Whispers from the Dead (Serenity's Plain Secrets Book 2) (21 page)

28

D
aniel’s hospital room was empty and I couldn’t stop myself from inwardly cringing when I looked at the crisply made-up bed. I glanced out the window at the bright sunshine and let out a tired sigh. It must be almost noon, I absently thought.

After Brody and the rest of the deputies had arrived at the schoolhouse, Cacey was quickly taken away in an ambulance to have a thorough checkup, and then I had spent several hours being questioned about every detail of the night. I understood. There were two bodies and I was responsible for one of them.

The part that really irked me was after all that, I still had to go into the station to formalize my statements and make them all over again. Sure, Brody could hardly contain his joy at seeing Asher dead on the floor, but Jotham was another story. He genuinely seemed upset that the Amish man had lost his life, and I wondered if maybe he blamed himself for the chaos of the night. If he had arrested Asher earlier for any number of crimes, things might have turned out a lot different. But who was I to interfere at this point? Asher had a death wish and it was just a matter of time before someone killed him. As for Jotham, he had seemed awfully sure that God was with him. And maybe He was. It was almost uncanny how really bad deeds always caught up with a person. I certainly wasn’t going take the jobs of judge, jury and executioner on this one, but the whole life-for-a-life thing seemed to apply here, unfortunately.

Damon was in custody, and since Rowan had made it through surgery, there was a fair chance that he wouldn’t die, after all. That meant Damon would only be charged with the barn fires and possibly attempted murder, and I had the tickling sensation that the Amish wouldn’t even want to press charges. They’d chalk it up to punishment for their own cover up of the Gentry barn burning. How many of the community actually knew or suspected the truth, I had no idea, but the old woman had known, so I was willing to bet several others did as well.

On a hunch, I turned and walked out of the room and headed towards the intensive care unit. I stopped at the desk and quickly flashed my badge. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t my jurisdiction and that I had no legal right to be there, the shiny badge usually did the trick with nurses. When I said Rowan’s name, the older blonde smiled and pointed to the room directly across from the nurse’s station.

When I peeked into the room, I wasn’t at all surprised to see Daniel sitting in the chair besides Rowan’s hospital bed. I quickly absorbed the half dozen flower arrangements in the room and the tall cup of what I believed to be coffee on the table. Rowan’s eyes were open and they widened when they saw me. A tangle of tubes stretched into his nose and both of his arms and his face were swollen. He looked terrible, but at least he was alive.

“Is that coffee, Daniel?” I asked bluntly as I walked into the room.

Daniel looked over his shoulder with a broad smile. He chuckled, nodding his head expectantly. “It’s all yours. And it’s warm,” he said.

I picked up the cup, doing imaginary summersaults in my mind, when I took a whiff and discovered that it was strong, just the way I liked it. I took the only other chair in the room and slowly sipped the coffee. After everything that happened the night before, there wasn’t an easy way to begin the conversation.

“Are you feeling all right?” I gazed at Daniel who was still smiling.

“I’m feeling a hell of a lot better now that you’re here,” he said with an even tone.

It embarrassed me that he would talk that way in front of Rowan, even though the man was probably so doped up that he wouldn’t remember anything that was said the next day. It just bugged me a little that he presumed so much, and yet his words also sent a warm jolt to my insides.

I certainly didn’t want Daniel to see my satisfaction, so I quickly turned away and asked Rowan, “What about you—are you on the road to recovery?”

Rowan was still very weak, but the whisper of a grin appeared on his mouth, and he said in a dry, cracked voice, “I thought the Lord was taking me to be with Hedy…but I guess He had other ideas.”

I tried to think of something of significance to say—something clever about cosmic plans or even divine destiny. What goes around comes around? But I was just too wary to be philosophical.

“Yeah, you sure are lucky,” I managed to say.

“I know about Asher…and I forgive you,” Rowan said thinly.

