A Dark Amish Night Read Free

I’ll call you if I find anything, okay?” 
       “Okay, Sheriff, I’ll be right here waiting to hear from you.”
       Hannah hung-up the phone and went back downstairs to put on a pot of coffee. When Eric did return, he was sure to want coffee.
     
     
     
       Sheriff Quinn Ramsey had a bad feeling about this. It was not likely that an Amish man like Eric Hershberger would be out skirting around at midnight, and especially not with a young boy in tow. No, it was more likely Eric’s horse was injured or some kind of buggy accident was to blame. Living in Amish country, he’d seen his share of buggy accidents some of them caused by cars not paying attention to the buggies that kept to the shoulders on the paved roads.
       After driving around the town square in his patrol car, the Sheriff decided nothing was out of order so he turned onto the highway that would take him to the road that led to the Hershberger farm. About a mile onto the dirt road something flashed in the headlights. Quinn did not mistake the triangle shaped reflector. It was a buggy off to the side of the road just sitting there in the dark. That feeling of dread he always got when something was not right took over as he pulled the squad car up behind the buggy and got out.
       Using his flashlight, Quinn examined the outside of the buggy. The horse was still attached and nickered softly as he walked up to peer inside.  Something dark on the ground caught his eye and he lowered the flashlight to get a better look. He crouched down and put two gloved fingers into the dark wet spot and rubbed them together in front of the flashlight. There was no doubt that something was really wrong. He was standing in front of a pool of blood.
     
     
     
                 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    A Dark Amish Night
    Chapter Two
     
     
     
     
     
     
      After pouring herself a third cup of coffee Hannah was debating on calling Sheriff Ramsey again before she noticed headlights coming up the road. It was now past three in the morning. Ruth Anne would be awake in a couple of hours. Hannah thought she should be really tired but she was wired with coffee and worry.
       She stepped out on the porch to wait for the Sheriff to pull-up. When he parked the car she walked up to the driver’s side window. She hoped to see Eric and Timothy in the backseat, but only Sheriff Ramsey got out.
       He took off his hat as he exited the car. “Hannah, I need you to brace yourself. I found your buggy a few miles down the road. One of my deputies has Timothy down at the station. He’s fine, but I’m so sorry to tell you that Eric… Well… I’m afraid it looks like Eric fell down a ravine and he didn’t make it. He’s dead. Oh God… I’m so sorry, Hannah, but I need you to come down to the office with me right now.”
       Hannah screamed and fell to her knees. Quinn knelt beside her. “Go ahead, Hannah, scream all you want get it all out.” Quinn stayed with Hannah like that for several minutes until a small voice cried out from the dimly lit porch.
       “Momma, I scared.” Ruth Anne stood on the porch in her cotton nightgown with her bare feet.
       Hannah pulled herself together and went to her daughter. “It’s alright, my darling. We need to get dressed so we can take a ride into town with the Sheriff, okay?”   Hannah wiped away the tears and calmed down for the sake of her daughter.
       Within minutes, she got her herself and Ruth Anne fully clothed in their best Sunday blacks. The ride to town was a silent one. Hannah was numb and just did not know what to say. All she wanted was to fetch Timothy and to get back home as soon as possible. How will I make it without you, Eric? The one thought kept repeating itself in her head.
     
     
     
     
       Hannah stood at her screen door and watched as the men from the church loaded the last of the church benches onto the bench wagon. After four solid