Winter of Faith Collection

by Rachel Stoltzfus

  “I will, denki. But I don’t know if they will be able to find him. The city is huge,” Joseph said.

  Back home, he went straight to his carpentry shop and the phone installed there. Picking up the thick phone directory for Philadelphia, he thumbed through the “N” listings, looking for Lance Newman. His heart fell as he saw listings for over 10 men with the same name.

  Is it worth calling all ten to see if I can find the right one? Thinking of Miriam’s pain, he decided the time and long-distance charges would be worth it. Before he did, he tried to find a reason for making the calls. Remembering that Miriam had said something about the man visiting high schools to talk to ball players, he decided to ask if Mr. Newman would be visiting high schools in Lancaster County.

  Beginning, he went down the list, from name to name. On the fifth name, he got an affirmative answer.

  “De – Thank you. I’ll tell my son. Goodbye.” Hanging up, Joseph wrote down the phone number and address, then looked up and called the non-emergency number for the Philadelphia police. After several frustrating minutes, he hung up after finding out that the city police wouldn’t visit a man who had been bothering someone outside the city. At least they told me I can call the sheriff in Lancaster county. Finding the phone book for Lancaster county, he called the sheriff’s department. Here, he had better luck.

  “So, you’re Amish and you’re saying this “Englischer” man has been coming to your community. He’s been bugging your daughter, and, no matter what you tell him, he refuses to stop. Well, that could be considered stalking,” said the dispatcher.

  “Yes? So, can you do anything?” Joseph asked.

  “Well, technically, no. But . . . we can go visit him and tell him that someone from Lancaster has filed a complaint and that he really should cease his visits to your daughter and home. In order for us to arrest this guy, he has to do something that puts your daughter or someone else in your family at risk of harm. Then, we can arrest him. It’s up to you, sir.”

  “I don’t want to make you do anything that goes against your own rules,” Joseph said. “But I also want him to leave my daughter alone. Yes, please, go and talk to Mr. Newman. And, thank you,” Joseph said.

  “Not a problem, sir. I know the Amish try to resolve things their own way, but it seems he’s not getting your message. It might be a few days before we can visit him – but we will,” said the dispatcher.

  “Thank you.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Several days later, a unit from the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Department drove into Philadelphia and located Lance Newman’s apartment complex. Using the information Joseph Beiler had given them, they climbed the stairs to Lance’s apartment and knocked on the door.

  “Yes – whoa! Hey, I had nothing to do with that robbery,” Lance said, telling a bad joke. The fear in his eyes gave him away.

  “Mr. Lance Newman?” one deputy asked.

  “Yeah, that’s me. What’s up?” asked Lance.

  “We received a complaint several days ago from a man in Ephrata. He tells us that you’ve been trying to spend time with his daughter and that she and her parents want you to leave her alone.”

  “Yeah, what of it? I thought she was pretty. Besides, I haven’t gone back in . . . phht . . . several days,” Lance said as his eyes narrowed.

  “Good. Keep it that way. Because they’ve complained, that’s considered to be potential harassment. She’s told you that she doesn’t want your attention or gifts. Respect that. If you don’t, and we find out you’ve gone back, we can arrest you for stalking and harassment,” the sheriff’s deputy said with a warning tone.

  Lance had been about to make a sarcastic remark, but at the words, “arrest, stalking and harassment,” he shut his mouth.

  No way can I withstand another mark on my record. If the university gets wind of this – if I get arrested, then I’ll be fired. But I want her so much! And I know she wants me. She’s just so restricted. I’m sure she’s being forced to marry that Amish dude. Isn’t that what they do, arranged marriages? Of course they do. They treat her like a prisoner, but when she’s mine, I’ll treat her like a princess. A queen. My queen.

  For a moment, he lost himself in the fantasy. Miriam, in his tiny apartment, smiling sweetly at him from beside the stove.

  She wants me and I want her. I’ll just have to be more careful next time so that we can be together. Forever.

