Plain Pursuit

by Alison Stone

  Taking the strap, Anna’s heart raced. She turned the cool metal over in her hands. It looked expensive. Slowly she lifted her head to meet Samuel’s expectant gaze.

  “Your brother gave it to me.” With his mussed hair and night clothes, Samuel seemed far younger than his fifteen years.

  “I don’t understand. Is this...?” With trembling fingers, she flicked the camera’s on button but nothing happened.

  “The morning of the accident...” Samuel’s voice floated through a long tunnel. She stepped backward. The back of her legs hit the chair. She plopped down, not taking her eyes off the teenager. “I saw the accident. When I reached the plane, he was bleeding pretty badly from his head. I almost ran away. I wanted to get the neighbors. They have a phone. I wanted to call for help.” He scratched his head, leaving thick, dark tufts of hair standing on end. “But the man was trying to tell me something. I couldn’t make out the words. He tossed the camera toward me.” Samuel pointed to it with a shaky finger.

  “My brother was conscious after he crashed?” Disbelief edged her words.

  Samuel nodded. “I was afraid. I didn’t know what to do.”

  * * *

  Eli placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “It’s okay. Tell us what happened.”

  “I don’t want to get in trouble.” Samuel studied the floor.

  “Why would you get in trouble?” Eli leaned down to meet Samuel eye-to-eye.

  “Isaac gave me a radio a few months ago and Dat found it. I promised him I wouldn’t use any banned items.”

  “You understand this is different?”

  Samuel stared blankly at him. “I knew it was wrong, yet I let my curiosity get the best of me. I wanted to see how the camera worked.” He lowered his gaze. “I couldn’t figure it out.”

  “Did my brother say anything?” Anna’s face had grown ghostly white.

  “He was moaning. I thought he said, ‘Mary.’” He shrugged, a poor attempt at acting nonchalant.

  “Mary? Are you sure?” Eli struggled to keep his tone even.

  Samuel stared off in the distance. “That’s all he said. Mary. I thought maybe the girl in the plane with him was named Mary, but when I learned later her name was Tiffany, I got scared because then I thought maybe he was talking about our Mary.” He looked up with watery eyes. “Why would he be talking about our sister?” His face crumpled in confusion.

  Eli squeezed his brother’s shoulder. “You did the right thing by giving us the camera.”

  “You won’t tell Dat I had the camera, will you?” Samuel spoke in a whisper, his lower lip trembling.

  Eli patted his brother’s shoulder reassuringly. “No one needs to know you had this. The important thing is you came forward now.” He narrowed his gaze. “Did you tell anyone about the camera?”

  Samuel bowed his head and dragged his bare foot across the floor. “Well, I didn’t exactly tell anyone. But I did ask Isaac if he thought having a picture taken was really going against the Bible. He asked me why I cared so much because it wasn’t like I’d ever have one.” He slowly lifted his head.

  Samuel glanced at Anna, a look of contrition on his face. “I’m real sorry about running away from you. It’s my fault you got hurt in the barn. You would have never been in the barn if I hadn’t run through there.”

  “It wasn’t your fault.” She flicked her gaze momentarily to Eli. “You can’t blame yourself.”

  Samuel fisted his hands at his side. “I can’t deal with any more guilt.”

  “What are you talking about Samuel?” Eli asked.

  Samuel looked at him with hesitant eyes. “The day Mary disappeared, I was teasing her. I pulled off her kapp and yanked her hair. She went with you because she wanted to get away from me.” His shoulders rounded and he sobbed. “It’s all my fault.”

  “No, that’s not true.” Eli grabbed both his brother’s upper arms in a reassuring brace. “You were just a kid. You were only five years old.”

  Samuel’s eyes grew wide. “But don’t you understand? If I hadn’t been a pest, she would have been helping me dust off the benches for the worship service in the barn. She wouldn’t have been with you in town. Because of me, my whole family was destroyed.”

  TWELVE

  The next morning, Eli slipped behind the wheel of his SUV and glanced over at Anna. She cradled Daniel’s camera in her lap as if it were a baby. He reached across the center console and patted her knee. “Once we get new batteries, we’ll know what’s on there.”

