Premeditated Peppermint

by Amanda Flower

  Aiden, who I suspected never swore unless under extreme duress, cursed. He took a deep breath. “Bailey, what are you doing here? Do you realize that I could have shot you, or you, Cass? That this is a murder victim’s room, and the killer could have come back here? What on earth were you thinking?”

  It was time to distract Aiden. I reached into my coat pocket and removed the plain wooden rattle.

  “What is that?” Aiden asked.

  “It’s an Amish baby rattle, or at least that’s my best guess. I came here to talk to Linc about Eric’s television show,” I began.

  “And about Jethro,” Cass interjected.

  I gave her a look. “While I was leaving”—I hadn’t been technically leaving at the time, but Aiden didn’t need to know that—“an Amish man ran down the stairs and dropped this, kind of like when Cinderella dropped her slipper.”

  Aiden made a face at my analogy.

  “Anyway, I saw that he came out of this room, and I was just curious.”

  “I thought you said you were downstairs,” Aiden said in a tone that told me he was trying to catch me in a lie.

  “Well, I did come upstairs to see which room he was running away from,” I admitted, fudging the order of events just a bit to lessen Aiden’s annoyance with me, or at least I hoped it would.

  Jethro wandered out from around the bed. He had one of Rocky’s heels in his mouth. It looked as if he had been gnawing on the heel. He dropped it at Aiden’s feet like a cat offering up a dead mouse.

  “And why is he here?” He pointed at the pig.

  “Your mom wanted me to talk to Linc about making Jethro a television star.”

  “We got him cast, by the way,” Cass said proudly. “Your mom will be very happy with Bailey. I’m giving her all the credit. She has more potentially on the line than I do.”

  Aiden looked at the ceiling as if he were appealing to the heavens for help. The thin curtains ruffled in the breeze, catching his attention. “Did you open the window?” Aiden asked.

  “No,” I said. “It was open when we got here. I think that’s how the Amish perp got in.”

  “Amish perp?” Aiden tried hard to suppress his smile but failed.

  Good. I needed Aiden to be in a good mood. I wasn’t sure how I was going to tell him about the clipping featuring the Christmas tree farm hidden in Rocky’s makeup bag.

  I knew Aiden would find out I had searched the room if I admitted that I had found the advertisement.

  “Did your officers search this room?” I asked.

  Aiden scowled. “Of course, and I searched it myself. We took all pertinent evidence with us.”

  “Then why are you back here?” Cass asked. “If you had already searched the place, why come back?”

  Aiden holstered his gun at his hip. “I’m investigating a murder. It’s not unusual to visit a scene several times. To make sure nothing was missed.”

  Well, something was missed, I thought, thinking of the advertisement in the bathroom.

  “That makes sense,” Cass said graciously.

  I felt my best friend watching me. Cass knew me better than just about anyone. She knew when I was holding something back.

  “Little,” Aiden said. “Take photos of the footprint for us, and call the crime scene techs to come in and see if they can lift the print.” Aiden studied me. “After you are done taking the photos, I want you to give the room a thorough search again. From top to bottom. Be creative. Think of every possible place someone could hide something. There had to be a reason someone broke into this room. He was looking for something.”

  The younger deputy did everything but salute his superior. His hero worship of Aiden was out on full display. He removed a large SLR camera from the equipment bag. “Right away, Deputy Brody.”

  “We will be in the hall,” Aiden said. He walked to the door and raised his eyebrow at me when I didn’t immediately follow him. “Bailey? Cass?”

  I picked up Jethro and carried him out the door. Cass trailed behind me. The hallway was quiet, just as it had been when Cass and I had first entered the room.

  “I think you need to be a little more honest with me, Bailey, as to why you were in Rocky’s room.”

  “I told you about the Amish man. In fact, why aren’t you out looking for him now? He’s most likely the killer.”

  Aiden opened his mouth as if he were about to reply to the question when Little came through the open door. “Deputy Brody, I think I found something.”

