In Plain View (Amish Safe House, Book 2) (12 page)

“
It
means it’s inconclusive right now, and unless he can make several
more matches, the print is as good as
useless.”

Kate rose to her feet,
prompting Ryan to follow. “I need to get on with the farm chores.
If you’d like to keep me company, you’re more than welcome
to.”

Ryan nodded in
agreement and followed her down the steps. Kate scooped up a basket
from the table before they left.

Kate walked over to
the chickens, and checked their water supply. She looked at the
animals and smiled. “Hey guys, are you ready for some treats?” She
dumped a handful of corn into their yard and watched as they dug
through the hay for the delicious bonus to their
meal.

Ryan watched her with
a smile. “You really love those things, don’t you?”

“
The
chickens?”

“
No.
I meant the animals in general. I can tell you’ve grown up around
livestock most of your life.”

Kate was unable to
suppress a giggle. If only he knew the truth.

“
It’s
somewhat of an endearing quality,” Ryan
said.

“
Somewhat?” Kate echoed.

Ryan laughed, and at
that moment, their eyes met. A warmth engulfed her as she studied
his eyes. Suddenly, his phone rang, interrupting the tender
moment.

“
Hello? Yes, this is the detective on the vigilante
investigation. Hey, Steve.”

Kate listened intently
to Ryan’s side of the phone call.

“
So,
did you end up getting a hit on that print?” Several moments passed
before he spoke again. “Are you sure? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Ryan’s expression dimmed, and he looked back at Kate. His eyes
seemed to pierce into her. He turned away and continued his
conversation. “Make sure you save that print. If anything happens
to it, I am holding you directly responsible.” After a few more
seconds, the phone call ended, and Ryan turned
around.

“
So?”
Kate asked. “What did he say?”

Ryan slowly looked at
her and spoke softly. “There weren’t enough matches for the
fingerprint to be admissible, so I just asked him to secure the
print in case it can be used as a secondary identifier in case we
hear from this vigilante again. Let’s just hope this man is really
on our side if he decides to stick his head out into the world
again.”

Kate smiled. “You
know, you should be thanking the man, instead of being so
concerned. He did help you take down one of the biggest crime
bosses around, didn’t he?”

Ryan smiled. “I guess
he did. Looks like I have a guardian angel watching over me. First
the tips that led us there, and then the guy was gift wrapped,
waiting for me.” Ryan laughed. “You know, I never believed in
angels until you moved into this farm.”

Matthew 28:20.
Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And
behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Chapter
16
.

Kate left her small cottage in the early
morning. There were droplets of dew on the grass, reflecting the
orange light of dawn. Her breath slid visibly out of her, hanging
in a white cloud in front of her lips before fading away into
nothingness. She was dressed in an Amish dress, and had a shawl
wrapped around her shoulders. So it was done, the crime syndicate
had been dismantled in town, and everything should be going back to
normal.

But still, Kate felt on tenterhooks. She had
woken earlier than usual, her heart racing. She needed closure of
some sort, and she thought she knew just where she needed to go for
that. And so she started walking, moving to the road and making her
way to her destination, just as others were beginning to rise from
their beds.

She went toward the Kauffman pond where she
often went to think and contemplate, and in recent times, to pray.
Kate climbed carefully over the fence that separated the field from
the road, and then stepped lightly through the long grass, and
across the soft dirt.

At the pond, Kate paused, looking at the
beauty of the water and the long green grass that grew along its
edge, and the brown reeds that were growing at random within
them.

A bullfrog croaked, a long low sound in the
morning, like a sad song. A few dragonflies were up early, darting
here and there over the surface of the water. A chill breeze blew,
sending the tips of the reeds and grass bobbing back and forth, and
slow ripples moving across the top of the water, forcing the six or
so lily pads that called the pond home along one side of the pond,
near the muddy bank.

Kate folded her arms over her chest and
clutched her shoulders, trying to stay warm, but failing. Still,
this was where she needed to be, and she closed her eyes and
listened to the sounds of the pond while she reflected on what had
happened the last month or so.

Kate thought about the bad guys of course,
and she knew that was a simplistic way to think of them, merely as
bad guys, but she couldn’t help it. That’s what they were. She had
always thought of them like that, even back in WITSEC.

Back in WITSEC. It was strange to think like
that. It made it sound as though she wasn’t ever going to go back.
It sounded like WITSEC was her past. But she knew that wasn’t true.
She would be able to leave the Amish community some day.

And thinking of leaving brought a new pang
of pain to her heart. She had really come to love the people she
had gotten to know in the community. They had all made her feel
like family, had gone out of their way to do so. And the idea of
leaving really did make her sad.

Kate just happened to turn and look back to
the road, and she was surprised to see a police cruiser parked
there near the fence, and then in the field halfway between the
pond and the road, and coming closer with every step, was Ryan.

She wondered what the cop was doing out
here. She turned fully and waited for him to reach her, unable to
hide a smile as he finally did.

“Kate,” he said, nodding a bit.

“Officer.”

“Call me Ryan; you know that.”

“Not many people get to be called Officer.
Don’t you prefer it?” she asked in teasing tone.

Ryan laughed and shook his head. “Not
really. Not from my friends.”

“I’m glad to know you think we’re friends,”
Kate said.

“Aren’t we?” Ryan asked.

“Of course we are,” Kate said. She decided
to change the subject. They were getting a little too close to
flirting for her taste, and there was nothing she could do about it
as long as she was posing as an Amish woman. “You’re far from home,
aren’t you?”

Ryan laughed and shrugged. “I was coming to
see Isaac, and you, and a few others,” he said. “I didn’t know you
would be out here, though; I almost drove right by you.”

