Amish Cradle Conspiracy Read online

  “The abductors are still out there.”

  Nicole took her gaze off the road for a moment to peer at Jack, struck by the sorrow she heard in his voice. She remembered him saying his sister had died and wondered if there was a connection there. About to open her mouth to ask, she froze, arrested as Jack’s expression twisted in horror.

  “Look out!” He reached over and jerked the wheel to the right. She whipped her head around in time to see a crop-dusting plane headed in their direction, nearly on top of them.

  “Why is he flying over the road!” Nicole spun the wheel, sending the cruiser off the road and skidding into the grass while the plane passed them. She hit the gas and her tires spun in the grass and mud before finding traction again on the paved road.

  Her questions were answered when the plane did a staggering loop in the air and roared back toward them. She floored it, trying to outrun this new threat. Bullets rained down on the road from the craft.

  They’d become the killer’s new target.

  Dana R. Lynn grew up in Illinois. She met her husband at a wedding and told her parents she’d met the man she was going to marry. Nineteen months later, they were married. Today, they live in rural Pennsylvania with their three children and a variety of animals. In addition to writing, she works as a teacher for the deaf and hard of hearing and is active in her church.

  Books by Dana R. Lynn

  Love Inspired Suspense

  Amish Country Justice

  Plain Target

  Plain Retribution

  Amish Christmas Abduction

  Amish Country Ambush

  Amish Christmas Emergency

  Guarding the Amish Midwife

  Hidden in Amish Country

  Plain Refuge

  Deadly Amish Reunion

  Amish Country Threats

  Covert Amish Investigation

  Amish Christmas Escape

  Amish Cradle Conspiracy

  Visit the Author Profile page at LoveInspired.com for more titles.

  Amish Cradle Conspiracy

  Dana R. Lynn

  He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

  —Micah 6:8

  To the first responders who put themselves at risk in order to serve others. God bless you for your service and dedication.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader

  Excerpt from Tracing a Fugitive by Hope White

  ONE

  Sergeant Nicole Dawson glanced at the dashboard when the phone rang. Seeing her boss’s name and number glowing back at her, she punched the button. She rode shotgun while her partner, Sergeant Kathy Bartlett, sat behind the wheel, taking each curve on the twisting Ohio back road with white-knuckled concentration, her lips pinched together.

  Kathy hated driving fast. Nicole definitely didn’t want her looking away from the road ahead of them. As Kathy steered around another corner, Nicole reached out and braced herself on the smooth dash in front of her.

  “Hi Chief. This is Sergeant Dawson.”

  “Sergeant, what’s your ETA?” Police chief Mike Spencer’s voice boomed through the car’s speakers. He had one of those voices that rumbled and carried, no matter how quiet he attempted to talk. It reminded her of a human thunderstorm, even though the man himself was one of the calmest people she’d ever met.

  Nicole leaned over, angling her head to glance at the GPS on the dashboard of the Sutter Springs Police Department cruiser, where the map was displayed.

  “Four minutes, Chief.” Nicole tapped her fingers on her thigh, trying to control her nervous energy. Lives were at stake. Every second counted. If she’d been driving, they would have been going at least eight miles an hour faster. It would only have knocked off a few seconds, but even a second or two could be crucial.

  They had already been in Kathy’s car when the call came through around eight that morning. Otherwise, she would have taken the wheel herself.

  “I have backup headed your way. Hansen and Zilhaver should be there in under ten. If possible, wait to enter the building. I don’t want any carelessness. Or any casualties.”

  Hansen was still a rookie, but Zilhaver had some experience behind him. He was just shy of his sergeant stripes.

  “That might not be possible, Chief.” Nicole mentally replayed the phone call she’d received less than an hour ago. “The woman who saw our missing person said she was wounded. And she thought she saw a gun on one of the men she was with. Lucy Hilty is eight months pregnant. And Leah’s less than two years old.”

  They’d been combing the streets for Lucy, an Amish woman from one of the local districts, ever since the woman’s family had reported her and her youngest child missing two days earlier. Nicole knew the area and its people well from previous assignments. Although she didn’t see her often, she’d interacted with Lucy previously and had seen her daughter.

  “I’m aware of that, Sergeant.” The chief paused. “Any word on her child?”

  “No.” Nicole swallowed past the fear the word brought. Nicole had nearly worn out her knees praying for the safe return of both mother and her young daughter. It terrified her that the caller hadn’t seen Leah with Lucy.

  A sigh drifted through the phone. They all knew that the longer a victim remained missing, the less likely they would be found alive. “Be cautious. Don’t take any unnecessary risks.”

  “Understood.” Nicole disconnected the call. She hated the phrase “unnecessary risk.” Three lives were in jeopardy. Leah, Lucy and the unborn child. Risks were part and parcel with wearing the badge, as far as she was concerned. That didn’t make them any easier, though, when faced with life’s horror stories.

