Toxic Toffee

by Amanda Flower

  “Bailey.” Juliet waved to me from across the square. She had Jethro tucked under her arm, and the little pig’s head bobbed up and down as Juliet ran toward me. How she did that in her kitten heels over the grass was a mystery to me. “Bailey, I need your help.”

  It seemed as if every time I saw Juliet, she needed my help with something.

  I went to meet her for fear that she might turn an ankle as she leapt across the green lawn. “How can I help, Juliet?” I asked, waiting for her to say something about my fictitious upcoming wedding to her son.

  “Oh, Bailey, Reverend Brook is just beside himself, worried over the break-in at the church. He’s worried that the church won’t be secure while he goes on his missionary conference next week.”

  “Have you called Aiden or someone else from the sheriff’s department?”

  “I have tried, but Aiden is so busy with this murder business. He can’t take the time to come over and talk to the reverend.”

  “Do you want me to talk to him?”

  She clasped Jethro to her chest. “Would you? It would be a great comfort to the reverend and to me if you would.”

  I smiled. “I’m not sure what I can say to make him feel better since I’m not a police officer, but I can try.”

  She pressed Jethro and me into a three-way hug. “You are such a good girl. I’m so glad that you will be my daughter just as soon as you and Aiden get around to announcing your wedding. Have you thought about July if June seems too soon? I had Reverend Brook keep a few Saturdays open for you just in case.”

  I forced a smile. There was no winning this argument with Juliet, so I had given up trying. The truth was I wanted to marry Aiden just as badly as she wanted me to . . . someday. Someday didn’t exactly mean in three months though.

  Juliet waved to someone else on the square. “Oh, there is Bea. I must talk to her about choir practice for Easter Sunday. You know we have to be spot-on that day because it’s the most important service of the year.” She rushed off and then called over her shoulder, “Reverend Brook is in his office in the church. You go right in.”

  I stood in the middle of the square again, debating what to do. In the end, I decided to go to the church, not only because I’d promised Juliet that I would but because it was where the murder had started. Maybe I would learn something about Stephen’s death there.

  I went to the bright purple front door of the church and opened it easily. I shook my head. If Reverend Brook was worried about security, that would have to be the first change—locking the church when he didn’t want people there. I looked around the door and noticed there wasn’t an intercom anywhere to be seen. That would be my first suggestion to the reverend, so he could buzz people into the church. I knew he would want to keep the church open throughout the day. Sadly, considering what had happened on the square earlier in the week, that wasn’t a good idea.

  My footsteps echoed in the empty church. I had never been to the reverend’s office, but I knew it was somewhere behind the sanctuary from the many times I had heard Juliet talk about it.

  I walked through the white-and-blond wood sanctuary and through the door next to the organ where Charlotte played.

  The door opened up into a dark hallway, but at the end of it, I saw light coming out through another door. I inched down the hallway toward the lit room. It was silent inside and I peered through the open door to see Reverend Brook at his desk, bent over something in his hands.

  I knocked on the door frame, and the reverend jumped. Whatever he was holding flew into the air before clattering back on his desk. He slapped his hand over it but not before I saw that it was a ring. I held my breath to keep from saying anything even though I had my suspicions as to whom that ring was for.

  “Bailey,” he half shouted as if to cover his embarrassment. “What are you doing here?”

  I stood in the doorway. “Juliet asked me to talk to you. She said you were upset that someone broke in to the church.”

  His face softened. “Juliet is always so concerned about the church. She is a good parishioner. I don’t know how we would do half of the programs here without her.”

  I knew Juliet was much more than just a parishioner to Reverend Brook, especially considering the engagement ring he had hidden in his hand.

  “Juliet is kind, but she didn’t need to send you here. I’m fine.” His face was still impossibly red.

  “Any idea who might have broken in to the church kitchen?” I asked.

  “Not a one. Aiden believes that whoever used our kitchen without permission had easy access to the church. There was no forced entry, and Margot did admit she forgot to lock it the night before.” He shook his head. “Now, I am going to have to double check every time I let her use the church.”

  I thought about this. Could a member of Reverend Brook’s church be the one to poison Stephen? It seemed to me that was more worrisome than an intruder breaking in.

  “Have you thought about locking the church’s front door and installing an intercom to buzz people inside?”

  “Yes, the church board has been talking about that recently. I do think it’s time that we instate some type of security. I hate the idea of the church not being open to all, but these are difficult times we live in.” He shook his head. “Just think of the violence that has impacted our little village.”

  “I’m glad to see that you are all right,” I said. “I won’t keep you.”

  He nodded but his hand remained closed.

  “Before I go, can I ask one more question?”

  He nodded.

  “Has everyone who was in the church the day of the murder been asked about the break-in?”

  “I’ve been asked, and so has the church secretary. We were the only ones here that morning other than the cleaning staff.”

  “The cleaning staff? Did Aiden talk to them too?”

  He shook his head. “Not that I know of. It is a crew of very shy Amish women that change constantly, and I didn’t want them to be made uncomfortable. I’m sure they didn’t know anything, but I believe Aiden insisted on talking to their manager. The manager reported they all said they saw nothing.”

