Amish Country Undercover Page 9

  Jack had a decision to make on whether he would come clean with her about his past. If he didn’t, there was no telling what else Hank would say. Or make up.

  “You are mistaken,” Jack informed the sheriff. “I was never convicted of any wrongdoing.”

  “In the eyes of your community you were.” Hank turned his back on Jack and faced Grace. “Can we talk privately? I have a lot you need to know.”

  She folded her arms in a protective gesture, her fingers gripping the sleeves of her light blue dress.

  Jack fought the urge to reach for her. She looked unsure of everything right now. He was certain all she wanted to do was go inside and be with her father after such a traumatic day. When her questioning gaze fell on him, Jack took a step up the stairs to be closer to her. “You do what you have to, but I would appreciate a chance to defend myself,” he said.

  Grace shook her head. “Stay.” To Hank, she said, “Anything you need to tell me, you can say in front of Jack.”

  “I really don’t think that’s wise,” the sheriff replied. “You need to trust me. I know what’s best for y—”

  “Wrong,” she said, cutting him off. “I know what’s best for me.”

  Jack bit back a smile, and felt his chest swell in appreciation of Grace’s strong nature.

  Hank cleared his throat and nodded once. “I understand. Have it your way, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” His expression darkened. “This man was accused of trafficking guns across state lines.”

  Grace shot Jack a surprised look. But it was her ensuing frown that cut him to the quick. She believed the worst of him. But could he fault her? He’d come into her life to arrest her. He carried a gun even though she’d voiced her disdain. She didn’t know him enough to listen to his side. His own family had known him their whole lives, and none of them had defended him. How could he expect anything more from Grace?

  “It was one gun,” Jack said in his own defense. “Not that the number of weapons matters. It was still a crime. However, the charges were dropped, and I was able to go free. There’s more to the story, if you’re interested in hearing it.”

  “I’m not,” Hank said. “All I’m interested in is protecting this unsuspecting family from someone who means them harm.”

  “That’s not me,” Jack said. He considered blowing his cover and coming clean with the lawman. He supposed eventually he would have to, when arrests were made, but until there were better leads to the criminals, Jack needed to keep his profession secret. “I care about this family and am here to help.”

  “I’ve been told your family ousted you from the community eight years ago. Whether charges were dropped or not. So where have you been all this time?”

  Jack held back from sharing about his time in the police academy, followed by his employment with the government. He’d been given a second chance, and guarded his law enforcement cases very seriously. “After I left home, I found a new community to be a part of. People who believed in me and shared my desire for justice to be served. I want to offer that to Benjamin and Grace. It’s why I came when I heard about the stolen horses.”

  “Convenient, I’d say.” Sheriff Maddox pursed his lips in speculation. “And a little too heroic. How do I know you didn’t come to steal them yourself?”

  “I’m here all the time. Right, Grace?” Jack asked the conflicted young woman. Her eyes were closed, and he knew he couldn’t count on her to back him, even though it wasn’t a lie. “Well, it doesn’t matter. It’s the tru—”

  “Ya.” She cut in, her shoulders pushed back now and her head held high. “Jack hasn’t left here since the night he arrived. Woke me up from a sound sleep when I was supposed to be guarding the horses. If he came to take them, he could have done so right away. Instead, he’s helping me figure out who is stealing them.”

  “Helping you find the thief?” Hank scoffed. “He’s an all-around helpful guy. But isn’t that like the fox guarding the henhouse?” He eyed Jack as if to sum him up.

  “Jack is not a thief, Sheriff. I can promise you that,” Grace said firmly.

  He turned to stare at her. “If you say so, Grace. But don’t say you haven’t been warned. Whether he’s a criminal or not, you are housing someone with questionable decision-making skills.”

  “I’ll take your warning to heart,” Grace said. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we really need to attend to Daed.”

