Off the Grid (Amish Safe House, Book 1) Read online

  Off The Grid

  (Amish Safe House, Book 1)

  Copyright © 2015 by Ruth Hartzler.

  All rights reserved.

  Smashwords Edition.

  Smashwords License Notes.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should purchase your own copy from your favorite ebook retailer. Thank you for respecting the author's hard work.

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  Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The personal names have been invented by the author, and any likeness to the name of any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  This book may contain references to specific commercial products, process or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, specific brand-name products and/or trade names of products, which are trademarks or registered trademarks and/or trade names, and these are property of their respective owners. Ruth Hartzler or her associates, have no association with any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, specific brand-name products and / or trade names of products.

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  Psalm 29.

  Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,

  ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

  Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

  worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

  The voice of the Lord is over the waters;

  the God of glory thunders,

  the Lord, over many waters.

  The voice of the Lord is powerful;

  the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

  The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;

  the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.

  He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,

  and Sirion like a young wild ox.

  The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.

  The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;

  the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

  The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth

  and strips the forests bare,

  and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

  The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;

  the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.

  May the Lord give strength to his people!

  May the Lord bless his people with peace!

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  Psalm 91.

  He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

  will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

  I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,

  my God, in whom I trust.”

  For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler

  and from the deadly pestilence.

  He will cover you with his pinions,

  and under his wings you will find refuge;

  his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

  You will not fear the terror of the night,

  nor the arrow that flies by day,

  nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

  nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

  A thousand may fall at your side,

  ten thousand at your right hand,

  but it will not come near you.

  You will only look with your eyes

  and see the recompense of the wicked.

  Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place -

  the Most High, who is my refuge -

  no evil shall be allowed to befall you,

  no plague come near your tent.

  For he will command his angels concerning you

  to guard you in all your ways.

  On their hands they will bear you up,

  lest you strike your foot against a stone.

  You will tread on the lion and the adder;

  the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

  “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;

  I will protect him, because he knows my name.

  When he calls to me, I will answer him;

  I will be with him in trouble;

  I will rescue him and honor him.

  With long life I will satisfy him

  and show him my salvation.”

  Table of Contents.

  Chapter 1.

  Chapter 2.

  Chapter 3.

  Chapter 4.

  Chapter 5.

  Chapter 6.

  Chapter 7.

  Chapter 8.

  Chapter 9.

  Chapter 10.

  Chapter 11.

  Chapter 12.

  Chapter 13.

  Chapter 14.

  Chapter 15.

  Chapter 16.

  Chapter 17.

  Chapter 18.

  Chapter 19.

  Connect with Ruth Hartzler.

  Next Book in this Series.

  Other books by Ruth Hartzler.

  About Ruth Hartzler.

  Joshua 1: 9.

  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

  Chapter 1.

  Don’t use the Lord’s name in vain.

  Don’t use any curse words.

  Don’t say anything prideful.

  Don’t wear make-up, or cut your hair.

  No mirrors are allowed.

  Be humble, quiet, and modest.

  U.S. Marshal, Kate Briggs, sat on the edge of the bed in the small room, and rubbed her temples. Her head was spinning from the crash course on how to be seen as Amish that the bishop and his wife had just given her.

  The last few days had been crazy. She had never met an Amish person until today, and now she had to pretend to be one.

  Kate thought back to how it all started, less than forty-eight hours ago.

  * * *

  Kate shook hands with Charlie and then stood just beyond the front door of the small town diner in which they had lunch. She watched him walk to his car, get in, and drive off. Her own car was closer, and she made her way to it. She did not start it right after climbing behind the wheel; instead she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was only two hundred or so miles from home, and it was going to be the first night she had spent in her own bed in three long months.

  Kate’s job kept her on the road, traveling from small town to small town, checking in on people in the FBI Witness Protection Program. It was known to many simply as WITSEC, and she really did like her job, even if it was demanding sometimes. It was hard for her to have many friends back home, and she had been raised in so many foster homes that she’d lost count. Kate was a loner, and she preferred it that way.

  Charlie and the rest of her charges were the closest relationships she had, and she only spoke with them a couple of times a year. She liked Charlie. He was an older guy with thinning, gray hair and a severe, hawk-like nose. He was Italian, and had once had some sort of mafia nickname. He was indeed a mobster, up until the leader of his family got it into his head that Charlie was an informer. At the time Charlie actually wasn’t an informer, but when his own guys came after him, he decided to turn p
retty quickly. He got in contact with the feds, sold a few guys up the river, and now he lived in a small town of a little over a thousand people in Idaho.

