Home by dark, p.23
Home by Dark, page 23
Benj sniffed. “Maybe the old septic tank from the house was here. Or they might have had a buried oil tank.”
Rachel wasn’t sure which she’d dislike most on her shoes. She stepped back onto the solid ground of the path. “Well, it looks as if we’ve come up with nothing.”
“I think—”
A gun shattered the silence, swallowing the rest of Benj’s words. Birds lifted in a raucous cloud from the trees.
For a second she was frozen. Then she gave Benj a shove back into the relative shelter of the trees. “Run!”
They pelted back along the path, Rachel’s mind racing faster than her feet. Maybe it had been someone target shooting, not knowing they were there. But another shot exploded, and a branch snapped off the tree some ten feet over their heads.
Her heart jolted. Not an accident, then. Someone shooting at them. She had her evidence that something was going on up here, if only she could survive long enough to tell someone.
They reached the edge of the band of trees and stopped. Rachel pressed a hand against her chest, trying to catch her breath.
Benj grabbed her hand. “He’s behind us,” he whispered urgently. “We can’t stop.”
Her little brother was wiser than she was. They didn’t dare stop, not if the man was following them. He’d been somewhere across the field, so it would take him time to reach this spot. They had to cover the exposed ground around the barn before he was in position to have a clear shot at them.
“We’ve got to get the barn between us and him,” she said, voice urgent. “Then head down through the way we came. You know it better than I do—I’ll follow you.” She stopped any argument with a push.
Benj took off and she followed, trying to stay between him and the person with the gun. Benj was only fourteen—she was responsible for him. She had to keep him safe. If something happened to him, she could never forgive herself.
And if something happened to her, then she had let Mandy down in the most final way possible.
Best not to think. Just mutter silent prayers and run as fast as she could.
They reached the far side of the barn without any more shots being fired and stopped for breath. She bent over, winded, but Benj seemed all right. He pointed silently toward the woods. That must be the way they’d come up.
Ready? He mouthed the word, her little brother growing into a man before her eyes.
She nodded, and they took off again. Any hope she might have cherished that the shooter had given up was destroyed when the gun cracked again, a bullet thudding into a tree trunk above their heads.
Was that deliberate? Was he just trying to scare them? She wasn’t foolish enough to try and find out.
They ripped through the thicket they’d bypassed coming up, the brambles tearing at their clothes. Something stung Rachel’s cheek, and she realized one of the brambles had opened a scratch there, but it was the least of her worries as another shot sounded, so close its echoes seemed to surround them. They weren’t going to make it, he could pick them off no matter how bad a shot he was—
Then someone was shouting, an angry male voice sending its own echoes through the woods. Grabbing Benj’s arm, she veered in the direction of the voice. Someone was there, someone shouting at the shooter, a witness, a savior—
They slid down an embankment, stumbling and falling, and she saw who it was—Franklin Sitler, his shock of white hair seeming to stand straight up, shaking his cane toward the woods.
“Stop that shooting, I say! You’re on private land, I’ll have the law on you! Stop it!”
Silence. Whoever the shooter was, he apparently didn’t want to tangle with Sitler.
Gene? She allowed herself to try putting a name to the man. Maybe. But she’d never had so much as a glimpse of him, and there had been no evidence of anything drug-related anywhere near the barn. She could hardly accuse him without evidence.
Sitler came hurrying toward them, leaning heavily on his cane. “You all right? Here, boy, help your sister up. She’s hurt.”
“I’m all right,” Rachel said quickly, wiping the blood from her cheek. “He didn’t hit us.”
“Ignorant trespassers,” he muttered, and Rachel saw to her relief that he wasn’t talking about her and Benj. “Think they can go target-shooting in anyone’s woods. Think they’re big deals because they have a gun when they don’t know the first thing about shooting. You sure you’re all right?”
Rachel nodded. “We’re fine. Just a bit shaken.”
“Well, I should think you would be after a scare like that.” He gave her a surprisingly gentle look. “You go on home and take care of those scratches. Don’t you worry. I’ll report those idiots to the police. You just tend to yourself.” He patted her shoulder somewhat awkwardly. “Sorry this happened. I’m just glad your little girl wasn’t with you. Wouldn’t want her thinking this isn’t a safe place.”
She nodded. Sitler was feeling responsible, apparently because the person shooting was on his land.
How would he feel if it turned out to be his grandson? She couldn’t possibly say anything about that to him. Not even to the police without evidence, but surely even the township police knew something of Gene’s background. If not...
Reaction was setting in. She realized she was shaking, and both Benj and Sitler were looking at her with some concern. “I’ll be fine,” she said, answering their expressions. “I guess I had better go home.”
Home. At this moment, she was relieved to know that Mandy was safely at the farm.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
BENJ TOOK RACHEL’S arm as they went into the house, supporting her as carefully as if she were a very old woman. Now that she thought of it, that was how she felt.
