by Marta Perry
“As long as Princess doesn’t mind him eating her grass. But I’ll do it. You don’t need to.”
Not troubling to answer that, Joanna disappeared into the stable and came out leading a horse with each hand. Used to spending their days together, neither Blackie nor Princess gave her any trouble. Not that she’d allow it, he admitted. Knowing she was capable of far more than just putting them in the adjoining paddock, he concentrated on the brackets that would hold the battery lights in place.
Not as satisfactory in this case as electric would be, but they would do the job. He’d put one by his back door and then one by Joanna’s back door. With both of them focused on the area, they would dispel the darkness.
Joanna came back from the paddock and stopped to watch his work. “One by my door, as well?” She’d noticed that he had a second box.
“Yah, that should do pretty much what we need. It will go on if anyone moves out here. If you want to leave it on when you go out in the evening, just press this switch to keep it on.” He demonstrated. “Then when you get home and you’re ready to go in, shut it off.”
“It’ll go through a lot of batteries, won’t it?”
The sound of her voice so close behind him made him lose his grip for a moment, and the screwdriver slipped out of the screw head.
“Not too bad, since it’s only on when something moves. And you’re not going to want to stand there in the dark while you pump up a gas lantern, ain’t so?”
“You’re right, you’re right,” she teased, and he couldn’t help smiling at the laughter in her eyes. “It’s much better. By the way, my daad wants to pay for the lights.”
“Not necessary,” he said shortly. He wasn’t so poverty-stricken that he couldn’t provide the lights.
She shrugged, stepping back as he turned, the bracket finished. “You’ll have to argue it out with him.”
“Nobody ever wins an argument with the bishop,” he pointed out.
“One person does.” Her eyes sparkled with laughter.
“Not you,” he retorted, reminded of their school days when she’d been just as sassy.
“No, not me. The bishop’s wife.”
He couldn’t help smiling with her. “Sounds like I should get her on my side, then.”
Sliding the light into place in the bracket and securing it, he switched it on and off. “Gut. Now I’ll do one by your door.” As they walked across the back, he frowned at the stable. “Maybe we should have one by the stable, but I don’t want to take another one out of stock right now. I couldn’t order many this time.”
Joanna’s eyebrows lifted in a question. “Is business tight right now?”
He didn’t want her pity, but Joanna made it sound so normal that he couldn’t take offense.
“A little,” he conceded. “That new chain store out on the highway is cutting into my business.” He tried for a lighter tone. “Be glad there’s not a new quilt store out there.”
“I am.” She looked up at him, making him realize that her eyes echoed the warm colors of the autumn leaves that drifted along the lanes at this time of year.
He yanked his attention from a consideration of her eyes and back to the current problem. “I have to tell Floyd that I’m cutting back his hours.” The words were bitter, close to an admission of failure. “He’s been with me since we opened, and there’s nobody better, but sales are down, and I can’t...” He let that trail off, convinced he sounded like he was asking for pity. He didn’t want Joanna thinking he was sorry for himself, but when she looked at him with interest and caring, he couldn’t help but respond.
“Yah, I see what you mean.” But Joanna looked as if she considered the problem impartially. “Floyd knows how to fix anything, so I’ve heard.”
Noah nodded, feeling guilt closing in on him. “And he can tell customers just what they need to do the fixing, besides being able to gossip with all the old guys, both Amish and Englisch.”
The laughter came back to Joanna’s eyes. “That’s important in a hardware store, ain’t so?”
“If you mean it sounds like he’s more important to the store than I am, you’re probably right.” He grimaced. “And he needs the money—he says his retirement check doesn’t go far enough.”
An observant person could practically see Joanna’s thoughts whirling, and he was always observant when it came to Joanna. “What Floyd needs is some work to fill those hours you have to cut, ain’t so? Why not help him set up a side business doing odd jobs for folks? You agree he can fix most anything, and plenty of people need things done. I’d guess a lot of the older widows who come in my shop would jump at the chance to have someone they could call when they need some little thing fixed around the house.”
