He shrugged and pursed her lips. “From what I heard, he was pretty rebellious when he was a kid. Maybe he thinks I’ll follow in his footsteps. We’ve had a lot of bad things happen in our community lately. He might be worried for your safety.”
My jaw clenched and I glanced sideways. Sarah wore a plain black coat over a hunter green dress. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold and a few wisps of dark hair had escaped from under her white cap. Her green eyes darted away, avoiding me. “Where exactly are we going?” I asked.
“It’s a meeting of sorts—like an intervention, I guess you could say.”
“An intervention?” I wondered where an Amish girl would have heard such a word. “For who?”
“You’ll see.”
I glanced out the window at the darkening sky. There was no way I’d be home by dark. I didn’t want to break my promise to Sarah, but I also didn’t like the sinking in my stomach. I barely knew Sarah, and here I was going to some random place with her for a reason I didn’t even understand.
“I don’t have a lot of time. I told my mom I would be home soon.”
“Turn here,” Sarah instructed.
“There isn’t anything there,” I argued.
“It’s a tractor path.” She pointed to a depression off of the road.
“It’s covered with snow.”
“It’s just a dusting. You won’t get stuck.” She looked smugly back at me.
Fear screamed in my mind. “I thought you wanted to talk to me, Sarah. You should have told me you had other plans.”
“I didn’t think it was a big deal. Besides, this is important.”
My car rolled over the snow slowly. There were some tracks ahead that looked like they might be hoof prints, but there weren’t any buggy wheel marks. I followed the tracks up to a wooden-sided barn that sat back in the middle of a cluster of trees. I parked, and before I had a chance to say anything else, Sarah jumped out of the car. I grabbed my cellphone and ran to catch up with her.
“Why are we at this old barn?” I caught her arm, pulling her to a stop.
She swung around, and her annoyed look made me sway backward. “You have to trust me, Taylor. It’s important, and that’s all I’m going to say.”
A horse whinnied and I craned my neck to see past Sarah. Six horses stood in the snow, tied among the trees. They were all saddled and fuzzy. Steam rose from a brown one’s nostrils when it whinnied.
Will had told me about a creepy barn in the woods where Aunt Reni had been held by a group of vigilante Amish when she was working on Naomi’s murder investigation. Could this possibly be the same barn?
When Sarah tugged me to go with her, I planted my feet firmly. “I’m not going in there.”
I struggled against the taller girl, but she held onto me with strong arms.
“Stop it, Taylor!” She shouted.
My heart pounded as adrenaline coursed through my veins. I kicked out and caught her in the shin. She yelped and loosened her hold. I lost my balance and fell backwards, landing in the snow. I ignored the wet chill on the side of my face and scrambled to my feet. I whirled around and crashed into someone.
I pounded my fists into his chest and screamed. Arms encircled me from behind.
“Quiet, Taylor, you’re going to get us caught!” Sarah whispered fiercely into my ear.
Matthew put his hand over my mouth. “Stop it, no one’s going to hurt you.” He spied over my shoulder. “Damn. She’s a feisty little thing.”
“She’s also the sheriff’s niece.” A male voice called out from somewhere behind me. “Let her go, Sarah! Now!”
Sarah released me and I stumbled forward, spreading my legs to keep from falling again. Matthew reached out to steady me, but I swiped his hand away. “What is wrong with you people? You’re all crazy,” I turned in a circle. Five boys who I didn’t know approached slowly from the side of the barn. They all wore black knit hats and dark coats. Four kept their eyes downcast, but one left the group and strode up to me. His face was heavily freckled, and his light-colored eyes were bright with intelligence.
The stranger offered his hand and I ignored it. “I’m sorry about all this.” His voice was rough. “It didn’t have to happen this way. Sarah, what were you thinking, bringing her here?”
“She was there that night, Mervin. She knows everything,” Sarah said.
Something clicked in my mind and I looked up. “Mervin Lapp—David Lapp’s brother?”