Even if the gunman had only intended to frighten them, a ricocheting bullet could go anywhere. She knew that well enough from the lectures Daad had given them every year when deer-hunting season started. A hunter himself, he didn’t think too highly of the outsiders who flooded the county on Thanksgiving weekend, some of them so eager to bag their first buck that they forgot the simplest safeguards.
She straightened, finding the energy to smile at her brother as they reached the kitchen. “You should go on home now, Benj. I’ll just sit here and have a cup of tea before I have to talk to Chief Burkhalter.”
Worry didn’t set easily on his young face. “I should maybe stay with you, ja?”
She set the kettle on the stove, using the excuse to turn away from his concerned gaze. “If you’re here, you’d have to talk to the chief as well, and Daad wouldn’t like that. Best to let me deal with it.”
She turned back to him, seeing that her words had hit home. But then he shook his head.
“I should stay. I should take care of you.”
Touched, she put her palm on his cheek, cradling it for a moment. “You’ve already done that, Benj. I’ll never forget how strong and brave you were when we were in danger. But you’d better let me handle the police. We don’t want to worry Daad and Mamm more than necessary, right?”
He nodded, looking as if he were still not completely convinced. “I’ll go. But if you need me, I will komm.”
“I know. Go now, schnell.” Rachel gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Everything will be all right.”
Once Benj had left, she thought how foolish those words sounded. How could she possibly guarantee that anything would be all right? Her mind skipped from her father, who would surely be upset that she’d led Benj into danger, to Colin, who’d be equally upset that she’d taken action without him.
The kettle whistled, and she lifted it off the burner and poured the steaming water into the mug, the familiar action seeming to steady her.
Maybe she’d best clean herself up first. She didn’t have any doubt that Chief Burkhalter would be showing up at her door. He wouldn’t ignore a summons from Franklin Sitler, that was certain.
She’d barely had time to wash the blood and dirt from her face and hands before she heard heavy footsteps followed by a knock on the door. The chief had come even more quickly than she’d imagined.
She swung the door open.
“Rachel.” Chief Burkhalter nodded, looking faintly harassed and redder than usual in the face. “Franklin Sitler tells me you’ve had some trouble with trespassers up in his woods. You okay?”
She gestured for him to come in and led the way to the front parlor. “I’m fine.” Her hand went to her cheek automatically. “Just some scrapes and bruises from coming down the hill too fast.”
“Well, it’s probably a good thing you did.” Burkhalter sat on the tapestry-covered love seat, removing his uniform cap and balancing it on his lap. “Franklin was all for charging up into the woods and chasing those fools off himself, but I got him calmed down.”
She collapsed into the corner of the sofa. “I’m glad he listened to you. He certainly shouldn’t be wandering up into the woods today.” Or any other day, but she wouldn’t want the job of telling him what he could and couldn’t do.
“Right. Folks that would go target shooting on someone else’s property most likely don’t have sense enough to know how far a bullet can carry. Like I always told my boys, you don’t go shooting a gun until you know exactly what you’re going to hit.”
So Chief Burkhalter had already opted for the easiest explanation. She couldn’t say she was surprised.
“Yes, that’s what my daad always told us kids when he took us hunting.”
“Your father’s a sensible man. Not one to let his kids go off into the woods alone with a gun.” He shook his head, his color fading to its usual ruddy hue. “I told Sitler I’d investigate, and naturally that’s what I’ll do. But it’s mighty hard even to tell where someone was shooting, the way the sound echoes in these hills.”
In other words, he wouldn’t do more than take a cursory look around. “It seemed to me—” she began, but stopped when the front door flew open. Colin charged inside, not bothering to knock.
“Colin.” Chief Burkhalter almost sounded as if he’d been expecting him. “You can come in and sit down, but don’t go upsetting Rachel. She’s had enough for one day, I expect.”
Colin ignored him, striding into the room, his eyes never leaving Rachel’s face. Whatever he saw there must have satisfied him, because he sat down next to her on the sofa, leaving a cautious couple of inches between them.
“Now, then, Rachel, you were saying it seemed to you...” Burkhalter paused, inviting her to finish her statement.
“I thought that the person with the gun was above us on the hill.” She chose her words carefully. “As if he wanted to chase us away.”
Burkhalter frowned. “Sitler said one of your brothers was with you. What did he make of it?”
“Benjamin, the youngest. He thought the same as I did. We ran down toward the road as quickly as we could, afraid we’d be hit.”
“Benjamin’s about fourteen, right?”
She nodded.
“Well, I’m sure the two of you felt as if the shooter was after you, but most likely he didn’t know you were there at all.” He smiled indulgently. “What were you doing up there, anyway? Looking to pick berries, were you?”
