Tuesday, December 19
The sheriff’s office wasn’t large. It was in an older-looking, single-story building made of limestone bricks. It was located next to a busy strip mall. There was a pharmacy, dry cleaners, convenience store, and haircut place.
Next to the modern signs, the sheriff’s office looked stately. Susanna figured it might have been a house at one point. Inside, the first thing she noticed was a comfortable-looking gray-haired lady working at her computer at a small, serviceable desk. Beside her was a large glass of water, about a half-dozen file folders and spiral notebooks, and two cell phones. There was also a soup bowl filled with jelly beans.
When she, Neil, Amanda, and Dale walked in, the receptionist was on the office phone. She gave them a little smile as she gestured for them to be quiet.
Looking at each other, the four of them stood silently as a whole minute passed. Susanna looked around some more and noticed pretty garlands lining a couple of bookshelves on the other end of the room. A wreath made out of pinecones and red ribbon hung over one of the doors.
After another minute, the receptionist finished her call, punched a couple of buttons on her computer, then carefully picked out two jelly beans from the bowl. Only after popping them into her mouth did she finally speak to them. “Now, how may I help y’all?” Her voice was surprisingly melodic, tinged with that husky Kentucky accent Susanna was beginning to be familiar with.
Susanna gulped when she realized that everyone was waiting for her to answer. It felt both empowering and a little scary. “We’d like to speak to Deputy Beck,” she said at last, taking care to make sure her voice sounded firm.
Boy, was she glad that she wasn’t there alone. Of course, if Neil hadn’t been so pushy, worming his way into her business, she might have wandered around her property wondering what she should do.
She knew now that if she was standing here alone, she would have been shaking like a leaf.
The woman looked from her to Neil, who was standing about one foot behind her, holding the board. Then, popping another jelly bean into her mouth, she glanced at Amanda and Dale. “Deputy Beck is at lunch right now. He usually goes to see Lora over at Bill’s Diner.” Smiling slightly, she lowered her voice, like she was sharing something confidential. “Lora is his wife. They’re newlyweds.”
“I know Lora,” Neil said. “When do you expect him back?”
The lady looked at the clock. “I’d say within the half hour, but it might be a little more.” She shrugged. “Or a little less.”
Behind her, Susanna could hear Amanda chuckle.
The receptionist pulled out a pad of paper. “You know what? I’m thinking it might be best if y’all went ahead and left a message. I can relay it the minute Deputy Beck returns.”
But then what? It wasn’t like the deputy could call any of them.
Making up her mind, Susanna said, “If you don’t mind, we’d rather stay and wait for him. This is pretty important.” She was also afraid if she left, she might not return until another incident happened to someone in their family. That wouldn’t do.
The receptionist’s expression turned wary. “Are you in trouble, hon?”
“Nee.” Then, she rethought that. If someone sabotaging her bridge wasn’t trouble, then what was? “Well, maybe I am.” Glancing behind her at Amanda, she said, “I mean, we are.”
“I see.” Eyeing the group of them with a far sharper expression, the lady murmured, “Any particular reason you brought in that piece of wood, Mr. . . . ?”
“Vance. I’m Neil Vance. And this is evidence.”
She lumbered to her feet. “You know what? Let me see if Sheriff Brewer is available. Y’all have a seat now. Well, two of you can.” She kind of aimlessly waved a hand at her bowl of jelly beans. “Help yourself, if you’d like.”
As the receptionist disappeared down the hall, Susanna looked at the others. “Anybody want a jelly bean?”
Neil’s lips twitched. “Nee.”
“You would have thought she’d have gotten the sheriff right away,” Amanda said.
“Maybe she’s used to screening visitors,” Dale surmised. “You girls take the chairs.”
“Danke.” Susanna smiled to herself as she sat down next to Amanda. In spite of the gravity of the situation, she couldn’t help but feel comforted by the fact that the four of them were all getting along. Here they were, in a sheriff’s office, no less, and the four of them were able to be amused by the brash receptionist.
