Gathering Shadows

by Nancy Mehl

  “I’ll hold you to that.”

  “Your cook seems upset,” I said. “He’s been giving me the evil eye ever since I sat down.”

  She shrugged. “Not my problem. Guess you’ll have to take it up with him.”

  “Knock it off, Randi,” Reuben said. “Wynter is our guest. Let’s treat her with some respect.”

  “Respect is earned, Reuben,” she snapped back. She swung her gaze back to me. “So what do you want to drink?”

  Reuben and I ordered coffee.

  “We’d also like to get something to eat,” Reuben said. “Can you hold the poison?”

  For the first time, a small smile flitted across Randi’s face. “Yes, I think I can do that. I suppose you want the usual?”

  Reuben shook his head. “No, I think tonight I’ll try the liver and onions.”

  Randi’s expression registered her surprise. “You never order liver. What’s up with that?”

  He grinned and looked at me. “Guess I’m just in a mood to try something new.”

  Randi pointed her pen at me. “And you?”

  “Uh, liver and onions, please.”

  She raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. Just wrote down my order. Then she grabbed our menus and walked away.

  “Sorry about that,” Reuben said as soon as Randi was out of hearing distance. “She’s a little opinionated.”

  “A little?” I said with a smile.

  He grinned. “I get your point.” He cocked his head toward the kitchen. “Don’t worry about August. He’s our local curmudgeon, but he’s harmless. I was just kidding about the poison, you know.”

  “I wasn’t really worried about poison,” I said. “But there are other rather disgusting things cooks can do to food if they’re unhappy with you.”

  “Trust me. August isn’t the kind of person who would do something like that. He takes great pride in his cooking.”

  “Well, that makes me feel a little better,” I said, trying to smile. Despite Reuben’s assurances, I decided to keep a close watch on the angry cook.

  “So you were asking about how Sanctuary was founded,” Reuben said. “Do you want me to talk about that now or after dinner?”

  “Now’s fine. Just tell me what you can. I’ll stop you to ask questions when I need to, if that’s all right.”

  He nodded. “Sounds good.”

  Before he had a chance to say anything else, Randi suddenly showed up with our coffee. “Here you go,” she said. She took two cups of coffee off her tray and set them on the table.

  I thanked her, but she didn’t respond. Just tossed her head and walked away.

  Reuben shook his head and chuckled. “Okay, one more time.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Interruptions are par for the course. I’m used to it.”

  He took a sip of coffee and then put his cup down. “How did you become a reporter? Was it something you always wanted to do?”

  I laughed. “Wait a minute. I’m supposed to be asking you the questions. Not the other way around.”

  “Hey, turnabout is fair play. You answer my question, I’ll answer yours.”

  “Okay. No, not really. I got interested in high school after a local reporter spoke at one of our assemblies. Her life seemed interesting.” I shrugged. “That’s all there is to it. There wasn’t any earth-shattering revelation or voice from the heavens telling me I’d found my calling.” I smiled at him. “Can I ask an unofficial question before the actual interview begins?”

  He nodded. “That’s permissible.”

  “I’m surprised Sanctuary has a mayor. Especially one so young. How old are you?”

  “I’m twenty-nine. I’ll be thirty on Christmas Day.”

  “A Christmas baby, huh?”

  Reuben laughed. “Yes. At least I know I’ll never have to work on my birthday.”

  “I was surprised when we first met. I read something about Mennonites not believing in local government.”

  “You’re right. It’s only an honorary title. The state and county make decisions that affect us. Someone has to deal with them. The town chose me to do that.”

  “They voted for you?”

  “Not really. We held a town meeting and the pastor of a local church stood up, suggested my name, and asked if anyone had a problem with using me to deal with whatever the local government threw our way. No one objected, so I was elected. Although I don’t know if elected is really the right word to use.”

  I grinned. “Wow. I’m impressed. It sounds like a landslide.”

