Even though we’d picked up almost four inches of snow overnight, Tuesday morning started out busy and only got more frantic. The whole town was buzzing over the events of yesterday. I kept watching for Levi to show up, but by nine o’clock he still hadn’t come in. I began to worry that he hadn’t been released last night as promised.
Around nine-fifteen, Roger walked in the front door. After hanging up his jacket on the coatrack, he motioned to me. I filled Abel Bennett’s coffee cup and rushed over to him.
“Do you know anything about Levi?” I asked before greeting him.
“That’s why I’m here. I drove him back to the farm late last night. He asked me to tell you that he probably won’t be in until lunchtime.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Roger. I haven’t been able to think about anything else all morning.”
“I was afraid you’d be worrying.”
“I was. This situation is so upsetting.”
“We need to find out who did this and why they tried to implicate Levi. For the life of me, I can’t understand it.”
“Me either. Levi’s the last person who would be involved in something so horrible.”
Roger nodded. “I agree.”
“By the way, I’ve been wanting to tell you how nice I think you look in your uniform. You seem so . . . professional.”
He laughed lightly. “Well, it may take some time before I feel that way. Right now, I feel like a kid dressed up for Halloween.”
I just smiled. I’d heard a little about Halloween, but it wasn’t a holiday celebrated in Kingdom, so my knowledge on the subject was minuscule at best.
“Your pocket’s torn,” I said. “I’m surprised Mary let you out of the house like that.”
Roger glanced down at his uniform shirt. “I didn’t even notice.”
“She must not have seen it either. She’s the best seamstress I’ve ever known.”
“If the department had allowed it, I think she would have made my uniform herself.”
“That sounds like her. How is she? I haven’t seen her for a while.”
“She’s fine. Busy, but fine.”
“How are things with her parents?”
“All in all, very good,” he said. “We’ve been to their house a few times, and they’re scheduled to have dinner with us next week. Mary’s very happy to have them back in her life.”
“I’m so glad. I know this is something you’ve both been working on for a while.”
He sighed. “That’s true. It hasn’t been easy. For any of us. The Mennonite church has a way of getting into people’s heads and keeping them prisoner to outdated doctrines.”
I stared at him in surprise, not sure how to respond.
“I’m sorry, Callie,” he said, looking embarrassed. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
I waved his comment away. “It’s okay. I’m sure there’s truth in what you say, but the church in Kingdom is changing, Roger. Moving away from some of those teachings you might be thinking about.”
He nodded. “I’m sure that’s true. Again, I’m sorry. Sometimes I don’t think before I speak.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I pointed to his ripped pocket. “Can I mend that for you? It won’t take but a minute.”
He shook his head. “Thanks, but I’m sure Mary will take care of it tonight.” He glanced around the room. “I suppose everyone’s pretty upset by what’s happened.”
I shrugged. “I can’t blame them. The situation was already unsettling. But when those men took Levi with them, it only made it worse. For the most part, people in this town respect Levi. Unfortunately, there are a few who don’t think he should be our pastor. This just adds fuel to the fire.”
“I’m sorry.” Roger took off his hat and held it in his hands. “Levi’s a good man. I hate seeing him dragged into this thing.”
“Me too,” I said. “How about some breakfast?”
“That was the plan, but it looks like you’re full.”
At that very moment, Aaron Metcalf stood up from his table and walked to the cash register.
“Why don’t you grab Aaron’s table?” I told Roger. “I’ll get it cleaned as soon as I check him out.”
Roger nodded and hurried quickly toward the empty table before someone else grabbed it. I put the pitcher of coffee I was holding down on a nearby table and went to the cash register where Aaron waited.
“How are you, Callie?” Aaron asked as I stepped behind the counter.
“I’ve been better, Brother Metcalf. First we were faced with this awful murder, and now Levi has been pulled into it. It’s disturbing.”
Aaron nodded, his dark-brown eyes reflecting his concern. He ran his fingers through his thick blond hair before putting on his hat.
“I know this trial will pass,” he said. “We’ve weathered many storms in Kingdom. This is just one more. God won’t desert us.” He smiled reassuringly. “Levi will rise above this, Callie. Everyone knows he had nothing to do with that woman’s death.”
“Thank you for your words of encouragement,” I said, smiling at him. “They are appreciated.”
He tipped his hat and handed me his money. “They are sincere, Sister.”
As he left the restaurant I wondered if he would ever marry. Frankly, he seemed very content to live alone. Aaron was a very private person, even though he ran the general store. Lizzie told me once that there was something about his past he’d confessed to the previous elder board when he’d come to Kingdom, asking to live here. But whatever he’d said was kept secret. Although I’d been told that some churches required those caught in sin to reveal it before the entire congregation, here in Kingdom, those admitting to transgressions were allowed to do so in private. Our early leaders believed that in a town so small, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for a repentant sinner to feel free of his past if everyone knew about it. So anyone who felt the need to repent sought a meeting with the elders, and it was their job to counsel the convicted church member and pray with him to be released from the power of the devil. Confessed sin was never mentioned again—unless the sin continued or someone might be hurt by the actions of the supposedly repentant soul.
