Page 14 of Among the Innocent

“They have. Your father called us to report Beth missing. Colette, Katie told us Beth snuck out last night to meet a boy. Do you have any idea who she might’ve been seeing?”

Colette struggled to speak. “No, not really. Beth never spoke of another man other than Caleb, but he is agutboy. He wouldn’t hurt her, and he certainly wouldn’t ask her to do anything against our parents’ wishes.” Colette appeared to struggle to make sense of what happened. “Beth was going through a rebellious time. She stayed out later than usual and I suspected she smoked, although she denied it...” Her voice cut out as she realized something.

“What is it?” Leah prompted, watching Colette’s face closely.

“Something strange did happen when Beth spent the night. She kept looking out the window as if she was expecting someone. When I asked what was going on, she told me nothing.”

“But you didn’t believe her,” Dalton inserted, and Colette shifted her attention to him.

“No, I did not. Later that night, the baby woke up. While I tended to her, I heard a car drive by. And I am almost positivethe front door opened. I asked Beth about it the following day, but she said she did not know anything.” Colette shook her head. “I think she lied to me. Beth must have slipped out to meet someone.”

“But you have no idea who?” Dalton asked.

Colette rubbed the side of her face. “I do not. But she was keeping secrets from Mamm and Daed and me. And she talked once about leaving the St. Ignatius community.”

“Was she serious?” Leah couldn’t get over how similar Beth’s story was to her own.

Colette shrugged. “I’m not sure. She laughed and told me she was only teasing, but I don’t believe she was.”

If Beth was planning to leave the faith, she would have needed help. She’d be on her own, without her family’s support. There was little doubt in Leah’s mind that the Englischer who had talked Beth into doing things she wouldn’t normally do was the same person who killed her.

“There’s something else,” Colette said tentatively. “I found it hidden in the room where Beth stayed on occasion. I’ll get it.” Colette rose and left the room.

When she returned, she carried something in her hand. Colette held it out to Leah. A necklace with a small heart-shaped locket. The sight of it sent Leah back in time, and she fought to grab enough air into her lungs. She recognized the locket becausehe’dgiven her one just like it. As much as she hadn’t wanted to believe it, the locket confirmed the truth. He was back. John was back.

Dalton waited until they were in the SUV. “You recognized the locket. You’ve seen it before.”

Leah slowly nodded. “I had one just like it. He—John—gave it to me.”

“John? This is the Englisch man you were seeing?”

She whipped his way in surprise. “You read my case file?” She almost sounded hurt.

“I did. There was no mention of a necklace in the file.”

Leah’s brows knitted into a frown. “I don’t understand. I told Ellis about it.”

Ellis seemed to have skipped over lots of evidence. “What happened to the necklace?”

She stared at the locket in the evidence bag. “I don’t know. The last time I saw it was the morning before the murders. I kept it under my mattress.”

“It’s not there.” In the past, he’d searched the entire house looking for something to make sense of what happened.

Leah’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know?”

Dalton realized he’d slipped up and said, “I searched the room earlier, remember? When I found the note.”

After a second, she nodded. “This one appears similar to the one John gave me, but I’m not sure.”

“Still, it’s an awfully big coincidence. We’ll send it to the lab after we’ve spoken to Eva. Maybe she knows how Beth ended up with something forbidden by the Amish faith.”

Dalton started the SUV and left Colette’s farm. Beside him, Leah had the sunglasses firmly in place once more along with her wall. He skimmed over her profile. She had the type of looks that couldn’t be classified as breathtaking as much as mysterious. He wondered what she would be like had tragedy not overshadowed her life.

“Before we speak with Eva, there’s something we need to talk about.”

Instantly she sat up straighter. “What is it?”

His heart went out to her. In so many ways, they were both stuck in the same grief cycle. “I realize Ellis Petri believed the Amish boy who died in that fire killed your family, but considering what happened to Beth and the connection the killer claims to your family’s murders, we’ll have to reopen your case.” Speaking of Harrison in such an impersonal way felt wrong. Yet for the time being, he wasn’t ready to reveal his connection to Harrison.

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