Safe Hearts (Amish Safe House, Book 3)

by Ruth Hartzler

  “That’s horrible news,” David Harper replied. “I’m sorry you’re dealing with troubling circumstances again, but this line needs to be kept secure and used only when absolutely necessary.”

  “Oh, I wasn’t finished,” Kate answered.

  “I’m sorry.” She noticed that her boss’s voice seemed to fade slightly, like he had felt too embarrassed to speak again for a few moments. Then, he finally broke his brief silence. “Please, go on, then.”

  “The man who’s being accused of the crime is named Jeremiah Steinbeck. His cousin, Beckie, is a member of our knitting circle, and earlier today, she and I went to the correctional facility at which he’s being held. We were hoping to get his side of the story and figure out what was going on, but what he told us did nothing but complicate the situation further.” Kate looked back out over the rushing waters of the creek. “He told us that the private detective has been asking around his café, and probably all around town, trying to track down a female in her thirties who recently went into hiding with the Amish.”

  Kate stopped speaking, letting only the creek and the crickets be heard in the distance. She hoped Harper would have some strong words of encouragement, or at least a list of instructions to help her get out of her situation. Kate welcomed any advice that her boss could offer her. She wanted the seed of worry that had been planted vanish, before it was able to grow into a full-fledged, unavoidable nightmare.

  After several moments, Harper finally broke the silence. “I think it’s imperative that we get you extracted right away.” His voice had gone from calm and accepting, to frantic and authoritative. “There’s no possible way this is a coincidence. I don’t know how anyone would be on your trail, let alone a private detective. And why? I could see if he’s working for those criminals we took down or something, but it’s not usually their modus operandi to operate in such a way. There has to be something else going on here. We need to get you out of there ASAP.”

  Kate looked down and let out a loud sigh. She then lifted her head back up and spoke into the burner phone. “I’ve tried making sense of it all day, but it just isn’t coming together for me. I don’t understand how anyone could have found out about me being here. According to Jeremiah, the detective had visited him twice. The first time he asked if it was commonplace for the Amish to shelter someone within their community. Then, he went back another time and asked him if there had been any new female members that recently joined the community and might be around the age of thirty.”

  She heard a loud gasp as it escaped through the speaker of her phone. “Do you think he told the investigator about you?”

  “No,” Kate replied. “He reassured me that he didn’t. He said I hadn’t even crossed his mind while the man was asking him about it all.”

  “Well, that’s good, but someone had to have talked. This isn’t good, Kate. We need to act immediately. It’s one thing if a journalist or a private investigator is trying to sniff out someone in WITSEC, but the fact that he was murdered recently is very disheartening. Obviously, he was being watched and tracked. That means that someone could have been following his trail right to you. Maybe that’s why they took him out; they probably already got what they needed from him.”

  Kate sighed long and hard. “I understand that; believe me, I do. But what choices do I have? Should I really just pack up and leave tonight without any notice? And if I did that, then what? I have to go into hiding somewhere else?”

  David Harper cleared his voice before speaking. “I understand the predicament you’ve found yourself in, Kate. Don’t let yourself come undone, however; remember your training. I don’t think you should leave immediately. Someone has eyes on the community right now, and if you were to make a break for it, that would alert them to the fact that you’re the one they’re looking for.”

  “That’s the problem. Ever since the crime syndicate was run out of the area, I haven’t felt danger lurking around until recently. Now it’s starting to stress me out again. I’m already worried about saving an innocent man, but now I might be in danger as well. And of course, I’m not the only one. What about everyone else that lives in this community? I just wish I knew what was going on.”

  David spoke after a few moments. “I think our best option here will be for me to contact the bishop. I’ll arrange for him to send for you once I arrive. I’m not taking any chances with your life, not any longer. I’ll extract you personally. We don’t know who we can trust, even in our own agency.”

  Kate sighed and let her hand that held the phone fall to her side. She pulled herself closer to the edge of the log, and slid off her right shoe. She dipped her toes into the cold, rushing water, and shuddered as a chill crept up her leg. Kate lifted the phone back to her ear. “What should I do now?”

  “Go about your normal life so as not to draw any attention to yourself. It’s clear that they’re looking for someone of your age in the community, but they haven’t tracked you down yet. They’ll be watching the community, though, and most likely they’re expecting you to put two and two together and make a run for it. I’ll drive there right away and get you somewhere safer.”

  “Thank you,” Kate said, before ending the call. Kate slid the phone back into her concealed pocket and sat with her hands in her lap, studying the creek once more. The moon had moved a bit higher in the sky at that point, or at least it seemed so by its looming reflection in the water. Kate noticed several frogs hopping in and out of the stream. She smiled and looked up at the moon. At that moment, she realized something: that even in the darkest of times, it felt like there would always be a light to guide her to safety. She thought of Psalm 23.

  Please God, was her silent prayer, please keep me safe.

  Kate stood up from her position on the log and slid her shoe back on. She turned away from the creek and started back toward her cottage. She could see it sitting in the distance, a dark silhouette guarded by shadows. Despite the haunting atmosphere and the panic that attempted to strangle her with apprehension, Kate walked on through the night without any fears in her heart or on her mind; she had left them all behind at the creek.

