Covert Amish Investigation

by Dana R. Lynn

  “At the bed-and-breakfast.” Kate’s raw voice broke through before she was racked with a coughing fit.

  The paramedics were climbing out of the ambulance. A second emergency vehicle, a long red-and-white truck with a box-shaped trailer, pulled alongside the ambulance. Scuba Team was painted on the side. A tall lanky woman in her early thirties jumped out and followed the ambulance crew. The other door opened, and a shorter male joined her.

  “Any bodies in the water?” the man demanded.

  The woman winced but kept her smile in place. She appeared embarrassed by her partner. Abram aimed his reply to her.

  “It was only us,” he informed her.

  “Natasha,” one of the paramedics called to her.

  “Excuse me.” Natasha moved away.

  Abram was forced aside as the medical professionals swarmed around Katie.

  “I don’t want to go to the hospital.” Her hoarse voice was barely audible over the noise. Still, he heard it and moved closer.

  “Ma’am,” one of them patiently explained. “You swallowed water and needed CPR. We need to check you out. It’s possible the CPR broke your ribs. We have to make sure you’re okay.”

  “Go with them, Katie,” Abram said, insinuating himself into the conversation. “Please. Marshal Delacure and I will meet you there. When you’re done, I’ll drive you out to my haus this afternoon. You can stay and have supper with my family. We can talk there.”

  The militant light in her gaze told him she had no intention of going to his family home. Whether it was to protect them or to keep some sort of distance between them, he had no idea. Katie was stubborn. Ack. She could be more stubborn than anyone he’d ever met. Well, this time, she’d have to deal with him being even more stubborn. He wouldn’t leave her by herself at the bed-and-breakfast when someone was out to get her. Someone who could have been Gary, or maybe was someone totally unrelated.

  Katie’s chin wobbled. He stared her down, even though his heart broke for her. He knew she was scared and scarred. He also suspected she’d been pretending to be brave for so long she didn’t know how to stop pretending.

  Unexpectedly, she relented and allowed herself to be loaded onto a stretcher. Too weary to argue, no doubt.

  The paramedics lifted the stretcher and moved her through the throng of onlookers.

  “Abram!” Her panicked voice rose above the crowd. He was at the back of the ambulance in two steps.

  “I’m here, Katie. We’ll be directly behind you. We won’t be far.”

  There was nothing else he could do for her.

  The helpless feeling gnawing into his chest wasn’t one he was used to.

  “Come on. We’ll be there when she gets done being examined by the doctor,” Marshal Delacure said, standing beside him, her quiet voice filled with understanding.

  “Ja.”

  He nearly tripped over the edge of the road, his attention was focused on the ambulance pulling away and driving toward Berlin. How he made it to the car in one piece, he wasn’t quite sure. He bit back the temptation to urge Marshal Delacure to drive faster.

  She was a good driver. And her car was faster than a buggy would have been, that was certain. However, when she stopped at a red light, he was still impatient, and somewhat anxious, as the woman who’d done nothing but disturb his peace of mind since she’d crashed back into his life moved farther and farther away until the ambulance wasn’t even a speck in the distance.

  After what was possibly the longest red light in the Midwest, the light changed. The marshal’s car moved smoothly forward. He gritted his teeth. She was being safe.

  “I’m going as fast as I can,” she told him, glancing pointedly at his left leg, vibrating with the force of his impatience.

  “Sorry. I don’t want her to arrive and we’re not there.”

  “I get that. They’re going to rush her into the emergency room. She won’t know we’re not there. Besides, we’ll be there long before the doctors have finished.”

  He’d have to be satisfied with that, despite the desperation crawling up his spine. He needed to know she’d be fine. He had never been so scared as the moment he saw she wasn’t breathing. He’d have nightmares for years.

  She was alive. She was breathing and talking. And arguing. Surely, he didn’t need to worry about that anymore.

