Whispers from the Dead (Serenity's Plain Secrets Book 2) (18 page)

23

I
let out a relieved sigh when I parked by the cabin. At least all of Rowan’s helpers had finally gone home. The night seemed extra crisp and there was a stark contrast between the frosting-like layer of snow on the ground and the inky blackness of sky. There was a soft light shining in Rowan’s kitchen and I purposely headed in that direction. The dog, who I had found out earlier in the day, was called Ben, trotted up to greet me in the driveway. I reached down and stroked his thick black and white fur as I glanced up at the sky. Pausing for a moment, I gazed at the twinkling stars that seemed to shine so much brighter during the coldest part of winter, and thought about what I was going to say to Rowan. There wasn’t going to be any easy way to break the news to him, but the right words and a gentle tone might just make it a little easier to hear.

I knocked a couple of times and then opened the door a little ways and peeked in. Cooking smells of whatever the family and workers had eaten for dinner still lingered in the air and blissful warmth radiated from the room. It was only nine o’clock, but I worried that everyone was already in bed. I’d already discovered that the Amish usually turned in early.

“Hello,” I whispered loudly, chancing to open the door further still as I stepped into the room. The kitchen was so warm that it was almost stuffy. As the heat absorbed into my skin, I was suddenly so tired that I yawned.

“You look exhausted, Serenity,” Rowan’s voice slipped up from the side as he walked quietly into the room from the hallway.

“It’s been a long day.”

“How is Daniel doing? Anna told me that he was shot,” Rowan said cautiously.

I raised my brow at his tone and studied his stoic features for a moment before I answered.

“He’s doing all right—probably be out of the hospital tomorrow,” I paused and weighed my words carefully, “but it could have been a very different story.”

Rowan ran a hand through his thick, dark hair and then leaned heavily on the table. It was obvious that he was quite disturbed, but I still wasn’t sure exactly why.

Finally, he glanced up and said, “I’m sorry for what my brother did to Daniel. It seems that I’ve spent my entire life apologizing for him. He’s a restless spirit, always has been.”

Anger flared inside of me. “Restless? He’s a damn criminal, Rowan. He’s killed people—yes, plural. That woman who was found in the bishop’s barn is your brother’s ex-girlfriend.”

Rowan’s eyes widened at the news. He pulled the chair out that he had been leaning against and sat down. “Are you sure?” he asked.

I nodded. “My partner back in Blood Rock has been working on this since I arrived. By process of elimination, he investigated all the reported missing women in a four state region. At the same time that he came up with the name, Kristen Humphrey, a buddy of mine in the Indy police department touched base with my partner. They compared notes, and it turns out that the last time your brother was arrested in the city on drug charges, the girlfriend was brought in too. She was a real smackhead, but she also liked her hash oil. It was difficult for the local coroner to establish the exact method of death, but he was sure that she was dead before the fire. The coroner also stated that there weren’t any definitive signs of blunt force trauma or asphyxiation, which leads me to think that maybe it was an overdose and Asher was trying to hide the body in a burning building.”

“I met the woman one time. She was not right in the head. I suspected that she was on something at the time, but wasn’t sure,” Rowan admitted.

“By all accounts she was pretty much a transient—born in California, but had lived in nine states in the last four years. That’s why she was so difficult to track down. No one really missed her. The only person who even bothered going to the police was an elderly landlady in Indy who became suspicious when Kristen didn’t show up for some kind of weekly card game,” I told him.

Rowan shook his head. “It’s sad isn’t it?” He looked up with bright eyes and added, “What about the other barn burnings…and mine. Why would Asher have set those fires?”

“He didn’t, at least I don’t think he did.” Seeing the confusion on his face, I took the seat beside him and said, “All along, I suspected that you had two arsonists on your hands. The first three fires and your barn were completely different than the Fisher burning. That one was the only one to happen at night and it was the only barn that was right on the road. The location of the bishop’s barn first made me think about a teenage prank, but the body didn’t fit into that theory. The puzzle pieces began to fall into place when I saw Mariah Fisher meet privately with Asher after the church service this morning.”

