“Good to know in case I ever want to leave the country in a hurry.”
“It is farther than it looks. Shall we go back?”
“Are you getting cold?”
“A little,” she admitted.
They walked back to the house in silence. Bethany was overwhelmed by the smell of pine boughs when she entered the front door. The scent would always remind her of Michael in the future. She turned to face him. “Good night, Michael.”
“You take care,” he said as he went out into the night with Sadie Sue at his heels. Bethany sighed as she watched him walk up the hill. Being friends was truly the best path for them. Wasn’t it?
Only the ache in her heart said it might not be enough.
Chapter Twelve
Bethany rose from bed feeling more rested than she had in weeks. Her first thought was to wonder if Michael shared the same feeling of relief that they were remaining friends, or did he hope for more one day?
She was fixing herself coffee when she heard a truck pull up in front of the house. She looked out the window. Mr. Meriwether got out of his delivery van and started for the house. The sheriff’s SUV pulled up behind him. The look on their faces said it wasn’t a social visit.
Bethany clutched her chest. “Oh, Ivan, what have you done now?”
Since he wasn’t out of bed yet, he couldn’t very well answer her question. She opened the door before Mr. Meriwether knocked. He inclined his head. “Good morning, Ms. Martin.”
“Good day to you, Mr. Meriwether, Sheriff Lundeen. What can I do for you gentlemen?”
“I’m afraid we are here on an unpleasant errand,” the sheriff said.
Mr. Meriwether nodded. “It sure is. Last night a little after midnight someone broke into one of my warehouses. They took several thousand dollars’ worth of mechanic’s tools, and brand-new toolboxes.”
“What does that have to do with me?” she asked, fearing she knew the answer.
The sheriff removed his hat. “Is your brother, Ivan, at home?”
“Ja, he is here, though he is still abed.”
The sheriff came in, forcing Bethany to step out of his way. “We’re going to need to talk to him. The perpetrator was caught on a surveillance camera. It appears to be your brother arriving on foot and then he begins loading the stolen merchandise into a white panel van that pulled up just outside the fence. We didn’t get a good look at the driver or the plates.”
“It was an Amish boy fitting your brother’s description,” Mr. Meriwether added as he followed the sheriff inside.
Bethany led them into the living room with her heart pounding so hard she thought they must be able to hear it. This was serious. Thousands of dollars’ worth of tools? This wasn’t three chickens. She grew sick at heart. “I will go upstairs and get my brother. I’m sure he had nothing to do with this. Please have a seat.”
“Thank you for your cooperation, ma’am.” The sheriff sat on the edge of her sofa.
She hustled Ivan out of bed with only the briefest of explanations. She went into Jenny’s room. “Jenny, get up and go get Michael. Tell him I need him right away.”
“But I haven’t had any breakfast.”
“You can eat later. Now go.”
The shock on Ivan’s face when he saw the sheriff waiting for him told her he knew nothing about what was going on.
She stood beside Ivan. The sheriff began questioning him. Michael arrived twenty minutes later. “Can you fill me in?” he asked the law officer.
The sheriff looked him up and down. “Are you the boy’s parent?”
“I’m not. I’m a friend.”
“Then I don’t see how this concerns you.”
“I gave my word to our bishop that I would assume responsibility for Ivan’s action. Anything that concerns him concerns me. If not, we must ask you to leave until the bishop and church elders can join us.”
Bethany could see the wheels turning in the sheriff’s mind. Did he want one Amish man or a whole roomful of them present for his questioning? Reluctantly he agreed to have Michael present and filled him in on what was known.
Michael was the one who picked up on a discrepancy. “You say the robbery took place a few minutes before eleven. We were here with Pastor Frank Pearson until ten thirty. We all saw Ivan go upstairs.”
“But you admit that he could have left the premises after you did,” the sheriff pointed out.
