Kitabı oxu: «Amish Country Kidnapping»

ONE

Breathe! The disjointed thought sped through Rachel Albrecht’s mind. Her eyes snapped open. She struggled to draw enough air into her lungs. Something covered her mouth and nose. Her heart accelerated as she glanced around the familiar bedroom she once shared with her husband, unable to understand what was happening.

Her last memory was of falling asleep in her favorite chair reading the Bible while waiting for her sister, Eva, to return.

Now darkness flooded the room. The lantern’s wick had gone out.

Through the pitch-black of night the truth became horrifying. A strange man towered above her, his big gloved hand covering part of her face. She clawed at it as the last bit of air left her body.

He leaned in close, his face completely obscured by a ski mask, only his eyes visible. They burned into hers, the evil filling them chilling.

“You’re coming with me,” he growled, then removed his hand and hauled her from the chair. The Bible fell to the floor at her feet.

Air rushed into her lungs and she coughed, her eyes filling with tears as she continued to drag in breaths.

“Let’s go,” he ordered and pointed to the door. He shoved something against her side. A gun! The sight of it promised all sorts of unwelcome outcomes. She needed help.

His hot breath fanned across her cheek, his big body blocking her path to the door. If she could make it to the closet, Daniel’s old shotgun was stored there. Though her husband never kept the weapon loaded, she knew where the bullets were and could use the gun to defend herself.

Breaking free, she ran for the closet, her heart echoing in her ears. Rachel barely managed a couple of steps before his hand snaked around her shoulder. She lost her balance and sprawled across the floor.

“Oh no, you don’t,” he snarled. Grabbing a handful of her loose hair, he hauled her to her feet. Pieces of hair were ripped from her scalp. Rachel screamed, frantically scratching at his arms, his chest, anything to free herself.

He jerked her against his body and smacked her hard with his open hand. “That’s for trying to get away from me. You’ve wasted enough of my time. Now, let’s go.”

His hand clutched her arm tight. The gun bit into her ribs.

With all her strength, she tried to twist free, but his grip tightened, fingers digging into her arm.

“Eva, run!” Rachel yelled as loud as she could, thinking only of her seventeen-year-old sister asleep in the bedroom next to hers.

“Keep your mouth shut and do as I say,” he snapped and forced her toward the door.

Please, Gott, help me... The frantic prayer slipped through her head as she did her best to drag her feet. She’d need His help if she was going to survive this attack. Her homestead was isolated on the outskirts of the Amish community of West Kootenai, Montana. The Beacheys, her closest neighbors, were almost a mile away. No one would be coming to her aid. Her survival was in Gott’s hands...and her own.

“Move! He has plans for you,” the man barked when she continued to dig her heels in. His words were terrifying. This was not a random attack. She’d been purposefully targeted.

With a strength she could only believe was sent from Gott, she snatched at his mask with her free hand.

Uttering a string of disgusting words, he released his hold on her arm and tried to capture her flailing hand. The mask ripped free. With morning still hours away, shadows clung to everything in the room. The man’s frightening eyes were the only thing that stood out in her mind. She would never forget them as long as she lived.

Eva. She had to find a way to save her sister.

The man smacked her hard once more, then yanked her close, his clawlike grip bruising her upper arm through her nightgown.

Rachel could not envision the fate waiting for her if he took her.

Trying to remain calm was next to impossible. With only one option left, Rachel slumped against him with her eyes closed. He seized her by the shoulders to keep her from falling.

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked with just enough uncertainty to make her believe he’d bought her act. This was her only chance. She slammed her bare foot against his shin as hard as she could. He yelped in pain and clutched his injured leg.

Freed, Rachel shoved him hard. Caught unawares, the man stumbled to the floor, taking the table holding the dark lantern with him.

She didn’t look back as she raced for the door. Behind her, another string of bad words was followed by the noise of furniture being shoved out of the way. He was coming after her!

“Eva, wake up!” she screamed. How could Eva sleep through such noise?

Reaching Eva’s open door, the bed appeared still made from the morning. Eva never came home. Terror threatened to stop her dead. Had the man already taken her sister?

Her pursuer slammed against the adjoining wall. She had seconds to escape. With her sister’s well-being foremost in her thoughts, Rachel reached the front door. Her fingers shook so much it was a struggle to turn the knob. She yanked the door open and clicked the lock on the knob before slamming it closed.

Her bare feet hit the front porch. She cleared the steps, stumbling across the frozen ground. To her left: the wheat field Thomas Beachey planted for her, the tender shoots still inching their way above ground. To her right: a patch of woods before the road that separated her place from her neighbors’. Rachel turned right and ran toward the neighbors’ place.

