The Crow’s Call: Amish Greenhouse Mystery Book 1

by Wanda E. Brunstetter, Kristin Billerbeck, Kristy Dykes, Aisha Ford, Birdie L. Etchison, Pamela Griffin, Joyce Livingston, Tamela Hancock Murray

  Jared tipped his head. “Why would they do that?”

  “Cause they’re mad about me not bein’ able to do anything fun with them this summer, thanks to all the work I have to do here.” Henry groaned. “Me and my buddies had planned all sorts of fun things to do after we got out of school. Now I can’t do nothin’ because of all the work that’s been forced on me.” There was a hard edge to the young man’s words, and Jared saw a look of bitterness on Henry’s face.

  Jared searched for the right words to offer comfort or advice, but before he could form another sentence, Henry turned away and tromped off.

  Jared rubbed his jaw in contemplation. I believe that young fellow needs someone to talk to. I may not be the one he’ll open up to, but I can sure be praying for his situation.

  Jared picked up a hanging basket filled with pink and white petunias and started down the aisle toward the checkout counter. As he approached, he couldn’t help but notice the look of exhaustion on Amy’s face. There was no doubt about it—she’d been working too hard. “Hi, Amy. It’s nice to see you.”

  “Hello, Jared.” Amy drew in some air, trying to slow her breathing. Even though they couldn’t be together, her feelings for him hadn’t changed. “That’s a lovely basket you’ve chosen.” I wonder if it’s for Lydia. I’m sure they must be courting.

  He gave a nod. “It’s for my mamm. Today’s her birthday.”

  “Oh. I’m sure she will like it. Please tell her I said happy birthday.”

  “I will.” Jared’s eyes darkened. “How have you been, Amy?”

  “Okay.” She kept her gaze fixed on the basket.

  “You look mied.”

  “I am tired, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

  “Are you sure about that?” He sounded concerned.

  Her head came up. “Of course, I’m sure.”

  “I was talking to Henry earlier, and he mentioned that your mamm’s in New York, helping out since your sister-in-law had her baby.”

  “That’s correct.”

  “Henry also said he and Sylvia are helping you here.”

  “Jah.”

  “I’m glad your sister is able to work again.”

  “I am too.” Amy didn’t mention how hard it was for Sylvia to be around people or that she went into the house several times a day to check on the children, as she had done a while ago. Since they weren’t a courting couple anymore, she saw no need to fill him in on any of their personal business.

  “Henry also said you’ve had some problems with vandalism.”

  Amy shifted as she gave her apron a tug. “It’s nothing serious, and we’re all okay, so please don’t mention it to anyone.”

  “Why not? If somebody has singled you out for some reason then—”

  Amy shook her head. “Jared, I’d rather not discuss this right now.”

  “Okay, but please be careful, and if any more damage to your property occurs, you should call the sheriff’s office right away.”

  “We’ll deal with it in whatever way we feel is best.” Amy made sure to keep her voice down during this conversation. “Did you need anything else?”

  He shook his head. “No, but I was wondering if you’ve talked to Lydia lately.” He leaned against his side of the counter.

  “I just spoke a few words to her at the last church meeting.” Amy gave a sidelong glance when another customer came into the store. Truth was, she’d been avoiding her friend. It would be too painful for Amy if Lydia were to admit that she’d been seeing Jared socially.

  Amy rang up Jared’s purchase, and he gave her the money. “I hope your mother likes what you got her.”

  “I’m sure she will.” Jared picked up the hanging basket. “Tell your family I said hello.” He started toward the door but turned around. “If you need anything while your mom is gone, please let me know.”

  All Amy could manage was a slow nod. Her throat felt so thick, she couldn’t utter another word. She watched Jared as he walked out of the building. It had been difficult to chat with him and maintain an indifferent attitude.

  After Jared left the greenhouse, she turned her attention toward the young English woman who had come in. “May I help you with anything?”

  At that moment, Sylvia arrived with two bottles of water, which she placed under the counter before stepping behind it while Amy dealt with the customer.

