He gave a curt nod. “I did say that, but I’m a busy man. You can’t expect me to spend all my on-duty hours camped across the road from the Hostettlers’, waiting for the next attack to occur.”
Rosemary’s face heated up, and she gripped the strap on her purse. “You don’t have to be so harsh.”
“I’m just stating facts as I know them.” Sheriff Osborn gave her a half smile. “As I’m sure you know, that brother of yours is a stubborn man. He’s given me little or nothing to go on and rarely notifies me when there’s been an attack.”
“He planned to tell you about this one,” she was quick to say. “He got detained when we had to take Judith to the doctor’s.”
The sheriff picked up his pen and jotted something on a piece of paper. “I’ll stop by Roman’s place later today and see what information I can get out of him.”
“Will you check around the place for evidence?”
“Of course.”
She rose from her chair. “Thank you, Sheriff.”
As Rosemary left the sheriff’s office, she felt a small sense of relief. At least he’d been notified about the brick and the broken window, and he was planning to speak to Roman about it. She knew Roman might not appreciate her having gone to the sheriff without his permission, but that didn’t matter. They had to find out who was behind the attacks and, in the meantime, protect Roman’s family.
As Rosemary headed to her car a few minutes later, she was surprised to see Carl Davis walking up the sidewalk across the street. She hadn’t seen him since the day he’d stopped by her house, but she knew after talking with Grace the following day that Carl had suggested Anna come live with him so she would be safe. Of course Grace had vetoed that idea because she feared Carl might try to take Anna away again, and Rosemary couldn’t blame her for that. She’d had the same thought when Carl had visited with her.
She hurried to her car, hoping Carl wouldn’t see her. The last thing she needed was for him to find out about the latest attack. He’d probably be even more determined to take Anna from Grace.
Rosemary opened the door, slid quickly behind the wheel, and started the engine. A short time later, she pulled up to the doctor’s office. She found Martha and Judith sitting in the waiting room, while Roman paced the floor.
“Where have you been,” he growled. “We’ve been waiting for thirty minutes!”
“I had an errand to run.” She glanced at Judith then back at Roman. “What’d the doctor have to say?”
Roman shook his head and motioned to Judith. “I’ll tell you later.”
As Ruth sat in the backseat of Donna Larson’s car, with Gideon at her side, her mind replayed the events that had happened since she’d found Gideon on the ground with a cut leg. After she’d taken him into the house, she’d gone to Abe’s shop and phoned Aunt Rosemary, hoping she’d be free to give them a ride to Millersburg. Aunt Rosemary obviously wasn’t at home, for all Ruth had gotten was the answering machine. Then she’d called Donna Larson and was relieved when Donna answered and said she’d be glad to give them a ride to the hospital. Since Ivan was alone in the harness shop, she didn’t feel free to ask him to go up to the house to watch the children while she was gone, so she’d left a message on her folks’ answering machine, asking if either Mom or Martha might be free to watch the children. In the meantime, she’d put Esta and Josh in charge of the younger ones, which she hoped hadn’t been a mistake.
The trees lining the road blurred as they sped along in Donna’s car, and Ruth offered a silent prayer. Dear Lord, please protect the kinner while I’m gone.
A short time later, Donna pulled up to the hospital emergency entrance. “I’ll let you and Gideon out here and then find a place to park.”
“We could be awhile,” Ruth replied. “If you have some errands to run while you’re in town, you’ll probably have time to do them.”
“I might run over to the post office, but I shouldn’t be long. I’ll come inside and check on you as soon as I get back.”
“Thanks.” Ruth opened the car door and stepped out; then she turned to help Gideon. Hobbling on one foot, he gave no resistance as she led him into the emergency room. Once he was seated, she went to the front desk.
“If you’d like to have a seat, someone will be with you soon,” the woman behind the desk said after Ruth had filled out some paperwork.
Ruth took a seat next to Gideon. “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered.
