Lamb to the Slaughter (Serenity's Plain Secrets Book 1)

by Karen Ann Hopkins

  It was almost humorous how few people recognized me dressed in street clothes. I didn’t go out much. When I did, I kept my hair pulled back tightly and half my face hidden behind supersized shades. I didn’t want to be noticed when I was off the job.

  When we finally sat down on the bench at the long line of tables positioned under the canopy tent, I was famished. The smell of the food on my plate made my mouth water. The Amish girls at the counter had heaped the servings high with shy eyes and mumbled words. I’d imagined Naomi standing there among them, all prim and proper and quiet. The thoughts had sobered my mind, reminding me what my purpose here was.

  As I began to eat the chicken and mashed potatoes, I listened to Daniel talk with animation to his sister and brother-in-law. After Daniel had hugged his sister, whose eyes had glistened with moisture at the unexpected encounter, the couple had followed us to the table.

  Daniel had told me on the drive over that he had three brothers and the same number of sisters. Only one of those, a sister, had remained here in Blood Rock. The others had made homesteads in newer communities in southern Ohio and Kentucky.

  I couldn’t understand a word they were saying, but frequently, Daniel’s sister, Rebecca, would glance my way and smile. When I wasn’t trying to get the gist of Daniel’s conversation with his family, my gaze wandered to the gray haired couple sitting a few rows away. Daniel had subtly pointed his parents out to me before we’d sat down. Even though both of them had seen their son, they’d made no move to speak to him. He’d returned the favor by turning away quickly and ignoring them.

  My head shot up with my name.

  “Serenity, what is it like being a police officer? Is it very scary?” Rebecca asked, sliding down the bench and stopping directly across from me. Her white cap and navy blue dress were very neat and her face was still tight with youth. Rebecca’s eye’s sparked with curiosity, telling me she was an intelligent woman.

  I usually didn’t hang out with women, finding their company to be both uncomfortable and confusing at times, but Rebecca immediately made me feel at ease. Maybe it was the fact that she looked very much like Daniel, only a feminine version. She would have been striking with normal clothes, her hair down and a touch of make-up.

  “There were times when I first got my badge and I was working in Indianapolis that I was intimidated by the job. Maybe even a little frightened. But the fear isn’t the difficult part—dealing with the aftermath of violence is.”

  Rebecca looked confused, glancing between me and Daniel. I suddenly felt extremely self-conscious. I stared at the white, plastic table cloth, gathering my thoughts before she even asked the question.

  “If you don’t mind me asking, what do you mean? I’d always assumed that police officers are in danger much of the time,” Rebecca said.

  I sighed. “Yes, that’s true, especially in the larger populated areas. Unfortunately, that’s only a part of being a cop. I’ve seen all kinds of awful things over the years; domestic violence, child abuse, and murder. But for me, witnessing first-hand the effect on the children…and sometimes their parents, is worse than being shot yourself.”

  I almost said more, but the penetrating look from Daniel closed my mouth. He didn’t need to know my demons. None of them did.

  Covering up my awkward pause quickly, I said, “I moved back here to Blood Rock almost two years ago to leave the violence of the city behind…or so I thought.”

  Daniel and his brother-n-law became stone silent. I could tell from the corner of my eye that Daniel was still staring at me. His steady gaze made me want to squirm on the bench. I struggled not to fidget in front of him.

  Rebecca said, “Yes, it is a sad thing about Naomi Beiler. It must be hard for you to see a person after the Lord has taken them away. I know I couldn’t do it.”

  It was interesting how Rebecca had understood exactly what I’d meant. I admitted that the Amish people I’d met today weren’t as creepy as the bishop, ministers, and Beilers were. Maybe, Tony Manning had been right about getting to know the Plain people better. Even with a softening of my attitude, I couldn’t keep the paranoia completely from my mind. I wondered if I would have been received in such a friendly manner if I hadn’t been on Daniel’s arm.

