2. Maverick

2

Maverick

I sat in my truck, cleaning it out, and wondered what the Amish woman was doing knocking on our door. I saw Sarra answer it, and then she pointed to where I was. The Amish woman turned and walked to my truck.

I stepped out. "Can I help you?" I asked.

It took her a few moments before she answered. She seemed so fragile as if she would break if I didn't talk gently.

"Are you Maverick?"

Her voice was soft and soothing, which was not what I expected. "Yes, I am," I said. She handed me a letter. Before I opened it, I knew who sent it. I recognized the handwriting on the envelope.

Maverick, I know it's been a while. I went back to my Amish family and am now a bishop. This young lady is in need of your help. As you know, we are not a prosperous community.

So I don't know how we will pay you, but we'll think of something. Rebecca's family was murdered. Two brothers, her sister, and her Mother and Father. We don't know why or who.

But the elders are concerned that whoever killed them will come after Rebecca. Can you please keep her safe until they catch the bastards who did this?"

Your friend always. Michael

I folded the letter and turned to the Amish girl. Now I could see how young she was. At a guess, I would say sixteen.

"Rebecca, I'm so sorry about your family. When did this happen?"

"Yesterday."

"Yesterday."

She nodded her head, and I saw her chin quiver. I opened my arms, and she took two steps. I enveloped her in my arms, and she wrapped her arms around me and cried. I saw Sarra hurrying over to us.

"Let me have her, Matthew." Sarra took Rebecca in her arms and let her cry on her shoulder even though Rebecca was a head taller than Sarra.

"Let's go inside," I said, putting my arm around Rebecca. I stopped to pick up the bag that she dropped, and we followed Sarra inside.

"I'm so sorry to cry all over you both. It's just that I miss my family. And I've never been away from my home before. I still can't believe all of my family were murdered."

I heard Sarra inhale sharply. "I'm going to let you two talk. I'm assuming you are here for protection."

"Yes."

I took Rebecca to the table and got her a glass of water. "Michael told me about your family. Do you have any idea about what could have happened or why? I always assumed that the Amish are friendly with everyone."

"Some aren't as friendly as others. Whoever it was, I must have just missed them; I had taken the bishop some vegetables and eggs. My whole family was murdered while I was gone," she said, wiping her eyes.

I handed her the tissues. "We'll stay here for a few days while I have some people check a few things out," I said. "I'll show you to your room. But first, I have a few rules—no talking on the phone. If you brought your computer, it has to stay off. Did you bring any other electronic equipment?"

"No, I don't have any of that stuff. Where I live, we don't use electricity or the internet. We live a life free of the outer distractions. I've never had a phone. If I wanted to talk to a friend, I walked to their home or took the buggy."

"I'm sorry, I forgot about that. So we won't worry about it. Follow me, and I will show you where your room is. You have your own bathroom with a shower. Please don't go outside without me?"

I turned when I heard Glory running. She ran right to us. "I picked her up and swung her."

"She's beautiful. Is she your baby?"

"No, she belongs to Rebel and Evie. You'll meet them. Evie married Rebel.

"Would it be okay if I lie down?"

"Of course, I want you to do whatever you want. I can't imagine the pain you are going through. But I'm here if you want to talk to me or anyone here. We are all here for you."

"Thank you."

I took Glory to the kitchen. I set her in her highchair, peeled an apple, and cut it into little bites. We shared it when Sarra came in with Davy, their baby boy.

"That poor girl, she was so upset. Tell me what happened to her family."

"Her entire family was murdered yesterday. And a friend of mine who is their bishop sent her to me because he thinks whoever killed them wants the whole family dead."

"Oh, it's worse than I imagined," Sarra said.

"I'm going to call a few people to check some things out for me. First, I want to talk to Shane; I'm going to call him now," I explained.

"Why are you calling Shane?" Sarra asked. Lately, she had started asking questions about our job. Which meant a book was turning in her head. Sarra is a famous thriller writer whose pen name is Jackson Martin.

"Because this is the kind of stuff he does, finding killers. Have you talked to Reaper?" I asked, trying to get her mind on something else.

"Yes, he'll be home tomorrow."

I picked up my phone and called my brother Shane. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"I'm just getting ready to eat dinner. You should come over."

"I have an Amish girl I'm guarding. Their bishop sent her to me. Her entire family was murdered yesterday."

"Oh, man, that's horrible. What can I do to help."

"I wanted to see if you can go to their town and see if you can find out what the hell is going on."

"I'll leave today; the sooner we start, the better. I'm going to see if Marcus wants to go as well. Who is their bishop?"

"Michael Taylor."

"I wondered if it was him. I heard he went back to the Amish. Well, there can't be a better bishop at this time in the Amish community. I'm going to call Marcus, and then I'll be over to get more information from you and…what is the girl's name?"

"Rebecca Cover."

"I'm going to bring my dinner over with me, and we'll all eat some stew for dinner."

"Okay, we'll see you when you get here," I looked at Sarra. "We don't have to cook. Shane is bringing dinner over."

"Good, what's he bringing?"

"Stew."

"Yummy, I love his stew."

"Me too. I'll set the table," I said as Sarra took the babies to the other room.

Ten minutes later, Shane showed up, and I went to get Rebecca for dinner. I introduced Shane, and we sat down; Rebecca looked at us and reached for our hands. I put my hand in hers, and she started praying. Shane took Sarra's hand, and Rebecca had Glory's other hand.

"After dinner, would it be alright if I ask you some questions?" Shane asked.

"Of course. Why do you want to ask me questions?"

"I'm going to investigate the homicide of your family."

"Are you? Can I go with you? I want to find the people responsible for killing my family. My little brothers have never done anything to anyone except when they put the frog in my Kapp or the garden snake in my sister's bed," she chuckled with tears in her eyes. "They were so innocent, just boys, eleven and twelve."

"My younger sister Mary was engaged to marry the man she loved, and she wanted a house full of children. Mark was there with her when I arrived to see my family all lying on the floor. He held my sister in his arms, sobbing. That picture will forever be in my brain."

"I'm so sorry," Sarra said.

"I'm the one who is sorry. This is not a place to talk about what happened. I'll talk to you when dinner is over," she said, looking at Shane.

"You can talk all you want, but you still won't be able to go with us."

"Can you tell me about your Kapp? Do you wear them all the time?" Sarra asked.

"Yes, and a bonnet most of the time if I'm outside."

"How old are the Amish girls when they start wearing them? Are they always white? "

"No, I'm a little vain, as my Mamm sometimes told me. I have lots of them in different colors. We make our clothes, so I make a Kapp with the leftover material."

"Most of the girls start wearing kapps when they turn twelve. Some are younger."

"You're very talented if you make your own clothes. I don't know any Amish people. But I haven't been around many people, so I don't know much about the world."

"I don't know many people who aren't Amish," Rebecca smiled at Sarra. And my heart did something. What the hell is wrong with me?

I looked away and shouted at myself in my head for my body, acting like it hadn't been with a woman when I was with one two nights ago. Even though it wasn't a memorable night, not many were.

"Your baby girl is beautiful."

"Thank you. She is a little spoiled. But we love her so much."

"A little spoiled, she's rotten," I said, and Shane and Sarra chuckled.

"This stew is delicious."

"Thank you," Shane said. "I enjoy cooking. My brothers and I lived together in New Orleans. That's when I started cooking. Sarra is our cousin, and we moved here when she did."

"I'm sure she was happy about that."

"Yes, I was," Sarra said.