  I inwardly groaned. The church cleaning staff would be the most likely people to have seen something related to the day Stephen died. Usually people in service positions like that are ignored, treated like wallpaper. I needed to tell Aiden about the staff and he needed to track them down, no matter what their manager might have said. He needed to ask each young woman about what happened the day Stephen died. I kicked myself for not thinking of this before.

  “You don’t know who was there that day though?” I asked.

  “Juliet usually manages that. It’s hard enough for me to shepherd my flock and write my sermons. I need someone else to handle some of the practical business of the church.”

  “I’ll ask her then,” I said.

  He nodded and looked at me expectantly. I took that as my cue to leave. I turned to do so, but then stopped myself. “Reverend?”

  He looked up at me from his desk.

  “Yes?” His face was red, and his hand was wrapped tightly around the ring that I knew was there.

  “Ask her. She’ll say yes.”

  He turned pale, and I left the room.

  Chapter 38

  I went back to the square with my head reeling over the idea that the church’s Amish cleaning staff hadn’t been properly questioned. I knew that Aiden did the best he could while trying to respect the culture, but I hoped Juliet could shed some light on who these women were.

  I spotted Juliet standing with Margot next to the giant toffee bunny on the square. I didn’t see Jethro with them but knew he had to be close by.

  “Bailey,” Margot said. “We were just talking about you.”

  That sounded foreboding, I thought.

  “You did such a wonderful job on this sculpture that Juliet was saying she is certain you would want to do others.”

  “Umm . . . it depends on when you
need them. I do have to go to New York from time to time.”

  Margot waved away this concern. “We will get the logistics all sorted out.”

  “How was Reverend Brook?” Juliet asked anxiously.

  “He was fine. I think he believes you worry about him too much,” I said.

  “How can I not worry about the man I . . .” She trailed off and covered her near slipup with a look.

  Margot rolled her eyes at me. Like me, she knew what Juliet had almost said. One of the biggest mysteries in Harvest was why Juliet and Reverend Brook didn’t admit they cared about each other. It might even be a bigger mystery than the murder.

  “He told me that the Amish cleaning staff at the church was never questioned about the break-in—the police only spoke to the manager.”

  “Oh—” Juliet touched her cheek. “Of course, they weren’t because we didn’t want to upset the ladies.”

  “Don’t you think they might have seen something?” Margot asked. She shook her head as if she couldn’t believe Juliet could be so dense.

  “I suppose they might have.”

  “I think Aiden needs to talk to them.”

  Juliet shook her head. “They wouldn’t like to talk to my son, and the crew changes constantly. I don’t even think the company that hired them knows who they all are. They are paid by the job, all cash.”

  I gaped. “They are paid under the table?”

  Juliet frowned. “No, of course not. The church would never hire a company who did that. They are just paid at the end of every shift.”

  Margot snorted.

  “If they won’t talk to Aiden, I can talk to them. I just need to know who they are or who the manager is.”

  Juliet cocked her head and her ponytail dipped to one side. “I suppose that would be all right.”

  “What are their names?” I asked.

  “I just know their first names,” Juliet said. “Martha, Louisa, Katey, Mary, and Joan. There might be others, but those are all the ones I can remember.”

  “Katey?” I asked, feeling my pulse quicken.

  She nodded. “Katey Beiler. She’s a sweet, bookish Amish girl. Don’t you know her? She and Eli Raber are set to marry.”

  Margot snorted again. “Katey Beiler isn’t Amish.”

  “How can you say that?”

  “Because she’s not,” Margot argued. “I see her in Millersburg all the time dressed like you or me.” She stared at Juliet’s polka-dotted dress for a moment. “Okay, maybe not dressed like you, but dressed like an English person. She’s not Amish.”

  “Then why is she marrying Eli Raber?” Juliet asked, confused.

  “I doubt she is,” Margot said. “The last time I was in Millersburg, I saw her on the street kissing an English man.”

  “What did this man look like?” I asked.

  Margot turned to me. “He was about your age and had one of those scruffy, I-don’t-care-how-I-look beards that the young men seem to be so fond of nowadays.”

  It was Adam. It had to be. I had been right about their feelings for each other.

  “Did you tell Aiden the names of the women?” I asked.

  “The ones I could remember at the time. Joan and Katey just came back to me now.” She smiled. “You know I’m not good at that type of detail.”

  Over Juliet’s shoulder, I could see Eli watching us while a family looked at his rabbits. Had he heard Margot’s outburst?

  I started to walk over to him when I heard Juliet scream. I spun around and watched in horror as the giant toffee rabbit fell to the ground. Its head broke off upon impact.

  Everyone on the square stood frozen for a moment as we stared at the wreckage of the giant rabbit. Quietly Jethro came around the side of the rabbit. There were chocolate and toffee pieces sticking to his short snout. It didn’t take a detective to guess what just happened.

  “Jethro!” Juliet cried. “How could you?”

  In all the time I had known Juliet and her little pig, this was the first occasion I had ever heard her admonish him. The pig ducked his face under his front hooves. It must have been the first time he had heard it too.

