Chapter Seventeen
When I got back to Running Stitch, Anna, Mattie, and Sarah were all waiting for me. The only member of the quilting circle not there was Rachel, which was telling. The quilt frame was in the middle of the room, and the three women sat around it, adding stitches. Dodger curled up on the counter between the register and a large picnic basket.
After I removed his boots, Oliver padded over to check the condition of his young charge.
“What’s going on?” I asked, hanging my coat on the peg on the wall.
“Have you eaten anything?” Anna asked, ignoring my question.
“Not since breakfast, but I’m meeting my parents for an early dinner at the Double Dime Diner after the shop closes for the day.”
Dodger jumped off the counter, and he and Oliver chased each other around the store.
“You still need to eat something now.” Anna licked the tip of her thread before pushing it through the eye of the needle. “There is vegetable soup in the thermos in the hamper there. It’s still good and hot.”
I opened up the picnic basket and found the promised thermos of soup, plus fresh bread, bowls, and spoons. “Do any of you want some? There is plenty here.”
“We already ate while waiting for you,” Mattie said.
I filled one of the bowls with soup, grabbed a spoon, and sat in my chair at the quilt rack. “Now, can you tell me what you are all doing here? Shouldn’t you be home making last-minute preparations for Christmas?”
Anna pulled her thread through the fabric. “Christmas preparations are all but done, and as a quilting circle, we have pressing business.”
“Does this have something to do with Eve’s death?” I blew on my spoon. Anna was right, the soup was hot.
“Yes, it does, and with Rachel. The poor girl. She doesn’t need this last incident bringing up old feelings from her childhood,” Anna said. “She’s had a hard-enough year as it is.”
“Do you know more about her family?” I asked, feeling a little guilty for going to Anna for the information when I knew I should talk to Rachel herself.
Anna pushed her glasses up her nose. “They’ve always been an odd bunch. Part of the district but very standoffish. My husband used to say it was because of the family tree farm. The Shetlers thought that they were better than everyone else in the district because the farm is big enough for all three boys to work there, and they did until Rachel’s father, Nahum, went off the deep end.”
“What happened to Nahum? Why did he go crazy?” Sarah asked. “I don’t think I have ever heard the story.”
“If you haven’t heard it,” Anna said, “then it’s been kept a close family secret.”
With deft fingers Sarah tied a quilter knot at the end of her thread. “Very funny. Is it my fault people tell me things?”
“The great mystery,” Anna said, “is why they do.”
Sarah frowned.
I set my empty soup bowl on the small tray table between Mattie and me. “Okay, okay. Back to the Shetler family, please.”
Anna began a stitch. “From what I have heard and have not repeated until this moment”—she gave Sarah a pointed look—“Nahum did not agree with a ruling the bishop made. It may have had to do with the death of Rachel’s mother. At least that was what everyone else assumed because there didn’t seem to be anything else that would have made him so angry.”
“Do you think Rachel knows?” I asked.
Anna frowned. “I’m not certain. She was very young. And since she lived with her mother’s sister and brother-in-law, she had very little interaction with her father or his family.”
“But she’s still upset about Eve, even though she didn’t know her well,” Sarah said. “I mean, she seems more upset than an average person would be about the death of a young girl. It seems strange.”
“She is,” I said. “But you know how sensitive and caring Rachel is.” I picked up a needle and threaded it. We worked in silence for a moment.
“Angie, you promised to tell me about your visit to the library this morning, and I would like to hear about your trip back to the hotel this afternoon too.” Sarah peered at me over her glasses.
I told the ladies about my conversations with Amber and with Junie. “So, there is reason to believe because of the notes that someone was threatening Eve. The question is who, and whether that person was the one who actually cut the rope.”
Mattie shook her head. “It’s just so terrible.”
When Mattie spoke up, it reminded me of her absence earlier that day. “Mattie, why weren’t you here when I got back from the library? I was surprised to find Sarah filling in for you.”
