Three days later, church was being held at the Bawell house, since it was one of the largest properties in the valley.
Samantha checked her kapp and hair, using a compact mirror from her purse. She knew the Amish frowned on mirrors, but she had to blend in with all the other women today. She’d been well protected here, mostly staying inside the house with Josie as her companion while they watched after Josiah and Raesha’s children, little Dinah and her toddler brother Daniel. She’d met Tobias, Josie’s husband. They seemed so in love with each other.
Samantha had to admit, she’d enjoyed helping with the little ones. That made her miss Emmie and Jed, but for now she had to be content with hiding out here.
They could sit on the back porch which was hidden between the main house and the grossmammi haus where Naomi and Gramma were enjoying each other’s company. They all gathered there most afternoons to sew and chatter while Josie tended to the herb garden and plucked weeds out of the flower bed. Tobias worked part-time at the furniture mart in town and he grew vegetables for several of the local restaurants. Occasionally, he’d show up with flowers for Josie, a smile on his face.
Today, the air was warm and the buzz of bees could be heard near the blossoming daisies and geraniums. She felt almost content, knowing she’d be surrounded by the whole community. Josiah and Jeremiah had agreed she would be hard to find mixed in with the other women who were dressed almost like her. Church. A solid stand against evil.
Now she wore a new dress provided by Raesha. It was blue and Josie had commented on how it brought out Samantha’s blue eyes. Her apron was a fresh white and she wore her dependable navy lace-up sneakers. She looked Amish and she had to admit, she wanted to look nice for Micah.
Not sure what was going on in her heart, she only knew that she cared about Micah and the twins. A lot more than she wanted to admit. That might be a one-sided feeling.
He’d been avoiding her since he’d gotten home from jail on Thursday. The last time they’d spoken had been after Alisha had sat with them and Captain Schroder, going back over everything in detail to see if they could connect the dots regarding Leon Stanton.
While the wiry police captain didn’t seem to trust anyone, he had listened to Alisha Craig. After she’d shown him the destroyed listening device Emmie had found in the mudroom, she presented a strong case against Leon and the unfortunate Kemp boys. And now they had names of witnesses to back up their claims that Leon had paid the Kemps a lot of money to “scare” Samantha out of hiding. They were waiting for Samuel to recover before anyone could question him, so she strongly urged the chief to put a guard on him. “He’s not telling the truth. Someone else tried to beat him to death.”
“I can’t find my assistant Dorothea,” Samantha reminded him. “I’ve checked with everyone we know. They say she’s missing. No one knows where she is.”
“I appreciate all of you coming in today,” Captain Schroder said after Alisha had finished. “Micah, I’m sorry we had to arrest you, but you were our number one suspect. Even though we’ve verified most everything Samantha has told us, the Winter Lake police department isn’t cooperating with anybody, including the FBI. They’ve stalled out on all of us regarding Leon Stanton’s whereabouts. So I don’t have enough evidence to tie him to all of this, but we’re getting there.” Looking at Samantha, he said, “I’ll keep trying to find your assistant, I promise.”
“Leon has them in his pocket,” Samantha had said. “I can see that now. He’s paying them to keep information to themselves. They’ve probably been on his payroll all along.”
“I’m beginning to see that, too.” Captain Schroder played with his ink pen, his shrewd gaze moving around the room. “I’ll go and talk to Nettie, tell her I believe you’re innocent, Micah. We have enough to at least consider Leon as a strong suspect. And yes, we need to protect Samuel so he doesn’t meet the same fate as his brother.”
Micah didn’t speak for a moment. He gave Samantha a quick, complicated frown. “Well, I’m not in Leon’s pocket. And I will do what I have to do to end this. You deserve that much, at least.”
Was that a pledge to her, or a release?
But would it stand? Would Micah forgive her? Would her life ever go back to being normal?
Church, even a different kind of church, would seem almost normal. She’d become a backslider in Winter Lake since Leon only went to church to impress people and chastised her when she tried to talk about her faith.
Here, her faith had been challenged and renewed. This community took care of its own. Jeremiah had returned and become an important part of this town. Josiah had found his sister Josie and married Raesha, and Josie had been reunited with her family and her fiancé, Tobias. They all had happy, settled lives now. Although they weren’t Amish, Alisha and Nathan had ties to Campton Creek through her grandmother and his Amish family.
This community truly followed the rules of the Ordnung by forgiving each other and showing grace. No matter what.
She could make this work—staying here near Gramma, doing the work she loved on a scaled-down basis. Being near Micah.
Today, she had to think about all of it, surrounded by the whole Amish community. Church would do her good and shield her in a ring of protection. She’d certainly do her amount of praying, too.
Now if she could just see Micah and the twins. Patch missed them since he’d come back here with her. The little dog rarely left her side.
“You have to stay here,” she told her furry friend as he tapped his paws toward her. “And stay quiet, too. After everyone leaves, I’ll let you visit with Emmie and Jed, okay?”
Patch whined and went back to his bed. He’d been fed and he’d had a long break outside. Church usually lasted hours so he’d be ready to play with the children later.