  Hank moved to the stairs. “I’ll be on my way, but from now on, keep a closer watch on your father. He’s getting worse, Grace, and I won’t be able to hide your secret much longer. Bishop Bontrager is growing more and more concerned.”

  Grace’s face blanched instantly. Jack watched her swallow hard as panic set in. “The bishop has come to you? He would never unless—”

  “Not the bishop directly, but someone in the community did.”

  “Who?”

  Hank frowned. “Now, Grace, don’t put me in the middle. I’ve honored your request to keep your Mamm’s cause of death and Benjamin’s illness private. Allow me to do the same for others.”

  Grace sighed, then nodded. “Of course, Sheriff. Forgive me. I only ask because I do believe whoever stole the horses may be someone in the community wanting to take my father’s position.”

  “I see. And that may be the case, so if I think you may be correct, I’ll break the confidence, all right?”

  Grace gave the sheriff a slight smile. “I appreciate that, denki.”

  Sheriff Maddox tipped his hat to Grace, but ignored Jack completely as he trounced down the stairs. He made his way to his cruiser and drove off.

  Even after his car disappeared from view, Grace remained silent. Jack stood in a state of expectancy, waiting for her to determine his place in her life. The last time he’d done so, it was to await the decision of the elders after his Amish hearing. The bishop had responded with his walking papers. Would Grace respond the same?

  “If you would rather I continue my investigation from afar, I would understand,” he said.

  Grace’s eyelashes fluttered as she shook her head. “Don’t be silly. I’m sure whatever happened in your community has a perfectly valid explanation, or you wouldn’t be an FBI agent today.”

  Jack shrugged. “True enough.” Even though he’d rather forget what had happened eight years ago, he wasted no time in telling her. “I helped an English girl escape an abusive relationship one night. She had me grab her father’s gun before we left. She took it with her, but my fingerprints were on the weapon. Unfortunately for her and for me, she went back to the boyfriend. He took the gun and used it to rob a convenience store. With my prints on the gun I was framed for the crime. But as I said, the truth came out, and all charges were dropped. I was nowhere near the store that night, but her boyfriend dressed as an Amish man and set me up in retaliation. Still, my part in helping her leave with the gun was inexcusable to the Amish.”

  Grace frowned. “Yes, well, I can see how possessing a gun would be. Even if it wasn’t yours. It’s why I left my daed’s gun in the closet. It’s plain wrong.”

  Jack wished she would forgive herself for wanting to protect herself, but as long as she continued to allow him to protect her, he was satisfied. “I thought I was helping this girl, if that matters to you.”

  She lowered her chin and met his gaze from the stair above him. A serene expression softened her blue-green eyes, one that made Jack think maybe his innocence did matter to her. The idea nearly made him take the step up, to be closer to her.

  No, he told himself, he was just being silly.

  He cleared his throat and refocused on what really mattered. Catching a thief. “I need to call Nic to come get the horse,” he said. “You should go in and tend to your father. He needs you.”

  Grace nodded and turned toward the door. With her hand on the knob, she paused and looked over her shoulder. Only half her face was vi
sible beyond the side of her white kapp, but she tilted her head toward him as she said, “By the way, about you helping the girl escape... It does matter...to me.”

  The next moment, she slipped inside and closed the door with a soft click.

  Jack took in a deep breath that filled his chest with a feeling he hadn’t had in a long time. As he made his way back to the horse trailer, he wrestled with an astounding realization that he never thought possible for himself.

  Grace.

  She had given him grace.

  * * *

  Grace sat at the table with Benjamin. Together they continued shucking the remaining sweet corn. When Grace grabbed her fourth ear, she smiled at how her daed was so meticulous with each strand of wispy silk. He was still on his first ear, and at this rate, the corn would go bad before she was able to preserve the kernels in jars. She finished shucking her ear and placed it on the heaping pyramid.

  “How ever did you manage to do all these today?” she asked. “Especially with going into town.” Grace withheld criticizing his slow speed, but couldn’t help taking notice of it.

