Secrets in the Grave (Serenity's Plain Secrets Book 3) (7 page)

“Nothing. That’s the really scary part. Just when I was rising up on my tip toes to peek through the window, I became dizzy. I must have fainted. The next thing I remember is my father splashing a cup of water on my face. When I opened my eyes, the first person I saw was Ma. She was peering over Father’s shoulder at me, smiling. Her cancer was gone.” I shook my head to dislodge the uncomfortable memory. “I can’t explain it. She never had any radiation or chemotherapy. The English doctor was stunned. It was truly a miracle.”

Silence drifted in the cab for a moment before Serenity found her voice. “Was it a miracle or someone selling their soul to the devil?” she asked with a frown.

I had to be honest. “I don’t know.”

6

SERENITY

“I
t’s a good thing you’re finally here, Serenity. Bobby is driving me crazy, checking in every five minutes, asking for you,” Rosie grumbled.

She had been working in the Blood Rock’s Sheriff’s department for over thirty years. She still dyed her hair blonde and kept it swept up in a high bun. She was always smartly dressed and an even smarter thinker.

I smiled at her. The woman’s combative relationship with Bobby amused me. “Call him and tell him we’re on our way.”

“I wouldn’t walk too fast. Won’t hurt him to hold his horses for a change,” she called out as Daniel and I reached the stairs down to the morgue. I didn’t turn around to respond.

“Were Rosie and Bobby ever romantically involved?” Daniel asked.

“Funny you should ask. Todd told me they were indeed an item back in the day. I guess Rosie was a little too high strung for him. When she was hired on as the receptionist in the department, it nearly drove Bobby mad.” I glanced at Daniel,
who was grinning. “He’s learned to deal with the situation over the years, but it isn’t easy for him.”

I knocked on the door leading into the morgue. Bobby called out with a gruff voice to enter, and I pressed down on the handle. I wrinkled my nose at the onslaught of cleaning products and formaldehyde that assaulted my senses. Without much thought, I went into barely-breathing mode. It was the only way I could handle the autopsy room.

Daniel swallowed and his face tightened. I forced my attention to Fannie Kuhns’ naked body lying on the examination table. Several overhead lights shone down on her gray skin. Her eyes were closed. She was on the plump side, with round and full breasts. My eyes were drawn to her long brown hair piled up around her head.

It was never easy looking at a dead person who only hours before had been one of the living, but I’d become desensitized to it. I’d seen a fair amount of death lately.

Bobby had his back turned to us, scribbling notes. I went to the counter and plucked two pairs of latex gloves from the box. I handed a pair to Daniel and squeezed my fingers into the other one.

“What do you have for me, Bobby?”

Bobby cleared his throat and picked up his clipboard. He turned and peered over his glasses at us.

“I have some more tests before I write the official report, but on the Q.T., I’m fairly certain the cause of death is a massive obstetric hemorrhage. Basically, she bled to death.”

“Have you determined the cause of the bleeding?” I glanced at Fannie’s face. A shiver passed through me. She was only in her twenties.

Bobby sighed, following my gaze. “Catastrophic bleeding episodes rarely happen in the middle of pregnancy, but spontaneous hemorrhage isn’t unheard of, either. Sometimes no cause can even be determined.”

“Don’t say that, Bobby. I’m trusting you to figure out what happened to Fannie.” I narrowed my eyes.

He ignored my look and statement. “What I can tell you for sure is she lost about three and a half pints of blood. When I inspected the room where she died, I didn’t find the evidence of that much blood, which leads me to believe the mother and sister took the time to dispose of the bloody linens before we arrived.”

“That’s not so uncommon with Amish women. They’re often present for births, deaths and the treatment of sick individuals. I wouldn’t be surprised if they removed the soiled bedding. They’re extremely thoughtful about cleanliness,” Daniel pointed out.

“My issue isn’t so much with the cleaning up of the evidence, so to speak, but that it would have taken the woman a while to bleed out that much.” Bobby shifted his gaze to me. “Why wouldn’t they have called the paramedics or even their own Amish healer before she died?”

“That’s a good question and one I don’t have the answer to—yet,” I said. “Perhaps the family didn’t know she was bleeding. She probably went into shock before she even lost enough blood to kill her.”

