[LiveRead] Amish Cradle Conspiracy

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Tue Jun 28, 2022 11:30 am

Okay, I've tested positive for Covid, but my symptoms are very mild. So I'm still working full time, but I'm locked in my bedroom and not going to be allowed out until Sunday. I was going to read the MyPillow Guy book, but it's just too evil and awful. So I quit that.

BUT INSTEAD... I WILL READ THIS FOR YOU:

After a pregnant Amish woman and her toddler are abducted, police sergeant Nicole Dawson charges in to save them. But when the kidnapper escapes with the child—and thinks Nicole can identify him—she becomes his new obsession. Determined to protect his ex-fiancée, FBI special agent Jack Quinn joins the case. But the clock is ticking in their race to uncover the baby-trafficking ring before another innocent is taken…

It's 216 pages of exciting Amish adventure! PREPARE YOURSELVES!

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Tue Jun 28, 2022 1:30 pm

Dude are they trafficking Amish babies or are the Amish trafficking babies? I don't even know what's going on but it sounds very intense.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Tue Jun 28, 2022 1:45 pm

I don't know, but I'm going to post up after each chapter!

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Tue Jun 28, 2022 4:35 pm

Chapter One:

Enter Sergeant Nicole Dawson, a ten year experienced police sergeant in the small Ohio community of Berlin County, Ohio. She'd moved here because of some scandal with her disgraced father or something. And when she was here she met and married another cop named Jack, but he'd betrayed her, ruined their marriage and she left him. Fortunately he works for the FBI now and moved to Columbus. I definitely get the impression that I'm in the middle of a long series of Amish mysteries involving these characters. But who cares! It's written simply and it explains everything I need to know!

Nicole and her partner, Kathy, are racing through the back roads of the county because they got a report that an abducted Amish woman, Lucy, was abducted with Lucy's two-year-old daughter, Leah. And get this: Lucy was ALSO seven months pregnant. There was a report that Lucy was spotted being forced into an abandoned house out in the boonies by two armed men. As Nicole and Kathy pull up and get out of their cruiser, Kathy is shot in the shoulder. As Nicole is tending to Kathy's wound, back up arrives. It's the other cops from her department AND...

Enter Jack, Nicole's ex. As he approaches the scene, we learn that he was actually working undercover for the FBI in his final days at the police department and the betrayal of Nicole was actually required by his undercover work and he still hasn't told her the truth about it. And then (and again, I'm pretty sure this is in another book in the series) after moving to Columbus, his sister was murdered, making him an instant father to his young niece. Together they approach the abandoned building (and abandoned day care) and find Lucy, held by a suspect with a knife to her neck. While they try to talk the perp down, the other suspect drives away. They disarm the suspect who jumps through a window and gets away.

After everything calms down, Jack explains to Nicole and Lucy that there's these arms smugglers who have started abducting Amish babies to sell on the black market? Why Amish? Because there's no pictures of the children to identify them!

DUN DUN DUN!

And then Lucy tells them that they've changed the scope of their operation and have started abducting pregnant women, stealing the babies when they're born and then murdering the mothers!

DUN DUN DUN!

Y'all. This was a pretty exciting 22 pages.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Wed Jun 29, 2022 10:20 am

Chapter 2:

As Nicole and Jack get to the hospital, we ping pong between their perspectives to get their inner monologues about their unresolved feelings for each other. It turns out I was wrong- they weren't married, just engaged. And while they're both still resentful of each other, it's clear there's going to be some hardcore love making later in the book. Also they're both pretty religious. Not "crazy" religious like the Amish, but their faith guides them.

Not much happens at the hospital. They talk to Lucy, the Amish mother to reemphasize that these smugglers are taking advantage of the Amish because.. NO PICTURES TO IDENTIFY THEM. Even though they've already made this point, the author really wants us to realize how clever this plot is. They want to bring in a sketch artist, but Lucy isn't sure if that's permissible under the Amish restrictions, so they need to get Bishop Hershberger's blessing. Also- there's a lot of pigeon Dutch talk from Lucy about the Englisch and such. Anyways, in a kind of pointless sidebar, Jack and Nicole drive to the Bishop's house and he reluctantly gives permission for a sketch artist. This confuses me, I thought the Amish were opposed to technology that creates shortcuts for people, but not art. Maybe I'm wrong though. Everything I know about the Amish came from the previous chapter of this book and that Rumspringa documentary. The Bishop also says that Lucy must come back to the Amish community when she gets discharged and they'll protect her. No cops. Uh... okay, I'll go with that.

So Jack and Nicole are driving back when a cropduster plane forces them off the road!. And not just that! As they turn to get back on the road, the plane does a loopedly loop and is come back for them! And someone in the cockpit is shooting at them as they drive! END SCENE!

