files secure.”
“You’ve gone through his notes?”
“And found nothing.”
“Does that seem strange to you?”
Ella weighed her words. She didn’t want the special agent to jump to the wrong conclusions. “Quin’s entire focus was on his work, especially close to his death.”
Zach stared at her. “Does that mean he turned his focus away from you?”
It wasn’t a question she expected. “I didn’t say that.”
“But it’s what you didn’t say.”
She shook her head, suddenly flustered. “You’re reading more into my statement.”
“Am I?”
She dropped the invitation onto her desk and bent to pick up some of the scattered papers.
“I’m sorry if I upset you, Ella.”
“It’s not you.” She let out a deep breath. “It’s everything that’s happened.”
“You’ll feel better once the clinic is back in order. I’ll help you.”
“I don’t need help,” she insisted, although she did. But right now she was so confused and worried. Would her life ever get back to the way it had been?
“Perhaps you don’t, but I’m not leaving you alone with so much to do,” Zach insisted.
“You sound as strong-willed as my husband.”
Instantly, she regretted her remark. Zach wasn’t strong-willed, and he wasn’t anything like her husband. When she looked at Zach, she saw compassion and understanding in his gaze.
At least she thought she did.
Or was she as wrong about Zach as she had been about Quin?
* * *
Zach encouraged Ella to sit and direct him as he cleaned up the clinic, but evidently, she didn’t trust him to get it right, because she insisted on doing everything herself. At least she let him install the dead bolts she had bought some weeks earlier but hadn’t taken out of the shopping bag.
She had a toolbox filled with the basics, one that might have belonged to her husband. Although if the tools had been his, then Quin Jacobsen hadn’t been much of a handyman. Still, Zach found what he needed and soon had the dead bolts installed.
He checked her windows, relieved to find double-paned glass and substantial locks that would be hard to pry open.
“Sergeant Abrams mentioned a security alarm,” Zach reminded Ella, after securing the doors and checking the windows. “Even the most basic, easy-to-install wireless system, would be an excellent safeguard.”
She cocked her head and frowned. “And if the alarm goes off, who comes to my rescue?”
“The alarm service calls the Freemont police.”
“How long would it take them to respond?” she asked.
“As long as it takes them to respond to a 911 call. The idea is for the alarm to warn you if an area of your house, namely a window or door, is breached. In the middle of the night, you could sleep through someone trying to get into your clinic. The alarm would alert you.”
Ella stared at Zach for a moment and then nodded. “I see your point. The receptionist who works for me is married to an electrician. He might be able to install a system.”
“The sooner the better,” Zach added.
“What if the Amish decide I’m not someone they want treating their children?”
He didn’t understand her logic. “Because they’ll see the alarm system?”
“Yes, and because of the shots that were fired today. Am I being foolish?”
“Only if you don’t think of your own safety. The Amish may not even hear about the break-in at your clinic or the shooter in the woods.”
She sighed as she picked up a pile of files and returned them to the cabinet. “Obviously you haven’t been around the Amish. Even without modern conveniences like telephones and social media, news travels.”
A key turned in the door, surprising both of them. Zach stepped protectively in front of Ella.
The woman who pushed her way inside was dressed in light blue scrubs that covered her full figure. The embroidered emblem on her uniform read Children’s Care Clinic. Evidently the newcomer—in her midforties, with rosy cheeks and pink
“You’ve gone through his notes?”
“And found nothing.”
“Does that seem strange to you?”
Ella weighed her words. She didn’t want the special agent to jump to the wrong conclusions. “Quin’s entire focus was on his work, especially close to his death.”
Zach stared at her. “Does that mean he turned his focus away from you?”
It wasn’t a question she expected. “I didn’t say that.”
“But it’s what you didn’t say.”
She shook her head, suddenly flustered. “You’re reading more into my statement.”
“Am I?”
She dropped the invitation onto her desk and bent to pick up some of the scattered papers.
“I’m sorry if I upset you, Ella.”
“It’s not you.” She let out a deep breath. “It’s everything that’s happened.”
“You’ll feel better once the clinic is back in order. I’ll help you.”
“I don’t need help,” she insisted, although she did. But right now she was so confused and worried. Would her life ever get back to the way it had been?
“Perhaps you don’t, but I’m not leaving you alone with so much to do,” Zach insisted.
“You sound as strong-willed as my husband.”
Instantly, she regretted her remark. Zach wasn’t strong-willed, and he wasn’t anything like her husband. When she looked at Zach, she saw compassion and understanding in his gaze.
At least she thought she did.
Or was she as wrong about Zach as she had been about Quin?
* * *
Zach encouraged Ella to sit and direct him as he cleaned up the clinic, but evidently, she didn’t trust him to get it right, because she insisted on doing everything herself. At least she let him install the dead bolts she had bought some weeks earlier but hadn’t taken out of the shopping bag.
She had a toolbox filled with the basics, one that might have belonged to her husband. Although if the tools had been his, then Quin Jacobsen hadn’t been much of a handyman. Still, Zach found what he needed and soon had the dead bolts installed.
He checked her windows, relieved to find double-paned glass and substantial locks that would be hard to pry open.
“Sergeant Abrams mentioned a security alarm,” Zach reminded Ella, after securing the doors and checking the windows. “Even the most basic, easy-to-install wireless system, would be an excellent safeguard.”
She cocked her head and frowned. “And if the alarm goes off, who comes to my rescue?”
“The alarm service calls the Freemont police.”
“How long would it take them to respond?” she asked.
“As long as it takes them to respond to a 911 call. The idea is for the alarm to warn you if an area of your house, namely a window or door, is breached. In the middle of the night, you could sleep through someone trying to get into your clinic. The alarm would alert you.”
Ella stared at Zach for a moment and then nodded. “I see your point. The receptionist who works for me is married to an electrician. He might be able to install a system.”
“The sooner the better,” Zach added.
“What if the Amish decide I’m not someone they want treating their children?”
He didn’t understand her logic. “Because they’ll see the alarm system?”
“Yes, and because of the shots that were fired today. Am I being foolish?”
“Only if you don’t think of your own safety. The Amish may not even hear about the break-in at your clinic or the shooter in the woods.”
She sighed as she picked up a pile of files and returned them to the cabinet. “Obviously you haven’t been around the Amish. Even without modern conveniences like telephones and social media, news travels.”
A key turned in the door, surprising both of them. Zach stepped protectively in front of Ella.
The woman who pushed her way inside was dressed in light blue scrubs that covered her full figure. The embroidered emblem on her uniform read Children’s Care Clinic. Evidently the newcomer—in her midforties, with rosy cheeks and pink
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