At Ellie Young’s house, Timothy helped his grandfather out of the truck and walked him over to the group of mourners.
Ellie broke away from the others. “You shouldn’t be here,” she chided him. “Martha and Simon told me you were too ill to come.”
“I’m not tip-top, but I will get by.” He adjusted his crutches on his elbows.
Ellie squeezed my arm. “Chloe and Timothy, I’m happy to see you. Thank you for bringing Joseph.”
The bishop and deacon were watching. I caught Timothy’s eye and nodded in their direction. “We’re just here to drop off Grandfather Zook.”
Ellie shook her head. “You’re staying. I insist.”
The deacon and bishop weren’t the only ones who were watching us. Uri glared at us too.
Ellie took Timothy and me by the hand and led us into her house. In the living room all of Ellie’s furniture was removed. Bishop Hooley, Deacon Sutter, and two other Amish I didn’t know stood at the front of the room beside Ezekiel’s open casket. I looked away as Ellie pointed to two seats for Timothy and me. His seat was on one side of the room, and mine was on the other. I gave a sigh of relief when I saw it was next to Becky. She wore her plain dress, which was her uniform at the restaurant. I slipped into the seat, feeling conspicuous in my jeans and pea coat and aware I was being watched by nearly everyone in the room. Was the bishop right? Was everyone in the district talking about my friendship with the Troyers and my relationship with Timothy? If the hairs standing up on the back of my neck were any indication, he was.
The room was dark and tightly packed, hot even. I would have removed my coat if I didn’t think I would elbow someone in the head during the process.
Bishop Hooley opened a large black tome, the German Bible, and read from it. Each of the four men spoke in turn, some read and some spoke from memory. Ellie sat at the front of the room with her head bowed. There were no wails or outward demonstrations of grief. No flowers, eulogies, or songs.
My mother’s funeral took place in a large church in downtown Cleveland I had never been in, nor been back to since. Family and friends came from all over the country. My father’s wealthy clients and business associates were there, everyone dressed like they were ready to walk the streets of New York. Paid singers from Severance Hall and members of the Cleveland Orchestra, who never met my mother, provided the music. Famous preachers spoke about dying young, but not about the woman my mother had been, because they didn’t know. There had been so many flowers my father paid the funeral home to dispose of them. He didn’t want them in the house.
How was that better than this?
The bishop closed the Bible. He and the four men closed the casket. Several young men from the community stood and lifted the simple pine box onto their sturdy shoulders.
Men and women filed out of the house. “Where are they going?” I whispered to Becky.
“To the cemetery. It’s about a mile away at the back of the Young’s land,” she whispered back. “Don’t worry. We don’t have to go. I need to get back to the restaurant. Come with me.”
I followed Becky out through Ellie’s kitchen. On the way to the restaurant, I scanned the crowd climbing into their buggies to ride to the Amish cemetery.
Becky quickened her pace. “Don’t worry. I texted Timothy and told him you were with me. He’ll meet us inside.”
I blinked at her. Now, why did she think of doing that before I did?
Becky and I entered Young’s through the side door. I sighed when I saw the other Englischers in their blue jeans and bright-colored parkas. Here, I blended in with the crowd. My cell rang as Becky waved to me as she ran to the kitchen.
“Chloe, it’s Tyler.”
I walked through the restaurant and sat on a bench near the entrance to the bustling pie shop.
A binging sound came over the phone like Tyler knocked his pen on a coffee mug. “I’ve looked over your lease.”
“And?”
“It’s with the company in Cincinnati. There is no mention of Dylan at all, and no mention the lease can be transferred upon the sale. I can get you out of it. No problem.”
Relief washed over me. “Now, I have to find a new place to live.”
“I might have a solution for you there too. I have a client who spends the winter in Florida. He’s looking for someone to watch his house during the winter months. That will give you until spring to find the place you really want.”
“That might work. I’ll have to talk to Becky.”
“It’s a big house. Has a huge kitchen.”
I smiled. Even Tyler knew Becky loved to cook. “Becky will love the kitchen.”
“I did some digging on Dylan Tanner too.”
“What did you learn?”
“He doesn’t have a criminal record or anything like that.”
“How do you know that?”
“Greta checked him out the day you thought he broke into your house.”
I wasn’t surprised.
Tyler continued. “He’s worked at the college for the last four years in the biology department. His wife recently left him.”
“Was her name Kara?”
“That’s it.”
The name Dylan called me.
“I happened to talk to a friend of Kara’s. Her father died about a year ago and left her a substantial inheritance. Not like millions or anything, but somewhere between twenty and thirty grand.”
“That would be a lot of money to Dylan.” I knew how much Harshberger’s faculty made.
“Right. Anyway, Dylan invested the money into a new business and lost it all.”
“I assume that didn’t go over well with Kara.”
“You got it. She left him over it.”
“Where’s Kara now?”
“She moved to Oregon.”
“Trying to get as far away from Dylan as possible?”
“I think that’s the idea.” Tyler made a humming sound. “Here’s where it gets really strange. I told you I would talk to the ladies at the historical society about your house.”
“Yes.”
“They found the original blueprints right away. Dylan was there just three weeks ago looking for them.”
“That makes sense if he wants to restore the house.”
“The strange part is the name of the original owner of the house. Gerald Tanner.”
“Tanner? That’s Dylan’s last name.”
“Exactly.” He paused. “I figured you’d want to talk to the ladies at the historical society. I told them you would stop by. They close at three today, so you’d better get over there right now.”
I thanked him.
“Don’t mention it.” A phone rang on the other side of the line. “I gotta go. Unfortunately, I can’t do anything about the lease until Monday since it’s the weekend.”
“I understand. Thanks for your help.” I hung up as Timothy walked through Young’s front door.
I jumped up, and a smile spread across his face. “Let’s go.” I linked my arm through his.
“Where to?” He tightened our arm link.
“To learn some local history.”
His brow shot up as I pulled him through the front door.