has happened to Eva?” Kathryn asked with a fearful expression on her face. Rachel could not speak the darkest fears of her heart aloud.
“She didn’t come home last night. We don’t know where she is,” Noah answered for her.
“Go quickly,” Samuel said, facing his wife. “Wake Anna.”
With a worried glance at Rachel, Kathryn hurried away. In the awkward silence that followed, Rachel’s concern for Eva’s safety continued to grow.
Noises above were followed by voices. Anna came swiftly down the stairs with Kathryn at her heels.
“Anna, Eva did not come home last night. What time did she leave here?” Samuel asked his daughter.
Anna’s eyes widened. “I’m not sure. She wanted to be home by ten, and it’s a good walk to her house. She left in plenty of time, though. I cannot believe she didn’t make it home.”
“Did she mention if anything was bothering her lately?” Noah asked. “Was she having a problem with anyone? A boy, perhaps?”
Anna’s troubled gaze shot to Rachel. “She was happy. She talked to a lot of different people at the singing, but there was no special boy. She was so excited about taking over the teaching position soon. We had fun at the singing. When it ended, we came home. I made cocoa, and we talked for a while.” Anna smiled at the memory. “Eva spoke of the lessons she and Hannah planned for the kinner the next day and asked if I wanted to stop by sometime and sit in on the class. Eva knows I want to become a teacher, too, and thought it might be helpful. Once she takes over the position, she plans to speak to the community elders about letting me apprentice.” Tears shone in Anna’s eyes. “Eva was happy and excited about her work. There was nothing wrong.”
“Did anyone pay special attention to her at the social?” While Rachel understood Noah had to ask the question, she couldn’t envision anyone from the community wishing Eva harm.
“No, no one.”
Noah barely hid his disappointment. “We appreciate your help, Anna. I’m sorry to wake you and your family so early. If you remember anything else, please let me know.”
He started to leave, but Anna grasped his arm. “You have to find her, Deputy. Please, she’s my best friend.” Kathryn placed her arms around her weeping daughter’s waist and drew her close.
“We’re going to do our best to bring her home safely,” Noah assured her.
Samuel stepped out on the porch with them. “If we can help in any way, please let us know. Eva is like one of our own,” he told Rachel.
“Denki, Samuel,” Rachel managed through tears. She turned away, trying to hold on for Eva’s sake.
“Do you think it’s possible you or Anna wouldn’t know if Eva was seeing someone?” Noah asked when they were inside the SUV again.
Rachel couldn’t imagine Eva keeping something like that secret. “It’s not possible. Eva and I are close. She tells me everything that is happening in her life. She would not keep something like that to herself.”
The doubt she saw in him hurt. “It wouldn’t be the first time something like this happened. Teenagers keep secrets. It’s part of the age.”
“Perhaps in the Englisch world, but not here amongst the Amish. Eva would not lie to me.”
Without answering, Noah reversed the SUV, spun around and headed down the long drive. Hitting the radio on his shoulder, he spoke to the dispatcher again. “Show us leaving the Lapps’ place, Janine. We’re heading your way.”
“Will do. See you soon.”
Once he reached the end of the drive, he stopped. “You said you think someone was following you. Did anything else happen before the incident the other day? What about with Eva? Did she mention anything strange going on?”
“No, nothing. And Eva never said a word about anything out of the ordinary happening.”
He pulled onto Spruce once more and headed toward Eagle’s Nest. “By the way, where is Beth?”
Rachel leaned against the headrest as exhaustion settled in her limbs. “Mamm left last week to visit her sister and parents in Colorado. Aenti Deborah has not been feeling well for a while. Mamm wanted to spend some time with her to help nurse her to good health.”
Noah smiled over at her, gentleness in his eyes. “I was sorry to hear about your father. He was a good man.”
She ducked her head. “Jah, he was.” Even though four years had passed since her daed died, at times, she still couldn’t believe he was gone.
Her mamm had become worried about him when he didn’t show up for the evening meal. She’d asked Rachel’s husband to check on him, and Daniel had found Daed passed out in the field he’d been working. He’d suffered a heart attack. Her daed never recovered.
Shaking off those sad memories, she tried to focus on Noah’s earlier question. Other than the incident with the car, she had no proof anyone was watching her, only a feeling.
A frown creased Noah’s handsome face. He watched something in the rearview mirror.
She glanced behind them. Headlights. “Is something wrong?”
“I’m not sure. That car came out of nowhere the moment we left the Lapps’ drive. I think they were waiting for us.”
Fear gathered her in its embrace. Someone was following them.
The vehicle came closer. Noah’s bad feeling doubled. The headlights were on bright. What was the driver trying to do? Noah slowed the SUV’s speed, thinking if the incident was innocent, the driver would pass them. Did they not know they were tailgating a sheriff’s deputy?
As he continued to watch his rearview mirror, he noticed something alarming. The car’s front license plate was missing. With the vehicle inches from his bumper, Noah prepared to radio for assistance, when the car rammed the rear of the patrol vehicle.
Noah lurched forward, the seat belt caught hard. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Rachel gripping the armrest for support.
The SUV slipped on the icy road and he struggled to keep it under control.
“What’s happening?” she asked, her voice unsteady and barely audible.
“They’re trying to run us off the road.” The car edged up behind them once more. Noah floored the gas pedal. The SUV fishtailed, and he held on to the wheel with all his might to keep from losing control. The car stayed with him.
“Hold on,” Noah yelled when the car slammed into them again. Before he had time to radio for assistance, the rear tire of the SUV blew. The vehicle spun three hundred and sixty degrees on the ice before heading straight for the snow-covered ditch at full speed.
Noah fought for control and lost. The cruiser hit the snow hard, launched itself through