  “Officers, you won’t have any problems from me. No way can I be arrested. All I wanted to do was express my interest in the young lady and see if she returned that interest. Now that I know she doesn’t . . . well, sure, I’m disappointed. But, oh well! You win some, you lose some. I promise you – I won’t go back,” Lance said with his widest smile crinkling his face and his hands raised, palms out.

  “Okay, then, just as long as you’re aware that the family’s not happy and neither is the ‘young lady’ in question. Stay away from Ephrata! Period. Got that?” asked the bulkier officer with a frown on his face.

  “In spades and crystal-clear, sir.” Lance shrugged. “I’ll just nurse my broken heart heart here at home and move on. What else can I do?”

  “Thank you. As long as you understand,” the smaller officer said.

  Lance stood in the doorway, watching the officers as they walked down the hall. All traces of humor had been wiped off his face. Moving slowly, he shut his door quietly, being careful not to slam it. His anger pushed him to do something physical – slam that door, punch a wall, kick the fridge – something.

  I’m gonna have to be much more careful when I—

  Hold your horses and Amish buggy, Lance. They recognize your truck. When you go back, you’re gonna have to use a different vehicle. Maybe borrow Eddie’s old beater and promise to replace the brakes on it for him. They won’t recognize a brown Saturn. Yeah, I think that’s what I’ll do . . . but Miriam, love of my heart, that’s just gonna have to wait. I’m not about to let myself be arrested, so you’re just gonna have to bide your time. We’ll be together, in the end. I promise.

  In Ephrata, Joseph decided the time was right to tell Miriam and Sarah what he had done to stop Lance’s visits.

  “Daughter, wife, we need to talk,” he announced one evening after supper. “Miriam, I went to talk to Bishop Stoltzfus about your situation and I told him that you, your mamm, John and I have been doing everything to make that Lance character stop bothering you. I had the idea of asking the law enforcement in Philadelphia to go talk to him, but they said they couldn’t. Something about ‘jurisdiction.’ So, they suggested that I call the sheriff’s office here in Lancaster County. They said they couldn’t really do very much, but they did send two officers to visit that man and tell him to stay away from you. I don’t know what they told him, but I think they did talk to him. I haven’t seen him here now for a few days, so maybe he’ll stop coming here.”

  “Daed, denki! I haven’t seen him either, but I haven’t gone anywhere either. I’ve only stayed here and worked. When I’ve gone out, it’s been with John or you. Do you mean it’s over? I can start driving myself again?”

  “Nee, not yet. I want to make sure he really won’t be coming back here. We’ll take you where you need to go. My biggest worry was John’s parents. Now, I’m glad we talked to them. They understand that you’ve done everything you could possibly do. But . . . until we know for sure, we will take you everywhere,” Joseph decided.

  “Okay. I understand. I feel better than I have in . . . in weeks! I feel like I can breathe again,” Miriam said happily.

  She didn’t know that Lance had decided to leave his truck at home. Instead, he had borrowed a nondescript, older-model Saturn from his friend. The vehicle he chose to use was a golden brown sedan. In addition to using a different vehicle, Lance had decided it would be more prudent to restrict his activities to figuring out the comings and goings of her parents. Not knowing of his continued activities in Ephrata, she focused completely on her quilting. She had finished the Am
ish Wedding quilt and now, she was working on one of the three children’s quilts she had agreed to make.

  Spring slowly edged into a hot, sunny summer. Miriam’s work on her quilts moved along smoothly. And Lance continued coming to Ephrata in secret, making note of the Beiler family’s comings and goings.

  “Miriam, your mamm and I are going to the Amish market. We want you to go with us . . .” Joseph said.

  “Nee, daed, I can’t. I still have too much to do on the quilt order. I’ve only just started on one of the children’s quilts and it will take me a good two months, at least, to finish it. Then, I have the two remaining children’s quilts to make. I’m sure I’ll be okay at home alone. I’ll shut the doors and lock them – I promise you,” Miriam said with regret.

  Sarah looked at Joseph, questioning.

  Joseph let out a long sign and ran one hand down his long beard, a sign that he was thinking.