  The English woman moved closer to her. “My grandmother is in the hospital, and I’m looking for a pretty plant to give her.”

  “Right this way. I’ll show you what we have available.” As Amy headed down the aisle where the houseplants were displayed, one more thought about Jared popped into her head. If we were still a couple, I would have talked more with him about the troubles we’ve had here lately. But I’m sure I did right by not discussing it further. But really, what would be the point? There’s nothing Jared can do for us.

  Virginia moaned and rolled over in bed. Her throat hurt something awful. She’d coughed and sneezed so much last night that Earl had slept in their guest room. Virginia hadn’t been out of the house for two days and had spent most of her time in bed or on the couch. She eyed the throat discs lying on her nightstand, grabbed one, and popped it into her mouth. They helped a little with her pain when she needed to swallow.

  “I see you’re awake.” Earl stepped into the room and handed her a glass of water. “Maybe you ought to see a doctor.”

  Virginia grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and blew her nose. “I might do that if we had a doctor. Since we’re new to the area, I wouldn’t have any idea who to call. Besides, it’s rare when a person can get in to see a doctor the same day they call.”

  “You have a point. Might be best for you to go to the hospital emergency room.”

  She shook her head. “Think I’ll go to the pharmacy in town and see what they have to offer.”

  “Suit yourself.” Earl stepped away from the bed. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you this evening when I get home from work. Hopefully, by then you’ll feel somewhat better.”

  After Earl left the room, Virginia lay in bed for a while. Finally, mustering up her strength, she pulled herself out of bed. “If Earl cared anything about me, he would have taken time off work to look after me,” she grumbled.

  Virginia threw on a pair of jeans and a button-down blouse before stumbling into the kitchen. With a diminished appetite, nothing appealed to her, so she fixed herself a cup of tea. Even though she didn’t care much for the taste, the warm liquid felt good on her scratchy throat. When the cup was empty, she placed it in the sink, which was devoid of any breakfast dishes. Apparently, Earl had put his dishes in the dishwasher. She felt thankful for his consideration in doing that much at least.

  Guess I can’t blame him for not taking the day off to be with me. He’s a new employee at the car dealership, and it probably wouldn’t go over well with his boss. Besides, we’re not rich, and we need a steady income to stay up with the bills coming in, not to mention food, clothes, and other essential items.

  Virginia grabbed the car keys and her handbag then opened the back door. She wanted to check on the tomato plants she’d put in the ground two days ago, before getting her vehicle out of the garage.

  Walking toward her small garden patch, she was shocked to see that her tomato plants had both died. They looked like someone had struck a match and lit them on fire. It made no sense. The last two evenings it had rained, so the plants had to have gotten enough water.

  “I don’t understand this. All my plants seemed healthy the day I brought them home. I bet that young Amish woman sold me some diseased plants.” She broke off a piece from one of the plants. “I don’t think those people across the road can be trusted.” Virginia continued to bluster out loud as she tossed the plant debris away. “My poor garden looks terrible. Maybe if I go back there and complain, she’ll give me all new plants.” She paused from her ranting and rubbed her sore throat. I need to quit talking to myself.

  Virginia kick
ed at a clump of dirt with the toe of her sneaker. I wonder what went wrong with those tomato plants.

  Sylvia yawned as she sat at the kitchen table, trying to eat her breakfast while feeding Allen from his highchair. The baby had been fed and gone back to sleep, so she only had one child to worry about before Mary Ruth showed up.

  “Would you like me to take over helping Allen eat his breakfast?” Amy asked. “That way you can eat yours in peace.”

  Peace? Sylvia’s jaw clenched. She hadn’t felt a moment of peace since her husband, father, and brother had died. Now with their mother away in New York and Amy counting on Sylvia to work in the greenhouse, she felt more stressed than ever.

  “Sister, did you hear what I said?” Amy reached over and touched Sylvia’s arm.

  “Jah, I heard. If you’re willing to oversee Allen trying to feed himself, that’s fine with me.”

