Seems after she heard about Eli dying in the explosion, she had a moment of moral clarity.” He smirked and for a change, I was happy to see the obnoxious look. “She fessed up that Eli shot out the Peachey’s window. She’d driven the car, thinking that by doing so, she was helping Eli protect Hannah.” He rubbed his chin. “Eli shared his suspicions about Jonas with Jenny and she believed him.”

  I sighed. It was never as satisfying finding out the truth as I expected it to be.

  “That’s one more piece of the puzzle.” I looked around the room. “What about Jonas? How did he take it?”

  “Not very well, I’m afraid,” came a feminine voice at the doorway.

  I lifted my chin and craned my neck to see around Todd. Elayne smiled and walked over. Her high heels clicked on the tile floor and a flood of perfume came in with her.

  I wrinkled my nose and caught Daniel grinning as he leaned back in the chair. When our eyes met, he lost the amused smile.

  “How are you feeling?” Elayne asked, leaning on the metal frame.

  I shrugged. “I’ve been better.”

  Elayne looked my face over. “It’s remarkable that you weren’t injured more seriously or—”

  “Or killed, like Ada Mae and Eli,” I finished.

  “Yes, that too.” She smiled at my bluntness. “Bishop Esch is in worse shape than you. He has a collapsed lung, broken collar bone and arm, and a gash across his cheek that will probably scar.”

  “Did you talk to him?” My curiosity rose.

  She nodded. “I visited him just a moment ago. He’s in decent spirits. He knows how lucky he was,” she said.