Material Witness (17 page)

As she picked up Simon, carried him to Melinda, and returned to finish preparing dinner, it occurred to her that she’d rather fret over those everyday things.

They helped to take her mind off the thought of a murderer traipsing around Shipshewana searching for Melinda’s son.

Callie stared at her cell phone until it said 7:15 p.m., then she walked out the door, pulling it shut behind her and testing the knob to be sure it was locked. Her eyes were on the garden though. Gavin had told her to walk there at 7:15 exactly — not a minute before or after.

He’d also told her to be sure to lock the shop’s front door behind her.

She’d wanted to laugh earlier this afternoon when she’d
walked up to the elderly man sitting by the windows — as Shane’s note had directed — and asked him if he needed any help. He’d lowered the quilting magazine he was supposedly reading, smiled slightly, and said, “Tea would be nice.”

If she hadn’t already been standing close enough to see through the old-man clothing and dusty powder that aged his skin, those four words would have given him away. Gavin’s voice flowed over her like a welcome fall thunderstorm after a long rainless summer.

They’d hustled over to the small kitchen, where they’d huddled in the corner for five minutes and he’d explained the plan. The disguise he’d worn had been great from a distance, but up close, Callie wanted to take a wet cloth and wipe the powder off his face.

She wanted to remove the hat and replace it with the ball cap he wore when jogging with Max.

She wanted to put her head against his chest and weep.

Instead she squared her shoulders and agreed to a plan she did not understand. She stayed in her shop all day, tending to customers. She stopped worrying Creeper would find a way inside and instead tried picking out who replaced Gavin as her guardian. Gavin had assured her Shane was rotating people into the shop every ninety minutes. It became a game of sorts to figure out which “customer” was really an undercover officer.

Callie knew her customers well and had become adept at recognizing the out-of-town types. Who-doesn’t-fit-here wasn’t so hard once one knew what to look for. Then there was the fact that since she’d moved to Shipshe, she’d become quite familiar with most of the officers working for the Shipshewana Police Department. A few of her guardians were from neighboring towns, but they all had the same watchful look — no matter how they tried to conceal it. Makeup could hide age. A wig could change hair color and style, but when someone was protecting another person’s life, their entire physique took on another bearing. An undercover cop could hide behind a newspaper, slouch against a wall, even sit and
text on a cell phone. But their eyes? Their eyes were ever vigilant. Soon Callie found she could pick them out within ten minutes of their entering the shop.

The question was: would Creeper also be able to pick them out of a crowd? Probably not. Certainly not if he was looking through binoculars. At least Callie didn’t think so. The fact that someone was in the store with her, aware of her problem, and armed was enough to calm Callie’s nerves and allow her to focus on running the shop.

She ate lunch standing at the counter, and she watched over Lydia like a mother hen. It had crossed her mind to tell Lydia to take the day off, but there was no way the girl would have agreed. It did help ease Callie’s mind that she’d found a way to bar Deborah and baby Joshua from the store.

She shooed all of her customers out at six p.m. sharp and straightened the shop like she did every night, then she changed into jeans and her baggiest black T-shirt as if she were planning to take a walk around her garden, maybe mourn the fact that Max hadn’t returned.

Looking lost without Max was easy enough to fake, since it was true. Doc England had called and said her dog was doing fine, but the toenail removal needed watching overnight to ensure there wasn’t any infection. There was no toenail removal, and Callie wanted to know if Max had fully recovered from the tranquilizer’s drugs. But she didn’t dare ask in case one of the customers in the store was Creeper or his accomplice, though she still didn’t expect to see either one. Better be safe and follow Shane’s plan, which included silence on the subject of Max. Instead she thanked her vet, assured him she’d check back again the next day, and hung up the phone.

Now she walked across the parking lot toward her garden. She refused to look toward the area still marked off with crime-scene tape. Instead she concentrated on the cool breeze. She hadn’t
stepped outside all day, had been afraid to leave Lydia alone even for a moment. The breeze spoke of freedom and eased some of the anxiety in her shoulders.