  Anna nodded. “I know. Do you think my brother gave the camera to Samuel because he didn’t want someone to get ahold of it?” She traced a finger along the top of the camera and glanced out the window. “Do you think having this puts us in danger?”

  “The thought crossed my mind. We’ll have to keep it low key.” Eli reached behind the seat and pulled out a small black canvas bag. “Put it in here.”

  Fidgeting with the zipper of the bag, Anna finally got it open and placed the camera gingerly inside. “If Daniel had photographic evidence, why do you think he didn’t tell you?” He noted the apprehension in her voice.

  Eli ran his hand across the top of the steering wheel. “I don’t know. Maybe he was paranoid it would make him look guilty.” A quiet groan left her lips. “Don’t borrow trouble. Wait and see.”

  “You said the FBI was all over his fraternity, right? I bet my brother had his suspicions. He came back to uncover the truth himself.”

  “Possibly.” He tilted his head to try to get a read on her emotions. “But why not stick around in the first place? Why drop out and enlist in the army?”

  She sighed, obviously exasperated. “Because you guys—” She seemed to catch herself. “The FBI was narrowing in on him because of his past. Who better to accuse than a guy who had once been under investigation for his parents’ deaths? He chose to enlist instead of waiting around. I know he’s innocent.”

  “Let’s find out what’s on that camera.” He gave her a weak smile before turning the key in the ignition. Suddenly he heard Katie Mae calling from the front porch. She waved, then ran full speed toward the car, her blue dress flapping around her legs. He opened the power window and waited for her to reach them.

  “Can you drive me into town?” she asked, hope glistening in her eyes. “I was about to hitch the horse to the buggy when Mem mentioned you were driving in.” She squinted up at the sky. “Dark clouds are rolling in.”

  “Mem knows you’re going with us?” Eli asked. He didn’t want to be accused of being an undue influence on his little sister, even though many Amish were allowed to ride in cars. He hated to admit how much his father’s words bothered him.

  Katie Mae looked toward the house and waved, presumably to their mother who he imagined was standing at the kitchen window. His little sister jumped into the backseat of the car. “The fabric for my wedding dress is in at the general store.”

  Anna shifted in her seat. “When are you and Isaac getting married?”

  Katie Mae’s face grew bright red. The Amish did not talk about engagements like people in the outside world. It was a formal matter to be taken seriously. It was not marked with wedding showers and bachelorette parties. “We haven’t been published yet.” Katie Mae adjusted the kapp on her head, the way she always did when she was nervous.

  “The custom is for young Amish girls to make their own wedding dresses. So, Katie Mae is going to work on it well ahead of time to assure she’s done when she and Isaac decide it’s time.” Eli looked into the rearview mirror and winked at his sister. He wished he could muster genuine enthusiasm for this union. He still thought of Isaac as the wild teenager who only recently returned to Apple Creek. He had since been baptized, but something about him bugged Eli.

  What was Isaac thinking giving Samuel a radio?

  Isaac st
ill kept his car parked at an abandoned barn on the edge of Apple Creek. He claimed he didn’t drive it, but Eli saw him once last month driving late at night. He put the car into gear and dismissed the thought. Who am I to judge?

  “He’s been courting me awhile.” Katie Mae lowered her voice. “But we aren’t supposed to talk about it. He visits me on Sunday evenings. That’s where I was last night. He usually escorts me home from the singings.” His little sister’s face split into a wide grin, unable to hide her excitement. A bride was still a bride, he imagined. He, too, had been sweet on someone before Mary was kidnapped. He sometimes wondered what happened to Rebecca. Last he heard, she married a man from another Amish community and had a handful of children.

  An unexpected emptiness tore at his soul. He realized something for the first time—he wanted a wife, children and something more in his life than this constant emptiness. He caught Anna’s eye. A smile brightened her beautiful face and he was relieved she couldn’t read his mind. Mentally shaking his head, he pulled onto the country road, doubting he’d find peace in anything until he found justice for Mary.

