Undercover Amish. Debby Giusti
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have first names?”
“Unfortunately, that’s all the information I could decipher from the garbled voice mail Miriam left on my cell. The guy in the flannel shirt who came after me mentioned her name. He wanted to know where she’s holed up.”
“We need to talk to the deputy sheriff and learn more about the hijacking. Maybe he’ll know the Zooks and how to find your sister.”
Maybe he would know about Hannah Miller, as well. She’d gone from being a stranded motorist with a guy on her tail to a person of interest in a murder and kidnapping case. Lucas had distanced himself from law enforcement, yet crime and corruption seemed to have found him in the middle of the North Georgia mountains, which was both ironic and unsettling.
Reason told him to give Hannah a wide berth, but he couldn’t walk away from a woman in need. Especially a woman whose circumstances tugged at his heart.
“Stay in the car,” he said, opening the driver’s door. “I’ll add more water and then we’ll be on our way. There’s a fork in the road not far ahead. Just like the previous intersection, the fork to the left goes to Willkommen. We’ll veer right toward the Amish Inn. Chances are good the car that just passed us is headed to town.”
Lucas refilled the radiator, crawled back into the car, started the engine and pulled out onto the road. The rain eased, but the overhanging trees and thick underbrush that lined the road hung heavy with moisture. The headlights cut a path into the dark night.
As he guided the car to the right at the fork, the moon peered through the clouds. Stretched out around them were rolling hills that led to higher peaks in the distance. They drove in silence for some distance until fenced pastures marked their approach to the B and B. A three-story, rambling inn, painted white with black shutters, wraparound porches and two stone fireplaces came into view. The scene, no matter how many times he saw it, filled Lucas’s heart with a sense of home.
“I’m sure everything will look more welcoming in the light of day,” Hannah said.
Evidently the bucolic scene that warmed his heart caused her unease. She worried her fingers as if she didn’t know whether to be relieved or concerned about what she saw.
“The inn sits at the end of the entrance drive,” he explained, hoping to reassure her. “The building closer to the road is the Amish Store and produce mart. Fannie Stoltz owns the place. She’s Amish and lives in one of the two houses at the far side of the property. The two Amish homes don’t have electricity or technology. The rest of the property runs on solar power backed up with propane generators. The majority of the guests are Englischers who want to enjoy the peace of the Amish way but still have their comforts, such as indoor plumbing, electric lights, heat in the winter and air-conditioning in the summer.”
“So it’s not Amish?”
He smiled. “It’s about as Amish as most folks want to get. Fannie is a widow. The inn was a way she could provide for herself.”
“She has children?”
He shook his head. “But she’s got a big heart.”
“You’re sure she won’t mind me arriving this late at night.”
“We won’t wake her. I’ve got a master key and will set you up in a room. Tomorrow we’ll explain your late arrival.”
Lucas pulled her car close to a rear maintenance shed. “I’ll have the mechanic check out your car in the morning. Calvin can fix anything. Even a radiator.”
Rounding the car, he opened her door and then pulled her tote from the trunk. Together they hurried along the path that led to the inn and climbed the steps to the expansive front porch.
Lucas keyed open the door and stepped back to let her enter first. A small table lamp glowed halfway down the entrance hall. He placed Hannah’s tote on the floor by the table and checked the log book.
“Room three is available,” he whispered to keep from waking the other guests.
“Are you sure this is okay?”
“Of course. We all work together at the inn.”
He grabbed the key off the peg where it hung and opened the door to the downstairs wing, then motioned her to the left. “It’s the last door on the right, a corner room with great views.”
He unlocked the door and held it open for her. She stepped into the room and flipped on the overhead light. Her gaze took in the double bed with fluffy pillows and hand-stitched quilt. A dresser and overstuffed chair filled one side of the room across from a door that led to the private bath.
A small latched rug warmed the floor, but the room was still chilly. Lucas adjusted the thermostat on the wall. “You’ll get heat soon enough. Extra blankets are in the bottom drawer. Breakfast runs from six thirty until nine a.m. To get to the dining room, turn left and head to the end of the hall.”
He stepped past her and checked the latches on the windows in the bedroom and bath.
“Lock the door after I leave. In the morning, I’ll let Fannie know you’re here.” Lucas glanced around the room. “Do you need anything else?”
“Towels?”
“In the bathroom.”
“Then I’ve got everything I need. Thank you, Lucas. I...I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He nodded. “I’ll be on the job by six. Get some sleep. Morning will come soon enough.”
With determined steps, he headed for the door then glanced back. “Don’t worry. You’ll be safe here.”
Stepping into the hallway, Lucas felt a sense of relief. He had checked the windows and cautioned Hannah to lock her door. The guy from the gas station wouldn’t find her tonight.
Once clear of the house, Lucas stopped to listen to the sounds of the night. Small creatures scurried through the underbrush and the croak of bullfrogs sounded from the nearby pond, but little else could be heard. No cars, no planes overhead, no chatter from guests who were hopefully enjoying their slumber.
He should have been relieved, but tonight something wasn’t sitting well within him. He scanned the pastures and the mountains in the distance. Tired as he was, he couldn’t pull himself from this observation spot as if everything was warning him to stand guard.
What had he overlooked?
“Gott,” he said as his Amish neighbors did. “Show me through Your eyes what I am to see.”
The night settled heavy around him, yet still he remained.
The light in room three, where Hannah stayed, went out. His eyes again scanned the fields, the outbuildings, the paddock and stable. A dog barked in the distance.
Foolish of him to remain for so long when the night was quiet. Ready to return to his house, he saw the glow of ambient light from afar. Headlights?
His spine tightened. Was it the man from the filling station? Had he taken the turn to Willkommen and then doubled back when he’d failed to find Hannah once again broken down on the side of the road?
The lights drew nearer. Lucas moved to the retail store and stood behind the building, hidden from anyone passing by yet with an unobstructed view of the road.
The vehicle’s motor filled the night. Lucas watched a dark SUV pull toward the entrance to the property and slow to a stop.
He stepped from the shadows and hurried toward the car, bending to catch sight of the driver through the tinted windshield.
Although Lucas couldn’t make out his features, he saw the driver startle, no doubt surprised to see someone approaching, before the late-model Tahoe accelerated. Georgia clay conveniently covered the rear license plate, obscuring the number. The left taillight was out.
The SUV passing the inn could have been anyone, except Lucas hadn’t been a cop for six years in Savannah