Murder, Simply Stitched: An Amish Quilt Shop Mystery

by Isabella Alan

  I snuck a glance at the sheriff, but he appeared unfazed by Reed’s gorgeous mother. Did he really not notice her or could he hold that blank stare he’d learned in cop school during any and all situations?

  Reed remained on the bench and made no move to get up.

  Mitchell stepped forward. “Ms. Kent?”

  The woman extended a slender hand. “Call me Amber, please.”

  The sheriff nodded. “All right, Amber. This is Angie Braddock with me. She knew your sister.”

  I shook Amber’s hand. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  She nodded. “Thank you.”

  Mitchell reached into his pocket and handed her a card. “Your sister’s lawyer asked me to have you call him. He has the keys to your sister’s house. As far as I know everything there is yours and Reed’s. However, you will want to see her lawyer before you head back to California.”

  She accepted the business card. “I spoke with her lawyer on the telephone before I left LA. We are to meet him at her house at eleven. Reed and I were the only ones named in her will. I’m surprised. I hadn’t expected that from my sister. She made no secret of her disapproval of most of my decisions.” She watched her son. “How is Reed?”

  “He’s a good kid,” Mitchell said.

  Amber dropped her eyes. “I know. I wished I could have been as strong as Wanda to take care of him.”

  “You are, and you will take care of him now. He needs his mom.”

  “What if he starts getting into trouble again? What do I do? I always asked my sister for advice before . . .”

  The sheriff reached into the breast pocket of his uniform and removed one of his cards. “Here. You can always call me for advice.”

  She took the card and nodded before walking over to her son. “Reed?”

  He grunted from his spot on the bench. The bench was only a few feet from us, and I knew he had heard their conversation even with all the barking coming from the dog run.

  “Are you ready to go home?” Amber asked.

  He pulled up the black hood of his sweatshirt. “Like you want me to.”

  “I do want you to. We’ll finalize some things here and talk to the lawyer about selling Wanda’s house, but I do want you to come back to California with me. I’ve missed you.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  Amber jerked back. “You don’t believe me.”

  “If you missed me so much you would have called once in a while.” Reed’s face completely receded into the oversized hood.

  “I’ve been so busy, tied up in my job, and auditions, and my boyfriend that I didn’t reach out to you like I should have. I’m so sorry for that. I know it upset Wanda too. But I honestly thought you would do better if I wasn’t in your life.”

  He glared at her. “Why would you think that? You’re my mom.”

  “I know. I’m here to say I’m sorry. Can we start again?”

  “What about your boyfriend? Does he want me to come back?”

  “It doesn’t matter what he wants because we aren’t together anymore. I just want to focus on you and me for a bit. I know I haven’t done a stellar job as your mom.” She sat on the edge of the bench.

  Reed didn’t say anything.

  “I’m not the only one who wants you to come home. Bolt is waiting for you back at the stables.”

  Reed sat up straight for the first time. “Bolt. My horse. You bought back my horse?”

  She nodded. “The new owner said he couldn’t connect with the animal and asked me if I would give him back his money in exchange for Bolt. I jumped at the chance. I knew it was a mistake to sell him the moment that guy drove away with Bolt in his trailer.”

  He pushed back his hood. “You sold him because I screwed up.”

  “I did, but there were other ways to punish you than take away your best friend. That was cruel, and I am sorry.”

  Reed was still hesitant. “I thought you used that money to buy your boyfriend a car. Bolt is expensive. How could you afford to buy him?”

  She laughed. “No, I would never do that. The money from the sale was deposited in the bank. I wrote him a reimbursement check and he gave me Bolt back.” She stood. “Now, are you ready to go?”

  He stood and nodded. His mother walked toward him and gingerly put her arms around her son. Even though he didn’t embrace her back, Reed allowed his mother to hug him, and I knew he would be all right.