“I–I’m scared of gettin’ stitches.” His chin quivered slightly. “It’s gonna make my leg hurt worse; I just know it.”
Ruth reached over and touched his arm. “When I was a little girl, I fell and broke my arm. I was scared then, too.”
“You were?”
She nodded. “But my mamm was with me when I went to the hospital, and I knew God was with me, too.”
Gideon looked over at her with tears clinging to his lashes and smiled. “Danki for comin’ with me today, Mama.”
Ruth swallowed against the lump lodged in her throat as she gently squeezed his fingers. At least one good thing had come from Gideon’s accident.
That evening after supper, Martha decided to ride her bike over to Abe and Ruth’s so she could tell them what had been going on with their mother. Since Ruth had been depressed for several months after Martin’s death, Martha hoped Ruth might have some suggestions as to what they could do to help Mom.
As she peddled her bike along the shoulder of the road, her thoughts wandered. The attacks that had begun over two years ago with the break-in of their house and then Dad’s shop had gone on far too long. They needed to find out who was responsible for the attacks and make them stop. If they didn’t, someone else might get hurt or end up dead, like Martin. Martha had been trying for several months to figure out who the attacker was, but she was no further along in finding him now than she had been when she’d first decided to do some detective work. The only thing she was sure of was that Luke was not the attacker. He wouldn’t be helping her if he were. Martha was certain that Luke wanted to find out who the attacker was as much as she did, if for no other reason than to clear his name with Dad.
A horn honked from behind, and Martha jumped. Her bike swerved to the right, but she righted it before running into the ditch. She glanced over her shoulder and was surprised to see John Peterson’s SUV pull alongside of her.
He leaned over and rolled down the window on the passenger’s side. “Need a ride?”
She pointed to her bike. “Thanks anyway, but I’ve got a ride.”
He smiled. “I can see that. I just thought if you had a ways to go, I’d put your bike in the back of my rig and I could give you ride to wherever you’re going.”
“I’m heading over to Abe and Ruth’s place, so I don’t have much farther to go.”
John’s smile widened. “No, I guess you don’t. How are things with the Wengerds these days? I haven’t talked to Abe in a while.”
“Last I heard, things were fine and dandy with my sister and her husband.” Martha grimaced. “My family’s still having problems, though.”
“What kind of problems? Have there been more attacks?”
She nodded. “Someone threw a brick through my folks’ bedroom window last night, and Mom’s been pretty upset ever since.” No point in giving John all the details. Martha was sure her dad wouldn’t like it if everyone in the area knew Mom was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
“That’s too bad. No one was hurt, I hope.”
“No, but they could have been.”
“Did your dad report it to the sheriff?”
“Aunt Rosemary did while Dad and Mom were at the doctor’s.”
“What were they doing at the doctor’s?”
“As I said before, Mom was pretty upset, and Dad wanted her to get something from the doctor to help settle her nerves.”
“That makes good sense. I’ll drop by your dad’s shop soon to see if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“I’
m sure he’d appreciate that.”
“I’ll let you get to your sister’s, and I’d better get home myself. It’s been a long day, and I’m bushed.”
“Okay. Thanks for stopping, John.”
“Sure thing.” John rolled up the window and pulled back onto the road.
Martha smiled. Even in the face of adversity, it was nice to know they had caring neighbors like Donna and Ray Larson and John Peterson.
Ruth had just stepped onto the porch to check on the children playing in the yard when she spotted Martha peddling up the driveway on her bike. “It’s good to see you,” she called as Martha climbed off the bike and leaned it against the barn. “I left a message on the folks’ answering machine earlier, but you must not have gotten it until now.”
“What message was that?” Martha asked as she stepped onto the porch.
“The one about me needing you or Mom to come over here and watch the kinner while I took Gideon to the hospital for stitches.”
Martha’s forehead wrinkled. “What happened to Gideon? Is he all right?”
