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

  “Jah, that would put my mind at ease. Oh, and Henry … I want you to let me know right away if anything else out of the ordinary happens at our place. Understood?”

  “Jah, Mom.”

  “All right, Son. Give your sisters my love, and let them know that I’m praying for all of you.”

  “Okay. Bye, Mom.”

  “Goodbye, Henry.”

  When Belinda hung up the phone, she remained in the shed for several minutes, mulling things over. She felt sure that the vandalism that had been done to their mailbox, the sign out front, and now this happened for a reason. Someone either didn’t like them or wanted their business to fail. The question was who and why?

  Virginia lay on the couch, reading a magazine she’d picked up at the pharmacy. She had slipped back into her comfy pajamas as soon as she got home. Swallowing still hurt, and the cherry-flavored lozenges weren’t helping anymore. Virginia wanted so badly to feel better.

  Thinking a cup of herbal tea might help, she pulled herself up and plodded into the kitchen. After filling a cup with water and putting it in the microwave, Virginia took a seat at the table. Once it was hot enough, she added a teabag along with a heaping spoonful of honey.

  Once the tea had steeped, Virginia took the cup and went back to the living room. Sitting on the couch, she sipped the warm brew gratefully. Even though she wasn’t much of a tea drinker, the soothing lemon herb tea went down easy, and it tasted pretty good with the addition of the honey.

  Virginia hadn’t started anything for supper and didn’t plan to. Earl would have to either get them takeout or barbecue something on the grill. Of course, there wasn’t much Virginia was in the mood to eat. She’d picked up a few things to help her cold and sore throat, but so far, it hadn’t helped much. She’d gargled with salt water and nearly gagged. There oughta be something that’ll make me feel better. Maybe I should have gone to the ER.

  Virginia reclined on the couch again and had rolled onto her side when Earl came in through the front door. “How’d your day go?” he asked. “Do you feel any better?”

  “Not really. I got some things at the pharmacy, but I still feel lousy.” She pulled herself to a sitting position. “By the way … those tomato plants I got from the greenhouse across the street are dead. I think that young Amish woman sold me some defective plants.”

  He took a seat at the end of the couch, picked up her feet, and put them in his lap. “Oh, oh. I’m afraid it might be my fault they died.”

  Virginia coughed and massaged her throat. “How was it your fault?”

  “The fellow at work who told me about putting horse manure on plants brought up the topic again today.” Earl cleared his throat a couple of times, and spots of color erupted on his cheeks. “Said he forgot to mention that fresh manure was too strong to put on the plants. It needs to age, and mixing it with compost then letting it set a few months would be the best way.”

  “Oh boy. No wonder those plants keeled over.”

  “I’ll go over to the greenhouse and get you two new plants, and then we can start over.”

  “I wanted to have a small garden, but with me not feeling well, I’ve lost my desire. So, don’t worry about getting any new plants. I’ll forget about gardening this year and buy our tomatoes at the grocery store or one of the local farmers’ markets.”

  “Suit yourself, but I wouldn’t mind going to the greenhouse and buying some new plants.”

  Virginia shook her head forcibly. “I don’t want anything more to do with those people. The way they live is strange to me—sort of like the Quakers and pioneers did many years ago.” She waited to see if Earl would comment, but when he remained silent, she added something else. “While I was at the pharmacy today, I saw a couple of Amish women there. They were speaking to each other in a strange, foreign-sounding language.”

  “It’s Dutch, Virginia—or more to the point, Pennsylvania Dutch.”

  “Well, whatever it’s called, it seems odd-sounding to me.” She pulled her fingers through the ends of her tangled hair. “Anyway, back to my dilemma. They should have given me instructions on how to plant the items I bought. I hope that new greenhouse runs the King family right out of business.”

  Earl’s eyes widened as his mouth fell open. “That’s a hateful thing to say, Virginia. What have you got against those people?”

