His Promise

by Shelley Shepard Gray

  “Was he already gone?” John asked, unable to keep silent any longer.

  “I’m not sure.” Looking at Grace, he added, “Miss King, I went inside with one of my deputies, but I’ve gotta be honest with you. There wasn’t any sign of anything having been disturbed.”

  Grace looked thoroughly confused. “But the door was open. And there were strange footprints. Someone was there.”

  The sheriff nodded. “We did find that the door was ajar. But there were no clear footprints. Instead, it looked like someone had walked around the yard a time or two. Or more than that.”

  “Nee. I saw new, distinct footprints.” Sounding hurt, she said, “If you didn’t see them, why did you ask me so much about them? Were you just pretending to believe me?”

  “Now, don’t get upset,” the sheriff said, waving a hand like he was attempting to calm a feisty horse. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to hear what happened from you. All I’m doing is trying to put everything together.”

  “All right. Then you have to believe I did see those footprints and the door was definitely open.”

  Unable to help himself, John Michael spoke again. “She was really upset when she arrived here. Grace wouldn’t have acted that way without reason.”

  She looked at him and smiled.

  “I believe you. I believe you both. Now I’m going to take you back to the house and we’re going to go through it again. Nothing looked disturbed, but there could easily be things missing that I couldn’t know about.”

  Grace bit her bottom lip. “It’s a mighty big haus. I don’t know if I can tell what might have gone missing.”

  “Of course not. But you could check for some obvious things that might be taken, right?” Sheriff Brewer asked patiently. “Things like artwork, electronics, and computers.”

  “All you can do is your best,” John soothed as he moved closer to her. “Right?”

  “I suppose so,” Grace said.

  “I think it’s the best place to start. We can always contact Mr. and Mrs. Lee if you have any questions.”

  “They’re going to be so upset if they’ve been robbed. What if they blame me?”

  “I don’t see why they would,” Sheriff Brewer said.

  “I know Parker and Cindy Lee. They’re kind people,” John Michael added. “All they’re going to say is that they’re glad you’re all right.”

  “Do you really think so?”

  “I know so. I’ve lived next to them for years. I promise, they’re going to worry more about you and their dog than any objects in the house.”

  Looking calmer, Grace attempted to smile. “You are right. And Snooze is fine.”

  John Michael grinned at Snooze, who was now snoring softly. “Snooze is better than fine. He’s been in gut hands.”

  Sheriff Brewer stood up. “Are you ready to go, Grace?”

  She looked shaken up but determined. “I am,” she said as she got to her feet. “Let me just go get Snooze.”

  “Tell me who Snooze is again?” Sheriff Brewer asked.

  “He is the Lees’ little dachshund,” Grace replied. “That’s why I’m staying at their house.”

  Grace hadn’t looked to him, but John Michael didn’t let that deter him from what he needed to do. “I’ll go with you,” he offered as she knelt down to pick up the sleepy dog.

  As she reached for Snooze, she said, “I’ve already taken up so much of your time. There’s no need for you to do that.”

  Not even caring that the sheriff was watching and listening to their conversation, John Michael stepped closer to her and curved a hand around her shoulder. “There’s every need,” he said gently. “I’m not going to let you walk in there until I know you feel safe.”

  Sheriff Brewer smiled. “Though I can promise you I’m not going to let anything happen to either you or Snooze, having a good friend with you might be a good idea.”

  John Michael stiffened, half waiting for Grace to point out that he wasn’t her good friend. But instead, she simply smiled and nodded. “All right.”

  After he helped Grace put on her cloak and boots, he shrugged on a jacket and took Snooze in his arms so she wouldn’t have to carry him around. Then they all piled in the sheriff’s vehicle. John Michael knew he could either hitch a ride back home from the sheriff or simply walk.

  None of them said much as the sheriff drove them to the Lees’ house. Grace sat in the back seat with Snooze and John Michael sat up front with Sheriff Brewer.