Darkness settled around her.

She forgot to wonder what might happen next.

Then she heard a rustling in the corner of her garden and instinctively grabbed the hoe leaning against her fence.

Perla’s voice was soft, musical, and not terribly amused at the moment. “Put it down, Callie. Last thing I need is a hoe upside my head.”

When she stepped through the brush, Callie could see that Perla was wearing clothes identical to what Callie was currently wearing — blue jeans and a black T-shirt.

“What are you doing here?”

“Being you. Did you leave the back door unlocked like Gavin said?”

“Yes, and I locked the front. Why do you have to be me?”

“Because you’re not staying here tonight.” Perla glanced toward the far side of the garden and Callie spotted him.

Shane held back, but enough light remained to see his outline. He’d lost the chain-saw disguise Gavin had told her about and was once again wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and a Cubs ball cap. Callie had the strongest desire to go to him and melt into his arms.

Instead she stayed where she was, clutching the hoe.

“Put the hoe down and get out of here. Won’t look right with there being two of us.”

“Two of us?”

Shane remained in the shadows, beckoning her without a move, without lifting a muscle.

“Tienes que ir.”
Perla moved toward the back door of the shop as Callie glanced toward Shane.
“No es necesario entender.”

Callie’s Spanish had grown rusty since leaving Texas, but she understood what Perla was saying well enough. There was little
about this mess that made sense to her, but she knew to follow Perla’s instructions.

She moved toward Shane — slowly first, but then more quickly as she saw the look of concern in his eyes. When she reached him he took her hand in his, wordlessly, and pulled her deeper into the darkness.

They didn’t speak until they’d crept three blocks, wound their way down two alleys, and found his car. Once the doors were closed and he’d locked them — manually, the Buick was too old to sport automatic locks — Callie turned toward him in the darkness, trying to decide which question to ask first.

She never had a chance.

He pulled her into his arms, pulled her right across the front leather seat, and pressed his lips to hers. She didn’t have time to think about whether it was right or wrong.

All thoughts of the perpetrator fled.

Her mind focused on Shane and the feel of his arms around her.

Shane, running his fingers through her hair.

Shane and the night and the darkness acting like a blanket pulled close, wrapping her in their warmth.

When he finally released her, he still didn’t start the car. Instead he sat there, staring out the front window, his arm still wrapped around her shoulder.

“What was that about?” she whispered.

“I have no idea.”

“Seriously?”

“Look—” She sensed him shaking his head in the darkness. “— I didn’t mean to do that.”

“Great.”

“Not what I meant.” He pulled her even closer, ran a hand up and down her arm, sending shivers all the way to her toes. “I know
now isn’t the right time, but I needed …” He blew out a sigh. “I needed it, all right? I needed to know you were fine.”

“That was a health check? Kissing me?” She was pretty sure she should be offended.

He turned toward her, kissed her again, but this time softly, lightly. “Yeah. I guess.”

Pulling in a deep breath, she closed her eyes, envisioned a field of Texas wildflowers, then released the breath slowly. It did nothing for the butterflies in her stomach, but it did help clear her mind somewhat. “I’m glad I could ease your worries, Black.”

“I wanted to stop by earlier, but then a Smart Car tried to run over Melinda’s boys.”

“Gavin stopped by after his shift and told me about that. He also assured me everyone was fine.”

“They are.” He started the car and buckled his seat belt, but when she attempted to move toward the passenger door he stopped her, showed her where the middle seat buckle was.

Once they were both safely fastened — as if that could save them from a criminal bent on murder should he try to smash them with a miniature car — Shane pulled out into the street and turned on his lights.

Callie forced herself to forget the kiss and the emotions tumbling from her head to her heart to her stomach. What mattered right now was the investigation.

“It was Creeper?”

“I’m willing to bet it was the same perp. He was wearing a mask, but who else would it be? Look … we need to get out to Reuben’s.”

“Reuben’s?”

