Page 93 of Breaking Silence

“Well, we drained the pit after the parents were found. Whoever pushed the boys in refilled it with water, in the hope they’d either suffocate or drown. But because of the added water, the muck was diluted and the methane wasn’t as concentrated.”

For the first time, I remember seeing the child’s ball floating on the surface. “They clung to the ball,” I murmur.

He nods. “Salome thought Mose might try to harm the boys, so she tossed the ball into the pit.”

“She saved their lives.”

“Looks that way.”

I nod, trying to digest the cold-bloodedness of Mose’s actions. “My God, Tomasetti, he tried to kill his little brothers.”

“Yeah.”

“Is Salome substantiating that?”

“She didn’t actually witness it, but she was obviously concerned about her brothers’ well-being.”

“How is she?”

“Sedated. But she’s going to be okay.”

All I can do is shake my head.

“Get this,” he says. “The day we found Mose beaten?”

“What about it?”

“It never happened. Mose gave Salome a buggy whip and forced her to mark him up.” She used a shoe on his face so she wouldn’t leave marks on her knuckles.

Recalling the extent of Mose’s injuries, I shudder. “Why?”

“Who knows. Maybe he’d heard about the hate crimes and decided he might be able to divert our attention from the Slabaugh murders. Make himself look like a victim. Garner our collective sympathies.”

“Jesus,” I say, reeling. “It almost worked.”

Tomasetti looks away in an uncharacteristic manner, which snags my attention despite the fact that I’m looped. “If it’s any consolation, Kate, I didn’t see this coming, either,” he admits. “Not this.” His tone reveals that bothers him a lot. “None of us did. It was staring us right in the face. Here we are, seasoned cops, and we didn’t even consider him a suspect.”

“Some things are almost too damn disturbing to consider,” I tell him.

“Yeah.”

I wish I could clear my head, wish I could think. But my mind is fogged. My thoughts are still circling around Mose and Salome and everything that’s happened. “Where is Salome?”

“Children Services placed her back with Adam Slabaugh for now.”

“Probably the best place for her.” But I sigh. “Samuel and Ike, too?”

He nods.

Relief swamps me that the three siblings are together. “Amish brothers and sisters are close. I’m glad.”

I feel Tomasetti’s eyes on me as I walk back to the living room. My balance is skewed, but I do my best to hide it. When he tries to help me, I shake off his hands. Twice I have to lean against the wall before making it to the kitchen. At the sink, I fill a glass with water and drink it down. A breeze wafts through the window, and I revel in the cold air on my face.

Tomasetti pauses at the doorway, his arms crossed, watching me in a way that makes me feel self-conscious.

Setting the glass in the sink, I face him. “I really am okay now.”

“I didn’t ask.”