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  Callie began prying his fingers away from the phone. “I want it back right now — or I’m going to report a theft.”

  “Fine.” He dropped it into her hands as he rubbed his foot. “You don’t have to become violent.”

  “And you don’t have to be such a jerk.” She turned and stormed back toward her shop. “You don’t have to always put your headlines above our friends. The way we handle this could have an effect on the outcome of Reuben’s trial. You do realize that, right?”

  When Trent only shrugged, she shook her head, slipped the phone into the pocket of her robe and turned back toward her shop.

  “You forgot to thank me,” he called after her. “By the way, nice jammies.”

  But she barely heard him. She was trying to decide who she should call first — Gavin, Black, or her attorney.

  Deborah woke the next day feeling tired, but clearer minded about what she needed to do.

  She’d been thrown off her mission by that evil mischief-maker: doubt. Not to mention the days on the calendar were slipping by. Esther’s wedding was in forty-eight hours. Deborah wanted to give her friend the gift of peace — the gift of knowing her life could go on in a normal fashion. The best way to do that was to prove Reuben’s innocence.

  Which meant returning to her list.

  Fortunately Joshua seemed better after his rough night. She did stop the twins before they headed off to school. “I want to apologize to you about last night. It’s true I don’t want pigs living outside my backdoor, but I lost my temper a bit, and I’m sorry.”

  “That’s all right, Mamm.” Jacob tugged on his woolen cap. “We’re going to ask our teacher about it today.”

  “Ya. Maybe we can train them back into a pigpen.” Joseph gave her a crooked smile, looking so much like Jonas that it felt as if a hand were pressing on Deborah’s heart. Some of her fear from the night before pushed on the corner of her mind, but she refused to acknowledge it, kissing both the boys instead, and reminding them to wear their jackets. “It’s supposed to grow colder today. You’ll need them.”

  Martha and Mary were already out the door and the boys ran to catch up, their lunch boxes banging at their sides.

  “Just you and me, kid.” Joshua smacked the cold teething ring she’d given him against the tray of his high chair. His nose was still running, but he seemed to feel better. Well enough that he wouldn’t mind going to town, but first Deborah needed to clean up this kitchen and prepare dinner. She had a long day ahead, and she knew she’d be arriving home at the same time everyone else was hungry.

  Before she left, she pulled out the list of possible motives for Reuben’s silence and scanned it one more time.

  “One: money.”

  “Two: love. Romantic.”

  “Three: love. For family or freinden.”

  “Four: Ordnung.”

  Taking her pen, she crossed out the second and third items. According to his mother, Reuben had said he’d find the right girl when it was time. She knew he wouldn’t lie to Abigail. He might not introduce a new love to his family until he was sure the timing was good, but he wouldn’t lie about her. And the girl was definitely not family.

  Abigail had also shared that she’d been asked to look at the pictures, to try to identify the body, and she couldn’t. How could Reuben possibly love a girl he didn’t know? It didn’t seem possible.

  Which left two reasons for her to investigate.

  No doubt Shane had already talked with these people, but had he asked the right questions? It frustrated Deborah sometimes how closed the Amish community could be. She understood why, knew that they were trying to “circle their wagons.” She’d heard that expression from Callie, and it seemed like a good description. The idea of old covered wagons, pulled up in a circle to draw protection and comfort from one another made Deborah smile as she placed a sleeping Joshua in the backseat of her buggy.

  “Have everything you need?” Jonas asked.

  “I do.”

  He didn’t mention last night, only leaned in and kissed her once, then walked off whistling. It was enough to let her know all was well.

  And all would be well in their community also, in spite of their circled wagons. Sometimes though, they needed to let someone else in, between the wagons, someone who could help them. In this case, it seemed that person could be Shane Black. Was Shane their friend or their enemy in this instance? His dedication to his job could prove Reuben’s innocence, but it could also convict him. Those two thoughts felt like a paradox in her head, but she realized they were both true. Shane would do his job — no matter what it meant, no matter who went to jail. But it was his dedication to his job that would lead to Reuben’s freedom. She trusted that as surely as she trusted that Cinnamon would see her safely down the road.

