Amish Christmas Hideaway

Nathan’s heart, so hardened and withered, crumbled a bit. She wasn’t ready or willing to collapse and she sure wouldn’t do it with him in the room. She’d always been strong, sure, secure. Now her world had been shattered.

Now he was back in her world and she would fight him every step of the way. “You can talk to me, you know.”

She bobbed her head in acceptance. “I don’t even know the names of the victims. I mean, I heard the crime scene people talking, but I don’t remember. I remember so many details, so why can’t I recall that? I need to find out who those people were.”

“We can do that,” Nathan said, thinking the shock was still messing with her head. “We’ll get a full report and compare what you told the police to what the police in Philadelphia have. You can stay in contact with all of them, but you don’t have to leave here to do that.”

“We won’t get anything done if we don’t go into action.”

“I say we lie low here today,” he told her. “You need some time with your grandmother. I’ll start digging into things.”

“I want to dig with you.”

“Well, we can do that but first, try to relax and enjoy being here, okay?”

“Is that possible after last night?”

“I said try.”

“I won’t put them in danger.”

“I’m going to map out a way for us to slip out of here if we need to do so. I’ll also coordinate with the police about beefing up security for them if we do run.”

“I don’t plan to spend the rest of my life on the run,” she said. Standing, she held her cup and watched the dawn breaking, careful to stay back from the opening in the drapery. “It looks so peaceful out there, doesn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“But that’s the thing about life. The surface covers so much more. So many undercurrents and hidden things. That couple last night obviously had it all but they knew something—or were hiding something—that caused someone else to want to murder them.”

“Or they could have done things that made someone extremely angry.”

Nathan also wondered if the couple had witnessed events they didn’t need to see or if they’d managed to make dangerous people put a hit on them. Probably both.

Thinking about Alisha’s jaded view of life, he waded through the undercurrents in this room. His chest hurt with trying to breathe while being this close to Alisha again. As grim as it was, working on this murder would help him to clear his head. He’d barely had time to process being in her life again or having her back in his in such a shocking way. The last time he’d seen her here, they’d both wound up working on a missing person case involving an abandoned baby in the Amish community up the road. He’d found the young mother and reunited her with her older brother, who was now married and raising the girl’s baby with his new wife.

He and Alisha had worked together, grudgingly. But they both wanted the same things—justice and helping those in need.

“Are you hungry?” Alisha asked, her gaze touching on his face and moving on.

“Starving.”

“I can cook some eggs and toast. Maybe some bacon.”

“I’d like that.”

They moved to the kitchen and worked in a comfortable silence since Alisha didn’t want to wake her grandmother or Miss Judy. But the smell of coffee and bacon acted like an alarm clock.

“Well, what do we have here?”

Nathan turned to find Alisha’s grandmother smiling at them, hope in her crystal blue eyes. She wore the same robe that covered her from neck to feet and fuzzy reindeer slippers complete with red noses.

“Granny,” Alisha said, smiling for the first time since Nathan had entered the apartment. “Did we wake you?”

“Child, I have been getting up at five-thirty in the morning for most of my life,” Bettye said as she shuffled into the kitchen and found a mug. It read: Be Still and Know. The mug had a butterfly motif on it. “But I have to admit, that bacon smells good.”

Nathan smiled and flipped the bacon onto a plate lined with paper towels. Used to eating solitary meals, he enjoyed the coziness of this kitchen. Too much.

Bettye filled her cup and glanced down the long hallway. “I usually wake Judy around six-thirty. She has a nurse who comes and helps her with her bath and makes sure she’s had her medication. She still insists on dressing for the day—usually in a pastel pantsuit. I fix her a tray for breakfast and make a light lunch, sit with her while I knit or crochet and then I cook supper. We watch television—she loves romantic movies—and I read to her in her room. We lead a pretty boring life.”

“Sounds good to me,” Nathan said while he delivered the bacon with a flourish to the small four-top breakfast table. “Your food is ready, madame.”

Bettye giggled like a schoolgirl and came to sit by him. “It’s so good to see you again, Nathan. I know we run into each other from time to time, but having you here is a blessing despite the reason for you being here.”