DUN! DUN! DUN!

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Wed Jun 29, 2022 12:54 pm

I want more information now and yet I don't want to know the answers. Paradox! For some reason I'm puzzled as to why they don't just sell the mothers into trafficking as well. Are there pictures of the mothers somewhere? I don't know how likely it is for the average Amish woman in her twenties to be easily traceable. Can they only have one baby before they're done producing? I think the smugglers would keep them and keep them having babies. But what do I know?

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Wed Jun 29, 2022 1:12 pm

Phoebe wrote: ↑Wed Jun 29, 2022 12:54 pm I want more information now and yet I don't want to know the answers. Paradox! For some reason I'm puzzled as to why they don't just sell the mothers into trafficking as well. Are there pictures of the mothers somewhere? I don't know how likely it is for the average Amish woman in her twenties to be easily traceable. Can they only have one baby before they're done producing? I think the smugglers would keep them and keep them having babies. But what do I know?

I don't know the answers to any of these questions. But I definitely think that we're not supposed to think to closely about these issues. As Jack says in his inner monologue when he enters the hospital: the thought of how pure EVIL this scheme is makes his blood boil.

But can we make sense of it if we try? Probably. Look, given the stereotypes in this book, we can surmise that Amish women are VERY high maintenance, particularly when it comes to having to tolerate the Englisch. So you abduct these Amish pregnant ladies because... again... no one can identify them with pictures. You take their babies when they're born, but look- at that point you've already put up with this bossy lady in a little house on the prairie dress for eight weeks or so. You've had enough. And you can't have witnesses. And you know the Amish, they breed like rabbits (I'm guessing?!?) so there's always more where that came from. So you murder them knowing you won't get caught because, and once again I cannot emphasize how smart and clever this is, there are no pictures to identify them.

I also want to say that I'm very tempted to research if the Amish are against hand drawn portraits, but I don't want to tarnish the rules created for this Amish-filled world.

Post by **Mike** » Wed Jun 29, 2022 1:24 pm

The biggest problem is that due to the closed nature of their community, 84% of all Amish men and 77% of Amish women have face blindness and can't identify bodies, even of close loved ones.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Wed Jun 29, 2022 3:00 pm

Mike wrote: ↑Wed Jun 29, 2022 1:24 pm The biggest problem is that due to the closed nature of their community, 84% of all Amish men and 77% of Amish women have face blindness and can't identify bodies, even of close loved ones.

Bingo. So clever!

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Wed Jun 29, 2022 3:08 pm

Chapter 3:

As the cruiser, which had already been pepper with gunfire once that day, raced away, the crop duster making continuous passes. Someone in the cockpit continuing to pelt them with gunfire. But we're in rural Amish country, and you know what that means! Covered bridges! Making a full speed turn that puts the cruiser on two wheels for a brief heart-stopping moment, they make it to the covered bridge just before the crop duster reaches for it's final assault. Gunfire rains on the roof of the covered bridge, but just then back up starts approaching and the plane flies away. Through this all, they are silently sending prayers to the lord above for their safekeeping. Faith. You gotta have faith faith faith. Baby.

Back at the station, as Jack and Nicole are on their way to talk to Nicole's chief, Jack casually asks Nicole if she needs something to eat for her diabetes. She picks up an apple and protein bar from her desk. I'm sure this Checkoff's Diabetes will be important later.

They talk to Chief who confirms that he's spoken with Jack's superior and Jack's partner is on his way from Columbus to work with them. Chief also breaks the news that Kathy, Nicole's partner, is going to be out of commission for several weeks or months because of her work. Which means Nicole needs a partner. That's when Chief orders Jack and Nicole to partner together to solve this crime. They both look shocked and reluctant, but the Chief makes sure they both know that this is not a request, but an order. In their inner monologues, they both question whether they can even be partners, but also flush with the secret excitement of having to work together on the case.

Dun Dun Dun? It's not really a Dun Dun Dun moment.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Thu Jun 30, 2022 8:11 am

Chapter 4:

This book is barreling by at a mile a minute! So Jack and Nicole get to hospital and meet the sketch artist (whose husband died the year before- why is the book telling me this?) and go to Lucy's room to get a description of her Amish child, who again-- has never been photographed and can't be identified without a sketch. When they get to the room, the officer on guard outside says no one has been there except a nurse about ten minutes before. When they enter the room...