  “Well, more like gradual erosion. There wasn’t anyone interested enough to stop it.”

  “You’re pretty funny for a Mennonite.”

  Reuben’s eyebrows shot up. “And what do you think a Mennonite is?”

  “To be honest, I thought all the women would be wearing long dresses and head coverings—”

  “They’re called prayer coverings.”

  “Oh, sorry. Prayer coverings. And the men would be dressed in black pants, long-sleeved white shirts, and big black hats.”

  He nodded. “You’re not entirely wrong. Some conservative Mennonites dress that way, but not all Mennonites are conservative. The modern Mennonite church isn’t much different than most mainstream churches anywhere in the country.”

  “What are the differences?”

  “A commitment to nonresistance and the belief that the church and the state should be separate.”

  I frowned. “But isn’t that part of the problem in the world today? People trying to take God out of everything? Our schools and our government?”

  He shrugged. “That’s an argument you’d have to take up with someone who’s Mennonite.”

  My jaw dropped. “I . . . I assumed—”

  “I was Mennonite?” He shook his head. “No. I respect our Mennonite neighbors, but I’m not Mennonite. I attend a nondenominational church.”

  “Well, that’s what I get for making assumptions.”

  He smiled. “Maybe we should get back to our interview.”

  “Okay. Here’s my first official question. Can you tell me how this town was founded?”

  He nodded. “German Mennonite immigrants came here in the 1800s. It was called New Zion back then. As the years progressed and residents died, it became what it is now. Still strongly Mennonite but integrated with people of other beliefs as well.”

  I hesitated a moment. “Something’s bothering me. Esther said something about people living in Sanctuary having . . . secrets. Do you know what she meant?”

  Reuben’s mouth tightened just a little. “Sorry, but it’s my turn.” He stared at me for a moment. “You have the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen. Do you wear colored contacts?”

  I smiled at him. “No contacts. Real eye color. Which is odd because everyone else in my family has brown eyes. They also have dark hair. I’m the only blonde.”

  “Anything your mother and father didn’t tell you?”

  “No. Just one of those weird genetic things. My mom was blond as a child. Now I get an extra question.”

  He started to protest, but I held up my hand. “You got an extra question. Turnabout is fair play.”

  He grinned. “Okay, just this once.”

  “Randi seemed a little . . . unfriendly. Is it just because she doesn’t want us here, or is there something else?”

  He colored slightly. “Oh, that. Sorry. We dated for a while, but it didn’t take long for us to realize we weren’t right for each other. We’re just friends now.”

  I wasn’t sure Randi was convinced they were just friends, but at least I knew her antagonism wasn’t totally because of our story.

  “Okay, we each got an extra question,” I said. “Now, abide by the rules. Answer my original question.”

  “All right. People come to Sanctuary for many different reasons, Wynter. Some are simply tired of big-city life and big-city problems. Sanctuary is like . . . like stepping back into the past. We don’t have crime here. No bars or liquor stores.
No smutty book or video stores. We don’t lock our doors. We believe in old-fashioned values, and God is welcome everywhere. We don’t try to shut Him out the way the world does.”

  “But what if someone moved here and wanted to open a bar—or a smutty bookstore? Wouldn’t they have the right to do it?”

  “I think it’s my turn.”

  I held my hand up. “Wait a minute. This is related to my other question. I should have the right for a follow-up.”

  He laughed easily; fine laugh lines crinkled at the corners of his eyes. “Okay. You win.” He took another sip of his coffee as he considered his answer. “So far no one has tried to do anything like that. Why would they? There wouldn’t be any support. Even if someone tried to open an . . . inappropriate business, how would they pull it off? There’s nothing for sale here. We’re all too protective of this town.”

  “So you’re telling me that no one—meaning not one person—ever tried to buck the system?”

  “Well, Randi used to joke about serving beer in her restaurant, but that’s the extent of it. Like I said, she wasn’t serious. Folks who live here know the rules.”

  “Rules? Are there really rules?”

