by Amy Lillard
“But, Kappy—”
“No buts, Jimmy. It’s going to be okay.”
Jimmy didn’t have time to respond.
“Kappy?” James Troyer, the district’s mild-mannered deacon, hustled over to her. “That Jones fellow is here again.”
“Jones?” She didn’t know anyone by that name. Then she saw him, winding his way through the crowd, the tall deputy from the other day. He looked even more sinister today than he had then.
“Miss King.” He nodded as he edged past, scooting between her and Edie as he reached for Jimmy.
The young man drew away from the deputy, his eyes wide with confusion and fear. “Don’t touch me.”
Jones kept coming.
“Kappy,” Jimmy whined, cringing away.
“What’s going on?” Kappy tried to get between Jones and Jimmy. People were starting to stare.
“I’m afraid we’re going to have to detain Mr. Peachey.” At least he wasn’t reaching for Jimmy, but he had retrieved a set of handcuffs from his belt.
“Detain?” Kappy stared at the handcuffs. They looked heavy and like they meant business. “What does that mean?”
“It means we’re arresting him.” The uniformed deputy behind Jones took a step forward.
“What?” Edie screeched.
“Kappy!” Jimmy reached for her, but the deputy used the motion to his advantage, grasping Jimmy’s arm and pulling it behind his back. He screamed, a keening sound, and started rocking back and forth.
“I don’t understand.” Kappy shook her head. How could they arrest Jimmy? Why were they arresting Jimmy?
“The coroner’s report came back. Ruth died from head trauma.”
Kappy nodded. “She fell and hit her head.”
He shook his. “Not exactly. Someone hit her in the head, and then she fell.”
Kappy frowned, the expression reflected on Edie’s face as well. “I don’t understand.” Hadn’t Ruth had a heart attack, fallen, and hit her head?
“It’s simple, really,” Jones said. “Ruth was murdered.”
Chapter 4
“Murdered?” The word came from Edie, but echoed inside Kappy’s thoughts.
“I’m sorry.”
Jimmy continued to holler Kappy’s name as the uniformed deputy escorted him through the crowd. Everyone had stopped to stare. She couldn’t blame them. How many times was such a spectacle part of daily life? Much less at a funeral.
“Don’t forget to feed the dogs, Kappy,” was the last thing Jimmy said as he disappeared out the front door.
Kappy resisted the urge to go after him, but Edie had no such reservations. She hurried behind her brother, her heels clopping like horse hooves against the uncovered floors.
“This is ridiculous,” Kappy said, turning back to Jones. “Jimmy wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“Maybe we should go somewhere more private where we can talk.” Jones cleared his throat and looked pointedly around them at the many staring faces of the funeral goers. No one had moved since the entire exchange had begun. And still they sat, watching to see the end of the encounter.
Kappy could feel their stares. It would be all over the valley in a matter of hours, but that didn’t mean they needed to hear it all. But where was there privacy amid two-hundred-plus funeral attendees?
Jones seemed to read her mind. “Perhaps we can find a quiet space outside.”
Kappy nodded and followed him toward the door.
The cheery sunshine seemed to mock the day. First the funeral and now this. There were definitely fewer people outside than inside. And most were staring at the sheriff’s car that was pulling away from the house. Kappy thought she could make out Jimmy’s form inside the car, rocking back and forth as he tried to soothe himself.
“Kappy, they took Jimmy.” Edie hobbled toward them, her heels sinking into the grass as she picked her way across the yard.
“I know.”
“I mean, they took him. They really took him.” Edie turned her accusing stare to the tall deputy. “Why did you take my brother?” Her voice rose with each syllable. Sometime during the exchange she had started to cry, the tears leaving black marks trailing down her cheeks as her makeup smeared.
“Edie, I understand your concern, but perhaps you should give him a chance to explain,” Kappy soothed. At least, she hoped he had a good reason for his actions. As Edie had already stated, Jimmy wouldn’t hurt a fly.
Jones nodded. “He’s your brother?”
“Yes,” Edie returned. “And he did not hurt our mother.”
Kappy shook her head, trying to clear her mind. “But . . . but why would you arrest Jimmy?”
Jones shifted his stance and for the first time Kappy noticed that he was wearing an Englisch suit. The last time she had seen him he’d had on a pair of blue jeans and a shirt with a collar. Was he allowed to wear anything he wanted to work? How was a person supposed to know he was a deputy? “I can’t give you all the details, but Jimmy basically confessed when we talked to him.”
“You talked to him?” Kappy asked. “When?” Had they waited until she left the house to try and question him?
“Basically?” Edie screeched. “What does that mean?”
“What’s going on here?” Samuel Miller picked that moment to join them on the front lawn. He waddled toward them, his vest buttons pulled to capacity.
“I’m sorry, sir. Do I know you?” Jones asked. His tone was polite, but Kappy could tell that he resented the interruption.
Samuel puffed out his chest, straining his buttons even further. “I’m the bishop.”
Jones looked to Kappy.
She nodded.
“I’m not able to discuss the particulars,” Jones said.
“But you arrested my brother.”
Jones nodded. “He confessed.”
“Basically,” Edie scoffed.
