Page 15 of Among the Innocent

“It’s been ten years. Why would he wait so long to return?” she said as if trying to convince herself this wasn’t the same monster who had destroyed her world.

Dalton didn’t have a good answer. “Maybe he’s been in jail or another part of the country.” He shrugged. “Whatever the reason, the likelihood we’re dealing with a copycat is slim.” He shifted his gaze to the mountains in the distance and saw God’s presence in them. A sense of comfort settled inside him. God hadn’t been part of his life growing up in a house full of anger and abuse.

“Ellis seemed convinced Harrison Troyer killed my family, but—” She shook her head.

“But what?” he asked curiously. The report he’d read showed Leah had originally said she didn’t recognize the killer’s voice. She’d later changed her story and said it belonged to an Englischer she’d been seeing. Yet the former chief had become fixated on Harrison to the point of not investigating any other leads.

“Harrison was sweet and only here for the summer to help his family. He didn’t seem the type to do such a terrible thing.”

Dalton listened as Leah confirmed what he’d always known in his heart.

“The report mentioned someone following you before the attacks.”

Her frown deepened. “Yes. I noticed it several times before that night.” She stopped abruptly, leaving something unsaid.

“Tell me about this Englischer you were seeing.”

Leah’s body language turned rigid. She didn’t like being questioned. “He called himself John, but I don’t believe that’s his real name.” She looked Dalton’s way briefly. “Anyway, I met him while walking home one day. He just walked up behind me and started talking. John told me he’d been hiking around the country. I’d never met anyone as charming as him before. He filled my head with stories of his adventures around the country. For an Amish girl who had been nowhere, it was exciting.” She chanced a look his way.

“Go on,” he prompted when she remained silent.

“There’s nothing else to say.”

Dalton was almost certain there were things she’d left out. “Did he ask you to run off with him?”

Her head jerked back to him, confirming the truth. “How did you know?”

“Beth’s sister said she considered leaving the faith. I’m guessing this Englischer tried to convince her to run away with him like John did you.”

“And he killed her when she didn’t agree?”

Dalton witnessed all her doubts as they crossed her face. On the surface, the theory didn’t make sense. But the correlation between what had happened to Beth today and Leah’s family ten years ago was strengthening.

“I realize it’s weak, but it is something to tie the two cases together. Did you consider leaving with him?”

A far-off look entered her eyes. “I was flattered when he askedme,” she said so softly he almost didn’t hear her. “But I loved the Plain life. The thought of living any other way seemed impossible to comprehend at the time. And so I told him no.” She shuddered at the recollection. “John got so angry with me. He stormed out of the barn and drove away.” A whisper of a sigh escaped her lips.

“Did he come back that night and decide if he couldn’t have you, no one would?”

“I wasn’t sure until now,” she admitted. “Maybe I didn’t want to think the man I’d brought into my life had killed my family.” Their eyes met. “But this is John—no doubt about it. He’s back and he’s killing again.”

Dalton touched her arm. “We’ll get him, Leah. This time we’ll get him.” And they would. Because he’d do whatever necessary to bring the killer into custody. End Leah’s nightmare and his once and for all.

Four

The turnoff to the Hostetler farm is coming up soon.”

On occasion, Leah and some of the other officers would be called to a disturbance out in this part of the community. Mostly it involved teenagers drinking and getting rowdy. They’d come to Amish country because it offered isolation. There were only a few farms spread out this way.

“There it is.” She pointed up ahead to where a battered mailbox stood beside a dirt drive.

Staying focused on the case proved all but impossible. The moment she’d entered the barn again, all Leah could see was her family instead of Beth’s lifeless body. Little Ruth crying against Mamm’s side. Elijah too terrified to speak. Her daed doing his best to reason with the man who was beyond rational thinking.

“How well do you know Eva Hostetler?” Dalton asked, dragging her attention back to the present. Since their brief conversation earlier, he’d been quiet.

As she stared at the remoteness surrounding the Hostetler place, tension coiled her stomach into knots. She could almost feelhispresence. Was he watching? Leah struggled to keep it together.

She cleared her throat. “Not very. Eva would have been achild when I left the faith. Still, she and Beth were good friends, and I’d see her at the biweekly services and occasionally at the Zook home.”

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