  And there were people similar, people with whom Kate spoke as she traveled across the Midwest. Now, finally, it was time to go home. She had two weeks off, and she was beside herself with excitement. She turned the key in the ignition, and the engine of her car turned over, roaring to life. She hurried and got onto the highway.

  It was early evening when Kate pulled into her driveway, the sun falling steadily on the horizon, the sky growing dark. There were white wisps of thin clouds, but otherwise it was going to be a beautiful night, and the sky reflected that. She stepped out of the car and paused, letting the soft breeze blow the ends of her hair about her shoulders.

  Kate lived in a small subdivision of cookie cutter houses just outside a small town in Wyoming. It was quiet, and she liked it that way, having grown up in the hustle and bustle of Chicago. She didn’t miss the noise and the crushing crowds, and while winters could get bad in her town, they were nothing compared to Chicago.

  Kate unlocked the front door and locked it behind her, before kicking off her shoes and moving into her living room. She flopped down onto her back on her couch, closing her eyes for a moment, debating whether she should sleep right there for the night. But no, the draw of her soft bed was too much to ignore. She opened her eyes and sat up, reaching for the TV remote on the coffee table in front of her. She turned the TV on, and then stood, knowing she should go lug her suitcase from her trunk, but then decided it could wait until tomorrow.

  Kate went into her kitchen and looked at the pile of mail on the counter there, next to the toaster. Her neighbor was an older widower named Helen and she had a key to Kate’s house. She would come in, bring the mail a couple times a week, and keep on top of things like dusting, or running the heater every now and then in the winter. She wouldn’t take payment for it, even if Kate had more money than she knew what to do with and Helen was surviving on a small chunk of change every month from social security.

  Kate pulled open a few bills, but she did most of her banking online, from whatever hotel room she was in at the time. There were a couple magazines for which she wasn’t sure why she kept renewing her subscription, and then something else caught her eye. A plain, white envelope with nothing written on it. Kate quickly put together than it hadn’t been delivered in the mail. No, someone would have had to put it in her mailbox in person, and Helen had brought it in with the actual mail.

  Kate opened the envelope and pulled out a stack of about five photographs. She turned them over and almost dropped them. The very first picture was a picture of her, sunglasses on, leaving a hotel in the morning. There was a small date written in digital orange font in the corner of the picture, indicating that the picture was taken a little more than a month ago. Every other picture was similar: Kate during her daily routine, out on her state-wide, slow moving tour. She personally met with over a hundred people in witness protection each year. It had been crazy for her to find out that there were so many people in the program. But it wasn’t as crazy as getting an envelope of pictures of herself.

  James 1: 12.

  Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

  Chapter 2.

  Kate went upstairs to her bedroom and got the handgun she kept in a small gun safe under her night stand by her bed. She made sure it was loaded, flipped the safety off, and started a slow sweep of her house. It took over half an hour, but when she was confident she was alone, and that no one but Helen had been in her home, she felt safe enough to set the gun down on her coffee table and call someone.

  The only person she could think to call was her boss, David Harper. David had been with WITSEC for some time, and he had been the only boss Kate had known there, even though she was going on her sixth year. She had started right out of college, after graduating with a Masters in Law Enforcement.

  David answered on the second ring. “Hey, I didn’t think I’d hear from you for two weeks,” he said as soon as he answered.

  “I got something weird here,” she said, and the tone was serious.

  “What is it?”

  “Something with my mail. A plain, white envelope, and inside were five pictures of me.”

  “What do you mean, pictures of you?”

  Kate looked at the photos again, and then shuddered. “Just pictures of me, one leaving a hotel, one pulling out of a fast food place in my car.”

  “That’s odd.”

  “Yes, I know,” Kate said.

  “I can send someone if you want. I could get hold of the police out there.” David lived in Texas. Kate hadn’t seen him in a while, but she spoke with him once a week. The life of a WITSEC agent was a lonely one, but Kate had always thought of David as a father figure.

  “Kate, are you there?” David asked. “Would you rather leave?”

  “No, I want to stay,” she said. “We don’t need to bother the police.”

  “Don’t be a dumb kid,” David said, and she didn’t take offense. It was simply how he had always spoken to her. “I’ll call someone; they’ll send someone out.”

  “Okay,” Kate said. “Thanks.”

