Read Online Secrets in the Grave (Serenity's Plain Secrets Book 3) by Karen Ann Hopkins - Free Book Online Page B

growing—just like the Amish settlement on the edge of my jurisdiction. Sometimes it was hard to believe that only fifteen miles way lived a large number of people trapped in a time warp from the nineteenth century.
    I returned my gaze to Bobby. “Jonas Peachey was praying in German, mumbling really. It began to storm. He dipped his hands in a type of anointing oil and laid one hand on the boy’s forehead, and the other on his chest. The atmosphere in the room was thick for a moment, then Mervin gulped for air. I thought he was dying and pulled my gun on the medicine man.” Bobby’s eyes widened, but he didn’t interrupt me. I heard Todd’s intake of breath at my side. “When I checked Mervin, his pulse was fine and he was breathing. A few minutes later, he was up bouncing around the room on what appeared to be new legs.”
    “Hmm.” Bobby frowned.
    “How can the air be thick in a room?” Todd remarked.
    I thought, searching for the right words to describe the scene at the Amish house. “It was oppressive, almost as if something or someone else was there with us.”
    Todd whistled the Twilight Zone theme song. I rolled my eyes.
    “Were there candles or incense burning?” Bobby inquired.
    “Yeah, candles were lit around the room.”
    “I’ve heard that certain aromas can alter the mind’s perception and even induce mild hallucinations. The candles might be your answer,” Bobby mused.
    I was pondering what he said when my radio and Todd’s went off. I motioned for Todd to respond to his outside of the booth as I hit the button on mine. As Kristen, one of the local dispatch officers spoke, my mouth dropped and I stood to peer out the window better. A second later, Todd looked over my shoulder.
    Across the road was the Blood Rock Savings Bank. The front doors of the three story brick building were closed. There was some foot traffic going past the bank, but no one was coming out of it.
    “Todd and I are both at Nancy’s. We’re going to investigate. Bring in all available officers. Block off east and west Main Street, Sycamore Boulevard and Racing Road. Oh, and contact Sheriff Gilroy in Alma and notify him of the situation. If they somehow get past us, they’ll surely be heading toward the interstate and into his county.”
    Sirens blared, becoming louder by the second when I broke off contact with Kristen. “You stay here,” I told Bobby as I slid from the booth.
    Spotting Nancy, the owner of the diner, behind the counter, I waved her over. “We have a situation at the bank. Don’t let anyone leave the diner.” I looked over my shoulder, back at Bobby. “Help Nancy with an announcement,” I instructed him. He nodded with a tight expression.
    “Sure thing, kiddo. We’ll take care of business here,” Nancy said. I was turning away when her hand snaked out and she grasped my arm. “Be careful.”
    “Always am.”
    Todd and I had our side arms out when we reached the cruiser. Todd wasted no time unlocking the door and reaching for his riot shotgun. He swapped weapons. I preferred my 9 MM, especially in tight places.
    “Can you believe this? These yahoos are damn ballsy to attempt an armed robbery at the bank,” Todd breathed.
    Jeremy was the first to park along the curb. Three more cruisers took positions behind him, across from the bank.
    Before Jeremy was out of the vehicle, I called out, “Clear the street of pedestrians. I want to see only uniforms on this block.”
    Jeremy went into action. I paused long enough to direct the other officers to take positions around the bank.
    “Or damn stupid,” I finally replied, glancing at Todd. With his military buzzed haircut, bulging biceps and aviator sunglasses, he looked every bit the Hollywood cop. “Everyone in this town knows that most of Blood Rock’s law enforcement eats a couple of meals a day at the diner.” I waved for him to follow me down the narrow alley along the east side of the building. The rock wall that paralleled the bank was