Whispers from the Dead (Serenity's Plain Secrets Book 2) by Karen Ann Hopkins Read Free Book Online Page A

said, “Thank you. That would be nice.”
    Every woman we passed by smiled and said hello in some fashion. Outwardly, the men ignored me for the most part, but I did catch a few of them glancing my way as we walked by. The same as the Blood Rock community, these men were careful not to show too much curiosity towards a new female. But they had definitely noticed me.
    “Sorry we’re running a little late, Jotham. We had a busy morning,” Mareena rushed the words out.
    Jotham was of medium height and would have been considered an attractive man, except that one entire side of his face was covered with leathery, red scarring. His hair line was receded with the scarring and he didn’t have any eyebrows or lashes on that side either. The eye that stared out from the mangled tissue was glass, but his other was a piercing light blue that drew my attention even more than his fake one. He was also holding Cacey in his arms and the little girl who hadn’t spoken a word after she’d gotten into the buggy was now chatting up a storm to him in her language. My initial appraisal of her as a shy child evaporated as I listened to her excited chatter to a man whose face would have scared most kids.
    Jotham laughed heartily and said something to Cacey before he set her down on the floor. She squealed in delight and ran behind the counter where I watched her pick out a large, white iced donut from the display.
    “Mareena and Lucinda, please take the pies to the table near the registers.” When the girls lingered, he added, “Mach schnell!”
    I gave my boxes to Lucinda and stepped back while they hurried away toward the front of the building. I recognized Jotham’s intent to put the girls out of eavesdropping range and turned to the Amish man with pulsating curiosity.
    He held out his hand. “I am Jotham Hochstetler. You must be the police officer.”
    I grasped his hand and said, “Serenity Adams. Do I look that much like a cop to you?”
    Jotham smiled with his ruined face and glanced away. His unmarred cheek had turned almost as red as the scarred side and I decided that I liked the man in that instant.
    “No. You look nothing like a cop to me. But I am at an advantage. Rowan described you on his return from Blood Rock.”
    I nodded. “Can we talk? I have a few questions for you.”
    “Of course,” Jotham said. He guided me to the furthest table in the restaurant area, calling out orders to his employees on our way there. Even though I couldn’t understand exactly what he was saying, I got the gist. To say that he was very involved in the goings-on in his establishment was putting it mildly.
    As we sat down at a table, I took a quick look out the window beside us. My gaze immediately landed on a group of Amish teenage boys who were hanging out next to a barn. Several of the teens were smoking and I turned back to Jotham and thumbed towards the group.
    “Are they supposed to be smoking?”
    Jotham glanced out the window and took a measured sigh. “It is not against our Ordnung for the young men to use cigarettes, but it is certainly not something that I personally condone.”
    I was satisfied with his obvious distaste at seeing the youngsters smoking, but highly confused at the same time.
    “I don’t recall ever seeing any of the Amish in Blood Rock smoking.”
    Jotham shook his head vigorously and then held up his finger to me to wait while he spoke to the server who had suddenly appeared at the table. He addressed her as Mariah, and I forgot about the smoking boys for a moment to study her closely. She was definitely a pretty girl, the contrast between her pale skin and the small amount of dark hair that wasn’t covered by her cap made her almost striking. Mariah’s gray eyes darted nervously at me a couple of times before she graced Jotham with a tight smile and left us. Was this the same Mariah that the kids at the gas station had been talking about? I had the strong gut feeling that it was.
    When Jotham returned