“I—I had some business to take care of.”
I frowned. “Sarah said you needed to speak with a friend.”
Mattie frowned at Sarah. “Nee, it was just an errand for Christmas. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course I don’t mind, but please tell me when you leave the store.”
She ducked her head. “I’m sorry.”
I tied a quilter’s knot at the end of my thread. “It’s fine, Mattie, really,” I said, but I knew there was more to the story. I trusted my assistant. Mattie would tell me when she was ready. Then again, that didn’t mean I wouldn’t try to get to the bottom of it.
Anna stuck her needle into an apple-shaped pincushion. “Our only choice is to find out who cut the rope, not just to solve the murder but to help Rachel make peace with her past.”
Easier said than done.
“I’m going to see Nahum tomorrow morning. The best way to find out why he left the Amish and why he had such a problem with Eve is to go directly to the source.”
All three Amish women cried out at once. Sarah was the loudest. “Angie, you can’t do that. It’s too dangerous.”
I stood and carried my empty bowl back to the picnic basket. “I’m not going by myself. Jonah is taking me.”
Anna snapped the lid of her sewing box shut. “My son should do no such thing.”
I smiled. “Don’t blame Jonah. I didn’t give him much of a choice. I told him if he didn’t go with me, I would go myself.”
Anna shook her head. “It’s foolish. Wait until you can see Nahum on neutral ground. Don’t go to his home, because then it will be on his terms.”
“The decision has already been made. I’ll be fine. I’m even more eager to go now that I know he’s Rachel’s father.” I looked at each of them in turn. “Don’t any of you tell her that I am going. . . .”
Anna and Sarah reluctantly nodded, but Mattie stared at the quilt in front of her.
I walked over to my assistant’s chair. “Mattie? Are you going to tell Rachel?”
She removed her needle from the quilt and slid the thread out the needle’s eye. “I won’t tell her.”
• • •
It wasn’t until I was driving to Millersburg that I remembered Ryan had gone off with Jessica that morning. It was best not to dwell on why I found that irritating. After a quick stop at home to drop off Dodger, I rolled by her store on the way to the Double Dime Diner. At the last second, I swerved into a parking space in front of it.
The driver in the minivan behind me made angry gestures and shouted something indecipherable out of his window.
Oliver hopped right out of the car when I opened the door. He was always happy to visit Jessica’s shop. It was where he met Dodger for the first time and fell in love with his feline brother.
Before I even stepped into the shop, I saw Ryan and Jessica through the window. Ryan laughed at something Jessica said, and she put her hand on his arm.
I clenched my jaw and was about to turn away when Jessica saw me and waved me inside.
“We need to be on our best behavior, Ollie,” I said before opening the door.
He cocked his head at me as if to ask when he ha
d ever not been on his best behavior. Truth be told, he really didn’t want me to recite the list.
Inside the shop, I spied Melon, Jessica’s ginger-colored shop cat, snoozing on top of a bookshelf. The big cat opened one eye, saw it was Oliver and me, and went back to sleep. Melon and Cherry Cat, Dodger’s mom, were the only two I had ever seen. Jessica had claimed to have a third cat, but I had never seen it. I was convinced it was a ghost.
I edged around Sir Richard, Jessica’s suit of armor standing guard at the front door. Oliver gave Sir Richard a wide berth. He’d run into the suit of armor one too many times and almost got chopped with Sir Richard’s ax.
“Angie!” Jessica beamed at me. “Come in from the cold. Ryan and I were just having a cup of cocoa. Would you like some?”
“Angie is always up for chocolate,” Ryan said with a smile.
“That’s true,” I admitted.
Jessica spun around to the electric kettle on the back counter to make my cocoa.
Cherry Cat, a sleek, solid, silver gray beauty, sat on the counter and peered down at Oliver. My Frenchie wagged his stubby tail in greeting. The pair’s relationship had much improved ever since Oliver and I took in her son, Dodger.
