Page 81 of Among the Innocent

Sugar opened the door and stepped out. Leah and Dalton exchanged a troubled look before they followed Sugar to the conference room.

Two women sat at the long table. The deep-set traveling bonnets covering their prayer kapps prevented Leah from seeing their faces. Clasped hands on the table gave them a prayerful look.

“They’ll be more comfortable speaking with you,” Dalton told her.

“All right.” Leah stepped inside the room with Dalton. Both women turned quickly. She recognized the older of the two.Esther Lapp. The young woman seated beside her was the spitting image of Esther right down to the same golden blond hair.

Esther’s troubled eyes shot between Leah and Dalton before she rose. “Leah, I believe the man who killed Beth and Eva has been talking to my Willa.” She turned back to the young girl, who remained seated, her attention on her hands. “We were warned about this terrible man.Youwere warned. He could have killed you. Tell her what has been happening.”

Willa’s shoulders quaked. She turned tearful eyes to Leah. “H-he isn’t that bad man. He isn’t. I tried to tell Mamm so, but she wouldn’t listen.”

Leah pulled out the chair beside Willa. “Why don’t you tell me about him? What’s his name?”

“He told me his name is Scott and he’d come here to visit family.” Her pleading eyes held Leah’s. “He has light brown hair, and he is a carpenter. Scott isn’t the one who killed Beth and Eva.”

The description wasn’t close to John’s. Was Esther mistaken? “Willa, can you tell me how you two met?” Leah kept her tone friendly, as if she and Willa were simply having a conversation.

A dreamy smile spread across her face. “I had problems with the buggy wheel. It came loose. He helped me fix it.” She turned to Esther. “He is kind, Mamm. He would never hurt me.”

Esther’s mouth tightened. “He has encouraged you to sneak around behind our backs. To disobey us. He is not agutman.” She reached into her apron pocket. “And he gave her this, so she could call him. I found it tucked under her mattress.” She brought out a small cell phone. It fit with John’s MO.

“How long have you been seeing this man, Willa?” Dalton asked.

Willa twisted her hands in her lap. “For a few weeks.”

The timeline definitely overlapped when Beth and Eva were seeing John, as well as Justine. He’d been seeing them all at the same time.

“Do you mind if we keep the phone?” Leah addressed the question to Esther.

She shoved it at her. “Jah, take it. It is not part of our ways, and I do not want my daughter having it.”

Dalton retrieved an evidence bag and placed it inside. “Thank you, Mrs. Lapp.”

“When are you supposed to see this Scott again?” Leah asked the distraught young woman.

“T-tonight, but we have not set a time. He will contact me when he is able.”

Leah touched the girl’s shoulder. “Listen to me, Willa.” The young woman turned troubled eyes her way. “He isn’t who you think. You believe Scott would never hurt you, but both Beth and Eva were given phones by an Englischer to have a way to contact them. He had them meet him at night without anyone knowing. He killed them. He isnota good man.”

Leah showed Willa the picture of John. “Is this the man you’ve been seeing?”

An expression of disbelief froze on Willa’s face. She slowly nodded. “His hair is a different color, but jah, it is.”

Leah could tell the young woman still didn’t want to believe. She had to find a way to convince her that her life was in danger.

Leah pulled her shirt away from her scar. “The same man did this to me. He told me he loved me just like he did you.”

Willa stared at the bright red scar.

“He said his name was John. Ten years ago, I was a young Amish girl like you, and I believed him like you, and I fell for what he told me.” She glanced up at Dalton. The encouragementshe saw in him helped her go on. “He talked me into sneaking around behind my parents’ backs. When he asked me to leave with him, I was afraid. I couldn’t do it. He came back later that evening and he killed my entire family.” She stopped. Saying the words aloud never got easier. “He’s the one who killed Beth and Eva, and he will do the same to you, Willa, because he is not the person he claims to be.”

The girl shrank back as if Leah had struck her. “He said he cares for me.”

“He doesn’t. He’s very sick and dangerous. You cannot see him again.”

Willa brushed her cheeks and looked up at her mother. “I am sorry, Mamm.”

Esther’s expression softened, and she gathered her daughter close. “It isoke, kinna.” She looked over Willa’s head to Leah. “What if this man tries to come after my child?”

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