by Amy Lillard
“And you don’t think you belong?” Kappy asked.
Edie gave her a sad smile. “I know I don’t.”
The words were so filled with melancholy that Kappy almost told her that she would stay another night. But Edie didn’t need her. Not like Jimmy had.
“You belong where you belong,” she said instead and started to roll the hose back up.
“I wouldn’t mind if you stayed. I’ve sort of gotten used to having you around.”
“Danki,” Kappy replied, “I think, but I need to get home for a while.”
Edie nodded. “Of course. I think I’ll just look through Mamm’s ledgers. Maybe I can find some sort of clue as to who would want her . . . dead.”
It was the one thing they hadn’t talked about. Who would want Ruth gone? And why?
It was true that Kappy was something of an outlier, living on the fringes. And because of this, she didn’t know a lot of what went on in the district, but she couldn’t imagine anyone having a problem with Ruth. The woman had a true and kind heart. The whole thing didn’t make any sense, and frankly, she was a little tired from trying to figure it all out.
“That would be good,” Kappy said. But she wasn’t sure what Edie would find. The books were filled with schedules, births, and vaccine records. Kappy was fairly certain Ruth hadn’t penciled in her own demise.
Chapter 6
It took Kappy the better part of the evening to clean her house. Then she went to the barn to get June Bug, her mare, settled in once more. She checked her garden, picked everything that was ripe, and gathered all of the apples that had fallen from her tree. She still had time to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies she was sure they wouldn’t let Jimmy have at the jail.
She grabbed one of the cookies for herself and nibbled on it thoughtfully as she watched the sun go down. She was happy to be at home. But it was quiet. Really quiet.
Over the last couple of days, she had sort of gotten used to having someone around, whether it was Jimmy, Edie, or even both. But this was how it should be. Edie would go back to the Englisch world, and Jimmy . . . well, she wasn’t sure what Jimmy would do, but she would be here, on her own once more.
She nearly jumped out of her skin as a knock sounded at the door.
“Kappy?”
“If you want a kapp, you have to go around back,” she hollered in return.
“Kappy, it’s me. Edie.”
She marched over to the door and wrenched it open. “Edie! What are you doing here?”
Edie stepped inside without waiting for an invitation. “Something smells good.”
Kappy shook her head, trying to get a handle on the situation. “I baked cookies.”
“Can I have one?”
She shrugged. “Of course.” But Edie was already on her way to the kitchen.
Kappy followed behind, feeling like a lost puppy. Which was strange considering that of the three of them—her, Edie, and Jimmy—hers was the future laid out the clearest. She would stay right there in Blue Sky, never get married, and live in the same house until she died.
The thought sank like a rock in her stomach.
“I think we should go over the clues,” Edie said. She had propped one hip onto the counter as she devoured her treat.
“What clues?” Kappy asked.
Edie stopped. “We have clues. There’s the red button.”
“That could have been there for months.”
“What about the woman in red?”
“I’m not even sure she actually exists.”
“But . . . but . . .” Edie held herself rigid, then deflated like a balloon. “We have to get him out of jail, Kappy.”
They could go talk to Jack Jones again, but he hadn’t seemed too impressed with the information she had presented to him earlier.
“We need more information,” Edie said. “Some real clues.”
“How are we going to get that?” Kappy asked.
“I don’t know, but when I think of something, I’ll let you know.”
* * *
Kappy usually enjoyed Sunday mornings. Especially church Sundays. Off Sundays were spent cleaning and resting while the rest of the district visited family and friends. But church Sundays were special, one of the few days that she felt a part of the community. She finished pinning her prayer kapp in place and critically studied herself in the mirror. Not bad for an old maid, she thought.
She licked one finger and smoothed down the baby hairs next to her ears, turning from side to side to make sure she got them all. Then she took a step back to assess the rest of her reflection. Sky-blue dress, crisp white apron, black tights, and black shoes all polished up and ready to go. That was one thing Aunt Hettie had taught her: Always look your best. No one could find fault there.
Today’s church service was to be held at Jay Glick’s house. Since he was so close, there was no need to hitch up June Bug and drive the carriage. She took one last look in the mirror, as satisfied with what she saw as she could be. Then she started for the door.
The day was cooler than the one before. Thick gray clouds had blocked out the sun. She grabbed an umbrella from the front closet before locking up the house and heading down the lane. At School Yard Road, she looked back toward Ruth’s house. If she had been alive still, Ruth would be heading to church as well, Jimmy at her side. But that wasn’t to be. Edie had jumped the fence, Jimmy was in jail, and Ruth had been murdered in her own barn.
The thought made her stumble. Ruth had thought she was safe, there on her own property, taking care of business, and doing what she had always done.
Kappy gave a small shudder. It could’ve happened to any of them. So why Ruth? She pushed that thought aside.
This was the Lord’s day and she should be thinking pure thoughts, not trying to find an answer to a mystery that might not ever be solved.
The clip-clop of horse hooves sounded behind her, mixed with the whir of carriage wheels on the roadway. She glanced back over her shoulder, briefly noting that Samuel and Alma Miller were coming up behind her. Behind them she spied another buggy and another. Everyone was going to church.
