Page 17

ONE

Don’t go back there, Diana. There’s nothing in Rachel’s Crossing but ghosts.

Her father’s warning had played on a loop in Diana Fisher’s head every mile of the way back to her childhood home in Rachel’s Crossing, Kentucky. And right up until the moment she’d gotten into the car to leave Louisville, William had never stopped trying to change her mind. Yet Diana had remained resolute. She’d waited fifteen years for answers as to why her mother had left them. No matter what—even if it broke her father’s heart—she couldn’t back down.

While on the force in Louisville, Diana had searched every database available for some clue as to where Greta Fisher might be hiding. There had been nothing. Not a word from her mother since she’d skipped town when Diana was young, taking her belongings and leaving only a note.

When the chief-of-police position at Rachel’s Crossing became available, Diana jumped at the chance to apply, never expecting to get the job. Her timing was perfect—the town needed a new leader after facing a scandal with the previous police chief, who’d been forced to resign. Corruption had overtaken the small department, and it would be Diana’s job to rebuild it. She believed this was God’s intervention. She’d prayed for years for answers about her mother, and now she had the chance to find them while reviving the integrity of the police department her father had once led. She just had to return home... Was she ready to hear the truth?

Her former childhood house appeared in the gathering darkness. Diana’s heartbeat hammered in her ears as she pulled into the drive and parked.

She’d dreaded this moment. The fear of what waited inside became paralyzing.

Kit, the Dutch Shepherd who had been her K-9 partner in Louisville, licked Diana’s cheek, as if understanding.

Diana gave herself a mental shake and petted Kit’s head. She’d waited half her life for answers. Did she really think they’d come without a little pain?

A blast of humid air greeted her as she opened the car door. Despite it being early evening, the thermometer in her vehicle had registered a three-digit number.

Kit jumped out, eager to stretch her legs, while Diana grabbed a box from the back seat. “Ready to see your new home?”

Kit would be the first K-9 officer on the Rachel’s Crossing Police Department. Diana had gotten the mayor’s permission and had worked hard to secure funding for the program.

The dog sniffed around the ground while Diana stared up at the house. No more stalling. Time to confront the past.

When she’d interviewed for the chief’s position a few weeks back, Diana hadn’t been able to face this place. She’d asked her father once why he’d held on to the house. William told her that he hoped one day Greta would come back to them.

She shifted the box onto one hip to unlock the door. Kit trotted inside. Diana followed more slowly, her heart clenching at the house that seemed frozen in time. Nothing but a heavy layer of dust to remind her she was no longer that fifteen-year-old girl who missed her mother.

Diana dropped the box on the kitchen counter as the past hit her in waves. She wouldn’t cry. Too many tears had been shed already.

Kit whimpered, drawing her attention. The dog looked up at her with troubled eyes.

“I’m okay.” She had to hold it together for Kit.

Diana returned to her vehicle to retrieve the rest of her things while Kit stayed close. The dog was a protector as well as a friend.

She brought in her suitcase and the bags of groceries she’d purchased in town. And the box containing photos and the few things she had of her mother’s. A silver brush and mirror set. A music box with a palomino horse on top that played “My Old Kentucky Home.” Greta had said William bought it for her when they’d gone to the Kentucky Derby once.

Darkness brought an ominous feel to the July evening. The house was in the middle of nowhere. The closest neighbors were members of the Amish community, which had been here longer than the town of Rachel’s Crossing.

She set the groceries in the kitchen and carried her suitcase and the box of personal items into her old bedroom, then dropped them on the bed. This room held the hardest memories to face. She could almost picture her mother standing in the doorway smiling that last night. Because of that image, she’d spend her first night on the sofa until she had a better handle on her emotions.

Ignoring what needed to be done, Diana carried the iced tea she’d bought in town out to the back porch, along with her handgun and flashlight.

She settled into one of the old wicker rockers that had aged badly. Kit circled a couple of times before getting comfortable at her feet.

“Good girl.” Diana noticed Kit had carried out her favorite stuffed toy. The move hadn’t been an easy one for Kit, either.

A slight breeze rustled the trees. Katydids sang their song. In the distance, the dark shape of Black Mountain loomed over everything around Rachel’s Crossing.

Diana could almost smell the coal dust still resting inside the closed Black Mountain mine. The town had formed around the coal mine years after the Amish community had settled in the late 1800s, and was named after an Amish wife who’d tried to cross the river to get life-saving medicine for her husband. In a sad irony, she’d died, and her husband had lived to raise their five children alone.

