After finishing the call, Sabine picked up her current embroidery project. When Joseph came in, she explained what her phone call had been about. “So, I promised him that I would be very careful if she ever comes into my store.”
“How would you get her alone?”
“I was thinking of inviting her for a special viewing of new fabrics. Having you or one of the boys there as insurance or protection or whatever. Then, when she has come in, I’ll just ask her whether she ever lived in Goshen. If she says she did...“
“Hold it, Sabine. That’s where you get into dangerous areas.”
“Joseph, you or the boys would be there. If she gets angry, I’ll be safe. If she just—I don’t know, freezes or something, I’ll ask her if she knows who Big Mike is.”
Joseph ran his hand down his long beard, thinking. “Well, when you put it that way, it could work. I think I know how we can reach her and get her in here. I’ll check with the bishop, John Lapp, and see if he can give me directions to their house or the phone number they use. You call her and invite her in. Then, when she comes in, ask her your questions.”
Sabine smiled and nodded. “That’s good. I’ll do it, as soon as you find out how we can get in touch with her. I’ll tell you, Michael was stunned when I told him she came into my store.”
“That was a terrible time for him and his family. I remember it.”
“For the whole community. Everyone was wondering if a rapist lived among them.”
“Ach, why people do things like that, I don’t know.”
“We don’t know. But, with you, the boys and with Gott’s help, I do intend to confront this young woman. If she has started any other rumors, she needs to know what she’s doing is wrong—and she must be stopped.”
“You said she lives in Big Valley?”
“Ja. Why?”
“I would like to go there and speak to the elders, maybe connect with some of the residents. If she has started any rumors, they need to know what she did in Goshen.”
“I’d like to go with you. What about this Saturday, after I close the store?”
John nodded. “Ja, I’d like to have you with me.”
AS THIS CONVERSATION was unfolding in the Hoffstetter home, Katie was scribbling out a messy note that directed “every Amish person” to leave Big Valley. She tried hard to disguise her writing, choosing ordinary notebook paper that nobody would be able to identify as coming from her. The note read:
“I have given you several warnings. You haven’t listened to me, so now it’s time for action. If you do not sell your homes and get out of Big Valley, you will soon start to see individial members of your cult community being hurt or worse.
Put ‘for sale’ notices for your homes and farms in your backward newspapers. Take the first offers you get, pack and LEAVE! You have two months from today to get out.”
Katie, always a good speller, made sure to misspell “individual,” as a way of throwing people off her trail even more. Rather than using her neat cursive, she wrote in a sloppy print, crossing out words and rewriting them. Then, she took the glass of water at her bedside and, dipping her fingertips in, splashed several droplets on the paper, allowing the words to smear slightly. Wrinkling the page, she set it aside and got ready for bed. Anticipating the tumult her letter would cause, she smiled. This would take the suspicion off of her. And after that, Amos would realize he was wrong and take her back.
The next morning, after breakfast, she dropped the letter into her bag, along with her wallet. “Mam, I’m running out of several colors of thread. I want to go to that Mennonite fabric store and stock up. Do you need anything?”
Mary checked her stock of supplies. “Ja, see if she has dressmaker’s chalk and plain colored fabrics. You know what I need. I have several orders coming in, and they want just plain fabrics, no designs printed on them. Here’s some money.” Giving several dollars to Katie, Mary turned around, one finger raised in the air.
Seeing it, Katie smiled. “Mam, I know. No lies or rumors. I will behave.”
Driving the buggy toward the fabric store, Katie was on the lookout for where to put her letter. She finally settled for tacking it to a tree. Grateful she’d brought a small box of thumbtacks with her, she stopped, looked all around and, seeing nobody, hurriedly stuck the letter to the large tree. Then, scrambling back into her buggy, she hurried on down the road.
