Kappy King and the Puppy Kaper

by Amy Lillard

  “Why did you change clothes?”

  Edie looked down at herself. “I thought this looked more professional.”

  Kappy didn’t know the first thing about Englisch fashion, but she was fairly certain that skintight, stretchy black pants and a too-big shirt that said WORKOUT QUEEN didn’t fall into the category of professional.

  Edie tugged on her shirt, pulling it back into place. It had a tendency to fall off one shoulder. “You could do with a new outfit as well.” Edie gave a pointed nod toward Kappy’s dress.

  So there were a few stains around the bottom and a small tear along the hem of her apron. She was still dressed according to the Ordnung. She shouldn’t have to change.

  Their gazes locked. Kappy stared at Edie. Edie stared at Kappy. Neither one moved for what seemed like several minutes. She really shouldn’t have to change. Her clothes might not be the cleanest. But she’d been doing things all day in them. And they were a sight better than what Edie had on. At least, Kappy thought they were.

  They continued to stare at each other.

  Finally, Kappy threw her hands in the air. “Fine. We’ll go get your car. You can stop by my house and I’ll find something better to wear. Okay? I need to see about June Bug anyway.”

  Edie grinned. “I’ll make a fashionista out of you yet.”

  There was that word again. Perhaps she should submit it to the word-a-day-calendar people. It might be a good addition to next year’s calendar.

  The crowd of protesters had thinned, and only one deputy remained, keeping the line at the front of the house.

  Kappy and Edie started across the yard and into the fields, on their way to Jay Glick’s house.

  “I’ll be glad when all these protesters give up and find someone else to pester. I mean, somewhere out there is a real puppy mill that needs to be shut down and instead they’re here bothering us.”

  “True dat,” Kappy said.

  Edie stopped. “What did you just say?”

  Kappy shrugged. “I heard somebody say it in town.”

  “Don’t say it again.” Edie started up once more.

  Kappy trailed behind her. “Okay, I guess.”

  “Why do you suppose Joshua Glick wants to farm so bad?”

  “What makes you ask?”

  Edie pointed to where Jay and his son Jeremiah were working in the fields. Two large Belgians pulled their mower, leaving a trail of hay behind. “It’s a lot of work,” she said. “A lot of hard work. A man can break his back working like that.”

  “You’ve been living with the Englisch too long.” Kappy smiled to take the sting from her words. But it was true. Edie had lost that Amish sense of value. She had lost that knowledge of what it felt like to work at home, be self-sufficient, connect with the land and God, and make a living all at the same time.

  “I suppose,” she said. “It just looks like a big hassle.”

  “It might be,” Kappy agreed. “But he wants to marry Susannah Miller.”

  “The Bishop Sam’s daughter?”

  “The very one.”

  Edie shook her head. “He’s going to need a big farm.”

  Samuel Miller was very protective of his only daughter. Even with as long as Edie had been away, she remembered.

  “I know,” Kappy said. “I feel sorry for him.”

  “Me, too.” Edie shook her head. “Can you imagine having the bishop for a father-in-law?” She shuddered.

  Anna Mae was hanging wash on the line when they came through the yard. Thankfully, she didn’t drop her basket and hustle over for a chat. She just gave them a wave and kept pinning up clothes.

  That was fine with Kappy. She was anxious to get over and talk to John David Peight. She wasn’t exactly convinced that he was the Johnny that Jimmy had been telling them about, but he might hold some sort of clues as to who might want to harm Ruth.

  Kappy heard the buzz of a saw as they walked past the work building. Jeremiah might be out helping his father in the fields, but Joshua seemed to be working an odd job for someone. Perhaps building a chicken coop, a rabbit hutch, or even a set of steps or a ramp for someone’s home.

  He seemed to make a decent enough living at it, but Kappy knew a decent living wouldn’t be enough for Samuel Miller’s daughter. It was a shame, really. After the conversation she had overheard the night before, she had come to realize how scarce farmland had really become in the valley. Especially if Joshua was thinking about moving all the way to New Wilmington, though she knew that would never come to pass. Samuel Miller would not allow his daughter to move so far away. That just wasn’t happening.