While the Amish community remained strong, when the coal mine shut down in the late nineties, Rachel’s Crossing had almost faded into the history books. But somehow, it held on. Kept going. Like Diana.

“Oh, Mama...why’d you leave us?” Their life here in Rachel’s Crossing had appeared perfect yet something had caused her mother to walk away from her husband and child.

At her feet, Kit suddenly scrambled to a sitting position, growling long and low. The Dutch Shepherd’s hackles rose an alarm.

“What is it, girl?”

Kit charged the nearby woods before Diana could stop her.

“Kit! Come back.” Diana grabbed her weapon and the flashlight from the nearby table. Though most of the animals roaming the woods were harmless, there were reports of mountain lions in the area. Kit wouldn’t stand a chance against a cornered lion.

Rustling noises headed away from the house. Whatever Kit was chasing moved quickly. Something alarming grabbed Diana’s attention. Cigarette smoke. Kit’s target was human.

Diana quieted her steps at the new threat. It was a tactic she’d learned from her police-officer dad. When tracking a perp, it was best to be as silent as possible. She killed the flashlight and relied on memory alone. She used to know every square inch of the property and woods. The hollows up here were where she’d grown up. Played for so many years. Yet that felt like another person’s life now.

A twig snapped nearby. She swung toward the sound and tried to see through the darkness as something bounded her way. Kit. Diana’s relief became physical. She bent over, exhaling a breath.

“You scared me.” The dog didn’t look at her. Kit’s attention remained on something behind Diana. The dog appeared confused, which was completely out of character.

Before Diana turned, teeth-jarring pain shot through her body as something sharp slammed against her head. Bursts of light danced before her eyes. Her head felt as if it had been split open. She became aware of Kit attacking the person. Snarls registered through the fog and then a yelp. Kit had been hurt. Someone shoved her from behind and she fell forward. The world around her blurred as she clung to consciousness.

Seconds ticked by before awareness of her surroundings returned.

Kit licked her face and whimpered a warning that her attacker was still out there somewhere.

Diana rose to her knees unsteadily. Kit had been hurt in the attack, too. The world around her spun. She patted her dog’s head to comfort her and brought back blood.

Diana staggered to her feet and found her handgun and flashlight.

Now, she had a job to do. Catch the bad guy before he got away.

In the distance, she could hear someone tramping through the woods. Before Diana locked in on the location, a woman’s bloodcurdling scream overrode the sound of her own frantic breathing. Diana ran forward, but Kit overtook her, claiming the lead. Strange lights appeared. Not quite bright enough to be from flashlights. She reached a clearing and realized this was the beginning of the Amish community. The lights belonged to lanterns inside a nearby Amish home.

Kit zeroed in on something near the back of a barn and loped over to investigate. As Diana neared the location, she realized someone was lying there. She kneeled beside the young woman, who wasn’t moving. She had a weak pulse.

Diana grabbed her phone and called Casey Masterson. He was the only remaining officer on the once corrupt force headed up by Zahn Torres. Torres had been an officer under her father, but his approach to the police-chief job had been completely different. Although it wasn’t widely known around town, Torres had been asked to step down from the chief’s position due to accusations of bribes, among other crimes. According to the mayor, Torres hadn’t gone away quietly.

Thankfully, she liked Casey and knew she’d work well with him. He seemed competent and he knew the community well. Dispatcher Susan Copland told her Casey reminded her of Diana’s father, and Susan should know. She’d been the dispatcher back when William was chief.

Diana told Casey what happened. “Roll medical assistance to this location.” She couldn’t leave the victim alone in case the attacker returned to finish the job.

“Copy that. Rolling medical. I’m on my way, Chief Fisher.” The call ended.

In the distance, a car engine fired. Tires peeled down a gravel road. Whoever had attacked Diana and this young woman was fleeing, and she couldn’t do a thing about it. She called Casey back and told him to pursue the vehicle.

A siren blared in the background. Casey would do his best to head off the perp.

The flashlight beam revealed dark smudges resembling fingerprints on the woman’s neck. She’d been strangled. The woman’s dark blue dress, white apron and the prayer kapp slipping from her head confirmed she was Amish. The combination of strangulation and the fact that the victim was Amish dragged to life a fifteen-year-old cold case. Diana’s father’s worst investigation, which had gone unsolved.

