The busy morning was already helping alleviate some of the tense emotions that had welled up inside Martha due to the situation of the evening before. At least now she knew the truth about James, but it also meant that she knew another truth as well. That truth was about Amos, and the type of person he might really be. Martha no longer knew if she could trust him, but at the same time, she still struggled to consider him a bad person.
Martha had just finished cleaning the lobby and dining room, and now was working on folding up some towels before storing them in one of the linen closets. As she closed the closet and turned, she saw a frantic Miriam rushing through the front door.
“I can’t believe this! They did it again.” Tears fell from her eyes as she spoke.
Martha ran to her side. “What happened?” she asked.
“They vandalized the gazebo,” Miriam answered. Her sobs began to fade, but the sadness lingered in her eyes. “I didn’t get a good look at it, but once I saw the floor all torn up, I just got so upset that I ran back here.”
“Come with me. Let’s go take a look at it together.”
They walked out across the property toward the creek, but barely spoke the entire way. Martha wanted to be supportive and offer words of reassurance and encouragement, but she was still battling thoughts of apprehension about the night before. It seemed like an improbable coincidence; she had bumped into Amos shortly after leaving the very area where they were now headed to because of vandalism. She glanced over at Miriam as they continued on, wondering if she should mention that she crossed paths with him yesterday while coming back from the creek. Was it relevant? Did Amos do this? And if so, why would he do such a thing?
The pair reached the small gazebo that overlooked the creek where Martha had been the evening before to clear her mind. Miriam’s face twisted and contorted as she inspected the damage from yards away. Martha could sense the anguish and sorrow as it filled the poor woman’s senses.
“This is the very place where Isaac proposed to my daughter, Rachel,” Miriam said, tears once more filling her eyes. “Who would do something like this?” The distraught woman walked around the gazebo, carefully surveying the area. Martha started closely behind, but then stepped onto the floor of the structure and crouched down to examine the damage. Wooden floor boards were smashed and thrown about, as if someone was trying to look under the floor for something. Or maybe they were just trying to destroy the structure. Either way, she knew for a fact that it hadn’t looked the same way the day before.
“I hope it wasn’t the other B&B. Those two owners have been doing all they can to hurt our business and set us back.” Miriam was clearly struggling to regain her composure.
“You really think they came out here and did this sometime between yesterday evening and this morning?” Martha asked as she rose back to her feet.
Miriam shook her head. “Nee, I don’t think they came out here themselves, but I’m fairly certain they could have hired someone to do it.”
Martha looked down once more. “Well, the thing is, I came out here late yesterday evening, and I saw Amos wandering around the property with a heavy backpack strapped to his back. He claims that he attends community college back home and was carrying his thick school books around.”
Miriam’s brow furrowed. “Jonas hasn’t said anything to me about Amos being in college.”
“That’s what I found odd as well,” admitted Martha. “Plus, it sure looked heavy for a pack full of books. I wonder if he wasn’t carrying tools or something of the sort. Surely a backpack full of heavy tools could be accountable for the damage done in the gazebo.”
Miriam let out a long, deep sigh. “I don’t know what to do anymore, but we really need to come up with some type of plan to stop this. It doesn’t even matter who is doing it; I just want it to stop.” The pain and desperation in her voice was apparent to Martha, who was also struggling to understand and accept recent occurrences.
“Maybe it’s time we call the local sheriff. Perhaps he will be able to do something about it this time,” Martha suggested.
A forlorn expression covered Miriam’s face. “As much as I like him, I just don’t have enough faith left to believe that he can really do anything to help us. His hands are tied as far as the rival B&B goes. It’s hard to stop bad people from doing bad things when they are friends with the person running the town.”
Martha sighed. “Well, you said you wanted a plan, right? Maybe he can help us with that, or at least give us some tips on how to go about preventing any more of this vandalism.”
Miriam nodded. “You’re right. I suppose his help will be better than none at all. Part of me wishes that Jonas was working today, though.”
“Yes, and James,” Martha added. The thought of his name brought a smile to her lips.
“Let’s head back. I’ll call the sheriff. Hopefully something good will come of it.”
Martha smiled at Miriam. The pair walked back to the B&B together, discussing various suspects and thoughts on who and why anyone would attack the gazebo, of all places.
As they walked up the steps and Miriam pulled the door open, a thought occurred to Martha. She was still unsure of who was behind the vandalism, but she couldn’t shake the thought of Amos being involved. The only problem was that she couldn’t think of any motive that could explain why he’d damage that gazebo.
“Miriam, how many people do you think know about Isaac’s proposal out there by the creek? What if someone found out and that is why they attacked that specific spot? Wouldn’t that lend credibility to the idea that it was, in fact, deliberate vandalism and not just some treasure seekers?”
Miriam stood in the doorway, holding up the heavy oak door. “You think the rival B&B owners purposely had the gazebo damaged because they heard it had sentimental value?”
