“It’s somewhat of an endearing quality,” Ryan said.
“Somewhat?” Kate echoed.
Ryan laughed, and at that moment, their eyes met. A warmth engulfed her as she studied his eyes. Suddenly, his phone rang, interrupting the tender moment.
“Hello? Yes, this is the detective on the vigilante investigation. Hey, Steve.”
Kate listened intently to Ryan’s side of the phone call.
“So, did you end up getting a hit on that print?” Several moments passed before he spoke again. “Are you sure? That doesn’t make any sense.” Ryan’s expression dimmed, and he looked back at Kate. His eyes seemed to pierce into her. He turned away and continued his conversation. “Make sure you save that print. If anything happens to it, I am holding you directly responsible.” After a few more seconds, the phone call ended, and Ryan turned around.
“So?” Kate asked. “What did he say?”
Ryan slowly looked at her and spoke softly. “There weren’t enough matches for the fingerprint to be admissible, so I just asked him to secure the print in case it can be used as a secondary identifier in case we hear from this vigilante again. Let’s just hope this man is really on our side if he decides to stick his head out into the world again.”
Kate smiled. “You know, you should be thanking the man, instead of being so concerned. He did help you take down one of the biggest crime bosses around, didn’t he?”
Ryan smiled. “I guess he did. Looks like I have a guardian angel watching over me. First the tips that led us there, and then the guy was gift wrapped, waiting for me.” Ryan laughed. “You know, I never believed in angels until you moved into this farm.”
Matthew 28:20.
Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Chapter 16.
Kate left her small cottage in the early morning. There were droplets of dew on the grass, reflecting the orange light of dawn. Her breath slid visibly out of her, hanging in a white cloud in front of her lips before fading away into nothingness. She was dressed in an Amish dress, and had a shawl wrapped around her shoulders. So it was done, the crime syndicate had been dismantled in town, and everything should be going back to normal.
But still, Kate felt on tenterhooks. She had woken earlier than usual, her heart racing. She needed closure of some sort, and she thought she knew just where she needed to go for that. And so she started walking, moving to the road and making her way to her destination, just as others were beginning to rise from their beds.
She went toward the Kauffman pond where she often went to think and contemplate, and in recent times, to pray. Kate climbed carefully over the fence that separated the field from the road, and then stepped lightly through the long grass, and across the soft dirt.
At the pond, Kate paused, looking at the beauty of the water and the long green grass that grew along its edge, and the brown reeds that were growing at random within them.
A bullfrog croaked, a long low sound in the morning, like a sad song. A few dragonflies were up early, darting here and there over the surface of the water. A chill breeze blew, sending the tips of the reeds and grass bobbing back and forth, and slow ripples moving across the top of the water, forcing the six or so lily pads that called the pond home along one side of the pond, near the muddy bank.
Kate folded her arms over her chest and clutched her shoulders, trying to stay warm, but failing. Still, this was where she needed to be, and she closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the pond while she reflected on what had happened the last month or so.
Kate thought about the bad guys of course, and she knew that was a simplistic way to think of them, merely as bad guys, but she couldn’t help it. That’s what they were. She had always thought of them like that, even back in WITSEC.
Back in WITSEC. It was strange to think like that. It made it sound as though she wasn’t ever going to go back. It sounded like WITSEC was her past. But she knew that wasn’t true. She would be able to leave the Amish community some day.
And thinking of leaving brought a new pang of pain to her heart. She had really come to love the people she had gotten to know in the community. They had all made her feel like family, had gone out of their way to do so. And the idea of leaving really did make her sad.
Kate just happened to turn and look back to the road, and she was surprised to see a police cruiser parked there near the fence, and then in the field halfway between the pond and the road, and coming closer with every step, was Ryan.
She wondered what the cop was doing out here. She turned fully and waited for him to reach her, unable to hide a smile as he finally did.
“Kate,” he said, nodding a bit.
“Officer.”
“Call me Ryan; you know that.”
“Not many people get to be called Officer. Don’t you prefer it?” she asked in teasing tone.
Ryan laughed and shook his head. “Not really. Not from my friends.”
“I’m glad to know you think we’re friends,” Kate said.
“Aren’t we?” Ryan asked.
“Of course we are,” Kate said. She decided to change the subject. They were getting a little too close to flirting for her taste, and there was nothing she could do about it as long as she was posing as an Amish woman. “You’re far from home, aren’t you?”
Ryan laughed and shrugged. “I was coming to see Isaac, and you, and a few others,” he said. “I didn’t know you would be out here, though; I almost drove right by you.”
Kate nodded. “I come down to the pond to think and pray,” she said.
Ryan smiled. “I like to have time to myself to think and pray,” he said, “after I wrap up a case. It’s therapeutic.”
Kate nodded. “It is. So what did you want to tell us?”
“I told you everything yesterday, but I wanted to see if Isaac and Beth had any questions.”
“Isaac and Beth will like that.”
“Can I ask you something?” Ryan asked, his face turning stern, and Kate knew they were about to get back into the territory she was trying to avoid, but maybe with them, there just wasn’t the option to avoid it.
