Genesis 15:1.
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”

Chapter 2.

 

Kate gave up. She surrendered. She was not a quitter; she had tailed many a case for months on end, before she was forced to go undercover. But this was hopeless – hopeless!

Kate had solved more mysteries than she could even remember. Yet for the life of her, she simply could not puzzle this out. And to make matters worse, her sworn enemy was completely undaunted by her efforts to take control of the situation.

How in the world could something like knitting be so beyond her? Kate glared at the mass of yarn, as she tried to untangle her pinkie finger out of the mess. How did she even get her pinkie near the mess in the first place? Yes, she and yarn were not friends at all.

She glanced around at the ladies as they chattered away. They made it look so easy. Even stern, ancient Esther in the corner could make a flawless set of potholders, arthritis and all. Kate could not help being irritated with herself for being the only person in the group who was hopeless at knitting.

Kate would never have thought that she would care so much about craft or domestic type things. She had even thought things like knitting and jam making were too girly to worry about. She had been too busy protecting her charges from criminals to worry about things like that. However, after months of living with a woman who could turn milk into butter and yarn into a baby dress, she found her skills severely lacking for this place. It’s was hard not to feel inadequate when your biggest achievement is not stabbing yourself with your own needles, she thought.

Kate was starting to suspect that the ladies had given up trying to improve her knitting skills. They still encouraged her and insisted that she was improving.

Kate likely would have given up on this venture ages ago. It was not like she wanted to become a domestic diva or anything. It wasn't the knitting that drew her to the group every week, or the delicious treats they shared. And as nice as the ladies were, she probably could have lived just fine in her isolated cottage, until she got that long-awaited call from her boss saying the mole was caught.

What drew her was their uncanny ability to collect information. These ladies could make the CIA hang its head in shame. On at least one several occasion, their chit chats provided her clues she needed to orchestrate the solving of a crime, while concealing her real identity at that. It wasn't easy to solve murders and bust crime rings while playing the part of an Amish woman with amnesia.

Kate would never have gotten anywhere on the cases without these ladies, even if there was no way to thank them for it yet.

“Isn't it exciting?” Lillian inspected her stitches with a studious smile. “I’m so happy for Rose. She found herself a gut mann in Samuel Esh.”

“I hope they have a long and happy marriage,” Nancy replied agreeably. “After all the strangeness recently, it’s wonderful to have something nice to look forward to.”

Even Maria smiled and nodded. When Rose's love letter to Samuel was discovered, the ladies of the community wasted no time giving the two every excuse to run into one another. There had been dinners and errands, among other events.

“We should get a start on the wedding gifts, perhaps,” Nancy mused. “I wonder what they need?”

Lillian gave a sly grin. “Baby clothes for a start.”

“Oh behave.” Nancy gave the other woman a light slap of admonishment on the shoulder. “I was thinking of china.”

“Yes, that’s a gut idea.”

Kate's mind wandered as the ladies chattered about the things they needed to tell Rose to help her settle into her new role as a dutiful wife. Kate tried to imagine herself as a bride in a quiet Amish community, surrounded by people supporting and advising her. She shook her head. She was touched and warmed by the scene, but it really wasn't for her.

The sooner they found the mole, the better. Kate had a special place in her heart for these ladies. She admired how well they thrived in this way of life. She had even come to realize how many things in her life she had taken for granted. Yet the longer she had to lie to these ladies, the heavier the façade became. The ladies deserved more than a fake Amish woman blundering through their traditions, and ruining their perfectly good thread.

Kate’s mind drifted to Ryan. She replayed the scene by the lake in her mind. Ryan had said he wanted to have dinner with her as soon as she left the Amish. It was so easy to imagine herself in slacks and a blouse, chatting with Ryan about various things, such as a new movie, a case, even something from the local grape vine. It was easy for her to imagine starting a future with him.

However, Kate had to face facts. There was a chance the mole might not be found for years. On top of that, the invitation had been to Kate, the awkward Amish woman, not Kate the U.S. Marshal, not Kate, the tech-savvy, crime-solving, independent woman. Yes, there was something there; she could not deny that. Yet nothing changed the fact that Ryan was attracted to an illusion. No matter how sincerely she acted, it was all still firmly under a mask. And what if Ryan preferred the mask to the real Kate?

No. She had to resist dwelling on her fantasies of the ever-dashing town cop. She had to stay put, until her boss gave her the okay.

“Kate? Kate?” Lillian waved a hand in front of Kate's face, and gave her a teasing smile. “You look like you’re a million miles away.”

Just hundreds of miles, Kate thought wistfully. She missed her life. What’s more, she was sure that the many small mistakes would eventually start to add up. There would be questions she could not afford to answer.