His brows drew together. “Yes, it was my brother who shot and killed Naomi Beiler.”
I searched my memories of conversations I’d had with Daniel and Aunt Reni about Mervin Lapp. “Aunt Reni always talked so well of you, and Daniel thinks of you like family. What is going on?”
“Daniel and your aunt are two of my favorite people.” His words shook a little. “We need to talk and it’s cold and getting dark out here. I promise no one is going to hurt you and you can leave whenever you want. We need your help. Please, just hear me out.”
The moon hung over the trees, giving off a soft glow. I trembled beneath my coat as my gaze drifted over the six boys, and finally landed on Sarah. She wasn’t angry anymore. She looked thoughtful. Something glistened in her eyes that made my heart slow down.
I pulled my cellphone out of my pocket and typed a message. I held up the phone. “I just wrote a text message to the sheriff. It says where I am and who I’m with. If any one of you do anything to freak me out, I’m going to send this message. All I have to do is hit send, and you won’t have time to stop me. So, if you don’t want the law out here, you better not mess with me.”
Mervin snorted and then smiled. “You’re a lot like Sheriff Serenity. You have my word that nothing bad will happen to you, but it’s always good to have a backup plan.”
He stepped aside and motioned for me to follow him. My muscles tightened and my mind shouted that I must be an idiot.
But I joined him anyway.
16
Serenity
The Amish man held up the lantern and it illuminated his face. I hadn’t seen Nicolas Swarey in a couple of months and the change in him was startling. His face was thin and drawn. There were dark circles beneath his puffy eyes.
“What are you doing snooping around on my property, Sheriff?” His voice was harsh.
I glanced at Toby, who was smirking, but remaining silent.
“Don’t take that tone with me, Nicolas. I simply came out to ask you a few questions.” I gestured to Toby. “This is US Marshal, Toby Bryant. After we knocked on your door, we heard the sound of an animal in distress. We followed the path to check out the disturbance and discovered the hogs. That’s where the noise came from.”
The air was icy and silent between us. I waited for my words to sink in.
Nicolas finally spoke. “What did you want to ask me?”
“Can we speak in your house? It’s chilly outside.” I inclined my head.
Without a word, he turned on his heels and I stretched my legs to follow him. I glanced over my shoulder and Toby had a sly expression on his face. The Marshal’s amusement of the situation was annoying.
A few minutes later we were seated in the Swarey’s kitchen beneath a dull gas light. The room was pale yellow and sparse. A few dishes littered the sink and nonperishable groceries lined the counter. It seemed Nicolas and his son didn’t have time to put the cereal and cans of soup into the cupboards. It was almost as cold inside the home as it was outside. There weren’t any signs of a woman’s presence in sight.
A chill raced up my spine as I considered how the man sitting across from me had eliminated the very existence of his missing wife from the house. I studied him, wondering how a man could be so unemotional about the loss of his spouse.
“Have you heard from your wife?” I asked.
“Nope. Afraid not,” he answered tersely.
> I crossed my arms and held his gaze. “Where do you think she might be?”
His lips pinched. “I told you before, I don’t know. Why your interest all of a sudden?”
“It’s still an open file, Nicolas. When people go missing, we keep looking for them.”
“I done told you already, that woman wasn’t right in the head. She hated living by our ways and couldn’t wait to escape when Monroe was old enough and not in need of her care any longer.”
“Escape—what was she escaping from?” It was Toby who asked the question.
“Laundry, house chores, church services—who knows. She was a lazy woman.” He grunted, casting a wolfish scowl at the lawman.
I had to take a deep breath to keep my cool. “A lot of women wouldn’t be interested in living a lifestyle from the eighteen hundreds. I can understand her plight wholeheartedly.”
Nicolas didn’t respond. He sat in his chair with an angry face and stiff body.
“We asked you this before but perhaps you can clarify some of your previous answers.” I pulled the small notebook from the inside pocket of my jacket and flipped it open. “You said that your wife didn’t have any living family, except an aunt and a few cousins in California.”
