Whispers from the Dead (Serenity's Plain Secrets Book 2) by Karen Ann Hopkins Page B

My mind drifted back to Cacey’s stoic little round face and Lucinda’s friendly smile. And I thought about Mareena baking her pies every Thursday morning and Gabe and Seth rising before the sun to do their chores in the frigid temperatures. They were great kids and I couldn’t live with the thought that if I left, they all might be in some kind of danger. I had two weeks of paid vacation. Surely, in that amount of time I could figure things out enough to at least provide myself with some peace of mind that I wasn’t abandoning this family to some horrible fate. And then there was the obviously troubled bishop’s daughter, Mariah, who reminded me so much of Naomi. I had arrived too late to save Naomi, but not this time. There was time to help Mariah, if she needed it. I couldn’t just walk away at this point.
    “I’m going ahead with my investigation. What you do is up to you.”
    Daniel sighed resignedly. “I knew you would say that. So what’s the game plan?”
    “We’re going to pay the local sheriff a visit in the morning and see what we can find out from him. We also need to stop by the library to search through the newspapers from nineteen ninety-seven and do a proper interview with Rowan and a few others in the community.”
    “Sounds as if it’s going to be a full day,” Daniel said thoughtfully.
    “Are you up for it?”
    Daniel chuckled, “Oh, you know I am.” He sobered and looked back at me with tight lips and said, “Have you noticed that most of what you’ve told me has some connection to Rowan Schwartz?”
    Daniel was definitely eye candy, but what I really liked about the man was that his mind worked a whole hell of a lot like mine. “Yeah, don’t worry. At this point, he’s at the top of my list.”

11
    T he tall cornstalks pressed in closer, their sharp-edged leaves slashing at my arms and face. I swatted them away and summoned the strength to run even faster. The muscles in my legs were cramping and my lungs burned, but I didn’t slow down. I could see the tree line and knew that I was almost there.
    The golden glow of the harvest moon began peeking over the tops of the trees, inch by inch its silhouette climbed laboriously into the sky. I managed to find one last surge of strength and moved forward, my heart beating madly against my ribcage, my ability to breathe almost gone.
    Kaboom. The sound vibrated through my entire body as I came to a screeching stop.
    I filled my lungs with a deep breath and carefully parted the last few corn stalks. A stiff breeze stirred the thickly hanging branches of the hedgerow and a flutter of leaves sprayed down in an excited spray. The moon was high enough in the sky now that I could see quite well in its buttery light, and as I pushed the last leaves aside, my senses heightened even more. The call of a bird settling in for the night whistled in my ears and the smell of decaying leaves and mud filled my nostrils, but I ignored all of it, too intent on the blurry object on the ground right before me.
    With cautious steps, I walked forward, glancing up to search the shadowed trees that rose up like an impenetrable wall at the edge of the cornfield. I knew who was lurking in there, but even though fear pumped madly through me, I didn’t turn and run.
    The object suddenly became clear and I saw the girl lying on the ground. Naomi. She was bundled in a black coat and the front buttons were undone. A spot of dark, wet red glistened there. Her hair was pulled back, but blonde wisps framed her pale, oval face. She appeared to be sleeping as I knelt beside her.
    Just as I reached for the girl, her eyes popped open and she whispered, “You’re too late…”
    When I opened my eyes, large hands were gently shaking me and the room was dark and chilly.
    “Shhh, it’s all right. It’s just a dream.”
    Daniel’s breath was warm on the side of my face and I resisted the urge to lean against his chest. Sniffing, I said, “Actually, it was a