“I checked Missouri, Indiana, and New York,” Betancourt replies. “Nothing.”

“Odd for someone to go off the radar so completely,” I say. “Even an Amish person.” I think about that and something unsettling pings in my brain. “Unless he’s not in any of those places.”

“What are you getting at?” Suggs asks.

“Maybe Andy Beiler and his wife didn’t go to Shipshewana. Maybe her grandson wasn’t sent to Missouri. Maybe Rebecca was fed a lie to cover up something else.”

“Something like what?” Betancourt asks.

No one replies, but they know what I’m thinking.

Suggs finally says it. “You think they’re dead?”

“I think it’s something we need to consider,” I reply. “Maybe the bit about them fleeing in the middle of the night is the story Schrock’s putting out.”

“I’ll double down,” Betancourt grumbles. “If the three grandchildren and their parents are anywhere to be found, we’ll find them.”

I’m still thinking about Rebecca and Levi Beiler. “The timing of this is suspect as hell.”

“You’re not buying into the murder-suicide scenario,” Betancourt says.

“Rebecca Beiler was an opinionated and vocal woman,” I tell him. “She was upset about her grandchildren being sent away. Her son and daughter-in-law moving away. She was no fan of Eli Schrock and she’d been speaking out against him.”

Suggs mutters a curse.

“You think Schrock is responsible for this?” Betancourt asks.

“If Schrock is running some kind of cult, if there are kids—teenagers—being abused, he’s got a lot to hide and even more at stake if he’s found out,” I tell him. “What if Schrock got wind of Rebecca speaking out against him? Badmouthing him? What if she’d become a threat?”

“You think Schrock went over to their place, shot them, and made it look like a murder-suicide?” I don’t miss the doubt in Betancourt’s voice.

“I don’t think he pulled the trigger,” I reply, “but I think it’s possible he had someone do it for him.”

“The two men who accosted you,” Suggs says.

I nod. “That would be my guess.”

“If that’s the case, this changes everything,” Suggs says.

“You comfortable staying with the assignment, Chief Burkholder?” Betancourt asks.

“For now,” I tell him. “I’ve made some headway establishing myself in the community. I’ve met a lot of people. They know who I am. I’d hate to throw that away.”

“In light of recent events, I’d feel a lot better if you checked in twice a day instead of once,” Betancourt says.

“I agree,” Suggs echoes.

“Not a problem,” I tell them.

“In case you’re not reading between the lines here, Chief, that means watch your ass,” Suggs says.

“You can count on it.”

Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19