Lucy's having a seizure! Doctors rush into the room and immediately recognize that something doesn't look right in her IV fluids. These must be really good doctors! LUCY'S BEEN POISONED! As the doctors treat her, Jack runs to do something important that I can't remember and isn't really important. The guard officer says he'd recognize the nurse, so he and Nicole run off to look for her. And they find her! In the gift shop! But Nicole, confusingly, doesn't want to apprehend her there because "she might have a weapon and start shooting innocents." So they hide and follow her to the parking lot where, quite predictably, they let her manage to get in a car before they can apprehend her. It looks like she's going to get away, and Nicole just manages to get out of the way before being run over. She and the guard officer shoot out the tires, and the car crashes into another car. As they rush the vehicle, they see the woman swallow a capsule. As they bust the windows out, she starts seizing and convulsing. She's swallowed a suicide pill! Their only suspect is dead!

DUN! DUN! DUN!

Also, they find out that Lucy is going to recover from the poisoning, but for some reason the hospital won't be able to revive the woman suspect. Also the car she was driving was stolen and unregistered. They have no leads!

Post by **Mike** » Thu Jun 30, 2022 12:23 pm

My god, imagine being SO evil that instead of rolling over on your friends and cutting a deal, you would rather take your own life so that the EVIL can continue unabated. That's some pretty twisted evil.

Although, it's possible that she killed herself out of fear of what the other traffickers might do to those who betray them.

Either way, these are some seriously evil people, and I hope Nicole and Jack can catch the bastards soon (although mostly Nicole, because Jack feels kinda worthless).

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Thu Jun 30, 2022 12:36 pm

Oh wait- don't let my narrative fool you. Jack is SO NOT worthless. He made the ultimate sacrifice: he lost his fiancee because his duty to protect and serve forced him to do it. Now I still don't have any details about how that happened, but the book is very clear that he had no choice.

And also you should know, Jack is much more mindful about sending prayers to the Lord above when innocents are in danger. And when he's in peril, he always thinks first of how, if something happens to him, he doesn't know what will happen to his 5-year-old niece, who he's raising as a daughter. He's so self-sacrificing and tortured about not being more self-sacrificing. Also- he totally has the hots for Nicole still.

Post by **Mike** » Thu Jun 30, 2022 12:40 pm

But... But... isn't Nicole married?

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Thu Jun 30, 2022 1:42 pm

Mike wrote: ↑Thu Jun 30, 2022 12:40 pm But... But... isn't Nicole married?

No! She was engaged to Jack! But he had to betray her (because of his duty) and they called off the wedding- that's when he moved to Columbus several years ago. And she hasn't really dated since! Neither has he!

Post by **Mike** » Thu Jun 30, 2022 2:04 pm

Heh heh. You said "duty".

Post by **Mike** » Thu Jun 30, 2022 2:06 pm

And I realize now that I conflated Nicole with a love interest character in the book I'm currently reading.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Thu Jun 30, 2022 2:38 pm

Mike wrote: ↑Thu Jun 30, 2022 2:04 pm Heh heh. You said "duty".

Heh heh. I actually almost put that in parens when I wrote it. Heh.

Post by **Mike** » Thu Jun 30, 2022 3:26 pm

No no... tell me more about how Jack can't be with Nicole because of his doody.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Thu Jun 30, 2022 5:09 pm

The relationship just got too... messy.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Thu Jun 30, 2022 5:09 pm

Chapter 5:

Nicole rushes back into the hospital to check on Lucy. Because of her bruised leg (she was clipped by the car), she takes the elevator. She hates taking the elevator because she has crippling claustrophobia. Checkoff's claustrophobia? I'm guessing so. Bolting from the elevator to Lucy's room she discovers... IT'S EMPTY!

DUN! DUN! DUN!

She races to the nurse's station who informs her that, because Lucy was poisoned, they did a C-Section to make sure the baby wasn't poisoned to. Lucy goes to another room where Jack is waiting. He explains that they had to run someone out to get Bishop Hershberger's permission to do the surgery, but that the baby is doing good, but premature. And Lucy was still in surgery for... uh... the C-Section maybe? Or poisoning surgery? It wasn't really clear. Due to all the stress, Nicole has a small breakdown and her and Jack embrace, causing tumult and confusion for both of them. But the moment is broken up when Officer Badtiming shows up and says they have to return to the station because Jack's partner Tanner (of course) has finally arrived.

On the way back to the station, Jack has a small breakdown and explains to Nicole that his sister didn't just die- she was murdered. He blames himself because she called him and said she needed help, but he didn't check the voicemail for an answer. When he got to her house, he discovered she'd been poisoned just like Lucy (dundundun) but it was too late to save her. They caught her poisoner, Fred Johnson (Checkoff's Johnson? Probably not.) but he was just a hired goon who didn't know who hired him or why they wanted Jack's sister dead. Nicole and Jack grow closer.

