Material Witness

by Vannetta Chapman

  “What are you doing back here? I thought you were headed to our alternate location.”

  Deborah shook her head as she continued moving toward her buggy. “It’s a mess. The entire day has been nothing but one giant catastrophe.”

  “No one’s been hurt, have they?” Andrew reached out and touched her arm. Deborah couldn’t help patting him on the hand, even if it did mean she got some of his mysterious powder all over her fingers.

  “I think everyone’s fine. I caught Esther and Melinda in time. Melinda turned around and headed back home, so I brought her pies in for her and then forgot about them.” Opening her buggy door, they both peered inside. “Oh, dear.”

  “Looks okay to me.” Gavin took Joshua as she reached inside and pulled out a meringue pie.

  “Meringue isn’t supposed to look like a crater. It’s supposed to be … fluffy.”

  “Where do all these go?”

  “Booth twenty-nine, Melinda’s sister. I was in such a hurry to look for Aaron, Matt, and Noah that I forgot about delivering the pies.”

  “The boys are here?” Gavin’s voice dropped to a rumble.

  “Ya. I think so. I spotted Noah’s buggy. Noah came separately from Melinda. That’s why I turned around and came back. Melinda went on to the house to see if they were still there and wait if necessary, and I came into town to deliver the pies and look for Noah and the boys …” Her voice drifted off as she closed her eyes. The pies were a mess. What now?

  “All right. I’ll call it in to the team — that way we’ll have everyone looking. You take these pies on to the booth. It’ll look more natural to be moving merchandise while you’re looking for them, and you’ll be able to see better from the buggy anyway.” Andrew placed Joshua in the buggy’s seat, then touched Deborah on the shoulder, waited for her to turn and look at him. “Try not to worry. We’re lucky to have run into each other. This way we can work together.”

  Deborah started to say that maybe it wasn’t luck. Maybe it was Gotte’s wille. But before she could get the words out, Andrew leapt for the buggy.

  He reached Joshua too late.

  “Pie. Joshua like pie.”

  One hand in the shoofly, the other in his mouth, he smiled up at her. Deborah knew she should be angry, but then she remembered he hadn’t had much of a lunch and no afternoon snack. She reminded herself that a dangerous man was stalking them, and the priority was to find Melinda’s family.

  “Yes, Joshua likes pie, sweetie.” Turning him around in the front seat so he was sitting and holding the small pie in his lap, she kissed him once on the cheek.

  Climbing into the buggy, she waited for Andrew to untie Cinnamon, then made her way back into the crowd, toward booth twenty-nine. While she slowly crept forward, she watched the people for any sign of Aaron, Matt, or Noah. She searched the faces for a glimpse of the person drawn by the police sketch artist.

  And she occasionally glanced over at her son, perfectly content with his shoofly pie.

  Something about the way he smiled at her convinced her they were going to find a way out of this maze.

  Chapter 12

  ONCE AARON STARTED ROLLING through the festival crowds, he forgot to be afraid.

  For one thing, he and Matt ran into Annie King. She didn’t even ask about the murder, though there were posters in every shop window. Instead she started teasing him right off.

  “Thought your mamm would make you stay home and study your math, Aaron.”

  “Why would she do that?” He squinted up at her, the sun making it hard to see the expression on her face. Not that he needed to see it. Her tone was enough to know she’d have that smirky smile.

  “Why? Because your folks don’t abide B’s, same as mine don’t. ‘Course I don’t make B’s so it’s not a problem.” She plumped out the apron over her dress, then glanced at Matt, who was talking to a few of the older boys from their school.

  “I could tutor you.” She ran her fingers down the strings of her prayer kapp, then twirled them around. Why did she do that? Were the strings bothering her? “If you want me to. Since you’re having problems.”

  “Nein.”

  “Nein, you don’t want me to? Or nein, you’re not having problems? Which do you mean?”

  “I didn’t mean neither one.”

  “You didn’t mean either one.” Her expression suddenly resembled his teacher’s. Except on Annie King’s face, it made Aaron’s head hurt.