  When he turned onto the lane, John Michael felt the tension increase in the vehicle. Sheriff Brewer must have, too, because he slowed to a stop.

  “Grace, how far away were you when you noticed that something wasn’t right?” he asked. “This far?”

  “Oh, nee. I didn’t notice anything until I was almost at the door.”

  “I’m going to drive slowly up. You look around and tell me if you see anything different or out of the ordinary.”

  “I will do that.”

  When they were almost to the circular drive, she called out. “I was standing about right here when I noticed the door was ajar.”

  “Let’s park here, then.”

  They all got out. Snooze wagged his tail, looking pleased to be back somewhere familiar. He was pulling on his leash toward the house.

  “I’ll keep track of him, Grace,” John said easily. “You concentrate on describing what you saw to Sheriff Brewer.”

  The sheriff had his notebook out again. “Take your time.”

  Grace stepped forward, then gasped. “The footprints were not like this.”

  John Michael eyed the area where she was pointing. The path looked exactly like the sheriff had described. All that he could see was evidence that someone—or a group of people—had walked all over the area.

  “This is how it looked when we arrived,” the sheriff said.

  “Would someone have wiped out their footsteps on purpose?” John asked. “Like, in order to hide their prints?”

  “Possibly.” There was a note of skepticism in the sheriff’s voice, though.

  Grace inhaled sharply but didn’t argue. Only turned to the front door. “It was open.”

  “We closed it after we left.” Sheriff Brewer walked to the door and opened it to where a small piece of tape was on the entryway floor. “This is how far apart it was when we got here. Was this about what it looked like?” Sheriff Brewer asked.

  She tilted her head to one side, trying to remember. “Maybe . . . At first I thought the door was closed. Only after I was on the steps did I realize that it had been opened.”

  “Are you ready to go inside and look around now?”

  She hesitated. “I think so.”

  John Michael walked to her side. “I’ll be right beside you,” he said as he picked up Snooze.

  After glancing at the sheriff again, Grace walked inside, John Michael following close behind.

  Though he had just been in the house, he hadn’t noticed much besides Grace. Now he looked around with interest, hoping to spy something new. But it looked much the same as it always had. Clean and tidy. Overwhelmingly big.

  When Snooze squirmed, he leaned over to place the dog on the floor. John decided to keep a loose hold on his leash since the front door was still open.

  “Do you see anything out of order?” the sheriff asked.

  “Nee. Though . . .” Bending down, she pressed two fingers to the marble floor. “This is different.”

  “What is?” Sheriff Brewer had out his cell phone and looked ready to take a picture.

  “It’s too clean.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “I take Snooze in and out this door several times a day. I make sure to pull my boots on and off whenever I go in and out, but Snooze’s tiny paws are harder to keep clean. After the first day, I gave up on trying to keep the floor scrubbed. I decided I would just mop it every couple of days. I washed it yesterday morning, but after last night and this morning, this whole area was covered
again with tiny tracks.” Getting back to her feet again, she said, “I can promise you that someone wiped the floor.”

  Sheriff Brewer took a picture of the marble floor and wrote down some notes. “All right. That’s a start. Now—”

  Suddenly, Snooze started barking and whining, then pulled out of John Michael’s grasp and tore down the hall.

  Chapter 12

  “Snooze. Oh, nee, Snooze! You leave that mouse alone.”

  Snooze didn’t even think about minding her. Right before her eyes, the tiny dachshund turned into a wild animal and attacked the mouse it had cornered with glee.

  John Michael ran forward, but he wasn’t quick enough.

  Within seconds, the pale gray mouse was hanging limp from Snooze’s mouth. Its tiny black eyes frozen open.

  Grace felt kind of sick. “Snooze, you drop that meisli right now.”

  He did not. Instead, Snooze stared at her like she was asking something crazy. His tail was wagging and he looked pleased as punch. Rather proud, too.