“What were the two of you up to all day?” I asked, trying to sound casual but failing miserably.
Ryan stirred his hot chocolate with a teaspoon. “Jessica has been kind enough to give me a tour of the county. We drove through Berlin, Sugarcreek, and Rolling Brook. I was shocked with the number of Amish I saw. I can see why you like it here. The scenery is very picturesque and charming. Jessica was the perfect tour guide. I’m sure I got a much more thorough tour of the county than those poor folks stuck on those tour buses we kept seeing. I can’t see traveling like that as being comfortable.”
Jessica blushed. “Ryan was very curious about the county. We even stopped at one of the cheese shops where he could get samples.”
“I sent a huge cheese basket home to my parents. It won’t make up for my missing the big Dickinson Christmas, but it will at least make my father happy.”
I moved a candelabra from the top of a dresser and perched it on the dresser’s top. “The county is beautiful, but Texas is pretty too.”
Ryan perked up. “Do you miss it?”
“Of course, I miss it sometimes, but I know I can always go back since my parents are there.” I paused. “I’m glad Jessica was available to show you around.”
Ryan frowned.
Jessica handed me the mug of hot chocolate, but she wouldn’t meet my eyes.
“Thanks.” I sipped from the Flintstones mug. “I was just about to head over to the Double Dime to meet my parents for an early dinner. It’s a bit early, so I thought I would stop in and see how the two of you were.”
“The Double Dime?” Ryan asked.
“It’s the diner across the street,” Jessica said as she stirred her hot cocoa. “The food is really good traditional diner fare. It’s especially nice if you need a break from all of the Amish restaurants in the county.”
“Care if I join you?” Ryan asked. “I’ve used up too much of Jessica’s time as it is. I know she must have work to do.”
“No,” Jessica said a little too quickly. “I don’t have anything pressing.” She blushed. “But if you want to join Angie and her parents for dinner, please go ahead. Visiting with them is the reason you are here.”
It seemed that Jessica liked Ryan a lot, but how could I tell her that she had no chance? Ryan would never move to Rolling Brook. He would have to leave his high-powered career in Dallas. He was a Texas guy through and through.
But what was I doing begrudging her a little distraction? I was being absolutely ridiculous. Jessica was my friend. So what if she had a crush on Ryan.
Regardless, I knew inviting Jessica to dinner too with my parents would be a bad idea. My mother would hit the roof if she saw Ryan with another woman, especially one so taken with him. But I had an alternative. I took a deep breath and said, “Jessica, what are you doing on Christmas Eve?”
“Oh,” she said. “I planned to go to Midnight Mass, but other than that, I will be wrapping gifts and baking. My extended family celebrates on Christmas Day.”
“Why don’t you come with us to the Grabers’ farm for Christmas Eve dinner? It will be at three, so you will have plenty of time to finish everything you need to for Christmas Day beforehand and to go to Mass afterward.”
Ryan’s eyebrows knit together as if he didn’t like where this conversation was going. Too bad for him. He should have thought about that before he spent the entire day with my friend.
She ran her hand along Cherry Cat’s back as Dodger’s mother pranced across the counter. “Are you sure? Won’t that be one person too many for Anna and Miriam?”
“Anna would love for you to come.” I laughed. “And Jonah’s wife is always put out about something. One more person won’t make a bit of difference with how she feels about the entire affair. Besides, the dinner is at Anna’s little dadihaus, so Miriam can’t argue much.”
“A dadihaus?” Ryan asked.
“That’s what the Amish call the home that the grandparents live in on the farm,” Jessica explained. “When one Amish generation turns over the family farm to the next, the older generation usually gives the new generation the big house and moves into a small home on the property. It’s translated as ‘grandpa house.’”
I nodded. “But in the Grabers’ case, Anna lives there alone because she is a widow.”