  Psalm 34: 4.

  I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

  Chapter 6.

  Kate finished setting the dining room table and looked up at the clock. It was almost five o’clock. She smiled at Bill as he took his seat at the end of the long table. She turned to head back to the kitchen so she could help Beth bring in the last of the food, when she heard a vehicle coming up the road. “Are we expecting guests?”

  “Not that I’m aware of,” Beth replied. “Let’s see who’s come to pay us a visit.”

  Kate nodded and followed Beth to the main door. A familye buggy pulled up. She squinted to see who it was, but until the buggy’s door opened, she couldn’t quite tell. Then, it became clear as they stepped down one after the other, that it was Beckie and her husband, Elijah.

  “Gude nochmiddaag!” Beth called out. “You’re just in time for dinner!”

  “We’d love to join you for dinner!” Beckie responded with a wide smile, but it quickly evaporated into a stern, worried expression. “We’ve come here with some troubling news, however.”

  “What do you mean?” Kate asked. “Not about Jeremiah, I hope.”

  “Nee, not Jeremiah,” Beckie said. “We can speak more about this once we get inside, but the main reason we came was to warn you all about a suspicious mann who’s been going around in the area.”

  Kate glanced over at Beth, who appeared to be confused by the news. Kate watched as the couple followed Beth inside the house, and then she looked back out at the dimming sky before following them indoors. A worried feeling started to grow in the pit of her stomach. What could be going on now? she thought. I don’t have a good feeling about this.

  Kate walked into the dining room to see that everyone was already seated. Kate sat in one of the chairs next to Beckie’s husband. Elijah.

  B
ill dropped his head, and clenched his hands together. Kate followed along and bowed her head to pray the silent prayer, as did all Amish people before a meal. The thoughts in her mind swirled frantically as she wondered what news Beckie and her husband had brought with them to dinner. Her thoughts drifted back to the conversation she previously had with her boss, David Harper. It was quite likely that the suspicious person Beckie had vaguely mentioned could be the man who was looking for her. The sound of chatter coming from the dinner table startled Kate back to reality. She opened her eyes to see the others filling their plates and passing the plates.

  Kate looked to her right to see a plate of fresh bread, as Elijah handed it to her with a friendly smile on his face. “Denki,” she replied automatically, as she took it from him and began to fill her plate.

  “Now,” Bill said, “what was it you needed to tell us about?”

  Elijah took a sip of his meadow tea, before looking up and speaking. “Earlier today, a man was going from farm to farm and asking a lot of questions. We’re trying to warn everyone, so they’ll be ready for his arrival. He’ll probably show up here in the next day or two, so it’s better if you’re prepared for it.”

  Kate noticed that Elijah’s voice sounded uneasy. There was no way he could be so distraught over a random guy asking some trivial questions. If this man was the one trying to track her down, was he also the one who killed the detective and framed Jeremiah? If so, Kate knew that he was probably coming for her next.

  “I’m not quite sure what that means,” Beth said. “What harm is there in asking some questions?”

  Beckie looked down at her cup of tea and spoke without looking back up. “The man says he’s from the Bureau of Maintenance and Operations and is just conducting a consensus. Apparently the state wants to get a count of each household. He’s been asking everyone he’s visited how many buggies they have on their property, how many residents they have staying there, and the ages of each of those people.”

  “What could he possibly want that information for?” Beth asked.

  Kate had a feeling that she knew exactly why he wanted that information. Whoever this man was, she was certain he was looking for her, trying to sniff out her hiding spot. Fear clouded her thoughts as she continued listening to the conversation.

  “According to the man, the government is willing to expand our roadways and redo them if there are enough buggies using them.”

  Bill nodded. “Oh, well, that seems like a perfectly reasonable series of questions to ask, then,” he said. “It could do us some good to get those roads fixed up a bit.”

  “Yes, it would be if it’s the truth,” Beckie said. “The thing that caused red flags was his identification. He’s been flashing around a card that’s a fake ID.” Kate noticed that Elijah looked over at his wife and nodded, as if he were giving her reassurance to continue stating her opinion of the matter.

  “How do you know it isn’t an authentic ID?” Bill asked.

  “Because he already came to my farm and asked me those questions,” Beckie said. “I’ve seen his ID in person. It lacked the color-shifting ink that the actual cards contain to show the numerous holograms.”

  Kate bunched her eyebrows as she took in the information that was being offered. She had seen plenty of fake identification cards and badges in her life, so she knew immediately that Beckie was right, but how did Beckie know so much about such things? Kate looked down at the table and tried to think clearly. “May I ask how you are aware of things like color-shifting ink and holograms? I don’t know much about those things at all, and frankly, it all seems a little far-fetched to me.”

  “Our nephew told her all about it,” Elijah blurted.

  Beckie shot him a quick look, but then started to speak. “Yes, our nephew recently went on his rumspringa and became good friends with a mann who actually does have one of those Transportation Worker ID cards. When he laid his eyes on the man’s ID himself, he brought it right to my attention that something seemed off.”