  “That man helped me with the load,” Benjamin replied, his head bent low over the corn as he inspected it.

  “Man? Which man?” Grace asked. “Do you mean Sheriff Maddox? The sheriff wasn’t here, Daed. He found you in town. You did all the work.”

  “I know. I know!” he shouted in frustration, a new behavior for him that stole away more of her hope for his recovery. Slowly, he brought the ear to the perfect triangle of shucked corn. He placed it on top, but in the wrong direction. He pushed it down, trying to keep it in place, but when Grace jumped to her feet to help him right it, she was too late.

  Corn began to roll down the sides of the pyramid faster than she could stop them. They tumbled over the table like a rumbling waterfall. Grace gave up the rescue attempt and let them go, instead starting to pick fallen ones up from the floor.

  “Here, Daed. You can stack them again if you’d like. You did such a good job the first time. I’m sorry they rolled off.” She placed a few ears on the table at a time but stopped when she noticed he wasn’t piling them again. In fact, he seemed confused as to what to do with them. Grace grabbed a few and lined them up to show him. “Like this, Daed. Put them in a line.” She did the first row. “Now you do the next row.”

  Benjamin squinted up at her, and she knew he wasn’t placing her at the moment.

  “I’m Grace. Your daughter.” She sat down and forced a smile on her face. No matter how many times these moments occurred, they still sneaked up on her and hurt just as badly. “Go ahead. You try stacking them,” she suggested, but his attempts failed each time. She questioned how he could have forgotten how when he had just piled them so perfectly.

  Unless he hadn’t piled them.

  Grace shook the thought away as ferhoodled. No man had been here with him. It was his confused mind that made him say that. The sheriff said he had found Benjamin walking alone downtown. No, he had piled these ears fine only a few hours ago.

  His dementia was progressing.

  Grace was heartbroken at the thought. The doctor had said it would, but he didn’t mention it would be this fast. Hank was right. She couldn’t leave him alone any longer. He needed to stay with her.

  She stacked the next row. “Thank you for your help, Daed. You worked hard today. And so fast.”

  Grace paused as an uneasy feeling overcame her once again. He’d worked too fast, she thought. He couldn’t have shucked all the corn by himself.

  But who could have helped him?

  And if someone had been here, why did they let her daed leave and wander into town alone? Or had they taken him there?

  Grace struggled to wrap her mind around the idea, just as her father struggled with stacking the corn. Until the kitchen door banged open, startling her from her thoughts. She jumped up and dropped the corn she was holding to the floor, before realizing Jack stood before her.

  “Ach, it’s only you,” she said, catching her breath.

  “Are you all right?” he asked in a rush, studying her from her head to her toes as he hurried forward. He looked to her daed. “Is Benjamin?”

  Grace ran her eyes over the scattered ears of corn, but the mess wasn’t the problem. It was the image of the perfect pile earlier that sent a shiver up her spine. “Someone’s been here. Someone was with Daed while we were gone.”

  Grace expected Jack to laugh at her notion, but instead, he gave a firm nod.

  “Ya,” he said, and swallowed hard. “And they got the horse.”

  TEN

  Jack stood near the front door, waiting for his supervisor to arrive. “Nic should be here any minute.” He peered out the side window with his gun in his hand. “Maybe you should take your father upstairs.”

  “How do you know they’re still here?” Grace asked. She stood at the table with a bucket filled with corn. “If they have the horse wouldn’t they just leave?”

  Jack couldn’t believe he had lost the animal after being so careful to keep an eye on him. But right now, losing the thoroughbred was the least of his worries. Grace and Benjamin could have been harmed while under his care. Jack felt sick to his stomach at the thought of how close this person had gotten to them. Was it the same young man who had shot at him? Jack hoped the boy would see the light before it was too late for him. Regardless, whoever it was had been in the house with Benjamin. He had most likely taken him to town and left him there as a message: Next time he might not leave Benjamin or Grace alive.

