Lost in Plain Sight

by Marta Perry

  Leah moved a step, and a bit of light reflected from metal. It was the lantern, sitting several feet off to her right. How had it gotten over there?

  Standing, she took a few steps toward it, bent over and reached for the handle.

  Steps pounded, hollow on the wooden floor. A black shadow detached from the other shadows, rushing toward her. With no time to think, she flung up her arm to shield her face.

  The thing brushed her, sending her staggering into a stall. It loomed black in the rectangle of the door for an instant, and then was gone.

  Several very long hours later, Leah went slowly up the stairs to bed, her shoulder aching where she’d hit the stall door. She prayed that little Sarah was asleep and dreaming of something more pleasant than what had happened tonight.

  No matter how Leah had tried, she couldn’t make anything of that brief glimpse she’d had of the intruder. Something large and black, that was all she could say.

  A person, Sarah had said, once Daadi and Mammi persuaded her that Leah was all right and she could stop crying. Sarah had seen a person, but she wasn’t even sure whether it had been a man or a woman. The person had rushed around the barn and taken off running.

  Using his strongest flashlight, Daad had finally found a blurred sneaker print in the mud at the corner of the barn, and then another near the gravel road behind the barn that the milk trucks used.

  It must have been one of the thieves, Daad had said. Maybe when Josiah and Leah arrived, he’d hidden in the barn. Then, with all the people around helping, he’d had to wait for dark to make his escape. Leah guessed that made as much sense as anything.

  Leah slipped quietly into the bedroom. She undressed in the dark, listening to Sarah’s even breathing from the other twin bed. It soothed her scrambled thoughts as she climbed into her bed.

  Tomorrow, she told herself tiredly. Tomorrow she’d figure out what she must do about Mrs. Grayson. She would talk to Geneva. And Josiah.

  His face formed in her mind—first grave, then smiling, eyes twinkling. Josiah was home again, and the thought warmed her heart. He was still in her mind when she slipped into sleep.

  A sound shocked her awake, and she sat upright in bed, heart pounding, until she identified it. Sarah tossed in her bed, crying out in fear.

  Leah slid out from under the covers, crossed the hooked rug between the beds in her bare feet and gathered Sarah into her arms.

  “Hush, hush. It’s all right, little Sarah. You’re safe. I’m here.”

  Sarah took a choking gasp and opened her eyes—wide and staring in the dim light from the window. “Leah. I’m scared.”

  “No need to be scared, little one. It was just a dream, that’s all. Just a dream.”

  Sarah’s braids flew as she shook her head. “It was him,” she whispered. “The bad man.”

  Leah couldn’t help the jolt to her heart, even though she knew it was just a child’s dream. “No, no, he’s gone. He ran away, remember?”

  Sarah buried her face in Leah’s shoulder. “He was after my treasures,” she whispered. “Maybe he’ll come back.”

  Treasures? Leah patted her sister’s back. “He was looking for money, that’s certain sure.” Wasn’t it? She couldn’t keep the thought of that ring out of her mind.

  Sarah hiccuped and pulled back a little. “But my treasures…he was in the barn. Maybe he took them.”

  “Is that where your treasures are hidden? In the barn?” Leah remembered doing something similar at that age—hiding a few special things that she didn’t want the boys to get into, like a lollipop someone had given her or a trinket from a cereal box.

  “Ja,” Sarah whispered. “My treasure box. Maybe the bad man took it.” She’d stopped crying now, and the words came out in a sleepy blur.

  “I’m certain sure he didn’t. You’ll find everything perfectly safe tomorrow.” She eased Sarah back onto the pillow, tucking the quilt up to her chin. “It will be all right. Sleep now. I’m here.”

  Sarah nodded, and then she nuzzled into the pillow, asleep again in a moment.

  It will be all right. She repeated the words to herself, wishing she had someone here to say them to her.

  Chapter Four

  Everyone knew the hardware store in Springville was the spot to hear all the news…Josiah felt quite sure that hadn’t changed. If anyone was talking about Leah and the theft of that ring, he’d hear about it there.

