Lamb to the Slaughter (Serenity's Plain Secrets Book 1) (7 page)

“Oh, that sounds so exciting,” Naomi breathed, envious to the bone.

“You’re welcome to join me, but I can’t guarantee the accommodations being comfortable.” He laughed again, and Naomi loved the sound of it. She knew he was just chiding her, but she wished deep in her soul that he wasn’t.

When Will quieted, he said, “Do you have a boyfriend?”

Naomi didn’t know if it were the words or the smooth way he said it that caused her skin to tingle. Why would he ask such an inappropriate question, she wondered? Was he sweet on her? Naomi didn’t want to lie to him about Eli, but she didn’t want to tell the truth either. Lucky for her, that’s when Taylor showed up and distracted both of them.

“Where to now?” Taylor bubbled, and Naomi envied her energy. She was plum worn out, the long night and day finally catching up to her.

“Home, I do believe.” She turned to Will who held an amused expression on his face. “If that’s all right with you?”

“Of, course, you’re the boss.”

By the time they reached the farm, Naomi felt she’d known Taylor, and even Will, for her entire life. The atmosphere was easy going and fun in the cab talking with the two of them. She hated when she had to say goodbye.

“Thanks again for helping carry the groceries in, and for dinner too.” Naomi eyed Will who’d stepped back into the cab. He was leaning out the window staring at her with interest again. When he grinned and told her, “You’re welcome,” she shivered and turned to Taylor who was standing beside her.

“Hope I see you again, Taylor.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll be seeing a whole lot of me with Will driving for Uncle Jerry all week.” Taylor smiled brightly.

Naomi turned back to Will, her heart skipping a beat, “Are you really picking me up in the morning?”

“Yeah, you and the other Amish girls, but since we’ve become good friends and all, I’ll make sure to drop you off last.”

Will looked serious and Naomi hastily said in a whisper, moving closer to the window, “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but don’t talk to me in front of the other girls, or else I’ll get into trouble.”

Understanding flickered in Will’s warm brown eyes. He said, “Sure thing. You can count on me being discreet.”

Taylor’s voice jumped into the air, tearing Naomi’s gaze away from Will’s handsome face. “It’s almost Fair time. Maybe you could come with us when we go?”

Naomi had never been to a Fair. It wasn’t allowed. But she wasn’t going to tell Taylor that right now. Who knew, maybe she could work it out somehow.

“Sounds like fun. I’ll see you all tomorrow,” Naomi said.

Naomi smiled to herself as she slowly made her way to the house. After the horrible start, what an amazing day it had turned out to be. And, no matter how ill-tempered Mamma might be, Naomi wasn’t going to be brought down tonight.

As she reached the porch steps, Naomi wondered which guy she’d be dreaming about that night, Eli…or Will?

5

DANIEL

November 10
^th

L
ooking out the window, I thanked God that the sheriff had called first. I would’ve been extremely rattled if she’d shown up at the front door unannounced. Holding the curtain open just an inch, I watched Serenity Adams walk through the soggy grass with Todd Roftin by her side.

There was no denying that the woman was beautiful, even in the manly officer clothes she wore. But, her fiery and independent nature was disconcerting. Maybe that’s why she wasn’t settled down with a few kids by now. It would take a man of strong constitution to win her heart. Letting my rampant thoughts go, I crossed the floor to open the door when the knocks sounded.

“Hello, Sheriff Adams and Todd, it’s good to see you both.” I motioned for them to enter.

“Oh, please call me Serenity,” she said as she removed her hat.

“Would either of you like a cup of coffee or tea?” I asked, growing more uncomfortable by the second now that the officers were standing in my foyer. Serenity’s face was anxious, as if she wanted to get down to business immediately, but her partner was more relaxed, looking around at the interior of my home.

“No, thank you,” Serenity said hurriedly, then she glanced at Todd and added, “unless you’re thirsty?”

The tone of voice she used with Todd made me smile. I quickly rubbed the expression away with my hand.

“Actually, I could do with a cup of coffee, Daniel, if it’s not much trouble.” Todd shot Serenity an annoyed look.

“No problem at all. I have a pot just brewed.”