  “No, Grace. They know we are onto them. Nic will be here soon as my backup. I know now this is not a job I can do alone. Benjamin needs protection and I can’t give him that while hunting this person or people down.”

  “I’m not leaving here,” Grace said firmly. “This is the only home I’ve ever known. I have refused to give it up for anybody, and I will not give it up for these thieves.” She folded her arms in front of her.

  Once again, Jack was reminded of how strong and brave this Amish woman was. Unfortunately, she did not stand a chance against the operation going down around her. “This is not Leroy or Bishop Bontrager we’re dealing with,” he said. “If these thugs want you gone, you will be taken out.”

  “Then they must think they can use me, if I’m still here.”

  “Perhaps you’re right.” Jack gave her words consideration. He would have to wait until Nic arrived to decide his next steps. “We can plan another trip to the track to purchase another horse. But that will be up to my supervisor to decide. We will have to bring your father with us, because I am not leaving him alone again.”

  “I’m not, either.” She gazed at her daed and frowned. Benjamin sat at the table, still shucking the same corn he’d had in his hand when Jack came in the house. Jack hoped he was oblivious to the danger around him. He would allow this man the blissful ignorance instead of the fear.

  Grace looked back at him with a determined tilt to her jaw. “Thank you, Jack, for considering my daed’s safety.”

  The sound of crunching gravel in the distance pulled their attention away from Benjamin. Someone was here. Jack waved his hand for Grace to take her father up the stairs. He expected her to follow his orders.

  She did not.

  With a frustrated sigh, he said, “At least stay low.” Jack peered out the window and saw an Amish buggy drawing near. At first he relaxed, but quickly realized he needed to consider all possibilities. Whoever was behind this operation could very well be an Amish person gone rogue.

  The buggy pulled up to the side of the house and came to a stop. Jack held his breath as he waited to see who would step out. The setting sun blinded his view through the windshield, and he squinted to try to see through the glass. A few moments later the small door opened, and the hem of a purple dress appeared as a black boot stepped off the buggy.

  “It’s an Ami
sh woman,” he said over his shoulder. “Is it someone you know?”

  Grace rushed forward to cut in front of Jack and peer out the window. “I’ve never seen that person in my life, but that’s not unusual. We sell horses. Amish people come from many communities to place orders. That’s certain sure why she’s here.” Grace reached for the doorknob, but Jack shot out a hand and held the door closed.

  Grace startled at his move. “It’s an Amish woman. I have to answer.”

  Jack held his gun at the ready. “I’ll stand right behind the door. Don’t open it all the way. Just enough to welcome her and find out what she wants.”

  At Grace’s nod of compliance, he stepped back so as to remain hidden with his gun drawn. The Amish woman wouldn’t understand why he had a weapon out—and he wasn’t putting it away. Not when the horse thief could still be out there.

  Her first step on the wooden porch galvanized his focus, and he tightened his grip on the gun, his trigger finger itching. Then he slowly let the breath out of his lungs and whispered, “Now,” giving Grace the nod to open the door to their visitor.

  She pulled the door in, saying, “Hallo, gut day. How can I help you?”

  “Hallo,” a kind woman’s voice replied. Kind, but familiar. Jack tried to place it. He thought he knew it, but he had to be wrong. It couldn’t be, could it? “I’m here about a horse,” she continued, this time losing the Amish dialect.

  Instantly, Jack recognized the speaker and stepped around the door to confirm what he thought.

  “I don’t believe it,” he said, as he searched the face with a white kapp surrounding it.

  A smile grew on the visitor’s face as she looked him up and down. “I could say the same thing.” She glanced to her left and to her right. “Are you going to let me in or keep me a sitting duck out here?” she whispered.

  Jack placed a hand on Grace’s shoulder. “She’s safe. It’s my supervisor, Nic Harrington.”

  Grace stepped back and opened the door wider. “Nic?” she said.