Premeditated Peppermint

by Amanda Flower

  “Bailey!” Juliet’s high-pitched voice floated across the square to me. “There you are! I was getting worried about Jethro.”

  I noted that she was more worried about the pig than she had been about me, but that was to be expected where Juliet was concerned. I expected her son, Aiden, was in the same boat as I was.

  Juliet took Jethro from Cass’s arms and tucked him under her chin. The pig cuddled back. No one could question the bond between woman and pig, that was for sure.

  I had to hand it to Juliet. She didn’t even bat an eyelash at Melchior, who was leaning over her shoulder to get a better look at the pig. Which made me think that Margot had had it wrong. I wasn’t the camel whisperer at all. Jethro was.

  “How did he do? Does he have a part in Eric’s show?” Her eyes were so full of hope.

  “He will. It’s a very small part, but a lot of the big stars in Hollywood get their starts that way,” I said, knowing nothing of the kind. “You really have Cass to thank for it. She pushed hard for Linc to include Jethro.”

  Juliet wrapped her free arm around Cass. “Oh, thank you so much! You don’t know what this means to Jethro and me!”

  “Jethro will be starting out small,” Cass said sagely. “But I think he has real potential.”

  “Oh—” She nodded. “I understand. Jethro is new to the business and has to pay his dues. That makes perfect sense to me. You did a wonderful job, Cass.”

  “I even got him a part on Bailey’s new sh—”

  “Well, I’m so glad you’re here to collect Jethro,” I interrupted Cass. I didn’t want anyone to know about Linc’s offer to give me a show yet, especially Aiden’s mother, who would spread the news all over the village and to Aiden before I could even speak to my grandmother about it. “But can you bring Jethro back tonight during the live nativity? The TV crew will be shooting that . . .”

  Juliet clapped her hands. “And you and Aiden will be Mary and Joseph. I was the one who suggested it to Margot. I cannot imagine a more perfect couple to fill the roles.”

  Cass tilted her head. “I think it’s nice of Aiden to jump in and help, but isn’t he busy with the murder thing?”

  “He might have to leave if a call comes in, but I thought it was better for Bailey that he be her Joseph rather than anyone else, don’t you?”

  “Definitely,” Cass agreed.

  Juliet hugged her little pig a bit tighter. “Jethro will be a smash hit in the nativity. I’m going to take him home first and give him a bath to make sure he’s ready for his big debut, and we will have to find his best bow tie.” Juliet blew us each a kiss; she even blew one to the camel and went on her way.

  I doubted the animals at the first Christmas wore accessories that night, but it wasn’t my battle to fight. That was something Juliet would have to take up with Margot.

  “Have you ever wondered how anyone can be that happy all the time?” Cass asked.

  “Daily. Let’s get away from the nativity before you are drafted into being an angel.”

  Cass snorted. “No one would ever give me that part.”

  Cass followed me through the holiday tourists to the other side of the square and the Swissmen Sweets table.

  Charlotte set a white candy box into the waiting hands of an English woman. “Thanks so much for stopping by. You also might want to visit our store. We have even more candies there. It’s just across the street.”

  The English woman thanked Charlotte for the tip and went on her way.

  “Great marketing,” Cass said. “I should hire you for JP Chocolates.”

  “Marketing?” Charlotte asked, sounding confused.

  I shook my head. “Cass just thinks you are doing a good job promoting Swissmen Sweets, and so do I.”

  “I do,” Cass said. “Hey, I’m going to take a loop and check out the other booths.” With that she left our table.

  The Amish girl blushed. “Danki. Bailey, while you were gone both Eric and Aiden came looking for you.” Her face turned a slight shade of red. “I know they are both gut friends of yours.”

  I frowned.

  “I do hope you will pick Aiden in the end,” she said all in a rush. “The whole village would be heartbroken if you broke Aiden’s heart. He is such a kind man. He’s one of the few in the sheriff’s department who really cares for the Amish. We don’t want anything bad to happen to him.”

