Matchmaking Can Be Murder

by Amanda Flower

  “Of course,” Clara said.

  I thanked them again. “Do you have any of that blueberry and lavender fudge?”

  Bailey laughed. “I have never met anyone who loves blueberry as much as you do, Millie. Yes, we have plenty. Let me pack up some for you.” She went behind the counter.

  As I waited for my fudge, the front door to Swissmen Sweets opened again, and Deputy Little strode inside. As soon as he was in the room, Charlotte became very interested in her task of packing lemon drops. She stared at her busy hands.

  After greeting us all, Deputy Little walked up to her. “I’d like a pound of chocolate peanut butter fudge.”

  She looked up. “You bought a pound of chocolate peanut butter fudge two days ago. Did you already eat it?”

  Now, his face was red. “I—I gave it away at the station.”

  “Oh,” she said. “That was nice of you.”

  He smiled.

  She shook her head as if shaking herself from a daydream. “I will get that for you.”

  Beside me, I saw Clara’s face crease in worry. She was seeing what I was seeing, I was certain. Bailey held out a little white box to me. “Here’s your fudge.”

  “How much do I owe you?”

  “Nothing.” Bailey shook her head. “No, it’s a gift. Please.”

  I took the box from her hand. “All right.” I thanked all the ladies again and walked out the door.

  I stood on the sidewalk for a moment, and a second later Deputy Little came out the door. He held his box of fudge in his hand as if his life depended on it. Then he crossed Main Street without so much as a second glance at me. There would be some very difficult choices in the future for those two, I knew, if things went the way I believed they would.

  I shook my head. The romantic entanglements of the young! Then I thought of Uriah, and maybe the not-so-young too . . .

  I stopped and admired the square and the apple trees and gas-powered lampposts that marched up Main Street. Harvest was lovely, and despite this latest event, I was happy to be back in the village where I had friends like Lois and happy memories of falling in love with Kip.

  I was about to cross Main Street again to return to Bessie and my buggy when the door to the candy shop opened after me. “Millie!” Charlotte Weaver called.

  I turned and looked at the young Amish woman. Her cheeks were a lovely shade of pink. I didn’t know if that was from the heat of the kitchen or the close proximity to Deputy Little.

  I smiled. “Can I help you, Charlotte?”

  Her face turned even redder, changing from a pretty blush to the shade of a sun-ripened tomato. “I was wondering if . . .” She blushed even more.

  I patted her arm. “You want my matchmaking help?”

  She looked at me with her bright green eyes. “Ya, I have been confused about so many things, and I thought that if . . .”

  “If you were being courted by a nice Amish man, things would be made clearer.”

  Deputy Little stood across the square, speaking with a tourist. It was clear from the way he was pointing that he was giving directions.

  “Charlotte?”

  She looked away from the young deputy. She nodded. “That’s my hope.”

  “It may be easier if you first decide whether you want to remain Amish or not. You cannot base your decision about what you believe on someone else.”

  She hung her head. “I know. I’m so torn. I wish I could be in both worlds, like Bailey.”

  “Bailey isn’t in both worlds,” I said. “She has access to both and you will too, no matter what you decide.” I paused. “If you make the decision before you are baptized.”

  She nodded. “I know what will happen if I’m baptized and change my mind.” She looked over her shoulder at the candy shop as if to check that the door was firmly closed and no one could hear us. “But can you let me know if you see the right man for me, please?”

  I smiled, thinking that I might already have seen him. “I will.” I took a step toward the street.

  “That’s not all though,” she said.

  I raised my brow. “You have more you want to tell me about finding you a match.”

  She shook her head. “I heard a rumor that there was something strange going on at the place where Zeke worked, Swartz and Swartz Construction.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, leaning in and searching her face for any clue as to what she was trying to tell me.