  Once in town, Eli parked in a small lot between the general store and the diner. He picked a spot that didn’t have a hitching post. He pushed open the door, thinking about how the past and the present fought for prominence in this small town. The past and present warred for position in his life, too. Katie Mae and Anna joined him around the back of the vehicle.

  “After we stop in the general store, let’s get something to eat at the diner,” Eli said.

  Katie Mae smiled. “Sounds good.” She seemed especially cheerful today. Eli’s chin dipped to his chest and he studied the ground. Should he speak up about his reservations about Isaac? Would his father even listen? Did he have any right to interfere with her future?

  As always, when Eli went into the general store, the memories from that fateful day swept over him. Anna went to the counter and asked Mr. Lapp for AAA batteries while Katie Mae chatted happily with Mrs. Lapp, her future mother-in-law if all went as planned. After they made their purchases, they left the store, the bells clanking against the door and the sound jarring him. He had been too distracted the day Mary disappeared to hear any bells announcing anyone else’s presence—or Mary’s exit.

  The three of them made an unlikely trio as they crossed the parking lot to the diner. They found a booth in the corner and placed their order. They were the only patrons in the diner, so Eli wasn’t worried about hiding the camera. They sat quietly while Anna fidgeted with the camera for a few moments as she figured out how to load the batteries. He considered offering her help, but she seemed intent on the task.

  Once the batteries were in place, she turned on the camera. A sense of anticipation charged the air. A quiet chime confirmed it had power. Anna glanced up, apprehension creasing her forehead. “I’m almost afraid to look.”

  “What are you looking at?” Katie Mae asked as the waitress returned to the table with three coffees.

  “This is my brother’s camera. I can scroll through the photos he took on it.” The corners of Katie Mae’s lips tugged down. “I’ll show you in a minute.”

  Sitting next to Anna, Eli saw the digital display. Anna clicked a button and Tiffany’s smiling face filled the screen. Then one of Daniel making a goofy face. Anna ran her finger over the glass. She scrolled through the photos. Images of farms and silos and silhouettes of Amish children flashed by. His claim that he was working on a book of Amish photographs seemed to be legitimate. Then an image filled the screen, and Eli inhaled sharply.

  A photo of an Amish kapp in Daniel’s hand.

  “Stop,” Eli said, his heart thumping in his chest. He took the camera and brought it to his face to examine the image. He clicked the zoom button. The kapp had jagged gray stitching around one edge. The handiwork had been done by a child. My Mary. Tears burned his throat. She had been so proud of the work, even when their mother corrected her for using the wrong shade of thread. But the little girl didn’t care. It had been one of her first attempts at sewing.

  But what brought him chills, even more than the familiar stitching, was the embroidery in the corner. M.M. His sister had carefully stitched her initials. The letters were surprisingly neat considering her age. Their mother had overlooked this minor transgression. Despite the fact that some Amish women sewed their initials on a handkerchief or corner of a dress pocket, which would be hidden by their apron, they would never monogram their kapp.

  Lowering the camera, he looked over at his sister, who was sipping her coffee and watching him with interest. If he said anything now, Katie Mae would surely run home and tell their father and mother what he had found on the camera.

  Anna’s warm hand settled on his arm. He looked up and met her gaze. “Are you okay?” He nodded. Eli blinked a few times and scrolled through the photos. Prior to the image of the man holding his sister’s kapp he had seen a series of photos of an old run-down cottage or cabin of some sort. He stared intently at the screen, wondering if Daniel had found his sister’s kapp near the cabin.

  “What’s so interesting?” Katie Mae’s voice came from over his shoulder. “Can I take a look?”

  Eli tilted the camera so his sister could see the image of the cabin. He didn’t want to shock her with the image of their little sister’s kapp.

  “My brother was taking photos of the countryside.” Anna gave his forearm a reassuring squeeze. He wondered what she’d made out of her brother holding the kapp. Did she realize it was Mary’s?

  All sorts of questions crowded his mind. Where did Daniel find it? Was he going to implicate others? Where was it now? He rubbed his forehead. His mind raced.

  “I know that cabin.” Katie Mae startled him.