Rowan’s eyes widened and he blurted out, “Why would she have any dealings with my brother?” The horrified look on Rowan’s face made me feel a little better for some reason.

“I hate to say it, but I think Mariah and some of the other Amish kids have been buying drugs from Asher. He’s a smart dude. He probably figured that if he hid Kristen’s body in the bishop’s barn, Mariah and the others would be more likely to make an effort to cover for him. I’m making presumptions on a lot of this, but one thing is for certain, my own eyes don’t lie. I saw Mariah meet with Asher in the telephone shed at the Mast’s farm today.”

Rowan swallowed and met my gaze with moist eyes. “Our community is festering, rotting from the inside out. God is punishing us for our sins.”

I couldn’t breathe. At the same time that curiosity was blazing inside of me, dread of what Rowan was about to say was even stronger.

“Go on,” I urged in a whisper.

Rowan gazed off into space for a moment and then abruptly turned to me again. His face was open and I took a shallow breath, preparing for whatever the truth was.

“It all started back about twenty years ago, around nineteen ninety-five…”

Even though I was immediately mesmerized by Rowan’s quiet voice, when my phone vibrated in my pocket, I couldn’t help but look at it, immediately worried that it might be from Brody or worse yet, the hospital. I reluctantly held up my hand to stop Rowan. I didn’t know the number on the screen, but it was a local Poplar Springs’ area code. As I gazed at the number for an instant, my heart began banging against my chest.

I swallowed hard and brought the phone to my ear. “Hello…”

“Ms. Adams, this is Brandy—Brandy Warner.”

The girl’s rapid, distressed voice immediately registered and I made eye contact with Rowan. Judging from his worried eyes and slightly gaping jaw, he was as concerned as I was.

“Yes, Brandy, what can I do for you?” I said steadily, not allowing the spastic racing of my own heart to affect my voice.

“I need your help. Nathan and Cody went to stop them, but he’s going to get really mad, and I’m worried about what he’ll do to them if they confront him…”

Brandy’s voice had reached an almost hysterical pitch when I interrupted her, “Whoa, wait a minute. You’re talking too fast. Who are they trying to stop and who is going to get mad?”

The silence lasted only a few seconds while Brandy hesitated, but it was an eternity. “The Amish kids—Mariah, Jory, Jacob and the rest. They were going to meet Asher Schwartz in the woods tonight…to buy some new stuff he has.”

“Do you know where they’re meeting?”

“Yeah, it will be hard to find in the dark, but I can find the place.”

“Are you home right now?” I asked as I stood up and motioned for Rowan to do the same.

“Yeah…”

“Listen up, Brandy. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Get a piece of paper and draw the very best map you can to show me the way to this meeting place.”

“But…”

“No, you’re not coming with me. But your map will get me there and I’ll take care of everything. I promise.”

I hung up and met Rowan’s anxious gaze. “I’m going with you,” he told me.

I nodded slowly, “I’m not going to argue with you on this one. I think I’m going to need your help anyway.”

Rowan quickly scribbled a note to his kids telling them that he had gone with me to talk to someone about the fires. He left it on the kitchen table, tucked up neatly beneath a plate with a slice of wrapped pie that Mareena had probably made earlier in the day.

He picked up his hat and sighed heavily, “I’m ready.”

“You had better be. This isn’t going to be pretty,” I said honestly as I opened the front door and we rushed out into the cold night.

And then the snow began falling again.

24

T
he snow was coming down in heavy, wet sheets that made the going even tougher. Brandy’s directions had been right on, but now that it had been snowing steadily for nearly half an hour, the barely-there path was all but nonexistent. I could see well enough from the hazy glow of the white all around, but I was afraid that we had lost the trail a while back and were now aimlessly stumbling over roots and downed branches, going in circles.