I glanced at Daniel. “Boy, news travels fast around here.”

Daniel nodded. “It is amazing that even without modern technology and cell phones, Amish gossip travels pretty quick,” he motioned with his hand at the flowers and said, “Rowan’s already had visitors this morning. Everyone in the community knows about it.”

The suddenly serious expression on Daniel’s face sobered me. He hadn’t come right out and said it, but he had been worried about me. Looking into Daniel’s eyes, we had a moment of connection that sent chills up my spine. I graced him with a small smile and returned my gaze back to Rowan.

The man’s face was pale and drawn, but not so bad that I felt guilty about asking him a couple more important questions, if for nothing else than to wrap up the entire case in my own mind.

“Is what you said last night about the Gentry barn true…or did Jotham actually throw that match?” I asked quietly.

Rowan hesitated for only a moment and said, “Why do you ask?”

The cat and mouse crap had to stop. “Right before Jotham died, he told me that he had actually been the one to set the fire, but that you had insisted on taking the blame for it because you were the oldest of the group.”

Except for the rhythmic beeping of Rowan’s monitor, there was silence in the room that stretched on for such an uncomfortable amount of time that I glanced at Daniel questioningly. He only shrugged.

Finally, Rowan coughed a little and said, “Our ages weren’t the only reason that I shouldered the blame, but Jotham never understood that.” Rowan sighed lightly and went on, “My father was suffering from diabetes. His medical expenses drained his own savings and he was struggling to support the family. In ninety-six he had to have his leg removed. After that, it was up to me and Asher to carry on the family construction business. I liked the job, so it wasn’t too much of a burden on me, but Asher was another story altogether.”

I couldn’t help snorting, and Rowan paused to smile sadly at me before continuing.

“Asher was very resentful of the extra work and pressure he was handed. He was only fifteen at the time, so it’s no wonder. But it’s definitely what helped push him out the door for good.” Rowan took another breath. His voice was becoming weaker and I was almost tempted to tell him that we’d talk later so that he could rest, but I didn’t and he began speaking again. “Just before we went to the Gentry barn that night so very long ago, Michael Gentry, Austin’s father had outbid us on a new housing contract. If we had gotten the contract, we would have been able to save our farm…and everyone, including Gentry knew it, but greed made him do it anyway. Others in the community helped us to buy back the house and twenty acres, but we lost one hundred and fifty acres. It nearly killed my father.”

Rowan paused again to catch his breath and Daniel frowned at me. I glanced away not being able to take the accusatory look Daniel shot me. This was important. If he couldn’t see that clearly, then that was his problem.

“That still didn’t give three teenagers the right to set someone’s barn on fire,” I said simply.

“No, you’re absolutely right. We were young and ignorant…and we didn’t know that Austin and Kathryn were in the building. Afterwards when we heard the news, we were beyond devastated. Asher became angrier and more aloof than ever and Jotham, well Jotham felt the worst of us all because he had been the one to light the match.”

A young nurse with her long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail entered the room at that very moment. The tension in the room must have been palpable. She hesitated and then said firmly, “You all are going to have to leave now. I have to check Mr. Schwartz’s vitals and redo his bandages.”

I accepted her words in defeat and began to rise, but Rowan put his hand out to stop me.

“Please, ma’am, just a few minutes more. This is very important,” Rowan said with a steadier voice than I had heard from him yet. He was putting on a good show for the nurse.

The woman thought about it, glancing at me and Daniel and back at Rowan. Finally, she relented, saying, “All right. Five more minutes, but that’s it.”

Once she had disappeared through the door, Rowan quickly began speaking again. “Jotham did it for my family. He thought that if the Gentry’s lost their equipment and had to rebuild their storage barn, they would have to back out of the contract. Of course, it was a horrible thing to do, but he was only sixteen at the time and he wasn’t thinking clearly. None of us were.”

