CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
I smiled at the members of my quilting circle. “Danki. Thank you all for coming. I know it has been a hard week for the community. The fact that you have taken time away from your homes and your families to come here and support both Edith and me, well, it means so much. It really warms my heart. This proves to me that coming back to Holmes County was the right thing for me to do, and despite what happened Sunday, I am glad that I did.”
“It’s been a much harder week for your family, Millie,” Leah said as she smoothed her quilting over her lap.
“Of course we are here for you in your family’s time of need, Millie,” Raellen said. “You would do the same for us if we needed it.”
“I would,” I said. “I know coming out to my farm at the end of the day isn’t ideal with all the work you have to do.”
“Oh, this is a fine time. The children are off to bed and the husbands have had their suppers. This might be the best time to come,” Raellen said. “We all want to know what we can do to find the killer.” She pressed a hand to her cheek. “I can’t even believe I said that.”
“About that . . .”
“Don’t tell me you don’t want to learn the truth, Millie,” said Ruth, who was sitting in a rocking chair beside my potbellied stove.
Before I could answer, there was a knock on the door. I got up from my rocking chair just as Lois let herself inside.
“Lois, what on earth are you doing here?” Ruth wanted to know.
“I invited her,” I said. “Lois is going to be helping with the bonfire too.”
“Also, I thought I would try my hand at quilting. If I am going to write a book about the Amish, I think I should work some of the handicrafts in. Quilting would be one of the top ones to incorporate. Who doesn’t love an Amish quilt!”
“Write a book about the Amish!” Ruth shouted. “Millie, I thought we were here because you said Edith needed our help, and what’s this about a bonfire?”
“Let’s all sit down and I will tell you.”
After they were settled, I said, “Lois and I have been trying to find out what happened to Zeke.”
“Amish Marple and I have been all over the county looking for answers,” Lois declared.
“Amish Marple?” Ruth asked with a wrinkle to her nose.
“That’s my code name for Millie.” Lois grabbed a cookie from the tray on my kitchen island and sat on the sofa between Iris and Leah. “I figured that you all can know it since you’re her friends, but it doesn’t leave this room.” She looked each one in the eye by turn.
Ruth looked as if she wanted to say something more about that.
“Let’s just focus on the task at hand,” I said. “It seems that according to the police, Lois and I have cracked the case.” I went on to tell about Zeke and Jeremey Swartz and Reuben and everything the police thought had happened leading up to Zeke’s murder.
Raellen stared at me openmouthed when I was done. Finally, she snapped her mouth closed and said, “That is quite a story.” She looked at Lois. “It would make a nice addition to your book.”
Lois tapped her cheek with her index finger. “I think you might be on to something there.”
“Please, don’t encourage her,” I said. I couldn’t believe that Lois was still thinking of writing about the Amish.
“Are the police absolutely sure?” Leah asked.
“They seem to be,” I said.
Leah cocked her head. “But you’re not.”
“Maybe not, but I have no reason to be unsure.”
“Never doubt a woman’s intuition,” Ruth said. “If something doesn’t ring true, it’s not.”
It was one of those rare times when I was in agreement with Ruth.
“What other suspects do you have?” Leah asked. “Maybe if we work through it, you will feel more confident with the police’s findings.”
I glanced at Lois. “Well, you all know about Darcy and Edith, but Lois and I can vouch for each of them, respectively.”
“Just because you want them to be innocent, doesn’t make them so,” Ruth said.
“Darcy was working in the café,” Lois said.
Ruth rocked in the chair. “All night?”
Lois frowned.
“Edith was home with the children,” I said before they could exchange heated words. “I know this because I asked Jacob and he said she was there. He would have no reason to lie. He’s only a child.”
“Okay,” Leah said. “If it’s neither one of them, who else could it be?”
“Well, it could still be the suspect the police have accused. I can’t rule that out,” I said. “There is Reuben, and Jeremy, the young man we met at Swartz and Swartz Construction. I’ve already told you their motive.”
Iris pressed her lips together. “Carter told me about your visit to the warehouse and the police coming and taking Reuben away earlier today. He didn’t say anything about Jeremy. I wonder if he even knows yet.” She bit her lower lip. “And I wonder what this means for his job.”