  “I keep telling ya, but you’re not listening—they’re strange, and all the traffic on this road, mostly brought on by their business, gets on my nerves. I thought by moving to the country everything would be quiet and peaceful.”

  “I do listen to you, by the way, but I don’t know what you think can be done about our neighbors. It’s a new place, and we haven’t even finished unpacking.” He gave her feet a little squeeze. “Trust me, Virginia, you’ll get used to it in time.”

  “No, I won’t. I don’t like livin’ here, and I never will.”

  By the time Jared finished bidding a new job, it was almost noon, so he decided to stop at Isaac’s Famous Grilled Sandwiches for lunch. He’d always enjoyed coming here to eat, since it was near the Choo Choo Barn model train layout and the Strasburg Train Shop.

  Jared’s fascination with trains began when he was a boy and he and his folks had traveled by train to see relatives in South Bend, Indiana. Someday he hoped to make a trip by train all the way out to the West Coast. He’d heard others who had gone there talk about the Rocky and Cascade Mountains, as well as the Pacific Ocean. One of Jared’s friends who’d made such a trip came back with all kinds of interesting stories.

  Jared had thought if he and Amy ever got married, he would take her on a trip to see some of the western states. Maybe they would be able to see the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone National Park.

  But if I can’t convince Amy to let me court her again, there will be no marriage or train ride out West. Jared gripped the reins as he guided Dandy to the hitching rail. It wouldn’t be any fun to take a trip like that by myself.

  When Jared entered the restaurant a short time later, he spotted Lydia sitting at a table by herself. He placed his order then walked over to her table. “Mind if I join you?” he asked.

  A deep dimple formed in her right cheek as she smiled up at him. “You’re more than welcome to eat here at my table.”

  Jared pulled out a chair and sat down. “What’s new with you these days, Lydia?”

  “Nothing exciting. I’m still helping my mamm make quilted items. In fact, before I came here, I was out delivering some finished quilts to a couple of shops in the area that sell on consignment.”

  “Sounds like you’re keeping busy then.”

  “Jah. How about you? Have you been doing a lot of roofing jobs this summer?”

  “Sure have. I’m keeping my crew plenty busy, and I always make sure to have plenty of water on hand for my guys so they don’t get overheated up there on the rooftops.”

  “I’m sure they appreciate it.”

  They visited more about the warm weather, and then Lydia posed another question. “Have you seen Amy lately?”

  He gave a brief nod. “I stopped by the greenhouse the other day and bought a plant to give my mamm for her birthday.”

  “How’s she doing?”

  “You mean my mother?”

  “No, I meant Amy.”

  “Oh. Well, it was great to see her and talk a short while. But I must tell you, I do have concerns about her.”

  “Anything specific?”

  “She looked awful tired, and when we spoke, her voice sounded strained.” Jared wasn’t sure if he should tell Lydia what Henry had told him, but he decided to bring up the topic and see if she already knew about the vandalism that had taken place. “Did you know that there’s been some damage done to the Kings’ property?”

  Her eyebrows rose as she gave a little gasp. “I had no idea anything like that was going on. Did Amy give you any details?”

  “Not much, but Henry’s actually the one who told me about the things that have been done.”
Jared spoke in Pennsylvania Dutch so none of the English people who might be nearby would understand what he said.

  “What exactly was done?”

  After Jared told Lydia all that he’d learned, he thought about Amy and hoped she wouldn’t mind that he’d discussed this with Lydia. She had asked him not to say anything, and he didn’t want to do anything that might push away any hopes of them getting back together. Even so, Lydia and Amy had always been close. Surely she wouldn’t care if her best friend knew about the vandalism.

  “Oh, my! Do you think somebody is out to destroy their business, or could someone in the King family have an enemy they don’t know about?”

  Jared shrugged. “It could be either one, I suppose, or maybe it’s just some teenage kids sowing their wild oats. Henry mentioned that his friends might be upset because all of his chores have kept him from spending time with them.”

  “Have they called the sheriff or told anyone else about it?”