  Rebecca reached over and placed her soft, small hand on mine and said, “Please come by and visit sometime. We can get to know each other over a cup of tea.”

  “That would be nice. Thank you,” I murmured, feeling overwhelmed by the woman’s invitation. I also felt like shit that at some point it would come out that my relationship with Daniel was a ruse. When she learned the truth, Rebecca would never want to talk to me again.

  After we deposited our plastic plates into the trash can, Daniel led me by the hand into the school house and the site of the auction. Another bearded Amish man was rattling off numbers too fast for me to catch when we entered the building. Daniel shuffled me to a bench near the front, continuing to greet almost everyone we passed. I would’ve bet that he’d already met up with every bearded man on the property, except for his own father, when a new one would pop up out of nowhere. It was difficult to keep them all straight. Their beards, matching dress code and tight genetic pool made them all look the same at a glance.

  Daniel’s hand had somehow settled on my knee and remained there for the rest of the time we spent watching the quilts, furniture and pies sell. I tried to ignore the warm, heavy feel of it and focus on the auction, but it was difficult. I was shocked to see several high dollar items, such as a hand stitched quilt and a rocking chair get bought by local banks and then be donated back to the Amish people to be auctioned off once again. I certainly hadn’t known about the close business ties these people had to the outside community. By the show of non-Amish people spending their money at the event, it became clear that many of them were ready to support the Amish not only with smiles and handshakes, but with their wallets as well.

  When a beautiful blue and burgundy quilt reached eight hundred and seventy five dollars and then was offered back to the Amish, I swiveled in my seat to look for the person who’d spent so much money, just to give it all back.

  My face heated when my stare met Tony Manning’s. He smiled crookedly and left his petite, blond wife, to stride purposely towards me. I turned back around and sighed loudly. Just what I needed, I thought.

  “What?” Daniel whispered near my ear at the same time he squeezed my hand, sending a pleasant tingle coursing through me.

  “Nothing you need to worry about,” I said.

  Tony’s voice came close to my other ear, along with the strong smell of peppermint. “So, I see you’ve taken my advice, Serenity, and come to mingle with the people.”

  I ignored him. Nobody needed a shout fest between me and the former sheriff, especially not Daniel.

  “You’re even quieter with your tongue. Let’s just hope that you take the rest of the advice I gave you.”

  I didn’t even bother to turn when Tony left. I couldn’t deal with his nonsense right now. But I’d be lying if I said that his appearance hadn’t set my nerves on edge. I ignored Daniel’s raised eyebrow and questioning look to silently watch the auctioneer begin selling buckets of the leftover chicken from the dinner. My mind wondered as the drone of the sale went on, again wondering why Tony Manning was pestering me to leave the Amish alone. I rolled the conversations with the man around in my mind, but I couldn’t fathom what Tony’s connection to the investigation was. The more I thought about it, the deeper the throbs in my head were. I decided to let it go for the time being before it gave me a migraine.

  A couple of hours later, I found myself tiredly walking in the dark to Daniel’s Jeep. He’d finally let go of my hand, needing both of his to carry the two new garden shovels that he’d purchased. Personally, I thought he paid way too much for them, but he bought them for a good cause so I didn’t say anything about it. My butt was sore from the hard benches and I was imagining the hot bubble bath I planned to climb into as soon as I got
home, when a hand snaked out of the darkness and grabbed my arm.

  “Ma’am, I’m sorry to bother you and all, but I need to talk to you. Not here though. We can’t talk now.” The girl’s voice was quietly whispering and talking so fast that I had to strain to hear her. I didn’t have to work hard to feel her trembling body next to mine though. Whether she shook from the cold or fear, I had no idea.

  “What’s your name?” I asked, aware that Daniel had stopped beside me. He was waiting for the girl to speak too.

  “Sandra. I won’t tell you my last name. You don’t need to know that. But I do know something that I think you’d be interested in. It’s about Naomi. She was my best friend, and she didn’t deserve what happened to her.” Sandra paused to look behind her and then she came even closer. From instinct, I leaned in to meet her. “You being the sheriff and all, you’ll want to know this. It might help you.”