  Suddenly Aaron wanted to be moving through the crowd again. Even the risk of being caught by a murderer seemed better than Annie’s questions.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Annie, but I don’t need you coming over to show me numbers.” At precisely that moment, Matt and his freinden stopped talking and started listening. Suddenly, everyone was completely silent, then everyone laughed — everyone except Annie.

  “Fine. Excuse me for offering to help.” She flipped the strings of her prayer kapp behind her and disappeared into the crowd.

  “I will never understand girls,” Aaron muttered.

  Matt said good-bye to his freinden and began pushing Aaron’s chair. “It doesn’t get any easier that I can see.”

  “Don’t notice Mamm and Dat going at it.”

  “True enough, but then maybe they’ve had time to settle down. Look at how old they are.”

  Aaron hadn’t ever thought about it. Were his parents old? They were just his parents. They were the age they were supposed to be.

  Old was Bishop Elam or his grossdaddi or the woman who had died outside Miss Callie’s shop.

  The image came back like a sudden headache brought on by eating ice cream too quickly. The woman looking at the shop, then the Englischer sneaking up behind her. The woman leaping forward, leaping to her death. It replayed through his head over and over in an endless loop.

  “Are you even listening to me?”

  “Ya, ‘course I am.”

  “Then tell me which way you’d rather go.”

  “Doesn’t matter.” Aaron pushed away the memories of the night before and tried to focus on what Matt was saying. “Dat said we had an hour before we were to meet him. He was taking Hannah to see the clog dancers.”

  They waited, indecision freezing them in the crowd.

  “I wouldn’t mind seeing clog dancers,” Aaron admitted as they began moving forward again.

  “Ya, but we’re supposed to be walking around, looking for —”

  “I remember who we’re looking for.” Aaron jerked to the left in his chair as a big Englisch woman with an even bigger purse nearly whopped him on the side of the head.

  The crowds were larger than ever this year. Or maybe he didn’t remember last year as well as he thought he did. Would they even be able to spot the man from last night if he were walking down the sidewalk next to them? “I can’t see anything from here except elbows. Maybe we should try across the street.”

  “Gut idea. I think the booths are drawing all the crowds over to this side.” Matt pulled Aaron’s chair to a stop in front of a red light, but as he did, the light changed to green.

  They started across the busy street, and that’s when Aaron saw it. He saw it at the same moment his bruder did, at the same moment Matt drew in a big breath, and yanked back on the handles of the chair, nearly throwing Aaron out of it with the sudden change in direction.

  Aaron’s eyes were glued on the small blue car barreling toward them and the man and woman seated behind the windshield. Their faces were all wrong, as if they had been covered with paint or mud.

  But the eyes — he would know the eyes of the driver anywhere. He’d seen them — a little less than twenty-four hours ago, and then again in his nightmares.

  Shane had experienced many such moments before, but few of them had involved children.

  Moments when everything happened at once.

  Moments when all other things came to a crashing halt.

  The moment when he first made contact with the perp.

 
; He was walking with his chain saw, headed toward Callie’s shop. It wasn’t his designated time to stop by. The shop was currently covered by one of Taylor’s men who was supposed to be wandering around the store shopping from his wife’s list. Shane had talked to him not five minutes before, and everything was quiet.

  So why was he headed over there?

  Why was he stepping outside of his own plan to calm the worries racing through his mind?

  Because he couldn’t resist the need to confirm with his own eyes that she was fine.

  So he’d closed the tent flap on the booth he’d appropriated from the local vendor and headed toward the quilt shop.

  He noticed the blue Smart Car approaching from the north immediately. The cars were a curiosity — more like a child’s toy than an actual vehicle. He’d seen a few in Fort Wayne, but there weren’t any registered in Shipshewana that he was aware of.

  But he didn’t immediately notice the two people in the vehicle were wearing masks. He was too far back.

  Sunlight glinted off metal.