“Is all this talk about marriage getting to you, dear?” Lillian chimed in. Her eyes lighted up in sudden inspiration. “Maybe you have someone in mind you wanted to get to know better?”

A red-faced Kate was rescued by the sound of a greeting at the door. Everyone's attention focused immediately on Beckie as she made her way inside, balancing a basket with jam and biscuits peeking over the top.

“Sorry I’m late,” Beckie said, in a brittle voice with a weak smile. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She looked tired, as if she had not slept a wink since she found out about her cousin. There were even a few stray hairs curling from under her bonnet that she normally would not have allowed.

“Oh Beckie, you poor dear,” Lillian gushed as she jumped up to hug Beckie around her neck. A more prudent Nancy quickly took the heavy basket.

“How is your family holding up?” Lillian fussed over Beckie as she nudged Lillian out of the way and helped Beckie toward a chair. “We didn't think you would come, with everything happening.”

“I needed to get away from the house a while.” Beckie blinked her eyes rapidly as her eyes glistened with still unshed tears. “It's really bad, ladies; I don't know what we are going to do. My cousin. He-”

She burst into tears as she covered her face. The ladies went immediately to her aid with encouragements and promises to help in any way they could. It never ceased to amaze Kate how quickly the Amish rallied around each other without question. It was something she was very much going to miss when she returned to her own life.

Kate felt guilty. She did not know quite what to do in these situations. In a professional sense, yes, but less so as an Amish woman. She didn't have their connections or skills to help and console one of their own. Kate was a loss for words, so she helped Nancy clear the room and got Beckie a cup of water.

“They think Jeremiah poisoned the man,” Beckie sniffled, as she dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief.

“Where would they get a fool idea like that?” Esther demanded, as she slid her chair out of the corner to join the rest of the ladies, hobbling along until Lillian rushed over to take her chair for her. “Jeremiah is a gut mann. No one has ever doubted him before.”

“Tell us everything that happened, dear.” Nancy patted Beckie's hand in comfort. “From the beginning.”

Beckie took a deep breath and dabbed at her nose. “Jeremiah went to the café early to get ready for some sort of special they were going to have that day. A new coffee I think. I don't usually pay attention to his work-talk; I just know it was important to him.”

“Of course,” Lillian said soothingly.

“He found the back door unlocked,” Beckie continued. “He is sure it was locked the night before. He suspected a burglar, so he went and checked it out.”

Kate wanted to jump in and demand why he would do something so foolish. People are supposed to call the cops in that situation, rather than run headlong into a situation. She had seen all too many tragedies occur when people did not call the authorities to handle possible danger.

“When he made it inside, he found the man dead on the floor, and before he had a chance to call the police they raced in and arrested him. They think he did it.”

“Rubbish.” Esther sniffed derisively. “That sort of ignorance seems to be getting more common nowadays. Back in my day, no one would have dared accuse an Amish mann of such a thing.”

Everyone nodded. Kate wondered if she would have come to the same conclusion before being stuck here. She'd had many myths and assumptions debunked in her time here.

“What happened then?” Lillian asked in a polite tone, although her voice was strained with impatience.

“Well, he checked on the man. Jeremiah thought he might be able to help him start breathing.” Beckie paused as there were collective gasps of sympathy. “But just as he leaned over the man, the police swarmed in.”

“So he did call the police?” Kate asked, surprised as the woman shook her head sadly. Kate puzzled over that. It was a small town compared to what she was used to. But even then, no cops should have responded that quickly.

Beckie looked around at them with teary eyes. “They aimed guns at him. They made him get on the ground and treated him like he killed the man. They said they got a call about raised voices in the store at an odd hour.”

“Did anyone see Jeremiah before he went to the store?” Kate asked, trying to piece together the scene. She ignored the narrow, studious look that Esther trained on her.

“No, he went straight to work to get ready for his promotion,” Beckie answered miserably. “He tried to explain that, but nobody would listen. And they are saying they found a bottle of poison, right where he was crouching trying to help the man.”

Kate's mind whirled. There was a call to the police, practically as soon as Jeremiah got to work. He went into the crime scene. He was found with the body and a poison bottle was nearby? That didn't sound good at all. Kate knew that the police would have a hard time swallowing the idea he was a victim of circumstance.

Kate asked what the poison was, but Beckie had no idea. She didn't even know if the police knew yet. Beckie just knew that her cousin was in jail for something she knew he could not have done.

“I'll get everyone kaffi,” Nancy stated as she headed toward the kitchen. “I bet if we go over this a few times, we'll figure out something. We should know someone who can help Jeremiah.”

Kate rose to help Nancy with the coffee. Nothing about the case made sense. The evidence against Jeremiah looked bad at face value, but if there was anyone that could shed some light on a clue or two, it was these ladies.