A Dark Amish Night Read online

  “Okay folks, I want every man to have a flashlight and any tools or gear they may need for cutting through the brush. Every person needs to stick with their teams. Each team has a hand held radio so we can all stay in touch. We don’t need any one else getting lost or hurt. I would like for the ladies to stay close to the house and to keep looking for any sign of Timothy. Any children with you need to stay inside the house. I have a K-9 search team in route. We also have medics standing by in case Timothy is hurt. If you find him and he’s injured please do not try to move him. Call out on the radios and let help come to you. The front yard here will be our base, and Porter is going to man the radios and supplies while he keeps track of each team’s position and where we have searched. We have extra water and food here, so don’t get dehydrated or hungry.” Just as Quinn finished speaking, the K-9 search and rescue team arrived.

  “Okay everyone, check your equipment and head out to your assigned areas.”

  Quinn met with the officers of the K-9 unit at a table that had been set up in the yard. There were maps of the area that had been brought in spread across the table. While he was talking to them, Bishop Miller came up to speak to him.

  “I wonder, Sheriff, if you would let me pray over everyone before they head out, and to pray for Timothy, wherever he is.”

  “Of course, Bishop, we can use all the prayers we can get right now.”

  “Thank you, and when you get a minute, would you please go and speak with the boy’s mother. She is asking for you and I think it would be a comfort for her to be able to talk to you.”

  “Yeah, tell her I’ll be there in just a minute.”

  Quinn turned back to the maps and the men gathered there. “The boy was last seen in this area here, and this wooded area that you can see across the fields stretches up northwards for at least twenty miles. It’s mostly solid brush land with a few dirt roads winding around up in there. Willow Creek runs right through the center of it. The creek will be dry with the drought so it’ll mostly be just dry bedrock.”

  One of the men with the dogs spoke up. “Take us to the spot he was last seen. And do you have an article of clothing the boy may have worn recently?”

  “Yes, let me go get that for you and then I’ll walk you to the spot.” Quinn walked back up to the porch where Hannah was setting in the rocking chair. Ruth Anne was curled up in her lap fast asleep.

  “How are you holding up, Hannah?” Quinn knelt beside her and looked up into her lovely face that was now fraught with fear and worry. He wanted to take all that from her. If he could just pull her into his arms and run away with her right now, he would do it and never look back.

  “I’m much better with you here. Tell me what is happening.”

  “Well, the Bishop just prayed over all of us and the search teams are spreading out to start looking. I’m grateful you Amish people come in great numbers.” Quinn gave Hannah a weak smile to reassure her.

  “So you think Timothy’s lost in the woods?”

  “Yes, I think he wandered off and got lost. We’re going to find him. Have no doubt in your mind about that. I need an item of clothing that Timothy has worn recently for the dogs to get his scent. Where can I get that?”

  “I have a shirt here for you. One of the ladies brought it to me when you said you were brining in the dogs. Here.” Hannah handed him one of Timothy’s cotton shirts. “Quinn, I have the little radio you gave me, but I was wondering if you might be able to leave one of the radios you are using to talk to each other on the search teams so I can hear you. I need to hear you and to know what’s happening.”

  Quinn pulled his radio off his belt and handed it to Hannah. “Here take mine. I’ll grab another. Listen for me. I’ll let you know the minute we find him. I better get going now, but I won’t be far. You can listen for me.”

  “I’ll be listening.” Hannah looked into Quinn’s crystal blue eyes and neither of them said any more. Quinn walked away with a determined but heavy heart. Seeing Hannah like this after everything she had already been through was like a knife in his heart. He sent his own silent prayer up to the heavens asking that Timothy be found safe and soon.