“You say a boy arrived on foot and a second perpetrator in a white panel van pulled up a few minutes later. Even if Ivan left here at 10:31, he would have been hard-pressed to run three miles in very cold temperatures and then calmly walk into Mr. Meriwether’s warehouse and carry out the tools you claim were stolen.”
Bethany could see the sheriff wavering. He said, “It’s not outside the realm of possibility. He could have gotten a ride with the person in the van.”
“But it is reasonable doubt,” Michael insisted. “Were there fingerprints? Do you have a full view of his face on tape?”
Bethany was grateful for Michael’s presence. He seemed to know exactly what to say.
The sheriff leaned forward on the couch and stared at Ivan. “We can’t make a positive ID but it appears to be a boy wearing gloves, a dark coat and a black Amish hat.”
Michael turned to Ivan. “Did you do it?”
Ivan shook his head. “Nee. I did not.”
The sheriff sighed as he rose to his feet. “I don’t have enough to hold the boy at this point. I have to wait for my forensics team to process the scene. Ivan, you can’t leave town. Do you understand?”
Ivan nodded. Michael said, “Believe me, we want you to find this guy as much as you want to find him.”
After the sheriff and Meriwether left, Bethany knelt in front of her brother and took his hand. “What do you know about this?”
“I think I can get the tools back, but I’m not going to turn anyone in.”
“You can’t protect Jeffrey forever,” Michael said softly.
“You don’t understand. I have to help him.”
“Do you know who was driving the van?” Michael asked.
He shook his head. “I’m not sure.”
Ivan left the room and Bethany didn’t think twice about throwing herself into Michael’s arms. She needed him. And he was there for her. “What should I do? I thought sending him to live with my uncle was terrible, but sending him to jail is unthinkable.”
“It won’t come to that. He’s a juvenile. Besides, the evidence they have is circumstantial.”
She leaned back to look at his face. “How do you know so much about police proceedings?”
“You know the store where I worked last year was robbed. I answered questions from the police for weeks on end. I can’t believe I was able to listen to his interrogation without breaking down. I guess I really am doing better,” he mumbled more to himself than to her.
She gazed at his dear face. “Thank you for everything.”
He held her away and took a step back. “That’s what friends do.”
* * *
Early the following morning, Bethany heard a car turn into her drive. It was the sheriff again. Had he come to arrest Ivan? He stopped a few feet from her walkway and got out. She opened the door as he reached the porch with her heart in her throat. “Good morning, Sheriff.”
“Good morning. Is Ivan here?”
“I hope so. I haven’t seen him yet. Has there been another robbery?” She braced herself to hear the answer.
“No. In fact, just the opposite has occurred. Sometime during the night all the tools and equipment stolen from Mr. Meriwether’s property were left outside his gate. There doesn’t appear to be any damage. Nothing is missing. Mr. Meriwether is dropping all the charges.”
Relief made her knees weak. “That’s wonderful news.” It wouldn�
�t keep Ivan from being sent to live with Uncle Harvey, but it was so much better than having him go to jail that it didn’t seem horrible anymore. She couldn’t wait to tell Michael.
After the sheriff left, Bethany pulled on her coat and boots, intent on seeing Michael, but a knock on the door stopped her. She opened it and saw Mrs. Morgan, Jeffrey’s mother, on the porch. The woman had a large bruise on her face and a split lip.
“Mrs. Morgan, what happened? Come in. Do you need to go to the hospital?” Bethany put her arm around the woman and helped her inside.
“Don’t mind me. This is nothing. Is Jeffrey here? He didn’t come home last night.”
“He’s not here. You must be out of your mind with worry. Let me get Ivan. Maybe he knows where Jeffrey is. Come in and sit down.” The woman entered the kitchen and sat down as Bethany raced up the stairs to Ivan’s room. She sagged with relief when she saw he was still in bed. She shook his shoulder. “Ivan, wake up. Mrs. Morgan is downstairs. She says Jeffrey is missing. Do you know where he is?”
Ivan sat up, rubbing his face. “I thought he was at home.”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
“About midnight.”
