After Sheriff Dobbs had left, Martha struggled throughout the morning with the thought of Amos walking around the property damaging things just for spite in the night. It didn’t make sense, but wasn’t that was he was doing? Who walks around the fields and by the creek carrying school books in the late evening? These questions and others lingered on her mind, causing the day to feel like it was going by at a snail’s pace.
As the hours on the clock wound down and the late afternoon arrived, business around the B&B was beginning to slow down. The few guests who were staying there were now in their rooms, and Jonas and his crew were finishing up their last tasks before retiring for the night. Miriam was speaking on the landline phone when Martha walked by the front desk. She paid no attention to the conversation and continued toward the utility closet to return some cleaning supplies.
After putting away the items and grabbing a feather duster, Martha turned around and walked into one of the adjacent rooms. She dusted some of the furniture and the window sills until she heard some commotion coming from the lobby. She walked in to see Amos, Jonas, and James talking to each other while Miriam continued her conversation with the unknown caller. After a few moments, she heard a loud click and looked toward the landline to see Miriam walking out from behind the desk.
“Excuse me!” Miriam called out. The three men whipped their heads around quickly, almost causing Martha to chuckle. “I was just speaking to the town’s restoration expert, Nick Dale, and he was able to do a total restoration on the antique door that was vandalized.”
“I knew he would be able to,” Jonas said.
“He said it looks brand new; like it was just crafted, so I really want to make sure we put a lot of care into ensuring it gets installed without any further issues. If anything else happens to derail our progress again, I might just call it quits with this place,” she said, letting out a long sigh. “It’s just proving too costly and difficult to keep dealing with these vandals on top of all the other repairs that need to be made. Anyway, Mr. Dale said he will be delivering the door tonight after the last coat of varnish has a chance to dry. I’ll have him place it in the barn until morning.”
“That’s great news, Miriam,” Jonas said. “I’ll install it for you first thing in the morning if you’d like.”
Miriam smiled. “Denki, Jonas.”
Jonas turned to his crew and dismissed them for the day. Before James left, he turned and waved to Martha. The notion surprised her so much that she froze in place, unable to wave back. All she managed was a large smile.
“Jonas,” Miriam called as the other men disappeared out of the front door. “I need your help with a pipe.”
“Yes?” he said, turning his attention toward her. “I’ll take a look at this pipe now?”
Miriam laughed. “Oh, I was just saying that so I could ask your help with something.”
Jonas’s eyes grew larger. “What do you mean?”
Martha continued dusting, completely inconspicuous to Miriam and Jonas as they engaged in their discussion. “I do need your help with something, but it’s not a pipe.”
“Oh,” he said. “Anything you need.”
Miriam smiled. “Well, I don’t really know who’s causing problems for us regarding the vandalism, but since Martha caught Amos outside the night before the gazebo was damaged, I haven’t been able to help but wonder if he might be involved somehow. I was thinking we could set up a trap to try and catch him in the act.”
Martha listened on carefully, unsure what sort of trap Miriam could have in mind to catch Amos. She noticed that Jonas didn’t respond right away. He stood silent for several minutes before speaking his thoughts. “Well, if it is indeed Amos, I suppose luring him in somehow and catching him in the act would be the best course of action.”
“So you think it could work?” Miriam asked.
“I think it’s a good idea to try, but I’m not sure if it’ll work or not. I’m also worried that you might get hurt in the process. What happens if we do catch him in the act and something awful happens as a result? I can’t let anyone hurt you. I won’t let that happen.”
“I know there’s a risk, but we need to do something,” she insisted. “What if you asked James to help set the trap?”
Jonas looked around. “Well, that’s a gut idea, but surely the sheriff is the best bet so there’s no risk.”
Miriam shook her head. “The sheriff won’t be able to do anything about it unless we catch him as he’s committing the act. Please,” she asked.
“Okay, I’ll speak with James and see if he’s willing to help us. What about Martha?”
“Martha, I think you’ve dusted that spot long enough, haven’t you?” Miriam said with a chuckle.
Martha felt embarrassed and instinctively tucked the duster behind her back to hide it. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“Don’t be sorry,” Miriam said in response. “I’m not sure if you’ve heard our conversation, but I wanted to know if you’d be interested in helping us set up a trap to catch the vandals tonight. He’s going to ask James if he’d like to help as well.”