  “Amy said they haven’t notified the sheriff, but I don’t know about friends. I doubt it though, since she asked me not to say anything.” Jared paused for a quick breath. “I wish there was an adult male present on the property. I mean, Amy’s brother is fine and all, but I really think if whoever is doing this had to deal with a man living there, it could deter the problem.”

  “I agree.” Lydia picked up her glass and drank some water. “I’ll have to stop by the greenhouse soon and talk to Amy.”

  “That’s fine, but it would probably be best if you didn’t tell her that I told you.”

  “Okay, I’ll just drop by to see how things are going. Hopefully, since we’ve been friends a long time, Amy will open up to me.”

  Jared hoped that would be the case, but he had his doubts. He and Amy had been friends for some time too, but she hadn’t opened up to him. If not for Henry blabbing, Jared wouldn’t know a thing.

  ‘I’m going up to the house to get my sack lunch and check on our sister,” Amy called to Henry from her place behind the counter. Since there were no customers at the moment, she figured it would be okay to leave him alone in the greenhouse for the short time she’d be gone.

  “Yeah, okay,” Henry hollered from the other end of the building. “Would ya bring my lunch out too?”

  “Of course, but you’d better come up here and keep an eye on things while I’m gone. If someone shows up, it wouldn’t be good to leave the cash register unattended.”

  “No problem. I’m coming.”

  Amy left the greenhouse and hurried toward the house. Sylvia had developed a bad headache and gone up an hour ago to take something for the pain.

  When Amy entered the house, she found Mary Ruth in the kitchen fixing lunch for the little ones.

  “Where’s Sylvia?” Amy asked.

  “She’s in there.” Mary Ruth nodded with her head in the direction of the living room.

  “I’d better check on her.” Amy made her way to the living room, where she found her sister lying on the couch with a washcloth over her forehead.

  “Has your koppweh gotten worse?” Amy rushed across the room.

  Sylvia moaned. “Jah. I feel like a stampede of horses is inside my head. Sorry, Amy, but I don’t think I can work in the greenhouse anymore today.”

  “Well, as long as we don’t get too busy, I guess Henry and I will be fine on our own.”

  Amy leaned down and patted her sister’s hand. “Is there anything I can get for you before I head back outside?”

  “No, but would you please let Mary Ruth know I’ll be staying inside? I hope she’s willing to stay and watch the kinner until you close the greenhouse and come in for the day. With the way my head is pounding, I don’t think I could manage to take care of Allen and Rachel right now.”

  “I’ll let her know. And don’t worry about anything, Sylvia. Just get some rest.”

  “Danki.” Sylvia’s voice, filled with emotion, told Amy that her sister was close to tears.

  Amy returned to the kitchen and took her lunch sack as well as Henry’s from the refrigerator. Then she grabbed two bottles of water. “Sylvia’s not feeling well enough to return to the greenhouse today, so she’s going to stay here and rest.” She looked at Mary Ruth. “Are you willing to stay until I close the greenhouse late this afternoon?”

  “Most certainly.” Mary Ruth smiled. “I’ll try to keep the kinner quiet so your sister can sleep.”

  “You might suggest that she go to her room. If she remains in the living room, she’ll never get any rest.”

  “I will.” Mary Ruth moved closer to Amy. “Do you think you and your brother can manage things in the greenhouse without your sister’s help?”

  “We don’t have much choice, but I believe we should be okay. Business has been kind of slow—probably because of the extreme heat, so I doubt we’ll have too many customers this afternoon.” Amy said goodbye and scooted out the door.

  As she approached the greenhouse, she saw a horse and buggy at the rail. She hurried into the greenhouse and placed the water and lunch sacks on the counter.

  Mom’s old boyfriend stood nearby. “Good afternoon, Amy. I came to talk to your mother. Is she here?” Monroe asked.

  “No, she’s at my brother’s place in New York, helping out with their new boppli.”

  “How long will she be gone?” He looked at Amy intently as though he didn’t quite believe her.