  Reed and Amber walked back to her rental car. “Thank you, Sheriff Mitchell, for keeping Reed in your home until I could come and get him. I’m so grateful that you did that for him and for us.”

  Mitchell nodded. “You’re welcome.” He pointed at Reed. “Stay out of trouble, Reed, or I will come out to LA and knock you upside the head.”

  Reed grimaced. “Sure, okay.”

  “It was nice to meet you too,” Amber said to me.

  I smiled but then remembered how pale Reed became when I asked him about the prank calls. “You know those calls I asked you about . . .”

  He looked up from his shoes but said nothing.

  “You made them. Am I right?”

  He nodded. At least now we had one piece of the mystery solved, and it wasn’t connected directly to Wanda’s death. I hoped the sheriff would have less guilt about not taking Wanda’s complaints about the calls more seriously.

  “What calls?” Amber asked.

  “It doesn’t matter now,” Mitchell said. “I’m happy to tell you about the investigation into your sister’s death.”

  Amber shook her head. “I would rather not know. It would only upset me, and whatever you tell me won’t bring my sister back. Now, I just want my son and myself to move forward.”

  “Fair enough,” the sheriff replied.

  Amber and Reed climbed into her rental and drove away.

  In the dog run, Tux and Oliver galloped across the bright green grass. They ignored all other dogs. Mitchell and I stood side by side and watched them for a few moments in silence.

  I held on to the top of the fence. “Thank you for letting me be here to see that. I’m happy Reed is going to be okay.”

  “Honestly, I didn’t know which way it was going to go with Reed and his mother.” He placed his hand on the fence close to mine. “But I am glad you were here. I think it helped Reed, and I know it helped me.”

  “Reed’s mother was pretty,” I said tentatively.

  He shrugged. “She was, but not as beautiful as you are.”

  Ryan would have never said that. I doubted he would ever say that to his new beauty queen girlfriend in Dallas. My mouth fell open and he laughed.

  “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go run with the dogs.”

  Still gap-mouthed, I followed him through the gate.

  After both dogs and humans were all run out, Mitchell and I led an exhausted Tux and Oliver to our cars. As he latched the gate, I asked, “Sheriff Mitchell, would you like to go out to dinner sometime?” As soon as I asked it, I regretted it.

  He blinked at me, and my stomach fell. How could I have been so stupid? I had let the beautiful comment get to me, and the thought of Ryan dating all those beauty queens down in Dallas take away all rational thought. “Oh, right, sorry.” I scooped up Oliver and headed to my car.

  Seconds later, I heard footsteps running behind me on the pavement. I turned to see Mitchell jogging toward me.

  He blew out a breath. “Yes.”

  “Huh?”

  “Yes, I would like to have dinner with you. I’ve been waiting for the right time to ask you, but you beat me to it. You stole my thunder.”

  I frowned and searched his blue-green eyes. “Umm, sorry?”

  He chuckled. “Don’t be sorry.” He leaned forward and kissed me on the lips before whistling to Tux and heading to his own car.

  I beamed. “Okay. See you around, Sheriff Mitchell.”

  He put Tux in the car and waved to me. “Yes, you will, Trustee Braddock. Yes, you will.”

  Chapter Forty-one

 
; Even with the sheriff’s kiss fresh on my lips, I couldn’t change who I was or my curious nature. I knew it would upset him if he knew where I intended to go after the dog park, but I still had to go there.

  Oliver and I stared at the yellow crime scene tape blocking the way up the stairs to the CPA’s office above Fannie’s yarn shop. Another bold yellow “X” was plastered across the CPA’s office door. I recognized Deputy Anderson’s handiwork.

  I wondered where I could find Wanda’s business partner to talk with him again. Not that I thought that he would tell me much. The Mennonite man hadn’t been that forthcoming in our first meeting. Of course, since it was Sunday there was no chance to talk to him for an entire day.