“Midnight? You went out last night?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry. I had to.”
Bethany considered sending him to fetch Michael, but she realized there was nothing Michael could do. She went downstairs and found Mrs. Morgan with arms crossed and her head down on the kitchen table, weeping.
Bethany sat down beside her and put her arm around the woman’s shoulders. “It’s going to be all right. Ivan hasn’t seen him since last night.”
Michael appeared in the workshop doorway. “What’s going on?”
Bethany quickly filled him in. He came and sat down across from Mrs. Morgan. “I think you should call the police.”
Mrs. Morgan looked up and clutched Bethany’s arm. “No. I can’t do that.”
* * *
Two nights later, Sadie’s low growl brought Michael wide-awake. She left his bedside and trotted to the door. He sat up in bed. “What’s wrong, girl?”
Sadie whined, looked back at him and whined again. Michael slipped out of bed, pulling the top quilt over himself against the cold night air. “I’m coming.”
He made his way to the window beside the door. He used the corner of the quilt to wipe the frost from the center of the glass. He was expecting to see a lynx or coyote. Instead he watched a human figure approach the back door of Bethany’s home and disappear into the shadows. His heart started pounding. Was she in danger?
He tossed the quilt aside, quickly pulling on his clothes and boots. He grabbed his coat from the hook by the door and pulled it on as he stepped outside. Sadie stood by his side but she wasn’t growling. She looked at him. He nodded. “Go find him.”
She started toward Bethany’s house with Michael close behind her. The beam of a flashlight shone from the open back door. Michael couldn’t see who was holding it, but he did see the person the light settled on. It was Jeffrey Morgan. The boy entered the house and the light went out. When the kitchen light came on, Michael decided to investigate further. Sadie was already at the back door, scratching and whining to be let in. Michael stood in the shadow of the pine tree off to the side and waited. When the door opened it was Ivan. “Sadie, stop it. You’ll wake everybody. Go home.”
Michael stepped out of the shadows. “Good evening, Ivan.”
The boy’s eyes widened in shock. “Michael. What are you doing here?”
“Sadie alerted me to a prowler. You’ve got some explaining to do.”
“I reckon I do. Come into the kitchen.” He turned and walked down the hall. Michael followed him.
Jeffrey was at the kitchen table, eating baked beans straight out of the can. As Michael watched Jeffrey tear into his food, it reminded him of the first time he saw Sadie gulp a sandwich down in one bite. Michael looked at Ivan. “What’s going on?”
Jeffrey stopped eating to glance at Ivan and shook his head no.
Ivan spread his hands wide. “We can’t do it by ourselves. Michael will help.”
“He’ll make me go back.”
Michael took a seat across the table from Jeffrey. Ivan sat beside his friend. “Jeffrey can’t go home. He isn’t safe there.”
Jeffrey had stopped eating and was staring down at the table. “I won’t go back.”
Michael reached across the table and put two fingers under the boy’s chin. Jeffrey flinched but didn’t pull away. Michael lifted the child’s face until Jeffrey looked at him. “I know a lot about being afraid. I won’t make you do anything that you don’t want to do. Why don’t you tell me about it?”
Jeffrey compressed his lips into a thin line. It was Ivan who spoke. “His dad beats him.”
“He hits my mom, too,” Jeffrey added in a small voice.
Michael sat back. He had suspected as much after Mrs. Morgan refused to call the police or go to the hospital, but this was beyond his ability to help. He wished Bethany was here.
Jeffrey stuck his fork in the empty can. “That’s why I got so mad when I learned you were going to be staying in the cabin. I used to stay there when things are bad at home. I’m sorry I broke your window.”
“I thought Ivan threw the rock.” Michael glanced between the boys.
Jeffrey looked at Ivan. “He took the blame for me. He sticks up for me a lot.”
“The stolen supplies from Jedidiah—was that your doing or Ivan’s?”
