Sinful Alliance (Serenity's Plain Secrets Book 17) by Karen Ann Hopkins

Author:Karen Ann Hopkins [Hopkins, Karen Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-04-09T00:00:00+00:00

12

Sadie

The door opened just enough for Serenity to slip in. She quietly walked over to Anna and sat down at a desk next to her mother-in-law. Turning my attention back to Maddy, I found her behavior completely different than Faith during the interview. We’d only gotten a few questions in, verifying her full name, address, and the dates she’d moved to Blood Rock and married Joel. Instead of nervously glancing around or avoiding my gaze altogether the way Faith had, Maddy sat up straight, holding eye contact. Her demeanor was that of someone being interviewed for a job position.

Wearing a simple leather wristwatch, she glanced down every so often to check the time, seemingly bored. What a difference from her actions in front of a crowd in the main schoolhouse. Her answers were direct, well-planned—almost rehearsed. Perhaps the young woman was a good actress, and her emotional state earlier was a performance. I didn’t feel this way about Faith. That girl was still dealing with the aftermath of what happened to her in that tent six years earlier. Maddy might be suffering deep down, but on the outside and right now, she didn’t appear to have a care in the world.

“Are you feeling better?” I asked.

“Yes, very much. Thank you.” Maddy flashed a small smile.

I was beginning to think she might be a sociopath. “You were pretty hysterical a short time ago. What changed?”

Maddy took a breath as she tucked a few blonde locks up under her cap. She had huge, widely spaced eyes, and a dainty nose. A face that was pretty enough to usually get what she wanted. I guessed that Maddy had been spoiled.

“It feels good to get the truth out,” she said in a light voice.

“That Lester Lapp and Joseph Bender did something to you?”

Maddy’s lips spread. “Yes, that’s it. They can’t get away with it.”

From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Serenity leaning forward to listen carefully to the interview.

“What exactly did they do to you?” I asked.

“Touched my backside. They both did it and they should be punished. Just because they’re ministers and business owners in the community doesn’t mean they should get away with it.”

“How many times did it happen?”

“Once each,” she quickly answered.

“Where?” Rapid questioning could cause a witness to sometimes tell the truth accidentally.

Maddy’s eyes flared, and she finally looked away. The way her eyes dropped to the side, I knew she was thinking—either remembering or making up a lie, I wasn’t sure.

“The frolic at the Yoder’s over the summer.”

“Frolic?”

“When the men and boys in a community get together to do a job. This time it was to build an addition on the Yoder’s house.”

“If it was a group gathering, how was there an opportunity for them to touch you?” I asked.

“I was serving water and sandwiches to the workers. Lester caught me behind the house when no one was nearby and Joseph, well, he slapped my bottom when we passed by in the kitchen.”

“You’re stating that

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.