Lamb to the Slaughter (Serenity's Plain Secrets Book 1) (26 page)

Against my own advice, Joseph had gone to the phone box and called my sister and her husband, along with Lester and his wife, Esther. The two couples had arrived quickly, positioning themselves around the table, a pot of coffee with its strong brewed scent sitting in the center, beside a vase filled with dried flowers. I focused on the autumn hues of the flowers. I didn’t really want to be staring at the blooms, but the
alternative was meeting the eyes of the people I’d chosen to leave behind years ago.

My mood had been resolved all day until this moment, when the scent of the candle that Katherine had burning on the window sill drifted to my nostrils—
vanilla
. The warm smell instantly reminded me of Serenity and thoughts of how my day had started stirred my blood.

I’d made a mess of things between me and the sheriff, and I was fairly certain that I couldn’t rectify the situation. But, as much as I hated the thought of losing the possibility of a relationship with the most intriguing woman I’d ever met, I knew deep down that I’d had no choice. I owed it to Eli Bender and my childhood friend. I had regrets, but not for what I’d done, only for the consequences with Serenity.

“Daniel, you may be sitting here among us, but you are not with us, my friend,” Lester said softly.

I straightened in the chair. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

The others laughed, and Joseph slapped me hard on the back. I suddenly felt very at ease, almost as if I was a teenager again and being Amish was still an option.

“We were all agreeing that from what you’ve told us, the sheriff doesn’t have enough to continue holding Eli much longer, and that soon he’ll be back with us. Then we can forget this unfortunate time and go forward,” Joseph said, optimism shining in his eyes.

I said, “I believe that’s a good assumption.”

Joseph glanced at Katherine, and then nodded toward the doorway leading into the family room. The interplay was extremely subtle, but I caught it, as did the other women, who rose in unison with Katherine and left without further words.

Once the room held only me, my brother-in-law, and my two closest childhood buddies, I breathed a little easier and looked questioningly at Joseph, who appeared to be the leader out of the men.

Joseph’s voice came out in a whisper and he leaned in closer to me as Lester moved to take the seat beside me.

“Aaron is holding a secret meeting with a few select men of the community tonight. It’ll be after dark at the old Ramsey barn. Daniel, I’m worried that they will take matters into their own hands.”

The worried look on Joseph’s face slowed my heart’s beating and I glanced over to Lester, who nodded and said, “If Eli is going to be released soon, then it would be better for everyone concerned if our people quietly waited for it to happen. God only knows what might happen if they lose their patience.”

“What do you think they’ll do?” I looked between the three men, but Joseph answered with a sigh as he leaned back in the chair.

“I don’t reckon I know for sure, but there’s been a lot of talk among the men folk. And it hasn’t been meek either. Katherine and I have prayed on the matter and we both feel confident that Eli will be returned to us soon. I don’t right know why so many of our people are more upset with the English than we are. He’s our son.”

I hesitated, but spoke my mind anyway. “What do you think happened to Naomi Beiler, Joseph?”

Joseph ran his hand through his beard thoughtfully before meeting my gaze. “It probably was just a random accident.” He paused and pressed in close again. “A tragedy for
sure, but really, not unexpected, when the girl’s rebellious ways are taken into account. I only wish poor Eli didn’t get involved with her in the first place.”

Suddenly, like a slap to the face, I remembered why I’d left the Amish. The narrow thinking and complete lack of compassion for anyone with different views or goals in life was the way of many of the Amish people. That’s why I’d wanted no part of their world. Even though the men seated beside me were once my close friends, I knew that it would be impossible to renew those relationships. I’d drifted too far from my roots to ever embrace the ideals of the Amish again. But then, why did I risk betraying Serenity? The best answer I could come up with is that at the time, I’d thought that it was the right thing to do.

“And you, Lester? What do you believe?” I asked, turning to my boyhood friend. Searching his face, I saw the creases at the corners of his eyes were deeper and his skin was tighter over the bones, but otherwise, he appeared very much the same as he had as a teenager.