Back at the station, Tanner and Chief reveal that they've discovered that THREE other Amish and Mennonite women have gone missing recently. One about every six weeks. For their babies. Because there are no pictures of them. Of course. Jack and Nicole steel themselves even more about how they have to stop this evil.

In leap of crazy smart detective work, they decide that they need to go scope out the high schools, because the guy that was holding Lucy at knifepoint was a teenager, and he outran Jack to get away. Which must mean.. HE'S ON THE TRACK TEAM!

DUN! DUN! DUN!

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Thu Jun 30, 2022 11:23 pm

This story is overwhelming. I don't like this whole "Lucy is poisoned and also has a C-section" thing - I feel like they stole this idea from some other story and it's creepy.

Why are they poisoning people who could produce babies instead of taking their babies, if that's the goal? It's madness, and if a trackstar is involved, you know, why not just run in and grab the babies and then run away really fast? It's not like there are cars to chase down a baby thief because... Amish, no cars?

Also so weird they would use a name like Officer Badtiming. It just seems unrealistic as a last name, you know? Puts you out of the suspense of disbelief, momentarily.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Fri Jul 01, 2022 5:46 am

Phoebe wrote: ↑Thu Jun 30, 2022 11:23 pmAlso so weird they would use a name like Officer Badtiming. It just seems unrealistic as a last name, you know? Puts you out of the suspense of disbelief, momentarily.

I don't know. In the flow of the narrative it just seems to work somehow.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Fri Jul 01, 2022 6:38 am

Chapter 6:

The next morning at the station, Jack and Nicole meet up and start chatting more friendly and less formally. Like they used to. Nicole also comments that she had to get sugar free creamer because... her A1C levels are off... CHECKOFF'S DIABETES!

DUN! DUN! DUN!

The team gets together and start to speculate about who the next victim will be. They suspect that it will be another pregnant Amish woman, and probably one who is a widow. At the thought of identifying potential victims, the comment is made that it's like "finding a needle in a haystack." Is it? How many pregnant Amish women are there? And how many got pregnant and then their husbands died after that? I mean... I'd be shocked if there was even ONE other than Lucy. But okay. No worries. Good police work, y'all. I'm not going to tell you your job.

Back to the hospital where Lucy is awake and provides a description to the sketch artist, who produces two of what Leah (the abducted child) would look like, one as Amish and one as Englisch. She also has a sketch of the teen abductor and one of the older abductor that they hadn't seen yet. Nicole is shocked because she recognizes the older one, but can't place where. Lucy said the other one called him Nicolas.

Jack and Nicole then rush around the county to the different high schools, but are having zero luck. But then- at the last school for the day... bingo. The principal recognizes the sketch- it's Ted Atkins, a kid who dropped out just two months ago. Never been in trouble. Hell, he lettered on the track team three years in a row (huzzah!). Even more suspicious, the school's track coach quit around the same time Ted dropped out! They show the sketch of Nicolas, but they can't say whether it's the coach or not- coach had a full beard.

Back at the station, the power is out. That's weird. But as they enter, they see everyone fussing at the fuse box and an electrician fixes the power. As he leaves, Nicole feels the electrician looks familiar but she doesn't know where (dundundun). Jack and Nicole each get a fresh cup of coffee from the coffee maker. As they go back to Nicole's desk, she notices something smoldering and weird about the steam coming off Jack's cup. As he raises it to his lips, she slaps it out of his hand, where it crashes to the ground. The coffee that spills out starts burning and melting the carpet. It's not coffee... it's acid. Someone filled the coffeemaker with acid!

DUN! DUN! DUN!

Post by **Mike** » Fri Jul 01, 2022 7:00 am

I've always said that the best way to get away with any crime is to break into the police station and replace their coffee with acid. It is 100% indistinguishable from regular coffee, and by the time the cops realize there's a problem, the problem turns out to be that they're all dead. *BOOM* All investigations are on permanent hiatus.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Fri Jul 01, 2022 8:35 am

I'll be honest, if I was Jack or Nicole, I'd feel like this is somehow personal. And they actually do feel that way. Because the book has said it numerous times.

Post by **Mike** » Fri Jul 01, 2022 2:55 pm

Okay, so is the "no pictures of Amish babies" thing being brought up again and again in every chapter where YOU mention it, or are you reiterating it to make a point?

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Fri Jul 01, 2022 3:01 pm

Mike wrote: ↑Fri Jul 01, 2022 2:55 pm Okay, so is the "no pictures of Amish babies" thing being brought up again and again in every chapter where YOU mention it, or are you reiterating it to make a point?

I mention it when the book mentions it. Sometimes the book mentions it and I don't.

