There were numerous back roads intersecting Aspen Glen. The man could be anywhere.
He’d knelt to examine the prints when voices carried his way. Noah rose and spun toward the sound. Two people hurried his way, guided by the light of a lantern. He recognized Thomas and Jane Beachey immediately. They must have heard his vehicle.
Not knowing if Rachel’s attacker was working alone, Noah sought to warn the older couple. “Thomas, I need you and Jane to return to your house right away. Lock your doors. I’ll explain later.” Thomas hesitated before gathering Jane close. With another troubled glance behind him, Thomas urged Jane toward the house.
Noah opened the SUV door and climbed in beside Rachel. Even visibly shaken she was still as pretty as he remembered. When he looked at her, all the things he’d once hoped for came to mind. A simple life with her as his wife. Children of their own. Things his father’s interference had robbed them of.
“I know this is hard, but I need to you tell me everything that happened tonight.”
She rubbed her hands down her arms, probably to ward off more than just the chill of the night. Noah cranked the heater up a couple notches while Rachel told him about waking up to find a stranger standing over her. “He had a gun, Noah. He pointed it at my side and forced me to go with him.” She gestured toward her left side. “He said, ‘He has plans for you.’ I have no idea what he meant by that. His face was covered with a ski mask and he had on gloves.”
The attack was planned. Deliberate. Confusing. Why would someone wish to harm either Rachel or Eva? It didn’t add up in his mind.
“We struggled. I managed to rip the mask off, but it was so dark. I couldn’t see anything...except his eyes.” She shuddered visibly. “I will never forget those dark, angry eyes for as long as I live.”
He clasped her hand, and she turned to face him. The extent of what she’d gone through showed in her drawn expression. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and reassure her everything would be okay. Yet he couldn’t lie to her.
On the hill behind him, red-and-blue lights strobed in the starless night. A patrol vehicle, sirens blaring, blasted down Spruce Road. The vehicle slid to a halt when the driver spotted his cruiser in the middle of the road.
“I’ll be right back,” he told her. When she didn’t respond, Noah climbed out and hurried to his colleagues. Aden Scott exited his vehicle first, followed by Deputy Megan Clark.
“Sheriff’s on his way. Ambo is five minutes out. We drove a good way down Aspen Glen, but there was no sign of a vehicle. What do you have here?” Aden pointed to the cruiser where Rachel waited inside.
Noah outlined the few details he knew so far. He shined the light on the ground where retreating footsteps appeared to be heading through the woods the same way they’d come. “I heard a car’s engine start up a few minutes after I spotted Rachel. If it was him, he’s long gone.”
Aden nodded. “Let’s hope not. We’ll follow the footprints and see what we can find.”
Clicking on their flashlights, both Aden and Megan started out.
Noah went back to the vehicle. Rachel stared straight ahead, showing obvious signs of shock. Her shoulders hunched defensively. She’d never looked so vulnerable before. Growing up, Rachel had always been fearless. Seeing her as a victim now just wouldn’t compute with what he knew about her.
He’d give anything to ease her pain, but he had a feeling this was just the beginning.
“There’s an ambulance on the way. They’ll need to examine your injuries.”
Her huge green eyes found him. “I am fine, Noah. I do not need an ambulance.”
“You do,” he insisted. “You have some nasty cuts on your feet. Not to mention those scrapes on your face.” Anger rose to the surface when he spotted what appeared to a flamed impression of a handprint on her cheek.
I think he has Eva... Rachel’s words haunted him, as did her fear.
“Why do you think he took Eva?” he asked because his brain was working overtime searching for answers. “She’s going through her rumspringa, correct? Is it possible the time got away from her and she stayed with a friend?”
Rachel didn’t let him finish. “Nay, Eva told me she would be home by ten and she wouldn’t be late. Not now.”
“Why not?” he asked, curious about her response.
“Because Eva has been training with Hannah Wagler to take over as the community teacher in a few weeks’ time. She loves her students and wanted to get a gut night’s rest to be prepared for them. They are very important to her. She’s missing, Noah. I know she is.” Her answer wiped away the last of his doubts. They’d need to speak with the last person who saw Eva, and soon.
“Tell me what happened yesterday. Did anything unusual take place? What were Eva’s plans for the day?” He couldn’t imagine anything bad happening to the little girl he once knew so well.
Rachel swallowed visibly. “Nothing unusual. Eva and I rode to church service together. It began around nine. Afterward, there was the church meal. I said goodbye to her around three. She planned to attend the youth group singing. Afterward, she was going home with her friend, Anna Lapp. She said she would walk home after spending time with Anna. Eva was excited about the following shool day and only planned to stay at Anna’s a little while.” The words trailed into a sob.
Noah reached for her hand and held it while he digested this new information. The walk from the Lapps’ place would take Eva around half an hour, which meant Eva may have gone missing somewhere between nine fifteen and nine thirty. He checked the time on his phone. More than three hours had passed. Finding Eva quickly was imperative. The first forty-eight hours were critical in a missing persons case.
An ambulance pulled in behind the vehicles, followed by another police cruiser. Sheriff Walker Collins had arrived on scene.
When the sheriff approached, Noah opened his door. Walker leaned in. “I hear there’s been a bit of trouble here tonight?” He introduced himself to Rachel. “EMTs are here. Let’s get you looked at.”
Getting out, Noah circled around to Rachel’s side and opened her door. She stared up at him with a desperate look on her face.
He held out his hand. “Megan and Aden are doing everything they can to find this man. You need to take care of yourself for Eva.” He walked her to the ambulance and waited beside her with Walker while EMT Jake Oliver cleaned and bandaged her feet and applied antibiotic cream to the scrapes on her face. Her attacker had slapped her. Why would the man want to hurt someone as sweet as Rachel? Nothing about what happened tonight made sense.
“You’ll have some bruising and tenderness for a few days,” Jake told her, “but none of your injuries are serious.”
A noise behind them sent both Noah and Walker whirling. Aden and Megan headed their way.
“Did you find my sister?” Rachel asked as soon as they were close.
Aden shook his head. “No, I’m sorry, we didn’t.” He turned to Walker. “The perp parked at the end of the drive. Probably approached without his headlights on to not wake anyone.”
Megan