  “Hmm,” Kate muttered. If the card lacked one of its primary security features, there was no way it could be legit. But if that was the case, then who was that man? Was he a random criminal snooping around looking for something to steal, or was he really the man who’d been looking for her; the one who’d made the attempt on her life?

  “The only thing that doesn’t make sense is what the man’s motive could be,” Elijah added. “I can’t put my finger on what anyone could be trying to accomplish by taking information on Amish households.”

  Kate looked up to see Beth sitting in silence. She looked like she was still trying to comprehend what it all meant, just like Kate was trying to do in her own mind. She then glanced at Bill, who was sipping from his cup. He then placed it on the table and cleared his throat quietly before speaking up. “The only thing I can think of is that the man is just casing out the area.”

  “What do you mean? You think he’s trying to rob the farmhouses?” Kate asked abruptly. She hoped there could be a different explanation for the mysterious man’s arrival and inquiries, but something told her that her gut instinct was right this time, as it usually was whenever her training had to kick in.

  “That could definitely be the case,” Beckie replied. “Either way, we want to make everyone aware that he could try something.”

  “Yes, that sounds like a good plan,” Beth said. “But how do we do stop him?”

  Kate looked over at Beth to see a worried expression plastered on her face. The thought that she was bringing all of this worry and danger to the people that were keeping her safe caused her heart to beat faster, and her stomach to tie in knots.

  “I’ve spoken to everyone in our knitting circle and we came up with the idea of inflating our numbers. We were hoping you all would do the same. If he shows up in the next few days or so, just act polite and friendly as usual, but exaggerate your numbers a bit,” Beckie said with enthusiasm.

  “I don’t know if that would be enough to stop a criminal, but it’s definitely a good start,” Bill admitted.

  “I’d much prefer if we didn’t have to try to stop him at all,” Beth said. “We’re assuming that he’s here to rob us, but what if that’s not the case?”

  “What else could it be?” Elijah interjected.

  Beth looked down and sighed. “I don’t know.”

  Kate knew exactly why the man was there, or at least she felt certain that she knew. She still had no clues as to the identity of the person who had sent her into hiding, but there was no way everything that was now happening could be a coincidence. She realized that the man who had tried to kill her must have tracked her down through that private detective. Kate thought hard, trying to figure out if she was missing an obvious piece of evidence that could clue her in to the man’s identity.

  “Did you catch the name that he used on his ID card?” Kate asked, looking directly at Beckie.

  Beth nodded. “I think his name is Sam Fisher, or something along those lines.”

  The name did not sound familiar to Kate, but of course, no one in those circumstances would use their real name. “What did he look like?”

  Beckie exchanged a quick glance with her husband before responding. “He was probably about six feet tall, give or take a few inches. He had short, black hair. The man was very slender, and probably in his mid-thirties.”

  The description was no help; Kate’s mind was still blank. She knew several men who fitted that description. Kate was worried about how close this perpetrator could be to finding her. What if he showed up tomorrow and recognized her right away? The fear and panic came back in full-force, but Kate tried to keep control of her emotions.

  Kate looked up at the others as they finished talking and drinking their tea. She felt like she was a world away, worried and uncertain about what would come next. She needed to find out who this man was once and for all. She also wanted to know why he has had such an ax to grind with her. Would she finally find out the identity and motives of th
e man that forced her into hiding?

  Proverbs 29: 25.

  The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.

  Chapter 7.

  As dinner drew to its inevitable conclusion, Kate remained anxious. She wanted nothing more than to get out of that dining room and call her boss immediately to inform him of what she had just learned. She took one last sip from her cup of tea and was about to stand up to excuse herself, but when she looked up, she saw that Bill was holding up his German Martin Luther Bible.

  Bill then started to read aloud from it. Nicht mit Ungläubigen angespannt werden. Für das, was zu tun Gerechtigkeit und Ungerechtigkeit gemeinsam? Oder was Kameradschaft kann Licht mit der Finsternis haben?

  That was not what Kate wanted to hear. She slumped back into her chair as Bill continued to read from the Bible in German. She knew it would be considered rude to leave during the reading of a Biblical passage, so she had to fight the desire to do so. She listened to Bill’s soothing voice as he recited the words in a language she could not understand in the slightest.

  Kate looked around the table to see Beth and their guests staring intently at Bill, listening to every word carefully. She tried to pay attention, not wanting the others to notice that she was lost in thought. The idea of that man honing in on her and doing something without warning was becoming too much to keep under wraps. She needed to talk to her boss, David Harper, as soon as possible.

  As she listened to the passage that was still being read, Kate felt a strange sensation in her fingers. She looked down to see that her hands were both shaking. This dinner needs to end, she thought. Kate smiled at Beth and then looked back at Bill. He read for a few more minutes and then lowered the book.

  Beth smiled. “Der Keenich muss mer erhehe” One must exalt the Lord.

  “Indeed, one must,” Beckie added.

  “It’s always been one of my favorite passages,” Elijah said.

  “It has been one of my favorites as well. Ever since I was a boy, I’ve held this Scripture close to my heart,” Bill explained.