Post by **Mike** » Fri Jul 01, 2022 3:19 pm

It's probably a good thing they keep hitting on that point, because I'm easily distracted.

Eliahad · Post by **Eliahad** » Fri Jul 01, 2022 4:55 pm

"I've got super special acid."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, eat through your flood, rug, locked safe... What have you!... But won't do crap to polystyrene or a #2 coffee filter."
"I'll take two gallons."

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Fri Jul 01, 2022 5:02 pm

Chapter 7:

There's much more hand-wringing and angsting between Jack and Nicole. When they go back to inspect the coffee maker, it's melted, as is part of the counter it was sitting on. Wow. There was a real short window for the "poisoned with acid" plan to work. As the team huddles together, Nicole realizes that she recognized the electrician- it was Nicolas from the sketch Lucy did!

Dun! Dun! Dun!

They call the electric company, and discovery that the guy on call never showed or called in, much less show up to fix the electricity at the police station. Worried looks are exchanged. They run a background check on the employee and discover that his whole family live in Michigan and he's here alone. Jack and Nicole rush to his house and discover... He's been shot in the head by a "sniper" shot!

Dun! Dun! Dun!

And while their calling it in, the crime scene unit officer that shows up has more news for Jack and Nicole! They discovered a body on the abandoned daycare property! It was another pregnant woman who had just given birth!

Dun! Dun! Dun!

Post by **Mike** » Fri Jul 01, 2022 5:39 pm

I get it! It has the form of a mystery cop thriller, but they simplify it to such a level that virtually everyone who reads it can figure out the clues at every step. It makes people feel smart. What an awesome reward that is! It's like those butt-simple logic problems that show up on Facebook with the caption "Only 160 IQ can solve this!" Even when you know that's a lie, it still feels good to be smarter than this supposedly "impossible" puzzle. This is just the novelization of that puzzle, with dozens of chances to feel smart. Very comforting.

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Sat Jul 02, 2022 1:39 am

Speak for yourself, smarty-pants! I have no idea wtf is going on!
All I could decipher is that the evil ones (maybe the former track coach?) got the idea the police were on the case (or there's some nefarious personal link and they hate these particular police). The evil ones therefore messed up the police station fuses, and then killed-by-sniper the electrician who normally would have been assigned to fix this, so that they could go in with the magic coffee acid?
While this is going on, they also delivered a baby, killed the mom, and ran off with the baby?

Why are they making two sketches of Leah, "one as Amish and one as Englisch"? Do babies/toddlers/etc evolve like pokemon when the Englisch get hands on them? Do the Amish keep their tots in bonnets that render them unrecognizable? I am lost.
Is Nicole formerly Amish?
Is the track coach formerly Amish with that "full beard"? We know real track coaches never have a full beard! The wind resistance is excessive. Is an evil one-time Amish reject now angry with the Amish, to the point of eating their babies?
Maybe he's stealing the babies so he can found his own new and improved Amish village and this time nobody's kicking him out. Also kind of like the Republic. The mind boggles.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Sat Jul 02, 2022 8:30 am

Yeah- I'm with Phoebs on this one. This is bananas and I can't figure any of it out. What kind of resources does this evil gang have? So to try to kill cops they enlist a sniper- but not to snipe the cops, NO. They use the sniper to kill a rando electrician so they can steal his uniform and sneak in to station and plant a very risky, short term and high failure risk plot to put acid in the coffee maker. Why would they do this? Clearly because they can. It's not about killing the cops. It's a cat toying with its prey before it kills it. SO EVIL.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Sat Jul 02, 2022 8:30 am

Chapter 8:

Jack and Nicole are trying to figure out which leads to follow. They decide to look up the track coach. (Oh right! Remember him? Seems like they could have done this yesterday afternoon.) When they try to get a background on him they realize... he doesn't exist!

Dun! Dun! Dun!

It's a fake name and id information. But how can that be? Don't schools require background checks? Well, out here in rural Ohio some of teams aren't actually through the school, but are rather just private clubs (even though Ted lettered three years in a row?) and those clubs don't have the same stringent background requirements. Dang it! Another lead gone cold!

The day is closing and Jack tells Nicole that he's worried that these perps are trying to murder her, so he asks if he can stay at her place tonight and sleep on the couch. Just so they can watch each other's backs. Nicole declines and Jack and Tanner (the FBI partner) insist on walking her out to her personal car (since the cruiser is all shot to heck). As they approach the car, Nicole stops. She has that tingle between her shoulder blades. No. It's not diabetes. It's that intuition that she's being watched. All three look around, but see no one. She opens the door to her car and remembers she left her bag in the station. She slams the door shut and starts walking back to the station to get it when... a bomb explodes in her car!