  Her first stop was at the bank.

  Deborah and Jonas didn’t do a lot of business there, since they tended to pay cash for most things. But she had been depositing the money from her quilt sales into an account, hoping she could build up enough to buy Jonas another workhorse. He never complained, but Deborah knew it would allow him to plant more crops in the spring if he had another. Planting more would mean more harvest — given good rain and a decent growing season.

  The small account of quilt earnings had continued to increase.

  She helped Joshua out of the buggy, setting the black hat usually reserved for Sundays firmly on his head. Then she reached into the buggy and pulled out a baby quilt she’d finished last summer.

  There was a queue in the lobby. She waited in the line so she could talk to one of the tellers and tell them what she needed. When she reached the front of the line, the teller asked her to have a seat until her name was called. After she was seated, she allowed Joshua to walk around the room. Hopefully by allowing him to walk now, he’d use up his energy before they went behind the half wall where Mrs. Barnwell sat.

  Mrs. Barnwell.

  She was tough, but she understood Amish ways. In fact, she was sort of a bridge between the banking world and the Amish community.

  “Deborah?” If anything, Mrs. Barnwell’s gray hair was shorter than the last time Deborah had seen her. She peered at Deborah and Joshua over her reading glasses, then lowered them to her starched white blouse. A thin, small woman, she reminded Deborah of the winter finches she’d had on her windowsill this morning. “Would you like to come back now?”

  After they’d settled into chairs, Mrs. Barnwell repositioned her glasses and folded her hands. “What can I do for you today?”

  “I was wondering if you could check my balance. I know the teller girls can do that, but we had discussed last time whether it would be best to leave the money where it is or put it into a certificate of deposit.”

  “And you were thinking you might need the money in the spring?”

  “Possibly, yes.”

  Mrs. Barnwell wrote down her balance on a small square of paper and handed it across the desk to Deborah. “The rate of return is somewhat low for under ninety days. If you were able to leave it in for six months it’s a little higher, but then the funds wouldn’t be available until May.”

  “I see.” Deborah’s mind searched for a way to prolong the conversation. “Do you have anything in writing I could take home, perhaps to show to Jonas?”

  “Absolutely.” Mrs. Barnwell reached into her drawer and pulled out a pamphlet. “This lists the term for each CD and the amount of deposit required.”

  “Danki,” Deborah said. Then she spotted the photograph on the bookshelf and remembered the quilt she was holding. “I had heard about your new grandbaby, and I wanted to bring this by.”

  “Deborah, you shouldn’t have. I can’t accept this.”

  “I always have extra quilts sewn up, which I enjoy giving as gifts.” Deborah was determined to be truthful about this. “You’ve always been helpful to Jonas and me. I want you to have it for the boppli.”

  “Well, thank you. It’s quite beautiful.” Mrs. Barnwell’s express
ion softened as she reached for the quilt. “You do exceptional work. I hope you know that.”

  “The Lord gives each of us a talent,” Deborah said gently. “Yours is with numbers. Mine is with fabric.”

  “I suppose. There are days I wish I’d chosen something a bit more personal though — something like yours.” Mrs. Barnwell stood and opened a cabinet. Deborah caught a glimpse of her coat and purse. She tucked the quilt inside. “Well, thank you so much for stopping by. If you have any questions about those CDs after you speak with Jonas, let me know.”

  “Actually I do have one more question.”

  Mrs. Barnwell had already started around her desk, on her way to walk Deborah out. Now she stopped, one hand touching her in-box tray. “Oh. Absolutely. What is it?”

  “Perhaps you know that Esther Zook is like a schweschder to me. She and Melinda and I sew the quilts that are offered for sale in Daisy’s Quilt Shop.” Deborah reached over and picked up Joshua, who had been looking contentedly through a picture book. Suddenly she felt the need to hold him in her arms. “Esther is to be married to Tobias this week, and Tobias is — “

  “Reuben’s cousin. Yes, I know. I’m sorry to hear about his current situation. What that family’s going through is a shame.”