I absorbed what he said with the conflicting prickling sensation of both pity and disgust toward Rowan. In all likelihood, Brody wouldn’t be able to come up with enough evidence after all these years to charge Rowan, the only survivor of the crime, with murder, but manslaughter was still a possibility. The old woman who had originally let the cat out of the bag had Alzheimer’s and wouldn’t be considered a reliable witness. Basically, it was Rowan’s word against Brody’s.

“How many people in the community know of your involvement?” I asked slowly, hoping Rowan would get the gist of where I was going with the question, so that I wouldn’t be forced to give him advice that was against every ounce of training and pledges I had taken as a law officer.

“The woman that Damon was talking about last night is Adeline Graber. Her husband, Simon, used to be our bishop. He knew, and a handful of elders, who are mostly dead now.” Rowan met my gaze squarely and said, “We went to them immediately after we set the barn on fire, even before we had learned that Austin and his girlfriend were killed. Jotham and I felt so guilty about what we had done. We repented our sins to Bishop Graber.”

“And he protected you by keeping your secret?” I felt my face flush in anger, but I managed to keep my tone soft.

“Don’t be so upset with him, Serenity. He had a very difficult situation to deal with. On one hand, a barn had been burned down and two people had been inadvertently killed. On the other, Asher and I were needed to provide for our parents and family. There was no way to bring Austin and Kathryn back and it was a terrible accident. The bishop decided to leave it in God’s hands.”

I looked at Daniel with a raised brow, and he returned the same type of, ‘Are you serious,’ expression.

I knew the five minutes were ticking down and I wanted to take full advantage of Rowan’s sudden openness before he decided to be Mr. Secretive again.

“I hate to be the one to tell you this, but there’s no statute of limitations for murder in this state. And even though you didn’t pull the trigger, so to speak, you were there and you let it happen. I’m sure that Brody will do everything he can to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”

Rowan nodded weakly.

“And it’s the right thing for him to do. I will take full blame for my actions and tell Sheriff Gentry everything that I’ve told you,” Rowan said with a stronger voice of determination.

It made me feel a little better that he was finally accepting responsibility. And Brody would get his closure too. Still, the idea of Rowan spending time in jail made me squirm inside. His kids needed him more than ever.

“The sheriff might try, but he’s not going to be able to get you on murder charges. You will probably be convicted of a lesser crime and serve, maybe three to five years tops. Good behavior might get you out in two.” I took a breath and added, “It’s not the end of the world and definitely worth getting the ugly truth out in the open once and for all. Maybe Anna will stay with the kids if such a thing happened,” I offered tentatively.

It might have been my imagination, but Rowan’s drained face seemed to flush a little bit. He said, “That might be a possibility. And I’m sure my parents would help in any way they could.”

I scooted to the end of my seat and looked deeply into Rowan’s eyes. I had one more question to ask and I was really afraid of the answer.

“Was the explosion of your house an accident, or is there more to that story too?” I whispered.

I held my breath and waited.

A tear slipped from Rowan’s eye and he said, “It was an accident, but my fault just the same. I should have taken the gas problem more seriously. But then again, I’ve always wondered if perhaps God was punishing me for my sins.”

I sighed with relief. “Jotham thought that he was the one being punished…” I stopped in mid-sentence. Jotham was dead. Hedy was dead. Even if Rowan had suspected all along that Gabe was really Jotham’s son, what good would that knowledge do now? It would probably mess up Gabe to know the truth, and then he’d have to grieve over losing a biological father. Rowan would have enough on his plate in the upcoming months to work through. I certainly didn’t need to add more trouble to his life. Maybe someday I would come back and tell him the truth, but not now.

I abruptly stood and said, “You need your rest and any second that uptight nurse is going to be back in here.”

Rowan sluggishly lifted his arm, pulling the tubes with him, to offer me his hand.

I felt a little awkward taking it, but I got out of my comfort zone and did just that.

“Thank you for everything that you have done for me, my family and the community. Aaron was right about you.”