Dun! Dun! Dun!

Eliahad · Post by **Eliahad** » Sat Jul 02, 2022 8:37 am

That.... Seems like the least necessary chapter so far. Also, pro tip: The worst thing for you can do for your car? Have a Nicole.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Sat Jul 02, 2022 9:02 am

Eliahad wrote: ↑Sat Jul 02, 2022 8:37 am Also, pro tip: The worst thing for you can do for your car? Have a Nicole.

Even in today's market, I can't imagine what a Nicole would do to the resale value of your car.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Sat Jul 02, 2022 1:47 pm

Chapter 9:

Nicole wakes up from the blast. Disoriented. She has blood on her. Her blood. But it looks like she avoided serious damage. Also, Jack's fine. Tanner the FBI partner, though. He's messed up. Ambulances show up and take Tanner away. There's a lot of hugging and internal angsting between Jack and Nicole. Neither could imagine what they would do if the worst happened to the other. Both send prayers up for thanks. Then EMS insists Nicole go to the hospital for Xrays, to "ensure everything's okay." (Great EMSing there.) So Nicole leaves in an ambulance after some more angsting.

Jack joins Chief back at the station to go over the security footage from the parking garage. They see the perp in a hoodie planting a bomb in Nicole's "Agean Blue CRV." They freeze frame on the one moment where the perps face is visible and print the image off. As Jack holds the picture and stares at the face of the man that tried to blow up Nicole, he goes super religious:

Amish Book wrote: Romans 12:19 came to his mind. "Beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath, for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."

A hard breath exploded from [Jack]. "Lord, I know that vengeance is Yours. Please help me to be just, not angry. I don't want to act outside of Your will. But I can't deal with this anger on my own."

A warm flood of peace spilled over him. The anger wasn't completely gone, but he could control it and do his job.

Yikes. For a book that seethes cringyness, that was super-cringy.

Jack goes to the hospital. Tanner is fine. Nicole is fine. Lucy is going home in the morning, and that doesn't sit well with anyone. But what are you going to do? She's Amish. Nicole and Jack have a few more meaningful stares and silent moments when Jack says he wants to sleep at Nicole's house on the couch. She doesn't argue this time. So they go to Nicole's house (which is the last place I would want to go) and go to sleep.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Sat Jul 02, 2022 7:03 pm

Chapter 10:

Shockingly, no one tries to kill Jack and Nicole in their sleep. They wake up the next morning, talk in WAY too much detail about flavored K-cup coffee, and then make their way to the station for Nicole to reveal her big plan. Jack's anxious to know what it is, but she won't say yet. They get there, meet Chief and go to a conference room. But Nicole still won't tell the plan because they're waiting for someone else. Just then the door opens and Bishop Hershberger enters. He takes a seat and Nicole reveals that she wants to go undercover in the Amish community and live Lucy as protection. Hershberger agrees pretty quickly (which was surprising) but demands that Nicole try not to use any violence. Nicole agrees, but Jack notes that she doesn't say anything about not bringing her service weapon.

Clapping each other on the back for a job well done, Jack and Nicole are leaving to go distribute flyers of the sketches of Leah and the perps. As they approach Jack's car (uh oh) a man lunges out from the bushes at them! He stumbles into Jack's car (no damage- thank the Lord- the curse of Nicole is seemingly broken!) and falls to the ground. His shirt is covered in blood, and he's still bleeding. It's... Ted the Trackstar!

Dun! Dun! Dun!

Ted starts gasping apologies to Jack and Nicole. They pull their weapons on him, but he's delirious. He says he's been shot twice. And that he's sorry. And he didn't know anyone was going to be killed. And he was only helping him out because he needed money for his sister's surgery. And they don't have insurance. Jack asks him if he knows if anyone else has been killed. Ted says just the electrician, that's when he knew he had to get out. But he heard the guy tell someone else about other murders. Who was he telling? His father (not Ted's father, the other perp's father). Jack tries to ask another question, but just then the parking lot is sprayed with bullets. The side of Jack's car is showered in gunfire (Oh shit! They totally faked me out! Curse on!). Jack and Nicole take cover and are uninjured, but it's too late for Ted. Ted's dead.

Dun! Dun! Dun!

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Sat Jul 02, 2022 7:05 pm

Y'all, I think we're getting like a Reverse-Witness. Or maybe it's just a Normal-Witness. Did a cop go undercover in Witness? I can't remember.

More importantly, once Nicole goes undercover and is in Amish country, do you think her Car-Curse will carry over to the horse and buggies?