  A Dark Amish Night

  Chapter Twelve

  Nightfall descended sooner than anyone liked. The search team flashlights could be seen shining in bits and spurts all over the hills and valleys of the woods. Voices of men calling for Timothy carried on the soft summer breeze. Quinn stuck close to the K-9 team and their two dogs. The two bloodhounds were “trailing” dogs, trained to work in the terrain native to Oklahoma. One handler stayed with his dog at the base camp outside of the farm house as a backup, and the other handler took his dog, a large tan female named Duchess, to the spot in the field where Timothy had last been seen.

  The handler put Timothy’s shirt in front of Duchess’s nose and let her get a strong sniff. “Seek, Duchess, seek!” he commanded. Duchess stuck her nose in the air and lifted one paw as she searched for Timothy’s scent. She then put her nose to the ground and weaved back and forth over the ground for several minutes as she slowly worked her way over to the edge of the woods. Her handler stayed with her watching her every move. Quinn followed closely with his flashlight.

  Duchess sniffed around the edge of the foliage for several more minutes until she settled on one spot and whimpered softly. Her handler let her off the harness leash, and Duchess dove into the deep brush.

  “I think we have the point of entry into the woods here.” The handler told Quinn as he followed the dog into the brush.

  Quinn radioed to all the teams. “The dog has found what we believe is a point of entry into the brush.” He hoped Hannah would get some relief from hearing that. A team of six Amish men carrying machetes led by Jess quickly joined Quinn. It did not escape Quinn’s notice that Peter Yoder was with them. They followed the dog with her handler into the brush, clearing a path as they went.

  Hannah’s fear for her son increased as the dark of night descended. She listened to every sound coming over the radio for any news of Timothy. Just hearing Quinn’s voice was a great relief. She handed off a still sleeping Ruth Anne to one of the ladies on the porch with her, and ran to the edge of the fields. In the dark, she could make out the faint shadows and flashlights of the men where they had just entered the edge of the woods. She stayed rooted to that spot for the next hour just praying to catch glimpse of Quinn or Timothy. Bishop Miller came and insisted Hannah come back to the porch to try and eat something to keep her strength up.

  Her stomach rebelled at the thought of food while her precious child had to be starving out in the woods lost and alone. But she wanted to be strong for Timothy’s sake and followed the Bishop back to the porch. The sandwich placed in her hands was like dry dirt going down but she ate most of it. Her arms were heavy and her throat was scratchy from hours spent calling for Timothy to come out. She was unaware when someone placed a shawl around her shoulders. She rocked silently in her chair staring at the radio Quinn left her, as if by shear will alone she could make the radio blast the news her son had been found safe.

  The minutes dragged on into hours as men came and went, grabbing a bite to eat, running batteries with other supplies back and forth from the base set up in Hannah’s front yard. An army of Amish women took over Hannah’s kitchen. They worked round the clock to keep the men fed. The search continued on through the night. Quinn’s voice broke on the radio every hour or so, just to keep Hannah updated, but still no sign of Timothy. Before daybreak, Hannah heard the muted sounds of four wheeler vehicles in the distance indicating others had come to help with the search. Please, God, let them find him soon.

  Quinn, like all the men, was hot, tired, and covered in bug bites. Sweat poured off his brow and he wondered how a little boy like Timothy could have wandered so far into this no man’s land all by himself. Duchess carried on like the professional bloodhound she was. She never faltered or took a break. As the dog pressed on, so did the men. After hours of following the dog into and
over thorn bushes and tree limbs, the dog stopped in her tracks and got real quiet. She stood at attention with one front paw lifted off the ground as she sniffed the air around her. Then she began to run in frantic circles around one tree.

  Just as the sun peaked over the horizon Hannah heard the unmistakable far off baying of a bloodhound. The dog still at the house howled back. Bay urrrah… Bay urrrah… Hannah grabbed the radio and ran out to the field again. She spoke into the speaker. “Quinn, Quinn… This is Hannah. What’s happening? Tell me what’s happening out there.

  Static from the radio filled the air. All activity at the base camp stopped and everyone around was silent.