  Little was wearing latex gloves and held the glossy ad about the Christmas tree farm out to Aiden. He held it by the corner, so everyone had a clear view of the ad. I gave a sigh of relief. Now I wouldn’t have to point Aiden in the direction of the Christmas tree farm ad.

  Cass saw the ad too. I could feel her watching me. I gave a slight shake of my head, hoping that she would understand that meant for her to ask me later.

  Aiden removed a leather glove from the pocket of his department-issued bomber jacket and put it on. He took the ad from Little’s hand. “Where was it?” Aiden asked, seeming surprised that the deputy had actually found something.

  Deputy Little puffed out his chest with pride. “It was in the lining of her makeup bag. Very well concealed. That’s the only reason I can think that we might have missed it before.”

  “That’s the same Christmas tree farm that is selling trees at the Christmas Market on the square,” I said as if this were a new discovery for me as well. “I wonder why Rocky would have the ad, and if she did, why she would hide it in her makeup bag? Must be important.”

  Aiden eyed me as if he wanted to say something but was holding it back. I’m guessing that was because Little and maybe Cass were there. “Must be.” He turned his attention back to the young deputy. “Bag it. We’ll take it into evidence. It seems that I need to have a little chat with Thad.”

  “Thad?” I asked.

  “Thaddeus Keim. He owns the Christmas tree farm in question. But I thought you might already have known that.” His voice was suggesting that I was holding other bits of information back.

  I wasn’t about to rise to the bait. “Nope, no clue about that.” I wondered if Thad was the Amish man Cass and I had seen running away from Rocky’s room.

  Aiden scowled as if he’d let something slip. It wasn’t like I wouldn’t find out who owned the Christmas tree farm as soon as I got back to the square.

  I bent over to pick up Jethro. “I had better take him back to your mom. She will be wondering about him. She’s at the church helping organize the live nativity.”

  Aiden made a face.

  I raised one eyebrow in surprise. “I thought you would be bitten by the Christmas spirit. Your mother told me you love Christmas.”

  “I do love Christmas,” Aiden said. “I’m not excited about the live nativity is all.”

  “What about it?” Cass asked. “It sounds like it will be nice, and a great way to keep tourists in Harvest after the Christmas Market today.”

  “I don’t doubt that it will, but it is a little more complicated than you might think. Margot is in charge of it.”

  “Oh.” I took that as some kind of warning. Usually when Margot was in charge of some sort of village function, it did become complicated, but I couldn’t see how this would be. Juliet had told me the plans. There would be a manger scene on the other side of the square across from the Christmas Market. Members of the church would play the characters. I’d seen the list of names. It seemed to me that Margot had all her ducks, or actors in this case, in a row, and I had to admit it would be a great addition to Eric’s Christmas special. I believed the plan was for him to walk through the manger scene talking about the tranquility of Amish town life. The funny thing was, there would not actually be any Amish in the scene. Acting wasn’t an Amish activity.

  “Is there anything else you need me for here?” I asked.

  He studied me.

  “No, Bailey, you can leave, but remember next time you see someone running away
from a crime scene, do not investigate on your own. Please.” He turned to my best friend, who was holding Jethro. “That goes for you too, Cass.”

  Cass saluted him. “You got it, Hot—”

  I yanked on her arm and pulled her down the hallway before she could finish calling Aiden “Hot Cop” to his face. “Thank you,” I called over my shoulder to Aiden.

  I felt Aiden’s eyes on my back all the way down the steps.

  Chapter 20

  While we had been inside the house, it had begun to snow harder. Large, white flakes fell on our hair and on Jethro’s snout. Cass peppered me with questions as we made our way through the snow, but I refused to answer any of them until we were safely in the car.

  Cass slammed the passenger-side door after her and Jethro. “Now, tell me what is going on. Why did you drag me out of the house so fast? And what is the deal with that piece of paper the young deputy found? I could tell it meant something to you.” She took a breath.