The boys exchanged guilty glances. Ivan wrinkled his nose. “It was sort of my idea. The bishop preaches that we have to share with those in need. I figured Jedidiah would share if he knew, so I took what I thought he could spare. I didn’t know he’d be so upset about it. I was going to leave him a note but I didn’t have paper or a pen with me.”
“He only did it to help my family. Sometimes my mom and my little brother and sister don’t have enough to eat. I helped him carry the stuff,” Jeffrey added. “We’re sort of both to blame.”
Michael sighed. “I see you are equal partners in crime, as it were.”
The boys nodded.
Michael shook his head in disbelief. “It’s always better to ask first. And the chickens?”
“Mom had to cook our laying hens a few weeks ago. The little ones missed having eggs in the morning. I only took what we needed to eat.”
“How did you boys get the tools returned to Mr. Meriwether?”
Jeffrey looked pleased. “I sort of borrowed my dad’s van. I know how to drive it. He hadn’t sold the stuff yet.” The boy’s grin faded. “He got real mean when he found the stuff was missing. I had to get away.”
Ivan locked his pleading gaze on Michael. “What are you going to do now? You can’t make him go home.”
Michael rubbed his aching leg, stalling for time. He didn’t know what to do. If Jeffrey was a member of the Amish faith, he would take this to the bishop. This required someone with a level head and a compassionate heart. “Ivan, I think you should go wake your sister.”
“I’m up.” Bethany came into the room, pulling the belt of her pink robe tight. “I overheard most of this conversation. Jeffrey, do you know your mother is worried sick about you?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “I left her a note tonight. She’ll know I’m okay when she reads it.”
Michael exchanged a knowing look with Bethany. She sat down beside him. He was glad of her presence. She smiled softly at Jeffrey. “You’re a thirteen-year-old boy and it’s winter in Maine. How are you surviving? Where are you staying?”
Jeffrey wouldn’t look at her. “Here and there.”
“And how often in the past two days have you had a decent meal?”
He lifted the empty can. “Tonight.”
Michael shared a speaking glance with Bethany.
; “What should we do?” she asked, speaking Pennsylvania Dutch. “He isn’t Amish. The Englisch have many rules about children.”
“They do have complicated laws about child custody. I know that much from my time in the outside world. We could be in trouble for not telling the police he is here.”
Jeffrey surged to his feet. “I don’t know what you’re saying but I won’t go back.”
Michael held up one hand to reassure him. “We are not suggesting that. I think going to Pastor Frank is our best option. He will listen to you, Jeffrey, and he will make the right decision. He will not put you in harm’s way.”
Jeffrey sank back onto his chair. Ivan laid a hand on his shoulder. “Pastor Frank is a good fellow. You can trust him.”
Bethany leaned forward and took Jeffrey’s hands in hers. “You have to trust us. We want what is best for both you and your mother. You can’t stay out in this weather. You could die.”
“That would be better than going back to him.”
Michael stood up. “You and I are going to go see Pastor Frank and tell him the situation. I know he will do the right thing. You can try running away again, Jeffrey, but you will be easy to track in the snow. I don’t think you’ll get far.”
Jeffrey put his head down on his folded arms and began to cry.
* * *
Bethany waited for Michael to return. She left a lamp on so he would know she was up. It was almost four thirty when he stepped through the door. He looked tired and he was limping heavily. She wanted to throw her arms around him and help him to the sofa but she wasn’t sure he would appreciate that gesture. “How did it go?”
He sat down on the sofa beside her with a deep sigh. “Children are complicated creatures. I’m surprised parents choose to have more than one.”
“That’s a very cynical thing to say. Humans are indeed complicated creatures. Since the good Lord made more than one of us, I assume He sees something wonderful in each of us.”
“Even Mr. Morgan?”
“Even him. He deserves forgiveness and our prayers as much if not more than anyone.”
Michael sighed. “I know you’re right. That is what our faith teaches us. That is what our Lord commands us to do, but sometimes it is hard living by those words. That boy was covered with bruises.”
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