Fresh-fallen snow blanketed the countryside. Winter might have been months away in most of the States, but in the big sky country of Montana, it already held the countryside in its icy clutches.

With her lungs burning from the cold, Rachel ran as fast as her bare feet would allow. She had to reach the Beacheys.

Behind her, the door flew open and slammed against the wall. “Where do you think you’re going? There’s no one here to help you,” the man shouted, his anger emphasizing each word.

Her steps hiccupped. Gott, keep my faith strong in You. She would not give in to the fear. Eva needed her.

With her feet growing numb, fallen trees tore at her tender flesh. Close by, her attacker entered the woods. His labored breathing made it sound as if he were right on top of her. Ignoring the pain, Rachel gathered her dwindling energy and kept running.

Up above, the clouds covered the moon and stars. In the deep woods, the darkness was so intense she could barely see her hand in front of her.

Branches snapped as the man plowed through the trees behind her. These woods were as familiar to her as the back of her hand. She had the advantage.

In front of her, the woods thinned. Almost there. The path blurred with her tears. What did this man want?

The road appeared before her. Across it, the Beacheys’ house loomed as a shadow, save a single light burning in the kitchen. Someone was awake.

Rachel stumbled onto the road. Losing her footing on the icy pavement, she fell hard to her knees. Please, no. Not like this. Not without knowing her sister’s fate.

Frantic, she glanced back. A dark silhouette appeared at the edge of the woods. The man spotted her and started running toward her.

“Help!” she screamed as loud as her labored voice would allow, hoping the Beacheys might hear her. “Help me, please!”

With scraped hands, she pushed off the pavement and managed to keep her feet underneath her. Hurry. She had to. But it was impossible on the slick road.

She peeked over her shoulder. The man had stopped near the road. He was no longer looking at her but down the road. What was he waiting for?

Beyond her drumming heartbeat, she caught the sound of a car’s engine coming toward her. Rachel whirled at the sound. The vehicle topped the hill close by. Blinding headlights pinned her in place. Before she had time to react, the SUV was almost on top of her.

What if the driver worked with her attacker? She’d fought so hard to be free only to die here on this road.

Tires squealed on the slick road as the driver tried to stop before he hit her. Rachel shielded her eyes against the glare. Her heart in her throat, she braced for the impact.

Seconds passed. Nothing happened. Quiet returned to the countryside. The car had stopped. She was alive. A single breath slipped from her body. Her gaze darted to the last place she’d seen her attacker. He wasn’t there.

The Beacheys’ home was close. If she ran, would she make it in time?

The SUV’s door opened. Her heartbeat ticked the seconds off.

“Rachel?” That voice! It jumped out at her from her youthful past. Noah? More than seven years had passed since he’d moved away, yet she’d thought of him so often through the years. The young man she’d lost her heart to at seventeen had now just saved her life.

Deputy Sheriff Noah Warren wasn’t sure he trusted his eyes. Standing before him, illuminated by the bright headlights of his patrol vehicle, was the woman who’d stolen his eighteen-year-old heart.

And he’d broken hers.

As he advanced on her, the shock of seeing Rachel again under these unexpected conditions sent shock waves through his body.

“Rachel?” he said her name again and blinked, half expecting her to disappear. When he opened his eyes, she was still there and one thing became clear—the look of fear on her face appeared permanently embedded there. Her green eyes were huge pools of light that told a story of desperation.

Noah couldn’t believe his past mistakes were about to reach out to him once more. He’d thought of her so many times through the years, considered reaching out to her when the heartaches of her life took place. Thought better of it. He’d hurt her badly. She wouldn’t welcome hearing from him again after the way things ended. Best to leave the past where it lay. As hard as it was to accept, their future was never intended to be together. God had other plans for both of them.

He snapped out of his daze. “Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice anything but steady, reflecting how he felt.

Rachel took an involuntary step back and peeked over her shoulder. Shivered visibly.

“You have to help me, Noah. He’s still out there. He tried to kidnap me.” Her voice was little more than a hoarse whisper, the words shocking.

Noah whirled to look in the direction she pointed, then back at her. “Who’s out there?”

“I don’t know who he is. He wore a mask and it was dark. He came into my home and tried to force me to go with him.”

Noah couldn’t believe what he heard. Through the headlights, he could see red marks on her cheek. Her bare feet were cut and bloody, hands scraped, flame-red hair loose and tangled.

“Let’s get you inside the cruiser where it’s warm. You must be frozen.” When she seemed incapable of moving, he clasped her arm and gently guided her to the passenger side.

Opening the door, he paused when Rachel didn’t budge. Her stricken gaze locked onto him, and he knew something else was coming.

“Noah, I think he has Eva.”