  He wrenched his mind back to the matter of the snipped bridle. It had to have happened when they were talking about Gary. Could the man have seen Katie and recognized her? Was he afraid she’d make trouble for him?

  When the car finally parked in the lot, Abram shot from the car and strode toward the emergency room doors.

  “Easy, Abram. We’re here.”

  “Ja. As soon as she’s out and ready to go, we need to leave. There are things you need to know to keep Katie safe. Maybe they will help you find Beth and solve this whole case. But not here. We need to go back to my parents’ haus.”

  Her mouth dropped open. She snapped it shut. “The bed-and-breakfast—”

  “Is no longer safe.”

  She was obviously burning with questions. So was he. But the most important thing on his mind right now was seeing Katie and making sure she survived. The only way he could ensure that was if he never let her out of his sight.

  Knowing how stubborn and independent she was, that would take some work on his part. He would do whatever he needed to, however, to see that she was safe and whole when she returned to Wallmer Grove. He, on the other hand, didn’t know if he’d ever be completely free ever again.

  EIGHT

  Searing pain brought her out of the light sleep she’d fallen into waiting for the emergency room doctor to come and examine her. Her chest hurt and her lungs were on fire. Breathing hurt. So much. At the same time, she welcomed every agonizing breath, recalling those moments when water filled her lungs. She had been sure she was a goner.

  Who would have missed her?

  Kate had no family, not anymore. Her parents were gone, and it had been years since she’d had any communication with her sisters. She wasn’t even sure where they were anymore. Her brother, her only other sibling, had been dead for years. There was no one left.

  She had friends, like Shane. But he had his own wife and family. No, the sad truth was that no one would miss her. Not really.

  Abram? Her eyelids fluttered open at the idea. Would Abram miss her? She cringed back against the pillow. She didn’t want him to bear the burden of missing her. But she would miss him.

  A hand grabbed the curtain and slid it open. The doctor stepped inside the cubicle, a surgical mask covering the entire bottom portion of his face. He was wearing blue scrubs.

  Something was off. She frowned. The man before her approached the bed silently. Her gaze slid to his hands. They were empty. Shouldn’t he at least have a clipboard? Despite the pain, she pushed herself to a sitting position. Her dress was mostly dry. Her feet were bare.

  Shifting closer to the edge of the bed, she eyed the large man coming closer. Wisps of a dark beard wrapped around the edges of the mask. Those eyes—she’d seen them before.

  Right before he’d tried to kidnap her from the hospital the first time.

  Kate opened her mouth to scream. The weak sound that emerged from her throat was cut off when the mountain of a man lunged at her, his large hands closing in around her throat. Grabbing his thick wrists, she yanked. He didn’t budge.

  “Uh-uh. You got away from me once. Made me look like an idiot in front of the boss. That’s not going to happen again. I’m going to take care of you so you can’t tell any tales.”

  She had no idea what tales he thought she’d tell, and she wasn’t in any position to ask.

  Kate wouldn’t go down without a fight. When she was sixteen, she’d been the victim. She was a strong woman now, and she would fight for her life.

  Her bar
e foot kicked out, slamming into his knee. Caught off guard, he stumbled, bellowing in pain. His hands slipped off her throat.

  Sucking in a breath, she screamed as hard and loud as she could, despite the agony ripping through her. Would it be enough?

  “Help! He’s trying to kill me!” She collapsed in a fit of coughing on the bed. If he came at her again, she’d be too weak to fight him off.

  With a growl, the man stumbled out of the cubicle, tripping over the tray at the end of her bed. It toppled to the ground with a bang. Feet pounded in the corridor. Shouts were lifted as her assailant fled, knocking two nurses down before he was out of her sight.

  Abram and Marshal Delacure ran into the cubicle. Seeing she was alive, the marshal took off in the direction the bearded man had gone.

  Abram rushed to her side and gathered Kate into his strong arms. She melted against him, letting him comfort her. His heart raced against her ear. Snuggling in closer, she closed her eyes and shut out everything but him.

