Danger in Plain Sight Read Free Page B

streetlights. In her fear for her friend, she would lash out at anyone who got in her way. Especially him.
Finally she nodded. “I brought the letters home with me, thinking I might show them to Mom to see if she knew anything helpful. She’s usually pretty up-to-date about what goes on in the Amish community. They’re at the house. I’ll show them to you. You’ll see I’m right.”
He didn’t suppose a word of caution would be welcome, but he had to try. “Look, even if Esther was concerned about some problem in the community, it doesn’t necessarily follow that her accident was deliberate. I’d need to know a lot more before I could assume that.” To his relief, the lights of the hospital gleamed ahead.
She bit her lip, probably to keep from telling him what she thought of him and his assumptions.
“Fine.” She snapped off the word. “Look at it from all angles. Investigate. Deliberate. And in the end you’ll find I’m right. Esther knew about something wrong going on, and someone made sure she couldn’t tell.”

CHAPTER TWO
     
THE LIGHTS OF the hospital glowed icily in the cold night. Adam pulled up to the emergency room door and stopped. Libby fumbled with the door handle, her fingers cold and stiff despite the heat that had poured from the car heater.
“Wait,” Adam said. “I’ll take you in.”
He was out his door and around the car before she could bolt for the emergency room entrance. He took her arm in a firm clasp.
“You don’t need to go in with me.” It was all she could do to prevent her teeth from chattering, whether from cold or fear she wasn’t sure.
He swept her inside, not bothering to answer, and strode toward the desk. She had to hurry, but she managed to reach the receptionist first.
“Esther Zook…how is she?” She gripped the edge of the counter.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t give out…” The woman’s denial faded away when Adam flashed his badge.
“Where is she?” he asked, his voice crisp with authority.
The woman consulted her computer. “She’s already in surgery. The family is in the third-floor waiting room.”
Ignoring the interested glances from the few waiting patients, Adam took Libby’s arm again, steering her down the corridor toward the elevator. The swags of plastic greenery that draped each door along the hallway were a dismal counterpoint to her feelings.
“You don’t need to hold on to me.” She tried to tug free of his hand. “I can walk.”
“In those shoes?” He sent a dismissive glance toward the heels that had been dyed deep green to match her dress, discolored now with slush from the road.
The elevator doors swished open and as promptly closed behind them. Not long now, and she’d know for herself how serious Esther’s condition was.
“That’s good, isn’t it? That she’s in surgery, I mean.” She wanted to, needed to, find a shred of hope.
Adam turned a grave face toward her. “I hope so.”
That was all. For a second she wanted to storm at him, demand that he say something encouraging, but false hope wouldn’t help. Adam would tell her the truth, or he wouldn’t speak at all. Anyone who knew him must certainly know that.
Would he tell her the truth about his feelings over what had happened between them? The thought popped into her head, and she chased it away. Adam had clearly managed to forget it. To him, she would always be his best friend’s kid sister, nothing more. And maybe that was for the best. She’d embarrassed herself too many times where Adam was concerned.
The doors slid open, and Libby’s stomach tightened.
“The waiting room is to the right.” Adam put a hand on the door.
“I know.” She’d waited there a time or two with Mom and Dad, once when Link smashed up his motorcycle and again when Trey had appendicitis. She hurried her steps, but Adam’s long stride kept pace with her.
Libby pushed open the door, and the two figures in the room swung toward her, wearing identical expressions of fear. She