Bobby nodded. “That is true.” He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “How did the visit with the medicine man go?”

I turned to Daniel. He shrugged and leaned against the counter. It felt wrong to talk over a person’s dead body, but I
shook off the dirty feeling and replied, “I witnessed a miraculous healing.”

Bobby leaned in over Fannie, ignoring her all together. His eyes were bright.

“It was the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen,” I admitted. “Do you remember Mervin Lapp, the little brother of Naomi’s killer?” Bobby nodded. “The injury he sustained when his brother hit him in the leg with the butt end of his shotgun never really healed. He was limping around in pain, and the medical professionals told him he’d need future surgeries to fully recover.” I ran my hand through my hair. Talking about it made me feel like a crazy person. “Well, Jonas healed him—right before my very eyes.”

“I’ve heard of such healings.” Bobby grunted. “I wish I’d been there to witness it. I’ve always wondered if a person has that kind of power, why don’t they heal everyone?”

“I basically asked the same question. Jonas is a conduit for God’s healing power. And God decides who gets healed,” I said.

“Fascinating. I’d like to hear more about it over lunch tomorrow.” Bobby set down his clipboard. He pulled the plastic sheet over Fannie. “I don’t have time for it now. I want to get the samples sent off to the state lab this evening. Whatever Fannie was drinking in that cup might hold some of the answers we’re looking for.”

“Sounds like a plan.” A headache began to throb on the side of my forehead. The strange afternoon had caught up with me.

Daniel and I left Bobby at his desk, sorting out the samples and placing them in urgent delivery boxes. We dragged back up the steps, lost in thought. Part of me was revisiting
the healing I’d witnessed and the other was thinking about Fannie and her tragic death.

I also wondered whether Daniel would spend the night. He’d been staying over at my apartment more frequently lately, and I’d noticed that he’d left his toothbrush beside mine that morning. The rapid developments in the relationship left me feeling rushed. It was odd that Daniel wanted to spend so much time at my place. He lived in a beautiful log cabin on the outskirts of town. It was much nicer than the one bedroom efficiency I was renting while I waited for the insurance company to conclude their investigation into the arson of my last home.

There was still the dreaded conversation that Daniel had started that morning to worry about. Would he bring up the matter again? Clenching my teeth, I glanced over at him, only to find him smirking back at me as if he’d read my mind.

“It’s almost quitting time,” he said, pointing to his watch.

I stopped and tilted my head. “I was thinking that maybe we could drive out to your parents’ house and ask them some questions.” I felt cowardly about my ulterior motives, but shrugged it off.

“Tonight?” Daniel scowled. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. More than likely, Aaron has called a meeting with the ministers that will include Father. And Ma is probably still at the Kuhns’ house. She’s close with Irene. She’ll want to be there to comfort her and help make arrangements.”

Everything he said made perfect sense, but I still felt the prickle of irritation that he’d so easily shot down my attempt to avoid being alone with him that evening. He’d definitely take
advantage of the situation. I’d be forced to discuss something that I didn’t want to and that was something I wasn’t ready for.

“I’m afraid I have a lot of paperwork to sift through tonight. It’s probably best if you head on home. We can catch up tomorrow morning, maybe even head back out to the Amish settlement to talk to your parents and a few other people,” I said, hoping he wouldn’t argue.

“You have to eat. Why don’t we at least have dinner at Nancy’s Diner first? You can come back here to finish whatever work you need to,” Daniel offered. His eyes were not only wide with expectancy, but also daring me to refuse.

I was about to come up with an excuse when Rosie called out. “Serenity, don’t you dare leave yet. The new assistant DA stopped by to meet you. She’s waiting in your office.”

My brows rose and I groaned. Elayne Weaver wasn’t supposed to start the job for a few weeks. I wasn’t even aware that she’d made the move.

“Sorry, I’m going to have to talk to her.” I feigned disappointment.

“I’ll hang out until you’re finished. How long can it take to say hello and welcome her to the neighborhood?”

“Whatever,” I muttered, turning on my heels. I felt Daniel’s presence behind me when I reached my office and opened up the door.

The woman looking out the window was not at all what I was expecting. Her black heels were at least four inches high, making her already tall, slender frame resemble a model. Even though she wasn’t officially on the job, she wore a tailored black skirt and cream colored blouse that had a feminine ruffle at the neckline. Her hair was exceptionally long, thick and sleekly black. She wore minimal makeup on a flawless, oval face. In a single glimpse, I was jealous of her.

