Where Shadows Meet(60)

She recognized the inflexible tone of his voice but he couldn’t stop her from doing what she wanted with it. Maybe she’d set it aside for his girls. “How about we compromise? I’ll take what you’ve got set aside as a final payment. No more after that. That’s my final offer.” He wouldn’t get the reference to a TV show, but she had to say it and smile anyway.

“I cannot do that. The house and property are worth even more.”

Hannah glanced back to the house. “Let’s break out the accordion, Luca. I haven’t yodeled since I left. We’ll sing all the old songs and pretend we’re kids again.”

“I haven’t played since you left, Hannah. I’m a deacon now. I got rid of the accordion.”

“Is my guitar still in the barn? We can have the kids watch for buggies just like we used to do.” She started past him toward the barn, but he grabbed her arm.

“I didn’t want to be a deacon, but the vote came to me. Don’t make it harder, Hannah.”

She stared at him. “Do you still yodel?”

“Ja. The girls, they are learning too.”

“Could we do that tonight?”

Luca glanced from Hannah to Sarah. “Ja, maybe it would be okay.”

Sarah had no expression, and Hannah wondered if he hoped the yodel fest would ease the tension. Did Sarah value her position as a deacon’s wife so much that she never liked having fun anymore? The girl she was ten years ago had vanished when the black apron replaced the white one.



MATT RUBBED HIS eyes, bleary from staring at the screen. Blake sat sprawled in a chair on the other side of the desk. His eyes were closed, and a snore rumbled through his mouth. The clock on the wall read only eight thirty, but they hadn’t slept since Reece surprised Hannah last night, questioning neighbors, tracing leads. All to find nothing.

Blake had come straight from Shipshewana, and Matt decided to let him sleep awhile before waking him to demand to hear what he’d found out.

He wished he could sleep in his own bed tonight rather than on the sofa at the Schwartzes’, but duty called. He hadn’t checked his e-mail all day, so he clicked over to it. The in-box contained mostly work-related requests for information or case follow-ups that he’d been copied on. No new burglaries.

He glanced at Blake. He’d been out of town. Coincidence?

An e-mail marked Urgent caught his attention as he was about to click out of the program. The subject line read “Hello Son.” The air seemed close and hot, and if he’d had the energy, he would have opened the window or turned up the air. He thought he’d clicked on the message, but then he realized he was still sitting there staring at the screen.

If he didn’t know better, he’d have thought he was having a heart attack. A weight lay on his chest, and his arms were numb.

His hand holding the mouse moved slowly, and the cursor paused over the e-mail. For just one second, he wanted to linger and not know. In this case, ignorance might be bliss. He could hang on to the hope just a little longer. He swallowed hard and double-clicked the e-mail. The message sprang onto the screen, and he leaned forward to read it.

Hello, Matt. I heard you’ve been looking for me. If this is true, please reply to this e-mail. Love, Mom

Could it really be her? How did she find his work e-mail? Wait, he hadn’t left town—she had. It would be no problem to get his e-mail. It was listed on the department’s Web site. His hands shook as he placed them on the keyboard. He typed a quick reply asking her to meet him. He tried not to sound too desperate. Desperation might drive her away. And did his words sound accusing or judgmental? He reread the note.

Mom, good to hear from you. Can we meet? How about at the coffee shop tomorrow morning at 9:00? Just let me know. Love, your son Matt

Joy exploded in his chest. Whenever he thought of his mom, he was eight years old again, running home to see her. He reminded himself she wouldn’t be the same woman he’d last seen. She would be in her fifties, probably with gray hair and wrinkles. Was she remarried? What if she had kids with another man? The thought that she might have loved another child more than him and Gina compressed his chest again.

He warned himself not to get his hopes up. After all this time, if she really was trying to find him, her motive might be to ask for money or something. It wasn’t likely she had missed him as much as he’d missed her.

Blake yawned and sat up. His hair stood on end. “Man, I’m beat.”

Matt clicked out of his e-mail. “What did you find out?”

“Found the bishop. He claims Reece started coming there a month ago.”

“So it’s fairly recent. Probably a ploy to get Hannah back.”

“That’d be my guess. The bishop said Reece had been faithful to the teachings.”

“Except for driving a vehicle.”

“Well, yeah, there’s that. But the bishop didn’t know about it. He said Reece told him he’d hired a driver for a trip and would come in a few weeks with his wife and child.”

The muscles in Matt’s belly tensed. Over his dead body. No one was taking Caitlin away from him. “Thanks. You’d better get home to Gina.”

Blake glanced at his watch. “Yikes, I told her I’d be home for supper. If I’m late, she’ll be suspicious all over again.” He bolted from his chair and ran for the door.