Lamb to the Slaughter (Serenity's Plain Secrets Book 1) by Karen Ann Hopkins Page A

more relaxed, looking around at the interior of my home.
    “No, thank you,” Serenity said hurriedly, then she glanced at Todd and added, “unless you’re thirsty?”
    The tone of voice she used with Todd made me smile. I quickly rubbed the expression away with my hand.
    “Actually, I could do with a cup of coffee, Daniel, if it’s not much trouble.” Todd shot Serenity an annoyed look.
    “No problem at all. I have a pot just brewed.”
    When the three of us were seated at the table, Serenity began to open her mouth to speak, but Todd got to the air space first.
    “Did you build this house yourself?”
    “Yes, I did, about three years ago,” I said, noticing the way Serenity rolled her eyes and slouched back into the chair, waiting for her turn to speak.
    “I’ve always liked a log house. Are they much maintenance?” Todd asked, staring at one of the wood beams above his head.
    I was about to answer when Serenity burst out, “Really, guys, maybe you should get together some other time to talk shop. We have an investigation to launch and I believe that we need to focus on it at the moment.”
    Did the woman ever relax? I could almost picture her with the honey blond hair loose on her shoulders and wearing a snug fitting pair of jeans and t-shirt—almost.
    My eyes met Serenity’s blue ones. I said, “You mentioned an investigation over the phone, but you didn’t say much else. If I could be as forth right as you, why exactly do you want to talk to me? I’m not in any trouble?”
    “No, not at all, Mr. Bachman,” Serenity said.
    “If I can call you Serenity, then it’s fair for you to call me Daniel,” I said quickly.
    Serenity glanced down in embarrassment, her upturned lips lighting her face. “Right, the reason we wanted to talk to you is that there was a shooting incident in the Amish community. It involved an eighteen year old girl named Naomi Beiler. There are some oddities surrounding the case that we’re trying to figure out.”
    “The newspaper said that it was a hunting accident. Has the person come forward yet?” I asked without thinking. I remembered Timothy and Patricia Beiler. They were close to my age, and people that once upon a time, I had called friends.
    “Yes, well, it appears to be a hunting accident, but no one has come to us with information. I’ve discovered that dealing with the Amish is not as straight forward as I had hoped it would be,” Serenity said with a frown and a glance at Todd. Her partner was still observing my interior walls and not paying much attention to the conversation at all.
    I laughed at Serenity’s words, not able to stop myself. When her eyes rounded wide, and even Todd turned to me, I said, “I’m sorry, but you obviously haven’t spent very much time around the Amish have you?”
    “No, I haven’t. That’s the problem. And why I wanted to talk to you. I was hoping that maybe you could give ussome insight into the Amish community here, and perhaps its people too.” Serenity tried to smile sweetly, but it didn’t work. The woman was too honest a person. The little show of friendliness was hollow.
    “Why me?”
    She glanced at Todd in confusion, “Ah, I heard that you used to be one of them and had left the community. Is that correct?”
    Todd interjected, “Sorry, man, you got a little loose with your lips one night at Charlie’s.”
    “What could I possibly help you with?” I looked at Serenity. I could have sworn that she blushed for a second before she spoke. Maybe there was a soft woman underneath all the bravado that actually liked men.
    “I think that would be pretty obvious, Daniel. I need to understand why these people are acting strangely and being so secretive. It seems to me that they’d want to know what happened to their daughter as much as the rest of us do.”
    “How do you mean strange?” I had to admit, as much as I hated to, that I was becoming intrigued.
    “For one thing, Mr. and Mrs. Beiler aren’t acting at