  He looked to the west, saw Aaron’s wheelchair with Matt pushing it on the edge of the walkway. He had time to register that the boys weren’t supposed to be here. Deborah ought to have intercepted them outside of town. So he changed course, determined to reach Melinda’s boys before they crossed the street. But then the light changed to green and Matt started to push Aaron’s wheelchair as traffic traveling north to south stopped.

  Except for the blue Smart Car.

  It accelerated.

  And it was headed straight for the boys.

  Matt pulled back on the wheelchair at the exact moment Shane pulled out his Glock, stepped forward, and shouted, “Police! Everybody down!”

  The Smart Car swerved in order to hit the boys, but a vendor with a cartful of ice cream either realized what was happening or abandoned his cart out of instinct. He pushed the cart into the street and it careened off the little blue car, sending it in the wrong direction.

  Shane raised his gun and aimed at Callie’s “Creeper” — he knew without a doubt that this was who he was facing — but he quickly realized he couldn’t discharge his weapon in a crowd of people.

  The driver of the car hadn’t slowed down after being hit by the ice-cream cart. As he barreled forward, Shane could see the man was wearing a skintight mask. For a fraction of a second, Shane had a perfect shot, but if he hit the driver, the car would be completely out of control on a crowded street.

  He lowered his weapon.

  As they sped past, Shane focused on the ghoulish black mask the driver was wearing — and the single spot of white that came from his smile. The woman in the passenger seat wore something similar, but her mask was a chalky gray. Based on what little Shane could see, she looked flat-out angry. Bright eyes peeked out from eye holes, and nostrils flared.

  They were impressions made in a split second, but the overall effect was bizarre.

  Shane pulled out his phone. “I want all available vehicles to pursue a blue Smart Car headed south past the square. No license plate visible from the back, but the front bumper is dented on the driver’s side.”

  He listened for less than ten seconds before interrupting Taylor. “Yes, I’m sure it’s him. He’s arrogant. He’s rubbing it in our faces — that’s why he chose such a conspicuous car.”

  This time he had to hold the phone away from his ear. The captain didn’t holler for long. “I didn’t fire my weapon, but my cover is blown. Now put our units on every route to the toll road and alert the security team at the toll-road authority office to watch the cameras.”

  Snapping the phone shut, he returned it to his pocket, then checked his Glock and attempted to move the crowd away from the sight. “Everyone’s okay, folks. The danger’s passed, and you shouldn’t be standing in the middle of the street, so go on with your business.”

  “My ice-cream cart is ruined.” An older gentleman with a completely bald head stood looking at his cart, which was now caved-in on the side that said Fresh Homemade Ice Cream.

  “I need to check on the kids, Fred.”

  “I need to sell this ice cream before it melts. And when did the police start dressing like chain-saw carvers?”

  Shane ignored the question and hurried over to the boys.

  “That was him, wasn’t it?” Aaron’s voice was ragged and his eyes were huge, but he didn’t appear to be hurt.

  Matt looked angry — not that Shane could blame him. Getting mowed down by a Smart Car in broad daylight would raise most anyone’s temper — child or adult.

  “Yeah, I think it was. You boys okay?” He didn’t see any sign of injury.

  “He looked different.”

  “He was wearing a mask,” Shane explained.

  “I’ve never seen a mask like that before.” Matt pulled Aaron’s chair farther out of the sidewalk traffic. “Lots of Englisch kids wear masks around Halloween. Never seen any like that, and I had a pretty close look at those two in the car since they practically ran over us.”

  “From where I was, seemed like they were wearing the more expensive skintight type. They conform precisely to your features,

  but still manage to mask your identity. The effect can be fairly disturbing.” Shane inspected both boys. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

  Aaron nodded.

  Matt frowned even more. “Ya. We’re getting used to this stuff.”

  Shane looked out at the crowd, most of which had dispersed. A few folks continued to mill around, talking, some even pointing at Shane and the children. “Deborah was supposed to find you before you made it to town. I didn’t want you here today. Where are your parents?”