Ruth nodded. “He cut his leg on a broken beer bottle someone threw in our yard, but he’ll be fine.” She took a seat in one of the porch chairs and motioned Martha to do the same. “I called Donna Larson for a ride to the hospital, and then we took Gideon in for stitches.”
“Who watched the kinner?” Martha asked, glancing at the children playing in the yard.
“I figured you or Mom would be coming over, so I left Esta and Josh in charge of the two younger ones. But when I got home, I found out that Ivan had closed the shop and come up to the house to watch them himself.”
“What about Abe? Where was he when all this happened?”
“He’d gone to Berlin to get some things he needed in his shop.”
Martha moaned. “What a verhuddelt day this has been for all of us.”
“How has the day been mixed-up for you?”
“Someone threw a brick through Mom and Dad’s window last night.”
“Ach, that’s baremlich! Were either of them hurt?”
“Not physically. The worst part was how Mom reacted to it. She was so upset that she didn’t want to get out of bed this morning. Except for a couple of words, she wouldn’t say much to Dad, Grace, or me, either.”
Ruth covered her mouth with her hand as she struggled to control her emotions. “How’s Mom doing now?” she asked.
“Well, Dad called Aunt Rosemary this afternoon, and we took Mom to see the doctor.”
“What’d the doctor have to say?”
“He thinks Mom’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown.”
“Ach, no!”
Martha nodded. “The doctor wanted to put Mom in the hospital, but Dad said no to that idea. So the doctor gave Mom a prescription for something to help her relax and said she needed to rest.”
Ruth jumped up from her chair. “I’d better go over there now and see how she’s doing. Maybe she needs my help. Maybe—”
Martha put a restraining hand on Ruth’s arm. “She’s already in bed. There’s nothing you can do right now except pray.”
Ruth swallowed around the lump in her throat. “Has the sheriff been notified?”
“Jah. Aunt Rosemary went to see him while Dad, Mom, and I were at the doctor’s.”
“Is the sheriff going to come out and check for evidence?”
Martha shrugged. “I don’t know about that, but I did find a couple of things on my own when I was looking around outside this morning.”
“What’d you find?”
“There was a ballpoint pen lying in the flower bed, and not far from it was a beer bottle.”
“A beer bottle?”
Martha nodded.
“Gideon fell on a beer bottle this morning. That’s how he cut his leg.” Ruth rocked back and forth in her chair as she mulled things over. “You don’t suppose—”
“That the beer bottle Gideon fell on was left by the same person who dropped a beer bottle at our place?” Martha said, finishing Ruth’s sentence.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.” Ruth bit down on her lip so hard she tasted blood. “I wonder if the person who threw the brick into Mom and Dad’s window came over here last night with the intent of doing the same thing but got scared off by Winkie. I did hear the dog barking once during the night.”
Martha shrugged. “I suppose that’s possible, but I’m wondering why none of my dogs barked last night. If they’d heard an intruder, I’m sure they would have been howling like crazy.”
“I think Abe needs to know about this,” Ruth said as she moved toward the door. “He’s in the living room, rocking Molly to sleep.”
“It’ll be dark soon, so I’d best be getting home,” Martha said. “I’ll say hello to the kinner and be on my way.”
“Tell Dad I’ll be over to see Mom in the morning,” Ruth called over her shoulder.
On an impulse after John had closed his shop for the day, Luke decided to go for a ride in his truck. It had been a long, busy day, and he needed to relax—needed to get out of the small room in the back of John’s shop where he’d been staying at night since he’d moved out of his folks’ house.
Maybe I’ll drive over to Walnut Creek and see what’s doin’, Luke told himself as he started down the road in that direction.
He’d only gone a little ways when he spotted Martha riding her bike along the shoulder of the road. He pulled over behind her and tooted his horn.
Martha stopped the bike and got off.