  “Miriam, this worries me. It really does. But . . . OK. As soon as we walk out the door, you lock it. I want to see you lock the back door before we go. We will be back as soon as we finish our errands.”

  “Denki, daed. I will stay inside. I promise you.”

  Miriam hurried to the back door in the kitchen and locked the door to Joseph’s grim satisfaction. Standing by the front door, she waited until both of her parents walked out. Shutting the door securely behind them, she locked it and jiggled it in the frame, showing Joseph that it wouldn’t open without a house key.

  “We will be back! Stay inside the house,”

  “Ya, daed, I will.” Miriam promised.

  Hurrying back to the quilting room, she continued pinning and cutting out quilting shapes for the green-on-green blanket. As she worked, she was unaware that the front door remained slightly cracked open to provide natural cooling to the inside of the house.

  Joseph and Sarah rode down the road from their house on the way to the Amish market. Joseph’s eyes swept the countryside, looking for that familiar black truck. As his gaze roved over the roads and fields, he nearly missed a nondescript brown sedan idling on a side road – his gaze swept past it – then returned to the vehicle. Peering through the smeary windshield, Joseph tried to see if he could recognize the driver. Forcing himself to look calm and relaxed, he and Sarah continued moving down the road. Looking through the side of his eye, Joseph spotted a tall man . . . but couldn’t make out any features. The niggling fear he had felt when he and Sarah returned ten-fold.

  “Sarah, don’t make it obvious you’re looking, but there’s a brown car to our left,” he said. “Can you recognize the driver?”

  Sarah kept her eyes aimed forward, but looked out the side of her eyes as well.

  “He’s . . . it’s a tall man, Joseph. It’s hard to tell, but I think I saw blonde hair!”

  “This is what I’m going to do. I don’t know . . . is he driving toward the farm?” Joseph asked.

  “Ya, I think he is! We have to go back home! We can go to market next week!”

  “I can’t make it look like I just recognized him. I’m going to keep driving down the road, then take the road next to the Zook farm and go home that way. Once we get home, you run into the barn and call the sheriff’s office,” Joseph directed.

  “Ya,” Sarah said.

  As they reached the road, Joseph yelled to the horse, who began to gallop down the road. The horse, knowing the roads, headed straight for home. Once Joseph and Sarah arrived back home, he jumped out of the buggy. Sarah was close behind him.

  Lance, not knowing he was seen, drove to the Beiler farm. Looking around carefully, he didn’t see anyone nearby. Easing the old door closed, he continued looking around as he moved to the front porch. Walking up the steps, he paused as he heard one step creak. Sweeping the windows with his eyes, he saw no motion inside the house. Good. She’s inside, all alone. Taking slow, careful steps toward the front door, he tried the doorknob. Locked. He looked along the long, deep porch – Bingo! They left a window open on the first floor! Don’t you know you’re inviting me inside? Removing the window screen, he put it on the porch and began to push the window open in the casement. He stopped when he heard a soft clunking sound coming from the window frame. His heart pounded and he felt sweat running down the sides of his face. Nobody came to the door, so he continued sliding the window open.

  Back in the quilting room, Miriam looked up from her fabric-cutting. Did I just hear something? She looked from window to window. Nothing. No noise. Probably just an old house settling. Turning her attention back to her fabric-cutting, she kept working, unaware that Lance was slowly easing his lanky body through the now-completely open window.

  By now, Lance was completely in the house. Pausing for a few seconds to get his bearings, he looked around at the placement of the large, open rooms. I’ll check downstairs first. If she’s not down here, I’ll go upstairs. Her parents won’t be back for hours yet. However, Lance was unaware that Miriam’s parents had turned around and were, by now, nearing the house. He tiptoed down the wide hall, checking each room for Miriam.

  Hearing a soft sound from a room at the end of the hall, he continued to tiptoe down the hall. He smiled greedily as he saw the object of his affections, bent over a long table, cutting fabric out in various, angular shapes. He stood there for precious seconds, just drinking in the sight. After several seconds, he continued sliding into the room like a tall, blonde, upright snake, keeping his eyes focused on Miriam’s back.

