by Debby Giusti
“I’m asking. This deal he has with the mayor to sell abandoned property sounds a little too sweet.”
“Then maybe you should discuss it with the mayor.” She huffed.
“What about Mose Miller? Ralph’s involved with him in some way. What do you know about that?”
She glanced down and started rearranging the papers on her desk.
“You know something, Gloria.” He stepped closer. “What’s going on?”
She shook her head. “You’ll have to ask Ralph. I don’t know anything about Mose Miller except that he and Emma are going to have a baby.”
“Is it about buying land? Or scaring folks off their property so Brad can sell the land at a lower price?”
“That’s absurd.” She glanced at her boss’s office. “I need to get back to work, William. Thanks for stopping by.”
The phone rang. She lifted the receiver to her ear and glared at him as if willing him to leave.
He’d leave, but he knew she wasn’t telling the truth. Something was going on between Ralph and Mose. He didn’t trust either of them. Brad Abbott could be involved, too.
William hurried outside, but his heart stopped when he looked at the parking spot where he’d left Julianne.
Her car was gone, and so was she.
FIFTEEN
Julianne placed the gas nozzle back in the pump, relieved she had looked at her car’s fuel gauge. If she and William had headed up the mountain with a near empty tank of gas, they could have ended up stranded on the side of the road.
She rounded her car to climb behind the wheel when she saw Emma Miller come out of the fabric shop. Hurrying toward her, she waved her hand. “Emma.”
The Amish woman turned and started to smile, then glanced down the road before she crossed the street, carrying her shopping bag.
“Julianne, I heard you had been injured. What is happening?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”
“You are all right?”
“A little bruised and confused about why someone wants me gone.” She stared at Emma. “Would Mose try to scare me away?”
“Of course not. Mose has a temper, this is true, but he is not a wicked man.”
“I didn’t say he was. What about the key to my house, Emma? Did you find it?”
“Not yet.”
“You mentioned evidence Bennie had collected. I searched but could find nothing at the house. Do you know where he hid the information?”
A buggy sounded behind them. Emma glanced over her shoulder, a worried look on her face. She squeezed Julianne’s hand. “Get into your car and drive away now. Mose must not see you.”
Emma hurried back toward the fabric shop.
Mose drew his buggy to a stop, hopped out and then grabbed his wife’s arm and shoved her toward the rig. Julianne’s heart broke seeing the way he treated Emma.
She started across the street. “Stop it, Mose. You’re hurting Emma. Let go of her.”
He snarled, shoved Emma into the buggy and climbed in next to her.
Julianne moved closer. “Emma, you don’t have to settle for that kind of treatment. Let me help you.”
Her friend shook her head. Fear flashed from her eyes.
Julianne had made the situation worse, when all she’d wanted was to help Emma.
Mose grabbed the whip and applied it to the mare. The horse took off at a fast clip, heading right for Julianne. Emma screamed and tried to grab the reins. He shoved her aside, flicked the reins and urged the mare to go even faster.
Julianne jumped back just before the buggy raced past her.
Emma stared at Julianne and mouthed something.
Julianne shook her head, trying to let Emma know she couldn’t understand what her friend was trying to tell her.
Emma glanced at her husband and then back at Julianne. She pretended to pull something from the waistband of her dress and press it to her ear. A phone. A cell phone.
Emma was telling Julianne where Bennie might have hidden the evidence. On his cell phone.
* * *
William was overcome with dread as Mose raced his buggy down the street, going much too fast. Instinctively, Will knew Julianne had been involved. He ran to the intersection and stared in the direction from which the buggy had just come.
Julianne stood on the side of road.
“What happened?” he asked as he hurried toward her.
“Mose is a twisted man, which makes me all the more concerned about Emma.” Julianne quickly explained what had happened. “I shouldn’t have called out to him, but I didn’t want Emma to get hurt.”
“You tried to help. That’s not a bad thing.”
“There has to be someone Mose would listen to. The bishop or one of the other preachers, perhaps?”
“Growing up, Mose had seemed to admire Deacon Abe Schwartz. His farm is on the mountain road. We’ll pass it on our way to Ike Vaughn’s cabin.”
“Deacon Schwartz will probably ignore me, but let’s stop, anyway. You might be able to convince him to talk to Mose. Someone has to.”
Abe owned a considerable amount of land. He was training a horse in the paddock when Julianne pulled the car to a stop not far from the house. Abe scowled at her as she climbed from the car, then turned his back and continued to work with the young filly.
“I told you he wouldn’t want to see me.”
William recognized the pain in Julianne’s voice.
Mrs. Schwartz stepped onto the porch and wiped her hands on a dish towel. “Why, Julianne Graber, I heard you had come home to Mountain Loft. We’ve missed you.”
The words of welcome brought a smile to Julianne’s lips. “William wanted to talk to Deacon Schwartz for a few minutes.”
“Good to see you, Will.” Mrs. Schwartz motioned him forward. “Go to the paddock. Abe will talk to you there.”
