Anna removed her heavy black bonnet and set it on a table by the window. There was a rocking chair there, too. That’s where my aunt always sat and quilted while she waited for customers. “Any customers this afternoon, Martha?” Anna asked.
Martha polished the counter with vinegar and the sour scent silenced through the air. “Nee. The wind and snow have kept them away. How did your visit with Lily Eby go? Did she take the quilt?”
I shook my head. “It’s in the car.”
“Can’t say I’m surprised,” Martha said. “I don’t expect she was happy to talk about Eric Schmidt.”
“She wasn’t, but she did talk to us,” I said and shared what we learned from Lily.
Martha set her polishing rag aside. “I didn’t know that was why she and Cooper Mueller stopped courting. He must have left the Amish over it, too.” She began polishing again. “It is a sad story, but you have done your part. You fulfilled Evelyn’s wishes for your aunt. You should be enjoying your aunt’s company.”
The store was much warmer than the mercantile had been. The radiator hummed under the window. “We are just starting to learn what happened. We can’t stop now,” I said as I unzipped my parka.
Martha stepped behind the counter and placed the bottle of vinegar and rag behind it. “Ya, you can. It is not your place to learn more.”
Oliver held out a booted paw to me.
“No, Oliver, you need to keep them on.” I turned my attention back to Martha. “This is what my aunt wants me to do.”
“How about this?” Anna asked. “Angie, you and I will go and visit Lily’s sister, Violet, the girl Eric was courting at the time. If she doesn’t tell us anything new, we will drop it.”
I worried my lip. I wanted to know what happened, but without the help from the ladies in the quilting circle, I wouldn’t learn much from the Amish in town. “Okay,” I said finally. “That sounds fair.”
Martha scowled and muttered something in Pennsylvania Dutch.
I didn’t need to understand the language to know she wasn’t happy with the plan. “I’ve said it before, but you should not waste the precious time you have with Eleanor on this. I know she misses you. You should visit more often, you know.”
I squirmed under her light criticism because I knew that she spoke the truth. Since I moved to Texas at the age of ten, I had only been back to Holmes County three or four times as a child to spend the summers with my aunt. The last time I visited was nearly twenty years ago.
“Martha, leave the girl be,” Anna said. “She is here now, and that’s what matters.”
Martha pursed her lips but didn’t say anything more. “And what are you going to say to Violet? Are you going to try to give her the quilt, too?”
“No,” I said. “But if Lily remembers that day so vividly, I imagine Violet does, too. It was her boyfriend who died.”
The bell on the door rang and Rachel stepped into the shop. Her eyes were glowing. “I have some information,” she said, sounding excited. “When I got back to the bakery, I told my Aaron about the letter. My husband’s uncle overheard us. He said that Cooper and Eric were going to open a business together in Rolling Brook.”
“What kind of business?” Martha asked.
Rachel shrugged. “He doesn’t remember, but he does remember talking to both of them at the barn raising. They wanted to know about good spots in Rolling Brook to open a new store. He told them that Sugartree Street is always the best place in town.”
“Did Aaron’s uncle see Eric fall?” I asked.
“Nee, he left before that happened. Even back then he went to bed so early in order to be at the bakery by three in the morning.”
I smiled at Anna. “Maybe Violet knows.”
• • •
Violet Graber and her family were town Amish. They lived in a two story house just two blocks from Sugartree Street.
I parked on the street in front of the white-sided and black-shuttered home. “I’m surprised they live in town. Is that becoming more common?”
“It is. Not every son can inherit his father’s farm.” Anna unbuckled her seat belt. “My nephew’s older brother inherited the farm from their father, so Edward works for a construction company. He has jobs all over the area and as far away as Cleveland.”
The door opened at our knock. A plump Amish woman was at the door. She wiped her hands on her apron. “Anna, this is a surprise. It’s gut to see you. What brings you by?”
Anna removed her bonnet. “This is Eleanor’s niece, Angie. I’ve agreed to take her about town.”
“I’m glad that you did.” She glanced down at Oliver, who stood patiently at my feet. “And who is this?”
Oliver held out his paw for a shake, and she obliged. The little canine charmer won Violet over immediately. “My children would love you. Please come inside. It’s cold out. Oliver, you come in, too.”
Inside the house, Oliver’s boots squeaked on the pine wood floors as he made a beeline for the raging fireplace.
“Have a seat,” Violet said. A baby amused himself with a set of simple blocks on a quilt. “That is my youngest, Andrew. I just finished preparing for supper and was about sit for a spell before the children arrive home from school. I made kaffi. Would you like a cup?”
Anna and I both nodded.
While Violet was busy in the kitchen, I examined my surroundings. The interior of the home was like any other house in town, except for the lack of things: television, phones, and electrical outlets, all of which were only noticeable in their absence.
The baby crawled over to Anna and held his arms out. Anna picked up the child and murmured to him in their language. He tried to pull her glasses off.
Violet reappeared with a tray of coffee and sugar cookies. “I see Andrew has given you a proper welcome.” She sent the tray on the coffee table and took the child from Anna’s lap.
“Is Edward here?” Anna asked.