Post by **Mike** » Sat Jul 02, 2022 7:59 pm

It will carry over to the buggies, but not the horses. People love horses (and dogs). These monsters may traffic in stolen babies, but even THEY wouldn't shoot a horse.

On the other hand, I'm calling it: Bishop Hershberger is behind everything.

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Sat Jul 02, 2022 8:58 pm

There's so much here that I'm having trouble collecting my thoughts but here are a few:
I want to know not so much how Nicole is psychic and can tell that a bomb is going to explode her car, but how she knows that the blood is hers and not Tanner's even though he is supposedly all messed up?

I object to the Interpreter's intimation that too much conversation about flavored k cup pods can be had in the morning. It's an ideal conversation topic at that time of day and remains evergreen.

Totally agree with Mike about Bishop Hburger. This f***** wants to tell people whether they can draw pictures. He wants way too much control even for an Amish Bishop, and all I'm going to say is that if you Google Amish bishops to see whether they really have such a thing you're going to find out not only that they do but that there's a crime problem.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Sun Jul 03, 2022 7:04 am

Phoebe wrote: ↑Sat Jul 02, 2022 8:58 pm There's so much here that I'm having trouble collecting my thoughts but here are a few:
I want to know not so much how Nicole is psychic and can tell that a bomb is going to explode her car, but how she knows that the blood is hers and not Tanner's even though he is supposedly all messed up?

Yeah- that was weird and the whole "Sixth Sense" thing was weird too. But I think it's a "God watching out for me" thing.

I object to the Interpreter's intimation that too much conversation about flavored k cup pods can be had in the morning. It's an ideal conversation topic at that time of day and remains evergreen.

Wrong. The interpreter's decisions are final and unappealable.

Totally agree with Mike about Bishop Hburger. This f***** wants to tell people whether they can draw pictures. He wants way too much control even for an Amish Bishop, and all I'm going to say is that if you Google Amish bishops to see whether they really have such a thing you're going to find out not only that they do but that there's a crime problem.

This blows my mind. I hadn't even thought of it. But now I'm suspicious because the whole kind of unnecessary inclusion of him so many times seems sus.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Sun Jul 03, 2022 7:17 am

Chapter 11:

Because Jack's car had bullets in it, they had to leave it at the station on the crime scene. So he and Nicole took her cruiser (uh oh) to the post office to circulate copies of the sketches. While they're there, Officer Urgency comes over the radio to report a 2905 in progress... a kidnapping! It's a pregnant Amish woman who was snatched in broad daylight outside an Amish-run restaurant! (Side note: How... do they... is everything cooked over an open fire? Is that up to code?) They rush to the restaurant and start interviewing witnesses. They talk to the abducted woman, Martha's, sister- Addie. (Note- Martha is Amish and pregnant, but not a widow. Hmm.) Addie tells them they were standing outside the restaurant when Martha felt hot and asked Addie to rush in and get a glass of water for her. When Addie came back out with it, she saw a man push her into a car and speed off. She looked at the sketch and confirmed that the man was "Brandon" the older perp.

Jack and Nicole jump into her cruiser to try to locate Martha (?) and, on one of the back highways see a disheveled and scratched up pregnant Amish woman on the side of the road. It's Martha! She's alive! They have to coax her into the cruiser (she's unsure of their electric horse carriage) and start to drive her back to the station when... a car pulls up behind them and starts shooting!

Dun! Dun! Dun!

It's peppering the back of the car with bullets! They make Martha get down and Jack yells at Nicole to put his window down so he can return fire! (Which makes no sense because the back windshield was blown out in an earlier chapter by the plane sniper, but I suppose Jack doesn't want to do more damage?) They radio in what happens, pull a U turn on the highway to gain distance and time. As the backup is approaching, the perp's car veers off on an exit at the last minute and gets away! Again! I mean... this is like the fourth time! They need to anticipate the getting away part!

Dun! Dun! Dun!

Oh yeah, I forgot to include this. When they were talking to Martha but before the perp car appeared, she confirmed that "Brandon" took her to an abandoned house where he was arguing with an older man she couldn't see, but who he called "his dad." And she escaped while they were arguing because they left the back door open. You know, for people that pull of huge dead-electrician-acid-coffepot-plots, that's pretty sloppy. They must be getting desperate.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Sun Jul 03, 2022 4:33 pm

Chapter 12:

Back at the station, Nicole stares unsure at a bag on her desk. It's filled with her Amish outfit. Setting a hard grimace, she goes to the changing room and gets into her undercover garb. There's a secret pocket sewed into her dress under her apron for her to hide her gun and phone. Her and Jack have some weird loving stares and he makes a creepy comment that he's never seen her in a dress and she looks good in it. This makes me think there's some weird Amish-roleplaying that's going to go on later, and it's super creepy. Anyways, they both angst for awhile... way to long.. about their conflicted feelings for each other. Then they get Lucy and get her into Jack's car (which has had the blown out tire replaced). All three drive to Lucy's house to find... THE FRONT DOOR IS WIDE OPEN!