  “I found it first, before Deputy Little did, when I was searching the bathroom,” I admitted. “I think it must be what the Amish man, who almost ran us over in the hallway, was after. I bet his name is Thaddeus, too.”

  Cass nodded. “Okay, that makes sense, but why would an Amish Christmas tree farmer have any connection to a woman like Rocky?”

  I shook my head. “That I don’t know, but we are going to find out.”

  “How are we going to do that?” she asked.

  I glanced at the large, white frame house. How long would Aiden be occupied by the break-in? Did I dare try to beat him to the Christmas tree farm? Maybe he wouldn’t even go to the farm because he’d said Thad was selling his trees at the Christmas Market. Maybe he would go there first? But with the farm being so close to the guest house, I guessed he would stop in or ask one of his deputies to do so. My best hope was that he would send Little and not go himself.

  I started the car. “I think we are in the market for an authentic Amish Christmas tree, don’t you?”

  She grinned. “’Tis the season!”

  I backed the car up on the road. Despite driving snow that caused close to whiteout conditions, we made it to the Christmas tree farm in less than three minutes. It took me a moment to see where I could park the car. Finally, I shifted into park behind a fence post, hoping that I hadn’t torn up the yard with my tires.

  Cass pulled on her gloves. “Let’s do this.”

  “Right, but let’s leave Jethro in the car,” I said.

  “But Jethro is number three in our Three Musketeers. We need him,” Cass protested.

  “We don’t know what kind of animals are here,” I said. “It’s best if he stays in the car.”

  “Good point,” she agreed, and pushed Jethro into the backseat of my car. “Sorry, buddy. You should take a pig nap while we’re gone.”

  “Pig nap?” I asked.

  “I didn’t think it was appropriate to advise him to take a catnap.”

  “Let’s go. We’re running out of time.”

  Cass and I climbed out of the car. Outside, I pulled a stocking cap out of my coat pocket and put it on my head, pulling it way down over my ears. Cass might not do hats, but I didn’t have the same qualms. More than that, I hated to be cold.

  We were about to make our way to the house when an elderly Amish woman came out of the barn. She wore the longest winter coat I had ever seen. It was so long that it dragged behind her. I guess that on me it would hit somewhere around my calves, but on the small woman it hit the ground.

  She smiled at us. She was missing a few teeth. “If you are looking for a tree, it would do you best to buy it from my grandson Thad at the Christmas Market. That’s where all the best already-cut trees are. Unless you brought a saw and an axe to cut the tree down yourself.” She looked me up and down. “You look sturdy for Englisch girls.”

  I found myself squinting. I wasn’t sure that sturdy was a compliment from this woman.

  “We are looking for Thaddeus Keim,” I said.

  She nodded. “Because you are looking for a tree. Everyone comes to look for my grandson when they need a tree. He grows the very best trees, or has since he came here to take over his grandfather’s business.”

  “Oh, I moved to Holmes County to help my grandmother with her business after my grandfather died, so I can relate to what your grandson has done.”

  “Who might your grandfather be?” She squinted at me through the falling snow.

  “Jebidiah King.”

  She placed a hand on her heart. “Oh, you are Clara’s granddaughter. I’m Leah, but everyone calls me Grandma Leah because I’m so old. I’m the oldest woman in the church district,” she said with pride. “Because of that I’m a grandmother, of sorts, to all, although Thad is technically my only grandchild.”

  I was surprised to hear that. Most Amish came from very large families, but then again, my grandparents had only one son and I was my father’s only child, so it was not unheard of.

  “I heard that Clara’s Englisch granddaughter moved to the village to help with the candy shop. I don’t move as well as I used to, so I don’t get into town often. My old bones are not up to all that walking, and there is nothing there that I haven’t already seen a dozen times before. Where did you move here from? I heard it was a big city.”

  “The biggest,” I said. “I came here from New York. And where did Thad move from?”