Something passed across Lester’s face that raised the hairs on my arms. It was almost as if his usual blue eyes had darkened to cobalt in foreboding. The muscles around his mouth twitched and his lips parted. I remembered that look. It was the expression his face always had right before he’d shared a secret with me.

Lester wasn’t given the opportunity to speak. The shuffling was heard only an instant before Esther appeared, bringing all our heads turning in her direction.

“We should be on our way, Lester. I have too many chores at the house to remain here idle for long.” Esther spoke the
words calmly, but her posture was stiff and poised to take flight out the door.

Lester’s face cleared and was completely blank of emotion again as he rose and reached out to grasp my hand. “It was good to spend time this afternoon with you old friend. I only hope that soon enough, we’ll be able to enjoy each other’s company without so much ill news between us.”

A flutter of
something
sparked in Lester’s eyes once more, but was gone so quickly, I wondered if I’d imagined it. My time away from the Amish had definitely changed my perception of their behavior. Stray looks and silent, but meaningful glances were the normal back then. There was a secret body language that all the Plain people instinctively knew that allowed them to communicate, without actually uttering any words—the perfect way to protect oneself from the sin of lying when being questioned by the bishop and ministers. I’d grown accustomed to speaking my mind and dealing with those who did the same, but still, even after all these years, I’d recognized that Lester was about to tell me something important. The moment was gone now, thanks to Esther.

Feeling suddenly out of place, I said my goodbyes to the others, welcoming the brisk air that met me when I stepped out onto the front porch. Several of Joseph’s children brushed past me in a hurry to enter the warmth of the house, and it softened my mood when they each took the time to slow down enough to greet me by name.

Just when I reached the Jeep, I felt a light touch on my shoulder. I would have jumped out of my boots for anyone else, but the feeling was familiar and I instantly knew who’d snuck up on me. Rebecca was the only person in the world
capable of doing that to me, and here, some fifteen years later, she still had the talent.

“Daniel, wait,” Rebecca called out. I turned around to see the breath coming from her mouth in a puff of cold air. “I wanted to speak with you in private.”

I was suddenly worried. What would bring my sister rushing up to me in the cold, while her husband sat in the buggy some distance away?

“What do you need?”

Rebecca glanced off for a few seconds, staring into the corral where two horses were munching on a pile of hay. She hesitated, shifting on her feet, before looking back at me again.

“I’m sorry to ask this, but what you told us about Eli and the investigation makes me wonder about your relationship with the sheriff. Are you truly a couple, Daniel—because, I have the gut feeling that all is not what it seems between the two of you.”

I sighed, stalling my hand on the door handle. I really didn’t want to have this conversation, but I also wanted to discuss the matter with someone—someone who might even understand.

“As always, your ability to sense the truth is right on.” I met her eyes. “Serenity and I are not a couple. We pretended so that Serenity could learn more about the Amish ways and possibly discover what happened to Naomi.”

I felt better that I’d spoken.

Rebecca reached out and squeezed my arm. “Things may well have started out as a lie, but I think that there is much to salvage if you are willing bend your pride.”

I smiled, thankful that my sister cared enough to push her way into my business. Before I could decide how to answer
her, she gave me a quick hug and headed to her waiting buggy. She looked over her shoulder and as she waved, she called out, “Enough time has passed without my little brother in my life. Come by and see us sometime. Our door is open to you.”

My throat became tight and I quickly got into the Jeep to break myself away from all the sentimental feelings that were bombarding me.

Maybe after all these years, I could actually have a relationship with some of my family members. As I turned the key in the ignition and the engine came to life, I felt solid for the first time in a long while.

At the roadway, I hesitated, and after a moment of indecision, I turned away from town, and my home. I had another family member to speak to this day. The happy feelings I’d experienced moments before were quickly turning cold with apprehension.

I didn’t expect this meeting to be as pleasant as the one with my sister and my old friends. Nope, it would probably have been easier to face a firing squad, but I knew I had to do it. It was a long shot, but if what Serenity had told me was accurate about Tony Manning, then dammit, I wanted to find out what had happened that night when I was just a kid, and whether there was a connection between that incident and Naomi’s death.