  “I know that,” I said as patiently as I could. “But Aiden and I aren’t in a position that breaking hearts is at risk for either of us.”

  She wrinkled her nose as if she wasn’t so sure that was true. I wished that the village inhabitants wouldn’t try so hard playing matchmaker. They were only making it more difficult for Aiden and me to get past anything more than a tense friendship. I didn’t know yet what I wanted our relationship to be, but I did want Aiden and me to be the ones who decided what it would become.

  “All right,” she said, shaking her head as if to get rid of unpleasant thoughts. “The Christmas Market has been very busy. The peppermint treats have been a hit. I had to run over to Swissmen Sweets to get more peppermint bark. We thought we had made too much, but what we made most definitely won’t last the entire Christmas Market. Clara is making some more now. She said after the Christmas Market tonight that she and I could make more peppermint candies. She’s going to teach me how to make peppermint divinity, which is my favorite.”

  The green-eyed monster reared its ugly head again in my mind. It wasn’t the first time I’d thought that Charlotte was better suited to be my grandmother’s granddaughter than I was. She was the Amish granddaughter my grandmother must have wanted. I could never be that. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing if I took Linc up on his offer and was away from Harvest for a few months. Maami and Charlotte would be fine without me. I wondered why the thought upset me so much.

  “And was that a camel in the middle of the road?” she asked.

  I nodded, happy for the change of subject. “Yes, his name is Melchior.”

  She shook her head. “Harvest grows stranger by the day.”

  “Tell me about it.” I looked around the Christmas Market. All the shops in the village were represented in the square as well as a select few from other parts of the county, but there were no other candy shops. The only out-of-town shops Margot had allowed into the market were not in direct competition with any of the village’s businesses.

  Esh Family Pretzels’ table was right next to ours. As Emily packed up her pretzels, I waved at her. “Hi, Emily.”

  She pretended not to hear me as she shuffled her already perfectly lined-up pretzels in the battery-operated warmer at her table. I sighed and pressed my lips together. This had to stop. It was so typical of the Amish way of dealing with things to ignore and pretend nothing had ever happened. It reminded me that I would have been a terrible Amish person even if my father had stayed in the faith. I hated to brush things under the rug. I wanted to talk about what was wrong and what was going on. I wanted to make amends.

  “Is Esther holding down the shop?” I asked, making at least an attempt at a conversation.

  She didn’t reply.

  “I saw your brother earlier helping with the live nativity. It looks like Margot is putting on quite a production again.” I didn’t add that Abel had quit helping with the live nativity because of Melchior. Chances were she already knew.

  Still nothing.

  “If you need anything, Charlotte and I are happy to lend a hand.”

  “I can help too,” Cass said.

  Emily looked at me then and whispered, “Danki.”

  It was more than I had gotten from her in weeks, so I would take it.

  Charlotte watched Emily with a worried look on her face. She might not know exactly why Emily was upset, but she had probably guessed that it had something to do with her, since Emily paid even less attention to Charlotte than she did to me.

  I couldn’t worry about Emily at the moment. I had too many other problems to contend with. Just then,
I noticed a teenaged boy and an Amish man standing in front of the Christmas trees at the Keim Christmas Tree Farm.

  The young man—I would guess he was almost twenty—had black hair from what I could see of it sticking out from under his black stocking cap. He was clean shaven and wore wire-rimmed glasses. He continually glanced over at the pretzel stand at Emily. Emily blushed when she looked up and caught the boy staring at her.

  The man with the boy smacked him lightly on the back of the boy’s head as if to get his attention. He pointed at a tree and at an English family who had presumably chosen to take that tree home.

  When the man turned around I gasped. I knew that face. I was looking into the face of the man I had seen running away from the guest house. I was looking into the face of Thaddeus Keim.

  Chapter 24

  Thad and I stared at each other for a long moment until he spun around and melted into the crowd.

  “I’ll be right back,” I said, and hurried after the Amish man. I didn’t wait for Charlotte or Cass to respond.