I worked hard all morning, trying not to worry about Levi. Finally, when it was almost noon, he walked in the front door. It took everything in me not to run to him, but I finished taking a lunch order from Harold Eberly and then joined Levi as he stood near the cash register.
“I’m so glad to see you,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” His words were reassuring, but the look on his face betrayed him.
“Why don’t you sit down? I’ll get you something to eat.”
He nodded absentmindedly, gazing around the room. Several of our customers, all church members, stared back at him. I wanted to yell at them to mind their own business. To leave him alone. But of course I couldn’t do that. He was on his way to a table that had just emptied when Noah came out of the kitchen and spotted him.
“Levi!” he called loudly. “Thank God you’re back.”
As if Noah had opened the floodgates, other people began to react. Several told him they’d been praying for him. Relief washed through me, and I felt ashamed to think I’d believed the worst about my brothers and sisters instead of trusting their ability to love and support their pastor. Maybe everything would turn out all right after all.
When everyone returned to their tables, Noah ordered me to sit down and have lunch with Levi while he finished taking orders for me. Although at first I resisted, I was grateful for his offer.
“What time did you get home last night?” I asked Levi when we were alone.
“I don’t know. Sometime after eleven. I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. My mother and Marvin were waiting up for me. They’d been worried about me so we talked for a while. It was almost one in the morning before I got to bed.”
I reached for his hand. Although Levi is usually very hesitant about showing affection in public, he grasped my fingers and held them tightly.
“So what happened at the sheriff’s office?” I asked. “Was it . . . awful?”
He shook his head. “No, not really. They just kept asking me about the book. Where I left it. When I lost it.” He took a deep breath and let go of a shaky sigh that seemed to come from somewhere deep inside him. “I just can’t remember, Callie. I know I had it at the church, but I wanted to take it home to study so I could use the story of Dirk Willems in one of my sermons. Somehow, between the church and home, it went missing.” He sighed again and ran his hand across his face. “Those men just kept hounding me with questions, but no matter how hard I tried, I simply couldn’t remember the last time I saw that book.”
All Mennonites knew the story of Brother Willems, a martyred Anabaptist. He was captured in 1569 and charged with betraying the beliefs of the official church in Holland. He escaped and could have gotten away, but the man chasing him across a frozen pond fell in when the ice beneath him broke. Brother Willems turned around and went back to save the life of his would-be captor. Because of his compassionate gesture, Brother Willems was rearrested. Though the man he saved begged officials to let Willems go free, church officials burned him at the stake. Even as his body was destroyed by flames, Willems refused to condemn the men who took his life. It’s a powerful story of love, forgiveness, and choices.
“Levi, could you have left the book in your buggy? Is it possible someone took it when you were in Washington?”
His eyes narrowed as he considered my question. Finally he shook his head. “I’m not sure. I’ve had so much on my mind, I just can’t remember.”
“But it could have happened?”
“Yes, it’s possible.” He took a deep breath and let it out. “Frankly, it would make me feel better to think someone from outside Kingdom did this. If it was someone I knew . . .”
“I feel the same way. This whole situation is terrible. I feel sorry for that poor woman, sorry for you, sorry for our town.”
He looked at me, his eyes shiny with tears. “The whole time they questioned me, I just kept thinking . . . why are we trying so hard to hang on to Kingdom? The idea was to create a safe place where our families could live without fear. Without the evil that is in the world. But I’m not sure anymore if it’s even possible.”
I grasped his hand tighter. “I know what you’re saying. I’ve wondered the same thing. Even Lizzie has questions, but in the end, she believes in Kingdom. She lived out in the world, and some of the stories I hear frighten me. Surely this place is better. Safer.”
“Noah agrees. He still talks about what he saw in college. Young people rejoicing in sin as if they were proud of it, the world trying to push God out of every nook and cranny. In Kingdom, we try to honor Him. To live for Him. Even so, sometimes I wonder if the Mendenhalls were right.” He lowered his voice. “To be honest, there are times I’ve considered leaving Kingdom. There’s a world out there that needs to know God loves them.”
“But isn’t there a point when the world becomes so dangerous—so rebellious against God—that we have no choice but to protect ourselves? Lizzie tells me that children cannot pray in school anymore. She says men and women who don’t believe in God work hard to remove any trace of Him from public places. I know we teach that God’s kingdom and the world should be separate, but to act as if believing in God is a sin? How can a nation expect God’s protection when they push Him away? How can we avoid disaster without His help?” I frowned as I thought about Levi’s statement. “I don’t want my children to grow up in a world where they’re not allowed to pray—and where they are regularly taught things that are in direct rebellion to God’s Holy Word.”