  “Course I’m willing.”

  “And are you also willing to clean up the mess he makes?”

  Amy nodded. “If it takes too long, our brother can open the greenhouse today.”

  From his seat across the table, Henry gave no response.

  When Amy took over with Allen, Sylvia picked up the newspaper lying on the corner of the table. “There’s an article in here about the new greenhouse. Seems they’re having a big grand opening sale this weekend—including Sunday.” She looked over at Amy. “With them being English, they’re bound to be open on days we are closed.”

  “We can’t worry about it.” Amy spoke softly, although wrinkles had formed across her forehead. “We just need to be confident that God will take care of our needs.”

  Sylvia pursed her lips. “If He was really taking care of our needs, Toby, Dad, and Abe would still be here. A lot of good it’s done us to try and live a good Christian life.” Her feelings were out, and Sylvia was glad she’d voiced her thoughts. As far as she was concerned, God had abandoned them, and they now had to fend for themselves.

  “Remember, Matthew 5:45 says that the rain falls on the just as well as the unjust,” Amy said.

  “You sure know how to quote scriptures.” It was the first thing Henry had said since they’d sat down to eat breakfast.

  “I’ve learned by reading the Bible every day and also from listening to our ministers’ sermons during worship services.” Amy looked over at Sylvia. “You know God’s Word as well as I do. Your faith should be as strong as mine.”

  “Well it’s not.” Sylvia leaped out of her chair, nearly knocking it over. “I’m going to check on Rachel before the babysitter arrives.”

  As she fled the room, a strangled cry of frustration burst from her throat. Will I ever feel whole again?

  Amy’s gaze settled on her nephew as she took a couple of deep breaths. “Your mamma feels cheated from the loss of our family members. But as a Christian, she needs to let go of her anger and bitterness because it’s not doing any good.”

  Allen looked up at Amy with a curious expression. She realized the little guy had no idea what she was talking about.

  After Allen finished eating and she cleaned him up, Amy took her nephew to the living room to play. Then she returned to the kitchen, where Henry still sat at the table, looking at his pocketknife.

  Amy picked up the small container of raspberries sitting on the counter, poured them into a colander, and turned on the water to wash them. “I was surprised to see these had already turned red, so I collected all that there was.”

  Henry only grunted.

  “Would you please go out and open the greenhouse now?”

  He squinted at Amy from across the table. “Why don’t you do it, like you usually do?”

  “I still have a few chores to do here, but I should be out there before any customers show up. Sylvia will come out with me as soon as Mary Ruth arrives.”

  “Okay, but can I borrow your schlissel?”

  Her brows furrowed. “Why do you need my key when you have your own?”

  “I—I can’t find it. Must have lost it somewhere,” he stammered.

  “When was the last time you saw the schlissel?”

  With palms up, Henry shrugged his shoulders. “Guess it’s been a few weeks—maybe longer, since I wasn’t asked to unlock the doors for some time.”

  “Did you have your key when you were asked to lock the doors at the end of the workday?”

  “Don’t know, but I never locked ’em with a key anyways. Always just turned the lock on the door knob before pulling it shut.”

  Amy stiffened. “Maybe the person who knocked over the potted plants found your key and picked it up. That could be how they got into the greenhouse.”

  “Yeah, maybe, but I’m gonna start lookin’ for the key.” Henry jumped up from his seat and made a mad dash for the back door.

  Amy leaned forward with her hands resting on her forehead. Heavenly Father, if Henry’s key is still around, please, help us find it.

  Clymer

  Warm water churned the soap into frothy suds as Belinda filled the kitchen sink and added liquid detergent. With breakfast over and the dishes soaking, she was ready to take care of another task she had wanted to do this morning. “Before I start washing the breakfast dishes, I’d like to walk out to the phone shed and make a call to the family at home. I want to let them know how things are going here and see how they’re all doing,” Belinda announced.

  “That’s a good idea, Mom.” Ezekiel poured himself a second cup of coffee and added a spoonful of sugar. “Feel free to check the answering machine. There could be a message from Amy, Sylvia, or even Henry.”