“What did he say?” I ventured.

“That you were one hell of a woman.”

29

I
was surprised to see Mariah and Brandy waiting in the hallway for me when I left Rowan’s room. They quickly walked over together and stopped in front of me while Daniel hung back at a discreet distance.

My gaze passed between the two girls, the most unlikely of friends. Mariah’s skin was still a little pale, but much of the youthful pink complexion had returned to her face, and although her eyes were bloodshot, they were bright and alert. She was wearing a fresh, sky blue dress that matched her eyes perfectly. The cap on her head was crisp and white and concealed all of her brown hair, except for a little bit right above her forehead. She looked tired, but the girl was definitely going to be okay.

Brandy was Mariah’s polar opposite. She wore a fitted jean jacket and tan suede boots. Her red hair hung wildly around her shoulders and her brown-eyed gaze sparked with energy. I briefly wondered how the two girls had become friends in the first place when Mariah began speaking.

“My parents are waiting for me in the van, but they allowed me to come looking for you.”

I raised a questioning brow at Brandy and she smiled. “I came in to see Mariah. She’s one of my buddies,” she said as she reached over and put her arm around Mariah’s shoulders and gave a squeeze.

“You’re lucky to have a friend like Brandy. If it wasn’t for her calling me, you might not have gotten to the hospital in time,” I told Mariah.

Mariah nodded vigorously. “I know. I’m so thankful for both of you.” She blinked, trying to hold back the tears. “I’ll never do anything like that again.”

I searched her eyes for a moment and decided that she was sincere. I still wondered what drove her to play around with drugs in the first place and said, “It’s not as easy as just having the desire to straighten out your life, Mariah. There’s always another reason for that kind of behavior. And I know with you being Amish and all, it’s even more complicated.”

Mariah’s face sobered and she swallowed. She understood me perfectly.

“Mother is going with me next week to a special home for Amish kids who have…issues…like me. She’s going to stay there with me until I’m all better.”

“And don’t forget, I’m going to visit you every weekend until you get out,” Brandy promised.

I looked between the girls, feeling comfortable with Abner and Joanna Fisher’s course of action for their daughter. I was sure that it would be difficult for the picture perfect Amish couple to accept that their child needed more help than they could give her, but they were doing the right thing. Mariah had the real opportunity of a happy future, especially with the support of a friend such as Brandy, unlike poor Naomi.

For the very first time since I had walked up to Naomi’s body lying in the cornfield, I was able to think about her without a pounding sense of regret that I wasn’t able to save her. Somehow, helping Mariah and little Cacey erased all the anxieties about my first Blood Rock Amish case. I smiled. It was nice to feel a little bit lighter for a change.

Mariah and Brandy said their goodbyes, but before they’d gone more than a few feet, Mariah raced back and threw her arms around me. The hug was very quick, but also very strong.

When she pulled back, I assured her, “I’ll get the information about that home you’re going to from your mom before I leave. Maybe I’ll pay you a visit myself.”

Mariah’s eyes rounded, “Oh that would be wonderful!” Mariah glanced at Daniel behind me and then with a quiet voice asked, “When are you leaving?”

I thought for a moment and answered, “I desperately need some sleep. I’m heading back to the Schwartz’s to take a nap and then we’ll be on our way, I believe.”

“I’ll see you soon then,” Mariah smiled deeply and then hurried away with Brandy.

I thought back to the first time I had met the Amish girl and how distant and cool she’d appeared. It turned out that she was a bubbly teenager, after all. Just proved how messed up drugs could make a person.

“That was nice,” Daniel said simply.

I grinned up at him and admitted, “Yeah, it was.”

The sun was shining brightly when we exited the hospital and I was thinking how grateful I was that the snow from the night before had been cleared out of the parking lot when I heard my name called out.

I turned to see Brody striding purposely towards me.

“Can I have a word with you?” Brody asked, looking straight at me.