As the minutes passed, Amanda leaned closer. “Are you starting to wish that we hadn’t come here?”
“Nee. I’m glad we did. What’s been happening is scary and needs to stop.”
“I feel the same way. I’m glad I came along.”
“Me, too.”
“Are you nervous about speaking to the sheriff?”
Susanna shook her head. “I would probably be more comfortable with the deputy, but it isn’t like I actually know him or anything.” She turned to the men, who were leaning against the wall talking softly. “Any chance either of you already know the sheriff?”
Dale shook his head. “Nee. I’ve seen him around town, but I never had the occasion to speak to him.”
“I’ve never met him, either, but that’s likely a good thing,” Neil said. “I only know Deputy Beck on account of Lora. She used to be Amish. Now she works at Bill’s Diner.”
“We should go over there one day, Sue,” Amanda murmured.
“Jah.”
More minutes passed. The woman’s computer beeped . . . or maybe she was hearing things and it was nerves; maybe she was uncomfortable with the silence. But she spoke again.
“I . . . well, I just want to say that I’m glad we’re all together here,” announced Susanna.
“Me, too,” Neil said.
Amanda cleared her throat. “Does anyone have any idea who could have weakened the boards on purpose?”
“We probably don’t need to talk about that now,” Dale murmured.
“Nee, I think we probably should,” Amanda countered. “After all, I know I didn’t do it. No one in my family would have.”
Dale frowned. “Well, I didn’t do it, either. And my family uses that bridge a lot. We helped build it.”
“What do you think, Neil?” Susanna said tentatively. “Can you think of anyone who would want us to get hurt?”
“Of course not.” His voice was gruff.
She wondered if he was thinking that she suspected him. She hoped not. Because she didn’t suspect him. But if it wasn’t anyone in their three families, who would have done it?
It seemed like everyone else was thinking the same thing, too, because all four of them were staring into space when the receptionist at last reappeared, Sheriff Brewer by her side.
Sheriff Brewer looked to be in his early forties, had a cleanly shaven bald head and attractive gray eyes. He looked tall and strong. Capable of taking care of anything.
Susanna relaxed a little bit. If she was going to reach out to an outsider, she wanted it to be someone she could trust.
“Here they are, Sheriff,” the receptionist said, slightly out of breath. “Right where I left them. Y’all help yourself to some jelly beans?”
“No, ma’am,” Dale said. “But thank you.”
“Anytime—” She cut herself off, obviously distracted. “You know what? I’ve already forgotten your names.”
“I’m Neil Vance,” Neil said, then gestured to the others. “This is Susanna Schwartz. That’s her sister Amanda, and this here is Dale Kaufmann.”
“I’m Sheriff Pat Brewer.”
The receptionist smiled, looking pleased. “Now that we know who everyone is, do you want me to take some notes or something?”
Sheriff Brewer looked slightly exasperated but resigned. “No. I’ll take it from here, Hazel.” Stepping forward, he held out a hand. “It’s good to meet you all.” After they shook hands, he pointed to the piece of wood that was now leaning against the wall. “I heard that y’all brought a piece of wood in here for us to talk about?”
“Yes. We’d like to tell you about what we found,” Neil said.
“All of you?”
“Well, it was me and Neil,” Susanna said.
“I came along to offer my sister support,” Amanda said.
“And I came along because I helped build that bridge,” Dale added. “And half of it is on our property.”
“Our farms are next to each other,” Amanda said. “Though, um, our farm used to be his,” she added as she pointed to Neil.
“My office is kind of small.” Looking at Neil, he said, “How about I speak with you and Susanna alone first? Then, if we need you, we’ll come get you.”
“That sounds fine,” Amanda said.
Sheriff Brewer looked relieved. “Good. Susanna and Neil, y’all come on down to my office and fill me in.”
Susanna looked warily at Amanda before following the sheriff and Neil. She really hoped he would have some answers for her. For them.