  “I will. If there are other messages, I’ll make sure they don’t get erased, and you can check them when you have time.”

  “Sounds good.” He smiled, dropping his spoon into the sink. “It sure is nice having you here—and not just to help out. We enjoy your company.”

  Belinda returned his smile. “And I enjoy yours.” She looked at Angela Mary, sitting on a wooden booster seat Ezekiel had made to heighten the chair the little girl occupied. Although it saddened Belinda to miss out on so much that would go on in her son and his wife’s family here, she wouldn’t say a word about it. She wanted Ezekiel to feel good about remaining in Clymer.

  Michelle entered the kitchen and took a seat at the table. “I finally got little Vernon settled. He did a lot of fussing throughout the night and even when he woke up this morning.” She shook her head. “Angela Mary wasn’t like that at all when she was a boppli. In fact, the only time she cried was when she was hungerich or her windel needed to be changed.”

  “All babies are different. I’m sure once you’ve established a routine, things will improve.”

  Michelle massaged her forehead. “I sure hope so, and I hope it happens before you have to return to Strasburg. I don’t know what I’d do without you right now.”

  “Well, not to worry; I’ll stay as long as you need me.” Belinda hoped it wouldn’t be more than two or three weeks at the most. As much as she enjoyed being here, she had responsibilities at home.

  “I’m going to head out to the phone shed now.” Belinda tightened the dark scarf on her head and went out the back door.

  When she got to the phone shed, she stepped inside and took a seat. The green button on the answering machine blinked, so there were definitely some messages.

  She clicked the button and listened to each one. Most were from customers interested in purchasing supplies for their bee business, but the last one was from her youngest daughter.

  “Hi, it’s me, Amy. I’m calling to see how things are going there and to tell Mom not to worry about us or the business. We’re getting along fine here and keeping plenty busy.”

  Belinda decided to return the call right away and respond to Amy’s message. She dialed the number and was surprised when Henry picked it up after the second ring.

  “Hello. If you’re calling about the greenhouse, we’re not open yet. If you have a message for someone in the family, I’ll be glad to take it.�
�

  “Henry, it’s your mamm.”

  “Oh, hey. How are ya, Mom?”

  “I’m fine. We’re all fine here. How are things going there?”

  When Henry gave no response, she phrased the question again.

  “Umm … well …”

  “Is there a problem, Henry?”

  “I lost my key to the greenhouse. I’ve been lookin’ everywhere I can think of, but it hasn’t turned up.”

  “It’s nothing to worry about, Son. Amy and Sylvia both have a key.”

  “I know, but …” Henry’s voice trailed off.

  “But what? Is there something going on I should know about?”

  “Jah, but Amy told me not to say anything to you about it.”

  “About what?” Belinda pressed her trembling fingers against her chin. “I need to know what’s going on, Henry.”

  “Okay, I’ll tell ya. A couple days ago, someone got into the greenhouse during the night—or maybe it happened in the wee hours of the morning.”

  “Who was it? Did they take anything?”

  “We don’t know who it was, and nothing seemed to be missing. Amy told me that as soon as she has the time, she’ll go to the hardware store and get another lock and all new keys made just in case we don’t find mine. We’ll ask Jesse Smucker if he has time to put it on.” There was a slight pause before Henry continued. “We found a bunch of potted plants dumped over onto the floor.”

  “Maybe your hund or one of the katze got in and knocked over the plants.”

  “I don’t think so, Mom. Blackie slept in my room that night, and I don’t think any of our cats would be strong enough to knock over the pots. They were some of the heavier ones. Besides, how would a dog or one of the cats get the door to the greenhouse open?”

  Belinda blinked rapidly as she clutched the folds in her dress. “I don’t like the sound of this, Henry. I’m needed here, but I might be needed there more.”

  “It’s okay, Mom. We’re all fine, and there’s no need for you to come home right now. If it’ll make ya feel any better, I’ll ask one of the men in our community to come over and take a look around.”