I pulled my toboggan down lower and trudged after Rowan, acutely aware of his labored breathing as we began to go uphill again. Our huffing and the rhythmic crunching of our boots in the snow were the only sounds in the woods. The winter storm seemed to have draped the entire area in a heavy blanket that silenced the world around us in a very lonely and creepy way.

I instinctively reached into my coat and touched my gun. The action calmed my nerves somewhat. I left my hand pressed against it while I looked around, squinting to see through the quietly dropping, large flakes that relentlessly continued to fall from the sky. Dammit. As if our job wasn’t difficult enough, now we had a mini-blizzard to deal with.

At least the physical exertion was keeping me warm. I was actually sweating under the black coat. My thoughts had been jumbled ever since we had left Rowan’s place. He was about to tell me something very important when Brandy called, but the moment was long gone now. We were both too busy worriedly listening for any sign of a group of teenagers to chat. We certainly didn’t want to accidently stumble right into them or worse yet, have Asher see us before we saw him. As I took quick intakes of cold, wet air, I wondered if Asher would actually harm his own brother. When I’d met him the very first time, the animosity between the brothers was tangible, but how far either of the men were willing to take it was anyone’s guess.

I inwardly prayed that when the time came, Rowan would support me in anything I had to do. Brody’s earlier suggestion that taking Asher down floated around statically in my mind. It certainly wasn’t an ethical thought, but in reality, it might truly be the only way to get the community back on track. Not only had Asher murdered before, but he had no qualm about selling his wares to kids and using violence to save his own ass. A part of me acknowledged that he had signed his own death warrant, but the other more practical side, still wanted to follow the rules and bring him in alive to face a judge and jury of his peers.

Of course, the ultimate outcome might be out of my hands anyway.

Rowan suddenly stopped and I nearly bumped into his back. I was close enough to his tall form that the wool fibers of this black coat tickled my nose. I took a step back and looked carefully around.

Rowan lifted his hand, bringing his gloved finger to his lips, holding me silent. I tilted my head to listen.

Faintly at first, but gaining volume, I heard the muffled sound of voices. The same as a jolt to the heart, I stopped breathing altogether. In the back of my mind, I had thought that maybe Brandy had led us on a wild goose chase, or perhaps the weather had ultimately foiled the kids’ plans, but now I had the sickly realization that a group of Amish and English kids were out here in the woods with Asher.

Not taking any chances, I brought my gun out and aimed it toward the sky in a holding position. Rowan’s brows raised, but he didn’t say a word. He motioned for me to follow him and together we climbed up a steep ridge. At one point the grade was too much and I had to put the gun away to grab a sideways growing thick sapling to pull myself up behind Rowan. When we finally reached the crest of the hill, I was out of breath and dropped into the welcoming snow. I crawled to the edge to take a look around.

Down below in the wooded hollow was a small, rough looking cabin. Smoke puffed out of its stone chimney and light shined from the only window on this side. There wasn’t a porch, just a simple, solid wooden door at the top of several steps that were already pretty much covered with snow.

The shadows of several people moving about inside the cabin were clearly visible, but I ignored them, focusing instead on the three figures that were arguing in the small clearing in front of the cabin. I pulled the small recorder from my inside pocket and held it out in front of me. Sure, there were laws against such measures, but this conversation might definitely come in handy in the future. If Rowan noticed, he didn’t acknowledge it, more interested with the goings on below us.

Asher said, “Damon, you aren’t going anywhere. Just like I told you, you’re my lucky charm.”

“I’m only your insurance that my granddaddy won’t go after you,” Damon shot back.

He was almost as tall as Brody, but wiry thin, where his grandfather was thickly built.

I glanced at Rowan, but he was still gazing intensely at the scene below as if I wasn’t even there.

“Call it what you want to, I don’t care. The sheriff can’t touch me or Julian here, as long as you’re knee deep in the shit right along with us.” Asher laughed. “Hell, don’t go acting all innocent on me. You’re the one who helped us get in with this group anyway.” He thumbed toward the building.