  As his heart rate slowed, strength returned to her weary muscles. She backed away.

  “Katie, did he hurt you?” Abram gently touched her neck where brutal hands had been clamped moments before. She could only guess how red her skin was. By tomorrow, she’d be sporting a few bruises.

  But she was alive.

  A question stirred in her soul. Had God orchestrated her rescue? Abram and the marshal had arrived in the nick of time. God hadn’t saved her before. She’d never fully understood why He allowed His children to suffer.

  Brisk footsteps outside the cubicle announced Marshal Delacure returning. A harried doctor was on her heels.

  “Sorry, Miss Bontrager. I can’t tell you how awful I feel that you were attacked in our hospital!”

  Apparently, the doctor hadn’t been brought up to speed on the events of the past day. Well, she didn’t have the patience to enlighten him. Urgency coursed through her veins.

  She waved the apology away. “I need to get out of here.”

  There was no way she’d stick around this place any longer than necessary. She’d been nearly kidnapped and murdered in this hospital. Who knew what might happen to her if she remained here?

  No one argued with her.

  “I take it you didn’t catch him?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at Marshal Delacure.

  “I didn’t catch him but I called Hendrix. He’s on it.”

  Kate submitted to being examined. Despite her recent trauma, she’d escaped relatively unscathed. Not even a cracked rib, although she had sustained some deep muscle bruising.

  “You’ll be achy for a few days. You can take over-the-counter pain relievers. Alternate between ibuprofen and acetaminophen every four to six hours.” The doctor handed her a printed sheet of instructions. “If you have any complications or if the pain becomes unbearable, come back in.”

  Not likely. She’d deal with the pain.

  “Marshal, I didn’t get a chance to ask you before. How’d you get to us so fast at the lake?” Abram leaned against the side of the bed Kate was sitting in.

  Marshal Delacure held up her cell phone, shaking it back and forth. “I was on the phone with Kate, remember? I heard some yelling and then the connection was broken. I was already on the road, heading in your direction. I might have run a red light.”

  Kate didn’t understand Abram’s snicker at first. “Katie, when we were following the ambulance, I thought we’d never get to you. She was practically going walking speed.”

  That startled a laugh out of both women.

  Still chuckling, the marshal shook her head. “I was following the speed limit. We knew she was in good hands.”

  “Well,” Kate inserted with a touch of sarcasm, “you thought I was in good hands. I don’t suppose anyone expected that guy to attack me here. Hey, my attacker said that I’d made him look like fool in front of his boss. So he’s working with someone.”

  The marshal’s mouth tightened. “We need to get out of here. Too many things to discuss. There’s no privacy here. I don’t want to borrow the conference room again. I want to go somewhere different.”

  Kate hopped down from the bed. She grimaced. “My shoes are destroyed.”

  “Let me see if I can find you something.”

  She left them alone.

  “You really scared me today.”

  Kate jerked her head up to stare at Abram. His face was drawn, deep grooves running the length of his tanned cheeks.

  “I’m sorry.”

  What else could she say?

  “Nothing you did on purpose. I am confused, though. Don’t you have to pass a swimming test to become a cop?”

  “Nah,” she said, shrugging. “There’s no water requirement. I have never had a reason to know how to swim before today.”

  She rubbed her chest. When she dropped her hand, Abram caught it and gave it a quick squeeze before releasing it. Flustered, she gave all her attention to the marshal who’d returned.

  “Are you sure you’re all right to leave?” the marshal asked.

  “Yes, ma’am. I’ll rest much better away from this place.”

  Marshal Delacure searched her face. Finally, she nodded slowly. “If you’re sure, I’ll bring the car around under the carport.”

  She departed, leaving them alone wrapped in silence charged with emotions. Kate wracked her brain, desperate for a lighthearted or witty comment to diffuse the tension building up. Nothing came to mind.

