In Plain View (Amish Safe House, Book 2) by Ruth Hartzler Page A

she had
disappeared into the back of the diner’s kitchen. The smell of eggs
and bacon tickled Kate’s senses as she did her best to resist the
urge to place an order. She kept telling herself she was only there
for information. While she flipped through the menu, Kate thought
about how best to approach the questioning of the waitress.
    The waitress reappeared from the kitchen and
walked toward Kate with a pot of coffee in her hand. “Are you ready
to place your order?”
    Kate smiled and looked up from the menu. “I
actually think I’m going to just have this coffee, but the food
does smell delicious.”
    The waitress smiled back and continued
filling Kate’s mug with the dark, potent beverage. “Your coffee
smells wonderful,” she said.
    “Many of our customers come just for our
coffee,” the waitress said.
    As she turned to leave, Kate called out.
“Excuse me, miss.”
    The waitress turned back.
    “I’m actually here looking for my friend’s
uncle,” Kate said. “He used to tell us all the time that this was
his favorite breakfast place and that he was a regular. We haven’t
been able to get in touch with him for weeks. I was hoping maybe
you or someone on staff knew him.”
    The waitress’s face grew pale, and a sad
frown overtook her previously happy demeanor. “Do you mean Ethan
Jackson
?”
    Kate
nodded.
    “ Oh,
I’m so sorry. I’m not quite sure how to say this, but Ethan was
found murdered recently.”
    Kate reacted to the
news like a heartbroken friend hearing it for the first time. “Oh
my gosh, do you know what happened? No wonder we couldn’t get a
hold of him.”
    The waitress patted her on the shoulder.
“I’m so sorry you had to find out this way.”
    “If only we could get in touch with some of
his friends and find out what happened.”
    The waitress nodded. “Actually, Ethan used
to come here alone mostly, but in the last couple of months I’ve
seen another man with him – many times, actually. He seemed to be a
nice guy, too. I figured they must’ve been very good friends when
they were young or something. The first time I ever saw this man
meeting him here, they were hugging and acting like they hadn’t
spoken in years.”
    Kate listened carefully as the waitress
spoke. “Do you by chance know his name? Or could you describe him
to me?”
    “He was probably in his mid or early
thirties, and I never saw a ring on any of his fingers, so he’s
probably not married. He had brown, short-cropped hair, and he wore
a pair of glasses. Let me go check the records and see if I can’t
find his name for you.”
     
    Kate smiled. “Thank you, so much. If we can
at least find out what happened to him from his friends, it would
be wonderful.” She rubbed her eyes.
    The waitress nodded and vanished to find the
man’s name.
    When the waitress returned to the booth, she
had a piece of notebook paper folded up in her hands. “It’s against
company policy to give out any personal information about our
customers, but this one time I’ll make an exception. I’m so sorry
for your loss.” She handed Kate the piece of paper.
    “Thanks so much,” Kate said. She finished
her coffee and paid at the cashier before leaving a twenty dollar
tip for the waitress.
    When she reached the buggy, she pulled out
the note and unfolded it. Two words were scrawled on the paper. It
read: Lucas Caden.
    The name Lucas resonated with her for
some reason. As she tried to place his identity, it hit her out of
the blue. Lucas was the last person Ethan Jackson
had called before he died.
    As Kate had no laptop, smartphone, or WiFi,
all she could do was head to the public library to use the
internet. It was only a short drive, and when Kate pulled into the
parking lot, she suppressed a shudder when she looked at the
building. The library was an old, drab building that looked as if
it had been lost and forgotten. It was nearly dilapidated. Kate
thought it a marvel that the thing was still standing.
    Kate walked up