Growing up in Rachel’s Crossing, Diana had heard the whispers when the troubles first began. Young Amish women had gone missing. Only one was ever found—one who had managed to escape her kidnapper. She’d told a harrowing tale of being choked until she passed out. The attack had been interrupted when someone had spotted them and come to her rescue. Unfortunately, neither the young woman nor the person who saved her had been able to identify the attacker.

Soon, the disappearances continued.

The young woman before her stirred and murmured something. Her terrified eyes latched on to Diana’s. She tried to scream but couldn’t.

“You’re safe. I’m Chief Fisher with the Rachel’s Crossing Police. Medical help is on the way.”

The words didn’t appear to tamp down her fear. She grabbed her bruised throat, her voice raspy. “He—he tried to kill me.”

“He’s gone now.” But was he? Diana glanced uneasily around the darkness. She’d interrupted the attack. If she hadn’t been outside, would she have heard the scream? The young woman might be dead, or could have vanished, like the others.

“Is this your home?” Diana wondered if her parents were there. She couldn’t imagine how terrified they’d be. Many around the community had lived through that dark period. They’d see the similarities.

“ Nay . I live on the next farm over,” the young woman responded.

A light moved near the front of the house and was heading their way.

“There’s someone coming.” Until she knew if they were friend or foe, she had to protect her victim. “I’ll be right back.” Diana rose to intercept the person when the young woman grabbed her hand.

“Don’t leave me.”

Kit growled aggressively and headed for the approaching person until Diana called her off. Kit couldn’t afford another run-in with a potential attacker.

Diana retrieved her weapon, and remained close to the woman. A flashlight beam hit Diana’s face and she turned her head.

“What’s going on here?” a deeply masculine voice filled with steel asked.

“This woman’s been attacked. I’m Chief Diana Fisher.” Diana gave only the pertinent information. She had no idea who this person standing before her was. Despite hearing a car disappear, she wasn’t convinced the attacker had left the area. It could have been some kids racing. “Can you turn your flashlight off?”

The man quickly complied.

It took several seconds for her eyes to adjust. “Did you hear anything suspicious?” she asked.

“Only the scream.” He stepped closer and Diana backed away. In a short amount of time, she’d been struck from behind and this young woman had almost been strangled.

She couldn’t take any chances here.

“I’m DCI Agent Micah Nissley.” He brought out his badge, as if sensing her unease.

Diana wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly. “DCI?” What was a Kentucky Department of Criminal Investigations detective doing here in Harlan County?

At least four inches taller than Diana’s five foot, ten inches, she tipped her head back to get a good look at Micah. Dark curly hair cut short and neat. Intense green eyes held hers without flinching throughout her assessment.

“Are you working a case in the area?” She hadn’t been notified of any joint investigations.

He shook his head and crooked his thumb back toward the house. “This is my childhood home. I’m here doing repairs.” She remembered the farm had once belonged to an Amish family. It didn’t add up, but for now, her concern remained with the victim.

“There’s backup on the way as well as medical help. Do you mind if we bring her to your place? I don’t like having our victim out in the open in case her attacker is still around.”

“No, of course not.” Micah didn’t hesitate. He assisted Diana in getting the victim to her feet. As she bent over to take the young woman’s arm, the world around her swam once more and she stopped abruptly. Diana closed her eyes and fought back nausea.

“You’re hurt,” Micah said, looking concerned.

Diana slowly straightened and pulled in a couple of breaths, letting the world settle down before she answered. “I’m okay. He caught me off guard and hit me from behind. My dog was struck as well.”

“By the same person who attacked this young woman?”

“Yes, I think so.”

Micah scanned the area. “Do we have any idea where he went?”

Diana explained about the car. “My officer is giving pursuit.” Yet, if this was the person who took those women in the past, she wondered if Casey would be able to catch him. The predator had gotten good at attacking and then disappearing into the night, taking his victims with him. She prayed this was just a strange coincidence. To her knowledge, there hadn’t been any Amish women go missing here in fifteen years. So why start up now? Had he left the area and come back? Stopped hunting only to begin again?

Highly unlikely though not unheard of. Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer, had stopped killing—lived a seemingly normal life—for a time.

“You should let them take a look at your head once they’ve finished examining this young woman.”

Diana didn’t respond. She touched the spot and winced. It could have been far worse.

Despite being injured, Kit glued herself to Diana’s side. The dog would fight to the death to save her. She’d proven this time and again.