I felt a tiny bit of guilt when Iris said that. I didn’t want Carter to lose his job on account of me, but then again, Jeremy was the one behind the car stealing. It was really his fault.
“What about Enoch?” Ruth asked.
“You would love for the culprit to be a runaway Amish, wouldn’t you?” Lois said.
Ruth scowled in return. “If Edith didn’t marry Zeke and Enoch returned to the faith, the greenhouse would be his, but if she married before that happened, the greenhouse would have been her husband’s.”
This was something that I had thought of too, especially when it looked like Enoch wanted to tell Edith how to run the greenhouse when we were there.
“I still think you should have told us that Enoch was back in the village,” Ruth went on.
“I didn’t even know until just before Zeke died,” I said.
“That’s no excuse.” Ruth sniffed.
I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t know that I had to report all the movements of my family.”
“A prodigal son coming back to the fold needs to be reported. I’m sure my husband would like to talk to him. The elders of the church will want to talk to him. One of our lost sheep is coming home.”
“He doesn’t want to join the church,” I said quietly.
“What?” Ruth asked. “Then why would he want to come back? There is no other reason to come back.”
“He told Edith that he was back because he missed his family and wanted to get to know his niece and nephews. That doesn’t mean he wants to live in the Amish way.”
“Well, he can’t be around the children if he doesn’t,” Ruth said decisively.
“Why not?” Lois said.
“We really shouldn’t have an Englischer here. She doesn’t understand our ways.” Ruth said this in Pennsylvania Dutch instead of Englisch.
“I caught the word ‘Englisher,’” Lois said, jumping to her feet. “I know you are talking about me.”
“Ruth just said that we shouldn’t discuss such things in front of someone who isn’t Amish.” I looked at Ruth. “Lois is my friend and she was your friend once upon a time too. Let’s speak English while she’s here so that no one is left out.”
“Fine,” Ruth said in Englisch, sounding much like a defiant teenager. “I still think some things should be kept close in the community.”
“Now, why don’t you think Enoch should be around the children?” Leah asked.
“Because his presence will corrupt the children and tell them that it’s all right to go the Englisch way. I don’t think that’s very wise.” She turned to me. “Millie, talk some sense into your niece and tell her why this is a terrible idea.”
“Enoch is their uncle. He has a right to see them. He wasn’t in the church when he left. He wasn’t shunned, no matter the difficult circumstances that precipitated his leaving all those years ago.”
She gasped. “Do you want him to lead the children astray?”
“Each child must make their own choice. Isn’t that what rumspringa is about?” I looked her in the eye. “Edith’s children will come to make that decision in their own time, and they can only fully commit to the Amish life when they know what the Englisch one is like. If they see the way the rest of the world lives and then commit to our ways, they are more likely to stay here. Wouldn’t you agree that it is far worse to change one’s mind after baptism?”
Ruth made a grunt-like noise, which told me I’d proved my point.
“But—” Ruth began again.
I knew she was going to change her approach. Ruth would do just about anything to win an argument. Most of the time she won because the person opposed to her view became too fatigued to go on. I thought that’s how she’d gotten her position in the district, acting as bishop of sorts, on her husband’s behalf. She just wore the church elders out.
“Ruth, stop it.” I stood up. “Enoch left before he was baptized, so there is no reason that Edith or anyone in our district should shun him.”
Ruth stepped back. “This is true, but I still don’t think he should be around the children.”
“Then that’s your opinion.”
Ruth sniffed. “I can see I am getting nowhere with you, Millie Fisher. You are the most stubborn woman I’ve ever known.”
“Coming from you, I take that as a compliment. I thought you prided yourself on being stubborn.”
“Pride? I have no pride. That is not the Amish way. In any case, as his aenti, tell Enoch that the bishop will want to talk to him now that he’s back in town. Even if he decides not to join the church, it’s important that he resolve the hurt left behind by his leaving all those years ago. He broke your brother’s heart when he left, and he must answer for that.”
“Umm,” Iris asked in a small voice, “shouldn’t we talk about how we can help with the bonfire now, since we no longer have to solve a murder?”
I sat back down. “I think that’s a great idea, Iris. Edith will appreciate the help.”
The ladies started listing the dishes they planned to make for Friday, and Ruth left not long after that. I was certain she was headed back to the bishop to report on all that she had seen and heard.