  He quickly shook his head. “No, maybe that wasn’t a good way to say it. There aren’t any written codes that we live by. No Ordnung like many Amish communities have. But we know what Sanctuary is—and we keep a close watch over it. It’s as simple as that.”

  “But then . . .”

  “Wait a minute. It’s got to be my turn by now.”

  I smiled. “Okay. Go ahead.”

  “Is your name really Wynter?”

  His question alarmed me. How had he zeroed in on the one thing I couldn’t talk about? Warning bells went off in my mind. I’d have to be careful.

  “No, it’s not my real name. It’s my on-air name. I picked it because I love winter. In fact, I was born in the middle of a snowstorm in a small Missouri hospital. There was only one nurse on duty that night, and she actually delivered me. The doctor didn’t make it in until hours later.”

  “I like that story,” Reuben said. “So what’s your real name?”

  “Follow-up?”

  He nodded. “Follow-up.”

  “It’s Emily.”

  His eyebrows arched in surprise. “A good old-fashioned name.”

  “I guess.”

  “Did you change your last name?”

  “A little. Not much.” I shook my head. “That’s off-limits.”

  “Okay. Did you change your name because you didn’t like it? Or was there another reason?”

  “Off-limits,” I said again.

  Reuben studied me as if he could read my thoughts, and it made me uncomfortable. What was it about this man?

  “I guess it’s your turn,” he said, watching me closely.

  I tried to look as nonchalant as I could, even though his piercing gaze made me nervous. “Let me ask about your more conservative residents. I noticed a family out in front of the library today. The boy’s name was . . . um, I think it was Elijah. He dropped his mother off at the library. They were dressed in Mennonite garb, and they rode up in a buggy. Can you tell me something about them? How they live?”

  “I can tell you about them, but I’ll warn you right now that they won’t be seen on camera.”

  “Because they’re conservative Mennonites?”

  He nodded. “They don’t believe in getting their pictures taken, and that would certainly apply to video.”

  “Okay, let’s just use them as examples then. Tell me how they live. It will help me to understand people like them.”

  Reuben started to respond, but before he could, a man walked up to the table.

  “Hey, mayor,” he said with a smile. “Who is this pretty lady?” His bright blue eyes were inquisitive but kind. Longish thick black hair framed a handsome face. Obviously, Sanctuary was home to some good-looking men. If any of the single women I knew got a look at these guys, Sanctuary’s visitor population would likely explode.

  “Wynter Evans, meet Jonathon Wiese.”

  “Welcome to Sanctuary, Wynter,” Jonathon said. “I heard journalists were in Sanctuary. You’re the talk of the town.”

  I shook his hand and smiled up at him. “Seems like most of that talk is pretty negative. So how do you feel about it?”

  “I think it’s great. Sanctuary is a wonderful place. Should make an interesting spot in your feature. I doubt seriously if we’re going to be run over by tourists or people wanting to move here. This town is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea.”

  “With the recent popularity of Amish and Mennonite fiction, you might be surprised.”

  “They’d have to find a way to support themselves. There aren’t any jobs in Sanctuary. We’re far enough away from larger towns to make working there and living here impractical.”

  “Sounds like you’ve thought this out.”

  He chuckled. “You’re right. I have.”

  “Jonathon would be a great person for you to interview,” Reuben said. “He used to live in a strict Mennonite town in Kansas. He left there because he wanted more freedom.”

  “So you came here?” I said, with surprise. “Why not go somewhere more . . . modern?”

  “Desiring more liberty doesn’t mean I was ready to throw away my roots. I just wanted to stretch them a bit.”

  At that moment, Randi showed up with our plates. “Hey, Jonathon. Are you joining these folks for dinner?”

  “No. Just stopping by to meet our guest. And to give her this.” He held out a folded piece of paper in front of me. “I found this stuck on the windshield of the Prius outside. I was told it’s your car. Thought I’d better bring it to you. It’s a little windy, and I was afraid it might blow away.”