  They were only a minute out and were still running hot. Nicole frowned. They needed to be discreet, if they could manage it.

  “Kath, let’s kill the lights and the siren.”

  “Yeah.” Kathy switched them off. “It wouldn’t do to warn them we’re coming.”

  Nicole frowned at the road ahead of them. All she saw was tall grass, lush from an abundance of rain, mud puddles and a long country road.

  “Are you sure this is the right road?” Kathy peered into her rearview mirror.

  “I think so. I’ve never been on it before.”

  “Me, neither. I just can’t figure what kind of abandoned building would be back here. I mean, who builds a business on a dirt road?”

  “We don’t know it was a business.” The woman on the phone hadn’t said what kind of building it was. Only that it looked abandoned. She was from out of state and had been on the road by accident. The caller had said she’d seen the woman and two men entering an abandoned building and had given the address.

  “There’s a lot we don’t know. I don’t like it.” Kathy flexed her fingers on the steering wheel.

  Nicole shrugged. She’d plugged the address into the GPS, having never heard of the road, despite living in Sutter Springs
for the past ten years and knowing the community well.

  She’d liked Berlin County, Ohio, immediately. It was a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she’d grown up. Plus, it allowed her to distance herself from all those who knew of her father’s duplicity and how it had destroyed her mother’s life. She liked it well enough that she’d stayed, even after a brutal betrayal by her then fiancé, Jack, which had ended their relationship. Infidelity was the one thing she couldn’t forgive or forget. She’d seen what her mother had suffered. That would never be her. Jack had denied it, but when she’d asked for more information, he’d also closed up, saying it was classified. How could she trust a man who wouldn’t talk to her about something that important? She couldn’t, and that was a truth she’d learned to live with.

  Never again would she fall into that trap. On those infrequent times when she and Jack were together, she was polite and professional. Nothing more. Fortunately, he was no longer with the police department, having accepted a position with the FBI several years ago.

  “Turn right at the next intersection.” The robotic GPS voice pulled her back to the present. Kathy slowed, then braked at a stop sign almost completely hidden in the overgrown brush.

  “That’s an accident waiting to happen. Remind me to report it.”

  “Okay.” Nicole straightened in her seat. At least they were back on a paved surface. Half a mile down the road they reached their destination. A two-story building with faux log cabin siding loomed before them. It had obviously been a house at one time.

  Both women exited the vehicle, hands on their service weapons. The structure had seen better times. Shingles littered the ground surrounding the building. Large cobwebs clung from the faded sign in front, shivering as if alive when a breeze stirred them.

  Sunshine Day Care. Rather ironic if the perps were using the former day care to hide abducted children.

  Hopefully, they wouldn’t find any bodies. She readjusted her grip on the weapon.

  There was no sign of movement, nor were there any other cars or vehicles in view. The hope she’d held that they might find Leah and Lucy began to fade.

  Kathy motioned for Nicole to go around the right. Nodding, Nicole headed to the side. Near the back of the house, she halted. An older model compact car was parked near the back door. The vehicle the caller had seen. They were here.

  Keeping low to avoid being spotted out the windows, she made her way back to the front. At the corner of the house, she paused, scanning the area for any visible threats or signs of danger. All she saw was Kathy creeping back to the car. Nicole ducked down and ran to meet Kathy near the cruiser. She leaned one hip against the passenger door, keeping both hands on her weapon, holding it low and away from them.

  “They’re here.” She jerked her head toward the side of the building. “I saw the car.”

  Kathy frowned, the lines around her mouth deepening, and squinted through the morning May sunlight to the door. “Backup should arrive at any—”

  A shot rang out. Kathy yelled and dropped her Glock, grabbing her shoulder. The bullet had gone in right where her Kevlar vest ended.

  Nicole shoved her partner down behind the cruiser and worked to remove the vest, hands shaking. A stain was already beginning to spread on her dark blue uniform shirt. Nicole squelched down the fear that clawed inside her. Kathy needed help now. Praying the bullet hadn’t nicked the thoracoacromial artery, she crouched down and twisted to scan the area for danger. The hairs on the back of her neck raised. Lifting her head, she focused on the window above the front porch.

  And stared into the face of a killer. It was hard to see clearly from that distance. She had a vague impression of a long face. Shaggy hair. There was something uneven about his features, but the window seemed to be warped. From where she stood, squinting at him, he was hazy. She couldn’t see much at all.

  She raised her weapon to get a shot off, but he was gone before she could shout “Police,” let alone pull the trigger.

  Could she identify him if she saw him again? It was doubtful. She hadn’t gotten more than a vague idea of what he looked like. At least, she thought it was a man, based on the way he stood and the width of his shoulders.

  Kathy groaned. Nicole lowered the weapon but kept it close by. She had to tend to her fallen partner. Peering into the other woman’s face, Nicole pressed her lips together. Kathy’s usually clear gaze was off. Her pupils seemed larger than normal. Not a good sign. Gently pushing Kathy against the car, she opened the door and grabbed her coat from the floor. She needed something to stop the flow of blood. Kathy gasped when she pressed the material against her wound but made no other sound.