  “Dat’s with Hannah over by the dancers.” Matt drummed his fingers against the chair. “Our mamm was going to arrive a little later. She had to pick up some pies, take them to our aenti’s booth.”

  “All right. I want you to stay with me. We’re going together to find your dad, and he’s going to get you out of here.”

  Shane started to lead them away, but Aaron reached up and stopped him. When his hand closed around Shane’s arm, something inside of Shane began to melt like a scoop of Fred’s ice cream dropped on the pavement on a warm summer day.

  He’d done his best to remain detached.

  On every case he kept an emotional distance, because he thought it made him more objective, helped him to do a better job.

  But when Aaron wrapped his fingers around Shane’s arm and looked up into his eyes — looked up with fear but also hope — Shane knew he wouldn’t be able to keep all of his barriers in place during this investigation.

  “You don’t think he’ll try to kill us again, do you?”

  “Not today.”

  “That’s a relief,” Matt muttered. “At least we can grab some food in peace.”

  Shane recognized the anger and frustration in the boy’s voice, but he didn’t call him on it. In fact, Matt reminded Shane of himself. He’d been the same age as this boy when he’d been caught up in a similar drama, a drama he’d rather not dwell on.

  But Shane understood the need to protect one’s family ran deep.

  When you couldn’t protect your family, when you were too young or too weak, it broke something in you. Something it sometimes took years to heal.

  Chapter 13

  ESTHER WAS IN THE KITCHEN, scrubbing vegetables in the sink, when she saw the first of the buggies traveling down the lane. By the time they trundled past the pond, the same pond where she’d once stopped to pick flowers and found a young girl’s body, she was standing on the front porch, wiping her hands on a dishtowel.

  “Simon asleep?” Tobias asked her, loping up onto the porch in three long strides. He stood close, as if he needed to protect her, but they both knew the buggies approaching carried friends.

  Friends who needed their help.

  “He’s awake, but in his crib. I thought it best to leave him there for the moment.”

  Tobias glanced back through the screen do
or.

  “Don’t worry.” Esther reached up, touched the beard that had come in so thick during the past year. “We’ll hear him through the open window if he cries.”

  A grin spread across Tobias’ face. “Ya. His cry is healthy.”

  “How would you know? You jump up in the middle of the night before his second yelp is out of his mouth.” She meant it half as a tease and half as a scold. She feared her husband was spoiling their son, and Esther was not one to indulge a child. But Tobias didn’t even bother to deny it. The smile on his face grew, and he even chuckled. He was impossible. He was worse than Leah on Christmas.

  “Mamm, is everyone coming to dinner?” Leah, Esther’s three-year-old daughter from her first marriage, put down the two dolls she’d been playing with on the porch swing and walked over to join them.

  “Yes, Leah.”

  “Like on Sundays?”

  “Just like on Sundays,” Tobias said.

  There were now four buggies in sight, and Esther wouldn’t relax until at least one Englisch car had been added to the mix. She wanted her friends near her and safe. She wanted this thing to be over.

  Melinda pulled up first. All three children were riding with her. Noah had brought the second buggy, and Esther wondered about that. Did it mean he wasn’t intending to stay?

  Behind them Deborah drove her smaller buggy, and Jonas drove the large buggy filled with all five of their children.

  They’d barely come to a stop when Reuben walked out of the barn he insisted on living in despite the fact that there was plenty of room in the house. Over dinner last night she’d once again asked him why he wouldn’t move into the extra bedroom, but Reuben had simply scratched his sideburns, winked, and said he expected that room would be full before very long.

  Reuben was Tobias’ cousin, but the two might as well have been brothers. They’d worked the farm together for years. Perhaps they were close because they’d both waited to marry, which was unusual in their community. Reuben was still single. Sometimes she wondered if he would always be single. There was a story there Esther still hadn’t heard — a story Tobias claimed he didn’t know. She hoped Reuben would share it with her one day, but she realized it might remain a mystery. He was private about some things.