  “Hannah, this is Quinn. We found him. I repeat we found Timothy. He’s alive!” Shouts of joy and praises to the Lord became a loud roar as Hannah felt a heavy weight lift from her chest.

  “Quinn, how is he? Is he hurt?” Hannah shouted to be heard over the jubilant crowd.

  “We think he may have a contusion and possibly a broken arm. But he’s breathing well. We are close to a back road here, and we’re going to try and bring him out on a four wheeler. Porter, if you can hear me get those medics in route to the farm. Hannah, I’m bringing your boy home. Be ready to go with the paramedics.”

  As everything had seemed to run at a snail’s pace all night, time now sped up to the speed of light. Somewhere in the heat of the moment, as everyone got ready for Timothy to arrive, Martha said she would care for Ruth Anne while Hannah went to the hospital with Timothy.

  Hannah did not leave the field as she listened to the sound of a four wheeler coming closer and closer. A crowd of people gathered around her, but she paid them no mind. As the sound continued to get closer her heart pounded. At last two of the off road vehicles cleared the woods and sped across the field towards her. On the back of one, Quinn sat and held Timothy very close.

  She sprinted to Timothy’s side and did not even notice the paramedics who ran up to the four wheelers with a stretcher as she. When she reached him, she placed a gentle hand on his dirt smudged cheek. He was burning up and barely conscious. He moaned at his mother’s touch and mumbled something about finding lost gold and saving his family. Hannah looked up to see that Quinn was covered in mud and sweat.

  “He’s been talking out of his head like that since we found him buried under the exposed roots of a huge oak tree. We think he may have fallen out of the tree.”

  Hannah barely had a chance to thank Quinn before she was loaded up into an ambulance with Timothy. Her obvious relief was like manna from heaven to Quinn. He watched the ambulance drive off down the dirt road until he could not see it any longer. A hand touched his shoulder and he turned to see Bishop Miller.

  “That was good work, Sheriff. The entire community is grateful to you and your men. Come let us get you something to eat. You must be hungry.”

  “I could eat.” Quinn turned to follow the Bishop to a table that was being set with a breakfast feast. “And let’s get that hound dog, Duchess, a bone.”

  The Bishop laughed out loud. “Yes, let’s get that wonderful creature of the Lord a bone.”

  After stopping at his house for a quick shower and a change of clothes, Quinn made the hour long drive into Tulsa. Timothy had been taken to one of the main hospitals in the city. He was too worried about the boy and his mother to even think of sleep. The look on Hannah’s face as he brought Timothy back to her made all the aching muscles and itchy bug bites worth it. Hannah and her children were becoming a reason for Quinn to live. His life would never be the same without them in it now.

  There were obstacles to having a relationship with Hannah, but there had to be a way to work through those. Every relationship has problems, right? Quinn resolved to find a way to make a relationship with Hannah work. But first he had to find Eric’s killer. His prime suspect was now Peter Yoder. Peter was the only one he had come across who may have motive to kill Eric and Peter had done time in prison.

  After pulling Peter’s rap sheet, Quinn knew Peter had been incarcerated for running a meth lab in Oklahoma City. He did five years and made a full parole. He’d gotten off light because of no prior record and for being a model prisoner. Quinn was not sure what to make of him now. Peter had worked tirelessly in the search for Timothy just like all the other men. But in all his years as an officer of the law, Quinn had never seen a drug addict truly reform. The question was if Peter was an addict, a dealer, or both. The Amish people seemed to have welcomed him back with open arms. The entire community treated Peter and Rachel with respect.

  Quinn turned his thoughts back to the present. He found a place to park outside the large hospital complex and made his way to the children’s unit.

  After several minutes of trying to track Hannah and Timothy down, he found Hannah sitting alone in a waiting area outside of the pediatric operating rooms. Her brows were furrowed as she sat knotting the strings of her prayer cap. When Quinn got close enough for her to see him, she ran to him. Without hesitating, she threw herself into his waiting arms.

