Anna's Healing (38 page)

“None taken, but I would remind you that
Gotte
's ways are not our ways. I, too, know a bit about answered and unanswered prayers, but what we must remember is that every prayer is answered—though not always in the way we would wish and not always as soon as we would like.” He paused, glancing slowly around the table before he continued. “I have no doubt that all of Anna's family prayed for her from the moment the accident happened—and it did happen. There's no dispute there. So why was she healed now, nearly a year later? Why was she made to endure the months of rehabilitation and life as a paraplegic?”

Daniel leaned forward as if to offer an answer, but Levi stopped him with a raised hand. “I don't want answers from you right now. What I'd like is for us all to take this up as a matter of prayer, that we might understand and know
Gotte
's will for us, for Anna, and for her family.”

Anna thought the meeting might break up, but Luke wasn't done. He waited a moment for Levi's instructions to fade into the night. Then he said, “We need to talk about the money.”

“The love of money is the root of much evil,”
Mammi
murmured.

“I'm talking about our money, and the money of the families who donated to Anna's cause.”

“What about it?” Joseph asked. As a deacon, he helped to distribute funds given in hardship cases. Anna remembered that Samuel had insisted he be a cosigner on the account set up for her so that he could ensure all funds were handled properly.

“A balance remains?” Luke asked.

“
Ya
. We received donations from across the country that totaled a little more than half a million dollars. We had anticipated that Anna's needs would stretch far into the future. People have been faithful—both within our congregation and the community of Cody's Creek.”

“Even farther than that,” Levi murmured. “We received donations from all over the United States, and from many different groups and individuals.”

“But she's no longer handicapped,” Daniel said.

“Not handicapped, and so not entitled to the monies.” Luke studied her as if he was waiting for a response.

Suddenly Anna realized that Daniel and Luke had spoken of this
before they sat down to talk. They glanced occasionally at one another, and their comments sounded rehearsed.

Her uncle leaned forward, his forearms resting on the table. He'd rolled up his sleeves and his arms looked like rope to her—aged but muscular from years of working in the fields. He was a simple man. A good man, and it hurt her to see him having to endure this type of interrogation.

“We will gladly return any remaining funds to the general benevolence account.”

“Yes, but what of the money you've already spent? It's paid for your help.” Luke cast a pointed look at Jacob, who had remained silent throughout the meeting. “I would have been happy to have an extra hand—a free hand—on my place.”

“The monies spent to date were done so in good faith and in a time of need.” Levi's tone brokered no argument. “They will not be returned. I agree with Samuel's suggestion to return the balance of the funds to our general benevolence account.”

After that they spoke for a few moments about the governor's task force, but Anna's attention wandered. She couldn't believe that what had happened to her—a lovely, beautiful, miraculous thing—had been turned into a discussion about money. She didn't want to believe that the two men sitting across from her would imply that her uncle may have behaved dishonestly in regard to the donated funds.

She tuned back into the discussion when Levi suggested they close with a silent prayer. When she raised her head, she found Jacob watching her. She could tell by the set of his mouth and the lines between his eyes that the entire meeting had been as painful for him as it had been for her.

“I will get the buggy,” Samuel said as they stood and began gathering their things.

Anna said, “I think I'd rather walk home.” She shook her head when Jacob offered to go with her. “I'd like some time alone, but
danki
.”

Her mother patted her hand. “All right, dear. Don't be long. It's late already.”

She could have cut straight across the field. The roofline to her
uncle's barn was clearly visible even in the waning light. But suddenly she longed to be away from it all—the stares, the comments barely heard, even the guards at the lane. She wanted to walk around the pond and enjoy the fact that she was able to do that very thing, something they had barely talked about.

Anna made her way toward the back of the property, walking through knee-high grass and pausing to study the occasional wildflower. She brushed her dress down with her hands and tried to still her mind, listening intently to the rustle of the summer breeze in the trees. She'd made it to the pond and was sitting on the bank when she heard footsteps. Thinking it was Jacob, she turned.

Before she could scream, before she could even think to call out, a rough hand was clamped over her mouth and she was being pulled back, away from the pond, and into the surrounding woods.

CHAPTER 57

C
hloe answered the phone as soon as she recognized the number. After Anna's accident she had added the phone shack in Cody's Creek to her list of favorites. She hoped it was Anna calling. She'd missed talking to her the last few days, but the response to her article had been overwhelming. She'd been fielding phone calls and returning emails since the paper had run the piece featuring “Anna's Healing”—which was what everyone was calling it now. Eric was beside himself with glee, which for some reason only served to irritate her.

She was surprised to receive a call so late in the evening. Until now, her Amish friends had walked to the phone shack during daylight hours.

“Chloe? This is Jacob.”

She instantly understood that all was not well. “What's wrong?”

“It's Anna. She's missing.”

“What?” Chloe had been lying on her couch, reading through the email on her tablet. Now she sat up, knocking the device to the floor. “What do you mean
missing
?”

“She's gone! She stayed late at the bishop's, her entire family did, and then she said she wanted to walk home alone. I think the meeting… I think it upset her.”

Chloe checked her clock again. Nine twenty-eight. Not so late.

“Maybe she needed a few hours to herself. I wouldn't panic.”

“The meeting ended three hours ago. The bishop lives next door
to Samuel's. There is no way she would stay out that long. She would know… she would understand that everyone would worry.”

