Plain Refuge

by Dana R. Lynn

  Silas nodded. “Ja. A man who’d save my son without thinking of himself would not kill a young boy. Nor kidnap a woman and her sister.”

  It wasn’t always that simple, but he was glad Silas had decided to help.

  Climbing down from the buggy, he thought it had never felt so good to step out of any vehicle. He did appreciate the hospitality, though.

  As Silas introduced him around to a few of the other men, he noticed a few speculative glances. The men seemed to accept Silas’s explanation that Aiden was visiting them. As far as he could tell, none of the men seemed to recognize him.

  The work at the mill was refreshing. Aiden enjoyed working with his hands. The physical labor felt good.

  He was beginning to relax when Melvin rushed into the mill. He went to his father immediately and murmured to him. When Silas shot a look his way, Aiden’s instincts kicked in and his hand moved to his side to check his service weapon. Which wasn’t there.

  He strode over to the King men.

  Melvin ducked his head in greeting. Now that he knew the story, he could see the resemblance to the youth he’d rescued. He could also see the young man was reticent in nature, which would explain why he hadn’t said anything himself about meeting Aiden and Tim previously.

  “I was in town,” Melvin whispered, his eyes darting around. “I happened to stop by Norma’s store, and she talked with me.”

  Aiden didn’t know what the big deal was, but he guessed by the way Silas’s mouth dropped open, this wasn’t a common occurrence.

  “She doesn’t often come out of her office,” he explained.

  “Ja. She came out today. And walked right up to me and asked if I’d heard that the doctor had seen the cop accused of murder and kidnapping.”

  For a few seconds, Aiden’s brain froze.

  Then the adrenaline kicked in.

  “We need to leave. Now.”

  * * *

  Sophie had never made jam before. It had not occurred to her what a complex process it really was, and that should have kept her mind occupied.

  Instead, she kept walking to the window, watching for Aiden’s return.

  “Sophie, it’s time.”

  Sighing, she walked back and took her place at the counter. When Eleanor poured the berries into the large pot, Sophie picked up the old-fashioned potato masher and set to mashing the berries.

  Her mouth watered. Strawberries were among her favorite fruits. She liked the raspberries, as well.

  Once the berries were all mashed, Eleanor moved the pot to the stove. “We’ll add the pectin,” she said. She emptied a packet into the mixture and began to stir. “Then we’ll let it boil.”

  Soon the concoction was boiling. Eleanor dumped in sugar. Sophie stirred. Soon it was boiling again.

  After a minute, Eleanor announced it was time to finish. She skimmed the top off the mixture and removed it from the heat. Sophie helped her to scoop the jam into jars and put on the lids.

  “How long will it take to set?”

  “However long it needs. We’ll hear the lids pop when the jars are set.”

  Sophie nodded, idly casting another glance to the window.

  The buggy pulled in a lot faster than it had left. Aiden was jumping down before the vehicle had completely halted. He ran for the house, Silas right behind him. When the door banged opened, Eleanor shrieked and swung around, shocked, but she held her tongue. No wonder. There were storm clouds brewing on both men’s faces.

  Something was wrong.

  Stomach clenching, Sophie strove for calm as she approached Aiden. He saw her and grabbed her to him in a quick embrace.

  “You’re safe,” he said, touching her face, her head, to reassure himself. His alarm communicated itself to her.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “In a minute. Where’s Celine?”

  Celine! The wooden spoon in her hand clattered to the floor. Rushing for the door, she ran outside in her bare feet, hardly even noticing the pain as she raced across the gravel drive to reach the barn. Her sister was helping Mary.

  “Celine! You need to come now,” she signed.

  A mulish expression crossed the girl’s face. “I’ll come in a minute. We’re almost done here.”

  Sophie cast a glance at Mary and the shearing tool in her hand, then to the almost shorn sheep. Any other time, seeing the sheep with its woolly head and nearly naked body would have made her smile. Now she was on a mission and had no time for her sister’s mood.

  “No, not later. Now. Aiden’s back. Something has happened.”

  Celine paled and her lips trembled. She left the sheep immediately. Sophie regretted being harsh, but this was urgent.

  By the time they returned to the house, Melvin had arrived.

  “Okay, please tell us what’s happening.” Sophie made sure to speak and sign at the same time so all would understand her. She’d interpret whatever they said for Celine.

  Eleanor’s brow furrowed. “Should the kind be here?”

  “Yes,” Aiden responded. “This effects Celine, so she needs to be here. I know she’s twelve, but this is too important.”

  Plus, Sophie thought, if Celine was here, they would know where she was.

  “I’m here, too.” Levi walked down the stairs. His shoulder remained bandaged, but he had some color.

  “Should you be up?” Sophie asked him.

  “Ja, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Melvin here said that the doctor had a run-in with someone in town who was reading the paper and saw our pictures. I don’t know exactly what happened. Somehow, he let it slip that he had seen us.”

  “Did you ask him?” she gasped. “What about patient confidentiality?”

  A look passed between Silas and Aiden.

  “We went by his office,” Aiden said. “It was still closed up. No one has seen the doctor since yesterday.”