Oliver was lying across Ryan’s shoe. I tried to suppress the grimace. It shouldn’t bother me that Oliver was so enamored with Ryan. Ryan had always been kind and taken great care of my dog. Jessica watched Ryan with rapt attention. Oliver wasn’t the only one taken with the Texas lawyer.
“So, do you have room for one more at your dinner table for today?” Ryan asked.
“Sure,” I said through my teeth. “I know Mom would like to see you. She and Dad have been sightseeing today too. You can compare notes.”
Chapter Eighteen
As we crossed the street, Ryan, Oliver, and I met my parents, who were just climbing out of their rental car in front of the Double Dime Diner. The bell over the door rang as the four of us went inside the diner. Since I had discovered it a few months back, I had become a regular. Linda, the head and, as far as I could tell, the only waitress in the diner, wiped down the Formica counter.
Her face brightened when she saw me. “Angie, choose any seat that you’d like. I’ll be with you in a jiffy.” She clicked her tongue at Oliver. He abandoned me for the promise of bacon. I was onto their secret code. Although Linda never let Oliver into the kitchen, I found rules were much more lenient about dogs in restaurants in Holmes County than they had been in Dallas.
I led my parents and Ryan to a booth by the front window. It was my favorite spot and gave me a clear view of the county courthouse. The statue of Lady Justice jutting out from the side of the building held her scales high in the air. Her head, scales, and shoulders were weighted down by heavy snow, while even more began to fall.
“Angie,” my mother said as she slipped into the booth, “where did Oliver go? I’m surprised you allowed him to wander off like that. You usually watch him every minute.”
I picked up my menu, even though I knew what I would order. I could use it as interference if need be. “He and Linda—that’s the waitress—are buddies. I’m sure he’s getting his choice of bacon right now.”
“Do you come here often?” Ryan asked.
I smiled. “Probably more often than I should. The food is great, but you’d be hard-pressed for a salad here.”
My mother wrinkled her nose. To her, salad was a mainstay. To me it was a necessary evil. Perhaps that would explain the difference in our sizes.
It wasn’t until everyone was seated that I realized my miscalculation. Why had I chosen a
booth? My mother was quick to sit beside my father, which meant I was left next to Ryan. Would it look bad if I pulled up a chair to the end of the table? Probably. I slid into the booth and sat on the very outside corner. I was sitting so far on the edge that a light breeze would have knocked me right off my seat.
“I’m not going to push you out of the booth,” Ryan said barely above a whisper.
I felt my face grow hot. Of course he wouldn’t do that. For all his other faults, Ryan was a perfect gentleman.
He smiled at me as I sat properly in the seat.
Mom picked up her menu. “Ryan, what have you been up to all day? We haven’t seen you at all. I hope you aren’t too bored up here.”
“Not at all.” Ryan gave Mom his best smile, which would have been charming enough for a pageant judge, unlike mine. “Angie’s friend, Jessica Nicolson, showed me around the county. It was nice to see the area from a local’s perspective.”
My mother frowned at this, but Dad said, “How nice of Angie’s friend to show you around while Angie Bear was working.”
“I’ve told you about Jessica, haven’t I, Mom? She is the one with Out of Time, the antiques shop here in Millersburg.” I pointed out the window. “In fact, that’s her shop right across the street. You and Dad should check it out. You would love it. There is a suit of armor named Sir Richard that she’s placed right at the entrance to the store. It’s in great condition.”
My mother closed her menu. “I don’t have any need for more antiques.”
“I’ve always wanted a suit of armor,” my dad said. “Think of how nice that would look in the foyer of our home, Daphne.”
“I certainly will not.”
“Maybe I will go over and have a peek at it. It would be a bear to ship back to Dallas, but it’s worth a look.” Dad winked at me over his menu.
Mom frowned harder, looking as if she had just swallowed an eight-ounce glass of grapefruit juice in one gulp.
Linda trotted over in her circa 1950 waitressing uniform. “Angie, it’s so good to see you. Merry Christmas! I wasn’t sure you’d come back in before the holiday.”
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