Page 8 of Among the Innocent

Upon taking the police chief position, Dalton had read the report of the Miller murders. He’d seen the crime scene photos. They matched what he witnessed here almost perfectly. However, for reasons only the killer could explain, he hadn’t shown the same vengeance toward Leah as he had the rest of his victims. It appeared the perpetrator had some type of connection to her, whether real or made up in his twisted mind.

A noise broke his concentration. Dalton realized Leah was struggling to keep from being sick.

“Go outside, Officer. That’s an order.”

Without answering, she rushed from the barn.

Dalton stared down at the lifeless young woman. Terror and excruciating pain had undoubtedly filled Beth’s final minutes on this earth. “I’m sorry this happened to you,” he whispered. Beth Zook had had her whole life ahead of her. She didn’t deserve this.

Blood spatter spread out around the body like a halo. The attack had been a violent one. Most of Beth’s nails were broken. She’d fought her attacker. It was possible they’d recover some trace DNA from underneath her fingernails.

Someone entered. Dalton turned his head as Ethan came his way.

“This is a terrible thing, Chief. A terrible thing.”

Dalton didn’t respond as he concentrated on Beth’s body. He saw that she clutched an item in her left hand. He freed the paper from the girl’s lifeless hand.

“What is that?” Ethan asked.

Leah had quietly returned to the barn. She and Ethan peered over Dalton’s shoulder at the note.

As carefully as possible, Dalton unfolded the paper.

“What’s it say?” Ethan asked.

Dalton glanced at Leah. Her haunted expression solidified his own suspicions. The nightmare that had taken place in this barn ten years earlier had come calling again.

Bright red words jumped out at him from the page. There was no doubt in his mind the killer used Beth’s blood to pen the note. The message written here was intended for one person alone.

“Tell Leah I’m back.”

Two

Awounded sound tore from that place inside Leah where the pain festered. She dropped to her knees, covering her mouth with hands that shook. Words written on a paper held by a dead woman confirmed the truth. Harrison Troyer had died an innocent man. And the true killer was coming after her again.

When she’d learned Harrison had set an abandoned home on fire to commit suicide, the very idea seemed inconceivable. The sweet boy she’d met at the biweekly services was not a killer, much less capable of ending his life in such a violent way. But Ellis had assured her Harrison had been the one who killed her family. He’d told her the fire had burned so hot it destroyed everything inside, including Harrison’s body.

Now, she had proof Ellis had been wrong and the real killer wanted to play his morbid games again. Did she have the strength to survive another round?

Someone lifted her to her feet and urged her outside. A blast of heat slapped her in the face, plastering damp tears on her cheeks.

Leah stared into Dalton’s eyes. Anger. Frustration. Pity. All there. All for her.

She couldn’t let him pull her from the case, no matter what. The answers she’d desperately needed all these years would finally be revealed, and she wanted to be there to bring the true killer down. Leah owed it to her family. To Harrison.

“I’m okay.” Leah backed away, and he let her go. She needed to put distance between them for her own peace of mind.

“You’re not,” he said quietly. “Take a beat. Collect yourself. You shouldn’t even be working the case, and you wouldn’t if we didn’t need all the manpower we have on staff.” His words struck like blows. He’d heard about her past. He was clearly a man who’d done his research before taking this job.

With a final searching gaze her way, Dalton returned to the barn.

As she watched him disappear, Leah wondered how she could possibly not let what happened to her family enter into this investigation when the killer himself had thrown it in her face. Desperate to free herself from the clutches of despair, she started walking and didn’t stop until she’d reached the old pine tree next to her former home. The room above once belonged to Leah and Ruth. Memories of her sister’s laughter, her smiling face, brought more tears.

“Why? Why did you let this happen? Why take them? Beth?” Leah clenched her fists until her nails dug into her palms, but the pain wouldn’t be denied. “I love you, sis.” Ruth’s smile faded. Replaced by that night. The whimpering sound her sister made as she died was branded on Leah’s heart. “Leave me alone. Go back to your hiding place. Leave me alone.” Yet the memories wouldn’t.

Like Beth, Leah had been on the cusp of adulthood back then and excited to grow up. When Harrison Troyer showed up in the community at the beginning of the summer monthsto help his cousins on the farm, they’d become instant friends. She’d thought there might be more until John came into her life.

Had Beth felt this same way? She’d obviously kept secrets from her family, like Leah had. Met up with an Englischer who didn’t understand the Amish ways.

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