SIX
Back in the passenger seat of Adam’s Tahoe, Katie was gradually getting used to the roar of the automobile. But she prayed to Gott she wouldn’t ever need to get used to a special agent checking all the mirrors and scrutinizing the surrounding area so constantly as they traveled. And with the speed at which he traveled, she wondered, each time she climbed into the vehicle, whether they would make it to their destination alive.
Gratitude for her simple lifestyle flooded her, and even as Adam checked the rearview mirror again, she observed the teaching of the Psalms and blessed the Lord, trying to keep His praise continually in her mouth.
But did Adam really want to live like that? Constantly checking and being hyper-vigilant of his surroundings? Surely he would be happier, more satisfied, more at peace with himself and his life if he could slow down, relax, and believe in the goodness of his fellow man again.
Katie pushed a hair back into her kapp. My goodness, she was becoming philosophical. Did it have anything to do with the handsomeness of the agent and the comfort his presence brought her—comfort she hadn’t felt in a really long time? Ach, she was better off not thinking such thoughts.
A buggy traveled on the right side as they crested a small hill, and Adam removed his hat and placed it on the console between them. He moved the Tahoe to the other side of the road and slowed, but Katie’s palms slicked with anxious perspiration to think of the speed he still maintained. It was an entirely different sensation, and not one she cared for, being in the vehicle that was passing the buggy rather than being in the buggy that was being passed by a vehicle.
“You need to turn at the next left.” Katie released her grip on her skirt to gesture to the next road. “Then we will drive past the large market building, and about a mile down the road, you will see the grouping of five shops.”
Adam only grunted in response and shifted his hands on the steering wheel. Katie glanced at him in her peripheral vision. His nervousness filled the vehicle, and she felt her legs becoming jittery as they approached the bookstore. She had known the owners, Paul and his wife, Penelope, for nearly her whole life and had many good memories of her mamm taking her to the bookstore on a Friday afternoon. While her mamm would visit, she had been free to wander the aisles, staring longingly at the candy or running her fingertips across the book bindings, wishing she could take home every single one.
As they passed the market, Adam slowed as a four-door sedan turned into the parking lot. He peered ahead, down the road, then shot a quizzical look at Katie. “Is the bookstore in the middle of a bean field?”
She couldn’t contain a nervous giggle, even as Adam scanned the market parking lot for potential threats. “Jah, sort of. The bishop from the neighboring church district sold a bit of his land on the outskirts of Nappanee to allow a few of our business owners to build shops. He thought it would help Amish from both communities.”
He sped up as they pulled past the market, and from behind the building ominous dark clouds approached from the southwest. “Looks like a storm is coming.”
“Mayhap. But it is Indiana, so we may never see rain. The clouds could glower at us and the wind pick up until it drives us off the road, at least if we were in a buggy, but we may never actually see any drops. That has frustrated many a farmer and gardener.” She pointed down the road to the right. “There it is.”
“Most county roads run parallel and perpendicular to each other so that you can drive in a square around a piece of land. Is that the way it is here?”
“Jah. Keep going and turn right at the next opportunity.” She paused. “Is this for surveillance?” She snuck another glance, and his jaw was set in a firm line, shadows filling in his stubble that had formed from sleeping in the Tahoe to protect her the night before.
He didn’t look at her but continued to scan the bean field and surrounding area. “Yes. I need to make sure of where a person might be able to hide, and it’d be mighty tough for a grown man to hide in those short soybean bushes. There are a couple of trees on the far edge of the field but anyone hiding there would be too far away to accomplish any sort of attack. In my line of work, I always need to be thinking of how to anticipate my opponent’s next move.”
As they drove the country roads that formed a square around the grouping of Amish shops, Katie could see clearly across the tops of the soybean plants to the stores and the owners’ buggies parked out back. “Does this look safe?” It was nearly impossible to imagine any sort of danger in her sleepy little Amish community or a man with a gun in a bookstore, especially an Amish bookstore. But her leg still ached from yesterday’s trouble, reminding her that danger was here whether she could imagine it or not.
“As safe as can be expected, I suppose. I’m glad it’s removed from the market building and all of that traffic and noise. It’s quieter here, and that’s the way I prefer it. It’s easier to detect a threat.”
The tires squealed on the hot asphalt road as Adam guided the Tahoe back onto the main road and toward the shops. With one more glance toward the market, he was apparently satisfied with their current safety. He pulled the SUV into the frontage road that ran the length of the five shops.
The road and each parking lot were bordered by mulched flower beds blooming with the color of yellow marigolds, pink zinnias and purple petunias. An asphalt sidewalk connected the few stores, but otherwise the shopping area really was on the edge of a soybean field. As they drove past, Katie admired the vegetable plants and pots of flowers in the nursery, as well as the bolts of material and sample quilts in the window of the fabric supply store. She quickly powered down the window a couple of inches to inhale the tantalizing aromas emanating from the coffee shop and waved to the wheelwright who was setting a buggy out front of his shop with a For Sale sign.