“For the most part, our school in Washington was fine,” Levi said. “There were a few things not in accordance with God’s Word. But it didn’t happen that often.”
“Lizzie says it’s changing. Now evil is taught as good and good is taught as evil.”
“But if we remove ourselves from a world that so badly needs God, how do we expect to influence them for Him?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know the answer to that, Levi. There are times I actually envy Lizzie and Noah for seeing life beyond this town. Maybe that sounds wrong, but how can we judge something we’ve never experienced? I’ve never been out of Kansas, have you?”
“No, never.”
Before I had a chance to say anything else, Noah brought each of us a big bowl of chili and a large piece of corn bread slathered in butter. I’d been so busy all day, I hadn’t realized how hungry I was. Levi and I abandoned our conversation while we ate.
I kept glancing at him. He looked worn and worried. I missed his humorous side. Levi and Noah were both funny, but now Levi rarely joked with his brother.
I could still remember the first time I began to have feelings for him. We were only children, and the church was hosting a picnic. The boys were playing baseball, and Levi was pitching. He was sixteen, and I was only eight. When Noah stepped up to bat, Levi seemed to hesitate before throwing the ball. When he finally pitched, it was almost as if he wanted Noah to get a hit. And he did. But Levi had substituted the ball for an unripe apple. When Noah smacked it, it disintegrated, spraying him with small bits of fruit. It was so unexpected that at first people froze, unsure of what had happened. But then Levi began to laugh, and before long, everyone else joined in. And no one laughed louder than Noah. It was at that moment I began to desperately want what the Houslers had. A family that loved one another. That laughed and had fun. I made a decision that summer afternoon that someday I would have a family like Levi’s. Down through the years, my desire changed as my love for Levi grew. Now I didn’t just want a family like his, I wanted him and his family as my own. His mother and stepfather had incredible love for each other. And their love for their sons was evident in the way they treated them, the positive words they spoke over them, and their undying belief and loyalty toward them and Marvin’s other sons.
Unfortunately, even though Levi and I had known each other since childhood, he’d never paid any attention to me until about six months ago. Right after Papa died. He came to console me, and he preached at Papa’s funeral service. After only a couple of months of getting to know each other, we both wanted nothing more than to be together forever. Anyway, that’s what I’d believed until recently. Had he simply needed a wife? Maybe I was the easiest choice, since I was already smitten with him.
“I have several appointments this afternoon,” he said abruptly. “I’ll be at the church for several hours.”
I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts, I just stared at him.
He smiled. “You looked so far away.”
“Sorry. Sometimes when I’m deep in contemplation, I forget other people are around.”
He laughed lightly. “I’ve never known anyone who can drift so far away when they’re thinking. I’ll have to learn to tread lightly when you have that look on your face.” For just a moment, the concerns that weighted him down seemed to lift. But his improved mood didn’t last long. His smile vanished as he pushed his empty bowl away.
“I’d better get going. I can tell it’s going to be a long day.”
I nodded. “I’ll see you tonight. I love you, Levi.”
He frowned at me for several seconds. “Thank you, Callie.” With that, he left.
I stared down at the table, trying to gather my emotions. Levi rarely said he loved me. Today he’d just thanked me after I expressed my own feelings. Was I being overly sensitive? Or was it time for me to face some hurtful facts? Lizzie was convinced he cared for me, but Lizzie wasn’t marrying Levi. I was.
I picked up our dishes and was heading toward the kitchen when the front door opened and Bud Gruber came in. He was bundled up against the cold, and his thick parka strained against his bulk. One button had already popped off. His wife, Thelma, had passed away with cancer a few months ago, and Bud didn’t seem to be taking very good care of himself. Thelma’s cooking had been replaced by fast-food meals and offerings at a local diner in Washington where Bud lived. Lizzie and I both felt sorry for him. Although he wasn’t Mennonite, he’d been a friend to Kingdom for many years.
“Hi, Bud,” I called out.
“Why hello, Callie,” he said with a smile. “I’m here to fix that outlet you been havin’ problems with.”
I motioned for him to follow me. “Lizzie will be thrilled to see you. I’m glad you didn’t have any trouble with the roads.”
“They’re not too bad, but there’s a big storm on its way. Did you all hear about it?”
“I haven’t, but Lizzie stays pretty close to the radio in the winter. It’s a long drive back to their house, so she likes to leave early when there’s a promise of bad weather.”
Bud frowned. “Saw some official-lookin’ cars out on the road on my way in. Know anything about that?”