  “Bailey, I’m so sorry,” Juliet wailed. “Your masterpiece is ruined.”

  “It’s okay, Juliet. It’s just chocolate.” I squatted in the grass and scratched Jethro on the top of his bristly head. “It’s okay, and Easter Days will be over tomorrow. Don’t worry, Jethro. I’m not mad.”

  He looked up at me.

  “She didn’t mean to be cross with you,” I said. “The falling toffee rabbit just took her by surprise. It would take anyone by surprise.”

  He pressed his snout into my hand.

  “Oh, Jethro!” Juliet cried as she scooped him up. “Bailey is right. It just surprised me. You are the best pig ever. Everyone makes mistakes. I love you.” She snuggled Jethro to her chest.

  Margot shook her head.

  “Do you want me to reconstruct it?” I asked, hoping and praying that the answer was no. Putting that rabbit back together would be no joke.

  Margot put her hands on her hips. “I suppose not. Thankfully the press was here earlier today and they took photos of the toffee bunny, so we will see it again. Can you clean up the mess before too many more people see it?”

  I got her meaning. A decapitated rabbit wasn’t great for tourism.

  I nodded. “Charlotte will help me, I’m sure. I just must speak to someone before I go over to Swissmen Sweets and collect her.” I turned back to the corral of bunnies.

  As I had feared, when I looked back at the bunnies, Eli was gone.

  Charlotte and I made short work of clearing up the toffee bunny even though I knew it pained her to throw away all the chocolate and toffee. “Are you sure we can’t use the chocolate for our recipes? The chocolate inside is okay.”

  In general, the Amish were industrious recyclers and up-cyclers. Not so much because they were environmentally conscious, but because they saw the value of utilizing something until it was no longer useful. This time I had to put my foot down. I shook my head. “We aren’t using recycled chocolate that has been outside for two days.”

  “I guess when you put it that way, it does sound like a bad idea. At least Margot didn’t ask you to make another one of them. If I never look at toffee again, it will be too soon.”

  I couldn’t agree more. It would be a long time before I could eat toffee again, let alone make it.

  All the while we cleaned up the mess, I had a knot in my stomach over Katey Beiler. I knew in my gut that Eli must have gone looking for his betrothed. I removed my cell phone from my pocket and called Aiden.

  “Brody speaking,” he said in his official cop voice.

  “Aiden, it’s me. I have a feeling that Katey Beiler might be in trouble.” I went on and told him what I had learned at the church and Easter Days.

  “She was one of the cleaning ladies at the church? Why didn’t my mother tell me?”

  “She said she just remembered that Katey and another woman named Joan came to clean the church in addition to the women whose names she already gave you.”

  Aiden groaned. “The company was closemouthed about the women’s names too. I suspect they were being paid under the table, and the company was trying to cover its tracks. I’ve been trying to get a warrant from a judge to go in there and talk to the manager again.”

  So they were being paid illegally. I wondered how much trouble the church would be in for its participation even though it was clear that Juliet didn’t understand what was happening.

  “Where do you think Katey is?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. My guess would be either at Sybil’s place or home.”

  “I’ll head to Sybil’s place first. If she is feeling scared, she would most likely go there. That’s where she feels like she has real friends. She might be hiding too because she knows who the killer is and is afraid to tell anyone.”

  “That’s what I was thinking too. I wish I’d called you earlier, but I felt like I
was being an alarmist.”

  “It’s better to err on the side of caution, Bailey.”

  “I know, and I will never forgive myself if something happens to Katey.” As the words left my mouth, I knew I couldn’t just stand around a moment longer. “I’ll meet you there,” I said.

  “Bailey.”

  “I’ll meet you there. Katey could be in trouble and we can’t waste any more time.”

  “All right.”

  Chapter 39

  Aiden beat me to Millersburg. I credited this to the fact that he had sirens on his SUV and could break every traffic law in the book without getting cited. I didn’t have that luxury. By the time I parked on the street and ran to Sybil’s building, he was already at her front door talking to her.

  I skidded to a stop a few feet away from them. Just in time to hear Sybil say, “I don’t know where Adam and Katey went. They said they were going to go for a walk to get some fresh air. I haven’t seen them for two hours or so. Adam isn’t answering any of my texts.”

  “Did you know that Adam and Katey were romantically involved?” Aiden asked.

  She shook her head emphatically. “They can’t be. That’s one of my rules—can’t have that kind of relationship with the Amish young people who come to us.”

  “They were seen kissing by a reliable witness,” I said. I couldn’t believe that I was calling Margot a reliable witness.

  She pulled her neck back. “Well, that is a shock. It could be that Adam developed a strong feeling of compassion for Katey. She was having a very difficult time deciding whether she was going to leave her old way of life, and he spent a lot of extra time with her.”

  I bet, I thought.

  “Adam has a lot of compassion for these people,” she added.

  Aiden frowned. “And why does he have so much compassion?”

  She pressed her lips together as if she had come to a decision. “Just like me, he used to be Amish, you see. He had a terrible life as an Amish boy and ran away from his family.”

  Suddenly, my hands felt very cold. “How old was he when he left the Amish?”