  “I—I don’t know, but I heard at a volleyball match with the youth of the district that it might be something illegal. I thought you should know.” With that, she spun around and went back into the candy shop.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  My sleep that night was fitful. Nightmares clouded my mind, nightmares about Zeke’s death, Enoch’s return, and stumbling into Uriah. In my dreams, they all intertwined like a pattern on a crazy quilt.

  If Enoch returned to take his place in the community, he would take control of the greenhouse from his sister as the only son of their father, Ira. Had she married before he returned, it would have gone to her husband. Enoch had the very best motive to get Zeke out of the way, and the timing was telling. At the same time, Edith didn’t seem to believe that her twin was here to return to the Amish faith.

  I knew I needed to talk with Enoch, but I wasn’t sure it was a conversation I wanted to have with Lois trailing around behind me. Some family matters were strictly to be kept in the family. This certainly felt like one of those times. Consequently, I decided to go back to my niece’s greenhouse alone, and I had the perfect excuse to return to the greenhouse in the early morning hours. I’d left my goats there, hadn’t I? Oh, sure, I’d “lent” them to Edith to help with clearing some of the land, but I’d also promised to come for them. I thought it was a good time to collect them. Besides, I missed their company on my little farm.

  It was five in the morning and still dark when I made up my mind to collect my goats. I knew I had plenty of time to get there and back in my buggy before Lois arrived at eight. Also, if I remembered correctly, she had almost always been late.

  In the predawn light, I hitched up Bessie and climbed into my buggy. A few minutes later, the buggy creaked and rattled on the quiet county road between my little hobby farm and the greenhouse. As we rolled along, I saw the beginnings of dawn in the east over the rolling Holmes County hills. There was a large beef farm on this stretch of the drive and a dozen cows were silhouetted against the rising sun on the hill.

  I let out a breath and prayed that my encounter with Enoch would go well. I had been wanting this moment for such a long time. Since I had been back in Ohio, I seemed to think about Enoch more often, wrestling over how to right the wrong I’d done. I also thought about Kip a lot more. It seemed that I missed him more acutely in this place where we had been so happy together.

  I sighed again, and Bessie shook her head.

  “I know, old girl, it’s hard to reach our age and find we have some regrets about our lives.”

  Bessie blew a raspberry through her horsey lips. I started to laugh, but the laughter died on my lips when the roar of an engine came up behind us. Bessie shuddered at the noise and I looked over my shoulder through the back window of the buggy. All I could see was a pair of high-beam headlights. For a moment, I was blinded before I turned back around in my seat.

  Bessie’s stride skipped, causing the buggy to hiccup as a result. I took a firm hold on the reins. “Steady, girl, steady.”

  Her trot smoothed out again, but the car was still there right behind us. It felt like it was only a yard away from the back of the buggy. “Easy girl,” I said to the horse. “He will pass us by.”

  But the car did not pass us by, and there was no other traffic on the road. There was plenty of space for the driver to move around us, more than enough space actually. A knot tightened in my stomach. Something about this felt very wrong. Why was he back there?

  I looked in my buggy’s rearview mirror, but the car’s headlights were too br
ight to make out the face of the driver.

  I licked my lips and slowed the buggy. The driver slowed his car too, keeping pace with me. It felt intentional. It was intentional.

  I had no way to call for help. Nothing to do but keep going forward. I knew if I let Bessie stop, it would be a bad idea. My old horse and I were no match for the obviously angry person inside the other vehicle.

  The car followed us for a while longer. It could have been ten minutes or it could have been two. I was in such a state, the passing of time seemed to tick by at a crawl. Then with no warning, the driver gunned his engine and flew around us, disappearing around a curve in the road in a matter of seconds. The sun was up high enough now that I could see there was mud covering the license plate. That felt intentional too.

  The passing of the car rocked my buggy back and forth, and I held on to the reins so tightly that the old leather dug into my palms. I prayed for calm. It did not come. My heart raced, and I felt like I wanted to both stop the buggy completely and shake the reins hard so that Bessie and I could run away.