“That’s correct,” he replied, bobbing his head up and down.
“We contacted those family members at the end of summer and they said they hadn’t heard from your wife in around seventeen years.”
“That’s right. When we got married, she turned away from her people.” He scrunched up his face. “They were unholy—into drugs, alcohol, and dalliances. It was the best thing for her.”
“Your own son was arrested for selling an illegal substance.”
Nicolas’ fist slammed onto the table. “He was corrupted by his evil mother and fell into sin. Now that she’s gone, he’s repented and changed his ways.”
I shot Toby a look to silence him. I didn’t want to tip Monroe’s father off to the fact that his son was not only still dealing drugs, but had gotten into the harder stuff.
I ignored his little rant. “You also told us that your wife didn’t have any friends on the outside.” Our eyes met. “Do you still maintain that statement?”
Nicolas licked his lip and raised his eyes to the right, indicating a lie was coming. “She had no friends.”
“Has anyone come here looking for your wife since she disappeared?” I asked.
“Other than you, no one.”
I narrowed my gaze on him. He didn’t flinch and stoically returned my stare.
There was no sign of breaking on his stony face. “All right. That’s enough for now. Have a good night.”
He dipped his head as we walked by him and out the front door. The chill immediately permeated my jacket. The door closed behind Toby.
In a low voice, he said, “He’s lying about Charlene Noble.”
“I know. Unless we find a witness or some evidence that she did indeed come here to see Swarey’s wife, we have nothing on Nicolas.”
“We should talk to some of the locals, Sheriff.” Toby darted a sideways glance my way, with the corner of his mouth raised.
“You’re enjoying this way too much, you know that?”
“Every crime investigation has its fascinating aspects. Working an Amish mystery is especially intriguing.” His face brightened as we trudged through the snow. “They don’t react or respond like the usual witnesses, victims or suspects. They have their own sense of authority and moral codes to guide them.”
We reached the car and climbed in. I started the engine and put the heater blowing on high. “That’s an understatement. They have no qualms with vigilante justice, and sometimes that’s their downfall.”
“I know you’re going to be busy with the fallout from the school shootings, but we really need to begin talking to some of the neighbor’s about Charlene Noble.”
“Oh, I intend to get started right now.”
It was priceless to see his brows shoot up. “At this late hour?”
“I have a dinner date with my fiancé and his family right up the road. Trust me, Daniel’s sister knows what’s going on with everyone in the community. If the Indianapolis woman did come through here, she would be aware of it.”
He smiled crookedly. “I do believe my stomach’s growling.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I thought it might. Marshal Bryant, you’re going to get a big dose of that intrigue you’ve been wishing for—and you’re going to love the food.”
“I’m much obliged, Sheriff.”
17
Taylor
I paused beside the horse and reached out to pet its velvety nose. It pressed against my hand, its breath warming my face.
“That’s Reckless. He’s my horse,” Matthew said. He released a heavy breath. “I don’t fool around with drugs anymore. I just wanted you to know that.”
His tone was deliberate, and his eyes tried to hold mine, but I ignored him and stretched my legs to catch up with Mervin Lapp. When Mervin disappeared into the blackness of the barn’s doorway, I hesitated and Sarah nudged me.
“It’s okay. No one’s going to eat you,” I glanced over my shoulder. Her teeth flashed.
I really wanted to punch her pretty face, but controlled myself. She was five inches taller than me and had six strong boys as backup. My mind reasoned that these kids that I barely knew weren’t going to do horrible things to me. My heart thrummed madly against my ribcage as I stepped into the darkness.
When my eyes adjusted to the murky lighting, I discovered we were walking between bales of hay, before we entered a much larger room. My attention was immediately drawn to the spots in the walls that shards of moonlight were shooting through. They looked like bullet holes.
Mervin went to a lantern hanging from a beam. He lit it and a soft glow illuminated a small circle below it. Everyone crowded into the lighted space.