They reached the porch when Diana’s cell phone rang.

Casey bypassed the customary hello. “Chief, I drove all the way past the Amish community down where the road ends. There’s no sign of him. I’m thinking he must have turned off one of the side roads. I’ll keep looking, but I’m thinking he got away.”

“Looks like I’m getting a running start on the job.” Diana told him.

“No doubt. Tough way to start out.” This was the first case she and Casey would be working together. They still needed to feel each other’s methods out. She told him where to reroute the ambulance before ending the call. Diana ended the call and shoved the phone back into her pocket with an unsteady hand.

If this was the person who had hunted Amish women in the past, why make a comeback now...at the same time Diana had returned? There wasn’t any scenario that would make Diana believe in such a coincidence.

Micah assisted the young Amish woman over to his sofa and placed the quilt his mother made over her shoulders. She was in shock and shivering. Micah didn’t recognize her, but then again, he’d been away for a long time, and he hadn’t ventured out among the community. Too many bad memories.

The marks on her neck transported Micah back to the worst time in his life. To what happened to Tessa.

Until she went missing, Micah hadn’t thought much about there being someone out there hunting Amish women. Tessa’s disappearance had changed everything.

He knew her better than anyone. They’d talked about the future. She couldn’t wait to marry him. Tessa wouldn’t simply run away. The alternative had kept him awake many a long night and haunted him because he, in part, was responsible for what had happened to her. He should have protected her. Instead, he’d acted in anger and left her alone.

Micah shoved the past back into its hiding place. This might just be an isolated attack. Best not to get ahead of himself.

“I want to go home.” Tears filled the young woman’s eyes. “I’m oke . My mamm and daed will be worried. They expected me hours ago.”

“I’ll have my officer let them know what happened if you tell me where you live,” Diana said. Once the girl provided the address, Diana made the call to her officer while Micah studied the new chief. There was something familiar about her. She’d introduced herself as Chief Diana Fisher. Was it possible she might be related to the former Chief Fisher?

She appeared to be in her early thirties, like him. He’d heard rumors around town about the new chief who had once lived in Rachel’s Crossing. No doubt they would run into each other once or twice.

Diana’s golden-brown hair was mostly escaping from its bun at the nape of her neck. Blood matted the top of her head where she’d been struck by something heavy. The woman was tall and had the physique of a runner. She was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt that had the University of Louisville emblazoned across the front. She was...beautiful. The thought surprised him.

The dog had followed her inside and kept a careful watch on Diana, as well as Micah, who hadn’t won her trust yet. A blood-matted patch of fur on the dog’s head confirmed the injury Diana had mentioned.

The new chief ended the call and faced him. Intense hazel eyes bored right through Micah, sizing him up. Analyzing everything he’d said. His body language. Determining if he was a friend or foe. From the guarded expression, it appeared the jury was still out.

“EMTs should be here soon,” she said at last.

He nodded, not knowing what else to say.

Diana glanced around at the small house where he’d grown up. Micah had lived here until he’d turned eighteen. That year, everything changed.

“How long have you been in this house?”

The question snatched him away from the rabbit hole he’d started down. “I don’t live here anymore. Well, not full-time at least. I come here whenever I’m able to work on repairs. I thought I’d maybe use it as a vacation home.” His glance touched on the table his father had made for his mother when they’d wed. Daed had planned to make one for Micah and Tessa’s wedding gift...

Once again, Tessa’s pretty face appeared from his memory where she snuck out to haunt him from time to time. Always smiling, her blue eyes twinkling when she teased him. Her auburn hair escaping from its bun.

Stop it.

Micah cleared his throat. “As you can tell, there’s a lot of work still left to do.”

“You were once Amish.” The surprise on her face confirmed she’d reached the right conclusion. How long before she realized he’d been a suspect in Tessa’s disappearance? Not long before the questions he’d hoped he’d left behind returned.

Red and blue lights flashed across the open windows, saving him the need to answer.

“That’s my officer with the EMTs.” Diana stepped out onto the porch. The tightness in Micah’s chest lessened. He’d known at some point his past would return to brand him again, but he never expected it to be so soon. And he never thought there’d be another attack after so many years. The victim had been strangled...just like the case from fifteen years earlier. Collette Verkler, had gotten away. Micah wondered if Collette’s escape and the killer’s fear of getting caught had caused him to go dormant all these years. If so, why return now?