“That was when it was only weed. This dabbing shit is dangerous. Look what happened to Kristen…”

Damon didn’t get to finish his sentence. Julian’s fist met his face in a quick, solid punch that knocked him backward. Damon caught the ground with his hand and righted himself without completely falling down.

Rowan began to rise and I grabbed his arm. “No, not yet—Damon’s all right. It’s a bloody nose, that’s all,” I whispered, shaking the recorder in front of him. “We need to hear what Asher has to say.”

Rowan looked as if he was about to argue and I braced for a struggle, but after a few seconds, he relaxed and settled back into the snow.

Asher stepped up to Damon. The two men were of equal height and build, but Asher carried himself with a lot more confidence and authority than the younger man would probably ever possess.

Asher thrust his finger at Damon’s face and snarled, “Listen here, you don’t ever talk about that whore. She was so juiced up on pharmies that she was a ticking time bomb. It was just a matter of time before it happened.”

Damon straightened and for an instant I was suddenly impressed with his bravado.

“Julian said that it was a bad batch of butane that did it,” he countered.

Julian’s fist hit Damon’s stomach this time and he doubled over with a loud gulping noise.

“Now…?” Rowan’s eyes implored, but I shook my head.

The sudden gun shot that
boomed
through the trees made both Rowan and I immediately drop down deeper into the snow. I quickly put the recorder safely into my pocket. I needed both hands free for my own gun.

Searching the hollow again, I discovered that all three men had scattered. Asher and Julian were behind a stack of firewood beside the cabin and Damon was using a tree for cover, pressed up tightly against its trunk.

Whoever let the bullet fly wasn’t a very good shot, and I quickly had an idea who it was. I rose to my knees and searched the ridgeline, only having a few seconds tick by before my suspicion was proved correct.

Cody and Nathan were quickly making their way down the snowy bank, sliding in a few places, but managing to keep their footing until they hit level ground. Nathan had a .22 caliber rifle raised in his hands. He flicked the barrel left and right when he shouted, “Mariah, you come on out of there. I’m taking you home.”

I rolled my eyes at both Nathan’s words and his choice of a gun to take out a professional criminal as I jumped to my feet. “Now it’s time,” I whispered to Rowan, motioning for him to get behind me.

Luckily, I still had the element of surprise, but I was out of range and I feared that I wouldn’t be faster than the bad guys. As I ran swiftly down the slope with Rowan close on my heels, I saw Asher and Julian both rising. Like me, they had quickly judged the teenagers to be no real threat and were preparing to take the offensive. Asher reached down his leg and pulled his own gun from a holster fastened around his calf. Julian already had his freed from his jacket.

Only a few more feet and I should be good.

“What the fuck, you little shit! Are you crazy?” Asher shouted.

I was close enough to the standoff to see everybody’s breath in the air and even to smell the faint scent of men’s cologne coming off of one of them when I stopped and aimed. Nathan, Asher and Julian were too focused on each other to notice me at first, but Cody saw me. Thankfully, the kid didn’t give me away.

I had to get off two shots quicker than Asher and Julian could get one off each. I didn’t think about the odds, instead going to that place where the dark tunnel stretched to a pinpoint place of bright light before me.

Boom…Kaboom.

Julian hit the ground, clutching his leg and screaming, “I’m shot…my leg…”

Rowan had the presence of mind to surge forward and grab Julian’s gun from the snow and aim it at him. I only caught a glimpse of this happening as I walked cautiously towards Asher. His hand was so completely covered in blood that I couldn’t even see any skin at all. But he had dropped his gun just below him and I could read from his pale face that he was seriously thinking about making a move for it. Whether he could shoot it with his left hand was anyone’s guess, but I wasn’t going to take any chances. I’d been good and purposely aimed at non-life threatening parts of their bodies, but if Asher tried to shoot me, I was going to kill him for sure.

“Stay there boys,” I ordered Nathan and Cody. I probably didn’t even need to tell them, but they’d already proven that they were capable of moronic acts of heroism, so I was a little concerned that they might do something stupid.

“Don’t do it, Asher,” Rowan pleaded with his brother at a brief moment when Julian wasn’t loudly crying out in pain.