  Leaning back, he looked up at his sister. She slid back into the booth across from him and took another sip of coffee. If not for the Amish clothing, her chattiness and excitement could have been mistaken for any other teenage girl in America. He wished for so much more for his sister. The world had a lot to offer her. He gritted his teeth. Who was he to brand one way of life better than another?

  “You know where Daniel was when he took this photo?” he asked.

  Katie Mae arched a pale eyebrow. “Yes. That’s on the edge of the Christopher’s lakefront property.” She hitched a shoulder. “The one they use sometimes in the summer.” She twisted her lips. “Never understood why people need two homes. The house they have in town could squeeze in all of the Millers and their cousins.”

  Eli’s heart raced. Maybe this was the clue he had been working ten years to find. He struggled to keep his voice calm. “Is it next to the main house?” From looking at the photo, he couldn’t imagine the Christophers would have allowed anything in their possession to have fallen into such disrepair.

  “Oh, no...” Katie Mae’s eyebrows shot up. “It’s a good hike from the main house. One day in early spring, I had been put in charge of little Joey and Patrick, the Christopher’s grandchildren, while their mother had her nails done. I tried to clean the house with them underfoot, but they had too much energy. I took them out for a walk and they kept going and going. Didn’t even mind me when I called for them to come back. Lucky I kept up with them.”

  “This cabin is through the woods? Could you find it again?”

  Katie Mae nodded. “It’s near the lake. North of the main house.”

  “How do you know it’s the same cabin?” Anna’s brows drew together.

  Katie Mae held out her hand and Eli handed over the camera. She squinted at the image, then handed it back, as if she were passing a hot potato. Perhaps she feared being seen in public with a camera. She pointed from a distance at the image. “See the broken railing?” Eli examined the photo. Sure enough, the horizontal rail was broken and resting at an angle. “I was thinking Dat would have fixed that rail the minute it broke.”

  Anxiety ma
de it nearly impossible to stay seated in their small booth. He had to find this cabin and Mary’s kapp. He fisted his hands.

  He had to find Mary’s body.

  * * *

  “You sure we’re heading in the right direction?” Eli’s deep voice broke the tension-filled silence.

  “Yes.” Katie Mae, her face inches from her backseat window, watched the scenery intently.

  It was now late afternoon and Anna wished she hadn’t pushed aside the hamburger at the diner. When Katie Mae had excused herself to use the bathroom, Eli had explained his suspicions about the bonnet—or kapp as he called it—leaving Anna nauseous. Now, a sinking feeling told her this wasn’t going to be a quick trip to the cabin. She anticipated it as much as she dreaded it. Could this be the day they finally cleared her brother’s name? Or the day the last nail was hammered into his coffin?

  Coffin.

  The cold word made all the blood rush from her head. She’d have to make arrangements for the proper burial of her brother’s remains as soon as she returned home.

  Up ahead, a dark purple-gray cloud moved in from the west, its edge pushing against the bright blue sky. A crack of lightning split the dark cloud. Anna counted. Twenty-five. A dull rumble sounded in the distance. A charge of anticipation tickled the back of her neck. Generally, she loved a good storm, but not today. She’d rather visit the rundown cabin under bright skies. She bit the inside of her cheek. Her stomach ached. Maybe she wasn’t hungry after all.

  Katie Mae tapped on the window, drawing Anna’s attention again. Eli’s sister sat in the seat behind her brother, an intense expression on her pale face. “Turn here. That narrow lane.” Eli slowed and turned left onto a gravel road. Anna was impressed the young girl had remembered the directions.

  As if answering her question, Katie Mae said, “We came down this lane and walked back on the side of the road. It was a lot quicker than trampling through the woods again. I had to get the boys home before their grandmother realized how far we had gone. I didn’t want to lose my job.” Katie Mae propped her elbow on the door and rested her chin on her fist. “I was hired to clean, not watch the kids. But Mrs. Christopher always seems overwhelmed when the grandchildren visit. And Chase’s wife tends to bring the boys over to their grandparents’ home a lot when Chase is traveling. Then she disappears, too.”