“Nee. He’s on a job in Canton. I don’t expect him home until late. The money is gut for the family, but I wish he didn’t have to be away so much.” She put Andrew back on his blanket. “Angie, how do you like your coffee?”
The question gave me pause. There was the way that I liked my coffee and there was the way Ludvik liked my coffee. “Cream and sugar please,” I said. Admittedly, that was not Ludvik’s way.
She smiled. “That’s how I like it, too.”
Anna dipped a chocolate cookie into her black coffee. “We saw Lily earlier today.”
Violet handed me the mug of coffee and a cookie. “That’s nice. I’m sure she and Ira were busy. They always seem to have plenty of customers in the store.”
I stared at the cookie, thinking that I really shouldn’t eat it. It was wrong. Ludvik would pop one of his overdeveloped blood vessels if he knew. As if sensing my indecision, Oliver was at my feet, gazing longingly at the cookie. I took a bite and suppressed a happy groan. I did it for Oliver, not for myself. Dogs shouldn’t have chocolate. It was poisonous to them.
Anna set her mug on the side table closest to her. “Violet, we had a special reason to visit your sister today.”
Violet stopped her mug halfway to her mouth. “You did? What was that?”
“We thought you could help us, too,” Anna added.
Violet watched us over the edge of her mug. “Is something wrong? Did something happen?”
“You know Evelyn Schmidt passed,” I said.
Violet nodded. “The poor woman. She had so many troubles.”
“She left my aunt a quilt with a note asking her to give it to your sister, Lily, and to ask Lily about her son’s death.”
Violet set the mug aside. She leaned over and picked up her baby, as if she needed the comfort the child offered just then. “Eric? Why would she do that? It was so long ago.”
Violet bounced Andrew on her knee. “I know that. She said it to me on several occasions, but Evelyn was ill. She thought many strange things. You should have heard the stories Eric would tell me about his mother’s antics.”
“Eric was courting you at the time he died.” I selected another cookie from the tray. Ludvik was going to kill me.
Violet focused on the top her child’s head. “Ya.”
“What can you tell us about the day that Eric died?” I asked.
“I wasn’t there.”
“It was your farm,” I said.
“I was a waitress for one the Amish restaurants in Berlin and worked a double shift on the day of the barn raising.” She bounced the baby hard, and the child began to whimper. She stopped shaking her leg and murmured to Andrew in Pennsylvania Dutch.
Anna scrunched up her nose, which caused her glasses to slide down it. “The restaurant wouldn’t let you have a day off for the barn raising?”
“I asked to work the extra time,” Violet said.
“Why did you do that?” Anna asked. “Typically, all the family members are expected to be there for such a work frolic.”
She set Andrew back on his quilt. “Eric and I had had an argument the day before, and I was still angry at him. I didn’t want to see him. I know that’s childish, but I was young.”
“What did you fight about?”
She concentrated on her child gumming the edge of the quilt. I opened my mouth to ask again. Anna shook her head ever-so-slightly, and I snapped my jaw shut.
“We fought over when we were to be married. I wanted to marry that October. We had agreed to that timing months before. My mamm was in the middle of plans and preparations for our wedding. She planted a whole patch of celery, so everyone knew I was to marry.”
My brow furrowed. “Celery? What does celery have to do with it?”
Anna smiled at my confusion. “Many Amish families plant celery to announce a coming wedding. It is a tradition.”
“A celery tradition?” I asked.
“It’s a vegetable that grows well in cold weather, so since Amish weddings are held in the fall after harvest time, it is often served at weddings.”
Violet nodded. “With all that celery sprouting up in my mother’s garden, I would be humiliated to call off the wedding. The entire district knew Eric and I were courting. I was the eldest daughter. They knew the celery was for me.” She touched rim of her coffee mug with her forefinger. “If we didn’t marry that fall, then everyone would assume we would never marry. The Amish don’t have long engagements like some Englisch.”
Internally, I winced. What would Violet think if she knew that my relationship with Ryan was a seven-year odyssey? Now both in our mid-thirties, we were just talking about walking down the aisle. My mother would agree with Violet’s assessment that English engagements were too long. If she had her way, Ryan and I would have married on our first date. Better yet, she would have planned an arranged marriage for me by this point.
I wrapped my hands around my coffee mug. “You didn’t go to the barn raising to punish Eric?”
She nodded. “I thought if I gave Eric the silent treatment, he would change his mind. I was so young and naïve.” She kissed the top of Andrew’s head. “He died knowing I was angry with him.”
“Do you think his death was an accident?” Anna asked.
“I do,” Violet said. “But . . .”
I stopped myself before I grabbed a third cookie. “But what?”
“He was upset about something a few days before he died. His black mood led to our argument. I kept pressing him and asking him why he wanted to postpone the wedding. He was angry with me. He said I behaved like an Englisch woman. As an Amish man, he didn’t have to explain himself to me.”
I winced. I didn’t think I would make a very good Amish woman. How could my aunt be comfortable with such a way of life? However, I could never imagine Uncle Jacob speaking to my aunt in that way. He adored her. “Eric never said what was bothering him?”