Abe stopped working with the filly as Will neared the gate to the paddock. The deacon glanced at where Julianne and his wife chatted. “I hope you have not come to tell me your heart has taken over your head. Julianne Graber is a pretty woman, and had she remained Amish, I could see you together, but she has abandoned her past. Her mistake should not be yours.”
Surprised that the deacon thought he was leaving his faith behind, William was quick to reassure him. “I have no intention of leaving the faith, Deacon Schwartz. I am a better man living within the community, but there is another matter I want to discuss with you.”
He explained what he had observed concerning Mose and his wife. “He could use your counsel.”
Abe nodded and rubbed his beard. “I am going to town today and will stop on the way to talk to the bishop. You are not the first to mention a concern. I am disappointed Mose’s father has not addressed the problem.”
“Either he looks the other way,” William said, “or it’s more likely Mose has closed his ears to his father’s advice.”
Abe nodded. “As we both know, life can get complicated when one strays from the dictates of Gott.”
William was grateful he had seen the errors of his own youthful ways. He hoped Mose would, as well.
Whether the deacon talked to him or not, Mose Miller was trouble, and William needed to ensure he never had an opportunity to hurt Julianne again.
* * *
The mountain road was worse than the drive from Dahlonega, and Julianne’s hands ached from her tight grip on the steering wheel. She hugged the mountain and tried not to glance over the drop-off on the far side of the narrow two-lane road.
“Why would the deputy move up here?” she asked. “Having to drive along such a treacherous roadway would make me a nervous wreck.”
“From what Terry said, Ike was fed up with the sheriff. He probably wanted to distance himself from people in town, as well.” William pointed to the bend in the road. �
��His cabin should be on the other side of the bend. I’ve been up here before.”
“Were you friends with Seth Reynolds?”
“For a short period of time. I knew one of Seth’s uncles, the one who owned the cabin initially. Ralph lived with him for a while before Seth got into trouble with the law.”
“You know everyone.”
William chuckled. “I should have done a better job picking the people with whom I associated in my youth. I’m thankful Seth’s antics didn’t rub off on me and grateful I found other people to call my friends.”
“Like Bennie.”
Will nodded. “Bennie and I were more like brothers, growing up on neighboring farms. He was a good influence and had a better head on his shoulders than I did in my teen years.”
“Bennie knew what he wanted and what was important. He had his life planned out, and he was making his dreams come true. Until...”
William rubbed her arm as they rounded the bend. The small cabin stood on a rise.
“Turn onto the dirt road and stop some distance from the house. I don’t want Ike to think we’re up to no good.”
Julianne pulled onto the dirt drive and parked.
“Perfect,” William said. “He’ll be able to see us from here and realize we’re friends and not foes.”
“You’re making me afraid of meeting Deputy Vaughn.”
“He suggested I leave Mountain Loft after Bennie and your datt died.”
“Suggested as in ordered you to leave?”
“Hardly. He advised me like a father would. Told me people would talk because Bennie and I were close. With my penchant for getting into scrapes, he said I would be the likely target when folks were looking for someone to blame.”
“And you believed him?”
He shrugged. “I knew how people talked, and some folks turned up their noses when I walked by them.”
“Like the way Deacon Schwartz treated me.”
“You understand how that feels.”
She nodded. “And I don’t blame you for leaving.”
“At that time, my datt and I couldn’t see eye to eye on anything, so it seemed like the best thing to do. Later, I realized I was being cowardly. It’s a better man who stays instead of running away.”
“Then you can call me a coward.” She sighed. “I ran away and never planned to come back.”
“But you’re here now, which is all that matters.” His smile warmed her heart as he grabbed the door handle. “I’ll see if I can locate Ike.”
“After that killer drive, I’ll be disappointed if we don’t find him.”
William stepped from the car, closed the door with a slam and waited to see if he got a response. The door to the cabin remained closed.
Julianne was worried. The last thing she wanted was to surprise the deputy.
Heart pounding at a rapid pace, she stepped out of the car and kept her gaze on the wooded area surrounding the cabin. Julianne didn’t like surprises, especially from a man who might not want visitors encroaching on his property and his privacy.
SIXTEEN
Julianne continued to stare at the wooded area and the path that ran around the rear of the house. William cupped his hand around his mouth and called the deputy’s name.
“It’s William Lavy, sir. I need to talk to you.”
The barrel of a rifle appeared at the corner of the small barn. A man stepped into view. He looked to be in his sixties and had gray hair and a full beard.
He glared at both of them. “You’re trespassing on private property so state your business and don’t give me any guff.”
“Sir, remember me? I’m William Lavy from Mountain Loft. You reached out to me a number of times when I was a teen. I appreciated your advice, even if I did not always comply with your directives.”
The older man narrowed his gaze. “Your daddy was Benjamin Lavy?”
Will nodded. “My family lived on the road to the lake near the Grabers.” He pointed to Julie. “This is Daniel Graber’s daughter, Julianne.”
Ike stared at her. “You look like your mother.”