“You’re probably wondering why you’re here, Taylor,” Mervin said.
I barked a half-suppressed laugh. “You could definitely say that. Aren’t these secret barn meetings reserved for the adults?”
It was Sarah who answered me. “Usually, but we have our own system for solving problems.”
Sarah stood on my left side and Matthew had taken up the place on the other side of me. He was close enough that his shoulder brushed mine. I refused to glance his way. Lindsey and Matthew had met when his work crew had constructed a new deck at her house. After the job was completed, he’d snuck off several times to see her, and I’d been there each time. On those occasions, he’d barely spoken a word to me. Although I thought I knew him a little bit, I didn’t really know him at all—and neither did Lindsey.
“Are you familiar with Monroe Swarey?” Mervin crossed his arms. He seemed older than a teenager as he waited for my answer.
I shook my head and Matthew poked my arm. “The guy who was at the campsite with me that night.”
My mouth rounded. “So he was Amish.”
Matthew nodded.
“I kind of thought so, but that was the first time I’d ever seen him,” I answered truthfully and then shuddered when a vision of my captor popped up in my mind.
Mervin glanced at the other guys and exhaled. “Monroe may be Amish, but he isn’t one of us.” I held my breath for him to continue. “We’ve all had our wild moments, and even Matthew has finally come around and left his reckless days behind. Monroe is a different story. His actions are dangerous to our people…and yours.” He took a step closer and the others followed suit, tightening the circle. “Some things have been going on in the community—bad things—and Monroe is the heart of it all.” He licked his lips. “Matthew came to me yesterday and told me something terrible that had happened a couple months ago. He wants our help, but in order for us to help him, you need to help us.”
“I don’t understand.”<
br />
Matthew spoke up. “I like Lindsey a lot. She’s a fun girl and all, but I realize I’ve made a mistake hanging around with her—”
I interrupted him. “You were more than hanging around with her,” I snapped.
Sarah hid a smile behind her hand and then looked at the ground.
“Yeah, well, it was a mistake. Setting up the meeting between Monroe and your friend, Jackson, was the worst mistake of all.”
“Jackson was never my friend,” I hissed. “You assume all non-Amish kids know each other—well, we don’t. The only reason I was there that night was for Lindsey, because she wanted to see you.”
Matthew’s face reddened. He was about to reply when Mervin cut him off with a hand thrust. “That part doesn’t matter. What we need to know is how Jackson knew about Monroe in the first place.”
“I have no idea. Like I said, I didn’t really know Jackson at all.” A memory teased my mind. I dug my boot toe into the dirt floor and glanced around. The other boys hadn’t said a thing. It seemed like Mervin was taking the role as junior bishop, so I settled my gaze on him. “Maybe it was Danielle?”
“The girl who died?” Mervin’s face took on the tightness of expectancy, making me swallow down the spit that pooled in my mouth.
“She overdosed on the crap she got from Monroe.” I searched my memories. “She worked part-time at the gas station at the end of Burkey Road. I’ve seen buggies there before.”
Mervin nodded, his gaze looking off into nothingness before it returned to me. “That makes sense. He meets up with people there.”
“Why do you care so much about what he’s doing? Shouldn’t your elders be taking care of him?” I said.
A ghost of a smile toyed with his lips. “Oh, they will—but Monroe is pretty sly. We need proof, and we have to hurry before someone else is hurt.”
“So, you’re all playing detectives?” I looked around. Some pairs of eyes continued to stare back, except one boy, and Sarah, who glanced away. “That’s crazy. You should talk to my aunt. She’ll take care of all of this.” When they remained stubbornly silent, I persisted. “Drug dealers are ruthless. He’s just some Amish kid. Who knows what kind of dangerous person he’s getting the stuff from?” I frowned at Mervin, as he was their leader. If I could convince him, the others would follow suit. “You’re worried about someone else? Well, if you don’t go to the authorities, you’ll be the one getting hurt—or worse.”
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