He suspected his brain didn’t work as quickly as hers did. “Yah, he could, but how could I help him? He could do that himself, couldn’t he?”
“He could, but he isn’t.” Joanna sounded like she was trying to be patient. “He needs someone to prompt him a little bit.”
“Push him, you mean.”
“You say push, I say prompt.” Her face softened in a smile. “You can vouch for him. You can put up a sign in your shop and mention him to people when they come in. That’s all he’ll need to start getting jobs. I’ll put one up in my shop, too, and talk him up to my customers.”
He must have still looked doubtful, because she looked ready to start pushing him, too. “Well?”
“All right, all right.” He held up his hands. “I’ll suggest it to him. You can stop pushing now.”
“Are you hinting that I like to take charge?” Her eyes brimmed with laughter, making him feel as if nothing was all that bad as long as Joanna smiled at him.
“Not hinting,” he said, trying to match her light tone. “Coming right out with it.”
They were standing there smiling at each other when the back door opened, nearly knocking Joanna off the step. He caught her arm just as Aunt Jessie appeared, looking as if she’d been sucking on a lemon.
* * *
IGNORING NOAH, AUNT JESSIE spoke directly to her. “What have you been doing out here so long?”
“I was helping Noah put up the new lights.” Help was probably too strong a word, but in any event, that was why she was here.
Jessie looked at the fixture and then nodded to Noah. “Denke, Noah. Joanna, you’re wanted in the shop.”
With a glance at Noah that she hoped conveyed gratitude and apology, Joanna followed her up the steps. “I can’t imagine a customer has a problem you can’t handle.”
“Not a customer. It’s Chief Jamison again.” Jessie’s back was stiff with disapproval. “He shouldn’t be coming in here so much. He’ll be giving us a bad name.”
She managed not to laugh. “It’s not as if he’s here to arrest us, Aunt Jessie. He’s trying to identify the woman who was hurt so he can tell her family. You’d think they must be worried to death.”
That seemed to get past her aunt’s disapproval of all things related to the police. “Ach, well, I suppose he has to do that.” They were heading into the shop by this time. “If you take him in the back room, you’ll have some privacy.”
“Yah, I will. Denke.” And thanks be that Aunt Jessie was over her little spurt of temper. What Mamm called Jessie’s snits never lasted long, but they were uncomfortable while they went on.
Chief Jamison looked uneasily aware that several women were watching him, but his face cleared when he saw Joanna. Before he could speak, she gestured.
“I think what you want is in the back room.”
His lips twitched as he followed her, and once she’d closed the door, he shook his head. “I’ve never known you to tell a fib before, Joanna.”
“A fib? If you wanted to talk in front of those women, you surprise me.”
He chuckled, the laugh lines deepening around his eyes. “You
’ve got it right, as usual. What’s your aunt Jessie so testy for?”
Now it was her turn to laugh. “She thinks we’ll get a bad reputation if you hang around here.”
He was taken aback for a moment. “Well, nobody ever said that to me before. But maybe I’d better make this fast. Are you coming up to the hospital today?”
She nodded. “After work.” Something about his expression alarmed her. “Is she worse?”
“No, not worse. But the fact is she’s no better today, either. So, much as I hated to do it, I got Judge Conroy to issue a court order. Today I want to get DNA swabs from both of you, if you agree. At least that will tell us if we’re right about why she came here.”
“For sure I will.” She paused, sensing his reluctance to take this step. “Is there any reason not to do this?”
“No legal reason. But I hate to do it without asking the woman. Still, we can’t ask her permission when she’s unconscious, and it’s not as if she’s suspected of a crime.”
She’d like to say that she was sure the woman wouldn’t mind, just to soothe his feelings, but reminded herself that she had no idea. Funny that she could feel so familiar with a person she’d never even heard speak.
“If the test leads us to who she is, it will be worth it, ain’t so?”