Arriving at the colorful little store, she jumped out of the buggy and went into the shop. Only, rather than interacting with a happy, friendly shop owner, she was confronted by the same woman, who now refused to smile or even say very much to her. After Katie had made the purchases for herself and her mam, she looked back in puzzlement, seeing Sabine Hoffstetter focused on the computer spreadsheet in front of her.
“Oh, Miss Miller, where did you come from, before Big Valley?” Sabine stood in front of her, arms crossed over her stomach.
Katie’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. Finally, she licked her lips and croaked out, “Indiana.”
“Goshen? Do you know a man named Big Mike Hoffstetter?”
Hearing this, Katie’s fear roared to life. Wheeling around, she left the store as fast as she could.
They knew. Everybody knew! She had to take down that note. Everyone would suspect her. But when she arrived at the tree where she’d stuck the note, it was too late. Caleb Yoder and his dat, Deacon Eppie Yoder, were standing beside the tree with their heads close together, discussing something.
Katie’s guts turned to ice. She gave them each a polite smile, not wanting them to see her upset as she passed.
“Wait, Miss Miller, please.” The deacon approached her buggy.
“Ja, what is it? I need to get home and start working.”
“Before you do, did you see anything strange?”
Katie pretended to think. “Uhh, nee, I didn’t. Why?” He was holding her letter. “What is that?”
“Someone left a letter stuck to this tree.” Deacon Yoder handed the letter to her.
Katie turned the letter right side up and began reading. As she did, she gasped loudly.
The deacon made sure to keep his gaze trained only on Katie and her reactions. Hearing her gasp, his eyes narrowed the slightest bit. He hadn’t seen her lose her normal, healthy color.
Katie covered her mouth with one hand, letting the letter drop into her lap. She let out a convincing sob, but couldn’t make herself cry. It was like she was all out of tears, just when she needed them most.
Stupid Amos! His rejection had drained her dry.
Deacon Yoder and Caleb were now gazing at Katie’s face. Caleb focused on her eyes. He saw no evidence of tears. “Katie, are you all right?”
“I...I will be.” Katie looked down. “This is frightening! I need to go home and tell Dat!”
“Nee, Miss. You are too panicked, and you’ll only frighten him and your mam. I’m going to take the letter and show it to the bishop.” He held out one hand, signaling that he wanted the letter.
Katie swiftly gave it to him, as if the letter were a live snake. Rubbing her hands against her apron, she shivered. She swiped at the nonexistent tears on her cheeks. “I’d...I’d better go. I don’t want anyone seeing me like this.” Slapping the reins against her horses’ backs, she took off.
Waiting until Katie was out of hearing range, Caleb spoke quietly. “She was putting on a show. She sniffed and rubbed her face, but made no tears.”
“Ja, so I noticed. Let’s go, before anyone else sees this. Say nothing to nobody. As far as I know, we are the only ones to see this letter.” Eppie’s voice was low, rumbling.
Katie hurried home. She was sorely tempted to tell her dat about the letter, but remembering the deacon’s cold, steely look, she shivered once again. Nee, I’d better not. I can’t even say anything about someone finding the letter. They’ll know for sure and for certain that it was me. She jumped out of the buggy and led the team to their stalls. Combing them down quickly, she refilled their feed buc
kets. Grabbing her purchases, she went quietly into the house. “Mam, I’m home.”
Mary hurried out of the kitchen, wiping her wet hands. “Gut. Dinner will be ready soon. Did you...?”
“Run into anyone? Only Deacon Yoder and his son, Caleb. I just nodded and waved at them as I was coming home. I’ll put your things into your quilting room. I need to work all day long on this quilt.”
“Katie, what’s wrong?”
“Not wanting to mention the letter the Yoders had found, Katie shrugged. “I don’t know. Mrs. Hoffstetter was so friendly the first time I went to her store. Today, she was just...I don’t know. Businesslike? Nothing like last time.”
“Daughter, you are entirely too sensitive to peoples’ moods. Maybe she was on a deadline of some sort. Or maybe she’s just having a bad day.”
