Secrets in the Grave (Serenity's Plain Secrets Book 3) (15 page)

I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll hold it for you. We can catch up on the paperwork when you’ve moved in.”

“You’re so sweet, Daniel.” She tilted her head. “You know, I was a little worried about moving back here, being so close to the community. Having you around is making it easier.”

I recognized the longing look on her face. I had to put an end to whatever crazy thoughts were going through her head.
I wanted Serenity. I wasn’t going to do anything to make her lose faith in us.

Swallowing, I blew out a breath. “It’s been nice to see you, too, but I want to be up front. Serenity and I are dating. I’m very content with the relationship. I’m not going to be able to hold your hand while you readjust to living in Blood Rock. It just wouldn’t be right. I hope you understand.”

Elayne’s mouth thinned into a tight smile. She laughed and swatted my arm. “I thought something was up between you two. I’m kind of surprised though.”

“Why?” I dared to ask.

“Well, Serenity is a beauty, no doubt, but she’s so, how do I put it without being rude? I guess overly serious is the best way to describe her. When we were kids, I remember you being outgoing and fun—a party guy.”

“Serenity is serious because of her job. Every day, she puts her life on the line and she knows the officers who work with her are doing the same thing. She’s seen horrible things. She’s always thinking and she’s ready for anything. She is unlike any woman I’ve met before and that’s why I love her.”

“Love? I didn’t see that kind of closeness between you two earlier. Forgive my frankness, but she seemed angry at you.” She dropped her voice as if she didn’t want to say the words. I wasn’t fooled.

She was playing the game. I’d been a bachelor a long time. I knew all the games, but I didn’t want to give Elayne the satisfaction of knowing her presence in Blood Rock was part of the problem. “All couples have bumps in the road. We’re no different,” I replied.

“If you ever need to talk about it, I’m here for you. I just hope that Serenity isn’t the jealous type. After all, we are old
friends.” She shrugged and gave a pouty smile. I had to give her credit. A lesser man would be a goner. She was good.

“I don’t think it will come to that.” I glanced at my watch. “I’m out of time. I’ll lock up and you can text me when you’re ready to move in. I’ll meet you with the key and the paperwork then.”

“Yes, I have to go, too. I’m driving out to the settlement this evening,” she said, repositioning her purse on her shoulder.

Her words stopped my step. “Are you visiting family?”

“No.” She laughed. “I’m not ready for that reunion just yet.” She sobered, meeting my gaze. “Do you know Irene Kuhns?”

“Yes, I do,” I said.

“One of her daughters died the other day. I guess it was a complication of childbirth. She wasn’t even married. Quite the scandal.” Her brows arched. “Well, I used to be close to Irene. She has asthma and when I was a teenager, I’d go to her house to clean and do laundry. Her daughters were babies then. Irene was always kind to me, even when everyone else frowned at my rebellious ways. I can only imagine the pain she’s going though. I heard she lost her husband last year and now to lose a daughter. I want to check in on her and see if she needs anything.”

“Would her surviving daughter, Hannah, remember you?” I asked, feeling the tingle of hope that Elayne might be the way to get Hannah to open up about what had been going on with her sister.

Elayne shook her head. “No, probably not. When I left the community for good, she was a toddler.” Her eyes brightened and she leaned in. “Why do you ask?”

Elayne was an intelligent woman and she was going to be the town’s assistant DA. I was betting that she’d be willing to
help out with the investigation. Serenity wouldn’t like it, but how else were we going to get any answers about a shy Amish girl like Fannie Kuhns? Elayne might be our best bet.

I ignored the chalky dryness in my mouth. I wasn’t betraying Serenity—I was trying to help her.

I cleared my throat. “Some of the Amish in the community think that Fannie’s death might not have been natural.”

“Seriously?” Elayne’s eyes widened.

“I can’t talk to you about who they are and why they have their misgivings. I need you to trust me. If you’re up to it, you might even be able to assist the investigation.”