“The matter is not up for debate. He confessed. From here it’s up to the district attorney.” He nodded toward them all, then turned on his heel and headed toward his car.
“He can’t stay in jail, Kappy.” Tears filled Edie’s eyes. She might have lost her Amish ways in the Englisch world, but she loved her brother. That much was obvious. “He’ll never survive in jail.”
She was right. Jimmy was too sensitive, too sweet. She had no idea what jail was like, but it was filled with criminals and thieves. He was neither.
Kappy raced to catch up with Jones. “Deputy,” she said, laying a hand on his arm to stop him.
“Detective,” he corrected, looking at her fingers on the sleeve of his suit coat.
“Detective,” Kappy agreed with a nod. She drew in a deep breath before continuing. “Jimmy is special. Please, take care of him. He doesn’t belong in jail.”
He tugged his arm from her grasp. “I will,” he promised, then ducked into his car and drove away.
* * *
“I don’t understand. How can they just come get him and take him to jail?” Edie pushed her unnaturally blond bangs out of her eyes and sat at the table across from Kappy.
Shortly after the deputies took Jimmy away, the funeral wound to a close. Now Kappy sat across from Edie, wishing she was anywhere but there.
The kitchen table was still loaded with pies, bowls of prunes, and other leftover funeral food, but the dishes had been cleaned and put away, all except for a pile of silverware still sitting on the table. It would only take a few seconds to put it away, but for now it was fine where it was. Kappy was exhausted. Too exhausted to mess with it.
She had been to more funerals than she cared to remember in the years since her family had been killed, and every time the memories came flooding back. Sad, exhausted memories. Add to that the shock of Jimmy’s arrest and the day was almost more than any one person should have to endure.
“Are you truly asking me? Because I don’t understand any of this, either.”
Edie shook her head and stared down into her coffee cup. She was silent for a moment before looking up and
pinning Kappy with her sharp brown stare. “Say, why are you talking to me anyhow?”
“I see no reason not to.” It was the truth. Edie had never done anything to her. Why shouldn’t she talk to her?
“I’m excommunicated.”
Kappy shrugged. “I can see no fault in your decision. Not if you’re happy with it.”
A shadow of something Kappy couldn’t name passed across Edie’s face, but it was gone almost as quickly as it appeared.
Truth was, Kappy had spent a great chunk of her life wishing she could talk to her family. She couldn’t see not talking to someone who was sitting in front of her.
With a low growl, Edie grabbed a fork off the pile and pulled one of the pies toward her. Without the benefit of a plate, she started to eat straight from the pan.
“I thought you didn’t like funeral pie,” Kappy said.
Edie took another bite but didn’t swallow before answering. “I don’t.”
“Then why are you eating it?”
“My mother died. My brother’s in jail.” She took another bite, then dropped her fork, the metal clattering onto the table next to her coffee cup. “What am I going to do, Kappy? I can’t leave Jimmy in jail.”
“No,” Kappy agreed.
“I mean I was so happy to come back and see him again. Well, not really happy. You know, since my mother died. But I was excited to get to see him. I’ve missed him so much over the years. And now this.” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. She uncrossed them a heartbeat later, then leaned forward and braced her arms on the tabletop. “I can’t leave him in jail, Kappy. I just can’t. He doesn’t belong there.”
Truer words had never been spoken. But she remembered Jones’s promise. “He’ll be okay.”
“But he can’t stay there.”
“And he won’t.” Would he?
Edie ran her fingers through her hair and chocked her elbows on the table. “You don’t really think he killed Mamm, do you?”
“No.” She didn’t hesitate when she answered. There was no way Jimmy had killed Ruth.
But the image of him standing over her body telling her he was sorry was forever burned into her brain. Why had he been apologizing?
“He was the last one to see her alive,” Kappy said.
Edie straightened. “How do you know that?”
Kappy took a cautious sip of her coffee. She didn’t like it too warm. “I was the one who called the ambulance.”
“What?” Edie knocked her chair over backward as she jumped to her feet. She took a moment to set her chair to rights before plopping down in it as if her body were too heavy to remain upright for long. “You called the ambulance? Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
Kappy shrugged. “I didn’t think it was important. I still don’t.”
“But that means you were there.”
“Jah.”
“Don’t you see? If you were there, then you could have seen something to help us clear Jimmy’s name.”
“What do you mean, clear his name?”
“We both know he’s not guilty, and if the police think they have their man, they’re not going to look any further for another suspect.”
“I don’t know.” She had no idea how these things worked.
“Well, I do. And Jimmy will remain in jail unless we do something to help him.”
“Like what?”
“Find the real killer.”
“What?” It was Kappy’s turn to jump to her feet. She didn’t know the first thing about finding people. And why would they want to look for a killer?
“We have to do it, Kappy. For Jimmy.”
She was right. But that didn’t make it any easier to accept. Kappy snatched up the silverware and started to put it in the drawer. That took up all of thirty-five seconds. Now what?
She plopped back into her chair and eyed Edie across the table.
“For Jimmy,” Edie said again.
Kappy nodded. “I’ll tell you what I can.”
She started with her trip to the bulk goods store and recounted coming back home to find that her front door had been painted blue.