  Dread seeped through every pore. They had the doctor. Whether it was the police or Phillip’s men, she didn’t know.

  Focus, Sophie.

  “What do we do now?”

  Aiden shoved his hands in his pockets. His eyes, when they met hers, were steady. “We can’t stay here. Silas knows someone else who might let us hide out at his house for a few days. Melvin will help us get there. In the meantime, Silas will report the doctor missing. The local police will search for him.”

  Sophie heard what he wasn’t saying. He believed the doctor had been killed. Sadness weighed on her. Another person affected by their plight. He hadn’t said it, but knowing Aiden as she did, the fact that he wasn’t going to check on the doctor himself was probably eating at him. He did take the role of protector seriously.

  Sometimes too seriously.

  “You won’t go to Berlin,” Levi stated.

  “No. Nor do I think you should go with us. Not with your injury.”

  Celine gasped. Sophie reached out and patted her shoulder. The girl had developed a bit of a crush on Levi.

  “Sorry, man. We need to move fast, and I’d hate for your wound to become worse. And I think going to your family’s place, well, I don’t think that would be wise. They’re looking for you, too. If any of us show up at your family’s house, it could put them in danger. I wouldn’t be surprised if Phillip has someone watching your family. I called my chief on the way here and asked her to check on them. Although, anyone who knows you, knows that you haven’t had contact with them for the past few years. It’s better if we switch up the plan.”

  Levi nodded. “I might check into the hospital.”

  “Really?” They all gaped at him.

  “Yeah. If I go there, I’ll be protected, cared for, and the rumors of my being kidnapped could be dealt with. Plus, once the news reports that I have been rescued without you, it will be obvious that we didn’t go to my family. Even if the police come, I can h
onestly tell them I have no knowledge of where you are and that you did not kidnap me, nor did you shoot me or hurt the girls.”

  “What if they arrest you?” Celine asked once Sophie finished interpreting.

  He shrugged. “I’ll live. And Aiden can always clear me once this situation is done.”

  That was putting a lot of faith in their success.

  No. This was faith that God would bring the whole mess to a close.

  Lord, Your will be done. Please protect all who we have come into contact with.

  The next half hour was spent scrambling, gathering up what they might need for their journey. They were still headed in the direction of Berlin, but Silas was sending them to a man who lived on the outskirts of town. He was an older man who lived alone, his own family having all been killed in an accident fifteen years earlier. He’d never remarried. Silas seemed to feel he would welcome the company.

  “We don’t want to leave you without a buggy,” Aiden said to Silas and Eleanor.

  “Nee, don’t worry. We must help each other, ain’t so?” Silas replied. “We have a second buggy if we need it. It is no bother for us to loan it to you.”

  Eleanor handed them a basket with food. “Including some jam. It’s not set yet, but it will be in a couple of hours.”

  They thanked them before climbing into the buggy. Aiden squeezed inside with Sophie and Celine while Melvin clambered up on the bench to drive.

  “I don’t want anyone to see me from the road,” he murmured. “Nor do I want to show the world that I’m armed.” He opened his jacket.

  Sure enough, his service weapon was back in the holster. It struck her as odd to see a gun on a man dressed Plain.

  They pulled onto the drive and then the dirt road. Dust rose up and tickled her nose. She sneezed. Aiden offered her a facial tissue from the backpack he’d brought along. They must have come from Eleanor. She didn’t recall having them when they had started out on the journey.

  “Should we call your chief?” She kept her voice low, even though Celine couldn’t hear her. She wasn’t sure how much sound would travel from the buggy to Melvin.

  He shook his head. “In fact, I threw that phone out. I’d already used it several times. We still have one more. I left the third with Levi.”

  “Will you call her?”

  He didn’t answer at first. She waited. He would tell her once the answer was formulated in his mind. She’d learned that he wasn’t one who liked to answer off the cuff.

  Finally, he spoke. “I’m not comfortable with calling her yet. She says she knows who the mole is, but I’m positive they’ve got the wrong person. I can’t promise that, but my gut says I’m right. So I’m waiting. I did put her number into this phone, just in case you need to contact her.”

  She didn’t like the implication. If she needed to call the chief, then he would be unable to make the call himself. The idea of him being hurt or killed struck her in the pit of her stomach. She loved—

  No, no and no. She did not love him. He was helping them. She was grateful for him. That was the extent of her feelings for him.

  Liar.

  She was not ready to examine her feelings or the consequences of them any further, not while they were literally running for their lives.

  But she had a feeling that once they were safe, if they were ever safe again, it would be too late.

  Because Aiden would leave, and she would be alone with her heart in pieces.

  Stop. She couldn’t bear these thoughts.

  She opened her mouth to say something, words that were never uttered.

  The rear window shattered.

  THIRTEEN

  “Get down!” Aiden shoved Celine to the floor of the buggy. Sobbing wildly, she shrank down, her arms circling her knees.

  Sophie slid off the seat and wrapped herself protectively around her sister.

  “Melvin! Are you hurt?” The buggy had picked up speed but didn’t seem to be out of control, so he was fairly confident that the man was uninjured.

  “Nee!” Melvin shouted back.