  Using the radio attached to her shoulder, Nicole called dispatch and requested an ambulance for an officer down at the scene. Kathy frowned, but Nicole ignored her partner, intent on getting help ASAP. Kathy was losing blood at an alarming rate.

  “I’m dispatching an ambulance now, Sergeant,” the voice on the other end of the radio assured her. She bit her lip so she wouldn’t tell her to make them hurry.

  Nicole was never good at waiting.

  The window above her head shattered. Another shot. She kept the door open so it could act as a shield. Daring to peek above the rim, she attempted to get a better look at the sniper but couldn’t see anyone this time. Given the angle of the shot, she wasn’t even positive he was shooting from the same place.

  “Where’s my backup?” she demanded into her radio.

  “They should be pulling in any second. Hang on.” She heard the dispatcher talking to another driver.

  “Tell them to hang back out of range. The shooter is inside the house. No sign of another gunman.”

  A third shot hit the ground next to the door. What if a shot slipped by and hit them from under the door? They needed to move behind the cruiser. It took some maneuvering to scoot to the back of the vehicle without standing, carrying her partner with her. Kathy’s breathing had gained a rasp Nicole didn’t like. Kathy couldn’t hold the coat to her own wound, which meant Nicole had to stay with her and couldn’t fire her weapon back at the sniper.

  “Go. I’ll wait here.”

  Nicole didn’t like the breathless quality of Kathy’s voice, so unlike her normal robust tones.

  “Help should be here soon. I’ll wait.” She kept her voice calm, even though her level of anxiety was increasing by the second. Kathy’s skin was pale and waxy, and her eyes were growing hazy. Shock. Her partner needed emergency care.

  “Hold on, Kathy. They’re on their way. Soon.” Even while she talked, Nicole wrapped her arms around her partner and lowered her carefully to the ground before checking her wound. It was still bleeding, so she continued to press firmly.

  Less than a minute later, wheels hit the gravel behind them. Nicole glanced over her shoulder, her right-hand tightening on her Glock and her left remaining on Kathy’s shoulder. A blue-and-white ambulance parked behind them. The doors swung open, and two paramedics swooped out of the vehicle.

  “Keep low!” Nicole watched them come closer, both crouched as they hurried.

  A police cruiser pulled in behind the ambulance. The doors opened and two Sutter Springs police officers and one FBI agent spilled out. Her gaze glossed over the officers and settled on the special agent dressed in a sports jacket and tie stepping into view. His blue-green eyes locked on Nicole and her stomach bottomed out.

  Jack.

  * * *

  Nicole was safe. He scanned her injuries. His pulse sped up when he saw the blood splattered on her neck, arms and hands. It wasn’t hers, he realized quickly. His concern shifted to the officer on the ground, a sergeant by the three yellow stripes on her uniform shirt, an exact replica of Nicole’s.

  The moment he’d learned who was at the scene, he’d felt like an iron fist had reached into his chest and grabbed his heart. They’d been in lov
e once, before he’d signed on with the FBI. And taken on the case that had forced him to hide the truth from her.

  It had broken something inside him to allow her to believe he’d cheated on her, but his hands had been tied. He’d been on an undercover mission during the last few months at the police department, working with the FBI. He wasn’t allowed to discuss the details.

  Then his personal life had imploded. First Nicole had broken up with him and shattered his heart. Then anger had taken over. She should have known him better, trusted him more when he’d told her it was classified information. But she hadn’t. At the first sign of gossip, she’d bailed, tossed his ring in his face and stopped talking to him.

  Angry, he’d given up trying to explain. When he’d packed up his apartment and moved to Columbus, he didn’t bother to say goodbye, knowing they were done.

  He was still grieving the loss of Nicole when his sister had been murdered and he’d become an instant father. His niece, Chloe, was his joy now. Making sure those involved with his sister’s demise paid had become his focus. One day, Chloe would ask him what happened to her mother’s killer, and he wanted to have an answer for her.

  Jack took a deep breath, then focused on scanning the scene before him. The paramedics were already taking charge of the injured officer, who was showing signs of shock.

  “We’ll cover you while you get her into the ambulance,” Nicole said. She and the other officers got their guns ready. Jack joined them. Nicole hadn’t looked at him since he arrived, but that didn’t matter. He was here to do a job, and somewhere in the house, someone with a gun had already taken out one officer. He forced his mind away from Nicole, standing just a few feet from him, and continued to get his bearings. The shattered window he’d already noted.

  Behind them, the ambulance doors slammed. He relaxed slightly when the emergency vehicle made its exit without incident.

  “Have any shots been fired in the past few minutes?” He made eye contact with Nicole. She stared back like he was a stranger instead of the man she’d once planned to marry.