She shut the door and headed downstairs to help in the kitchen, the pleasant scents of baked casseroles and fresh fruit pies wafting out over the air. The women had brought after-church food—sandwiches and side dishes, easy food to eat out underneath the towering oaks.
When they went outside to find their benches across from the men, Samantha sat with Josie and searched for Micah. She’d already seen Emmie and Jed and got hugs from them.
“You’re looking for him, aren’t you?” Josie whispered, her brown eyes holding a mature, knowing light.
“Who?” Samantha said, a coy smile on her face.
“You know who—Micah,” Josie whispered. “We all think it’s so romantic, this forbidden crush you both have on each other.”
Samantha shook her head. “It can be nothing more than a crush on my part.”
“Well, crush or no, there he is,” Josie said with a nudge.
She spotted him in the crowd of men who’d already lined up and taken their seats. He looked like Micah, fresh, his hair curling everywhere, and frowning. But he seemed to sense her there. He turned his head and their eyes met. He nodded and looked away.
He didn’t want her in his life anymore.
She sat through the hymns sung in the old language and thought about her life. Samantha made a decision while she listened to the ministers.
She’d find a way to get to Leon. He wouldn’t kill her outright. If she could somehow flush him out maybe she could pretend that she cared, that she’d only run away because she was confused. Maybe he’d confess to her. She’d wear a wire if she had to, to prove he was evil.
Then she could be free and clear to make any decisions about her future. After the service was over and they’d eaten, she let Patch out to play with some of the lingering children.
Maybe her future could at least hold Micah and his children as her friends, if nothing else. That would be more than she’d ever dreamed.
Micah finished his meal and threw his trash in a bin that had been set up near the tables. He’d stayed to help load the wagon that carted the church benches and tables around to different locations. He planned to stay later so he could talk to Samantha. He wanted to tell her that he understood she’d have to return to her world and he hoped she’d understand why he couldn’t ask her to stay here in his world. He hoped they could stay in touch. He had a feeling she’d visit her gramma a lot now. That might have to be enough—that he’d see her on the occasional holiday or weekend visit.
He’d placed a bench into one of the wagons when Jeremiah rushed up. “Gut thing we stationed people on the road,” he said, pointing to the end of the winding lane up to the big house. “We have company.”
Micah hopped out of the wagon and stared down the lane. A black truck sat parked underneath some trees across from the turn-in. “That’s mighty bold of them to sit right there.”
“They’re waiting as people leave,” Jeremiah replied. “Checking all of the women, I imagine.”
Micah looked toward the house. “We need to warn Samantha.”
“I’ll go,” Jeremiah said. “You warn the others who are still here.”
Micah took off, reporting to several able-bodied men. Then he turned toward the house to make sure Samantha was safe. He was greeted by about two dozen women, all merging together near where they’d been clearing away food. He couldn’t even find Samantha in the crowd.
Relieved to know she was being protected, he hurried toward the road with a bold frustration roaring like a thunderstorm through his system. When Josiah tried to stop him, he pushed on. “I’m going to confront them.”
“Micah, neh.”
Micah was beyond caring. He stalked across the old road and went up to the truck, surprising the two burly men inside.
“You’ve done enough damage here,” he said, eying both of them. “I know you have weapons. If you shoot me right in front of all of these people, at least someone will know who you are. You’re murderers. You killed an innocent man and beat up his brother, left them both to die. You’re finished here, because we’re watching you. You can tell your leader that from me. Tell him to leave us in peace. Now leave before the authorities arrive.”
By the time he’d finished, several Amish men had come to the road to stand behind him, some of them holding pitchforks and baseball bats.
The men in the truck looked at each other, then back to him. One of them raised a handgun and held it close to his black shirt. “We need to talk to her,” he said. “We won’t hurt her and we won’t make trouble. We need to take her back.”
“She’s not going anywhere with you two,” Micah said, stabbing his finger in the driver’s face. “Nowhere. Now get out of here and don’t come back. We’re watching.”
The men gave him an evil glare but cranked the truck and pulled away. Micah let out a breath and turned to face his friends. Josiah and Isaac came to stand with him.
Isaac patted him on the back. “Kumm now. You did the right thing. Foolish, ja, but the right thing. You always do, Micah.”
Micah gathered himself and started back toward the house. Yes, he always tried to do right. This went beyond doing his duty. He cared about Samantha. Too much. She might blend in today, and soon she’d go back to the way things were before.
He saw Samantha moving through the crowd of women to stand apart and wait for him. Did he stop now and talk to her or did he keep away as he’d tried to do over the last few days?
He walked up to her and nodded curtly, then kept going on by. That effort had been much harder than facing down those evil men.
“Micah?” she called after him.
He kept walking until he’d made it to his buggy. He had to find the twins and leave now. Before he did something he’d regret later, like grab her and hold her tight.
When he saw Jed running toward him, he called out. “Go get your sister. It’s time to go home.”
Jed kept running. “I can’t find her, Micah. Emmie is gone. She went to find Patch.” He grabbed Micah’s shirt, his eyes full of tears. “And now she’s gone.”