  As much as I itched to climb those stairs and take a peek in the office, I knew I would regret it if I got caught, especially by the sheriff.

  “Come on, Oliver,” I said.

  The Frenchie waddled at a slow pace behind me. He was still worn out from his adventure at the dog park with Tux.

  “You want to go home and take a nap, don’t you, boy?”

  That got him waddling a bit faster.

  When we stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of Fannie’s store, I was struck by how abandoned the street was. Sundays in Holmes County were the quietest days, but it still felt eerie nonetheless. All Amish and Mennonite businesses were closed and many of the English ones were as well.

  Whoever broke into Wanda and David’s office was after papers. That reminded me of another set of papers. When I had heard Zeke King argue with Gideon the day before about the sick calf, he had wanted to see the papers about the animal he bought at the auction. Would an Amish auction have such records? They wouldn’t have veterinary records, but I remember Linus and his dozens of clipboards so maybe there was something he had written down about that calf. Was it related to Wanda’s death?

  I realized that the auction grounds would be as deserted today as Sugartree Street was. I twisted my mouth as I thought. Should I go there for one last look around?

  • • •

  Oliver huffed as he landed in the grass parking area of the auction grounds. He looked up at me with his expressive bully face. This is not home. This is not my bed, his face told me.

  “I know, Oliver, and I did promise that we would go home after our last stop, but this is the perfect time to check out Linus’s office. I promise we won’t break and enter. If it happens to be unlocked that’s a different story.”

  As I walked across the grass to the outbuilding beyond the main barn a chill ran up my back. I shouldn’t be here. This was a very bad idea, and no one knew where I was. I couldn’t call the quilting circle and tell them. They were all Amish and were unreachable by cell phone and even unreachable by shed phone on Sunday. I slipped my cell out of my pocket and called Jessica, who I realized was, other than the sheriff—not that I knew how to categorize him yet—my only English friend in Holmes County.

  “Out of Time,” Jessica answered.

  “Hi Jessica, it’s Angie.”

  “Angie, what’s up?” There was laughter in her voice.

  “Well, I’m at the auction grounds.”

  “What are you doing there?” The laughter was gone.

  “I’m taking a look around. I really feel like this place is the root of Wanda’s murder, not just because she died here.” I lowered my voice on the off chance anyone was around. “I think she was killed because of something going on here.”

  “So what are you doing there?” she yelled. I had to pull the phone away from my ear. “It doesn’t sound like it’s safe to be there.”

  “That’s why I’m calling you. I wanted to let someone know where I was.”

  “Angie, I think you should leave. Do you want me to come out there?”

  My heart warmed at her offer. “No, I’ll call you back in twenty minutes. If you don’t hear from me call the sheriff.”

  “Are you serious?” she squeaked.

  “I’m sure it won’t come to that.”

  “Okay,” Jessica said, but worry laced her voice. “Twenty minutes. Your time starts right now.”

  I hung up and stuck the phone into the pocket of my jacket. As I did that the main barn door opened. I froze, ready to make a run for it until Petunia waltzed out.

  “Baaa!”

  Oliver trotted over. Some, but not all, of his fatigue was forgotten as he went to greet his friend.

  “Let’s make this quick,” I told the animals. “Jessica is counting down.”

  My cell phone rang, and I answered it. “Jessica, it hasn’t even been close to twenty minutes yet. I told you, I would call you back in twenty minutes.”

  “This isn’t Jessica,” the sheriff’s voice said in my ear.

  “Oh, hi,” I managed. I should check the phone’s readout before answering.

  “We got a match off of the print from the break-in at Wanda’s office.”

  “And?”

  “It’s Gabe Keim.”

  “The Gabe from the auction.”

  “That’s right.”

  “How did you have one of Gabe’s prints to match it to?”

  “We printed everyone who worked at the auction yard after Wanda’s murder, so that we could exclude them from her case if need be.”