  Deborah strained to hear any other meaning behind Mrs. Barnwell’s words, but if there was anything else there, it eluded her. “I’ve been close to Reuben for years. His farm is near ours. Is it possible, what I mean is …”

  She felt the heat crawl up her neck, even as Joshua turned in her lap and pushed his fingers into her mouth. She kissed him once and continued. “Is it possible that he was having any kind of financial difficulties?”

  Mrs. Barnwell didn’t answer right away. She sat down in the chair Joshua had been in, took off her glasses, and wiped them clean with the hem of her blouse. Putting them back on, she finally looked at Deborah. “I can’t discuss another customer’s finances with you. That’s against regulations.”

  “I see. Of course, I understand.”

  She stood and made her way to the doorway of the cubicle. Mrs. Barnwell walked back around behind her desk.

  “Deborah.”

  “Ya?” Deborah turned around. Mrs. Barnwell was flipping through a stack of envelopes on her desk.

  “I have had this statement here for Tobias and Reuben for some time. They asked me to hold their quarterly statements rather than mail them. Heaven knows why. Since you see Tobias fairly often, could you let him know that it’s ready? I thought one of them might stop by, but I haven’t seen either one since September.”

  “Ya. Sure. I’d be happy to.”

  Deborah set Joshua on the ground, took his hand in hers, and walked him out to the buggy.

  Mrs. Barnwell had found a way to tell her what she needed to know. Reuben had been nowhere near the bank in over six weeks, which meant he wasn’t in financial straits. After she placed Joshua into the buggy, she took out her list and marked off the first item.

  She looked longingly down the road at the quilt shop, but her last errand was in the opposite direction.

  So she murmured to Cinnamon and set off to find Bishop Elam.

  Chapter 25

  SAMUEL ACCEPTED THE LUNCH from Katie’s mother. “Danki.”

  She nodded once and turned back to helping the younger children. He hadn’t seen her cry since two days ago, since the afternoon they’d returned from church to find him sitting on the front porch. He’d told the story exactly like he’d rehearsed. How he’d gone after Katie, begged her to come back with him, but she’d refused.

  Timothy had said nothing. He’d listened then walked off toward the barn.

  Rachel, his wife, had sat down on the porch and wept. That moment had been the hardest. He’d wanted to confess then and there, wanted to tell how she had looked as she’d died. But if he’d done that, what would they have been left with? No hope.

  No help in the fields. Nothing.

  So instead, he’d told the story exactly like he’d rehearsed.

  Since Sunday they’d all gone through the same routines they’d gone through any of the days before he’d left, before he’d convinced Katie to trust him, before she’d become his wife.

  There was a difference though.

  He worked harder now. Didn’t stop for breaks when Rachel brought out something to drink. Didn’t stop until it was too dark to see. And mornings he was up and working before Timothy was out of bed.

  It wasn’t much. He knew it wasn’t enough, but he’d do what he could to atone for his sins.

  He’d do it until he dropped from the weight of his guilt.

  Now, pushing away from the lunch he hadn’t eaten, he returned to the stack of wood that needed splitting. Raising the axe, he brought it down in one smooth motion, feeling some satisfaction as the blade met the log, as his muscles ached from the work he’d done since before sunrise.

  He tried to focus on the task at hand, but the last week of her life continued to play, like an Englisch picture show caught in a loop, never ceasing, even in his sleep …

  “Why didn’t we stop in town?” Katie asked as Samuel waved his thanks to the man who had given them a ride from LaGrange.

  “Could have, but it would have just meant extra walking. I believe we can stay here. “

  “You know these people?” Katie peered down the lane, past the pond to the old farmhouse. “Fields look tended, but the house appears deserted.”

  “That’s because the two cousins who live here stay in the barn. “

  “Are you playing with me, Samuel?”