“Sure,” I said, kind of wishing that we had left a few minutes earlier.

“You did some good police work,” Brody said, surprising me. He quickly added, “Of course you broke about every rule of investigative etiquette imaginable, but you kept a level head, and that’s saying a lot in this town.”

“Thanks...I think,” I replied.

“Asher’s violent death was bound to happen sometime, but I wish Jotham hadn’t died in the process.” He took a breath and paused for a moment, thinking, and went on to say, “I remember the day I responded to the Schwartz’s house explosion. If Jotham hadn’t of protected that little Amish girl with his own body, she would have died for sure, just like her momma.”

I stared at Brody for a second wondering if he’d still feel bad about Jotham’s death when Rowan told him the whole truth about the fire that took his grandson’s life, but I highly doubted it. Human nature kept even a decent man from taking pity in a situation like that. I was hoping that I was wrong though.

Deciding to leave the details to Rowan, I said, “Are you going in to talk to Rowan now?”

Brody’s mouth tightened, “Yeah, along with getting a statement from Julian West. He was too out of it to say anything coherent last night.”

“You might have to wait on your conversation with Rowan. He was with the nurse, the last I saw,” I offered.

Brody’s brows rose high. “Did you already speak to him?”

“Just to tell him that Anna King was taking care of his kids,” I lied easily.

“I take it you’ll be heading home soon,” Brody said it in a nice way, but it was more of a command than a question.

“If there isn’t anything else you need from me, we’re heading out later today,” I said casually.

Brody nodded, “If I think of something, I know where to find you.” He shook Daniel’s hand and then mine, and was about to walk away when he paused, and said, “When you see him, tell Tony, I said hello. He needs to come up for a visit and a poker game.”

I sighed with irritation, “Sure thing.”

This time we’d just about made it to the car when Brody called after me once again.

“I know that you have a pretty snug arrangement in Blood Rock, but if you’re ever in need of a change of scenery, I’d be honored to have you in my department.” Brody tipped his hat and turned, finally leaving us for good.

“Did he just offer me a job?” I asked Daniel incredulously.

Daniel laughed. “He sure did.”

Driving up to Rowan’s house felt kind of surreal. The day was very much like the first one I had spent at the farm. The sun was shining and all the snow that had fallen the night before was melting quickly in a frenzy of drips from the corral boards and sheds we passed by. The black cows were separated into groups of four or five munching on round bales of hay, and several calves were laid out in the snow, enjoying the sudden warm up.

But what really caught and held my gaze was the pile of barn rubble. It was pushed into a giant, yet neat pile, and where the barn originally stood was a stack of brand new boards. Several men were marking out the dimensions of the new structure with stakes and strings and a few others were unloading more boards from the bed of a trailer. Once again, I was amazed by the Amish generosity and work ethic.

“That was quick,” I commented to Daniel as I slowly drove by the workers to park in front of the guest house.

“You’ve got to take advantage of good weather in the winter.” Daniel grinned.

I wondered why he was so damn happy. Had he secretly won the lottery or something?

“I’m going check in on Anna and the kids and say goodbye. I only need about five hours of sleep. We can head out just after dark if it works for you,” I told Daniel.

He was wearing a brown and black flannel shirt beneath his unzipped, stockman coat. The stubble on his jaw was almost a short beard and his eyes were tired, but otherwise he looked amazingly good for someone who had been shot and bitten by a dog the day before. Almost too good, I thought as I experienced the usual butterflies in my belly when I gazed at him.

“I’d like to catch a little more shut eye myself, but I think I’ll go see what the new barn plan is first,” Daniel said in a silky tone that was completely different than his usual tough-guy voice.

Our eyes stayed locked. I couldn’t turn away, yet. I could almost smell the primitive scent of mutual desire in the air. My heart actually began racing. It was so uncomfortable that I broke contact and stepped out of the car. My knees were a little weak, which irritated me even more.