The part of town they were driving through was closed up for the night. Any pedestrian traffic was farther downtown. He pulled up to a stop sign. Beneath the streetlight Callie could make out Shane’s features, the worry in his eyes, and how the last
twenty-four hours had taken their toll. He turned to her, framed her face with his hands, and wouldn’t look away until she met his eyes.

“Melinda, Deborah, Esther, all the kids — the men too — they’re all at Reuben’s. Gavin’s on shift right now, but he and Taylor will be out later. We’re going to figure this out, Callie. You believe me, right?”

She tried not to lose herself in his gaze. She wasn’t ready for this relationship. She’d thought maybe she was, after what had happened with Reuben, after the scene outside Timothy and Rachel Lapp’s house in Goshen. The first few times he’d called over the last year, they’d talked for hours, but it had frightened her. So the next time he called, she hadn’t answered. It had been immature of her, but Callie hadn’t known what else to do.

Those talks had made her realize how alone she felt.

They’d made her dare to want more, but wanting more was dangerous.

She’d had more with Rick, and she’d lost everything.

As Shane cupped her face in his hands, she found she couldn’t look away. And she didn’t want to. As she gazed straight into Shane’s dark eyes she lost her footing, felt herself falling, and she didn’t care anymore.

There was no middle ground. It was either trust and take the leap, or back up and somehow endure this thing alone.

“Yeah, I trust you.” That wasn’t what he’d asked her. She realized that, and when he kissed her again, she knew he realized that as well. Believing him was one thing — that was actually easy. Trusting him? For Callie, that was a leap of faith.

Shane turned his attention back to his driving, the sound of the Buick filled the night, and Callie understood this time she had no choice.

She needed him.

T
HE WEATHER WAS PLEASANTLY WARM
for late September. Warm enough to serve dinner in the barn instead of the house.

The side of the barn Reuben lived in had minimal heat — very minimal. Melinda realized the
Englischers
thought Amish homes were cold without electric or gas heat, but the way their kitchen and sitting areas were laid out actually kept them comfortably warm. This was not the case with Reuben’s living arrangement.

When he and Tobias had moved into the old barn, they’d walled off one-third of it. The third they lived in was still cavernous and impossible to adequately heat. They’d laughed and said it was more like the outdoors, where they were comfortable. A cast-iron stove sat in the corner, but Melinda wasn’t sure how it kept Reuben from freezing during the coldest months.

For tonight though, it was still comfortable.

She held Esther’s baby against her right shoulder and clasped Hannah’s fingers with her left hand. Hannah skipped along beside her, as if this were an everyday event, and why should she think any differently? The older children helped Deborah and Esther carry casserole dishes filled with ham, roasted vegetables, and fresh bread from the house.

She’d barely made it to the door of the barn when she heard an automobile making its way down Reuben’s lane. Her pulse raced, and she cradled Simon closer, squeezed Hannah’s hand, and looked frantically for Aaron.

“He’s fine. Inside playing and waiting for dinner.”

How was it Noah managed to appear whenever her worries spiked? Had they been married so long he had developed a sixth sense?

“Besides, it’s Shane in his old car.”

“Is Callie with him?”

“
Ya
. I’m sure she is.”

Melinda breathed a sigh of relief. Turning to Noah, she handed him baby Simon. “Stay with your
dat
, Hannah.”

Melinda hurried through the darkness toward the car.

Callie hadn’t unbuckled yet by the time she reached it, so Melinda waited for her to stand and straighten her baggy clothes before stepping forward and enfolding her in a hug.

“How are you?”

“Fine.”

“I wanted to come and see you, but Deborah said we shouldn’t.”

“No, I didn’t want—”

“I heard. No children in the store.”

“Yes, well. That was a ruse to —”

“You’re always trying to protect us. How are we to help you if you won’t let us near?”

Melinda pulled Callie toward the barn and didn’t actually take any notice of Shane until he caught up with them, his voice a deep rumbling like thunder on the horizon. “Callie and I decided that it was better that way.”

“So you were in on this together.”

“You could say that.” Callie stopped halfway to the barn, looked back toward the house where the light from two lanterns shone in the main room. “We’re not going to Esther’s?”