“It’ll be the last thing you ever do,” I told Asher with my gun aimed at his chest this time. I couldn’t keep the slight smile from my lips. I wouldn’t admit it out loud, but deep down I really wanted him to do it.

Asher’s blue eyed gaze met mine and for a moment we were the only ones there. He sniffed in what was sure to be pain shooting up his arm and he regarded me steadily. “I do believe that you would gladly kill me, Sheriff.” He shrugged loosely, and added, “That’s what your kind does, shoot first and ask questions later. Just because you’re the law, you think you’re above it…that you can do anything you want. Hell, I’ve had to deal with it from Gentry for years. And you know what? He’s the one who taught me how to work the system.”

I didn’t have time for his speech. I interrupted him, “You aren’t going to get any sympathy from me, so don’t even waste your breath.”

He nodded slowly and then a wicked grin erupted on his lips. The look made my heart skip. I’d seen that expression before. It was of a man who suddenly thought he had the upper hand.

“Even the Amish have their own set rules to protect themselves and screw everyone else…just like Rowan here.” He looked at his brother with pure ice and said loudly, pointing his bloody hand at Rowan, “He’s the one that lit the match that killed your brother Austin all those years ago. I was there…with Jotham…and I saw that fucker do it.”

What happened next was too fast for me to even barely comprehend, much less adjust my strategy for. Damon rushed out from behind the tree and ran straight for Rowan, knocking into him with such force that the two men fell into the snow together in a heap.

Damon had his hands on Julian’s gun and Rowan grappled with him for control of it. The second it took for me to see this, Asher was diving for his own gun.

A gunshot echoed through the winter night. I stopped breathing and turned my head towards Rowan and Damon, while keeping my gun aimed straight at Asher who was in the exact same stance as me.

Damon rolled away from Rowan and quickly jumped up. Rowan’s hand came away from his stomach, covered with blood. For a sickening instant, I saw each bright red drop hit the pure white snow. No one moved. There was only the sound of heavy silence from the falling snow in my ears and time seemed to have stopped all together.

The sharp intake of breath from the doorway of the cabin pulled me from the partial trance. Jory Bontrager was standing there staring at Rowan with his mouth gaping. Knowing that there wasn’t much time, I tilted my head towards Asher again. I was surprised to see a flash of shock pass over his features, before his mouth twisted again and his gaze met mine.

He began backing away with his gun raised. The fleeting thought that I was trapped in an old western movie occurred to me before I sucked in a breath and challenged Asher, “Don’t move…or I will shoot you.”

I quickly calculated my chances of success. I reasoned with myself that I was shooting with my good hand and Asher had only his left hand to fire with, putting me at a definite advantage. It was still a risk, but I had the law of averages on my side for a change. I was very close to making my move.

Asher didn’t stop his backward momentum. Clutching his ruined hand to his side, he suddenly turned his gun on Cody and smiled back at me. “You might be crazy enough to risk your own life with a ridiculous shoot out, but I don’t think that you’ll risk that kid’s life over mine.”

Nathan swiveled, raising his gun at Asher and for a split second, I thought that maybe between the two of us we had a chance to bring the son of a bitch down, but the thought left me as soon as it arrived. Nathan’s fingers were trembling, causing the rifle to vibrate in his hands. Even if he did manage to get a shot off, did I really want to be responsible for how messed up the kids would be if he met his mark or if he missed altogether and his friend was killed in the process. No. As much as I wanted Asher’s head on a spike, I couldn’t risk the boys and Rowan needed to be rushed to a hospital if he had any chance of survival.

“Don’t, Nathan. Let him go. He’s not worth any more blood being spilled here tonight,” I told the boy in a firm voice.

Asher’s eyes darted toward his brother lying on the ground and then back to me. A smug expression erupted on his face and he nodded once at me before he began jogging sideways into the thick stand of trees. Asher never took his gun off of Cody while he stole into the night, erasing any hopes that I might still get a shot off at him.