  I straightened my shoulders, prayed to Gott that Bessie and I were both all right, and continued on to the greenhouse at a steady pace. It took us another twenty minutes to reach Edith’s place. By the time we turned into the long driveway, the sun was up and my pulse was back to normal.

  Phillip and Peter spotted us right away and the two goats galloped in our direction with wide grins on their faces. The front door of Edith’s house opened, spilling children and kittens out to greet me as well. A peace fell over me. You really couldn’t beat being welcomed by children, cats, and goats.

  The front door opened again just as I was pulling Bessie to a stop, and Edith stepped onto the small porch, followed by a man in Englisch clothes. Enoch.

  I closed my eyes. The last time I had seen my nephew, he had been furious with me and blamed me for being wrongly sent to jail. The last time I had seen him, he had been a fifteen-year-old boy. Now, he was man.

  I climbed out of the buggy as the children, the kittens, and the goats circled around me.

  “Aenti, why have you come so early?” Jacob asked.

  I finished tying Bessie’s lead to the hitching post and scratched Phillip between the ears. “I came by early because I have missed these two knucklehead goats and would like to take them back to my farm. They are gut company for me.”

  “Can we come too?” Micah asked. “We can be gut company for you. We can bring Peaches. He is almost weaned. Maam said it will be just another few weeks and he can go home to live with you.” He held the peach-colored kitten up to me.

  I took the downy ball of kitten fluff into my hands.

  “We should visit you,” Micah argued. “To make sure that you have everything you need to raise a cat. Cats are interesting creatures, as Maam says, and you have to take care of them properly.”

  It sounded to me as if Micah was repeating an argument that his mother had made to her more active son in order to convince him to be gentle with the kittens.

  I smiled because I knew the boy was sincere. “How about this? When it is time for me to take Peaches home, you can come to my farm and make all the proper recommendations to be certain that my home is kitten ready.”

  Micah thought for a moment. “That will work.”

  “Gut,” I said with a laugh and handed the kitten back to him, then patted Ginny’s plump cheek. I stepped around the children and the animals and walked toward the twins. As I drew closer to them, the similarities between them became evident. Enoch might be Englisch now, but he was still Edith’s twin brother.

  They came down from the porch together, reminding me of when they were young, when they were inseparable.

  “Guder mariye,” I said. “I’m sorry to come so early, but I thought I would collect the goats before it got too late in the day. Have they done the work you needed?”

  Edith nodded. “They have. Those two goats can eat a lot of weeds.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at the children, who were playing with the kittens and goats. “That is very true. They are fine workers even though they are also a great amount of trouble.” I turned to my nephew. “Guder mariye, Enoch. I am very happy to see you. You look well.”

  “As do you, Aunt Millie.” He walked toward me and, much to my surprise, gave me a hug.

  I squeezed him back with all my strength. I closed my eyes. He smelled Englisch, of expensive aftershave. Tears pooled in the corners of my eyes. “I am sorry for what happened—”

  “Stop apologizing,” my nephew said with a kind smile on his face. “All of that is over. I don’t blame you for what happened when I was young. I know you tried to make it right. I was too angry to see it then. Let’s just start from here.”

  And like that, ten years of guilt was gone.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  “Danki, Enoch. That is very kind,” I said.

  “Enoch has changed so much since he’s been gone,” his sister said, looking up to him lovingly. “He’s like the boy I remember when we were children.”

  Enoch laughed. “I hope I’m more than that. After I left Holmes County, I will admit things were not easy. I thought when I left the Amish community, all my problems would be solved. I fell in with some wrong people, I made my mistakes, but I realized what I really wanted. Got my GED and went to college.”

  “I’m so glad to hear it,” I said, thinking that it didn’t sound to me like he had any intention of coming back to Harvest to live. “And what do you do now?”

  “I’m in sales for the most part. I sell things to people who may or may not need them, but they have money and want stuff. It’s very different from the way the Amish shop.”

  I knew this to be true.

  “Enoch said that he will stay for a week or two,” Edith said, smiling at her brother. “He’s offered to help me at the greenhouse.”