  When I made it to the other side of the Christmas trees, I realized what an impossible task it was to find Thad. Now that the Christmas market was closing, there was a crush of people on the square making last-minute purchases before the parade started. All were eager to get a jump on their holiday shopping with unique gifts from Amish Country.

  The Amish teenager appeared at my side. “Do you need help finding a tree, miss?” he asked.

  I grew very still. His eyes were a smoky shade of gray. I had seen eyes that color only one other time. The image of the baby rattle, which had fallen from Thad’s pocket at the guest house, came back to me. The image of Rocky’s body and her eyes came back to me. No. I couldn’t be right. It was impossible that this farfetched idea was true. I was jumping to conclusions and searching for connections that weren’t there.

  “Umm, no, I . . . I mean—” I couldn’t find the words. What I wanted to ask was “Is Rocky your mother?”

  He smiled. “I know for some Englischers picking the perfect tree is a challenge, but I can assure you, you can’t go wrong with any of our trees. They are organically grown and cared for like members of the family.”

  I shook the unlikely conclusion from my head. “I . . . I might need a tree soon, but not right now. Who was that man who was with you earlier?”

  “Man?” the boy asked.

  “Yes, he was here a little while ago.”

  “Oh, you must mean my daed.” His expression cleared. “He was just here. I don’t know where he went, but he should be back soon. Did you want to talk to him about a tree? I can help you just as well. I’ve been working at the tree farm since before I could walk. I can answer any questions that you have about the trees. What about a Douglas fir? They are a favorite of mine.” He shook the tree. “They are sturdy, grow straight with soft needles. You don’t have to worry about this tree toppling over, miss.”

  “What’s your name?” I interrupted him.

  He blinked at me. “I’m sorry. I should have told you earlier. I’m Daniel Keim.”

  “Does your mother work at the Christmas tree farm too?” I asked.

  His face flashed red. “Do you want a tree, miss? I’m here to sell trees.” His whole demeanor had changed; no longer was I faced with the friendly Amish salesperson.

  I shook my head, feeling awful for the blunt question. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

  “No tree, then?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “No tree,” I said, realizing that I might just have blown my chance to talk to Daniel Keim, who might very well be Rocky’s son.

  He turned away from me and walked back into the pen of trees, smacking his yardstick against the piney branches as he went.

  “What was that all about?” Cass said, her arms full with packages wrapped in brown paper.

  I pointed at her arm. “What’s all that?”

  “Holiday presents for everyone back in the city. No one is going to have gifts like this. I got Amish honey, Amish cheese—you know how I love the Amish cheese.”

  I did know. The last time Cass was in Harvest, she had almost bought all the cheese in the cheese shop on the opposite side of Swissmen Sweets from Esh Family Pretzels.

  “I got a couple quilted pillows, too,” she went on to say. “I thought Jean Pierre would like those. He loves things that are quaint.” She adjusted the packages in her arms. “Now, why did you run away from your table like your tail was on fire?”

  “I saw Thad Keim,” I whispered. “And he is the man we ran into at the guest house.”

  “He is?” she shouted. “Where is he?”

  “Shh, keep your voice down. I don’t know where he went. He ran away from me when he saw me.”

  “Because he’s guilty.”

  “Guilty of what? Dropping a rattle?”

  “Or murder,” Cass said.

  Or murder, I silently agreed.

  “Where’s your dad?” I heard a voice ask behind me. I turned to find Aiden standing with Daniel by the Douglas fir he’d tried to sell me.

  “I don’t know,” Daniel said, much more defensively than when I had asked him the same question just a moment ago.

  “I need to talk to him,” Aiden said.

  “I’m sure he will be back soon,” Daniel said.

  “I think we are onto something here,” Cass whispered.

  Aiden’s head snapped in our direction, and he scowled at Cass and me. My best friend really had to work on her stage whisper.

  Aiden nodded and walked over to me. “Bailey, shouldn’t you be in your booth selling candy?”

