caution her to stay back, then felt his own jaw drop when the child launched herself out of the car and into Irene’s arms. Her little arms wound up about the woman’s neck and clung tight. Almost strangling Irene. Her grip looked painful, but Irene didn’t flinch. She held the child securely in her arms, murmuring comforting sounds. The child settled down.
“I guess I’m going to the hospital, after all.” She smiled at the girl. Her eyes were sad. Paul could almost see her thinking. Some mother somewhere was missing her baby. Suddenly, her gaze flashed back up to Paul’s. “Oh, my! I was in my client’s house for almost an hour and I forgot to lock my car. When I got in, I didn’t even look back there. Paul, I think that this baby was from that house, the one where the man who was shooting at me lives. I remember thinking I heard a child cry out when I was there.”
Paul shook his head. Not in disagreement, but in horror. “I wouldn’t be surprised if this sweet little thing was kidnapped and he was shooting to stop you from getting away with her once he realized she was gone. But now I have to see how she got there.”
He stepped back to allow them to move past him to the ambulance.
“I need to call this in, see if we have any reports of missing children from the Amish community.”
“Would Rebecca know?”
Sergeant Miles Olsen had recently gotten engaged, and his future wife’s family was Amish. Rebecca had left the Amish community years ago before she was baptized, allowing her to keep her ties with her family. She was also deaf, and sometimes communication with her family broke down. “I’m not sure. Somehow, I doubt it. And I also need to check with the officers at the scene.”
Paul returned to his car and made a call to the station. As he’d expected, there were no reports of any young Amish children vanishing in the area. Considering the discomfort most Amish felt at the idea of involving the police in their community problems, he wasn’t surprised.
His next call should have been to child services. He hesitated. If there was someone willing to shoot Irene to keep the identity and location of this child secret, he didn’t feel comfortable letting her stay with a regular foster family, who wouldn’t have the means to protect themselves and the other children in their care. No, for the moment, this was still police business.
And that brought another concern to the front of his mind. Irene would be in the hospital, but when she left, would that man still be after her? Things obviously weren’t on the up-and-up, and she had gotten a very clear view of him. Not to mention his house and the vehicles. Would he come after her again?
And what about that sweet little girl? He called the station again. Remembering the girl’s reaction to Trey and himself, he asked for Sergeant Zerosky, fondly known as Sergeant Zee. She picked up, and he sent her over to the hospital to keep watch. He knew she’d protect both Irene and the child.
He pushed the button on his radio again to speak with the officers on the scene.
“There wasn’t much to find where the shooting happened. Some glass. Tire marks,” Sergeant Gavin Jackson reported. “We’re back at the house where the shooter lived. It’s a mess. And Olsen found blood on the floor of the back bedroom. I can’t tell how recent. It’s dry. It’s gonna take us a while longer to process this scene.”
“Okay, this is a possible kidnapping, and maybe even a murder case. I have a child in custody, presumably kept in that house, who was then stashed away in a vehicle. She’s on her way to the hospital right now. While you’re processing the scene, keep your eyes peeled for anything that might help us to identify a small Amish girl. Oh, and Irene says she probably has Down syndrome.”
“Irene? Jace’s sister?”
“Yeah. She was visiting a nearby home. And the child was in her car when she came out—not that Irene noticed at the time, with that maniac chasing after her. We just found the kid about twenty minutes ago. Listen, someone will have to interview the neighbors, too. See what they know about the people at that house.”
“Sure thing, boss. I’ll keep ya posted.”
Paul disconnected. He sat for a minute, musing about the sequences of events. He liked to be able to envision things in his head in order to understand how all the loose pieces fit together.
By the time the tow truck had arrived and pulled the SUV out of the ditch, Jace had appeared. He parked his cruiser behind Paul’s, but kept his lights on. Jace stepped out of his vehicle, then sauntered over to meet Paul, looking like a man without a care in the world. Paul knew better. He could see the tense set of Jace’s shoulders.
“Hey, Paul.” Jace stopped beside him, his eyes grim as he watched his sister’s SUV being towed away, a jagged hole where the back window should have been. “I’m going to go to the hospital to see my sister, then I will drive her back to my mom’s house. She’s got Reenie’s kids.”
Paul smiled. Only Jace could get away with calling Irene “Reenie.”
“She’s fine. She had been starting to refuse treatment—against my better judgment—when we made a little discovery.”
Jace whistled after Paul had finished bringing him up-to-date. “Whoever said life in a small town was dull? And we have no idea where this child came from?”
“None. It’s a mystery. I do want to head to the hospital to get a report on the child’s condition.” And on Irene’s.
Paul drove back toward LaMar Pond. The struggle not to speed was causing his leg to ache with tension. The last thing he needed was to cause another accident on this snowy night, but he was so concerned about Irene that his nerves were taut.
She’d had more than her share of pain in her life. And she might not like it, but if she was in danger, then she’d just have to get used to having him around until she was safe again.
He wouldn’t take no for an answer.
* * *
What kind of person could take another woman’s baby? Irene’s heart was shattered as she struggled to withhold the tears brought on by the child’s fear and sorrow. It wasn’t a hard jump to imagine a mother somewhere, suffering through a nightmare.
Irene held the little girl close as the doctor examined her. She knew the doctor was annoyed that she was getting in his way. She could hear it in his fussy voice and see it as he peered over the tops of his glasses at her. At them. But it made no difference. She had tried to set the child down. The doctors and nurses had tried to coax her away from Irene.
It was no use. The child fought and kicked out any time someone tried to take her from her chosen protector. Which was how it came to be that Irene was allowed to hold her while the doctor examined her. And it was she who had helped the child out of her bloodstained dress. The process was made difficult because the girl wouldn’t completely release Irene. Eventually, it was managed. Irene was out of breath by that time.
“Well, the good news is that the child doesn’t appear to be hurt. She needs some nutritious food, a bath and, I expect, rest.”
Irene nodded. She had already surmised all that. “But the blood? Is any of it hers?”
Please say no.
“No.”
She sagged slightly with relief,
