It was dark by the time I reached Main Street, and Easter Days was over for yet another day. It was hard to believe there was just one day left before Easter. I hurried into the shop, collected Puff, and said good-bye to my grandmother and Charlotte before they could talk me into staying another night at the candy shop.
I pulled my car into the little garage and lifted Puff out of the passenger seat. I unlocked the back door to my little house and froze. Overhead, I heard a creak and footsteps. I listened as the footsteps moved across the floor above me. I held Puff to my chest.
I heard the person move to the top of the stairs. I set Puff on the floor and peeked around the side of the wall into the living room. I could see the bottom of the stairs. Whoever was up there was standing at the top of the steps. I glanced at the loveseat where the pillow I’d used to protect myself from Eli’s visit had been. This time I needed something more substantial. I hurried into the kitchen and grabbed a cast iron frying pan. Back in the living room, I heard the slow and deliberate footsteps make their way down from the second floor.
When I saw a man’s boot appear in my view, I raised my frying pan. “Ahh!” And stopped just short of hitting the man over the head when I saw that it was Aiden.
“What the—?” Aiden appeared in front of me. “Bailey, what are you doing with that pan?”
“Oh.” I held the frying pan in my hands as if I had just noticed it was there. “I heard footsteps. I thought it was the man who attacked me.”
“Your grandmother told me that you were staying at your house for the night, which I don’t think is the best idea. I texted you and said I would meet you here.”
“I never got the text,” I said. The text must have come through when my phone was incapacitated.
He stared at the frying pan in my hands. “At least now I know that you will defend yourself. That is comforting. Is that cast iron?”
I nodded.
Aiden smiled. “Good. If you are going to hit someone in self-defense, make it count.” Then he asked, “Did you get any of my texts at all?”
“Oh,” I said again. “My cell phone was kind of out of commission. Didn’t my grandmother tell you that?”
“She said it was broken and you had to go to Canton to get it fixed, but no more than that. How broken was it?”
“It sorta got run over by a buggy.”
“How does a buggy run over your phone?”
“Easily if your phone is lying in the middle of Route Thirty-nine. Actually, I really think the horse stomping on it was what did it in.”
Aiden looked heavenward and sighed.
Puff peeked around the opening between the kitchen and the living room.
“The coast is clear,” I told the rabbit.
Puff hopped into the living room and went straight for Aiden, sitting on his foot.
I grinned. “She missed you.”
“Clearly.”
“I’m glad you’re here. I have a lot to tell you.”
Aiden and I sat at the small dining table and I told him about my movements throughout the afternoon. His jaw twitched when I told him about going into Sybil’s building. I knew he wouldn’t approve of that part.
“What does this have to do with Stephen’s death?” he asked.
“I have no idea,” I admitted.
“If Eli was the man who was murdered, then you might be on to something, but . . .” He trailed off.
“I thought the same thing.” I shook my head and pondered for a moment. “What if it is Zimmerman after all?”
“I don’t follow you.”
“Zimmerman is all worked up about the Amish walking through his woods and about the fact that Stephen Raber’s newest rabbit barn is too close to his property line, right?”
“Right,” Aiden said slowly.
“He knew that Eli and Katey were courting, and he must know in the Amish world that is much more serious than dating in the English world. There was a good chance the pair would marry and merge their lands, really messing with his woodland project, and we can’t forget that he’s a botanist who knows all about plants and their poisonous properties. Not to mention he has lily of the valley growing in his woods. It would be a murder weapon of convenience for him.”
“But then why kill Stephen if he wants to stop the wedding?”
I sat back in my chair and sighed. It was a good question. I jumped up in my seat. “Maybe we are going about this all wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“How do we know that Stephen was the person who was meant to be killed? He ate the candy, yes, but maybe he wasn’t the intended victim.”
“But the notes,” Aiden said. “They more than indicate that someone wanted him to be punished for something he did.”
“Oh right. But what did he do? Everyone I’ve spoken to thinks he was the greatest guy ever. Well, except for Zimmerman, but I can’t see him being able to convince Amish people to drop notes in the Rabers’ phone shed each morning.”
“Me either,” Aiden agreed.
“Maybe we should look at the notes again?” I suggested.
“You shouldn’t have seen them in the first place. I hate it that Eli got you involved in this.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “You could have been killed the other night.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think whoever attacked me wanted to kill me. He had ample opportunity to do it, and he warned me off from the case. He wanted those notes, which is why we should look at them again.”
“Or Penny just happened to interrupt him.”
I shivered. “I wasn’t seriously hurt.”
He rubbed his forehead. “Is that supposed to make me feel better? Because it doesn’t.”
“You can’t keep saying you wish I weren’t involved. I am involved, and I could be a lot more help if I saw the rest of those notes.”
“Okay, I have a printout of them in the car. It will be easier to review than the photos you took with your phone, assuming that you still have them after the buggy incident.”
“Don’t worry. I didn’t lose anything. It was all in the cloud.”
“Great. Wait here.” He stood up and strode out the front door.
“Where else would I be going? This is my house.”