  Cass smiled. “Charlotte has it covered. The market is closing anyway.”

  Aiden’s gaze slid in her direction.

  “Aiden, there’s something I need to talk to you about,” I said.

  He raised his eyebrows at my serious tone. “Did you break and enter into another crime scene and want to come clean about it?”

  I frowned.

  “Aiden,” Cass said. “You shouldn’t just assume that Bailey is up to no good.”

  He smiled, and the dimple in his cheek popped out. “When you are with her, the likelihood of her being up to something jumps tenfold.”

  Cass grinned. “I’m glad that I make a difference around here.”

  Over Cass’s shoulder, I found Daniel watching us with those haunting gray eyes.

  “Aiden,” I said. “I really do need to speak with you in private. It won’t take long.”

  Cass looked from Aiden to me and back again. “I’ll leave Mary and Joseph to it.” She held up her packages. “I need to get these to the candy shop, and I can help Charlotte at the booth.”

  “Mary and Joseph? What is she talking about?” Aiden asked as Cass returned to the Swissmen Sweets booth.

  I shook my head. Aiden didn’t seem to know that he was playing the lead as Joseph in the live nativity, and I wasn’t going to be the one to tell him when I had far more important information to share with him.

  I walked away from the Christmas trees and closer to the gazebo.

  Aiden glanced to the side of the gazebo. “Is that a camel?”

  I sighed. “Margot.”

  He shook his head.

  “His name is Melchior. You might want to talk to Margot about the nativity.”

  “What about it?”

  “Umm, you should take that up with her.” I nodded. “It would be much better if it came from her.”

  He folded his arms. “Is that what you want to tell me?”

  I shook my head. “I wanted to talk to you about Daniel and Thad. Thad was definitely the man Cass and I saw coming out of Rocky’s room at the guest house.”

  “You’re sure?”

  I nodded. “And it makes sense because it was the tree farm advertisement hidden in her makeup case. I think she is connected to the Keim family.”

  Aiden was quiet for a moment. “How?”

  “I think Rocky might be Daniel’s mother,” I blurted out
.

  Aiden blinked at me. “What on earth are you talking about? How could Rocky be Daniel’s mother? She’s not Amish.”

  “Maybe she was Amish? Maybe she gave her baby up to the Amish?”

  Aiden looked at me as if I’d just said aliens had landed their UFO in the middle of the Harvest village square.

  “It makes sense. The baby rattle, why Thaddeus would want to break into her room—he must have been looking for any connection to Daniel so that he could destroy it, and why he ran away right when he saw me. He recognized me. I know he did. That’s why he ran away from the Christmas Market. As soon as he saw me, he ran away. He knew that I saw him at the guest house.”

  “It’s still quite a leap to jump to the conclusion that Rocky was his mother. We have no evidence of that.”

  “We might not have evidence, but have you seen the boy’s eyes? They are the same unusual shade of gray Rocky’s were. I had never seen eyes that color, and I remember thinking that when I first met her, and . . .” I couldn’t finish the thought. I couldn’t say that I had seen the same color of eyes staring at me after I had found Rocky’s lifeless body in the gazebo with Eric standing over her dead body.

  Aiden touched my arm as if he knew what I was thinking. Maybe he even had the same image in his mind, of those staring gray eyes. I hoped that one day I would forget them. I wondered how many equally gruesome images Aiden had seen as a police officer and wished he could forget someday. Had he been able to forget any at all?

  Aiden’s frown deepened. “I’m not saying what you think is impossible; it’s just quite a stretch on a lot of circumstantial evidence. You can’t look at someone’s eyes and know they are related to someone else. I will look into it though.”

  “Thanks,” I said. It was the most I could ask for, but I knew in my bones that I was right. “I’m not crazy.”

  His mouth lifted in the corner and one of his dimples popped on display. “You might be a little crazy, but a lot of the time you are also right. I won’t discount that.”

  His response was more than I deserved.

  Chapter 25