“Not outright, but I suspected that it had something to do with the store.”
“Store?” I leaned forward in my chair. This must be the business Rachel’s father-in-law remembered. “What store?”
“You don’t know? I’m sure Evelyn knew of it.”
I didn’t tell her how vague Evelyn’s note was. A few more clues in it would have been nice.
Violet continued, “Eric and Cooper wanted to open an Amish bike shop in Rolling Brook. Bike riding is a popular way to travel for the Amish, and they thought the business would do well here in town.”
Anna finished her coffee. “I never heard about an Amish bike shop opening in Rolling Brook.”
“The boys had just agreed to join with Englisch partners to start the business.”
“Who were they?” I asked.
“I’ve never met them, but they were two brothers. Their last name was Dudek. They have an Englisch bicycle shop in the county.”
I placed “Dudek” in my mental file to find more information about later.
“Why do you think it was the bike shop that was bothering him?” I asked.
She sighed. “A few days before the barn raising, I planned to surprise him at work. He worked at a factory that built mobile homes for Englischers near Walnut Creek. I took a picnic lunch with me.” She blushed. “I thought it was very daring. Amish girls are taught not to be so forward. I cringe to think of my girls behaving in the same way. While I waited for him, I overheard him speaking with Cooper. I knew that it was wrong. The two were having a disagreement. They weren’t fighting, but I could tell they were at odds. Ira’s name came up. Eric wanted Ira to be part of the bicycle business, and Cooper did not. The three boys were gut friends.”
“Why would Cooper exclude Ira then?” Anna asked.
“I thought it was because Ira had a not-so-secret crush on Lily, and Cooper didn’t like it.”
Considering Lily was married to Ira now, and not Cooper, Cooper had a good reason to think that. Would Cooper push his business partner off the Wittmer’s barn roof because of Lily? Had it been Ira who fell off the roof, I would say yes. But it wasn’t Ira; it was Eric, who was outside of the love triangle.
“How did Lily feel about Ira at that time?” I asked, squinting a little while waiting for Violet’s reaction to my question. “I mean, she did end up marrying him.”
“My sister only had eyes for Cooper then. She only started to notice Ira and his attention after she and Cooper were through.”
“Which wasn’t long after Eric died, correct?”
She frowned. “What are you implying?”
“Lily broke up with Cooper because of Eric’s death,” I said simply.
Violet stood, collecting our coffee mugs. “Angie, do you think Cooper pushed Eric off of the roof?”
I didn’t know what to think.
“Do you know where we can find Cooper?” Anna asked. “Lily said that he joined the Englisch.”
Violet nodded. “He did.” She frowned at Anna. “I thought you knew. Cooper Mueller is a Holmes County judge.”
That was a surprise. Not only did Cooper leave the Amish community, but he became an elected official, which goes against everything the Amish were taught. “I guess I need an audience with the judge,” I said.
Chapter Six
After our visit with Violet, I drove Martha back to my aunt’s farm to collect her buggy. She had promised one of her daughters that she would look after her children while the daughter went grocery shopping that afternoon. When I stepped inside my aunt’s home, I found her asleep on the sofa. Her cheeks were gaunt but rosy. I was relieved to see some of her good coloring had returned. I covered her with a quilt. I d
idn’t have the heart to wake her up and decided that it was a good time to track down Judge Mueller. I believed since I was English, I would have more luck talking to Cooper alone than with an Amish woman at my side.
Oliver had had enough wintery adventure for the day and opted to stay behind with my aunt.
The best place to start my search for the judge was the county courthouse in Millersburg, the Holmes county seat. Amish drove through the town often, but it was very much an English town with English shops and businesses. The courthouse was an imposing sandstone building with dozens of arched windows and a four-sided clock tower perched on the roof. The statue of a Civil War solider stood guard on a pedestal in green, which was buried under a thick blanket of snow.
I parked the monster SUV on the curb beside a yellow Amish-buggy-crossing sign. There were signs just like it all over the county.
I stepped out of the car and walked around it. As I stepped on the sidewalk, I slipped on a patch of black ice. My feet went out from under me, and I landed hard on my backside with a thunk. My teeth rattled inside my head. “Ouch,” I whimpered.
I sat there for a few seconds shaking my head to compose myself. The street was abandoned, so I didn’t have to suffer the embarrassment of anyone seeing me fall, or at least that’s what I thought.
“Miss, are you all right?” Footsteps ran in my direction.
Good-bye dignity. It was nice knowing you. I struggled to my feet.
A strong hand slipped under my elbow and helped me the rest of the way up. I felt a blush creep across my face when I found a man in a sheriff’s department calf-length winter coat and baseball cap examining me. The man’s eyes were piercing blue and complimented his salt and pepper hair nicely. I dropped my gaze from his hypnotic eyes to his chest. The badge of his coat read, “Sheriff Mitchell.” Not only was he a member of the sheriff’s department, he was the sheriff himself. Should I tell him about Evelyn’s fifteen-year-old suspicions? I felt myself blush as I pulled my elbow from his grasp. “I’m fine. I should be more careful.”
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