Adam parked in front of the store and followed Katie closely through the screen door. The dim and relatively cool interior of the bookstore was a welcome respite from the sun and humidity of outside. The owners still ran their business the Amish way, without electricity, so there was no Englisch air-conditioning. But without the sun beating down on her head, Katie felt cooler immediately. A few gaslights swung from the ceiling, but they were not lit. They would only add heat to the inside, and there was plenty of light from the carefully placed windows and skylights.
“Does anyone work here?” Adam whispered, his breath close to her ear.
“Jah. Paul and Penelope are husband and wife. But it is close to time for the noonday meal. They are probably in the back, making sandwiches.” She turned to smile at him and his Englisch impatience. But his handsome face was startlingly close, and she quickly stepped away to finger a child’s purse that hung on a spinning rack filled with goodies for little girls. Some blank journals with pictures of flowers and birds were displayed nearby, but she didn’t have time to shop for trinkets for the twins.
Voices sounded as a door at the back of the shop opened. Adam stepped in front of Katie. She peeked over his shoulder to see Paul, the store owner, emerge, wiping his mouth with a napkin. He stopped short at the sight of Adam and frowned. “Wilkom?” It came out as more of a question than a greeting.
His wife Penelope quickly followed, and Katie stepped out from behind Adam, plastering a smile on her face. “Ach, Katie, how are you?” The woman’s face blossomed with a smile, and she gently pushed her husband forward. “It has been a long time since I have seen you.”
The man stopped again and stood near the battery-operated cash register, looking down his nose, through his glasses, which were perched precariously there, at Adam. Paul appeared to eye Adam’s haircut, at least what was visible from under his hat, as criticism oozed from Paul like the perspiration dotting his forehead on the warm summer day. Surely Paul could tell Adam was an Englischer by his fancy haircut. He pulled on his scraggly beard as he examined Adam. But Adam glowered back, plenty capable of holding his own in the staring contest.
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br /> Katie turned her attention to Penelope, who watched her husband with amusement for a moment and then looked at Katie. Her hands spread wide, she asked, “Where are Ruth and Rebekah?”
“They are with Sarah for today.”
“Ach, I adore Sarah. She has come through some difficulties and emerged as a stronger woman, jah?” She patted Katie’s arm. “Well, you understand those difficulties, dear. I cannot believe Sarah found herself an Englischer. But then he turned out all right, jah?”
There was nothing for Katie to say, so she just nodded her head in agreement. But then Penelope looked away, and Katie followed her line of sight to Adam. She seemed to look him up and down for several seconds and then turned her attention back to Katie with a satisfied smile. “What can I help you with?”
“I need a copy of the Ausbund. Do you have any?”
“Ach, my, of course we do. That is one book we will always carry, although why more do not buy one for their personal use, I do not understand. Perhaps it is because we have so many hymns memorized already.”
As the woman prattled on, Katie caught Adam’s eye and nodded for him to come with her. With one last glare at Paul, Adam quickly followed, a strange mixture of frustration and relief clouding his features.
Penelope walked them to the Bible and hymnal area, even though Katie had been coming to the bookstore since she was a little girl and already knew where everything was. They passed stacks of school paper, mason jars of brightly colored pencils and pens, games, flashlights of all sizes, and the always-enticing candy section.
And with each window passed, Adam made sure to step to her side, shielding her from exposure to the glass as he peered out to survey the bean field.
“So, here are the Bibles, in case you need one.” Penelope stared at Adam, her gaze taking in his haircut as if he were a heathen, and yet a playful smile curling on her lips. She pointed back to the shelf. “And we have a couple of hymnals, so you can take your pick. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
Adam immediately reached for the closest copy of the Ausbund and leafed through it.
“Nein, danki.” Katie turned her attention to the book as well, but a small cough from Penelope returned Katie’s attention to the store owner. The woman raised her eyebrows at Katie and then looked pointedly at Adam, tilting her head in his direction.
Ach, no. Katie felt heat rise to her cheeks. She didn’t need someone acting as matchmaker. Perhaps she was done grieving her husband, but even if she did marry again, it would only be as equally yoked...to a good, upstanding, peace-loving Amish man.
Katie shook her head nein so vigorously that the ties to her prayer kapp slapped her cheeks.
But Penelope would not leave. “Those twins are growing up fast, are they not?”
Katie nodded as she tried to look over Adam’s shoulder at the Ausbund selection. “Jah, for sure and for certain.” She tossed the woman a small smile.
“Are you going to begin teaching the hymns to the little girls? They are a might young, but with only the two children, you probably have the time to begin early.”
“We do sing together sometimes as we do our work.”
“That is wunderbar.” Penelope clasped her hands together. “And your friend? Does he help you with the barn chores? Your garden?”
Adam exhaled noisily and cut his eyes at Katie. Frustration danced across his face.
Katie quickly selected a different hymnal from the rack, ignoring Penelope’s nosy question. It looked more familiar than the one that Adam was holding, but she couldn’t be sure if it was the proper version until she could check it with the encrypted message. Adam looked at the book she was holding in her hands, his eyebrows arched into question marks. She nodded for him to put his book back on the shelf.
“This one will be fine.” Katie showed it to the store owner. “Danki for your help.”