  Miriam was so focused on cutting out the fabric pieces for the green-on-green quilt that she was completely unaware that someone had joined her – and was, by now, directly behind her. Feeling a kink in her shoulder, she finished cutting a shape out of bright-green fabric. Setting the long, sharp scissors down, she stretched her neck and massaged her shoulder with her fingers – and, as Lance slipped one hand over her mouth, her eyes widened and she gasped. Lance slipped his other arm around Miriam’s torso and hauled her against his chest, lifting her slight form off the floor. He began backing up quickly now, knowing he just needed to get her into the car.

  Miriam tried hard to fight. She had the benefit of the hard physical work required of all Amish, but Lance had a much bigger advantage – surprise. Because of her strength, unusual in a girl so slight, Lance had a fight on his hands.

  Lance swore to himself, realizing that this tiny slip of a girl was making it harder for him to get out of the house. I should be getting outside the door by now, but she’s making it too hard! He felt sweat beading on his forehead and temples, then sliding down the sides of his face. He gasped, working to keep Miriam in his arms. Finally! I have to open the door so I can get her out . . . Lance took his hand from Miriam’s mouth and reached for the doorknob . . .

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The door flew open as if under its own power. The corner of the door caught Lance on the back of his head. He grunted as stars exploded behind his eyes, and he staggered.

  Joseph, seeing Lance holding his youngest daughter, let out an inarticulate growl and grabbed her from Lance’s arms. Holding her protectively, he kept his eyes on Lance, who was still dazed from the knock to his head. Joseph backed up, bumping into Sarah. “Take her,” he said to Sarah, who nodded and pulled Miriam in tightly.

  Miriam grabbed the fabric of Sarah’s dress convulsively in between her fingers with a sob.

  “Mamm, I didn’t know he was out there! He . . . grabbed me while I was cutting quilting pieces out!”

  “Shhh, shhh, daughter. Come, sit down,” Sarah murmured, glaring at Lance.

  Joseph grabbed Lance’s upper arms clapping his hands hard on the younger man’s arms.

  “Sarah, nee, go to the barn and call the Lancaster County sheriff’s office and tell them what just happened,” he ordered.

  “Miriam, let’s go. I am not letting you out of my sight,” Sarah said.

  Miriam nodded, not wanting to be alone.

  Joseph began forcing Lance out of the house. On the front porch, his mouth dropped open as he s
aw Samuel and John Fisher pulling into their front yard.

  Samuel and John both leaped out of their buggy and ran to the porch, grabbing Lance by his neck and forearms. As they forced Lance to the towering oak tree in the front yard, they were all surprised to see Bishop Stoltzfus driving quickly into the yard.

  Joseph, Samuel and John struggled to keep control of Lance, who was struggling to get loose.

  Bishop Stoltzfus strode quickly to the four men.

  “Mr. Newman, if you ever return to our community, you will find yourself thrown out again and again. We don’t hold with depending upon law enforcement, but if we have to, we will . . .” as he spoke, he sent a questioning glance to Joseph.

  “Ya, Sarah is calling the sheriff now. She has Miriam with her,” he confirmed.

  “Good. Mr. Newman, it will be up to the sheriff what he wants to do. As far as we are concerned here in Ephrata, I very strongly suggest that you leave . . . and never come back. Miss Beiler does not want your attentions at all. She has told me that she has tried to get you to stop bothering her – and you are bothering her. Ah, good, the sheriff is here,” the bishop said, almost conversationally.

  “Agh! I can’t go to jail! I’ll lose my job!” Lance growled.

  “You should have thought of that when you decided to ignore my daughter’s wishes,” Joseph said, his voice a low growl. He tightened his grip on Lance’s neck and upper arm as Lance redoubled his struggles to break free.

  “Mr. Beiler? We understand you had an intruder. Mr. Newman, we meet again. It seems you decided to ignore our warning when we visited you in Philadelphia. You do know what this means, don’t you?” the tall, bulky deputy asked.

  “I’m not saying anything!” Lance shouted as he continued to struggle.

  “Mr. Beiler, where is your daughter?” asked one deputy.