  “I knew her death had to involve someone from the auction house. I’m having a tough time believing it is Gabe though. Maybe he was told to toss the accounting office,” I mused.

  “Where are you?” His voice was suddenly sharp.

  “Umm . . . where do you think I am?”

  “Not at home. I just swung by your house to tell you in person.” He sighed. “Don’t tell me you are at the auction grounds.”

  “It’s Sunday and no one is here.”

  “What does Jessica have to do with this?”

  “I told her to call you if she didn’t hear from me in twenty minutes. Well, now I guess it would be fifteen.”

  The sheriff was silent for a moment. “I’m already on my way there. Go back to your car and sit tight until I arrive.”

  “But—”

  “Angie, please.”

  “Okay,” I finally agreed. I knew I was being foolish, and he was right. I dropped the phone back into my pocket.

  Petunia and Oliver waited for me a few yards ahead, right in front of Linus’s office.

  I clapped my hands. “Oliver, come, we’re going back to the car until Mitchell shows up.”

  The Frenchie rolled onto his back in the grass.

  I pulled out my cell phone again and called Jessica. “Stand down. Sheriff Mitchell knows where I am and he’s on his way here.”

  “I’m so glad. I’ve been worried sick!”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She sighed. “As long as you are okay, it’s okay. Call me later.”

  I promised I would and hung up.

  “Oliver, we are leaving.”

  Still he wouldn’t obey. Instead he looked at me with droopy eyes. The dog run with Tux that morning really had worn the pooch out.

  I sighed and walked toward the duo.

  “Baaa!” Petunia cried as I approached. She grabbed the piece of rope, which served as a makeshift door handle and pulled. The door swung easily open.

  “Petunia,” I complained. “The sheriff is going to blame me for that.”

  She looked as innocent as a goat could look, which wasn’t saying much.

  I peered into the tiny one-room building. The stack of clipboards was on top of the desk, but they were all bare. The graph paper that Linus clipped on them the day before was gone.

  “I’m not going in,” I told the goat and dog. “We’re going back to the car just like the sheriff told us to.”

  “What are you doing?” someone asked from behind me. I turned to find Gabe and Zeph standing just a few feet away from me.

  Oliver scrambled to his feet and trotted to my side. Of course, he obeyed me now.

  Chapter Forty-two

  “Hi, guys,” I said in my most cheerful vo
ice. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at church?”

  “We left early,” Zeph said. “Church is boring.”

  Gabe nodded.

  I scooped up Oliver. “That’s too bad.” I turned to go. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Were you in Linus’s office?” Gabe asked.

  I paused and half turned to face them. “No, I wasn’t. Petunia pulled the door open.”

  When all else fails blame the goat.

  “You shouldn’t poke in other people’s offices,” Gabe said.

  “You would know about how important it is not to go into another person’s office, wouldn’t you, Gabe?”

  There goes my big mouth again.

  His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

  I ignored his question. “Nothing. You guys have a nice afternoon, okay?”

  Gabe ran in front of me. “What do you mean about the office?”

  I pressed Oliver to my chest. I reminded myself that the Amish were nonviolent and that Gabe was only fifteen years old, although he did outweigh me by a good twenty pounds. I shrugged. “Just making conversation.”

  Zeph stood next to his friend. “Gabe, I think she knows about Wanda’s office.”

  His friend shoved him. “Now she does. You just told her.”

  “Nope.” I shook my head. “I have no idea what you are talking—”

  My denial was cut off as the sheriff’s SUV careened into the grass parking lot. He didn’t stop there and drove right for us with lights flashing. The boys took off in opposite directions. Mitchell and Anderson spilled out of the SUV. Each one took off after a boy. The sheriff could run. I wondered if he had been on the track team when he was in high school.

  Mitchell lunged for Gabe’s knees and took him down. They fell in a heap. I placed Oliver on the ground and ran over to them as Anderson disappeared around the side of the auction barn in pursuit of Zeph.