  She would have chuckled if the sight wasn’t so gruesome.

  “I think that hund needs a new name. Maybe Trouble instead of Snooze,” John Michael said as he joined her. “He gets into more trouble than most dogs I know who are double his size.”

  “He’s a fierce hunter, for sure and for certain,” Sheriff Brewer murmured.

  Still staring at the dead mouse, she said, “Would one of you please help me dispose of that creature?”

  John Michael stepped forward and pointed a finger at Snooze. “Drop it.”

  The dog whined but dutifully tossed the mouse on the ground.

  Sheriff Brewer pulled out a plastic bag from a hidden pocket in his uniform and scooped it up. After he knotted the bag, he looked at Grace and chuckled. “I’m not going to lie, that dog had me going for a moment. I thought he found a dead body or something.”

  Now that the mini-crisis was solved, Grace felt herself smile, too. “I thought it was something worse as well.” Turning to Snooze, she said, “I don’t know what to do with you. Killing mice ain’t gut.”

  “If Snooze hadn’t gotten it, it would be living with you the rest of the week,” John Michael pointed out. “I think he helped you out.”

  Imagining how restless she’d be, constantly wondering where the mouse was, she sighed. “You are right. That would be awful.”

  “I’ll throw this outside as I leave, Grace,” Sheriff Brewer said.

  “No, wait,” Grace said. “I haven’t looked for missing items yet.”

  “Yes, we’ll need to take a tour and look around. But before we do that, I have a question for you.”

  “Jah?”

  “Did you lock the door before you walked down to get the mail?”

  The sheriff’s question made her pause. “Nee.”

  “There was a bit of a wind earlier today. It’s just a guess, but I have a feeling that maybe the latch didn’t close all the way before you walked out. That happens from time to time. The wind could have popped the door open.”

  Her face began to heat. He didn’t believe her. He thought she’d imagined the footprints in the snow, hadn’t shut the front door firmly behind her, and was the type of woman to get hysterical around mice or anything else.

  Okay, she might be scared of mice . . . but she would never have made a fuss about the door and footprints unless she’d been sure something was off.

  She inhaled, planning to let him know that he had gotten things wrong.

  John Michael pressed one of his hands lightly on her back. “Let’s go look around, Grace.”

  She nodded and started leading the men and a disgruntled Snooze through the rooms. After ten minutes she said, “It all looks fine. Nothing is out of place.”

  “That’s a good thing,” the sheriff said lightly. “Let’s finish up, though.”

  The rest of the house looked just as pristine. By the time they returned to the front entryway, Grace was feeling disheartened, and embarrassed, too.

  She didn’t think she’d imagined that something had been wrong . . . but what if she had? Maybe the sheriff had been right.

  “Do you want to look anyplace else, Grace?” Sheriff Brewer asked.

  Feeling glum, she shook her head.

  John Michael stepped in front of her. “I sure appreciate you coming out when we called, Sheriff.” He held out his hand and shook the other man’s hand.

  “You’re welcome. That’s what we’re here for.” Leaning down a bit so he could look her in the eyes, Sheriff Brewer said, “Don’t hesitate to contact us if you see anything else suspicious.”

  Suddenly wanting him out of the house, she smiled tightly. “Danke. I will do that.”

  As she watched the sheriff slip on the jacket he’d taken off soon after they first walked inside, Grace attempted to get her emotions back in check. But it was futile. She felt near tears. The best she could do was to keep calm until the men left. Then, when the door closed and she was all alone, she could fall apart.

  “Here’s my card, Grace. Hopefully you won’t need it, but don’t be shy, now.” He smiled then. “And Merry Christmas.”

  Holding the card tightly in her right hand, she nodded. “Merry Christmas, Sheriff.”

  “John Michael, do you want a ride back to your house?”

  Turning to look at Grace, John shook his head. She looked upset and frustrated. There was no way he was going to leave her alone to worry all by herself. “No, thanks. I think I’ll stay here for a bit and make sure everything is locked up tight.” He winked. “I’ll be on the lookout for more mice, too.”