  “I’m not. They like the barn, say it’s simpler, and it’s fixed up real nice. “

  Katie’s worried expression began to ease as they walked down the lane. With the October sun shining on them, the idea that they might have a place to stay was obviously easing her anxiety. He sometimes forgot how hard this must be on her, leaving not just her family but her things behind.

  All they brought from home, they carried.

  He had the backpack slung over his shoulder, and she had the small duffel bag of her things.

  “So no one lives in the house?”

  “No. Looked at it pretty close last time I was here. Reuben, the older cousin, offered to help me out if I ever wanted to go into the woodworking business. He showed me some of the cabinetry done in the house, and it’s practically art. His grossdaddi did it all himself.”

  “How did you meet him? Reuben, I mean.”

  “My mamm knew him. A long time ago. When I told her I was moving here, she gave me his name. One week I was in Shipshe delivering an order for your dat, so I looked him up.”

  Samuel thought of his own dat and how he’d died in the prime of his life. Thought of the man his mother had recently married, how cold and distant he was. Then he thought of Reuben.

  Samuel didn’t need anyone telling him what to do, but he could use a place to stay for a day or two. “I came out and shared a meal with them. Seems Reuben knew my mamm and grossdaddi very well. He’s a big fellow, but kind.”

  Katie stopped, staring toward the small pond.

  “What is it?”

  “The flowers, Samuel. Look at them.”

  “I see them.” He laughed when she continued to stare at them. “Women and flowers. How is it that you’re taken with such things?”

  “The black-eyed Susans are nearly three feet tall. It looks as if they’re stirring the goldenrods.” Katie smiled up at him, the blue of the sky reflected in her eyes, causing his heart to beat a double rhythm. Would he ever grow used to the touch of her hand in his, the way she had of making him feel like he was capable of accomplishing anything, the adoration in her eyes?

  “Want to take a closer peek?”

  “Shouldn’t we go and see your freind first?”

  “He won’t mind. Look, there’s a path that leads around the edge. I’ll bet they use it for fishing.” He tugged her hand and pulled her toward the small pond, and it seemed in that moment, as Octo
ber slipped toward November, that the world belonged to them.

  They laughed and played beside the pond, almost as if they were children — even daring to dip their feet into its cold waters.

  He didn’t notice until they were drying off that the small phone he’d bought in Goshen had rung. The symbol indicating he had a message flashed red.

  “Who was it?” Katie asked anxiously as he listened to the message.

  “Don’t worry so. It’s a gut thing. The job in the factory is open. I’ll call him back in a minute. First let’s go and see Reuben.”

  Samuel had leaned forward and kissed her then, the sun shining on them as they sat among the flowers surrounding the edge of the pond.

  Everything was turning out exactly like he’d hoped.

  Chapter 26

  CALLIE GLARED AT SHANE BLACK, anger surging through her veins. Suddenly she remembered bits and pieces of her dream from the night before, and she wanted to pick the phone up off the desk — where it sat between them — and chuck it at him. If she hit him hard enough, perhaps it would wipe that smirk off his face.

  “Shane. Play nice,” Adalyn was saying. “Perhaps Callie and Deborah should have brought it in as soon as they found it — “

  “Perhaps? Perhaps?” His voice grew louder each time he repeated the word, as if that would make him more convincing. “Come on, Adalyn. A teen who watches Monk on television would know that this phone is evidence and needed to be turned in the minute it was found.” He punched in the passcode.

  “Not necessarily, and stop talking about me like I’m not here.” Callie slapped her hand against his desk. A sheaf of papers on the corner slid off to the floor. Honestly, you’d think the man would be more organized. “As I explained to Adalyn earlier, at first we thought the phone might belong to Tobias, and then it wouldn’t be evidence.”

  Shane collapsed into his chair causing it to squeak. He drilled her with his stare. “Tobias?”

  She refused to squirm under those dark eyes. “It’s possible. Some Amish folk do have phones for business purposes.”