Martha was surprised to be asked to help, but accepted the offer without actually thinking about it. “How is this trap going to work, though? And who is it for?” she asked, trying to appear as if she hadn’t overheard anything that wasn’t meant for her ears.
“We suspect Amos might be behind it,” Jonas interjected. “If this is true and we catch him, I’m not sure how the young man will react, so we were hoping to have a few others with us to minimize any risks.”
“You think he’d hurt someone?” Martha wondered.
“I don’t know for sure if he would or wouldn’t, but I know for a fact that he wouldn’t attempt anything if he’s too outnumbered,” Jonas said.
“We don’t want him to get hurt either,” Miriam added. “We just want to stop whoever is doing this and end it. If you and James come along, we can make sure everything goes smoothly.”
Martha realized the plan might work, but there were still nagging questions that tugged at her thoughts. “Wait. What happens if he doesn’t show up?”
“Then we’ll know he has nothing to do with it and can focus on the treasure hunters and the rival B&B,” said Miriam.
That made sense, but how would they lure Amos to a specific spot with the intention of getting him to cause damage? Martha struggled to come up with any methods that could work. “But how are you going to lure him in and trap him?”
“Leave the details and intricacies to us,” Jonas remarked with a smile.
Miriam nodded. “His motive puzzles me, though. Could he be working for the rival B&B?”
Jonas tapped his chin. “Or perhaps he’s just causing more damage to prolong the work that needs to be done. He knows I don’t have any jobs lined up after this one yet that will require his services, so he could be worried about losing out on work,” Jonas explained.
“Whatever the reason, it’s probably worth a shot,” Miriam said. “Either we catch the culprit and stop it from happening again, or we cross his name off the suspect list.”
Martha smiled. “That makes a lot of sense. But, what’s the plan?”
“We think there’s a good chance that whoever damaged the antique door might want to stop us from putting it back up now that it’s restored. If Amos is the person responsible, it makes sense that he might attempt to get to the door before the morning.”
“Oh! You think he’s going to try to destroy the door before Jonas installs it tomorrow?” Now the plan was starting to fall into place for Martha; it all made sense finally. She hoped it would all work out, but uncertainty clouded her mind. Was Amos the good guy that she initially had thought him to be, or was he this a vandal who kept showing his true face in the dark?
“There’s a good chance of it if he’s the one responsible for any of the other damage that has been caused recently,” Miriam said. “We just need to make sure everything is set up, and that we’re ready for him when and if he shows up at the barn before morning.”
“And if he doesn’t?” Martha asked.
“If he doesn’t, we cross him off the suspect list and take turns with naps throughout the day,” Miriam said with a laugh. “Because it’s going to be a long night if we’re wrong about him.”
“Amos isn’t the type of guy to show up to work early unless asked to, but he’s never late either. If he plans on doing anything to that door tonight, he won’t wait too long before he makes his move to do it. He cherishes his sleep, and besides, he won’t want us noticing he’s out too late,” Jonas said.
“Okay, so should we just all meet back here in a few hours or what?” Martha inquired.
“I think around ten o’clock would be perfect. It’ll be very dark outside, and James and I are usually in bed by then,” said Jonas.
Miriam nodded. “Ten sounds good to me. What about you?” she asked, looking at Martha.
“Yes, that would be fine,” she replied.
“Great,” said Miriam. “Martha, you can finish up any tasks you have left for the day and make sure the guests are settled in for the night. Jonas, you can talk to James and see if he’s interested in joining us, but you and I should have some dinner and discuss the trap in depth if this plan is going to work. That’s only if you’d like to, of course.”
“I sure would,” he said, accepting her offer graciously. “Maybe tonight will be the beginning of better days.”
“I sure hope it is,” said Miriam with a smile on her face. “Everything else seems to be going so well other than the vandalism. If only people didn’t work so hard to take away the hard work of others, this world might not be so harsh,” she lamented.
“The world is only as harsh as we allow it to be,” Jonas explained. “We will stop whoever is causing you pain, Miriam. If we don’t find and stop this person tonight, we will try again; maybe tomorrow or the next day. I’m not sure how, but I promise you we’ll stop them, together.”