Luke turned off the engine and hopped out of the truck. He swallowed hard when he saw how flushed Martha’s cheeks were. Several strands of dark hair had escaped her kapp, no doubt from the wind. It was all he could do to keep from pulling her into his arms and kissing those rosy cheeks.
“Where’re you headed?” he asked.
“I just came from Ruth and Abe’s place, and now I’m headed home. I’m really glad to see you, Luke. We need to—”
“You’re losin’ daylight,” Luke interrupted. He looked up at the darkening sky. “It’s not good for you to be out on the road alone.” He motioned to the back of his truck. “Why don’t you let me put your bike in there and give you a lift home?”
Martha hesitated as she glanced around kind of nervouslike. Was she worried someone they knew might drive by and see her talking to him? Probably so, he decided, since she didn’t want her dad to know they’d been seeing each other. Luke was on the verge of telling her to forget the offer of a ride and suggesting he follow behind her bike in his truck, when she said, “I’d be happy for a ride home. It’ll give us a chance to talk.”
Luke lifted the bike with ease and set it in the back of his pickup. “Aren’t you worried what your daed will think when I bring you home?” he asked as Martha opened the door and climbed into the passenger’s seat.
“I figured you could drop me and my bike off at the end of our driveway. That way, Dad will be none the wiser.”
“Guess that makes good sense.” Luke skirted around to the driver’s seat and started up the truck. Before he pulled onto the road, he turned to Martha and said, “I’ve got to tell you, though, I’m getting tired of sneaking around in order to see you. Every time we want to see each other, we have to meet some place in secret.” He thumped the steering wheel with his knuckles. “It’s not right that a fellow in love has to sneak around to see his aldi.”
Martha’s mouth dropped open, and her eyes widened. “Did you mean what you just said?”
“What? That I’m sick of sneaking around in order to see you?”
She shook her head. “The part about being in love and me being your girlfriend.”
Luke reached across the seat and took hold of her hand. “It’s true, Martha. I’m in love with you.”
She sat there several seconds, staring at his fingers, intertwined with hers. “I. . .I love you, too, Luke, but I don’t know if I can ever truly be your aldi.”
“Because of your daed?”
&n
bsp; She nodded. “If we could just find out who’s behind the attacks—”
Luke stopped her words with a kiss. Her favorable response made him wish all the more that he had the right to court her.
“Oh, Luke,” she murmured, pulling slowly away, “I’m afraid things will never be the way we want them to be. You see, what I wanted you to know is that there’s been another attack, and even though I found some evidence, I still don’t know who threw the brick.”
Luke squinted as he studied her face. “What are you talking about? What evidence? What brick?”
“Last night, someone threw a brick through my folks’ bedroom window. No one was hurt, but it left Mom really shaken.” Martha paused to take in a quick breath. “This morning, I was looking around the place for evidence, and I found a ballpoint pen and a beer bottle that I believe the attacker must have dropped. The pen came from the Farmstead Restaurant, so whoever dropped it probably has eaten there.”
“What’d you do with the evidence?”
“I threw the beer bottle out and put the pen in a kitchen drawer.”
“Did your daed call the sheriff?”
“My aunt Rosemary spoke to the sheriff while Dad and I sat with Mom at the doctor’s.”
Luke’s brows furrowed. “What was she doing at the doctor’s?”
“This morning, Mom wouldn’t respond to Dad or me, so we knew she needed to see the doctor.”
Luke sat silently, trying to digest all that Martha had said. “What did the doctor say about your mamm?”
“He thinks she might be having a nervous breakdown, so he prescribed some medicine to calm her down and said she needed to rest.” Martha squeezed Luke’s fingers. “I’m afraid if the attacks don’t stop soon, Mom might get worse and never fully recover.”
Luke groaned as he leaned against his seat. “Your mamm’s mental condition is one more reason why we need to find out who’s behind the attacks. I don’t know about you, but I plan to step up my investigation.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“I don’t know, but when I come up with a sensible plan, I’ll let you know.”
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