Two EMTs entered the house along with an Amish man and woman who were his closest neighbors. The girl’s parents.

The older woman spotted her daughter. “Esther!” She rushed to her side. “Oh, my child.”

Her father’s concern was etched on his face as he patted his daughter’s shoulder. Like Micah, these people would remember the darkness that had descended on the community in the past. “Hon, my name is Bree Logan. Let us have a look at you, okay.” She knelt in front of Esther who reluctantly agreed.

Micah stepped outside, where Diana was speaking with an officer who appeared to be in his forties. The conversation ended abruptly as he approached.

“EMTs are examining her now,” Micah told them when an awkward silence followed.

“She’s pretty shaken up. I can’t imagine what she went through.” Diana introduced Micah to her officer, Casey Masterson.

“Nice to meet you.” Micah shook Officer Masterson’s hand. He was tall with sandy blond hair he kept short. His intense blue eyes seemed to bore through Micah, as if he knew about his past connection to the Amish women.

The guilt is in your head... Still.

Diana turned to him, gaining his attention. “I want to search your property for any evidence the attacker might have left behind.” She waited for him to respond, those strangely mesmerizing eyes holding his.

“Anything you need.”

She shifted toward Casey. A breath escaped from deep inside Micah as he recalled the interrogation he’d gone through in the past. All he’d wanted to do was help find Tessa. It never occurred to him that he might be a suspect.

“Casey, why don’t you start the canvass without me? I’ll speak with the victim and then join you. Take Kit. Here, use this.” Diana held out the young woman’s prayer kapp , which had fallen off. “Kit can zero in on where she’s been.”

“I’ll dress Kit’s wound first,” the officer said.

“Thanks, Casey.” The man headed for his patrol car with Kit behind him.

“If you’d like, I can assist your officer,” Micah offered. If this attacker was the same person who took Tessa, he wanted to be part of the investigation. He’d reach out to his commander and get him to put pressure on the chief if needed. This was his case as well. And he’d waited many years, along with Tessa’s family, for answers.

Diana zeroed in on him once more, assessing him through cop’s eyes. “We can certainly use the DCI’s help. Our police staff is woefully undermanned.”

Micah had heard about the scandal that plagued the department. Theft. Bribery charges. Blackmail. “I’m at your service.”

Diana nodded. “Why don’t you sit in on the interview?”

He was more of a boots-on-the-ground agent, but hearing about the attack from the young woman might help him understand what Tessa had gone through.

Micah returned to his living room with Diana. The EMTs had finished their exam and were preparing to leave when one saw the gash on the back of Diana’s head.

“Better let us have a look, Chief.”

Diana introduced the EMT as Trevor Rosenberg. “He’s right, you know,” Micah told her.

Diana reluctantly agreed and sat at the kitchen table.

While she was treated, Micah watched the young woman with her parents. Their family had lived next to his farm for generations.

He knew the Stoltzfuses and their three sons. He hadn’t realized they had a daughter.

“All done, Chief.” Trevor closed his bag. “If you experience any dizziness or double vision, get to the hospital immediately.” With a nod Micah’s way, Trevor and Bree left the house.

Diana rose slowly and winced. Micah could tell she was suffering at least one of the symptoms Trevor had mentioned, yet he didn’t point it out. The chief didn’t want or need his concern.

She went over to where the young woman was huddled beside her mother.

Micah introduced her to the parents.

“May we take Esther home, Chief?” Victor Stoltzfus asked, dispensing with social pleasantries.

“Soon. I just need to ask her a few questions if that’s all right?” Diana smiled at the shrinking teen.

“ Jah. I suppose it’s oke ,” Esther said meekly without looking at her.

Bit by bit, the teen’s story unfolded. “I was walking home.” She glanced at her parents as if to reassure them she hadn’t done anything wrong. “I work at the Neuenschwander Diner just outside of Rachel’s Crossing.”

Micah recognized the name of the diner that had been around for as long as he remembered. The diner was now run by three generations of Neuenschwanders.

“We were busy and my shift ran late. It was dark out when I left.” She cast pleading eyes at her father. “I’m sorry. Josuha told me he’d take me home, but I thought it would be oke to walk. It was a nice night.”

Victor patted his daughter’s shoulder awkwardly. “You did nothing wrong.”

“What happened next?” Diana prompted when the girl hesitated.