  Edie waited inside the car while Kappy went in her house and hurriedly changed clothes. She smoothed her hands down her clean dress and apron. It did feel good to put on something a little nicer. After all, it wasn’t every day she was part of a murder investigation, and she supposed it would be wise to look her best.

  And that meant fixing her hair as well. She unpinned her prayer kapp and set it gently on the counter. Unlike some of the Amish women in Pennsylvania, the women of the valley wore the same prayer kapps as the women in Lancaster County. It appeared as if their covering was a heart they wore on the back of their heads.

  She didn’t have time to take her hair completely down and re-fix it. But she undid what damage she could with a dab of baby lotion on both sides of her part. Unlike the women in Lancaster, the women of Blue Sky and the Big Valley didn’t twist the sides of their hair before putting it into a bob. As far as Kappy was concerned, it was much nicer to not have to worry about such a small detail. And it was a lot easier to fix when the wind took hold.

  She studied herself critically for a moment, then, satisfied with her appearance, she rushed back out to the car.

  “When we get there, you’ll have to do all the talking,” Edie reminded her.

  “Didn’t he talk to you the other day?”

  “He did, but I don’t think he will now that he probably knows I’m under the Bann.”

  “I don’t know,” Kappy said. “Something about him is different.” She determined it to be an elegance, but there was something unique about John David Peight. It wasn’t that he was extremely handsome. He was good-looking enough, she supposed. He was not too tall and not really short; he wasn’t fat nor skinny. But there was an air about him that seemed to set him apart. She wasn’t even sure if he was aware of it. But it was almost as if he was among the Amish but not one of them.

  “You don’t suppose—” Edie slammed on the brakes and swerved to the side of the road, first throwing Kappy forward and then to the side. Her head conked against the passenger-side window. “Ow,” Kappy said. “If you’re going to drive like that, I’m not riding with you anymore.”

  “Sorry,” Edie said. “But I have a thought.”

  “You have thoughts about trying to kill both of us?”

  Edie shook her head. “No, no, no, just listen. He is different, right?”

  Kappy rubbed her head in the spot where it had connected with the window. “I thought we had agreed on that.”

  “The question is how different.”

  She knew she hadn’t hit her head that hard, but Kappy was having trouble keeping up with this conversation. “I don’t understand.”

  “Just how different is he?”

  “Would you explain that, please?”

  “What if John David Peight is an Englischer, and he’s wanted for murder somewhere else, so he’s hiding out here. And he almost blew his cover because he murdered my mother!”

  “Did you hit your head, too?”

  “Kappy, I’m serious! Think about it. We’ve never had any trouble in Blue Sky before. Have we?”

  “No,” Kappy said slowly.

  “Now all of a sudden he’s here and there’s a murder. See the connection?”

  “Sort of. I mean, it could be the truth, but it seems a little far-fetched.” Rats, she should have used plausible. It might have been last month’s word, but it was still fun to use it
.

  “Not any more far-fetched than the idea that a woman was killed in her own barn and her only son has been accused of the crime.”

  “You got me there,” Kappy said.

  Edie grinned, though it wasn’t an expression of happiness but more of triumph.

  “I knew it,” she said. She put the car back in gear and pulled onto the roadway. “I knew it.” She thumped one hand against the steering wheel.

  “I wouldn’t start counting chickens if I were you,” Kappy said. “John David Peight might be just as innocent as Jimmy.”

  They finished the rest of the drive in silence. Kappy hoped Edie was seriously considering what she’d said. John David might be completely innocent. But one thought kept coming back to Kappy over and over: He was the only one with a motive. If he put Ruth out of business, then he would have all her customers for himself, as well as any future ones. He would be the only hound dog breeder in the area.

  “Just look at that sign,” Edie said. “There’s a word for your calendar. Ostentatious. That sign is ostentatious.”