Elayne flipped her long hair over her shoulder and grinned. “How intriguing. As long as we stay within the boundaries of the law, you can count me in.”

A knot grew in my gut at her quick offer to help. I hoped Serenity would understand.

“It’s a long shot, maybe Irene or Hannah will open up to you. I’ll wait here in your car.”

“If everything you told me is correct, Serenity might have a good case against Jonas Peachey. The situation is certainly questionable,” Elayne said with a more serious tone than she’d used since she’d returned to Blood Rock. Having someone in the DA’s office who knew the Amish on a personal level, but also understood the law, could be a valuable asset.

“Our people are different. They try to police themselves, and sometimes it just doesn’t work out. I hope I’m wrong
about my suspicions, but if I’m not, that guy needs to be locked up.”

“I agree.” Elayne paused, lifting one of her perfectly curved brows. “Wish me luck?”

“You got it,” I said, forcing a smile.

I watched Elayne walk in her high heels through the grass and up the front porch steps. She rapped on the door; it opened and she slipped in. It appeared we already had some luck handed to us. There weren’t any buggies parked in the driveway and only a couple of windows illuminated dull light.

The moon was full and high in the sky. It had taken longer to show the apartment to Elayne than I had expected, and she’d insisted on getting dinner from Nancy’s before we left town. I only agreed if she grabbed a takeout bag instead of dining in. The last thing I needed was for it to get back to Serenity that I’d shared another meal with Elayne.

She’d complained that it was impossible to eat a salad and drive her car at the same time. It was a valid point and I’d offered to drive while she ate. She’d agreed, making me wonder if it was a bad idea. I’d shaken the feeling off and headed out of town with my foot resting heavily on the accelerator. If I was with Serenity, she’d have ordered a burger bigger than the one I was eating, and she would’ve had no trouble finishing it off while pursuing a criminal at high speed.

I looked out the open window at Irene’s vegetable garden. With the moonlight brightening the night, I could make out the shapes of tomato plants stretched neatly in a line. The other plants were still too small to know what they were from this distance, but I guessed she had some sweet corn, green beans and summer squash.

The temperature was warm for this late in the day and this early in the season. I wondered if it signaled an early arrival of summer. I rested my arm out the window as my thoughts strayed to Serenity. With my other hand, I picked up my cell phone again. No new messages. I’d texted her a dozen times since I’d last seen her and she hadn’t responded. Under the circumstances, it could be that she was still pissed at me, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something else might be going on. The little sheriff had a way of getting herself into sticky situations. I was half tempted to call Todd and see if she’d checked in with him. The only thing that made me hesitate was that I hated to give the deputy the satisfaction of knowing I didn’t have a clue where she was.

My pride was bending, though. If I didn’t hear from her in the next ten minutes, I would make the call.

I glanced back at the house. I couldn’t see anyone through the windows. I imagined that Irene was making tea and the women would be chatting for a while. Elayne had urged me to drive over to my parents’ house or even my sister’s while I waited, but I wasn’t so sure I wanted to. My mind was heavy with thoughts of Serenity and how to get her to trust me. I was also thinking about the possibility of a pregnancy. A smile tugged at my lips. I couldn’t admit it to Serenity, but secretly, the idea of having a child with her was welcomed. In the past, I never took any chances in that department, but with Serenity, I hadn’t been as compulsively careful about protection. For the first time in my life, I was all right with the idea of a particular woman having my child. The irony of the situation was that unlike all my other girlfriends, who would have loved to have
gone to that level with me, Serenity wanted none of it. Not a baby or a husband or maybe even a life together.

I sighed and thudded my head against the headrest.
Why did Serenity have to be so damn difficult?
Like the previous hundred times I’d asked, no answer was forthcoming.

When the white police cruiser flashed by my peripheral vision, I whipped my head around. The car’s sirens weren’t on, but it was moving at a fast clip for the Amish roadways where a horse might be pulling a buggy at a two miles an hour walk around any corner.