The news robbed him of his next breath. “What do you mean he has Eva?”

“She wasn’t in her room and her bed was not unmade. Eva promised to be home by ten and she wouldn’t break that promise. He has her, Noah. You have to find my sister.”

Eva missing? He still remembered the young blonde girl who used to follow them around. “I’ll find her, I promise. Come, get inside where it’s warm. I need to call for backup.” The urgency in his tone must have reached through her fear. Gathering the skirt of her gown, she climbed inside. Noah retrieved the blanket he kept in the SUV along with other emergency supplies and tucked it around her legs. Clicking the locks in place, he shut the door and reached for the radio attached to his jacket.

In the distance, a vehicle fired to life. Noah swung toward the sound. It sounded close, a little ways past Rachel’s home. He peered into the dark night. No lights appeared. Had he been wrong about the distance? Noises carried in the country, the sound echoing off the mountains. Perhaps the car was farther down the road than he thought. As much as he wanted to investigate, he didn’t dare leave Rachel alone.

“Dispatch, this is Deputy Warren requesting immediate backup for a possible 207 on Spruce Road near the Beachey farm.”

The sheriff’s dispatcher, Janine Mills, picked up right away. “Copy that, Noah.” A second of silence followed. “Aden and Megan are en route. I’ll notify the sheriff. Is anyone hurt? Do you need an ambulance?”

He glanced inside the patrol vehicle where Rachel watched him with huge eyes. “Yes, send a bus. The victim has cuts on her feet and she’s been exposed to the cold for a while. It would be a good idea to have an EMT take a look at her.”

“Will do. Backup is five minutes out. Stay safe, Noah.”

Noah ended the transmission and called Aden on his cell.

“We’re close,” Aden assured him.

“Good. Can you and Megan take a quick ride down Aspen Glen Road? I heard a car start up a little distance from here. It might be nothing.”

“Or it could be our perp. We’re at the intersection now. Talk to you soon.”

Noah shoved the phone in his pocket and clicked on his flashlight, moving to the edge of the road. He flashed the light in the direction of Rachel’s childhood home. Her bare footprints were in the snow along with a second, much larger, shoed set of prints. His gut told him the noise he’d heard was the perp escaping down the road that ran in front of Rachel’s home. There were numerous back roads intersecting Aspen Glen. The man could be anywhere.

He’d knelt to examine the prints when voices carried his way. Noah rose and spun toward the sound. Two people hurried his way, guided by the light of a lantern. He recognized Thomas and Jane Beachey immediately. They must have heard his vehicle.

Not knowing if Rachel’s attacker was working alone, Noah sought to warn the older couple. “Thomas, I need you and Jane to return to your house right away. Lock your doors. I’ll explain later.” Thomas hesitated before gathering Jane close. With another troubled glance behind him, Thomas urged Jane toward the house.

Noah opened the SUV door and climbed in beside Rachel. Even visibly shaken she was still as pretty as he remembered. When he looked at her, all the things he’d once hoped for came to mind. A simple life with her as his wife. Children of their own. Things his father’s interference had robbed them of.

“I know this is hard, but I need to you tell me everything that happened tonight.”

She rubbed her hands down her arms, probably to ward off more than just the chill of the night. Noah cranked the heater up a couple notches while Rachel told him about waking up to find a stranger standing over her. “He had a gun, Noah. He pointed it at my side and forced me to go with him.” She gestured toward her left side. “He said, ‘He has plans for you.’ I have no idea what he meant by that. His face was covered with a ski mask and he had on gloves.”

The attack was planned. Deliberate. Confusing. Why would someone wish to harm either Rachel or Eva? It didn’t add up in his mind.

“We struggled. I managed to rip the mask off, but it was so dark. I couldn’t see anything...except his eyes.” She shuddered visibly. “I will never forget those dark, angry eyes for as long as I live.”

He clasped her hand, and she turned to face him. The extent of what she’d gone through showed in her drawn expression. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and reassure her everything would be okay. Yet he couldn’t lie to her.

On the hill behind him, red-and-blue lights strobed in the starless night. A patrol vehicle, sirens blaring, blasted down Spruce Road. The vehicle slid to a halt when the driver spotted his cruiser in the middle of the road.

“I’ll be right back,” he told her. When she didn’t respond, Noah climbed out and hurried to his colleagues. Aden Scott exited his vehicle first, followed by Deputy Megan Clark.

“Sheriff’s on his way. Ambo is five minutes out. We drove a good way down Aspen Glen, but there was no sign of a vehicle. What do you have here?” Aden pointed to the cruiser where Rachel waited inside.