29

SERENITY

November 18
^th

H
eather’s hand shot up from the booth and Todd made a beeline in that direction while I followed grumpily behind. I was having a difficult time dealing with the fact that Daniel had betrayed me. Hell, how could the guy be making out with me in the morning and then selling me out before lunchtime? Daniel’s obnoxiously over confident personality had always ruffled my feathers, but I never dreamed that he’d turn on me the way he did.

When Todd reached the booth, Heather rose up and planted a big kiss on his lips. I watched with cynical disdain as the two mumbled a few words quietly to each other before Heather turned to greet me. She was one of those women who had enough meat on her bones to make her extremely voluptuous, without being chubby. At one time, I would have wished for boobs that big, but now, I figured that they were extremely impractical.

“Hey, how’s it going, Serenity?” Heather smiled cheerfully.

I should have lost the mood, but I couldn’t shake it. Sitting down, I replied, “Just peachy.”

Heather glanced at Todd who only snorted loudly before she took the seat beside him. She was a smart girl though, and she took my curt answer as a signal to change the subject entirely.

“Have you heard the news?” Heather asked.

When I looked up and saw her beaming face, I knew what she meant. But she was so excited to tell me herself that I played along. “What news?”

“Todd and I set a date for the wedding—New Year’s Day.” She bumped into Todd’s shoulder when she said it, and the action made me feel even more miserable deep down inside. I certainly wasn’t jealous, but I had to admit that being around a joyously-in-love couple was the last place I wanted to be at the moment.

“That’s great,” I muttered.

Heather seemed to be waiting for more, but I sat silently staring out the window at the cloudy day. The trees were completely stripped of their foliage and the sight of the gray street, buildings and sky made me shiver. I could feel the cold outside even though it was warm and snug in the Diner.

Todd must have felt sorry for his fiancé, because he quickly said, “Don’t mind Serenity. The Amish have been giving her a hard time here lately.”

I narrowed my eyes at Todd, who only shrugged. It was pretty obvious that when Nancy suddenly appeared at the table to take our orders he was relieved for the distraction—like I needed him making excuses for me.

“Did you get over to talk to Mary?” Nancy asked me with an intense stare that said that my interest in the thirty year tragedy was the talk of the town.

“Yes, I did. Thanks for putting me in contact with her.”

Nancy wasn’t satisfied with my answer and she tilted her weight to her other hip and said, “I’m kind of surprised that she would say very much about it. The Amish are pretty tight lipped.”

I smiled, “But, she’s not Amish any longer.”

“Oh, sweetie, don’t you be fooled. They never lose all their ways when they come over to our side.” Nancy winked at me before taking our orders and moving on.

Yeah, she was right. Daniel was proof of that.

“I must say that I’ve had some strange experiences with them myself,” Heather said. The bright beam that had glowed around her a minute before had suddenly dimmed.

My curiosity was piqued and I looked at Heather. “Like what?”

“Well, for one thing, about a year ago, I was caring for a woman in the recovery unit at the hospital. She’d come close to dying from some kind of infection that had turned into pneumonia.” She giggled uncomfortably before proceeding with her story, and I caught the tight smirk on Todd’s face indicating that he’d already heard it.

“When I pushed open the door to the woman’s room to check her vital signs, I heard the squeaking of the bed. I didn’t think anything of it, figuring that she might have been struggling off of it to use the restroom, and I hurried toward the sound.” Heather paused again and blushed deeply, a color that I’d never seen on her before, even after some previous bawdy conversations. “When I pulled the curtain
aside, I discovered the woman’s husband on top of her…and the noise that I heard was the bed moving from his…well, you know.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me—what did you do?” I said, not quite believing what she was telling me. My memory flashed to the Amish people at the benefit school house dinner and I wondered which couple it might have been.

“The man looked over his shoulder and his eyes only met mine for a split second, before I hurried out of there. I gave the paperwork to another nurse and went on break.”