She smiled at the compliment. “I need to talk to you about my father’s and brother’s deaths.”
He glanced around them at the car. “Anyone else with you?”
William shook his head. “No, sir. Deputy Terence O’Reilly told us you didn’t side with Sheriff Taylor when it came to the Graber investigation.”
“What investigation? Paul Taylor took the easy way out.” As Julianne watched, Ike set his jaw in frustration and then pointed to the Adirondack chairs on the porch. “Have a seat. We can talk out here and enjoy the fresh air.”
“As you know all too well, Mr. Vaughn,” Julianne began once they had settled into the chairs, “Sheriff Paul Taylor decided, following a rather brief criminal investigation, that my brother, Bennie, argued with my father, shot him and then turned the gun on himself in what the sheriff claimed was a murder-suicide. I wanted to get your opinion. You were there that morning.”
Ike rubbed his beard. “The call came while I was on duty, although I can’t remember who contacted Dispatch.”
“My datt ran to a neighbor’s phone shack and called the sheriff’s office,” Will explained. “I stayed with Julianne.”
The former deputy nodded. “I was in my patrol car, hit the lights and siren and got out there fast as I could.” He glanced at Julianne. “I’m not sure how much you remember, girlie, but it was the worst crime we’ve had in this town.”
“Did the sheriff arrive soon after you?” she asked.
“Took him a bit of time, but he got there. I taped off the area, took photos on my phone and searched the yard for evidence.”
“Did you find anything?”
He shook his head. “Nothing in the yard.”
“What about inside the house?”
“Daniel Graber was on the floor at the foot of the stairs with a gunshot wound to his chest.”
“And my brother, Bennie?”
“That’s the strange part. He’s sitting there with his back against the wall, shot in the chest, but he was still clutching his weapon.”
William scooted closer. “He should have dropped the gun?”
Ike shrugged. “That’s hard to say, but there was blood spatter higher on the wall.”
“So he shot himself when he was standing,” William said. “That makes sense, right?”
“Except he slipped down into a perfect sitting position and died there. A little too nice and neat if you ask me. Plus, as I said, his fingers were still curled around the weapon.”
Julianne rubbed her hand over her temple, trying to remove the image that seemed too real.
“What about fingerprints on the weapon?” Will asked.
“We only found Bennie’s prints, but the gun could have been wiped clean and then placed in his hand.” Ike paused for a moment. “When men take their own lives with a handgun, they don’t want to survive.” He glanced at Julianne. “I hate to upset you, ma’am, but they usually aim at their heads.”
She grimaced.
“One more thing.” Ike held up two fingers. “There were two bullets and two shell casings. Sheriff Taylor should have sent them off for a ballistics check. Pretty basic protocol for a death investigation, only he presumed they came from the same weapon, namely Bennie’s nine-millimeter Smith & Wesson.”
“The gun my brother was holding belonged to him?”
Ike nodded. “He had purchased the weapon two weeks earlier from a dealer in Willkommen, but I can’t say for sure that either man was killed by Bennie’s Smith & Wesson.”
“I saw my father on the floor when I came home that night, then someone behind me said my name.” She raked her hand through her hair. “At least, I think it was my name. Before I could turn around, something struck me on the head.�
��
“Did you think it was your brother?” he asked.
“I wasn’t thinking, but if someone else killed my father, wouldn’t they have also killed me?”
She shared what her brother’s former girlfriend had told them about Bennie meeting with a man involved in some type of illegal operation. “At that time, Ike, did you suspect anything underhanded was going on in town?”
The retired deputy shrugged. “A lot can happen when people are greedy for money and power. I thought the sheriff was a little too tight with the mayor and listened to his counsel more than I would have liked.” He glanced at Will. “That’s why I suggested you leave town for a while after the murders. Out of sight, out of mind, if you know what I mean. People were eager to jump to conclusions, and I knew you weren’t involved.”
“I’m grateful for your support.”
Ike chuckled. “That’s not to say you were a model kid, Will, but your heart was in the right place. Plus, I knew your dad. He didn’t give anyone the benefit of the doubt. Hard to live up to his standards, I’m sure.”
“We reconciled after he got sick. I was able to forgive him, and he forgave me. That healed a lot of past pain.”
Julianne could feel William’s gaze.
“Sometimes we hang on to baggage that needs to be tossed down the mountain,” he added.
The deputy nodded. “I retired because I was angry about how justice was carried out in town. Living up here...” He glanced around the property. “Living here puts everything in perspective. I had to let the past go.”
“You bought this cabin from the Reynolds family,” William said. “Seth is out of jail now and driving a new SUV, from what I’ve heard.”
Ike whistled. “The sheriff needs to check out where he’s getting his money. Truth is, I bought the cabin from Seth’s uncle. He’s not much better than his nephew. I’m convinced he’s got a still near the creek, but I haven’t found it yet.”
“He’s making moonshine?”
“That’s right, and selling it to some of the mountain men. Seth might be working for him, but I doubt he could afford an SUV, no matter how much moonshine he sells.”