Jamison nodded, seeming energized by the thought. “Right. I’ll set it up for later this afternoon. See you there.”
He walked out briskly. Joanna followed, wondering how long it was going to take Aunt Jessie to start scolding again. Or to warn her about Noah.
It turned out to be a warning, and it only took Jessie until the customers had gone.
“Now, then.” She swung on Joanna purposefully. “It’s all very well to have a business relationship with Noah Troyer, but that doesn’t mean you should follow him around.”
Joanna’s temper didn’t often break loose now that she was grown, but she came close to it at that moment. “I am not following him around. I thought you knew me better than that.”
Aunt Jessie’s expression said that she was struggling, too. Finally, she gave a curt nod. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” Worry clouded her eyes. “I don’t doubt that Noah is a gut neighbor to us. But his family background—”
“It’s not his fault that his father drank too much. As far as I know, he doesn’t touch any of it.” She didn’t really know, she guessed, but surely the rumors would be rife if he did drink. Nobody could keep that quiet in a close-knit community.
Her aunt’s face twitched as if she tried to hold something back. “It was not just the drinking, Joanna. You’re too young to know, but his mother... She would come to worship trying to hide bruises. Word was that Noah tried to protect her, poor boy.”
Images crowded Joanna’s mind, and her throat was so tight she couldn’t speak. What must that life have been like for Noah? For all of them.
“Why didn’t anyone do anything about it?” Surely, the church...her father, as bishop...should have.
“Ach, Joanna, don’t you think they tried? Your daad spent so many hours talking to him, trying to get him help. He refused, even when your daad made the appointment. He was put under the bann more than once, but he’d confess, beg to be forgiven, promise it would never happen again. And then it did.”
“I feel so bad for them. And guilty that I didn’t know.” Her voice was choked with tears.
“If there was one thing Noah’s mother wanted, it was that her kinder be spared the shame,” Jessie said. “But people knew.” She hesitated. “Think about it, Joanna. How could a childhood like that prepare a boy for a normal life? Noah could have problems no one can guess. I would hate to see you care for him and then be hurt.”
Joanna couldn’t help but be moved by her aunt’s obvious emotion, especially coming from someone who seldom, if ever, showed her feelings. Still...
“I understand.” She kept the words gentle. “But I have no intention of being anything but a friend to Noah. I promise. Anyway, I’m not thinking of marriage just now. I have plenty to do with the shop.”
Aunt Jessie looked at her for a long moment. Finally, she gave a little shrug. “Nobody ever could stop you when you were determined on something, could they? But your daad will have something to say if he notices.”
Taking that to mean Aunt Jessie didn’t intend to report on her, she gave her aunt a quick hug. “There won’t be anything for him to notice.”
“We’ll see.” Aunt Jessie smoothed her spotless apron. “I doubt we’ll have much more business from now until closing. Maybe you’d best go on to the hospital.”
“If you’re sure, I will.” She paused, but it had best be said before her aunt found out some other way. “They’re going to test the woman’s DNA to see if that helps identify her. And mine, to see if she might be a relation.” She waited, not sure how Aunt Jessie would take that news.
Her aunt’s face tightened, her lips forming a thin line. Then she gave a short nod. “I see. Will you be home for supper?”
“I’m going on to Cathy’s place to work on the dresses for the wedding, so don’t expect me.”
“Yah, all right.” Jessie gave a tiny smile. “If you’re not back by dark, I’ll turn the new light on.”
Eased at what seemed a gesture of goodwill, Joanna went upstairs to collect the sewing she meant to take with her to Cathy’s place, and then headed out to the stable to hitch up the mare.
The hospital had started to become very familiar, and she could get around almost as if she belonged there. She’d noticed the same odd thing when her brother Jonas was in the hospital once—what was frightening and strange at first became routine when one was concerned about the person, rather than the place.
Chief Jamison met her in the hallway. “Glad you’re here, Joanna.” Frustration showed in his voice. “The staff has been trying to talk to her, but—nothing. Now we’re starting to get crank calls.”