  “I’m between jobs right now and have plenty of money from the job I had. If I can help Edith out for a couple of weeks, I’m happy to do that.”

  “That’s so kind.”

  “I want to get the greenhouse back on track for her.” His cheek twitched ever so slightly. “She told me what Zeke did with the greenhouse. His horrible choices and mismanagement. If there is something that I’m good at now, it’s business. We will get her back in the black in no time.”

  “The black?” Edith asked.

  “It’s means you will be making a profit again,” he said to his sister.

  “I know that Edith will welcome the help.”

  He nodded. “My father and I might not have always seen eye to eye, but I know how much he cared about this greenhouse and about Edith. He named the greenhouse after her for goodness’ sake.” He paused. “I will repay my debt to him for being a terrible teenager by saving it.”

  I frowned. There was something about his comments that didn’t sit well with me, but I couldn’t put my finger on what bothered me.

  “Is everything all right?” Enoch asked. “Aunt Millie, you do look a little bit shaken.”

  “Ummm.” I couldn’t tell them that Enoch’s words bothered me, not right after he had forgiven ten years of hurt. “The strangest thing happened to me while I was driving here . . .” I began, and I went on to tell them about the car with the high-beam headlights.

  “It was likely some kids still out joyriding, ones who haven’t even made it home for the night. You were lucky you weren’t hurt. They might have been drunk,” Enoch said. “I’m sorry to say that was the kind of trick I would have pulled when I was a teen. There are so many young men in this county out on rumspringa.”

  “You think it was an Amish young man?” I asked.

  He smiled. “Considering where we are, the probability is very high.”

  “Ya, you are probably right.” However, in my heart I didn’t think he was right at all. I had a very clear sense that the car behind me was driven by an Englischer, but I didn’t know why. All I had was a feeling, and the only other possible witness was
Bessie. She was a sturdy old horse, but she wouldn’t be much help supporting my story.

  “Aenti, we were just about to sit down for breakfast,” Edith said in her sweet way. “Would you like to join us? I made pancakes and bacon. I also have local maple syrup. I know how much you love anything maple.”

  That was true. I loved maple almost as much as I loved blueberries. Almost.

  I pulled my pocket watch out of the pocket of my apron. It was a gift that Kip had given me when we were first married and one that I always kept with me. It was six thirty now. “I can stay for maybe fifteen more minutes. I have an old friend who is visiting me this morning. She should be at my home by eight. This will give me just enough time for one pancake and two pieces of bacon. Oh, and coffee. It’s early, and after this morning’s scare, a cup of coffee to wake me up would be most welcome.”

  Enoch laughed.

  Edith’s eyebrows went up. “Who’s your friend, Aenti?”

  As we walked to the house, I told them about meeting Lois again. I didn’t say where I’d met her or mention Darcy and the café. I would need to tell Edith those things, but not yet, not when her brother was here smiling at me with an inquisitive look on his face. It would have to wait until Lois and I started our investigation.

  Fifteen minutes later on the dot, I was driving away from the greenhouse with two goats in the back of my buggy and a sense of peace about seeing Enoch again. The old saying came to me, “Forgiveness is better than revenge and in the long run a lot cheaper.”

  Of all the Amish proverbs there were about forgiveness, I didn’t know why that was the one that came most readily to my mind.

  I could not shake the uneasy feeling I’d had while speaking with my nephew. I told myself it was only an aftereffect of my early morning encounter with the car on that quiet dark road.

  The county road where the incident had occurred was now empty. Everything was clear and brightly lit. No phantom cars would sneak up on Bessie and me now.

  As I suspected, I made it back home with plenty of time to spare before Lois arrived. She was over forty minutes late.

  Rather than sit in the house and twist my hands, I decided to do some yard work. It felt like much longer, but it’d been only a few days since Edith had helped me shape the new garden, and with all the turmoil that had unfolded in the community since, the garden remained unfinished.