Matchmaking Can Be Murder

“Shh.” She pushed me back behind the warehouse. “You don’t want them to see us, do you?”

“Because we’re eavesdropping. That’s what Amish Marples do. You really need to get with the program, Millie.”

“We don’t even know that this has anything to do with Zeke,” I whispered back.

“We don’t know that it doesn’t, either. I think it’s best to gather all the information we can, and then sort it out later.”

I wanted to argue more, but Lois held her finger to her lips and peeked around the side of the warehouse. Not knowing what else to do, I did the same.

“I don’t have to listen to this,” Jeremy said through gritted teeth. “You’re fired. I want you out of here right now.” Flecks of spittle gathered in his mouth.

“You can’t fire me, you scared Menno. I know too much. Zeke was my friend, not yours.”

I couldn’t see Jeremy’s face, but I saw his fist balled at his side. It seemed to take all his strength for him to keep from striking Reuben. “Don’t you threaten me. Do you have any idea of the power I have in this county? I could ruin you and your entire district.”

Reuben laughed. “Threatening my district is no threat to me. They would be happy to be rid of me.”

“I can see why.”

“Besides, I don’t live in this county,” Reuben said with a smug expression on his face. “It would serve you well to remember that. Your power is not so great that it reaches outside of Holmes County.”

Jeremy shoved Reuben in the shoulder, and the Amish man bounced back as if he was ready to strike, but then he laughed. The laughter had a sinister sound to it. “You will have to do better than that if you want to stop me.”

“I want you off my property. Now,” Jeremy said through gritted teeth.

“I’ll leave gladly, but this is not the last you will be hearing from me, Swartz,” Reuben spat back, tobacco-colored spittle flying from his mouth.

“Gross,” Lois whispered into my ear.

Jeremy didn’t say another word. He spun around and stomped toward the warehouse. Lois yanked me back around the corner of the warehouse just before he spied either one of us.

Lois grinned as if she’d come in first place at the county fair. “See, aren’t you glad that we eavesdropped now?”

“What are you talking about?” I smoothed out my apron and skirts and made certain my pocket watch was in place.

She gave an exasperated sigh. “Clearly there are some nefarious happenings going on.”

“Whether there are or not, that doesn’t mean they are related to Zeke.”

“But they could be!” Her enthusiasm wasn’t dampened in the least.

“Even if that is true, which I am not saying it is, eavesdropping is still not something we really should be doing.”

“I don’t think taking any part in this investigation is something that we should be doing, but we’re doing it.”

She had me there.

“Who’s back there?” a sharp voice asked.

I spun around to find Reuben glaring at us. I was dumbstruck under his furious gaze.

Lois was not. “Carter gave us a tour of the warehouse, and we were just walking around the outside to get a good look at it. It’s a very impressive business. I have never been to a construction site quite like this before.”

Reuben narrowed his eyes as if he didn’t believe her. Honestly, I couldn’t blame him. It was a very far-fetched story. There was really no gut reason I could think of that two mature women such as us should be wandering around the construction warehouse.

“I think you’re here to make trouble.” He leaned in closer to me.

I could smell the tobacco on his breath. It was a revolting scent, not only because it was so pungent but because of everything I had gone through with Kip and his illness. The scent made me sick to my stomach. I recoiled from him.

He took a step closer. “Did you tell Jeremy to get rid of me? Because it’s not going to work. I won’t disappear. I can ruin you all.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Lois said, inserting herself between Reuben and me. “Who said anything about ruining anyone else? Goodness, I thought the Amish were peace-loving people. Why are your feathers so ruffled? I think you need to take a breath and calm down, young man.”

Reuben blinked at her.

“That’s better. Take a breath,” she ordered. “Also, while I’m giving sage advice, I would tell you to lay off the chew. It’s an ugly habit and terrible for your health. Nobody likes it. Plus, you could get very sick and possibly die.”

Reuben spat just an inch from her feet.

“Lovely,” Lois muttered and then she shook her finger at him. “You need to learn to respect your elders a little bit better, young man.”

Reuben glared at me. “Did Jeremy send you to spy on me? Is that why you are here, and why he showed up so quickly after you arrived?”

“Hey,” Lois said. “We don’t know any Jeremy, so I’m going to have to ask you to calm down again.”

I shook my head. What she was saying was mostly the truth. I didn’t know Jeremy personally.

“We aren’t here about Jeremy. We are here about Zeke.” I folded my arms and stared him down with my best Amish-aunt face.

Beside me, Lois gasped, but I was tired of talking around the real reason that brought us to the warehouse. The only way I was going to get straight answers from the Amish was to ask straight questions.

“What do you know about Zeke?” I asked.

“I know that he wasn’t who he pretended to be.”

I stared at Reuben. “What do you mean?”

He laughed. “You think I am going to tell some old Amish woman and her crazy Englisch friend what Zeke Miller was like? I know who you are, and I know that you want to help Edith. Maybe you shouldn’t be traveling around looking for answers and stick closer to home instead.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Ask Edith.” His lip curled into an ugly smirk.

I felt a chill run down my back. I had known for the last two days that Edith was the one I needed to speak to the most about Zeke, but I hadn’t had a chance to do so. Actually, if I was honest with myself, I was afraid. I was afraid she knew something, and I wasn’t sure I would like what she had to say. I didn’t know if I wanted to hear it.

I took a step closer to him. Just because I was an older Amish woman, I wasn’t going to let him scare me. “You should give up tobacco just like Lois said. It’s a bad habit. One of many I’m sure you have.”

“What’s going on back here?” a strong male voice asked.

Reuben looked behind him and saw Deputy Aiden and Deputy Little walking toward us. His face paled ever so slightly.

“Busted!” Lois said. “It’s the cops.”