  And if there was gossip about the break-in at the Miller house, this would be the place to hear that, too. He hadn’t been able to think of anything else that would be helpful to Leah, but he could check on this.

  Tying the mare to the hitching rail in the alley, Josiah walked in, not surprised to find a couple of Amish men deep in conversation with the Englisch owner. They all looked up at the sound of the bell over the door.

  “Josiah King.” Elijah Beiler gave him a hearty slap on the shoulder, grinning. “I heard you were back. It’s gut to see you.”

  “It’s been a while.” Sam Robertson, the store’s lean, graying owner, leaned across the counter to shake hands. “Planning to start on your own as a carpenter?”

  The question led nicely into what Josiah wanted to know. “Could be,” he said. “I see there’s a lot of big new houses out on Bolt Road. Abe Miller’s sister works for folks out there…the Graysons. I thought they might want some carpentry done.”

  Elijah shook his head. “I doubt you’d get much from them. I hear they tried a couple local people to take care of the yard and fired them both. Now they’ve got landscapers out from Lancaster. The house was built by an out-of-town company, too.”

  “Mr. Grayson’s okay,” Ted Schmidt put in, slapping a box of nails down on the counter. “But I hear the missus is hard to please. She’s gone through several women looking for a cleaner to suit her. Probably Leah Miller won’t last long, either.”

  If anyone had heard rumors about Leah and the ring, surely it would come out now, but no one spoke. His tension eased.

  “I guess they think local firms aren’t fancy enough for them,” Sam said. “It’s that way with a lot of these new people. Even the contract for that addition to the high school they’re building went to an outfit from over near Philadelphia.”

  “Too bad. You’d think they’d want to give the work to local people,” Josiah said.

  “Right. But there’s still folks around who appreciate good quality work from a local craftsman. You put a notice up on my bulletin board, and I’ll be sure to draw people’s attention to it.” Sam gestured toward the battered board that contained notices for events and ads for small businesses.

  “Denke, Sam. I might do that.” Josiah had already decided to put his name in at Morgan Construction, but Sam’s advice wouldn’t hurt.

  He’d gotten what he’d come to town for, anyway. Leah would be relieved that the local gossip mill wasn’t bubbling about her already. That was something good in this mess.

  He put in a few more moments of visiting just for the look of it, and he headed out. He’d thought of going round to the construction company today, but instead he found himself heading for the Morgan house. It wouldn’t hurt to see if Leah was there. Besides, Mrs. Morgan might have some news.

  He’d no more than drawn the horse up at the Morgan house when Mrs. Morgan’s car came up the driveway, sending out a spray of gravel. He stood where he was, waiting for her.

  She got out of the car, smiling as she came toward him, but Josiah thought he detected worry in her eyes. His heart sank.

  “Josiah, I’m glad you’re here. Leah will be glad to see you.”

  “She didn’t go to her regular job, then.” He’d thought Leah might be exaggerating the effects on her other employers, but maybe not.

  “The woman called and canceled.” Mrs. Morgan walked toward the door, gesturing to him to follow. “No explanation, but I guess we know what happened.”

  Leah opened the door for them. Her eyes were shadowed as if she hadn’t had much sleep last night, a
nd he felt a twinge of sympathy for her.

  Leah nodded to him, but all her attention was on Mrs. Morgan. “Any news?”

  Mrs. Morgan hesitated, and Josiah figured she didn’t want to disappoint Leah. She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I was hoping by today they’d have found the silly ring.”

  The hope faded from Leah’s face. “What is she saying to people?”

  “I did put a stop to that.” Mrs. Morgan gave a short nod. “I could see she was going to start talking about it to some of the women, so I headed her off. I told her how dangerous it would be to her reputation to be spreading stories around when a theft hadn’t been proved. She got the message.”

  “Denke, Geneva.” But Leah’s expression said she didn’t think that would really help.

  He had to say something, no matter how little it was. “I stopped by the hardware store to see what the local gossip is. No one said a word about it, so you must not fret about folks talking.” Not yet, anyway.