While Aiden was outside, I fed and watered Puff. I filled her dish with bunny food, but she went straight for the carrots.
Aiden walked back inside and spread a number of photocopied pages across my table.
I scanned the notes. Each one made me shiver.
“You will pay for what you did.”
“God will exact His revenge.”
“Appeal to the Lord for forgiveness.”
I looked up at Aiden. “Each one gets creepier.”
He nodded. “But we still have no idea who wrote them. I had the handwriting looked at, but without a sample to compare it to, that doesn’t help much. The sheriff isn’t willing to fork out the money for the full analysis. In this case, I don’t blame him. It’s expensive for BCI, Ohio’s investigation bureau, to look at the handwriting when the effort would most likely go nowhere.”
“I think the oddest thing is that Zimmerman said a different Amish person delivered the notes every morning.”
“The only witness is Zimmerman, and he’s not a reliable one. He thinks that all the Amish look the same,” Aiden said.
“But he said each of these people was different,” I insisted.
“I know, but he was unable to describe them. He just said they were Amish. Other than noting whether they were male or female, he couldn’t tell us any other detail about them. Trust me when I say that my deputies pressed him for the information. We took Zimmerman down to the station today because he was being a difficult witness.”
I grimaced. “I’m sure he loved that.”
“It wasn’t one of my more pleasant interrogations.”
I frowned. “Are you sure you can believe Zimmerman that Amish put those notes in the shed? He’s the only witness. I can’t beli
eve that Eli or his father wouldn’t have seen the notes being delivered too, since they were all left at the same time. I mean, if I were getting threatening notes each morning, I would do a stakeout or something to catch the person in the act of putting the notes in my phone shed.”
“I’m sure you would,” Aiden said.
I ignored the amusement in Aiden’s tone and reread all the notes. I noticed nothing more than I had the first time I read them. Vague threats that alluded to something in the past, but no hints of what that might have been. I sighed.
“It’s got you stumped too,” Aiden teased.
“I hate to admit it, but yes.” I sat back in my chair. “Where do we go from here?”
“I’ll check out Sybil Horn. It might be a loose end, but at this point, I’m ready to follow any lead.”
I nodded.
He shifted in his seat. “I want you to stay at Swissmen Sweets for a few days until this case is closed.”
I shook my head. I wouldn’t be scared out of my new home. It had taken me too long to find the perfect place and move here. I refused to be afraid of my own house. “I’m staying here. This is my home. A home that I haven’t had much time to enjoy. I don’t want to run away from it. I don’t want to be afraid to be here.”
Aiden pursed his lips. “I can see that you’re not going to budge on this.”
I shook my head. “I’m not.”
He walked over to me. “Well, in that case, I need a pillow and a blanket. I’m spending the night here on the couch.”
“That’s really not necessary.” I stared at the loveseat. “Besides, there is no way you can sleep on that thing. Your legs will hang over the side.”
He cocked his head. “Yeah, why didn’t you buy a real couch? That baby couch isn’t working for me.”
“First of all, I didn’t buy it. It was a hand-me-down from one of my grandmother’s Amish friends. Second of all, I never expected anyone to sleep on it.”
“Well, I am.”
I made a face.
“Hey, you put your foot down; I can put my foot down too. This is what we call a compromise. It’s a staple of all good relationships.”
I looked him in the eye. “Is that what we have? A good relationship?”
“It’s what I want,” he said, not blinking his chocolate brown eyes as he looked at me.
“Me too,” I whispered. “And you are in luck. I have an air mattress.”
He laughed. “Thank God.”
Chapter 37
I had a fitful night’s sleep, plagued by nightmares about a giant toffee rabbit that continued to fall on top of me. When I tried to push the giant candy rabbit off me, I realized that it was Stephen Raber’s dead body. It didn’t help that my cheek, where the attacker had pressed me up against the side of my garage, itched terribly, and every time my cheek grazed my pillow, I woke up. Each time, I would lie silently listening to the house settle. I also listened for any movement from below by Aiden, but I heard nothing. He must have been a sound sleeper. Something I envied.
At five thirty, I gave up trying to go back to sleep. I knew I could go work at Swissmen Sweets at that hour. My grandmother and Charlotte would already be in the kitchen. Before I did that, I needed coffee, preferably by the gallon. I crept downstairs, taking care not to wake Aiden, but it seemed my caution was in vain.
I found him awake and sitting on the loveseat. The air mattress was already deflated and folded up in the corner of the room. The sheets and blankets I had given him the night before were neatly folded on top of the air mattress.
Aiden tied his shoes. “I have to go into the station early this morning. The sheriff is on vacation, so I’m in charge of the department.” He clenched his jaw. “I have to do everything right while he’s gone. I can’t give him any reason to . . .”
I folded my arms over my chest. “To do what?”
He shook his head. “You look cute in the morning with your hair pointed every which way.”
I touched the top of my head and felt my cheeks flush. Why hadn’t I taken the time to brush my hair before I came downstairs or at least pull it back into a ponytail? My wavy hair was likely resembling a rat’s nest.
“What’s your plan for the day?” Aiden asked.
