Ariana couldn’t figure out what was going on. Once the man was at the front of his car, he returned to the driver’s side and reached in for something. Blue flashing lights came on, disturbing the serenity of the night. A cold wind sliced through her thin sweater. How had she not noticed before now the sharp drop in temperature?
“Ma’am.” Despite the numerous lampposts along the sidewalk, he shined a flashlight in her eyes, and she couldn’t make out his face. He then lowered it a little. Evidently she’d stepped in front of a police car. Was it a coincidence, or had Nicholas sent for the police? Did police routinely ride through neighborhoods looking for signs of trouble?
For a brief moment he swept the light from her head to her feet. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m turned around.” Her heart palpitated, and a surge of confusion seemed to numb her mind. Looking at the maze of sidewalks, she couldn’t recall how she’d gotten here.
“Have you been drinking?”
“What?”
“You walked in front of a car and stumbled when retreating, ma’am. You’re clearly confused. And you look underage. Have you been drinking?”
“No.”
“It’s the time of year for parties. Maybe some friends had a costume party nearby, and you—”
“Costume? These are my clothes.”
“Do you know where you are?”
She shook her head. “I’m from Summer Grove, three or so hours from here, and I…I only arrived here on Saturday.” Did she sound as terrified as she felt? “And I wasn’t in this subdivision until last night.” She studied the street. “They were arguing. So unkind and…” Tears threatened, and she dropped the rest of her sentence. It would be best to focus on concrete issues. She cleared her throat. “I hardly know them, and I went for a walk, lost track of time, and now I don’t know how to get back.” Her voice trembled.
He studied her for a moment before nodding. “Okay, I can help you with that. I assume you don’t have a cell phone.”
She took a deep breath, trying to settle her nerves, but it seemed as fruitless as trying to stop the wind. “I don’t own one.”
“Not a problem. Do you know the address of where you were?”
“No.” A gust of wind made the pleats in her dress billow, and she shivered.
A robotic voice mixed with static came through some device attached to his shoulder, but she didn’t catch what it said. He grasped the thing and responded, “Lost pup at Richland. Should be walkin’ the dog in twenty.” He released the device. “I wasn’t calling you a dog. ‘Walking the dog’ means going on break. But you were the pup, so…I guess…” He cleared his throat and went to the passenger’s side door and opened it. “Let’s get out of the wind.”
Her whole body shook, and she needed to sit. Maybe it would help her to regroup her thoughts. She got in, and he went around and sat in the driver’s seat.
“How about the homeowner’s name?” He pointed at a computer. “I can look it up and drive you there.”
She should know this, and her heart moved to her throat. “Quill told me Nicholas’s last name, and it should’ve stuck.” But when Quill told her, she’d just learned she wasn’t really a Brenneman—a truth she had not wanted to accept, still didn’t want to accept. She covered her face and broke into sobs. “I was so sure it was all a mistake.” As best she could, she had put on a front with her family and community, pretending to be fine. Today she was falling apart.
“It’s okay. Here.”
She lowered her hands, and he passed her several tissues. “I’ve heard so many names over the last few days.” That alone had her head spinning. Why wasn’t Brandi’s last name the same as Nicholas’s or Gabe’s? But knowing Brandi’s last name wouldn’t help. She lived several miles from here, and she wasn’t at her house.
“Ma’am?”
“I can’t recall it. I’m sorry. It’s all so confusing.” Tears welled again. Maybe because of embarrassment or maybe because it was fully dawning on her that neither God nor life was anything like she had believed them to be.
“The database won’t be any help without an address or name.” He pulled a cell phone from his pocket. “Do you know someone you could call? Your parents?”
“They only have a community phone.” When they did get the message, which could be late tomorrow, this incident would terrify and grieve her whole family.
He looked from the phone to her. “A friend? Someone who might know your host’s name, address, or phone number?”
Only one person knew the information she needed.
Quill Schlabach.
“I’m not calling him.” She shook her head. “I’m not.”
The officer held out his cell. “You could text him.”
“I…don’t know how.”
The man seemed speechless, but then he held the phone with both hands. “What’s his number?”
Ariana told him, and his fingers flew over the screen.
“Your name?”
“Ariana.”
“I’ll use voice texting.” He pressed an icon. “This is Police Officer Barnes.” His words appeared on the screen. “I’m with Ariana. What is Nicholas’s street address or phone number?”
“You can’t send that. He’ll flip out and be on Nicholas’s doorstep in no time flat. I don’t want to see him.”
The man pressed a circle that was off screen and then pressed some more icons. “Look, I’m supposed to go on break soon, and I’d really like to get you somewhere safe and warm first.” He held out the phone. Quill’s number was on the screen, ready for her to push the green icon. “So I can call or text him, or you can.”
It would do no good for either of them to text Quill. His knee-jerk protective mode would override all else, and he wouldn’t respond to a text. He’d immediately call her on this number, and he’d refuse to tell Officer Barnes anything unless he talked to her first. She would have to talk to him to get the information. She pressed the Call button and waited.
Would he answer? He had two phones, one for everyone and one for just a handful of people. She was calling the number he’d given her, the one only a few had. Less than six weeks ago he’d bought her a phone, and she’d called him regularly as he helped her plan a benefit to raise money to buy the café. When she discovered that he was meeting with Skylar, the real Brenneman daughter, at the same time, she returned the phone and told him to leave her alone.
Her heart pounded harder by the second as the phone rang.
“Hello?” Behind Quill’s greeting she heard other voices and dishes rattling.
Why couldn’t she speak?
“Hello?” Quill repeated.
Drawing a shaky breath, Ariana hoped the tears didn’t return. “It’s me.” She breathed.
Something made a snapping noise three times in a row, and the background noise vanished. “Ari?” He waited. “Iss sell du?”
Hearing her language, one of the many things she missed desperately, caused tears to brim. Her lungs were begging for air as she tried to remain in control. “Ya, it’s me.”
Beside her, the robotic voice returned, static mixing with odd words.
“A police dispatch? Where are you?” Quill’s voice remained calm as if none of the uproar in her life worked its way past his tranquil emotions.
“I didn’t want to call, but I…went for a walk, and I can’t find my way back. I need Nicholas’s address, please.” The words were the right ones, but did they come across to him as frantic as she felt? She hoped not.
“Sure. That’s easy. I’ll text it so you’ll have it without having to write it down. Listen, I’m only an hour from Bellflower Creek. I could be there—”
“No.”
“You’re still angry with me. I get that. But I’ve been where you are—fresh from the Amish community and feeling displaced. You don’t have to go through this transition alone.”
She wanted to say, “Of the two—alone or with you—I choose alone,” but that would be excessively unkind, especially since she was asking for his help.
The dispatcher spoke again.
“You sound as if you’re at a police station. I could pick you up, and—”
“It’s a car. An officer is helping me.” She couldn’t have imagined what this new world would do to her, but she would manage without him. “I’ll find others to help as I go along. Not you, please. Just text the address. That’s all I need from you. Okay?”
“If you change your—”
“I won’t. But thanks.” She disconnected the call.
The phone pinged seconds later. Officer Barnes swiped his finger across the screen. “Here’s the address, and he said to call him anytime, night or day, and that you can trust him.”
Ariana swallowed the lump in her throat. “Could you take me back to Nicholas’s house now?”