“Yes.” There were only about a half dozen people left in the dining room, but rehashing yesterday’s events wasn’t something I felt like doing in front of them. “Follow me to the kitchen, and I’ll tell you all about it.”
He nodded and trailed behind me, carrying his heavy toolbox. I could hear the tools rattle as he walked. When we reached the kitchen, Lizzie was cleaning the counters.
“Bud!” she said. “So glad to see you. How about something to eat before you get started?”
“Why, I’d never turn down somethin’ from your kitchen, Miss Lizzie,” he said with a grin. “My mama didn’t raise no dummy.”
She laughed. “Why don’t you put your toolbox down and go back out into the dining room? What are you in the mood for?”
A wide smile spilt his face. “You know what I like.”
Lizzie chuckled. “A plate of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and my country green beans coming up!”
“I’ll bring it to you when it’s ready, Bud,” I said. “Looks like you have a button missing on your jacket. Do you still have it?”
He took off his black wool cap and shoved it into his pocket. His shaggy salt-and-pepper hair stood on end. “Nah, I don’t know where it popped off.” He put his thick fingers on another button and wiggled it. “Couple other buttons are barely hangin’ on by a thread.” He shook his head, looking slightly embarrassed. “Thelma used to keep my buttons sewed on tight, but I just can’t seem to figure out how to do it myself. I can fix anything electrical, but I can’t seem to thread a blasted needle.” He colored. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to say nothin’ rude. Thelma used to keep my mouth in check too.”
Lizzie chuckled. “You’re not the least bit rude. Don’t worry about it.”
He looked over at me. “You was gonna tell me about them cars out on the road. What’s goin’ on?”
I quickly filled him in on the gruesome discovery, leaving out the worst details and the things Noah had warned us to keep private.
“So they think it might be some guy who did this before?” he asked. He shook his head. “What is this world comin’ to?” His forehead wrinkled with concern. “Are you folks safe?”
“We’ll be fine, Bud,” Lizzie said. “Don’t worry about us.”
“Well, I think I’ll worry anyway, if you don’t mind. You all are so isolated.”
“The sheriff and the KBI are looking out for us. And no one can get into town without us knowing about it. Besides, I’m sure it’s just a fluke that the body showed up so close to Kingdom. The killer’s probably long gone by now.”
I frowned at Lizzie. I wasn’t the least bit convinced of that, but I could tell she was trying to reassure Bud. If he thought we were in danger, he was the kind of man who would camp out on the road until the murderer was behind bars.
“Why don’t you give me your coat?” I said, trying to change the subject. “I’ll bet Hope has some buttons at the quilt shop that would work just right. While you eat and fix our outlet problem, I’ll get your buttons sewed on tight.”
Bud looked down at the floor. “I . . . I can’t thank you enough,” he said quietly. “You folks are so good to me. Sometimes this town feels more like home than Washington.”
Lizzie reached over and patted his arm. “I think that’s fine, Bud. You’ve done a lot for us, and we appreciate it.”
He slipped off his large coat and handed it to me. “Don’t know who’s done more for who, but I thank you for sayin’ that.”
“You go on and sit down,” Lizzie said. “How about some coffee and rolls to get you started?”
Bud smiled. “Sounds like the perfect medicine for a cold day.” He placed his toolbox against the wall, out of the way, and then went out to the dining room.
“If you’ll get his coffee and some rolls, I’ll make up his plate,” Lizzie said. “But I’m going to give him only a couple of pieces of chicken and a small serving of potatoes and gravy. He needs more vegetables than fried foods. Good thing he likes my green beans.”
“He’s sure put on weight since Thelma got sick and died,” I said. “I’m concerned about him.”
“Me too. I wish he lived here so we could keep a better eye on him.”
“You heard him say this place felt like home?”
She nodded. “I wonder if the church would let him move to Kingdom?”
I picked up a carafe of coffee and a basket of rolls and butter. “He’s not Mennonite. I’ve never heard of anyone outside the church getting approval to live here.” I shrugged. “Anyway, Bud didn’t say he wanted to move. Maybe he’s happy in Washington. He and Thelma lived there a long time.”
Lizzie sighed. “I know. I just hope someone is looking out for him. Maybe he’ll meet a good woman and get married again.” She took the coffee and rolls from me. “You go on over to Hope’s. I’ll serve his food.”
“Thanks. I’ll take the coat with me so we can match the buttons.”
I left the kitchen and went upstairs to my apartment, carrying the large coat. As I put on my cloak, I looked out the window toward the church. I could see the steeple, although the actual building was hidden from view behind the businesses that lined Main Street. Dark clouds moved in from the west and provided an almost black backdrop to the gleaming white steeple. Black and white. Good and evil. A chill ran through me as I tied the string of my cloak. I felt a storm coming. One from the heavens and one from the hearts of men. At that moment, I wasn’t sure which one was the most dangerous.