Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

People were a predictable lot. They were sheep, really, ruled by their emotions and petty needs, their actions based on a lack of courage or some fanatical conviction that was negotiable for the right price. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Kate Burkholder didn't fit the mold; she'd become an unexpected problem. And he was quickly running out of options.

"What are we going to do about the woman cop?" asked the man in the passenger seat.

He glanced over, took a moment to consider the question and all of its gnarly implications. "I haven't decided yet. We've still some time."

They'd cruised past the farm south of Wooster three times in the last hour. It was past one A.M. now, and the lights inside had gone dark. Ordinarily, this would have been the ideal time to see things through, to finish it cleanly and permanently. Unfortunately for them, it wasn't going to be that easy this time.

He'd underestimated Burkholder. A serious oversight he knew was probably going to cost him. She was going to force his hand, a move he should have anticipated and countered long before now.

"She's not going to stop," said the man in the passenger seat.

On the road in front of the farmhouse, he stopped the vehicle and cut the headlights. For the span of several minutes, they took in the scene, entrances and exits, cover, lights, and the quickest ways in and out of the property.

"I know," he said. "The problem is, she's outside the realm of our obligation."

"And yet you know what has to be done."

"I do." He looked away from the house and eyed the man sitting next to him. "Still a risk."

"Riskier if we do nothing. There's no other way."

"I'll think about it."

"Don't take too much time. People like her don't stop. She's close as it is and getting closer."

Nodding in acquiescence, he pulled away from the farm. Killing Burkholder was a last resort. The one thing he didn't want to do. Not only would it draw a large amount of unwanted attention, but it went against what few ethics he had left. He wasn't a fool, after all; she was going to back them into a corner. Soon, they would have no recourse.

Blind, stupid woman still believed in the fundamental goodness of mankind. What a fool.

Thanks to this formerly Amish woman turned cop, the situation was out of their hands—hands that would soon be covered with innocent blood.