Kate nodded. “I come down to the pond to
think and pray,” she said.

Ryan smiled. “I like to have time to myself
to think and pray,” he said, “after I wrap up a case. It’s
therapeutic.”

Kate nodded. “It is. So what did you want to
tell us?”

“I told you everything yesterday, but I
wanted to see if Isaac and Beth had any questions.”

“Isaac and Beth will like that.”

“Can I ask you something?” Ryan asked, his
face turning stern, and Kate knew they were about to get back into
the territory she was trying to avoid, but maybe with them, there
just wasn’t the option to avoid it.

“Yes,” Kate said, her stomach clenched.

“Have you thought any more about leaving the
community? The Amish community?”

Kate looked at the young man. He looked back
at her, and there was no question there was a strong attraction
between them, one they both felt, and one on which they both wanted
to act. And yet they couldn’t date, not while Kate was Amish, even
if she wasn’t really Amish.

Kate smiled and nodded her head. “I have,”
she said.

“And?”

“I will leave.”

Ryan’s face crinkled into a thousand smiles.
“When?”

Kate smiled again and reached out, placing
her hand on the cop’s arm. “I don’t know. When I can. When I’m
ready.”

Ryan nodded. “Well, when you do, would you
like to go to dinner with me?”

Kate knew she was smiling too much, but
another smile came, and she didn’t stop it. She nodded. “Yes,” she
said.

“Great.” Ryan turned to face the pond, and
Kate turned as well. They stood like that for a long while,
watching the morning sun continue to rise over the horizon,
brightening the day as it did so. It brought more warmth too, and
as it warmed up, their breath wasn’t visible anymore, and Kate
didn’t need the shawl. She pulled it from her shoulders and folded
it over her arm.

The bullfrog made an appearance, hopping out
from under a clump of the long grass and sunning himself on the
muddy bank. He croaked loudly, and when Ryan took a step toward
him, he leaped away, flinging himself into the pond water. The
couple on the shore watched the ripples fade away.

Kate turned. “I should go back,” she
said.

“I can give you a ride,” Ryan said.

Kate laughed and shook her head. “Thanks,
Ryan, but I need to walk and think and pray some more.”

“Well, I guess I’ll see you around, Kate,”
Ryan said.

“You will,” she replied.

Kate turned and walked away from the man,
and away from the pond. She headed for the woods, intending to take
the shortcut back home. She forced herself not to look back at
Ryan, to see if he was watching her, even though she wanted to.
Instead, she kept moving forward, into the woods, although the man
was on her mind.

A trip to the pond was just what she had
needed. She could let the case go now, everything that had
happened, the dead man with the viper tattoo, and The Viper
himself. Now new thoughts flooded into her mind, and they all had
to do with Ryan.

But if Kate were to be honest with herself,
thinking about Ryan wasn’t too bad, after all.

* * * The End* * *

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The Next Book
in this 3 Book Series
.

Next (and last) in this
#1
Best-selling
series, Amish Safe House.

Safe Hearts (Amish Safe House, Book 3)

U.S. Marshal, Kate Briggs, is still posing
as an Amish woman. When the cousin of one of the Amish Knitting
Circle ladies is accused of murder, Kate once again throws herself
into the investigation. However, the criminal looking for her has
finally tracked her down to the small Amish community in which she
is hiding. How will Kate protect not only herself, but the entire
community, from the desperate criminal?

When Kate’s identity is revealed, how will
everyone react, especially Detective Ryan Weaver?

Other Books by
Ruth Hartzler
.

#1 Best-selling
series
,
The Amish Buggy Horse
, by Ruth Hartzler.

Faith (Book ONE)

For years, Nettie looked after her aged
mother Elma, a demanding woman who did not want any involvement
with the community.

Now that her mother has died, Nettie is
alone. She is regarded with suspicion by the local townspeople, and
has had no visitors from her community for some years.

Nettie's buggy horse has gone lame and has
had to be retired, but Nettie cannot afford a new horse. Just as
Nettie is despairing about not having any means of transport, a
lost horse appears in her driveway, bringing with him far-reaching
consequences.

Daniel Glick is drawn to the lonely figure
of Nettie, but Nettie wants to be left alone.

However, when Jebediah Sprinkler tries to
force Nettie to hand over her house, Daniel springs to the
rescue.

As Nettie's struggles mount, she has to
decide whether to take the law into her own hands.

And what will Daniel do when he discovers
the secret that Nettie is hiding from him?

About Ruth
Hartzler
.

Ruth Hartzler's father was from generations
of what people refer to as "Closed Open" or "Gospel Hall" Brethren.
Ruth's mother, a Southern Baptist, had years of struggle adapting
to the cultural differences, and always cut her hair, which was a
continual concern to Ruth's father's family. Ruth was raised
strictly Brethren and from birth attended three meetings every
Sunday at the Gospel Hall, the Wednesday night meeting, and the
yearly "Conference," until she left the Brethren at the age of
twenty one. Ruth still has close friends in the Brethren, as well
as the Amish, both groups descending from Anabaptists. Ruth's
family had electricity, but not television, radio, or magazines,
and they had plain cars. Make up, bright or fashionable clothes,
and hair cutting were not permitted for women. Women had to wear
hats in meetings (what others would call church meetings) but not
elsewhere. The word "church" was never used and there were no
bishops or ministers. All baptized men were able to speak (preach,
or give out a hymn) spontaneously at meetings. Musical instruments
were forbidden, with the exception of the traditional pump organ
which was allowed only if played in the home for hymn music. Even
so, singing of hymns in accompaniment was forbidden.