  Kappy didn’t need her dictionary to figure out what that meant. The sign in the yard in front of John David Peight’s house was unlike any other Amish sign Kappy had seen. The others were hand-painted or made with letters bought from the bulk goods store. They were white and plain with black letters. They were no-nonsense signs.

  But this sign was a pale yellow color with navy-blue letters that curved this way and that as if some artist had drawn them. And he’d been more concerned with the direction of the letters than he had been with the message they were getting across. It was showy, the exact opposite of plain.

  “See?” Edie said. “Things like that. That’s why I think he’s Englisch.”

  It made sense to Kappy as well, but wasn’t a man considered innocent until he was found guilty? Even if the charge was being Englisch? “Maybe he’s just fancy.”

  Kappy had heard tales of the fancy Amish, with solar panel electricity, hardwood floors, and all sorts of propane-powered appliances. If John David was one of those fancy Amish, maybe if he had moved up here from Lancaster, she could see him wanting a sign like that. Well, kind of.

  “Look at his yard!” Edie said. “Name me one Amish house in the valley that looks like this.”

  She couldn’t do it. No one else had green grass like carpet or a stone walkway lined with petunias to rival those Nathaniel grew.

  “It must take a lot of money to keep it like this,” Edie said.

  A lot of money meant a lot of dogs and a lot of dogs meant no competition.

  “I don’t know,” Kappy said. They got out of the car and started toward the house. She was reluctant to hang the man already. But it was looking more and more like he was a murderer. Heaven forgive her, but she had wanted it to be Carlton Brewer. She kind of liked John David Peight. He seemed like a good man, caring and understanding. Carlton Brewer seemed only interested in himself. Jah, it would’ve been much easier for her if Carlton had been guilty.

  “Go on up and knock,” Edie said, nodding toward the door.

  Suddenly, Kappy’s mouth went dry, her palms grew wet, and her heart thumped painfully in her chest. Was she about to confront Ruth’s murderer? It had been different when he came out to the house. He wasn’t a suspect then. Now he was a suspect. Practically their only suspect. Definitely their only suspect with a motive. And a good motive at that.

  She sucked in a deep breath to calm her nerves. If this was what it took to get Jimmy out of jail, then she needed to be strong for him.

  She raised her hand and knocked on the door. There was no answering sound of shuffling feet or a call out that he was on his way. Nothing. She waited a moment more.

  “Knock again.” Edie danced in place, her flip-flops slapping against the heels of her feet. She was as agitated as Kappy.

  Kappy knocked again, but she knew. John David Peight wasn’t home. Or if he was at home, he wasn’t in his house. Legs shaking, she turned around and descended the porch steps.

  “Maybe we should check around back,” Edie said.

  “That’s what I was afraid you were going to say,” Kappy replied.

  “Are you scared?” Edie asked.

  “You’re not?”

  “It’s not that,” Edie said. “You just always seem so calm and collected. Nothing seems to ruffle you.”

  Kappy shook her head. “Trust me. I get ruffled.”

  The sound of barking dogs greeted them as they rounded the corner of the house.

  “This is different,” Edie said, her gaze taking in the details of John David’s setup. Whereas Ruth had converted a large horse corral into a safe zone for her dogs, John David seemed to prefer them indoors. A converted hay barn housed the baying hounds. Kappy could see him in the center of the barn, water hose in hand and rubber boots on his feet as he sprayed the concrete clean.

  “I need to get me a pair of those,” Edie said.

  “Muck boots?”

  “They’re a sight better than these, don’t you think?” She held out one flip-flop for Kappy to see.

  “Definitely.”

  Whether it was their voices or he happened to catch sight of them, John David gave them a wave. He cupped one hand over his mouth as he continued to spray the barn floor. “Just give me a minute. I’ll be right there.” He smiled at them and then turned back to his work.

  It wasn’t the smile of a greedy man. Or a man who was overly competitive. It was a smile between friends, and Kappy’s doubts raised their heads once more.

  A few minutes later, John David rolled up the water hose, then came out of the barn toward them.