“Ja, maybe.” Katie went to their quilting rooms, setting the notions and fabric for Mary into her studio. In her own studio, she shut the door, sat down and stared out the large window. It’s only a matter of time now. They’ll cast us out, and it will all be my fault again.
Chapter 6
At the bishop’s house, the three men discussed the letter that they had found pinned to the tree. “So, there was nobody else around when you found this?”
“Nee. Whoever left this thing must have just posted it a few minutes before we drove down the road. We did stop Katie Miller as she was coming from the north end of the community.”
“Ach! Did she express any knowledge of this letter? Or...”
“Nee, she didn’t. She read it, gasped, and then pretended to cry.”
“‘Pretended,’ huh?” Bishop Lapp gave the two men a searching look.
“Ja, bishop. I know what you say about not prejudging, but you would have seen the same things we saw.”
Caleb, absentmindedly stroking his short beard, spoke up. “Bishop, how many of us have thought it odd that Katie Miller had so little freedom from her parents for so long? They came here from some community in Indiana, ja? What prompted them to move here? Land is much more plentiful there. It’s easier for the Amish to make a living there.”
The bishop dipped his head in assent. “That it is, ja. We had no troubles until a few months ago. And, if it is Miss Miller making up a hurtful rumor, I can see why her mam and dat would have kept such a close watch over her. It was about the time she started getting more freedom that this rumor first began making the rounds.”
“And nobody has been able to point out or otherwise identify the English person supposedly making these statements. And now, this?” Eppie pointed at the letter now lying on the kitchen table. He took a long sip of black coffee.
“Ja. I think it is high time we find out where they lived before coming here. Once we do, I will hire a driver or take the train there and speak to the bishop and other elders. In the meantime, none of us says anything about this letter, ja?”
The two other men nodded gravely. Caleb spoke again. “If word of it gets out, there are only two possibilities. Someone else saw it and left before we got there. Or Katie Miller has decided to make this nonsense something approaching an emergency here. A deadline?”
The bishop was quiet, just thinking. “I’ll be listening closely to what others say. If you hear anything about this, you come to me immediately.”
“Ja, we will, bishop. Caleb, we’d better go. Your Elisabeth won’t hold dinner for very long. Not in this heat.”
Caleb broke out into a winsome grin. “Nee, she won’t.” Clapping his straw hat onto his head, he and his dat left. “Dat, shall we say anything to the Millers?”
“Nee. Not one word. We will wait until the bishop has gotten back from Indiana. You know, I think I remember David Miller saying they lived in Goshen. I’ll let him know that.”
THAT NIGHT, SABINE and John Hoffstetter drove in from their farm, arriving at the bishop’s house. “Bishop, we aren’t members of your community. But we have something vitally important to tell you.”
“Come on in. I don’t hold with this nonsense of ignoring people of the Mennonite faith. Coffee? Water? Iced tea?”
All three of them drank tall glasses of iced tea. Sabine began. “Bishop Lapp, I own a shop at the north end of your community. Maybe you and your wife have seen it—it’s a fabric store.”
“Oh, ja! It’s the one with the bright-yellow shutters and the green roof overhangs, ja?”
“Ja, that’s the one. A few weeks ago, a young member of your community came in. She made mention that her mother didn’t want her to shop in the English stores because of the English person ordering all of you to leave. Very friendly, pretty young woman she is. When I met her, I thought her name sounded so familiar, but I couldn’t make a connection.
“It was only this week when I remembered that a ‘Katie Miller’ had accused my brother-in-law, Michael Hoffstetter, of assaulting her...um, sexually. I called him and asked him to tell me what she looks like. I asked about her size, hair, and eye color. He told me that he didn’t remember her eye color, but that the young woman I met sounds like the girl who accused him falsely. Bishop, I know she’s about eighteen right now so she would have been sixteen at that time.”
“Mei Gott! We have suspected her of being behind a series of hurtful rumors here. Apparently, some English person is ordering us to leave Big Valley. Only nobody has been able to identify this person. You can only imagine the fright many people are feeling. Where did they used to live?”