  “How is he, Hannah?” Quinn asked as Hannah sobbed on his chest.

  “His arm is badly broken and they’re operating on him now. The doctors say that he will need some recovery time and maybe some physical therapy but they expect him to have a full recovery.”

  Quinn let out a sigh. He’d been holding his breath and expecting the worse. “What about his head? Did he hit his head?”

  “He has a minor contusion and the doctors said he was real dehydrated, that’s why he was barely conscious. But they say he’ll be fine. I’m so thankful to you, Quinn. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for finding him and bringing him back to me.”

  “Well, the dog found him. I just followed.” Quinn smiled, led Hannah back to a seat and sat down beside her.

  “No, Quinn, you don’t give yourself enough credit. You get free strudel from me for the rest of your life.” Quinn laughed about that, but Hannah was fully serious. “I mean it. I’m forever in your debt. Thank the Lord for you. I know that I couldn’t have borne the loss of Timothy after losing his father.” Hannah got choked up and started to sob again.

  Quinn put his arm around her and let her cry until, exhausted, she fell asleep on his shoulder. He leaned back in his chair took off his hat and fell asleep holding Hannah.

  “Ahem…” Hannah and Quinn were woken by Timothy’s surgeon. “Ms. Hershberger?”

  Hannah blinked her eyes and was instantly alert and awake. It took Quinn a little longer to come alive.

  “Yes, I’m Timothy’s mother.” Hannah stood and waited for the doctor to tell her about her son.

  “The surgery went very well. He’s in recovery. He’s going to need to stay here in the hospital a few days so we can keep an eye on him. We have IV fluids running on him to get him rehydrated, and he’s going to have some pain issues. He’ll have to get a full cast put on in a couple of days after the surgical wound closes and the swelling goes down, but I expect him to recover well and regain full use of his arm.”

  “Quinn, did you hear that? Timothy is going to be fine.” Hannah was so happy she bounced up and down. “My boy’s going to be just fine. When can I see him?”

  “The nurse will come and get you as soon as he comes out of recovery. I’ll be checking in on him again when I make rounds this evening.” Hannah thanked the doctor and Quinn shook his hand.

  “Thank you, doctor.” Quinn shoved his hat back on his head and told Hannah he was going to go find them both a cup of coffee. “Here, Hannah, take my phone and call home. I’m sure everyone is waiting to hear how Timothy is doing.”

  Hannah took the phone and dialed the farm house. It was one of the very few phone numbers she knew by memory. No doubt everyone was still at her farm waiting to hear how Timothy was doing. She was anxious to share her good news and to check in on Ruth Ann.

  When Quinn came back with two cups of hot coffee he caught the tail end of Hannah’s conversation with the Bishop.

  “Yes, it’s ver
y good news. How is Ruth Anne behaving? That’s good. No, there’s no need for anyone to come up here to stay with us. I have money with me and I’ll make sure we get home. I’m worried about Ruth Anne. Are you sure she’ll be fine staying with you and Martha? Great, I’ll call later with any updates. Thank everyone for me and ask them to keep praying for Timothy.”

  Hannah gave Quinn back his phone and gratefully accepted her cup of coffee. Quinn dialed his office and told dispatch that he was going to be out for a few days, but to call him if anything came up. He had a message to call Ollie and made a mental note to himself to do that after they got to see Timothy. He wanted to talk to the boy later when Timothy was feeling better. Quinn had a gut feeling there was more to Timothy’s disappearance than just him wandering off. But until the boy was able to talk, Quinn planned to stay close.

  A Dark Amish Night

  Chapter Thirteen

  Timothy was settled in a private room and Hannah never left his side. Quinn brought in food to her and practically forced her to eat. The first day was spent waiting for the anesthesia to wear off. Timothy slept fitfully throughout the first night, with nurses coming and going to administer pain medication in his IV. Quinn was relieved to see some color returning to Timothy’s cheeks the next morning.