  He looked mighty different today than he had the day he came visiting. His quiet smile was the same and his caring eyes, but his clothes . . . Definitely work clothes. His blue shirt was smeared with mud and his one suspender looked like it had been mauled by one of the dogs. His black pants also showed traces of mud and wear, at least down to the tops of his boots. He had his pant legs tucked inside to keep them dry.

  “Edie, Kappy, so good to see you.”

  He reached out to shake both their hands. Edie shifted her weight to one leg and propped a hand on the opposite hip. “How is it you don’t mind talking to me?”

  John David waved away her concern. “I wouldn’t feel right shunning you. I wasn’t a member of the community when you committed your infraction. And your mother used to talk about you so much. It’s like I practically know you.”

  Tears rose in Edie’s brown eyes. “My mother talked about me to you?”

  John David nodded. “All the time. She was very proud of you.”

  “But she—”

  “Your mother was a good woman through and through. But she was an Amish woman. And she followed her Ordnung to the letter. But I have a feeling if she could have gone back and done it again, she would’ve found a way around your Bann.”

  Edie visibly swallowed. “Thank you for telling me that.”

  “I should have told you the other day, but I was in shock. I had just heard the news.”

  “It was a bit shocking,” Kappy agreed.

  “What brings you out today?” John David took a rag from the back pocket of his pants and blotted his forehead.

  “We were hoping you might help us,” Edie said. She had managed to pull herself back together and was all business once more.

  “Help with what?”

  “We’re trying to find out who killed Ruth,” Kappy said.

  He sadly shook his head. “Ruth didn’t have any enemies. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to hurt her, in any way.”

  “That’s just the thing,” Edie said. “We were talking to my brother and he said Mamm used to argue a lot with a man named Johnny. You wouldn’t happen to know who this Johnny is, would you?”

  Kappy had to hand it to Edie. She had stepped up and laid it all out. And without the slightest bit of tremble in her voice. That was bravery at its finest.

  John David laughed. The sound s
eemed apologetic. “Of course I know him. I’m Johnny.”

  Chapter 16

  A dozen or so questions immediately galloped through Kappy’s thoughts.

  “You’re Johnny?” Apparently, the hinge on Edie’s jaw had malfunctioned. She couldn’t seem to keep it closed. “You’re Johnny?”

  “Why are you so surprised?”

  Edie shook her head.

  “If you’re Johnny, why did you introduce yourself as John David?”

  “I, uh, visited with Ruth often.” He cleared his throat. “I thought Jimmy might relate to the name better. Why?”

  Edie found her voice once again. “You don’t seem like the kind that goes for nicknames.”

  John David gave a tiny shrug.

  “So why were you arguing with Ruth?” Suddenly, she wished Edie had called Jack Jones before they drove out here. They were all alone with John David Peight, the mysterious Johnny, the one man who had a motive to kill Ruth. What would stop him from killing both of them if they revealed they knew his secret?

  A stain of pink colored John David’s face. He gave another apologetic smile, and wiped the rag across the back of his neck. “She wouldn’t marry me.”

  “What?!” Edie screeched.

  Kappy had to admit it was the last answer she would’ve expected. “Because you wanted to merge your two dog-breeding businesses.”

  “Because I loved her.”

  “Wait, wait, wait.” Edie held her hands in the air to stop any more words from being spoken. “Hold on a minute here. You and my mother?”

  “I know that might be difficult to hear, since we don’t really know each other, but it’s the truth. I loved Ruth and wanted her to marry me.”

  Kappy squinted at him, trying to decide if he was telling the truth. “Then why were you arguing?”

  “Ruth has been . . . was on her own for so long,” John David said. “I think she was afraid of giving up freedoms. Of course she said it was Jimmy. That he would be confused. But I think we got along just fine.”

  Edie shook her head as if she were still trying to get a handle on what John David was saying. “You and my mother?”

  John David nodded. “Would you like to come in and have a cup of coffee? It’s a little awkward, talking about this in the middle of the yard.”