Dun! Dun! Dun!

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Mon Jul 04, 2022 1:34 am

Surely Martha would know the Bishop by sight, but even if she couldn't see the man arguing with "Brandon", wouldn't she recognize the voice if he was Bishop H? Still, seems reasonably likely it's him.

I have eaten at Amish restaurants and honestly don't know how the rules work with it, but pretty sure (and hopeful) they had some form of refrigeration. Maybe they still use a literal ice box? Unsure. My great grandma lived in a house with one overhead light bulb and a wood stove and no working plumbing or fridge, and this was her fanciest home of all the prior homes. I just take for granted there was a way because she was a skilled cook, among other things. My grandparents had the ice delivery truck for what seems like way too long... I think they had an electric fridge post wwii?!

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Mon Jul 04, 2022 5:33 am

Chapter 13:

They search the house, but nothing's been stolen, just everything on the first floor has been tumpped over. It's clear they weren't looking for anything and didn't steal anything. They just wanted to send a message to Lucy: "You're not safe." This seems weird to me because if you want to abduct her, wouldn't you want her to not be on her guard? Wouldn't you want her to be relaxed and casual and then BAM... abduction. These guys are getting real sloppy.

In the middle of the night, Nicole hears footsteps outside. She tells Lucy to go hide. We flash to Jack's perspective, who is with Officer Alsohere about a mile up the road at an abandoned church- keeping an eye on the property. He get's a text from Nicole:

Nicole's Text wrote:They're here.

Jack and Officer Alsohere rush to the house in the car. When they get there, they hear a gunshot! Jack rushes inside with Officer Alsohere and they see the perp crash through the back door! Officer Alsohere jumps back to get in his cruiser while Jack pursues on foot! But the perp jumps on a motorcycle and takes off! Officer Alsohere gives chace, but he can't keep up! THE PERP GETS AWAY AGAIN!

The perp gets away again.

I mean. Y'all. That's a lot of times this perp has gotten away. Look. Super kudos on the ability to keep finding the perp. But there is some seriously lacking policing on the "keeping him from getting away side."

Anywho, Jack discovers that Nicole and Lucy are unharmed. Nicole shot the perp in the arm and confirmed that it's Brandon.

And then this weird thing happens where they all go to bed for the night. There. At the house which, I think, is a crime scene. For real. It's like there's this, "Well there's nothing to do until daylight" moment. Super weird. Like. I might fingerprint something.

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Mon Jul 04, 2022 10:02 am

The Bishop does not allow the use of this fingerprinting technology.

Post by **Mike** » Mon Jul 04, 2022 11:01 am

Phoebe wrote: ↑Mon Jul 04, 2022 10:02 am The Bishop does not allow the use of this fingerprinting technology.

Good call.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Mon Jul 04, 2022 1:34 pm

Chapter 14:

So here we all are eating breakfast in Lucy's house. Everyone complaining from not getting enough sleep. They say it was the adrenaline, but I'm guessing it's the guilty conscience of forgetting to do police work at a crime scene that they decided to have a slumber party at.

Then both Jack and Nicole have little mini breakdowns because of the stress of the circumstances and Jack starts yelling and asking her why they can't just open up to each other and admit their love. And Nicole gives him a long speech about her Dad being a liar and scoundrel and that, even though Jack has to lie due to his undercover duties (heh. he.) she will always have lingering doubt... blah blah blah. They both are really frustrated. Also- she's still dressed as an Amish woman because she doesn't have a changed of clothes. I guess she was planning on wearing the same smelly dress for a week while she was undercover.

They go to canvas the area and, at an Amish bed-and-breakfast (certainly must be a real thing) they meet Adele, who recognizes the sketch of Brandon. He stayed there the day before, but said he would be leaving today. Did he ask any weird questions? Jah- he kept wanting to know her schedule. Oh, and did I mention... Adele is pregnant???

Dun! Dun! Dun!

Then another witness calls them and says she's seen Leah! She's alive! He was in a car at the bed-and-breakfast! The car matched the description of the car that shot at them the day before! Just then, Jack gets a call on his phone from Tanner, his FBI partner. Nicole can only hear his side of the conversation: "What? Are you sure? They were? Did they see her? What about him?" He nods hangs up the phone and, as the last sentence in the chapter, he says to Nicole:

Serious Jack wrote:This changes everything.

Dun! Dun! Dun!