Across the valley, Hiram had climbed into his buggy for church today as well. As much as she hated to admit it, she missed him. Not the times when she felt like less, as worthy as Laverna. But the times when they sat on the porch and talked, just sat with each other and enjoyed the day the Lord had made and all of the beautiful creations around them. Why couldn’t life be a little simpler? But if she was asking questions like that, she should ask why couldn’t he love her the way he loved Laverna. Neither one had a ready answer.
Once upon a time Kappy and Laverna had been the best of friends. Kappy had been so excited for her friend when she came and told her that she was marrying Hiram Lapp. Okay, maybe she was a tiny bit jealous, but Kappy knew that marriage wasn’t part of God’s plan for her. But Laverna and Hiram would make a wonderful, beautiful couple.
Yet it wasn’t meant to be. Two years into their relationship, Laverna had died. Hiram had been heartbroken and Kappy had done everything she could to help him overcome the loss. But the more time she spent with him, the more she grew to care for him. Those feelings turned from friend to more, and when Hiram had asked her to marry him the year before she had readily agreed.
But she had been too caught up in the happiness and joy to see that the two of them would never work. She was odd little Kappy King, raised by an eccentric old-maid aunt with no other family to speak of. And Hiram was from one of the most prominent families in the valley. At least among the black-toppers.
Too many differences stood in their way, starting with the fact that he was Renno Amish while she had been raised Byler Amish. She was just glad she became aware of it before her heart was completely broken. She loved Hiram. And probably always would. But that didn’t mean she would be able to be the wife to him that he deserved.
Samuel waved as he guided his bright yellow carriage around her. Kappy returned the greeting, pull
ed out of her reminiscing, and kept up her steady pace to the Glick house.
A while back, Jay Glick had built a large barn in the back of his property. The bottom part was used for miscellaneous work, some blacksmithery, among other things. But the top part was perfect for holding a church service.
Many of the members of the congregation were already milling around in front of the barn, waiting for the signal that it was time to go inside.
Kappy didn’t suppress her smile as she walked up the driveway. A church day was always a sight to behold, even though she’d seen it every other week for as long as she could remember. It still felt special. Their yellow buggies lined up in a row, contrasting beautifully with the green grass and the red barn. Large hay bales covered in white plastic snaked down one side of the fields, while the men and women chatted with one another before the service started.
She wasn’t sure how it began but most every woman and girl in the district wore blue to church, the colors ranging from pale, powdery blue to the color of a cloudless summer sky. But the men captured her attention even more. How handsome and pious they looked in their crisp white shirts and form-tailored black vests. Or maybe she just loved that everybody put their best foot forward. On church day, more than any other day, everyone seemed equal, at least in looks.
Greetings were called to one another. The young girls had gathered at one side of the yard, whispering behind their hands about the young boys who had clustered together on the other side. Neighbors milled among themselves, checking the sky and trying to determine how soon it would rain or if it would rain at all. The most Kappy got was a quick nod from James Troyer, the deacon, before he moved on into the barn to prepare for today’s service.
After years of such treatment, Kappy should be used to it, but she wasn’t. It still stung, even though she had accepted her place as the district’s eccentric, just like her aunt before her. But the fact that she somehow all these years remained on the fringes of her community just brought to mind Edie. She supposed it could be worse. She could be shunned like her new friend, not that she had done anything to deserve such treatment. But there was one good thing about being a fly on the wall.
Kappy moved behind a group of women all clustered around and talking. These were the women who would be preparing meals to take to Ruth’s had Edie not been under the Bann. They probably would’ve done the same thing for Jimmy, if he’d been out of jail. But as it was they were off the hook for their church duties.
“And they’ve really arrested him?” one of them asked. Kappy thought it was Rose Menno, sister to Alma Miller, the bishop’s wife.
“Put handcuffs on him and took him away.” Maggie Troyer gave an emphatic nod.
“How do they think that boy could’ve done that?” Alma said. “I just don’t understand.”
Maggie looked this way and that, then leaned closer to her friends. “They say he just snapped. That can happen with his kind.”
“I suppose,” Rose murmured. But Kappy didn’t believe a word of it and she couldn’t believe that they did, either. She pressed her lips together and moved on, unwilling to listen to any more of such an inane conversation. It was so ridiculous that she couldn’t even take joy in the fact that she’d found a way to use today’s word from her word-a-day calendar. Maybe she would try again tomorrow as well.
She moved a little closer toward the men, hoping to pick up news, any kind of news. Maybe someone else had heard of a man running across the field, though they would’ve had to have been passing by in their buggy in order to see it.
But the men offered no help, and church was announced. It was a good thing, too, for no sooner had they all gotten into the barn than the bottom fell out of the sky and the rain came down.
* * *
Despite the fact that she had an umbrella, Kappy was soaked by the time she got home. Her shoes squished with every step she took, and although the umbrella helped a bit, she was certain she’d have to replace her own prayer kapp. The fabric just couldn’t stand up to the rain.
She watched each step she took, careful not to slide into a big puddle, and got a surprise when she looked up.