“I’m going to the candy shop,” I said.
“And?” He arched his brow.
I shook my head. “I don’t know yet. This case has me stumped. I think it might help me to step away from it for a bit and sort through what we know, which isn’t much.”
He grinned. “Music to my ears.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
He laughed. “Oh, I won’t. I’m just going to enjoy it while it lasts.” He leaned over and kissed me before walking out the door.
As he left, all I could think was how nice it was to see him in the morning, if only for a few minutes.
* * *
As I expected, by the time I got to Swissmen Sweets, an hour later, my grandmother and Charlotte were already hard at work in the shop. They were in the front room, sliding fresh trays of chocolates and candies into the domed glass display case.
“Bailey,” Maami said. “It is so gut to see you. I trust that you rested well at home.”
I hadn’t rested well, but I wasn’t going to tell my grandmother that. “Fine, thanks to Puff.” I held up the large white rabbit; I’d brought her with me to the candy shop. “I had this girl for company.” I decided it was wise not to mention that Aiden had spent the night at my house. Even though his stay had been completely innocent, my Amish grandmother might still have viewed it as inappropriate.
There was a light thump to my left, and I saw Nutmeg dash out from the short hallway that led to the second floor and slide through the kitchen. He ran straight for Puff and the two creatures touched noses.
My grandmother put her hands on her hips. “That cat and rabbit really love each other. I’ve never seen anything like it. They should be natural enemies.”
Nutmeg rubbed his orange body next to the white rabbit.
“They don’t look like enemies to me,” Charlotte said.
“At least something is going right,” I said.
Maami looked at me. “What’s wrong, my dear?”
“It’s the murder. I’m not any closer to solving it. Neither is Aiden. I feel like we are just spinning our wheels.”
She patted my cheek. “It’s not your job to solve this murder. Leave it to Aiden.”
“Eli asked for my help.”
She nodded. “And you promised. You’re a woman of your word, and I am proud of you for that.”
“What are you going to do?” Charlotte asked.
“Right now, I’m going to do my job, and that job is to sell candy. I will worry about the murder later.”
My grandmother smiled. “Gut. We miss having you in the shop.”
I hugged her. “I miss being here. It’s especially nice to be here and not have to think about how to construct a giant toffee rabbit.”
“Amen to that,” Charlotte said. “And maybe you can help me decide what to pack for Florida. I’m terribly excited. It’s so kind of you to send me with Cousin Clara, Bailey. I’ve had so many adventures since I met you.”
I smiled. “Number one is sunscreen, and don’t tell me that Amish don’t use sunscreen. You are going to need it with that red hair and fair skin.”
Maami, Charlotte, and I worked through the morning. Business was brisk at the candy shop with a lot of Easter Days visitors stopping by. As much as some of the Amish disliked all the activities Margot organized on the square each year, no one could deny that she got results. Swissmen Sweets certainly saw an uptick in business whenever Margot hatched one of her plans, and I was grateful for that. The better Swissmen Sweets did, the less guilty I would feel for filming in New York every six months.
There was a lull in the business close to lunchtime. Most of the crowd was either eating the substantial food offerings on the square or at one of the many Amish restaurants in t
he county. I removed my apron. “I think I’m going to take a break,” I told my grandmother and Charlotte.
“Been away from sleuthing too long?” my grandmother asked with a twinkle in her eye.
I laughed. “I’m just going over to the square to check on the toffee rabbit.”
Charlotte started to chuckle, and my grandmother joined in.
I left the shop shaking my head.
On the square, I saw Eli Raber standing alone by the pen of rabbits.
He waved at me as I crossed the street. “I’ll be ready to take my father’s prized rabbit home tomorrow.”
“You want Puff back?” I squeaked. Over the last few days I had become attached to the friendly bunny, and I’d dreaded the thought of Eli wanting me to relinquish her.
“Ya, I’ve decided that I don’t want to raise rabbits. There is a farm in Geauga County that is interested in buying all my rabbits for a good price.”
“But,” I said, “Puff is a house rabbit. You can’t sell her with the others.”
He frowned. “Rabbits were my father’s business, not mine. I mean to make something out of that farm, and I can’t with these animals. I’m going to have horses and cows, real livestock.” He sneered at the bunnies in the pen. “Not these rodents.”
“Can I buy Puff from you?”
He shook his head. “I gave the farmer the number of rabbits I had to sell and counted Puff among them.”
“Maybe just ask him. I promise to pay you a good price.”
“I’ll see. In any case, I will come and collect Puff from you tomorrow. You will have her at the candy shop?”
I nodded and felt like I might be sick. I hated the idea of Puff going to a farm far away from here and being treated just like any other farm rabbit. Stephen had never treated her that way. She wouldn’t do well. She was a spoiled rabbit in a lot of ways and used to a certain lifestyle.
“I need to get back to work.” Eli turned away from me and went back to filling the rabbits’ water dishes.
I wanted to argue more but stepped away from him. I needed some time to think of a way to convince him not to sell Puff with the other rabbits. Or if he sold her, to sell her to me.
Toxic Toffee Page 22