For an instant she was tempted to say that was just what they were doing, if only to get out of this increasingly awkward conversation.
“Not exactly,” she said, trying to find the words that would be true without causing trouble for her family, who certainly wouldn’t welcome a visit from the police. “Benj had been frightened by someone chasing him near the old barn one evening a week or so ago,” she said carefully. “I thought if we went up in daylight and had a look around, we might see some reason for it.”
Burkhalter raised his eyebrows. “Seems like a funny thing to do. Did you find anything?”
She could sense a sharpening of Colin’s already intense focus. “No. Nothing.”
“Well, then...” Burkhalter planted his hands on his knees and got to his feet. “I’ll go up and have a look around myself. If I find anything that leads me to the person who was shooting up there, you can trust me to put the fear of God into them. I don’t see that there’s much else I can do.”
“What about the two Amish boys who have gone missing?” Colin’s voice rasped with impatience. “Can you do anything about them?”
Burkhalter looked blank for a moment. “You mean Will Esch and that buddy of his? I heard they’d run off, but their folks haven’t asked me to do anything about it. Shoot, if I started an investigation every time a teenager decided to have some fun, I wouldn’t get anything else done. What do they have to do with somebody target shooting up in Sitler’s woods?”
“They were with Benj when someone chased them away from that barn.”
Colin was saying more than she would have—more than either her parents or the parents of the other boys would want. But there was nothing she could do to stop him.
Burkhalter’s face reddened. “If and when I get a complaint from one of those boys or their parents, I’ll look into it. In the meantime, just you do your job and let me do mine.”
Rachel could almost see the tart response that sprang to Colin’s lips, and she rose hurriedly to cut him off. “Thank you for your concern, Chief Burkhalter. I appreciate it, and I’m sure Mr. Sitler does, as well.” It certainly couldn’t do any harm to invoke Franklin Sitler’s name again.
Burkhalter grunted something that might have been an acknowledgement. With another glare for Colin, he stalked out.
* * *
BURKHALTER’S REACTION HAD been just about what Colin expected, but he’d had to give it a try. He’d been heading back to the office when he’d seen the police car in front of Rachel’s place, and his reaction didn’t bear thinking about.
Colin managed to contain himself until he heard the police car pull away. Then he shot off the sofa, propelled by a mix of anxiety, anger and protectiveness that he didn’t care to look at too closely.
“What were you thinking?” It took an effort to keep from shouting. “Why would you go up there? Didn’t I tell you I’d deal with it?” He tried to grasp her wrists but she eluded him, her face just as furious as his probably was.
“I had to answer Chief Burkhalter’s questions, but I don’t have to answer yours. If you’ve come here to bully me, you can just go away again.”
The words were said defiantly, but he heard the faint tremor in Rachel’s voice, and the deep scratch on her cheek seemed to slice at his heart.
Rachel was teetering on the edge of her control, and he couldn’t let himself push her over. He took a deep breath, reaching for control.
“Sorry.” His throat nearly closed on the word, and he reached out to touch her cheek gently. To his surprise, she didn’t pull away. “That looks nasty. Maybe you should have it checked.”
Her lips trembled for an instant, as if the gentleness of his response had gotten under her guard. “It’s nothing. Just a scratch. I think we must have blundered into every blackberry bramble on the side of the hill trying to get away.”
He kneeled down in order to take her hands in both of his, and again she didn’t try to evade him. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“Just a few bruises.” She tried to smile. “You should see the other guy. Isn’t that what the saying is? Only we never did see him. Again.”
He led her to the sofa, pushing her down gently. There were more questions he had to ask, but Rachel needed a little comforting first.
“I’ll get some ice to put on that cheek. Maybe it will help keep it from bruising.” He strode toward the kitchen before she could argue.
By the time he returned with the ice pack he’d found in the freezer and wrapped in a dish towel, she was leaning back, eyes closed, her face drained. He sat down next to her and pressed the ice pack lightly against her cheek.
“How’s that?”
“Good.” She opened her eyes, surveying him with what seemed like caution. “Before you say it, I will. I should never have taken Benj up there.”
“Actually, I was thinking you shouldn’t have taken yourself.” He kept his tone mild. “Do you feel like telling me about it? The real thing, not the expurgated version you told Burkhalter.”
She was silent for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts. Or her strength.
“The more I thought about the possibility that Gene was involved with drugs, the more convinced I became that something had to be going on up there,” she said, her voice drained, the words coming out with an effort. “I know we didn’t see any signs when we were there, but I wanted to look again.”
She seemed to be waiting for a sharp response to that, but he was determined not to give her an excuse to shut him out.
“How did Benj get into this expedition?”
Rachel repositioned the ice pack a little more firmly against her cheek. “I asked him if he’d heard any rumors about Gene and drugs. Sometimes teenagers know more about things like that than anyone, don’t they?”