“Yes,” Kate said, her stomach clenched.
“Have you thought any more about leaving the community? The Amish community?”
Kate looked at the young man. He looked back at her, and there was no question there was a strong attraction between them, one they both felt, and one on which they both wanted to act. And yet they couldn’t date, not while Kate was Amish, even if she wasn’t really Amish.
Kate smiled and nodded her head. “I have,” she said.
“And?”
“I will leave.”
Ryan’s face crinkled into a thousand smiles. “When?”
Kate smiled again and reached out, placing her hand on the cop’s arm. “I don’t know. When I can. When I’m ready.”
Ryan nodded. “Well, when you do, would you like to go to dinner with me?”
Kate knew she was smiling too much, but another smile came, and she didn’t stop it. She nodded. “Yes,” she said.
“Great.” Ryan turned to face the pond, and Kate turned as well. They stood like that for a long while, watching the morning sun continue to rise over the horizon, brightening the day as it did so. It brought more warmth too, and as it warmed up, their breath wasn’t visible anymore, and Kate didn’t need the shawl. She pulled it from her shoulders and folded it over her arm.
The bullfrog made an appearance, hopping out from under a clump of the long grass and sunning himself on the muddy bank. He croaked loudly, and when Ryan took a step toward him, he leaped away, flinging himself into the pond water. The couple on the shore watched the ripples fade away.
Kate turned. “I should go back,” she said.
“I can give you a ride,” Ryan said.
Kate laughed and shook her head. “Thanks, Ryan, but I need to walk and think and pray some more.”
�
�Well, I guess I’ll see you around, Kate,” Ryan said.
“You will,” she replied.
Kate turned and walked away from the man, and away from the pond. She headed for the woods, intending to take the shortcut back home. She forced herself not to look back at Ryan, to see if he was watching her, even though she wanted to. Instead, she kept moving forward, into the woods, although the man was on her mind.
A trip to the pond was just what she had needed. She could let the case go now, everything that had happened, the dead man with the viper tattoo, and The Viper himself. Now new thoughts flooded into her mind, and they all had to do with Ryan.
But if Kate were to be honest with herself, thinking about Ryan wasn’t too bad, after all.
* * * The End* * *
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The Next Book in this 3 Book Series.
Next (and last) in this #1 Best-selling series, Amish Safe House.
Safe Hearts (Amish Safe House, Book 3)
U.S. Marshal, Kate Briggs, is still posing as an Amish woman. When the cousin of one of the Amish Knitting Circle ladies is accused of murder, Kate once again throws herself into the investigation. However, the criminal looking for her has finally tracked her down to the small Amish community in which she is hiding. How will Kate protect not only herself, but the entire community, from the desperate criminal?
When Kate’s identity is revealed, how will everyone react, especially Detective Ryan Weaver?
Other Books by Ruth Hartzler.
#1 Best-selling series, The Amish Buggy Horse, by Ruth Hartzler.
Faith (Book ONE)
For years, Nettie looked after her aged mother Elma, a demanding woman who did not want any involvement with the community.
Now that her mother has died, Nettie is alone. She is regarded with suspicion by the local townspeople, and has had no visitors from her community for some years.
Nettie's buggy horse has gone lame and has had to be retired, but Nettie cannot afford a new horse. Just as Nettie is despairing about not having any means of transport, a lost horse appears in her driveway, bringing with him far-reaching consequences.
Daniel Glick is drawn to the lonely figure of Nettie, but Nettie wants to be left alone.
However, when Jebediah Sprinkler tries to force Nettie to hand over her house, Daniel springs to the rescue.
As Nettie's struggles mount, she has to decide whether to take the law into her own hands.
And what will Daniel do when he discovers the secret that Nettie is hiding from him?
About Ruth Hartzler.
Ruth Hartzler's father was from generations of what people refer to as "Closed Open" or "Gospel Hall" Brethren. Ruth's mother, a Southern Baptist, had years of struggle adapting to the cultural differences, and always cut her hair, which was a continual concern to Ruth's father's family. Ruth was raised strictly Brethren and from birth attended three meetings every Sunday at the Gospel Hall, the Wednesday night meeting, and the yearly "Conference," until she left the Brethren at the age of twenty one. Ruth still has close friends in the Brethren, as well as the Amish, both groups descending from Anabaptists. Ruth's family had electricity, but not television, radio, or magazines, and they had plain cars. Make up, bright or fashionable clothes, and hair cutting were not permitted for women. Women had to wear hats in meetings (what others would call church meetings) but not elsewhere. The word "church" was never used and there were no bishops or ministers. All baptized men were able to speak (preach, or give out a hymn) spontaneously at meetings. Musical instruments were forbidden, with the exception of the traditional pump organ which was allowed only if played in the home for hymn music. Even so, singing of hymns in accompaniment was forbidden.
Ruth Hartzler is a widow with one adult child and two grandchildren. She lives alone with her Yorkshire Terrier and two cats. She is a retired middle school teacher and enjoys quilting, reading, and writing.
In Plain View (Amish Safe House, Book 2) Page 9