  “She should be back the week after next. Would you like to leave her a message?”

  He moved his head from side to side but then changed it to a nod. “Just tell her I came by to see her and that I’ll come back when she gets home.”

  “Okay, I’ll let her know.” Amy was glad she could tell Monroe that her mother wasn’t there. She still couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was something about the man that made her nervous.

  Monroe looked around as though he was inspecting the building. “So, there’s no man here to protect you?”

  Amy stood tall with her head erect. “My brother’s here and we’re getting along fine.”

  Monroe snorted as he looked at Henry, who stood a few feet from them sweeping some dirt off the floor. “That brother?”

  “Jah.”

  “Why, he’s hardly a man. He’s not much more than a boy.”

  Amy’s fingers curled into her palms. “Henry is old enough to do most chores a fully grown man can do.”

  “If you say so. Maybe I misjudged him.”

  Maybe you did. Amy bit back the words on her tongue. “Is there anything else I can help you with, Mr. Esh?”

  He shook his head. “Nope. Just remember to tell your mamm I was here.” He turned and went out the door.

  Amy looked at Henry to see if he would comment, but he merely kept sweeping the floor.

  She picked up one of the water bottles and took a drink, allowing the liquid to cool her mouth. I hope that man doesn’t keep coming around, and I especially hope he has no designs on our mother.

  The following Monday as Amy finished watering the two hanging baskets on their front porch, she thought about her mother and how much she missed her.

  I am glad Mom will be home soon. Even though they’d been managing the greenhouse okay, Amy felt as though she carried most of the burden. She’d handled all the customer relations so far, and Henry usually needed prompting to get things done each day.

  Amy turned off the spigot and put away the hose then headed for the greenhouse to get things in order for the day.

  The first thing she did after entering the building was to put the OPEN sign in the front window. Following that, Amy went to open the back door and check the plants, making sure everything looked in order. Ever since the incident with the potted plants, Amy couldn’t help being a bit skittish when first coming in to open things up. She liked it better when she and Henry went in together. But not every day played out the way she wanted. This morning, Henry had been delayed for a bit while helping Sylvia take down some clocks to change the batteries.

&n
bsp; After Amy gave a thorough look around and felt satisfied with things, she headed up front to check the shelves that displayed her mother’s jellies, jams, and honey. She tidied up the pieces and moved back to the register. They’d been selling a lot of her mother’s canned goods, which Amy knew would make Mom happy to hear when she returned.

  A few minutes later, the front door opened. Amy was surprised when Lydia came in. It had been awhile since she’d been by, and the only time Amy had seen her friend recently was at church yesterday.

  “How are you?” Lydia stepped up to the counter.

  “Doing okay.” Amy hoped her tone sounded sincere. “How are you?”

  “I’m keeping busy helping my mamm but otherwise good.” Lydia’s voice lowered, although Amy didn’t know why. She was the only customer in the building at the moment. “Is anything wrong, Amy? You would tell me if there was, wouldn’t you?”

  “Everything’s fine. Why do you ask?”

  “Because you’re picking at your cuticles like you’ve always done whenever you’re stressed about something.”

  Amy glanced down and pulled her hands apart. “It’s just a bad aagewehnet.”

  “Jah, a habit you’ve had since we were girls, but you only did it when you were stressed or worried about something.” Lydia tapped her fingers against the countertop as if to drive the point home.

  “Guess I am a little bit stressed,” Amy conceded.

  “About what?”

  “My mamm’s in New York right now, helping Michelle with her new baby.”

  “I didn’t realize she’d given birth. What did she have?”

  “A little boy. They named him after my daed.”

  Lydia smiled. “How nice. I bet that made your mom happy.”

  “It did.”

  “So, who’s helping you run the greenhouse while she’s gone?”

  “Sylvia and Henry, although they’re still at the house right now.” Amy touched her temples while closing her eyes briefly. “Things have been really busy here, and there are times when it’s hard to keep up even with my siblings’ help.”