She hurried back to the register, with Adam on her heels. A hand-lettered sign declared CASH ONLY, and she turned to see Adam pulling the necessary bills out of his wallet.
With a final goodbye to the store owners, Paul still frowning at Adam as he stepped outside before Katie so he could survey the sidewalk and parking lot for threats, they escaped back into the Tahoe.
Another sigh erupted from Adam as he settled into the driver’s seat. “I was never allowed to utter a single word in there.” He locked the doors. “Perhaps that was for the best. That man didn’t like me much, did he?”
Perhaps Adam had been uncomfortable in his clothes? He looked just like all the other Amish men she came into contact with, but it must be odd for him to be dressed so differently. “Paul has never been a friendly sort. That could be why he married Penelope. She has enough friendliness for the both of them. But maybe it was your Englisch haircut.”
He shrugged and didn’t answer. Now that they had what they needed, he probably didn’t care what the Amish couple thought of him. He had a job to do, and that was all. He wasn’t trying to fit in with the Amish community, a realization that struck Katie with a sudden sadness. When Timothy was found and all were safe again, Adam would go on to his next assignment. She gripped the brown paper sack that contained the book. She couldn’t—wouldn’t—think about that now. Or ever.
Adam started the engine and pulled out of the spot only to pull into an opposite spot that faced the road. Katie must have had an inquisitive expression, for he explained that he wanted to keep an eye on the traffic going past. He left the Tahoe going with the air-conditioning on high, and Katie suppressed a shiver.
She retrieved the Ausbund from the sack as Adam found his photo of the note on his phone. The console in between the two front seats was wide enough to hold the text open as she laid it on the leather.
Adam glanced at the book and then at her. “Considering that it’s in German, I think you’re going to have to manage this.” He smiled sheepishly, a crooked grin slanting across his stubbled jaw.
Ach, he is handsome. Katie quickly stared down at the Ausbund, reminding herself that she ought not consider any man who wasn’t Amish. Her heart longed for a life’s companion, but she knew an Englischer could never be Gott’s will for her.
She cleared her throat and focused on the image on his phone. “All right, so the first number is the page number. That’s forty-two.” In her nervousness, she flipped and crumpled pages, taking what seemed like an eternity just to find the proper page. “The second number is the line. Three.” She ran her finger down the page. “The third number is the word in that line.”
Sliding her finger across the words, she found the word heart.
Adam leaned in to look at the word in German. “That means heart? I can’t imagine a message starting with a word like that, but let’s keep going and see what we find.”
At Adam’s direction, she found a pad of paper and a pen in the glove compartment, and a few minutes later, the entire message was translated. The words didn’t make any sense, though.
“I cannot understand it. The words are a jumble.” She had let herself be hopeful that this would bring her bruder back and all would be well again. But with this nonsensical grouping of words, her heart seemed to stop beating for a moment. Would she fail at helping her only sibling?
Adam stared at the paper in her hand. “I don’t see any sort of message there. Are you sure it doesn’t mean anything to you? Anything that relates back to the childhood you shared with him? A place or a person, or an activity you did together? Anything?” Desperation tinged his tone.
“Nothing. I am sorry.” She looked again at the spine and the information at the front of the book. “I do not think it is the same as the hymnal we had when we were children.”
Adam stared out at the bean field. “That’s probably why the message doesn’t make sense. It’s not deciphered correctly because we have the wrong key.”
“If it has to be the exact same book,
then I am not sure what to do. Our old hymnals were falling apart, and the bishop ordered new ones.” A car approached, driving past the grouping of shops slowly. Katie watched it go, scrutinizing the driver. Ach, she was beginning to pick up Adam’s habits.
Adam exhaled as if he’d been holding his breath through her explanation, a tightness around the edges of his eyes and mouth. The bishop was their community’s senior spiritual leader, a man of Gott, intent on living life God’s way, as he interpreted it, but also a tall, imposing man with a rare smile. Katie clutched her dress over her thumping heart. If the Amish bookstore was not a help, what else could they do? “Perhaps we need to ask the bishop? Maybe he would know where we could find a copy of the old hymnal.” But how would the bishop receive Adam, a federal law enforcement office masquerading in Amish clothing?
* * *
The bishop? Adam knew full well that the Amish didn’t generally like law enforcement, especially in their homes and affairs. Would the man even be willing to answer a few questions?
Adam pulled his cell phone from his pocket, his hand gripping it until his knuckles turned white. “Before we rush right over there and interrupt the man’s day, since I’m assuming we can’t call the bishop and make an appointment, let me update the sheriff. It’s professional courtesy. He’s been helpful and has a stake in all of this since it’s happening in his county.” He cleared his throat to mask the feeling that he was going to choke, thinking about sitting in the bishop’s living room, letting the man scrutinize him and see right through him to his evil, sinful past. Somehow the bishop would know that Adam could never measure up to the purity and wholesomeness of the Amish.
That was an agony Adam wasn’t sure he could bear, and he’d had to deal with a lot of agony in his life. And yet, was he foolish to hope for that peacefulness that seemed to come with faith? Where could he find it?
Amish Covert Operation Page 7