Not looking back, I went to the house. After knocking lightly, I heard Anna call for me to come in. When I opened the door, the delicious aroma of cinnamon, spices and baking dough assaulted my senses. I took a deep breath as I closed the door behind me, holding it in and savoring it fully before finally exhaling again.

I was surprised that Anna was alone with the girls. I had expected there to be a woman helping in the kitchen for every man working in the barnyard. But I had to admit, I was happy to have a few moments alone with them.

Cacey was covered in flour, but she dropped her ball of dough and jumped off the chair. She crashed into me with a hug. The flour that was all over her was transferred to me, but I didn’t care. I squeezed her back and patted her on the head.

“You’re a hero, Ms. Serenity!” Lucinda cried.

Lucinda had her fair share of flour on her too, but it was mostly concentrated on her apron. She was busily cutting up apples when she paused from her work to make her declaration.

“Not really. It’s just my job,” I tried to convince her.

“Oh, don’t you dare make light of what you did for Cacey and Mariah and the boys,” Anna scolded me.

I shrugged.

Mareena left the stove and put her arms around my middle and murmured, “Thank you for bringing Cacey back to us.” She was only a few inches shorter than me, but she still had to lift her chin to look me in the eye. “I know Mamma would have been happy to hold her again, but we weren’t ready to let her go yet.”

Wetness threatened to fill my eyes at Mareena’s words. I sniffed and stepped out of her embrace. I was way too sleep deprived for that kind of emotional sentiment.

“Are you going home today?” Lucinda asked with a disappointed frown.

“Yeah, I’m afraid so.” I turned to Anna and added, “I’m going to try to get a few hours of sleep before I leave.”

Anna nodded tightly and then turned to the girls. “Let’s bring these mini apple pies out to the men to fill their bellies while they’re working.” When Mareena began to protest, Anna raised her voice and said, “Say your goodbyes, girls, and get going.”

Cacey was the first one to move. She picked up several of the hand-sized pastries and placed them in a basket. She stopped in front of me and handed me one.

“Bye, Ms. Serenity,” she said. Showing what a resilient spirit she had, she smiled up at me and then went out the door with a marching stride of determination to do what Anna had told her to.

Mareena and Lucinda filled their baskets more sluggishly and I caught a glimpse of Anna rolling her eyes. She had adapted to the role of their mother easily.

“Will you ever come back to visit us?” Lucinda asked after she hugged me for a long time.

I didn’t hesitate. “Sure I will, maybe even this summer.”

“That would be lovely,” Mareena said. Her eyes were wet, too, and she hurriedly turned away and left with Lucinda.

When the door was shut and we were alone, I glanced at Anna before sitting at the kitchen table and taking a bite of the pie. It tasted as good as it smelled.

After I swallowed, I said, “I take it you want to speak to me alone?”

Anna took the seat across from me and let out a nervous sigh. “Did you see Rowan in the hospital?”

“I did. He’s doing all right, all things considered,” I told her.

Anna breathed and smiled a little with a nod of her head. The poor thing had been strong for the kids, but inside she was a mess. I reached over and touched her hand.

The physical contact caused her emotions to rush out. “Is it true what everyone is saying—that Rowan took responsibility for burning the Gentry barn all those years ago?”

I didn’t want to get into the whole Jotham part of the equation with her. It was too confusing and ultimately, I trusted Rowan to tell his story to the authorities and then to his people. It wasn’t my place to bring it up.

I nodded. “That’s what he said.” When I saw her face drop, I hurriedly added, “but it’s not the end of the world, Anna. Even if it somehow goes to trial and he’s convicted, he won’t have to serve too long, maybe a few years, tops.”

Her eyes widened and then she sighed heavily. “Rowan was always distracted. I thought that it was losing his wife, but maybe it was the barn fire all along.” She stopped and stared into my eyes with her own sharp ones. “Do you think he is a bad man?”