  “Stay here.” Praying that he would be able to manage it, Aiden reached through the front opening and grabbed the bench. He pulled himself through the opening and swung his legs over so that he was sitting beside Melvin, who shifted over so they could both fit.

  Aiden removed his service weapon from the holster. He saw his companion’s eyes widen in alarm. “I’m sorry, Melvin. I know your family wouldn’t use a gun, but I will protect the women and you if I can.”

  Melvin gulped and didn’t say anything.

  A second shot rang out, dinging the back of the buggy.

  “Sophie!”

  “We’re not hurt. He missed us!”

  Momentarily, he sagged against the seat. They were fine. They weren’t hurt. And they would stay that way.

  Straightening, he leaned and twisted his torso to see if he could catch a glimpse of the car roaring up behind them. There was no way they’d be able to outrun them.

  Aiden aimed and fired. The front passenger-side tire blew out.

  He could see the driver of the car struggling to regain control of the vehicle as it swerved back and forth. It nicked the guardrail with the front fender, but it kept moving. Slower now that the wheel was riding on a flat tire. But still coming.

  “We have trouble!” Melvin shouted.

  More? The last thing they needed was more trouble.

  They were quickly approaching train tracks. The light began to blink. They were going to be stopped by a train. They’d die for sure.

  Not. Going. To. Happen.

  “Go around the crossing gates!”

  Melvin did a double take. “What?”

  “We have time,” he shouted. “The train isn’t here yet. If we stop, we’ll all die. Go around the gates.”

  Melvin’s face tightened. His hands gripped the reins and he steered the horse around the gates. The buggy rocked precariously at the speed they were traveling.

  A third shot glanced off the bottom of the buggy. The vehicle swayed. Then with a creak and a groan, the back right wheel fell off. They’d shot the axle. The buggy had landed with the back end still on the tracks. No amount of pulling would move it.

  “Get out!”

  He and Melvin both jumped down and he bolted to the side to assist first Celine and then Sophie out while Melvin freed the horse. The train whistle blew. It was close. Too close. Melvin smacked the hind end of the mare with a yell. She took off and ran a few feet away. Enough that she’d be safe. Sophie and Celine grabbed hands and ran as fast as they could.

  Once everyone was clear, Aiden sprinted off the tracks.

  The car skidded to a halt on the other side.

  Reaching the others, he pushed them a little farther away. The thundering of the train was upon them. He looked back in time to see the freight train plow into the buggy. He winced. The buggy was no match for the locomotive. It splintered and shattered. Shards of it rained down over them.

  The group stood, shocked, for a few seconds. Somehow, through all that, he and Melvin had both kept their hats. He shook his head at the irrelevant thought.

  Then the reality of their situation sank in.

  “We gotta move. The train is blocking us from their view, but once it’s gone, that car is going to come after us.”

  Celine looked like she was going to cry, but to his surprise she held it together. So did Sophie.

  “We’ll have to jog at first,” Melvin stated. “Can you keep up?”

  “What about the horse?” Celine asked.

  Melvin smiled at the girl. “Don’t worry about the mare. She’ll go home on her own.”

  She bit her lip. “Couldn’t someone ride her?”

  “Nee. Amish don’t use their horses for riding. She’s never had anyone on her. She’d be
likely to throw you off.”

  “Oh.” Her disappointment was so palpable and precious, and the adults all hid smiles.

  “You can run, Celine. We’ll stop and walk if it gets too much.” He waited until she nodded in reluctant agreement before motioning for Melvin to lead the way. Aiden let the others go ahead of him so he could keep aware of any dangers coming up behind them. Anything that tried to get to them would have to go through him first.

  He reached down and made sure that his gun was still in his holster.

  It was. What was missing was his wallet. Somehow he’d lost it. Had it fallen out? Or had he not put it in his pocket that morning? Wherever it was, it was too late to go back for it. He didn’t know what he’d do if he had to prove his identity. Everything that identified him as Aiden Forster, a cop from Talon Hill, was in that piece of leather.

  He’d have to worry about that later.

  They kept to the dirt roads and the wooded areas. After about thirty minutes of jogging, Celine cried out that she needed to slow down.

  “Let’s walk for a little while. Let everyone get their breath back,” Aiden called out. No one argued. Celine gave him a look of profound gratitude.

  “You’re her new hero,” Sophie remarked.

  He shrugged, uncomfortable with the statement. “I’m not a hero. Just a cop, doing my job.”

  “If you say so.” She let it drop. “This whole mess we’re in, is it the worst one you’ve ever been in?”

  He shook his head. “Not even close. My days as a soldier were way worse. We were always in danger. And there were nights where we would sleep while land mines were blowing up within hearing distance. It was nasty stuff.”

  Her arm brushed his. “I don’t think I could bear it if something happened to Celine.”

  Where had that come from?

  “I lost my whole family, except for her. She’s so much younger than I am that we’ve never really been close. And some of that was definitely on me. I put so much emphasis and focus on moving up in my career. I don’t think it was worth it.”

  “It’s one of those things that we have to learn, even though it’s painful.” Like he had to learn to live without his sister. “I lost my sister, but I’m grateful that I know she’s still alive.”