  “All right, let me call them. We need to figure out who did this, and why.”

  “Okay. Thanks, David.”

  Kate hung up. She moved to the kitchen and pulled open her fridge. Helen knew when Kate was back each time, and she always went to the grocery store so Kate had a few things before she could get there herself. Really, Helen was a life saver.

  Kate pulled a bottle of water from the fridge and opened it, drinking half. She was going to make a sandwich, but then she thought once more of Helen and felt ashamed. This odd thing had come in the mail for her, the mail Helen always brought in, and Kate was only now thinking to go and thank her thoughtful, elderly neighbor.

  Helen pulled the door open after Kate knocked, and she smiled, even though she was in her nightgown and had obviously been sleeping.

  “Hello, dear,” Helen said. “Do you want to come in?”

  Kate shook her head. “Sorry, you were sleeping. I just wanted to thank you for everything. I’m sorry to bother you.”

  “Well, it’s not your fault; a young person like you wouldn’t know us old folk are in bed by eight.”

  Kate laughed, and then she got serious. “Is everything okay? Was everything all right while I was gone?”

  The old woman nodded slowly. “Yes, of course. Why? Is something wrong?”

  “I got a weird piece of mail.”

  Helen’s eyes widened. “The envelope,” she said. “There was nothing on it. Yes, I thought it was weird.”

  “It had pictures of me in it, pictures I didn’t know someone had taken.”

  “That’s horrible!” Helen’s hand flew to her mouth.

  “The police are coming, but I wanted to check on you.”

  “I’m fine, really. Do you want to stay here tonight?”

  Kate thought for a minute. She hadn’t wanted to flee her home, but she was concerned. She nodded after a moment. “That would be great.”

  “I have a guest room all set up. If you need to go home and get anything, I can go with you.”

  “No, that’s okay, let me go get a few things, and wait for the police, and then after I talk to them, I’ll be over.”

  The older woman nodded. “I’ll be waiting. I’ll make a pot of coffee if you want.”

  “No, that’s okay; please don’t go to the trouble.”

  “Well, I made some coffee cake today, and you can’t have it without coffee, can you?”

  Kate laughed. “Your coffee cake is so good, Helen; you’d better put a pot of coffee on I guess. Thanks.”

  Kate returned to her house in the darkness and turned on the light of every room she entered. She took her gun and tucked it into the back of her jeans, an
d then packed a small bag with her pajamas and her toothbrush and toothpaste. She took it downstairs and made that sandwich after all, which she ate hurriedly on the couch in the light of the lamp beside her and the blue haze of the television that was still on. Within a few minutes of finishing the sandwich, there was a knock on her door. She pulled it open, to see two police officers standing there, with two squad cars parked at her curb in front of the house.

  “Marshal Kate Briggs?” one of the cops asked. They were young guys, both with brown hair peeking out from under their caps, but while one had dark eyes, the other’s were bright blue.

  “Yes,” Kate said.

  “I’m Officer Coy,” the one with the blue eyes said. “This is Officer Landis.”

  Kate stood aside. “Come in, both of you.”

  For the next fifteen minutes, Kate told them about coming home and finding the envelope.

  “Well, we can keep someone out here all night,” Landis said. “We’ll come by in shifts, have someone at your curb the whole night. Meanwhile, we’ll take those pictures and see if we get any prints off them.”

  Kate nodded and rose, and the cops did as well. She got the pictures, handed them to Coy, and he dropped them in a plastic baggy. “I’m staying with my neighbor, if it makes a difference,” Kate said to the cops as they left.

  “No problem. Having us out here will certainly deter anyone anyway, but it’s probably good if you’re not here for a night or two.”

  As soon as the police left, Kate took her bag and turned off the television. She then shut and locked her door and went over to Helen’s. They had coffee and cake for an hour or so, and then both women headed for bed.

  Kate lay on Helen’s comfortable guest bed, looking up at the off-white, stucco ceiling. There was a shaft of blue moonlight coming through the window next to the bed and it ran across the blanket and over to the far wall. Kate turned her head to focus on it.

  After trying to sleep for some time, Kate finally accepted that she wouldn’t be able to. She got up quietly and crept downstairs for one more small piece of coffee cake. She ate it at the kitchen sink and then went out into the living room. She peeked out of the bay window there just in time to see Officer Cody returning to his vehicle after a walk around her home. He climbed in, sat behind the wheel, and then the dome light went out in his car and it was hard for Kate to see him.