  Mrs. Morgan hung her bag on a bentwood coatrack in the hall and led the way back to the kitchen.

  “I did hear that the Graysons have hired and fired several local people,” Josiah said. “It seems to me that might make someone mad enough to want to get even. But I don’t see how they’d know about the ring.”

  Geneva brightened. “Still, it’s something. And Leah told me this morning about the break-in at the house yesterday. I can’t help thinking it must be connected. But how?”

  He shook his head, unable to imagine either of the Graysons breaking into the farmhouse, even if they thought the ring was there. He glanced at Leah, trying to think of something reassuring to say, and found she was evading his gaze.

  “Leah, was ist letz? Has something else happened?”

  “Ja.” Leah took a deep breath, as if to steady herself. “Last night, after everyone had gone, Sarah and I went out to the barn. Someone was there. He rushed away when he heard us.” She rubbed her shoulder, as if in memory, and his throat tightened.

  “Did he hurt you?” He moved closer, wanting to touch her but not quite daring.

  Leah shook her head, hand still pressed against her shoulder. “I don’t think he meant to. He knocked me down when he ran.”

  “Could you tell who it was?” Excitement filled Geneva’s voice. “Amish or English?”

  Leah shook her head. “It was nothing but a dark blur. Could have been an animal for all I know, but Sarah says definitely it was a person. She couldn’t tell if it was man or woman.”

  “English, then,” Geneva said decidedly. “If it had been an Amish person, she’d have been able to tell whether it was a man or a woman by the shape.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that.” Leah looked at her with respect, and the woman’s cheeks grew pinker.

  “Well, I’d say this definitely means the police should be involved—“

  Leah was already shaking her head at that thought. “I can’t.”

  “But the police could investigate the people Mrs. Grayson fired. I don’t see how we can do that,” Geneva said, her tone persuasive.

  “No.” Leah said. “My daad says no, and I can’t go against that.”

  “Maybe if I spoke with him…” Mrs. Morgan let the words die away as the phone rang. She shook her head in exasperation. “I’ll get that in the other room. Josiah, talk some sense into her.” She hurried off.

  Josiah touched Leah’s sleeve, longing to protect her and not sure how. “There’s some truth in what she says. If your daad knew everything, he might agree.”

  Leah looked up at him, her green eyes dark with misery. “I know he must be told about Mrs. Grayson. I just don’t know how.”

  He clasped her hands in his, holding them firmly. “I’ll go with you. I’ll help you.”

  Her hands moved slightly, and suddenly he was aware of the warmth of her skin against his. His breath seemed stuck in his throat.

  Leah’s eyes widened. Her lips parted, but she didn’t say a word. Before he could think what he was doing, he bent and kissed her.

  Her lips met his questioningly, soft and tender. He longed to put his arms around her, pull her close, protect her from all harm….

  What was he doing? He pulled back, horrified at himself. This was Abe’s kid sister. He couldn’t steal a kiss without consequences.

  She blinked, as if waking from a dream.

  “I…I’m sorry,” he stammered, feeling like a fool. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

  Leah’s face seemed to stiffen. She took a step away from him, not speaking.

  “I’d best go.” Thinking only of getting away before he made even more of a fool of himself, he went quickly to the kitchen door. “I’ll pick you up after work.”

  “You don’t need to.” Leah’s voice was cold. “I’ll find a ride.”

  He was irrationally angry at that. “I’ll komm,” he said, and bolted out the door before he could get himself into any more trouble.

  Leah had never been so happy to have a buggy ride come to an end as she was when Josiah turned into the lane toward home. All she wanted to do now was to sink into the safety and routine of her usual chores and let everything else slip away.

  Josiah had shown up early at Geneva’s, forestalling Geneva’s offer to drive her home. After all, Geneva had said, eyes twinkling, Leah couldn’t very well disappoint Josiah after he’d come all that way.

  Geneva probably thought she was promoting a romance. But Geneva didn’t know what had happened between Leah and Josiah.