“Jimmy painted your front door blue?” Edie laughed. “Why would he do that?”
Kappy shook her head. “Because Hiram and I broke up and I guess Jimmy thought that since I was available—”
“That he would paint your door blue to help you get a new suitor?”
“I mean, it’s not even a real thing.”
“He thought he was helping.” Edie shot her an affectionate smile.
“Jah. I know he’d just done it. It was still tacky to the touch.”
“Then what happened?”
“I hopped in my buggy and came straight over here.”
“And your horse was still hitched to the carriage?”
“That’s right.”
“Jimmy couldn’t have done it. Can’t you see?”
“I wish I could.”
“If your door was still not dry, then he must have just returned to the house. He probably wasn’t even here when it happened.”
“I suppose it’s possible.”
“It’s more than possible.” A self-satisfied smile spread across her face.
“Are you going to call the deputy and tell him?”
“Not yet.” She shook her head. “I want to gather a bit more proof first.” She leaned back once again, a thoughtful look on her face. “He’s cute, huh?”
“Who?”
“Deputy Jones. Actually, I think it’s Detective Jones. Did he come out here that first day?”
“Jah. He was here.”
“And you don’t think he’s cute?”
Hiram’s face appeared in front of her mind’s eye. He was about the most handsome man she had ever seen. Kappy knew that a person was supposed to look deeper than the surface in order to find a mate, but she thought Hiram was about as handsome as they come. He was big and strong, not as tall as the detective, but he could hold his own if need be. He could bring in the crops and do all the other chores that were expected of an Amish man. But Hiram Lapp was a businessman through and through. He owned a shop called Sundries and Sweets that catered to Englisch, tourists, and Amish alike. The store carried a variety of goods including locally baked items, books, and handmade Amish dolls.
“He’s kind of frowny.”
Edie laughed. “You’re right. It’s his brow bone,” she said, pulling one finger across her own forehead to illustrate. “I still think he’s handsome, though.”
Kappy pushed back from the table and stood. “I need to get home.”
Edie frowned. “Why?”
“You don’t need me here.” She had done what the bishop had asked. Maybe even more than he requested. Jimmy was in jail, Edie was home, at least for the time being, and it was time for her to go back where she belonged.
“You can’t leave.” Edie was on her feet in an instant. “I don’t know how to feed the dogs or the horses.”
Kappy shot her a look. “I’m sure you can figure it out.”
“Okay, the truth is I don’t want to be here by myself. Will you help me feed the dogs?” Edie’s tone turned soft. “And the horses, too?”
How could Kappy refuse? “Jah. Just this once. But after that I’m going home.”
Edie’s smile could have lit up the darkest night. “Whatever you say.”
* * *
The pair worked in silence, feeding the dogs, pouring them fresh water, and stopping to pet them in between. Kappy had never owned a dog. Aunt Hettie would never allow one. But now, she wondered why she hadn’t gotten one in all these years. They were adorable, especially the little ones, rolling all over each other and themselves, biting ears and barking at nothing. Every now and again, one would sit back on his haunches and howl at nothing.
Maybe when this was all over, she should look into getting a dog of her own. Just one, she thought looking at the tumbling bodies. Maybe two.
“Why weren’t we friends before
. . . you know, before I left?” Edie asked as she walked the pen looking for poop to scoop.
Kappy stirred herself out of her thoughts of dog ownership and back to the present. “You didn’t like me.”
Edie shook her head. “I like everybody.”
“Not me.” Kappy finished winding up the hose and turned to face her new almost-friend.
Edie fell quiet. “I’m sorry.”
Kappy shrugged. “I’m used to it now.”
Edie Peachey hadn’t been the first person to pretend Kappy was invisible. That was, until they needed a kapp made. But with the way she ran her shop, no one had to interact with her in order to do business with her. The entire setup allowed the whole of Blue Sky to simply pretend that she didn’t exist. There were times when she enjoyed it, when she didn’t have to answer to anyone but God and the bishop, but other times. . . well, it was just lonely.
“That’s no excuse,” Edie said. “It goes against everything I was taught and yet I did it anyway. Now that I’m out among the Englisch . . .” She shook her head. “It’s not any better. It might even be worse.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Edie held her arms out to her sides. “Look at me. I don’t exactly fit in.”
Before coming out to take care of the dogs, Edie had gone upstairs to change. Instead of funeral black, she now wore bright purple pants that looked a lot like tights and an oversized shirt with a kitten on the front. Lavender rubber flip-flops graced her feet, and her toenails were painted black. Black?
Kappy cocked her head to one side. “I don’t understand. You left the Amish so you didn’t have to conform and now that you’re with the Englisch you want to be like them?”
Edie drew back. “It’s not like that.” But Kappy could tell she had never thought about it in those terms.
“We’re done here. I’m going home now.”
Edie dropped the scooper. “Don’t go. Stay and we can watch a movie—” She stopped. “We could play a game.”
Kappy shook her head. “I’ve been away too long.” But the thought of returning to her empty house held no appeal. She felt antsy, anxious, as if something were about to happen. Or maybe she was just worried about Jimmy being in jail.