  “Where do you want to meet?” I asked the short, plain faced girl.

  “We can talk at the butcher’s shop. Be there at eleven on Monday morning. That’s when I take my break to get fresh air and eat my lunch. That’s the only time, so please be there.”

  Before I could say anything, Sandra was gone, disappearing into the night as quickly as she had appeared.

  I was going to speak, but Daniel pulled me the last few feet to the Jeep. He motioned me to get in when he opened the door.

  Neither of us spoke until we were well away from the school house. Then both of us began speaking at once.

  “You go first,” Daniel said.

  “What the hell was that all about? Are the Amish always so damn cryptic?”

  Daniel laughed nervously, and said, “Yeah. That’s the way we’re trained from childhood. Everything is a secret.

  “Do you think that girl really has information that will help solve the case?” My heart still thumped with adrenaline from the unexpected encounter.

  “She very well might. The young people are the ones who’ll talk to you.”

  “Why them?” I turned in the seat and faced the handsome guy beside me, wishing that we had been on a real date and not some fake investigation set-up. The soft glow of the dashboard lights illuminated his strong facial features. I couldn’t help but stare at the black stubble on his jaw line when he spoke.

  “Because most of them are disgruntled with their lives, and they still have enough spirit to go against the governing body. Once they join the church and hook up with their significant others, their will to stand up to authority evaporates right along with their independence. Their spirits are broken with the desire to fit in and not be frowned upon by their peers. At that point, it’s next to impossible to get them to deviate from the set of rules and customs. They are terrified to be put in bad graces within their society—it motivates them completely as adults.”

  “What about you? You left. Why didn’t you get dragged in like the rest of them?” I chanced the question.

  Daniel sighed and gripped the steering wheel. Staring straight ahead, he said, “I got out in time. They didn’t succeed in breaking my spirit or intimidating me into submission, because I fought like a demon. I guess for a while, the demon had a hold of me. But it’s gone now.”

  Daniel had some deep issues. I almost asked him if he meant figuratively or literally about the demon, but I pressed my lips together tightly and kept quiet. I was afraid what his answer would be.

  “Do you know what this means?” Daniel asked me, his voice upbeat once again.

  “Hmmm?” I mumbled, thinking about how difficult growing up Amish would be.

  “That we’ll be together again on Monday,” Daniel smiled brilliantly.

  “Why?”

  “You can’t show up at the butcher’s shop in your police cruiser. You’d give the girl away for sure. If I pick you up and you dress normally and I order some steaks, you’ll be able to talk to the girl while she’s on her break unnoticed. Trust me. You don’t want to get the poor kid into trouble for talking to you about this. You don’t want that on your conscience.”

  “What would they do to her?” I was envisioning torture devises and dungeon cells.

  Daniel turned into my drive and I blinked, not believing that the trip was already over. A twinge of depression squeezed my insides. I shook the feeling off, hating myself for even giving a damn.

  “She might get sent off to live in another state with family members or to an Amish home for problem children. Or, she could be whipped with a belt. The worst thing would be sitting on the splintery bench in front of the entire congregation while the bishop tells the community what sin she’d committed.”

  Daniel’s voice was angry, as if he were talking from experience. Just when I was going to invite him in and try to find out exactly what made him leave his family, friends and the only life he’d ever known, he said, “Good night, Serenity. I’ll pick you up on Monday at ten.”

  His dismissal brought a fan of warmth across my face. It was clear that Daniel was in need of some time alone to deal with his stirred up emotions at seeing his people again. We all had our inner demons—maybe the demon he thought he’d rid himself of was still lurking about.

  “Thanks for helping me out with the investigation. I appreciate it. And I had a good time tonight,” I said, holding his gaze for a long second before I shut the jeep’s door.