  That kiss…Leah’s cheeks burned at the thought, and she could only hope the brim of her bonnet hid her from Josiah’s gaze. Truth to tell, she’d been dreaming of a kiss from Josiah for years, and for a few brief moments, she had lived in the dream.

  And then Josiah had pulled away, looking horrified, and she hadn’t known what to do. If he thought she let just anyone kiss her that way—

  Her thoughts broke off when she saw another buggy pulled up at the hitching rail. She recognized the horse, and her heart nearly stopped. Ezra Burkhalter, one of the ministers of their congregation. The strictest of their three ministers, stricter even than Bishop Amos.

  And the one with whom her daad seemed most in sympathy. She couldn’t believe it was anything other than the charge of theft that had brought him here.

  Josiah brought the buggy to a stop. Daad stood next to Ezra on the back porch, and the two men stepped down to the walk to meet her.

  “You’d best go,” she murmured, sliding down from the buggy seat. “Denke, Josiah.”

  But he was already getting down. “I will stay.”

  He shouldn’t. But Leah could think of no way of stopping him.

  “Brother Ezra is here to speak with you, daughter.” The lines in Daad’s face seemed carved even deeper than they had been yesterday. He glanced at Josiah. “You are always wilkom here, Josiah, but just now it might be best if you went over to Abe’s.”

  Josiah didn’t budge. “I know what happened to Leah. I would like to stay.”

  Ezra’s thin lips formed a tight line above his dark beard. “As you will, then.”

  His piercing gaze fixed on Leah, and she felt as if she were wilting. “A grave accusation has come to my ears about you, Leah Miller. Is it true that working for that Englisch woman has led you to steal?”

  “No, no.” She couldn’t get the words out fast enough. “I didn’t take anything from Mrs. Grayson.”

  “But she accused you of this act,” Daad said. “And you did not tell us.”

  Her heart felt as if it would break at the disappointment in her father’s eyes. “I hoped that the ring was just lost. That Mrs. Grayson would find it, and no one would ever know what she said.”

  “I heard Mrs. Grayson’s words,” Josiah said. He stood next to her, and she seemed to feel his support as if he touched her. “She gave no reason for suspecting Leah. Even her husband seemed to think the ring was just lost.”

  Ezra Burkhalter was staring at Josiah, and she began to fear that Josia
h’s support, much as she valued it, would put Josiah in a false position. After the way he’d reacted to their kiss, it was clear he didn’t want a relationship with her, and that was probably what Ezra was imagining.

  She stepped forward, reaching out a hand to her father. “I’m sorry, Daadi. I didn’t want to tell you such an upsetting thing if it was going to be cleared up easily. Especially after what happened yesterday.”

  Daad’s face seemed to soften at the reminder. Maybe he understood how hard it would have been to blurt out her troubles on top of the break-in.

  “Omitting the truth is the same as a lie.” Ezra’s words were stern.

  “Has this woman talked to the police?” Daad seemed to brace himself for her answer.

  “No. Not yet,” she added.

  “The Englisch police are not my concern,” Ezra said. “Only the state of your soul. If you come before the church and confess the truth, you will be forgiven.”

  “I’m telling the truth.” The words burst out of Leah, and she fought back tears. “I didn’t take anything. You can’t want me to confess a lie.”

  Ezra’s thin lips tightened. “This is a serious matter. I must take it to the bishop and the other ministers.” He nodded gravely to her father and stalked off to his buggy.

  Leah had eyes only for Daad. Surely he would tell her he knew she wouldn’t steal.

  But he didn’t. He turned and walked toward the barn, moving as stiffly as if he’d aged ten years in an hour.

  “I’m sorry.” Josiah’s voice was soft. “Your daad knows in his heart that you didn’t take the ring. I’ll talk to him later. Tell him how it was.”

  Her breath caught on a sob, and she clenched her fists. “Denke, Josiah.” She choked out the words. “But you’d best stay away. You don’t want folks to start talking about you, too.”

  She didn’t wait for an argument. She just ran into the house.

  Chapter Five

  “I still say you should have told me.” Abe punctuated his words by pounding the nails into the stall door he was fixing.