It turned out that there was a pretty good reason that Hazel was out of breath when she’d come back to them. The office was like a rabbit warren. “This building is a hundred years old,” the sheriff said. “It was built when cave exploration was all the rage. I guess some of the early partners in the Horse Cave mine made a killing when they opened it up.” As he turned right and then right again, he laughed. “The problem was that they built this place too well.”
“How can that be a problem?” Neil asked.
“It’s built too solid and looks too pretty to tear down, so people just kept adding onto it over the years.”
“It’s a lot bigger than I thought,” Susanna said.
“It’s a lot bigger than anyone ever believes it is,” he said drily. Holding up a rubber band on his wrist, he grinned. “It’s good for counting steps, though.”
Neil chuckled. “One of my new bosses at Horse Cave Salvage tries to reach ten thousand a day.”
“That’s the goal.” After they walked past a lunchroom, he spoke again. “Susanna, Hazel told me you came in looking for my deputy? Do you know Eddie?”
“Yes. I met him a couple of weeks ago. I had a buggy accident.”
“It was just after Thanksgiving,” Neil added.
“I remember that.” He looked at her more closely. “So it was you?”
“Jah. Deputy Beck came to help me.”
“I was there, too,” Neil said. “I also know Deputy Beck slightly, because of his wife, Lora.”
As they walked into the office, the sheriff whistled low. “That was quite a night. Eddie told me that his heart just about stopped when he saw you lying on the pavement. You’re lucky to be alive.”
Susanna nodded. “It was a scary night, for sure,” she said as she looked around the spacious room. Right away, she noticed all the photos of the sheriff and his wife and family near his desk. There was also a rod and reel in a glass case hanging on the wall and a couple of plaques that looked like awards.
The furniture was dark wood and polished to a bright sheen. There were also two leather chairs with burgundy-colored seat cushions and a massive desk.
Folding his arms across his chest, he said, “Now. How can I help you both?”
Susanna looked at Neil pensively. Did he want to do the talking?
But he shook his head. “You go first. You’re the reason we’re here today, after all.”
She was glad that he gave her that. It made her feel empowered and a little stronger. Releasing a breath, she said, “I should probably tell you about that buggy accident first. You see, I heard shots being fired. I had thought at first it was merely hunters . . . but the shots got closer. I felt pretty sure that someone was shooting at me.”
Sheriff Brewer looked at her solemnly. “I see.”
“Please don’t tell me I was being foolish.”
“I’m here to listen, Susanna. Now, did you tell Deputy Beck about your suspicions?”
“I didn’t. At first, I was too hurt. Then, when I woke up, I thought it must have just been my imagination. But then some other things have happened.”
He picked up a pencil. “Like what?”
“Well, next, part of the fence on our land was broken. Shattered into splinters. We don’t have any cows or sheep or anything, but it was obvious someone did it just to cause damage.”
“Did you have any idea about who might have done it?”
After looking warily at Neil, she nodded slowly. “Well, you see . . . at first we thought it might be Neil’s family or our neighbors the Kaufmanns.”
“Why?”
Just as she was about to attempt to explain, the sheriff’s door opened and Deputy Beck entered. “Hi,” he said with a polite smile. “Hazel told me y’all came looking for me?”
“Yes, but come in and join us.”
“All right.” As he sat down, he smiled at Neil. “Hey, I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived.”
“It’s all right. I heard you were over seeing Lora.”
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “I could give you some kind of excuse, but the truth is we’re newlyweds.”
“That’s what your receptionist said.”
“Hazel would. She’s a talker.” While they laughed, he stared at Susanna. “I know you, too.”
“Jah. You helped me during my accident.”
“Glad you’re better,” he said as he took a seat. “Sorry again for interrupting.”
“Susanna here was just telling me about some damage that had been done to her property . . . and how her family had at one time suspected Neil’s family of having something to do with it.”
While the two officers stared at her and Neil Vance sat next to her stoically, Susanna was sure she had never been more mortified in her life.
Honestly, could she be handling this meeting any worse?