  “Indiana. His mother’s family lived in an Amish community in the western part of that state, but when I needed help with the tree farm he came here. That was about twenty years ago, and things were such for my grandson that he needed a change. It was a good move for all of us. Thad works just as hard as his grandfather ever did in his prime. I know it is not godly to boast, but I am quite proud of the man he’s become, especially after everything he’s . . .” She waved her hand. “But you didn’t come here to listen to any of that. You are here about a tree. There might be an axe in the barn if you want to cut one down.”

  “I’d like to try,” Cass said. “I’ve never used an axe before.”

  I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. “That’s probably for the best.”

  “Thad may have taken the axe to the village though. Sometimes Englischers are very particular and want a certain tree even if it’s too large for their home, and Thad or Daniel has to trim it down.”

  “Daniel?” I asked.

  “My great-grandson. He’s a gut boy, a very gut boy. He is with his father at the Christmas Market. It’s a wonder how gut he really is.”

  I raised my eyebrows at that, wondering what she meant by calling Daniel’s goodness a wonder. Was it surprising that an Amish person was well behaved?

  “He’s already been baptized into the church,” she said with even more pride. “He made the decision when he was only fourteen. He had barely a moment of rumspringa. He just wanted to get on to the work that Gott had chosen him for, and that was to run this Christmas tree farm someday when his father is gone, even though Thad is one of the healthiest men you might ever know. He might even live as long as I have. I am older than dirt itself.” Grandma Leah laughed.

  “Do you know the guest house up the road? I just came from there.”

  She nodded. “That’s the old Boyce place. They were an Englisch family. They left and live in another state now. I think it might be Virginia or one of the Carolinas. In any case, instead of selling the house, they decided to rent it out to vacationers. Thad does the maintenance on the property for the Boyces for a small fee.” She took a breath.

  “He would know the property well, then,” I mused. He would know about the trellis below Rocky’s bedroom even before he got there, but wouldn’t he have a key to the property since he did the maintenance? Why come in through the window unless he was afraid of being seen? I kept those thoughts to myself.

  She nodded. “He knows it very well. I would say that he knows it better than the Boyce family ever did. They weren’t the sort to do their own chores, and country l
ife didn’t suit them. I think they were more in love with the idea of the country than actually living here.”

  “Do you have a key to the house?” Cass asked.

  She frowned. “Are you interested in buying it? I don’t think the Boyce family is selling, but they might for the right price.”

  “Umm, I am looking for a place, and it is a lovely home,” I said. Both of these facts were true even though the guest house was far too big for just me. But the real reason I was feigning interest in the house was to find out if Thad’s key was missing.

  “Right,” Cass agreed. “And as her manager, I need to approve wherever she lives.”

  I groaned. Cass wasn’t going to give up on this manager thing. I would be hearing about it for a week if not months.

  Chapter 21

  “Well, you both look like nice girls.” She cocked her head as she studied Cass. “Even if your hair is different. If you are willing to wait, I can go fetch the key so you can see that house. I really only know when Englishers are staying there. Thad and I rarely talk about it. You can wait on the front porch if you like. To get out from under the snow.”

  Cass and I thanked Grandma Leah and followed her across the snow-covered grass to the large porch on the front of the farmhouse. Cass and I perched on white wooden chairs while Grandma Leah went inside. “Don’t you think it’s odd that she is so willing just to hand over the key to the Boyce house to us?” I whispered.

  Cass shrugged. “Maybe, but she said we looked trustworthy.”

  I frowned. “A lot of people can look trustworthy and not actually be such.”

  Cass touched her purple bangs. “Do you think her saying my hair is different was intended to be an insult?”

  “Cass, she’s an Amish woman in her nineties. To her, your hair is very different.”

  Cass made an irritated sound, and Grandma Leah reappeared from the house. She walked back out to us leaning heavily on her cane. “The key is gone. Thad must have taken it. I just remembered that he got a call from the Boyce family to go over and check on the guests staying there. I heard it was a bunch of TV people. I’m sure the Boyce family is having them pay a little extra because they can afford it, so they might be a demanding bunch.”