  “Thank you. I can’t imagine what it is.”

  He shrugged. “I have no idea. Maybe it’s from someone who wants to be interviewed for your special.” He stuck his hand out. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Wynter. Let me know if I can help you in any way. You can catch me at the church during the day.”

  I shook his hand and smiled. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

  “Nice guy,” I said to Reuben as Jonathon walked away.

  “Yes, he is. And he meant that about helping you.”

  “You all need anything else?” Randi asked.

  “More coffee when you have a chance,” Reuben said.

  “Sure.”

  As soon as Randi walked away, I opened the folded piece of paper Jonathon had given me. Written in large block letters, someone had written GET OUT OF TOWN NOW OR YOU’LL BE SORRY!

  Chapter

  Six

  Even though I was tired and the bed at Esther’s was comfortable, that night I had a hard time getting to sleep. The words in the letter kept running through my brain. Reuben had basically dismissed it. “We may be a Mennonite town,” he’d said, “but we still have teenagers that like to pull pranks. There isn’t anyone you need to worry about in Sanctuary.” Maybe he was right, but I wasn’t convinced. Esther’s odd warning, combined with the note, pointed toward something darker. Something disquieting.

  After lying in bed for an hour or so, I finally got up and decided to transcribe the notes I’d written at the restaurant to my computer files. I settled on the fainting couch, my laptop balanced on my lap. I was typing away when I felt something. Or maybe it was a movement caught by my peripheral vision. A quick look out the window next to me revealed a figure standing outside in the street, looking up toward my room. Fear gripped me, and I froze. The lamp was on, so whoever it was could clearly see me, yet I couldn’t make out anything except an outline of a man.

  I forced myself to move, putting down my laptop and swinging my legs over the side of the couch. Then I got up, clicked off the lamp, and went back to the window. A quick look outside revealed nothing. The street was empty. Had I really seen someone, or was my imagination working overtime? After sitting in the dark for another hour, I finally crawled into bed,
falling asleep out of pure exhaustion.

  Saturday morning I awoke to the aroma of bacon frying. Not my normal morning experience. A cup of yogurt or a granola bar was my usual breakfast fare.

  The beautiful old bed was very comfortable, and my body craved a couple more hours of sleep. After staying under the covers for a few extra minutes while trying to shake off the last remnants of sleep, I finally sat up and lowered my feet onto the step stool. I definitely needed it to get out of the unusually high bed. The clock on the small table near the door read seven-thirty. Late for me. I usually got up by five every morning. Esther had told us breakfast would be ready at eight, so I got out of bed, quickly got dressed, and fixed my hair and makeup. I didn’t have time to use my curling iron, so I fashioned my hair into a long braid.

  After getting ready, I went over to the window and looked out. A few people were walking down the street, but no one was staring up at me. There was a lamppost across the street in the same spot where I thought I’d seen someone. Had my imagination turned the lamppost into a person? I shook my head. “You need to get a grip, Wynter,” I said softly.

  Although I was prepared to dismiss the idea that a man had been watching me last night, I was still upset about the note stuck on my car. And there was the problem of Zac. He was ready to leave town, and I was ready to see him go. Unfortunately, getting another photog now would be problematic. I couldn’t ask Ed to send someone else. He’d know I was in Sanctuary. Somehow I had to keep Zac stable. Acting like I believed the note wasn’t a serious threat was my only choice. My instincts told me the cook at Randi’s restaurant wrote it. I noticed he’d taken a couple of breaks last night. Hopefully, he was exactly what Reuben had said—a cranky curmudgeon, no different than a toothless dog. Lots of bark but no ability to bite.

  I was on my way downstairs when I heard Zac’s door open. Good. The last thing I wanted was for him to offend our hostess by being late for breakfast. I really liked Esther.

  “Good morning,” she said cheerfully as I entered the dining room. “Have a seat. Everything is ready.”