“It’s possible,” Martha replied. “Or maybe someone else is trying to cause problems for us. Either way, I think it’s at least a good theory to share with the sheriff. It might even rule out the treasure hunters as suspects, and then he’d have more incentive to pursue an investigation of the rival B&B.”
“Okay, we can mention it to him,” Miriam said in agreement. “But don’t have high hopes. Come on, let’s go make that call.” She disappeared inside as Martha followed closely behind.
Miriam held the phone and dialed the local sheriff’s station. Martha sat down with a warm cup of hot meadow tea and listened in on the call. “Good morning, Sheriff Dobbs. This is Miriam Berkholder at Eden. We had another issue last night. It looks like more vandals trespassed on the property overnight and tore up the floor of the gazebo out back.”
Martha sipped at her tea as the phone call continued on in the background. She drifted off into her thoughts, wondering if Captain Kidd’s treasure might actually exist. Was someone digging up floors in an attempt to uncover lost gold, or was someone doing their best to run Miriam and her business out of town?
“The sheriff will be here shortly,” Miriam said, breaking through Martha’s concentration.
“Oh, that’s great,” she said, looking up at Miriam.
“We’ll see,” she replied. “He pretty much said the same thing he always does: that he’ll come out and take a look, but unless there’s blatant evidence staring him in the face, it’ll be difficult to investigate the damage.”
Martha frowned. “I’m sorry, but let’s hope for the best.”
“Yes, I think that’s all we can do. He asked us to meet him here and then we can walk out back to the gazebo together. You’re welcome to join us if you didn’t have anything else to do right now.”
Smiling, Martha accepted her invitation. “Denki, I’ll come along.”
Sheriff Dobbs arrived approximately twenty minutes after Miriam’s phone call. He strode into the lobby, removing his hat as he stepped inside. “Good morning, ladies,” he greeted them.
“Good morning,” they both replied in unison.
“So, what happened last night?” he asked. “I am starting to grow concerned. This is the first time there have ever been complaints about vandalism here while it’s been occupied. The treasure hunters have always been respectful of that fact at least.”
“Well, it doesn’t make sense to me either, but someone is causing these problems. The gazebo out by the creek is all torn up. It looks like someone took an ax or a hammer to the floor.” Miriam rubbed at her eyes as she explained the vandalism.
Martha stood there quietly, waiting for the right moment to add her own input. She wondered if she should bring up the fact that Amos was wandering the property with a heavy backpack. It was all just a hunch, so should she risk being wrong?
“If you ladies wouldn’t mind showing me out to the gazebo, I’d surely appreciate it,” Sheriff Dobbs said. Miriam nodded and the three headed out to the gazebo.
The sun was still rising, and the clouds looked void of imminent rain. For some reason, a sense of peace enveloped her mind, and Martha thought about James, wondering what he was doing at that very moment. Was he thinking about her too? She wished he was with her to help her through this. Would he advise her to tell Dobbs about Amos, or would he ask her not to? Suddenly, the discussion between Sheriff Dobbs and Miriam pulled her back out of the clouds.
“I know this is all so frustrating, and I truly wish I could stop the culprits, but I’m honestly at a loss. Miriam, I know you mentioned something about this gazebo having sentimental value, but I don’t know if that would make it a target. The other owners just want you out; they don’t care to make it that personal.”
“They made it personal the day they started causing problems here,” she said.
Sheriff Dobbs sighed. “I’m sorry, I really am. I just don’t have any viable suspects or leads. The mayor would laugh me out of his office if I tried charging the B&B owners with such flimsy evidence.”
Miriam wiped at her eyes as Martha struggled with making a decision once more. She looked at her friend and decided right then what to do. Miriam was right; this has to stop, she thought. “Sheriff?” she said, calling for his attention.
“Yes?” Dobbs turned away from the gazebo to look at Martha.
“I don’t know if this is relevant or anything, but it could be, so I thought you should know. I came out here yesterday evening to clear my head for a bit, and on my way back to my cottage, I bumped into one of the men renovating the B&B. He works for Jonas. His name is Amos, and he was carrying a very heavy backpack.”
“Hmm,” the sheriff mumbled. “You saw this man out here late yesterday with a pack full of something heavy? Like tools?”
“Possibly, but I really don’t know. I doubt he’s a suspect or anything, but I thought I should at least mention it.”
Dobbs took out a notepad and started scribbling in it. “I’m going to take a look into this guy and see what I can find. Do either of you have any other information about him that could be helpful?”
Martha shook her head.
“Not really, but would this help? When I asked what he was carrying, he told me the backpack was full of textbooks from his college,” she added.
Sheriff Dobbs smiled. “That will definitely help. If he’s enrolled in any state or private colleges, I’ll be able to find out. If anything else happens, please call me right away. Otherwise, I’m going to look into this and as soon as I know anything, I’ll stop by.”