She left the window with an outstretched hand. “Sheriff Adams, it’s such a pleasure to finally meet you. I’m Elayne Weaver. Mayor Ed Johnson had the nicest things to say about you. I even was introduced to your deputy, Todd Roftin. He’s quite the character.”

Elayne’s voice was as feminine as her clothing, her figure and her face. She was cheerleader material all the way. Back in high school, I hated girls like her. I was a jeans and sneakers, soccer playing sort of a girl. I only wore heels to weddings and funerals.

I recovered quickly from her friendly bombardment. “It’s nice to meet you, Elayne. I hope you’ll enjoy living here in Blood Rock. It’s a little rural for some people’s tastes,” I said with forced perkiness.

“Oh, I’m quite familiar with Blood Rock,” she said.

I tilted my head, “Really?”

“This used to be my home.”

“Elayne, is that really you?” Daniel asked, stepping through the doorway.

“Why, if it isn’t Daniel Bachman! I never thought I’d see you again. Figured you would have moved on from this town ages ago,” she exclaimed, tucking her hair behind her ear in a quick motion.

My head snapped in Daniel’s direction. He wasn’t looking at me at all. He was staring at Elayne.

“How do you two know each other?” I asked, fearing the answer.

“We grew up together. Elayne used to be Amish,” Daniel said in an awestruck manner.

I took a deep breath and swallowed.
Now my day is complete
.

7

SERENITY

“H
e just ditched me,” I grumbled, taking a bite of the bacon cheeseburger.

“Now that’s not exactly what you said a moment ago,” Todd said. “You told the man to go on and eat without you—that you had work to do.”

I glanced at Bobby. In one hand he held a French fry and in the other, a medical journal magazine. He seemed to be ignoring the conversation completely, but I wasn’t fooled. Every so often, he’d look up and make a comment.

“What do you think, Bobby?” I leaned over the table. “Was it right for Daniel to go out to dinner with
that
woman?” I took another ripping bite of my sandwich. “I think that kind of behavior warrants being mad at him.”

Bobby laid the magazine down and met my demanding gaze. “From what you already told us, Daniel asked you out to dinner first—and you didn’t answer—then the new DA showed up and he invited her to join the two of you for dinner. It was an understandable offer since Elayne Weaver was there to introduce herself to you in the first place. When you
declined Daniel’s offer, you not only hurt his pride, you also opened the situation up for him to be alone with his long-lost Amish girlfriend.”

I lowered my voice as I replied, “Ms. Weaver wasn’t his girlfriend. She’s actually a couple of years older than him. It was her little brother that Daniel was friends with.”

Nancy’s Diner was packed for the lunchtime rush. I wasn’t exactly worried about someone overhearing our conversation, but you could never be too careful when gossiping.

“Since they grew up in the same community and both left, I’d say they have a lot in common. She isn’t hard on the eyes, either,” Todd said, smirking with a faraway look on his face as if remembering the woman in detail.

I smacked Todd’s shoulder. “How can you talk that way when Heather is seven months pregnant with your baby? You men are all the same. A pretty new woman shows up and you turn to braindead, cheating mush.”

“That’s not true. I would never cheat on Heather. There’s nothing wrong with noticing an attractive woman. That happens all the time. Actually hooking up is another story altogether.” Todd had a sort of pleading, please-believe-me look on his face. “Even though the new DA is a beautiful woman, I can tell she doesn’t have the sick sense of humor my Heather does or the easy-going, laid-back manner, either. I would never risk losing Heather for someone as high maintenance and serious as that woman is. I bet neither would Daniel.”

“I don’t know about that. You should have seen him staring awestruck at her, like she was an angel or something. Then she began asking him about these different Amish people and who they’d married and how many kids they had. I felt completely out of my element,” I admitted.

“So! You should have stayed with your man. Now that woman has her claws sunk straight into him, especially since you aren’t very nice to him,” Todd said.

“How have I
not
been nice to Daniel?” I demanded, glancing around. Everyone in the neighboring booths were turned our way, trying to listen. I stared hard back at them until their eyes dropped to their food.