Debby Giusti - Undercover Amish

“The guy must have known you’d be stranded on the side of the road,” Lucas said. “Did you lock your car when you went into the station?”

She thought back. “I had gotten out expecting to pay at the pump, then realized I needed to pay the attendant. I left the car unlocked.”

“Which means he could have jabbed the hole in your radiator.”

“Except I’d been driving for hours. The engine was still hot. Wouldn’t steam and water spray out?”

“He could have worn insulated gloves to protect his hands. If he closed your hood before you returned to your car, you wouldn’t have noticed the problem.”

She nodded and stared into the night. “I went to the ladies’ room, which gave him ample time.”

“Did anyone tail you on the highway?”

“Not that I noticed.”

Had the guy taken advantage of a woman driving along an isolated road late at night or was Hannah a known target?

“A pretty woman on a desolate back road...” Lucas didn’t need to finish the thought.

Hannah leaned closer. “Did you hear about a mountain hijacking that ended with an older woman dead and two younger women captured?”

The question took Lucas by surprise. “How does that involve you?”

Maybe Hannah was a marked woman after all.

“The murdered woman was Leah Miller.”

“You’re related?”

Hannah nodded. “She was my mother. My younger sister Sarah was taken. Another sister, Miriam, was supposed to have found refuge with an Amish family named Zook. Do you know them?”

“That’s a common name around these parts. Do you have first names?”

“Unfortunately, that’s all the information I could decipher from the garbled voice mail Miriam left on my cell. The guy in the flannel shirt who came after me mentioned her name. He wanted to know where she’s holed up.”

“We need to talk to the deputy sheriff and learn more about the hijacking. Maybe he’ll know the Zooks and how to find your sister.”

Maybe he would know about Hannah Miller, as well. She’d gone from being a stranded motorist with a guy on her tail to a person of interest in a murder and kidnapping case. Lucas had distanced himself from law enforcement, yet crime and corruption seemed to have found him in the middle of the North Georgia mountains, which was both ironic and unsettling.

Reason told him to give Hannah a wide berth, but he couldn’t walk away from a woman in need. Especially a woman whose circumstances tugged at his heart.

“Stay in the car,” he said, opening the driver’s door. “I’ll add more water and then we’ll be on our way. There’s a fork in the road not far ahead. Just like the previous intersection, the fork to the left goes to Willkommen. We’ll veer right toward the Amish Inn. Chances are good the car that just passed us is headed to town.”

Lucas refilled the radiator, crawled back into the car, started the engine and pulled out onto the road. The rain eased, but the overhanging trees and thick underbrush that lined the road hung heavy with moisture. The headlights cut a path into the dark night.

As he guided the car to the right at the fork, the moon peered through the clouds. Stretched out around them were rolling hills that led to higher peaks in the distance. They drove in silence for some distance until fenced pastures marked their approach to the B and B. A three-story, rambling inn, painted white with black shutters, wraparound porches and two stone fireplaces came into view. The scene, no matter how many times he saw it, filled Lucas’s heart with a sense of home.

“I’m sure everything will look more welcoming in the light of day,” Hannah said.

Evidently the bucolic scene that warmed his heart caused her unease. She worried her fingers as if she didn’t know whether to be relieved or concerned about what she saw.

“The inn sits at the end of the entrance drive,” he explained, hoping to reassure her. “The building closer to the road is the Amish Store and produce mart. Fannie Stoltz owns the place. She’s Amish and lives in one of the two houses at the far side of the property. The two Amish homes don’t have electricity or technology. The rest of the property runs on solar power backed up with propane generators. The majority of the guests are Englischers who want to enjoy the peace of the Amish way but still have their comforts, such as indoor plumbing, electric lights, heat in the winter and air-conditioning in the summer.”

“So it’s not Amish?”

He smiled. “It’s about as Amish as most folks want to get. Fannie is a widow. The inn was a way she could provide for herself.”

“She has children?”

He shook his head. “But she’s got a big heart.”

“You’re sure she won’t mind me arriving this late at night.”

“We won’t wake her. I’ve got a master key and will set you up in a room. Tomorrow we’ll explain your late arrival.”

Lucas pulled her car close to a rear maintenance shed. “I’ll have the mechanic check out your car in the morning. Calvin can fix anything. Even a radiator.”

Rounding the car, he opened her door and then pulled her tote from the trunk. Together they hurried along the path that led to the inn and climbed the steps to the expansive front porch.

Lucas keyed open the door and stepped back to let her enter first. A small table lamp glowed halfway down the entrance hall. He placed Hannah’s tote on the floor by the table and checked the log book.

“Room three is available,” he whispered to keep from waking the other guests.

“Are you sure this is okay?”

“Of course. We all work together at the inn.”

He grabbed the key off the peg where it hung and opened the door to the downstairs wing, then motioned her to the left. “It’s the last door on the right, a corner room with great views.”

He unlocked the door and held it open for her. She stepped into the room and flipped on the overhead light. Her gaze took in the double bed with fluffy pillows and hand-stitched quilt. A dresser and overstuffed chair filled one side of the room across from a door that led to the private bath.

A small latched rug warmed the floor, but the room was still chilly. Lucas adjusted the thermostat on the wall. “You’ll get heat soon enough. Extra blankets are in the bottom drawer. Breakfast runs from six thirty until nine a.m. To get to the dining room, turn left and head to the end of the hall.”

He stepped past her and checked the latches on the windows in the bedroom and bath.

“Lock the door after I leave. In the morning, I’ll let Fannie know you’re here.” Lucas glanced around the room. “Do you need anything else?”

“Towels?”

“In the bathroom.”

“Then I’ve got everything I need. Thank you, Lucas. I...I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He nodded. “I’ll be on the job by six. Get some sleep. Morning will come soon enough.”

With determined steps, he headed for the door then glanced back. “Don’t worry. You’ll be safe here.”

Stepping into the hallway, Lucas felt a sense of relief. He had checked the windows and cautioned Hannah to lock her door. The guy from the gas station wouldn’t find her tonight.

Once clear of the house, Lucas stopped to listen to the sounds of the night. Small creatures scurried through the underbrush and the croak of bullfrogs sounded from the nearby pond, but little else could be heard. No cars, no planes overhead, no chatter from guests who were hopefully enjoying their slumber.

He should have been relieved, but tonight something wasn’t sitting well within him. He scanned the pastures and the mountains in the distance. Tired as he was, he couldn’t pull himself from this observation spot as if everything was warning him to stand guard.