  By the time I’d walked into the kitchen, my mood had lifted a couple of notches. There was the real possibility that Sandra would have information that would crack the case wide open, and that was enough to take the sting out of being blown off by the only real crush I’d ever had.

  8

  NAOMI

  September 5th

  The stars twinkled brightly in the sky. Naomi tried to imagine what it would be like to be up there among them. She’d heard talk that people had actually flown there on special air planes, but she hardly believed it. It seemed impossible.

  Naomi sighed. She knew that this was the only place in the world where she was truly safe. No one would ever guess to look for her in the cornfield. The stalks were tall, and she was thankful for the leafy walls that hid her.

  A pocket of cooler air settled over Naomi and she cuddled against Eli’s body for warmth. His fingers played with her hair softly and she closed her eyes thinking how nice it felt.

  “You know, Naomi, we ought to be setting a date for the wedding, at least in our minds. We don’t need to tell no one else about it until later in the summer. That would give your folks time to prepare.”

  Eli’s words caused Naomi to shiver. He hugged her closer, probably believing that she was cold, but that wasn’t the problem. The thought of becoming a married woman was the last thing on her mind.

  “Oh, I don’t know if Dat will allow us to marry so soon. My income from the butcher shop is all that’s keeping the family above water right now.”

  “We can’t postpone all our plans because of your parents’ financial problems. Your mother works you too hard at the house. And the butcher shop is no place for a woman to be spending her days. Don’t you want to be away from all that?”

  Eli had lifted up onto his elbow and looked seriously down at Naomi. His worried frown made her feel wanted, but still she hesitated.

  “It’ll be up to them, won’t it?” Naomi said, staring up at the stars again and wishing that she were up there with them.

  “No. When we decide to marry, my parents will support us. That’ll be enough for yours to go along with it. We just need to get them mentally prepared. That’s all.”

  Naomi sighed, wondering what his big hurry was. They were meeting in the fields at least one night a week and he was getting his need taken care of. True, being away from Mamma’s glares and the endless work would be a blessing, but it almost seemed to Naomi that marrying Eli was just trading one prison for another. She’d still be held to the church’s Ordnung, and all the rules that went along with it. Was it so wrong to want to be free?

  Naomi couldn’t bear the thought of Eli
being angry with her though. She tried to think of a way to make him realize that marriage wasn’t the best thing for them right now.

  “Do you have any money saved up, Eli? We’ve only been courting a month after all.” Naomi said as she began buttoning up his shirt for him.

  “Father allowed me to start saving more of my money back when we began planting. So together with the money I’ll be able to keep once I’ve told him of the wedding, I reckon we’ll have enough to get by on in the beginning.”

  “Won’t you miss being single? You know, hanging out with your buddies and all. Once we’re married, you’ll have to work all the more to take care of a family,” Naomi rushed the words out. She knew that she’d been too hasty when Eli narrowed his eyes and sat up.

  “Don’t you want to marry me? Is that why you’re acting like a skittish colt about it?”

  “That isn’t it at all. I just don’t like change much.”

  Eli clasped her hands and said, “It will be a good change for you. Just think how nice it will be to take care of your own home, instead of slaving away under your Mother’s orders. And you won’t have to work at the butcher’s shop no more, neither.”

  Things were moving way too fast. Naomi just wanted it to stop. She knew that if she kept blowing Eli off, he’d quit her for sure and she didn’t want that. Her belly tightened as her confused mind tried to straighten her thoughts outs. She didn’t know what she wanted. That was the problem. Eli was the perfect Amish guy and all, but her mind kept sliding back to Will and his smoldering dark eyes. A part of her wanted to see what it would be like to be Will’s girl and experience life with him. But she wasn’t stupid either. He might not be interested in her at all that way. English guys didn’t commit to a woman and take care of her until they were older. Should Naomi risk losing the best guy in the community to chase after an English one, not knowing if it would even work out? Her head ached with it all. She squeezed at the hurt with her hands, wanting to tear it from her brain.