  Deep inside, she was having trouble wrapping her mind around the concept that she’d nearly drowned. If Abram hadn’t been with her, she’d be dead by now. And it wasn’t an accident.

  How did one cope with knowledge like that?

  “I guess I’ll have to learn to swim,” she muttered. What a dumb thing to say.

  It worked, though. She surprised a chuckle from the man standing at her side.

  A nurse popped in with some thick socks. She’d have to deal with not having boots until she could locate a replacement pair. Pushing her feet into the socks, she sighed with pleasure. Cold feet were the worst.

  As they moved down the hall, her shoulder blades constantly twitched. Every time someone looked her way, she wondered if any of them were out to get her. Not knowing what had happened to Beth or what the motive was of the person or persons who had set out to murder her, everyone she met became a possible suspect.

  There’d be no peace until this case was closed.

  She prayed they’d find the ones responsible before either she or Abram became another statistic.

  * * *

  Abram placed his hand on Katie’s back as he steered her through the hospital, staying close enough to interfere if anyone dared to loom too close to her. He’d never tried to be intimidating before. Amish folk were, as a rule, pacifists. He would never use a gun on another person, or another weapon. Not even to protect himself.

  He would scowl at anyone who was a possible danger to her. And he would risk his own life to protect those he cared about.

  He stumbled over his feet at the thought flowing through his mind.

  Katie was definitely someone he cared about. More than he should. Realizing what a dangerous path his thoughts were traveling down, he removed his hand. Instantly, he missed the contact. His hand hovered above her shoulder. If someone got too close or charged at them, he’d yank her out of the way. His fingers twitched instinctively.

  He hadn’t deliberately failed her before, but the fact that she felt she couldn’t trust him with what had happened to her filled him with shame. If she’d come to him, he wouldn’t have turned her away. He certainly wouldn’t have blamed her.

  The fist at his side clenched. If she’d known about what had happened in his family, not only to Marta, but also to his mamm’s younger sister, would it have made a difference? They’d never spoken of it, the aunt who’d been abducted a
nd murdered. It was so long ago, but the sound of his mamm weeping would haunt him forever.

  Maybe if he’d told her about that, she would have known that his family wouldn’t blame her.

  They rounded the corner. Abram shook himself out of the funk he’d sunk into and tapped her shoulder.

  “Almost there.”

  “I see it. Delacure is already waiting for us.”

  Indeed, through the glass doors, he made out the marshal’s car. “Hope we’re not in a hurry,” he quipped.

  She snickered. “I’d never have pegged you for the adventurous type.”

  He grinned. “I’m not. But if I’m going to get in a car, it should go faster than my buggy.”

  His buggy. Which had been probably pulled from the lake by now.

  “Do you think your buggy can be salvaged?”

  “I was just thinking about that. I don’t think so. The front end was crumpled beyond recognition.” He still didn’t know how her legs hadn’t been broken.

  The glass doors whooshed open at their approach. The marshal was leaning against the side of her car, tapping out a text or email on her phone.

  “Hey,” she said, barely lifting her gaze before dropping it back to her phone. “Tim said he lost Stiles’s trail. We’re sure that’s who we’re tracking now, and your little tidbit about his boss seems to add strength to our case for him being part of the crime ring.” She pocketed the phone. “We can leave if you guys are ready.”

  “That’s not fair.” Katie rolled her eyes. “We’ve been standing here waiting for you to finish.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Details, details.” Straightening, the marshal sauntered around the vehicle to get in behind the steering wheel.

  Abram held the front door open for Katie. She raised her brows at him. “I don’t need to sit in the front.”

  He gestured for her to get in. Sighing, she lifted one foot and started to fold herself down into the seat.

  “Hey!”

  Abram tensed at the yell. Katie paused her descent. Even the marshal opened her door and exited the vehicle. Turning, Abram recognized the woman from the scuba team striding their way. She paused to look both ways before crossing the main lane into the emergency room parking lot.