Noah outlined the few details he knew so far. He shined the light on the ground where retreating footsteps appeared to be heading through the woods the same way they’d come. “I heard a car’s engine start up a few minutes after I spotted Rachel. If it was him, he’s long gone.”

Aden nodded. “Let’s hope not. We’ll follow the footprints and see what we can find.”

Clicking on their flashlights, both Aden and Megan started out.

Noah went back to the vehicle. Rachel stared straight ahead, showing obvious signs of shock. Her shoulders hunched defensively. She’d never looked so vulnerable before. Growing up, Rachel had always been fearless. Seeing her as a victim now just wouldn’t compute with what he knew about her.

He’d give anything to ease her pain, but he had a feeling this was just the beginning.

“There’s an ambulance on the way. They’ll need to examine your injuries.”

Her huge green eyes found him. “I am fine, Noah. I do not need an ambulance.”

“You do,” he insisted. “You have some nasty cuts on your feet. Not to mention those scrapes on your face.” Anger rose to the surface when he spotted what appeared to a flamed impression of a handprint on her cheek.

I think he has Eva... Rachel’s words haunted him, as did her fear.

“Why do you think he took Eva?” he asked because his brain was working overtime searching for answers. “She’s going through her rumspringa, correct? Is it possible the time got away from her and she stayed with a friend?”

Rachel didn’t let him finish. “Nay, Eva told me she would be home by ten and she wouldn’t be late. Not now.”

“Why not?” he asked, curious about her response.

“Because Eva has been training with Hannah Wagler to take over as the community teacher in a few weeks’ time. She loves her students and wanted to get a gut night’s rest to be prepared for them. They are very important to her. She’s missing, Noah. I know she is.” Her answer wiped away the last of his doubts. They’d need to speak with the last person who saw Eva, and soon.

“Tell me what happened yesterday. Did anything unusual take place? What were Eva’s plans for the day?” He couldn’t imagine anything bad happening to the little girl he once knew so well.

Rachel swallowed visibly. “Nothing unusual. Eva and I rode to church service together. It began around nine. Afterward, there was the church meal. I said goodbye to her around three. She planned to attend the youth group singing. Afterward, she was going home with her friend, Anna Lapp. She said she would walk home after spending time with Anna. Eva was excited about the following shool day and only planned to stay at Anna’s a little while.” The words trailed into a sob.

Noah reached for her hand and held it while he digested this new information. The walk from the Lapps’ place would take Eva around half an hour, which meant Eva may have gone missing somewhere between nine fifteen and nine thirty. He checked the time on his phone. More than three hours had passed. Finding Eva quickly was imperative. The first forty-eight hours were critical in a missing persons case.

An ambulance pulled in behind the vehicles, followed by another police cruiser. Sheriff Walker Collins had arrived on scene.

When the sheriff approached, Noah opened his door. Walker leaned in. “I hear there’s been a bit of trouble here tonight?” He introduced himself to Rachel. “EMTs are here. Let’s get you looked at.”

Getting out, Noah circled around to Rachel’s side and opened her door. She stared up at him with a desperate look on her face.

He held out his hand. “Megan and Aden are doing everything they can to find this man. You need to take care of yourself for Eva.” He walked her to the ambulance and waited beside her with Walker while EMT Jake Oliver cleaned and bandaged her feet and applied antibiotic cream to the scrapes on her face. Her attacker had slapped her. Why would the man want to hurt someone as sweet as Rachel? Nothing about what happened tonight made sense.

“You’ll have some bruising and tenderness for a few days,” Jake told her, “but none of your injuries are serious.”

A noise behind them sent both Noah and Walker whirling. Aden and Megan headed their way.

“Did you find my sister?” Rachel asked as soon as they were close.

Aden shook his head. “No, I’m sorry, we didn’t.” He turned to Walker. “The perp parked at the end of the drive. Probably approached without his headlights on to not wake anyone.”

Megan handed Rachel a pair of shoes. “I found these by the door and thought they might belong to you.”

“Denki,” Rachel murmured and slipped her injured feet inside, wincing when she put pressure on them.

“I’ll call in the crime scene unit to go over the house and take photos of the footprints and tire tracks. Hopefully, we can get some answers for you soon,” Walker assured Rachel.

She clutched the blanket around her shoulders against the biting wind.

“Let me take you to the house so you can change into something warmer,” Noah said, noticing. “Then we’ll go to the station. I want you to look through some mug books. You said you ripped the mask off the man?” She nodded. There was a slim chance she might be able to identify the man from the photos. “I know you said you didn’t get a good look at him, but maybe going through the books will help you pick him out. While you’re doing that, I’ll speak to Anna Lapp. It could be that Eva changed her mind and spent the night with her friend and I’ll find her there safe and sound.”