Nathan knew Bettye Willis to be a good, faithful woman even though she’d done the same as him—jumped the fence and left the Amish. He appreciated her sweet declaration. She’d found love and happiness in the outside world but she’d sacrificed seeing her Amish family since she’d moved here from another community. Her husband Herbert had been alive when Nathan first met Alisha. A great man with a larger-than-life personality. He had worked for the Camptons, too, as their maintenance man and groundskeeper.

“I’m glad to be here,” Nathan said, glancing at Alisha. “I hope we can find these people before they commit any more crimes.”

Bettye buttered her toast. “I’ll explain to Judy when I go in to wake her. She’s fuzzy in the mornings but once she gets going, she is still wise and spry.”

Alisha sat down beside her grandmother. “Nathan and I plan to work in the main office today, Granny. We want to crack this thing but we have to be watchful.”

“Of course you do,” Bettye said. “I have plenty of supplies for the holidays, so I’ll cook us a hearty supper. Judy loves company and she’s looking forward to seeing you, Sugar-bear.”

Alisha’s eyes widened in embarrassment as she looked over at Nathan, a becoming blush moving over her face.

Nathan couldn’t stop his grin. “You hear that, Sugar-bear? Supper cooked by the best of the best. We’re in for a treat.”

“If you call me that again, you won’t be invited to supper,” she retorted, but her eyes held a twinkle.

Bettye smiled her sweet smile and sipped her coffee.

Nathan remembered calling Alisha that long ago after he’d heard her grandfather calling her Sugar-bear.

And Bettye Willis must have remembered, too, since she looked pretty smug and proud of herself. Matchmaking during a murder investigation.

That was a new one.

Alisha silently cringed while she washed up the breakfast dishes. Sugar-bear? Why had Granny brought up that old nickname?

Maybe because the handsome man sitting at the breakfast table had made her grandmother’s pragmatic mind go completely giddy?

Nathan had that effect on people. Which made him a great investigator since he could get people to talk, but it also made him too dangerous for most women.

She should know. She’d been smitten with him ten years ago and even now, when they were forced to come face to face on cases, she had to fight not to revert back to being a wide-eyed schoolgirl.

Deciding that couldn’t happen, she hurriedly got dressed and gathered her files, shoving them into her briefcase. Her grandmother wanted her to find love and be happy but pushing Nathan back at her wouldn’t take Alisha back down that road. The man had a quest that took all of his time. And she had her own sense of justice which meant long hours and sleepless nights. She was still an associate at the law firm since she’d only been practicing a couple of years. But one day she hoped to make partner. Which reminded her, she needed to call her boss and explain what was going on here before anyone saw it on the news.

“I’m so glad we got to visit,” her grandmother said from the kitchen when Alisha came out of her bedroom. Granny was making cinnamon bread, one of Alisha’s favorites. The place smelled divine.

“So am I,” Miss Judy said from her dainty chair by the small fireplace. “What a good day to stay in and bake.”

Judy sent Alisha a soft smile. Even in old age, Judy Campton as still a regal, beautiful woman. Her hair was white now but clipped in a precise short bob. She wore a blue cashmere sweater and her famous pearls, classic and commanding. “Can you come and sit by me before you head to work, darling?”

“Of course.” Alisha crossed the room to settle on the ottoman by the chair. “I hope we didn’t upset you with our news, Miss Judy. I won’t let anything happen to either of you.”

Judy scoffed at that. “Alisha, your grandmother and I are tough old birds. We’ve seen a lot in our lives. We have faith that God is always in control.”

“His will, not ours,” Bettye echoed, her hands moving with grace over the bread dough. Granny still had the Amish doctrine ingrained in her.

Judy patted Alisha’s hand. “You are safe here. Your grandmother and I will pray all day while you and your handsome protector do what needs to be done. God gave us brains to help in His work, you know. You might be terrified, but He put you in that spot at that time for a reason, Alisha. You fight for the underdogs and you fight for those who can’t help themselves. You will bring these evil people to justice.”

“I hope so,” Alisha said. “It’s something I can’t get out of my mind. I’ve worked a lot of cases since law school but seeing a murder will stay with me a long time.”

“Seeing justice done will help you come to terms with that image,” Judy said. “Now we have security and Mr. Craig has assured me the authorities are aware of the situation. I can rest easy and enjoy all those cute Christmas movies on television. You know, they are so romantic.”

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