“A—a car came up behind me,” Esther said, her voice shaking. “It was dark. I couldn’t see the driver.” She told them she thought he planned to turn onto the road Esther had just crossed. “Only he didn’t. Before I knew it, he snatched me up. He tried to stick something in my neck—a needle of some type—but I managed to knock it out of his hand. He grunted at me and then forced me into the trunk.”

Esther’s abductor had tried to use something to knock her out. Thankfully, she’d managed to disarm the threat. If he’d gotten her unconscious, Micah doubted she’d still be with them now.

Fresh tears filled her eyes. She wiped them away. “I was so scared.”

“You never got a good look at this man?” Diana asked, a hint of disappointment in her tone.

Eshter’s bottom lip quivered. “ Nay . When he let me out of the trunk, he’d parked on the side of the road, and he wore a mask covering his face. He grabbed my arm tight and forced me into the woods.” Esther covered her face with her hands. “I thought he would kill me.”

Diana gave the young woman a moment to collect herself. “Did he speak to you at all?”

Esther shook her head. “He never said a word, which was the most frightening. I kept begging him to let me go. He just kept walking. When we reached a certain place deep in the woods, he stopped. There was something in his eyes. Almost as if he enjoyed seeing my fear. That’s when I broke free and ran, but he came after me. Then I heard your dog and later the scuffle.”

“You were close to my house. He must have seen me as a threat and had to get me out of the picture before he went after you. That’s how I got this.” Diana indicated the wound on her head. “I heard something in the woods near my place. When I went to investigate someone hit me from behind.” Her focus returned to Esther. “What happened next?”

The fear on the teen’s face appeared permanently etched there. “I kept running. I was almost at your house,” she said to Micah. “He caught me near the barn. He jerked me around to face him and then... And then...h-he tried to strangle me.” Her voice evaporated into sobs.

“Looks like my place is less than a mile from yours,” Diana told him.

Growing up, they’d been neighbors even though he didn’t realize it. Micah rarely left the community back then. As far as he knew, Diana never visited the Amish settlement.

Diana clasped the young woman’s hand.

Once the interview ended, Diana told the parents they could take Esther home. Victor helped his daughter to her feet. Diana promised to stop by the following morning to check on her. They left with a shaken Esther holding her mother’s hand.

“I can’t believe this is happening again,” Diana said as she watched the family leave in their buggy.

Again? She knew about the case that still haunted most Amish in Rachel’s Crossing?

Micah pretended ignorance. “What do you mean again ?” He kept his expression blank as he waited for an answer.

“I used to live here. My father was the chief of police at the time when there were multiple disappearances over a six-year span. All Amish women. All but one never came home. The one surviving victim said her attacker tried to strangle her.”

His heart plummeted. She was William Fisher’s daughter. That explained why Diana appeared so familiar. Why he’d recognized the name. Her father had been the one who’d interrogated him. William Fisher hadn’t believed Micah’s story about leaving Tessa alone the night she died. He’d all but accused Micah of being involved despite Micah’s insistence he loved Tessa and wouldn’t harm her.

“I remember the time.” Micah’s tone turned bitter. Even after so many years, he couldn’t dispel the feeling that he’d been the one and only suspect. That the chief had wasted valuable resources looking into Micah rather than finding the real killer.

He realized Diana was still watching him closely.

“You lived here at the time. You remember what happened, right?” she asked.

He slowly nodded. “Yes. One of the victims, Tessa Weaver, and I planned to marry. She disappeared along with the others.”

Those startling eyes widened, the only response to his admission. “I remember you now.” The familiar doubts he’d lived with every time he came to the community were written on her face.

“I’m not a killer,” he said softly and stepped closer. Would he be able to convince her of what he hadn’t been able to convince her father or Tessa’s family?

Her uncertainty—the struggle to keep from backing away—showed on her face, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

“I loved Tessa,” he said quietly. “I would never hurt her or anyone else.”

She didn’t look convinced. “You’ll understand that as an officer of the law I can’t take your word for it alone. And our latest victim was found outside your home.”

He lowered his head to hide his frustration. “I realize that, but I was inside when I heard her scream. You saw. It wasn’t me.” Would there ever come a time when he could outlive the stigma of being an official suspect in the disappearances of those Amish women? Even after fifteen years, it still followed him everywhere.

“Why don’t we give Casey a hand?” she said, instead of responding to his assertion of innocence. “Hopefully, he’s come up with something that will give us an idea of who we’re dealing with.”

She didn’t trust him—she needed his help. He couldn’t explain why that hurt. But it did.