Edie Peachey was sitting on her front porch.
Kappy swung her gaze to the side, just then noticing Edie’s car parked in front of the house. That would teach her to stare at the ground while she was walking, even if it did mean saving her shoes from another coat of mud.
“What are you doing here?”
“What are you doing walking in the rain?”
Kappy was reluctant to admit that no one would bring her home. Not that she had asked. She hadn’t asked. They hadn’t offered. Now she was wet.
An understanding light dawned in Edie’s eyes. “Oh.”
“And I repeat,” Kappy said as she tromped up the steps, “what are you doing here?”
A bright flash of a smile crossed Edie’s face. She stood as Kappy fished her keys out of her bag. “I think I may have found something.” She held up one of Ruth’s ledgers.
Kappy would’ve been excited if she hadn’t been so wet. “Come on in and you can tell me about it.” She finally managed to jiggle the door open and stepped into her foyer. It felt good to be home, a little like the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. She had realized how tense she had been sitting at church, eating the meal, trying to hear snatches of conversation and if anyone else was talking about Jimmy and Ruth and Edie and the murder. It seemed it was all anyone could talk about, and yet there was no new information passed around. Mostly just sentiments that they couldn’t believe that Jimmy was capable of hurting his mamm.
“I started looking through Mamm’s books last night,” Edie said as Kappy started to work on her wet laces. “Did you know she had a logbook for all her phone calls?”
“I think I remember seeing that in her office.” One shoe down, Kappy began to work on the other.
“I looked into it and on last Tuesday Kenneth Delaney called Ruth four times. He left a message with each call.”
Kappy set her shoes on the floor next to the door and resisted the urge to rip off her soaked stockings. “I don’t know who Kenneth Delaney is.”
“He’s the man who came to buy the four beagles on Saturday. Don’t you think it’s strange that he would call her four times on the day she was murdered, then show up the following Saturday?”
Kappy nodded and reached for the pins in her prayer kapp. She could almost feel the fabric disintegrate beneath her fingers. Jah, time for a new one for sure. “I’ll admit that it’s strange,” she said. “But it doesn’t prove anything.”
Edie gave a half-shrug. “I don’t think it proves anything, either. Except that he was in contact with my mamm. Don’t they say that criminals always return to the scene of the crime?”
“I would hardly call this returning.”
“You know what I mean.”
It was Kappy’s turn to shrug. “How am I supposed to know?”
“Right.”
“I’m going to change.” Kappy plucked at her wet dress and apron.
Edie nodded, as if she had just noticed that Kappy was soaking wet. “Okay. Go ahead. I’ll be right here.”
Damaged prayer kapp still in hand, Kappy made her way to the back bathroom. As quickly as she could, she stripped out of her wet clothes and donned the dry day dress she had hanging on the back of the door. She grabbed a coat hanger from the laundry room and hung her dress up over the bathtub. It was already starting to drip when she headed back to the kitchen where Edie waited.
“So? What you think?” Edie asked.
“I think it’s interesting,” Kappy said with a small frown. “But not enough to take to Jack Jones.”
“Why not?” Edie asked. “Delaney could be another suspect.”
“Or he could be an innocent man who just tried to contact Ruth, then came by later to buy dogs.”
Edie threw back her head and growled. “There has to be something here. There just has to be.”
&n
bsp; Kappy could understand her frustration. Jimmy had been in jail for days now. And though Kappy was trusting in God to make sure he was safe, she knew it would be a lot easier on Edie if they could get him home. “Is there anything else in the ledger?”
Edie tossed the books onto the kitchen table, then slid into the nearest chair. She flipped open the nearest book and started riffling through the pages. “She has everything written down here. A feeding schedule, if something changed, if she switched their food, and all of her appointments. It’s almost like a journal of the day.”
Kappy eased into the chair opposite Edie’s. “So what’s written on last Tuesday?”
Edie quickly scanned the page. “Not a lot. She fed the dogs, gave a couple of them a bath, then set Jimmy to painting the doghouses.”
That explained a lot. “Go on.”
“She had an appointment with a Dr. Carlton Brewer, and then the hunting guy.”
“Who’s the hunting guy?”
“Kenneth Delaney.”
“But he didn’t show up.” Kappy drummed her fingers on the tabletop.
“What makes you so sure he didn’t show up?”
She sighed. “You don’t think he came, killed Ruth, then came back again on Saturday to actually buy the dogs he could’ve taken with him while he was there?”
Edie slumped back in her chair. “But why didn’t he mention that when he came on Saturday?”
“Why don’t people do a lot of things?” Kappy returned.
Edie nodded. “I guess you’re right.” Her tone conveyed her reluctance to give in.
“So our next suspect would be this Carlton Brewer. How are we supposed to find out who he is?”
“I don’t suppose you have a laptop tucked back anywhere that the bishop doesn’t know about?” Edie asked.
Kappy shook her head. “No, but I have a phone book.” She pushed back from the table and went over to the cabinet to fetch it.
“You have a phone book?” Edie asked. Her face was crinkled with confusion. “Why do you have a phone book if you don’t have a phone?”