Chapter Fourteen

I stared at her. “Me?”

Grandma Leah leaned on her cane. “Of course, you. He told me how kind you were to him when you were in Michigan and how you told him stories about Harvest. When he had no place to go, Harvest sounded like the perfect location for him to start over.” Tears gathered in her wrinkled eyes. “I wish he had really gotten that chance. He was a gut man and had his whole life in front of him.”

“Did Ben tell you all the places he was working?” Lois asked.

“I know he worked for the grocer in Harvest and the flea market. He also worked at Miller’s Lumberyard. He worked very long days.”

Lois and I shared a look. Now, at least we had three of the four places where Ben had worked figured out.

Grandma Leah put a hand to her back. “This old body can’t keep up with me. I think I will go sit down.”

Daniel was at his great-grandmother’s side. “Let me help you upstairs, Grandma Leah.”

She eyed him. “Usually I don’t like being coddled, but this time I will allow it. Walking down those steps took more out of me than I would care to admit.”

Daniel’s face creased with concern.

“We can show ourselves out the back door,” Lois said. “Thank you both for your time.”

Daniel nodded and helped his grandmother to the door that led into the house. Lois and I listened as they slowly made their way up the creaky steps.

“If I live to be one hundred, I want to be just like Grandma Leah,” Lois said.

I smiled at her. “Amish and living in a daadihaus on your grandson’s Christmas tree farm?”

“No,” she said slowly. “But full of spunk.”

“I have no doubt you will be just that.” I knelt and peeked under Ben’s bed.

“What are you doing?” Lois asked.

“Looking for clues. Isn’t that what Amish Marples are supposed to do?”

She handed me her flashlight. “You bet,” she said, going over to the clothes on the wall and checking the pockets.

I shone the flashlight under the bed but didn’t see anything more than some extra-large dust bunnies. They were dust bunnies that would rival Puff the rabbit in size, and she was no tiny bunny. I peered under the mattress too. Still nothing. My knees creaked when I stood up. “Nothing.”

“You might have found nothing, but I have something right here.” Lois pulled a note from the pocket of the trousers on the wall. “It’s a letter.”

“Gut work. Let’s take it into the light.”

“Right,” Lois said. “I don’t want Grandma Leah to come down here and chase us out with her cane. I bet she can pack a wallop with that.”

As I emerged from the basement, I blinked against the bright sunlight.

“Ugh.” Lois held her hand in front of her eyes. “Now I know what it must feel like to be a vampire.”

I shook my head. “Can I see the letter?”

She handed it to me. It was a simple piece of lined notebook paper in a plain white envelope. Both the envelope and the paper had been folded many times, so the paper’s fibers were soft at the creases.

“Dear Ben, Your new mother and I believe it is best if you leave the community. We plan to have children of our own, and your presence here will only be a distraction. It’s time you made your own way. Enclosed is fifty dollars. Take care, son. Your father.”

Lois cleared her throat. “That’s one of the most depressing letters I have ever heard. How could his father just kick him out like that? It’s so cruel.”

The money wasn’t in the envelope. I imagined Ben had spent that long ago on his food or rent. I frowned. Poor Ben. It was a cruel way to leave home. I knew of parents who had asked their children to leave before, but in all those cases it had been the best decision for both the family and the child. I wasn’t sure that was true in this case.

Lois and I walked back to her car just as a sheriff’s department SUV turned into the Keims’ driveway. Deputy Aiden was driving with Deputy Little in the passenger seat.

“Uh oh,” Lois said. “We are about to get a talking-to.”

I knew she was right.

As the two young deputies climbed out of the vehicle, neither one of them was smiling. Deputy Aiden walked toward us with Deputy Little a few steps behind him, as usual. “Millie, Lois, what are the two of you doing here?”

“It’s never too early to be looking at Christmas trees,” Lois said.

Deputy Aiden folded his arms. “Oh really. You’re here about the Christmas trees? You’re not here because this was where Ben Baughman lived?”

“You know that’s the case, deputy.” I saw no reason to lie about it. “We were just in his room and found this.” I handed him the letter.

He raised his brow. “Another mysterious letter?”

“I thought I would give you this one before the goats got to it.”

He nodded. “Thank you for that.” He opened the letter, read it, and refolded it. “So Ben was asked to leave Michigan?”

“Could that have something to do with his death?” Lois asked.

“Is there anyone else from Michigan here in Holmes County?” the deputy asked.

I shook my head. “Not that I know of.”

“Bag this, Little.” Deputy Aiden held the letter out to the younger officer. Deputy Little clumsily took it from his hand and put it in a plastic bag.

“Why are you here?” Deputy Aiden asked.

“Because there are rumors flying around the county that Ben was the one who started that fire. Lois and I want to find out what really happened so we can stop those rumors.”

He sighed. “I know about the rumors, but they are wrong,” Deputy Aiden said. “The lantern was thrown from outside the building. It’s impossible that Ben would stand outside the flea market, throw the lantern, and then go inside and fall asleep while the fire took off. Self-preservation would have kicked in.”

“But it’s not completely impossible,” Lois said, “if he was suicidal.”

Deputy Aiden frowned. “There are other ways to kill yourself that are much quicker and less painful. Do either of you have a reason to believe he wanted to end his life?”

“Nee. He had a lot to live for and was working hard for his future with . . .”

He narrowed his eyes. “With who?”

“With his work. He enjoyed work,” Lois jumped in. “You would have to, working as many jobs as he did.”

He frowned as if he didn’t quite believe her. “If the two of you are keeping a secret from me, I will find it out.”

Lois laughed. “We would never do that.”

I rubbed my forehead. Lois was laying it on a little too thick. I was certain that Deputy Aiden knew it too. He was a very smart man.

“I believe when we get the official report back from the coroner, it will prove that Ben could not have killed himself,” Deputy Aiden said.

“I’m glad you don’t think he did, and, in my heart, I know you are right, but it doesn’t change the fact that a large portion of the Amish community believes Ben set the fire.”

“Unfortunately, even if the coroner clears Ben, I’m not sure the rumors will go away. People choose to believe what they want,” Deputy Aiden said. “It’s something I learned a long time ago in law enforcement. You can have all the evidence in the world, but if public opinion differs from the facts, there’s not much you can do to change their minds.”

“Maybe in some cases,” I said. “But I have to believe that if the real culprit is caught, then the community will no longer vilify Ben.”

Deputy Aiden nodded. “I plan to find the person responsible for the fire. The way Ben was killed was brutal. Even though we don’t know if the culprit intended to kill him or not, his death isn’t any less horrible. He deserves justice. The question is whether the arsonist aimed to kill Ben or just destroy the building.”

Deputy Aiden looked as if he wanted to lecture us even more, but he was interrupted when two shiny black buggies turned into the Keims’ long driveway. The first buggy was a two-seat courting buggy with two wheels on each side of it. A middle-aged Amish man in black trousers and a blue work shirt jumped out of the courting buggy. Just as soon as his feet hit the grass, he reached back into the buggy and pulled out a notebook and a pen.

Behind us, I heard the front screen door of the Keims’ house bang closed, but I didn’t turn around to see who was there. I was far more curious about what was happening right in front of me.

The man in the blue work shirt smiled. “Hello, I’m making a buggy delivery today. Is there a Ben Baughman here?”

I gasped, and Lois grabbed my arm as if she thought I might need support.