When the three of us were seated at the table, Serenity began to open her mouth to speak, but Todd got to the air space first.

“Did you build this house yourself?”

“Yes, I did, about three years ago,” I said, noticing the way Serenity rolled her eyes and slouched back into the chair, waiting for her turn to speak.

“I’ve always liked a log house. Are they much maintenance?” Todd asked, staring at one of the wood beams above his head.

I was about to answer when Serenity burst out, “Really, guys, maybe you should get together some other time to talk shop. We have an investigation to launch and I believe that we need to focus on it at the moment.”

Did the woman ever relax? I could almost picture her with the honey blond hair loose on her shoulders and wearing a snug fitting pair of jeans and t-shirt—almost.

My eyes met Serenity’s blue ones. I said, “You mentioned an investigation over the phone, but you didn’t say much else. If I could be as forth right as you, why exactly do you want to talk to me? I’m not in any trouble?”

“No, not at all, Mr. Bachman,” Serenity said.

“If I can call you Serenity, then it’s fair for you to call me Daniel,” I said quickly.

Serenity glanced down in embarrassment, her upturned lips lighting her face. “Right, the reason we wanted to talk to you is that there was a shooting incident in the Amish community. It involved an eighteen year old girl named Naomi Beiler. There are some oddities surrounding the case that we’re trying to figure out.”

“The newspaper said that it was a hunting accident. Has the person come forward yet?” I asked without thinking. I remembered Timothy and Patricia Beiler. They were close to my age, and people that once upon a time, I had called friends.

“Yes, well, it appears to be a hunting accident, but no one has come to us with information. I’ve discovered that dealing with the Amish is not as straight forward as I had hoped it would be,” Serenity said with a frown and a glance at Todd. Her partner was still observing my interior walls and not paying much attention to the conversation at all.

I laughed at Serenity’s words, not able to stop myself. When her eyes rounded wide, and even Todd turned to me, I said, “I’m sorry, but you obviously haven’t spent very much time around the Amish have you?”

“No, I haven’t. That’s the problem. And why I wanted to talk to you. I was hoping that maybe you could give us
some insight into the Amish community here, and perhaps its people too.” Serenity tried to smile sweetly, but it didn’t work. The woman was too honest a person. The little show of friendliness was hollow.

“Why me?”

She glanced at Todd in confusion, “Ah, I heard that you used to be one of them and had left the community. Is that correct?”

Todd interjected, “Sorry, man, you got a little loose with your lips one night at Charlie’s.”

“What could I possibly help you with?” I looked at Serenity. I could have sworn that she blushed for a second before she spoke. Maybe there was a soft woman underneath all the bravado that actually liked men.

“I think that would be pretty obvious, Daniel. I need to understand why these people are acting strangely and being so secretive. It seems to me that they’d want to know what happened to their daughter as much as the rest of us do.”

“How do you mean strange?” I had to admit, as much as I hated to, that I was becoming intrigued.

“For one thing, Mr. and Mrs. Beiler aren’t acting at all like the usually grieving parents of a dead child,” Serenity said, straightening her back to make her case.

“The Amish believe in God’s divining hand in everything and they have extremely strong faith that the Lord takes care of his followers in life…and death. Maybe, the lack of hysteria is because of their strong Christian beliefs,” I suggested.

She shook her head, “No, sorry. Even an Amish mother would shed tears on the day of her daughter’s funeral.”

I remembered back to the Amish funerals that I’d attended as a child and young adult, and there’d been a slew of
them. There were always tears—especially from the mothers. Maybe Serenity was on to something.

“I know the Beilers—they’re good people. But, I do remember Patricia was cold and unemotional as a teen. She might not have out grown it.”

Serenity latched on to just a few of the words and dove in, “So you grew up with Timothy and Patricia? What about James Hooley and Joseph Bender—and Bishop Esch?”

“Whoa, slow down.” I patted the air, grinning at Serenity’s enthusiasm. She certainly wasn’t subtle. “I know all of them. ‘Course they’re fifteen years older now. Bishop Esch had just gotten the job right before I’d left the community. James was quite a bit older than me, so I wasn’t close to him. But Joseph was a good buddy of my older brother’s and I spent quite a bit of time around him.”