Without much thought, I started the engine and backed up. Elayne would assume I’d changed my mind about visiting relatives. Keeping the cruiser in my sights, I pulled out of the driveway and accelerated to match its speed.

My heart pounded when the cruiser turned into Jonas Peachey’s farm. I rolled to a stop, trying to collect my thoughts. It wouldn’t look good if I drove up in Elayne’s car. Serenity would wring my neck for sure. I had to explain everything to her about Elayne’s connection with the Kuhns family and her willingness to pry a little into what was going on with Fannie, but this wasn’t best time to do so.

While I hesitated, deliberating what to do, I noticed a car that looked suspiciously like Serenity’s parked in the driveway. My gaze narrowed on the small group standing beside a buggy. Todd walked up to Serenity, who was standing with Jonas and Ada Mae.

I waited a moment more on the quiet road before I lost all patience. I pulled into the driveway as Serenity and Todd were about to get into the cruiser.

Pulling alongside the police car, I hung out the window. “Is everything all right?”

Todd’s mouth lifted in the usual smirk. Serenity glared at me.

“I see you and Elayne are now sharing a vehicle. How sweet,” Serenity said, causing Todd to snort.

“Let me explain—”

“We’re kind of busy here investing a shooting. I don’t have time for you.”

“Someone was shot?” I thrust the gear in park, flung open the door and leaned into the cruiser, close enough to smell Serenity’s vanilla perfume.

Serenity didn’t answer, narrowing her eyes.

Todd cleared his throat. “Just barely. Someone shot out one of Mr. Peachey’s windows. Serenity was in the house at the time, talking to the man’s sister.”

I looked back at Serenity now facing forward, ignoring me. “Are you okay?”

“Never been better,” she quipped.

“Do you have any idea who did it?”

“It’s really none of your concern.” She faced me. “You’re not a cop, remember?”

I ignored the comment and raised my gaze to Todd. His eyes were wide and cautious.

“If you’re going to talk to any of the Amish around here, I can be of service. You both know that,” I pressed.

“He has a point—” Todd began.

“We can take care of it.” Serenity growled, turning her wrath on Todd.

Todd held up his hands in mock fear. “Okay, okay. You’re the boss. If I remember correctly, Daniel does have a relationship with the Bender kid.”

Serenity rolled her eyes.

“Eli? You think Eli Bender did this?” I asked, my voice rising.

Serenity blew out an agitated breath, but answered me anyway. “No, not Eli. Jonas mentioned that Eli has been having run ins with some of the local English kids. He believes these kids might be the same ones who popped his window.”

I absorbed the information. “Joseph would be more comfortable allowing Eli to talk to you if I was there. Especially after everything that happened during Naomi’s investigation,” I said as gently as I could.

Serenity’s eyes narrowed further. “Eli’s over eighteen. His father can’t keep us from questioning him, and he isn’t a suspect in this case—he’s the victim. I think we can handle it on our own.”

“Please let me help you, Serenity. You don’t understand the way the Amish family system works. As far as Joseph is concerned, Eli won’t be an adult until he’s married. Even if there’s no reason for secrecy, he’ll be leery of allowing Eli to talk to you. You know how the Amish are. They like to deal with issues on their own.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. If these English kids are responsible for shooting at a house, they’ve committed a felony. Who knows what they might do next.” Serenity lifted her chin, looking into my eyes. “I have to find out what’s going on around here and how it all fits together. Do you understand that?”

“I do. That’s why you need my help,” I insisted.

Serenity glanced at Todd, who shrugged. Her gaze rested on me. “All right, but you’re going to have to follow.” She motioned for Todd to leave and he put the cruiser in gear and rolled by me.

I hurried back to the Elayne’s car and followed them.

I wasn’t sure if I was more nervous about being around Serenity in her current mood or about questioning Eli Bender.