Joanna looked at him blankly. “Crank calls?”
He grunted. “You’re lucky you don’t know anything about things like that. Crazy people claiming she’s their sister who disappeared in 1950 or the reincarnation of a girl who died in the Civil War. Crazies.”
Joanna felt a wave of pity. “Poor things. How disturbed they must be to think that.”
“Yeah, I guess.” But he obviously felt more annoyance than sympathy. “Well, let’s get this over with. They’re sending a tech up to get the sample. You might as well see if our mystery woman responds to you first.”
He ushered her into the room. Any apprehension she felt about the DNA testing disappeared when she saw the woman again. She was doing better, wasn’t she? Her skin bore a normal flush, and her eyes seemed to flicker for an instant. She might just as easily be napping as unconscious.
Joanna automatically took the chair next to the bed, putting her hand over the patient’s. “It’s Joanna. I’ve come back to see you again. You remember me, don’t you?”
She’d hoped for a response, but none came, and she tried to control her disappointment. Was this normal, to rouse a little and slip backward again? She had no idea.
The door swung open again, and Mary Ellen came in, accompanied by a young man holding a plastic caddy with various vials and equipment. She gave Joanna an encouraging smile.
“This is Joe. I know he doesn’t look old enough to be out by himself, but he’s trained, I promise. He’s going to take a sample from each of you for DNA testing.”
At her comment, the young man grinned, his freckled face blushing a little. “Hey, I can’t help my looks. Maybe I ought to grow a beard. What do you think?” He was asking Joanna, but even as he spoke, he pulled out a vial and removed a long swab from a sealed package.
Joanna eyed the swab doubtfully. “Could you? Grow a beard, I mean.”
“Ouch. You must be a friend of Mary Ellen’s. I did try once, on summer vacation.
I just looked like I’d forgotten to wash my face, according to my girlfriend.” He took a step closer. “This is easy. Just open your mouth, and I’ll run this along the inside of your cheek. Okay?”
She nodded, obeying, and in an instant, it seemed, he had finished and was dropping the swab into a vial.
Then he held it out so that she could see the label. “You see? That’s your name and address, right?”
“Yah.” Obviously, he’d have to guarantee that it was hers in order for anyone to rely on the results.
“Now we’ll take care of your friend’s.”
Joanna moved back slightly, not letting go of the woman’s hand, and in another moment, it was done. He had Jamison check the label on that one, and before Joanna could ask how long it would take, he’d disappeared.
“Okay?” Jamison asked.
“Fine. How long...?”
“They’ll put a rush on it given the circumstances. Wouldn’t do us much good if they took weeks to do it, right? I got the okay to send it to the lab at the university instead of the usual procedure. We need answers.”
With that sentiment, Joanna could heartily agree. Someone, somewhere, must be worrying and wondering. And she had her own reason to want answers.
“If she is related to me, I’d like to know. And I imagine she would, too.”
At her words, the woman’s eyelids fluttered, and her hand came alive under Joanna’s. She squeezed Joanna’s hand firmly, and her eyelids fluttered again. For an instant they opened enough that Joanna could glimpse eyes that were brown with flecks of gold, like hers, and then they closed again.
But she had seen. “It’s all right,” she said softly. “We’ll find out.”
CHAPTER FIVE
NOAH STEPPED OUT the front door of the hardware store to attend to the last chore of the day, spray bottle in hand. The door was the first thing a customer saw coming in, and to his way of thinking, it had best be shining. Although, given the small number of customers he’d had that day, he wasn’t sure it counted for much.
His eye was caught by the neat white card in the front window, advertising handyman services. Thanks to Joanna’s foresight, he’d been able to ease the pain of cutting down Floyd’s hours. A glance next door showed him a similar sign in the quilt shop window. He’d be a fool to be annoyed that it was Joanna who’d thought of it, not him. The important thing was to help Floyd, and Joanna, always practical, had seen how to accomplish it.