  The sheriff laughed as he picked up the bag as promised. “Sounds good, though my money would be on that dog to hunt them out.” After giving a little salute, Sheriff Brewer walked back out to his vehicle.

  When he was halfway there, Grace shut the door with a sigh. Then she turned around and leaned against it. “Well, that was a waste of time. He didn’t believe me.”

  “Maybe it wasn’t that he didn’t believe you . . .” His voice drifted off. Truly, what could he say? It was obvious that the sheriff thought Grace had gotten a touch of nerves and let her imagination run away with her.

  She smiled grimly. “Don’t worry about trying to find a better, easier way to describe the situation. There isn’t a better one. Sheriff Brewer didn’t believe me.”

  “For what it’s worth, I actually hope that it was nothing. I’d love it if we were to discover that the door did accidentally get blown open.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “So you hope I did let my imagination run wild?”

  “I don’t want you to be in danger, Grace,” he corrected, meaning that sincerely.

  She slumped. “I know what you meant, but there really were fresh footprints. I know there were.”

  Looking into her eyes, he realized she was blessing him with pure honesty. But what he saw there was a vulnerability he hadn’t realized she was capable of. It affected him like a punch to the chest. “Are you scared about staying here alone?” he asked gently. “I’m back on call tomorrow morning. But, if you want, I could stay here.”

  “Overnight?” Her voice came out almost as a squeak.

  “Well, jah.” Though he thought it was understood, he gave her the words. “Of course, I’ll sleep on the couch or in one of the spare bedrooms. I would never take advantage of you.”

  “I know you wouldn’t, John Michael. I thank you for the offer, but I’ll be fine.”

  “If you’d rather, I could ask my mother to come over.”

  She chuckled. “I don’t think that would make things easier. There’s no telling what she and I would talk about.”

  Since his mother was a talker, he could only imagine. “If you want to stay alone, will you at least write down our phone number? You could call if you hear something suspicious.”

  She walked to the kitchen counter and pulled out a notepad and pencil. “Danke. That would ease my mind.”

  He took the pencil from her and wrote d
own two numbers—his home phone number and his cell phone number.

  “You have a cell phone?”

  “I use it at work.”

  “Oh.” She nodded. “Jah, I guess you would need to have it for firefighting. You have a very important job.”

  He had always believed that he did. He was proud of being a firefighter. Proud of the work they did in the community. Proud of his ability to do something demanding that stretched him to his limits. When he was called out, when he was on one of the trucks, he felt like he was at his best. His mind was clearer, his senses sharper. His body was tense, ready to go into action, to put all the hard work and training he had acquired to good use.

  And yes, he did save lives. It was important.

  But as he looked at Grace, he knew that it wasn’t more important than her needs.

  “Don’t hesitate to call me, Grace. If you even suspect someone is outside or you start to feel scared, you call me.”

  She blinked at his high-handed request.

  He cleared his throat, ready to argue with her.

  But instead, she nodded. “I will.”

  “Okay, then. I had better go.”

  “Jah. Don’t worry about me. I’m going to do a little bit of baking. And Snooze is worn out. Neither of us will leave except for a quick break outside.”

  He pulled on his coat and walked to the door. “Don’t forget to lock up.”

  “Be careful tomorrow, John Michael. May God be with you.”

  He smiled his thanks before turning and heading out.

  After he heard the dead bolt click into place, he started walking. For the first time in days, the sky was clear. There wasn’t a chance of snow. Everything was calm.

  He hoped and prayed everything would stay that way.

  Chapter 13

  Dawn broke early the next morning, carrying with it a beautiful sunrise and clear skies. Rays of sunlight glinted through the breakfast room’s windows, creating patterns of bright squares along the wooden floor. Snooze, once again back to form, was entertaining himself by stretching out in the various sunny spots and napping.