“Have you looked—”

“
Ya
. We've all looked. Even the governor's people. They have scoured the place. There's no sign of where she's gone.”

Chloe was tugging on her shoes as he spoke. She snatched up her keys and purse and hurried out her apartment door. “I'm leaving now, Jacob. I'll be there as soon as I can.”

Chloe had spent the last year becoming reacquainted with the faith of her childhood. She understood, now that she was an adult, that somehow those beliefs and those people had rooted her and helped her grow into the woman she was. She understood that the God they worshipped cared about them on a personal level. Perhaps she had doubted that when her father was ill, but she didn't any longer.

As she drove toward Cody's Creek, she petitioned her heavenly Father. She prayed for Anna's safety. She prayed for the people who were searching for her friend. And she prayed that somehow she would be able to help.

Turning down the two-lane road that led to Samuel's farm, she was surprised to see so many people camped outside of his property. She'd assumed they went home each evening and returned in the morning. Perhaps some did. But others pitched tents or simply slept in their cars.

Why? What were they expecting to happen? And how long would it take until their attention turned elsewhere?

The cars parked on both sides of the road barely left enough room for passing, and the scarcity of streetlights didn't help. The last thing she needed was to have a fender bender. She slowed her car to a crawl. When someone tapped on her window, a small scream escaped her. Stomping on the brake, she peered out of her window and could barely make out the camera crew from one of the Tulsa television stations. The population of Tulsa had grown over the last decade, but still most of the reporters knew one another.

“Justin, what are you doing here?”

He looked like a typical cowboy—wranglers, pearl-snap shirt, and
either a cowboy hat or baseball cap. Today he wore a cap with his television station's logo.

“Hey, Chloe. There's a rumor that Anna is missing. Can you confirm that?”

Chloe stared toward the farmhouse. A glow of light rose above the trees. It looked odd to her, like a beacon in the middle of a group of Amish homes. It reminded her how unnatural all of this was. “I can't confirm anything. I just got here.”

“Why are you here, though? Why are you visiting so late in the evening?”

Chloe glanced left and right. No one else was close enough to hear their conversation. She'd known Justin for years, and she thought she could trust him. “Look, this is between us. Okay? You cannot report this until someone releases an official statement.”

“Sure. You have my word.”

“I did receive a call that Anna's missing. No one knows what happened, and I'm worried. She's my friend. You know? She's more than a story.”

“I get that.”

“Keep your ear to the ground, and if you hear anything—anything at all—call me.” She reached into her purse to grab a business card with her cell phone number. Finding one, she handed it to him.

Justin accepted the card and tucked it into a pocket. “I'll work the crowd out here. See if anyone is saying anything new about it. There was some activity at the gate a few hours ago with the governor's people, so we thought something was up. I'm sorry about your friend. I hope they find her and that she's okay.”

“Me too, Justin.” Chloe rolled up her window and pulled forward to the makeshift barricade.

The guard there checked her ID and consulted a list on his clipboard. Then he called out, “She's good. Let her pass.”

Chloe drove toward the house. The area around the home and barn was ablaze with light—much more than the gas lanterns Samuel and Erin used. As she approached the place where she usually parked, she
saw that the task force had set up emergency lights. She could make out the front porch, where several people were standing in a huddle—including the head of the governor's task force. Lacretia was speaking with a Cody's Creek police officer and Anna's uncle.

Chloe took a moment to text her mom. She briefly explained what had happened and asked her mom to alert the prayer group at their church. She knew she could count on them to be discreet, and she believed that their prayers could make a difference. Something told her they were going to need all of the help they could get.

CHAPTER 58

A
nna figured she must be in shock. That was the only thing that could explain the calmness she felt. After all, she'd been abducted. She should have been afraid for her life.

Studying the man beside her, the man driving the old Dodge truck, she didn't think he looked so dangerous. He seemed more desperate to her, though she supposed that sometimes desperate people could become dangerous.

He caught her staring and glanced over at her. “Won't be long now.”

He gripped the wheel harder, causing his knuckles to turn white in the glow of the dashboard lights. She guessed him to be about Samuel's age, possibly in his sixties. He was thin but had a bowling ball belly, and his hair was thin on top. His face and hands were marked with sun spots. Anna thought she could give a good description to the police if she ever had a chance.

The truck smelled of cigarette smoke, but he hadn't lit up since he'd pulled her away from the pond, through the woods, and forced her into the battered truck. She didn't know how long they had been driving, but it felt like several hours. Her family must be worried sick.

No doubt they would have contacted Jacob by now and maybe the police as well.

There wasn't much she could do other than jumping out of the moving vehicle. Because it was going sixty miles an hour, she didn't think that was a good idea. Better to wait for a more opportune chance
to escape. So instead she spent her time praying. She prayed for her parents. She'd caused them so much worry in the last year! She prayed for Samuel and Erin. She even prayed for the men who had met with her and her family after church. Her mind kept going back to that meeting, like a tongue seeking out a sore tooth.

They weren't bad men—though Luke Hershberger and Daniel Stutzman did seem bitter. Both had suffered hardships. Both of their families had endured what must have seemed unendurable. Luke and Sally had lost their baby girl, and Daniel and Margaret Stutzman were dealing with their son's injury. Did they all wonder why she'd been healed but not their loved ones? If so, she didn't blame them. She didn't understand it either. Why had she been chosen? Why had she been healed?