Serenity took a deep breath and leveled her pretty eyes on me. “Would you be willing to assist me with the case by telling me what you know about these people, and their roles in the community?”

She seemed to be holding her breath, waiting for my answer. A little warning bell in my head told me to say no and run away. But another voice was encouraging me to take the opportunity to get to know the sheriff better. After all, my life had been rather dull lately. I’d dated a lot of women over the years and each relationship had ended before it even got started. The wall around my heart was too high to allow anyone in. I’d accepted a while ago that I was probably destined to be alone. There was just too much emotional baggage attached to me for a woman to stick around for very long. To say that I was damaged goods was putting it mildly.

But the tingle of anticipation I felt in my gut made me wonder about Serenity. Maybe she was different. It had been close to seventeen years since I’d experienced the uncomfortable sensation before—and that time had not ended well. Still, it was a revelation that I wasn’t completely numb. I could almost touch the pulsating energy between Serenity and I. I’d felt it the first time I’d met her. The day we’d talked on the porch of her bungalow-style house was still vivid in my mind. As she’d shielded her eyes from the bright sunlight, I’d become mesmerized by their pale blue color. I even remember stuttering a couple of times when I answered her questions about her roof. I left that day happy that she’d signed me on, but frustrated that she hadn’t given me any sign that she was interested in anything other than the roofing job. Nothing changed in her demeanor during the work week either. The job ended with not even a flirtatious look from the little sheriff, though I had to admit, she’d materialized in my daydreams on many occasions since.

But, damn, to get mixed up in all the backward thinking, back stabbing and drama of the Amish people again was the real issue here. Was a woman worth it? Normally, I would have said, hell no, but glancing at Serenity’s anxious face, I wavered. Maybe, just maybe, she was worth it.

As scary as it would be to see everybody again, it would be nice to check in with my brothers and sisters and their children. Father and Mother would probably still not welcome me to their table, but they were getting on in age. Perhaps their anger had cooled some in all these years. I wouldn’t be alone either. I’d have tough little Serenity at my side. I pondered, weighing the pros and cons in my head, quickly.

When I looked up, Serenity must have read my mind before I spoke. She suddenly had a very pleased look on her face.

“Sure. But, on two conditions,” I said, not able to keep from smiling as Serenity’s happy expression changed to one of dread.

“What conditions?” she nearly growled.

“That you let me do the talking…and you accompany me to the Amish School House dinner tomorrow evening. It would be the perfect place for you to immerse yourself in the Amish world and get a good dinner to boot.”

Serenity was thinking it over as if it was a trick. She looked at Todd for encouragement. I felt the prick of jealousy as her eyes sought the other man’s, but I was fairly certain that there wasn’t anything going on between them. Todd was definitely not Serenity’s type.

Todd said, “They have a benefit dinner twice a year, in the spring and fall. I saw the banner advertising it this weekend on the corner of the road that the school’s on. The entire community will probably be there.”

Serenity turned back to me and narrowed her eyes a fraction when she said, “I’ll go with you tomorrow to the dinner. And, I’ll let you do most of the talking. But I’m not guaranteeing that I won’t say something if it needs to be said.”

That was probably the best I was going to get out of her.

The shiver of anticipation crawled up my back as I said, “Then we have a deal.”

6

NAOMI

August 28th

N
aomi knew she’d stayed in the truck too long already when she gripped the door handle, but she was still reluctant to leave Will behind.

“Will you come with us, Naomi? If you’re worried about getting away from your house, just tell your folks that you’re staying with that one friend of yours that you trust.”

Will’s voice held a hint of pleading that sent a shiver of delight through her. Spending just a few minutes alone with him each afternoon was not near enough for her. Naomi’s lips wanted nothing more than to feel the press of the English boy’s mouth on hers. That would never happen though if she didn’t do something to make it possible. But, the thought of lying to Mother and Father about spending the evening with Sandra, and attempting to sneak away with Will and his sister to go to the Fair was beyond frightening. If she got caught, Mamma would have the belt on her bare butt for sure. And that wouldn’t even be the worst of it.