“Goshen. Goshen, Indiana. John and I left there when we married. We moved here decades ago.”
The bishop grabbed a piece of notebook paper and a pen. Scribbling down the community’s name, he asked a few more questions. “Do you think, Mr. Hoffstetter, that your brother would be willing to speak to me? I’ve been working on finding out what community the Millers were from so I could go out there.”
“Ja, I believe he would. He was able to prove the accusations were false when he gave a minute-by-minute accounting of his day. He showed that there was no way he could have been where his accuser said he was. Her parents were at the meeting where he detailed everything. The bishop and elders decided that since Katie was not yet baptized, she and her parents would have to leave Goshen and Indiana completely.”
“And they came here. Has your brother been able to repair his reputation?”
“For the most part, yes. A few community members still suspect he did something, but he is trustworthy in his actions and the love of his family. That is enough to clear up most people’s doubts.”
The bishop stood and, as he often did when he was deep in thought, he looked outside of the large bay window of the kitchen. Seeing the trees and shrubs swaying gently in the warm breeze, he allowed the scene to help him calm down. “I don’t need to tell you that if Miss Miller has begun yet another rumor, I find that highly upsetting. I will still be going to Goshen if you would call your brother. Am I right that I can find your phone number in the phone book?”
Sabine pulled a slip of paper from her apron and wrote the number down. “Here. As soon as we’ve let him know who you are and that you want to visit, we’ll let you know when he can be available.”
“Denki, that works well for me.”
After the Hoffstetters had left, Lovina Lapp came in from her quilting studio. “John, what was that I heard about Katie Miller?”
“Lovina, you know that I’ve long suspected her of starting what looks like a cruel, baseless rumor. The brother and sister-in-law of the man she accused...wait, let me start from the beginning.”
John told Lovina everything. By the time he’d finished, Lovina was wide-eyed, holding her stomach and gasping. “Mei Gott! How can one person come up with such hurtful rumors? Our community is reeling, frightened!”
“That’s not all. Read this.” John pulled the hateful letter that Katie had written and left on the tree.
Lovina quickly read the letter. Her face was pasty-white when she finished. “And you believe she is the one who wrote it?”
&n
bsp; “We only suspect. Deacon Yoder and Caleb say they saw her coming down the road from north of the community. They showed her the letter, and she was shocked. Deacon says she sobbed but made no tears. Rubbed her cheeks of tears that weren’t there. Now, we are waiting to see if mention of this letter...”
Chapter 7
“...Starts moving through Big Valley. If it does, she either wrote the letter or someone else saw it. Are you going to speak to Mayor Winters?”
“I have to. After dinner today. I will clean up after and see if she has time to see me today.”
“Ja. Okay.”
“Will you stay behind? In case anyone did see the letter, they may come here looking for me. I want you to tell me who came if they do.”
“Ja, I will.” Dinner in the Lapp home was quiet, overlaid by the worry caused by the corrosive letter. Lovina was barely able to eat what she had made. Giving up, she threw the leftovers away and finished her lemonade. John wasn’t able to finish his dinner, either. “I’m sorry, Lovina. It was delicious as always, but the events of this morning have just taken my gut mood away.”
“No worries, John. I feel the same way. You go get ready and, when you get home, let me know what Mayor Winters tells you.”
“Ja, I will.” He hurried upstairs and changed into a clean shirt. Washing his face and neck, he hurried downstairs and left.
WAITING IN THE MAYOR’S office, John said several silent prayers.
“Mr. Lapp? Mayor Winters is ready to see you. She said that even though you didn’t have an appointment, to get you in quickly.”
“Thank you, Miss.” John stood and hurried into the mayor’s office. Looking around, he saw a small room filled with well-made furniture. “I recognize the hutch. It was made in our community.”
“Yes, it was, just a few years ago. I understand something has happened?”
Amish Trust and Betrayal Page 5