When the Bishop Needs an Alibi

by Vannetta Chapman

  He turned his attention to Agent Delaney’s side of the bench. “As we have the body of the deceased, and we have a preliminary forensic report establishing that she died of unnatural causes, the charge of murder is appropriate. However, I find your evidence against Mr. Lapp to be a bit weak. What does the prosecution say?”

  The man beside Agent Delaney stood. He was middle-aged and bald, and Emma disliked him instantly.

  “We believe Mr. Lapp had opportunity and motive, and in addition we have forensic evidence—”

  “Yes, I have that report here, but I fail to see how it establishes a direct connection to Ms. Brooks’s murder.”

  Delaney jumped up and whispered something to the man who must have been his lawyer. That man nodded once and said, “The federal government believes we can prove that, in the early morning hours of September 20, Mr. Lapp took Mrs. Brooks to the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge, murdered her, and left her body among the reeds.”

  Kiana popped out of her chair. “And then returned to the scene the next morning, the twenty-first, and called 9-1-1, saying he’d found the body? Why would he do that?”

  There was a murmur among the crowd, but one look from the judge silenced everyone. Kiana sat back down, though she perched on the edge of her seat, ready to intervene again.

  “We believe Mr. Lapp experienced instant and extreme remorse given his position of leadership in the community.”

  “Instant and extreme remorse, huh?” Trentini raised a single eyebrow, indicating his skepticism.

  “In addition, the federal government believes it to be of utmost importance that we assure the public the killer has been removed from the area, that the public lands in the San Luis Valley are in fact safe for every man, woman, and child to enjoy. We ask the judge to deny bail.”

  “Objection, Your Honor.” Henry’s lawyer had again popped out of her seat. She stood ramrod straight, her voice calm and her demeanor relaxed. Emma couldn’t imagine having such a job, but she was glad that somehow Henry had found someone competent to represent him. “My client has no past criminal history and gives no indication that he is a flight risk, especially given that his mode of transportation is a horse and buggy.”

  A ripple of laughter cascaded through the crowd, and Emma felt her mood swing to optimism.

  Judge Trentini nodded as he wrote something down. “I am releasing Mr. Lapp on his own recognizance, though he will be required to wear an electronic monitoring device. Mr. Lapp, you are not to tamper with this device in any way.”

  He went on to explain that if Henry stepped outside of a predesignated area, the device would send a signal to the police department, who would arrest him and bring him back to the jail.

  Emma felt a little dizzy at the thought of Henry wearing something that could track him, but then it wasn’t as if he had anything to hide.

  “This trial is slated to begin on November 1. I expect to be made aware of any changes in either the prosecution’s case or the defendant’s status.”

  And then Judge Trentini banged his gavel, and they were all dismissed.

  Forty-One

  He’s being released.

  You’re certain?

  I was in the courtroom.

  This could be a problem.

  How?

  He could start nosing around.

  He’s wearing a monitor.

  The first good news today.

  And Delaney’s lawyer argued to

  keep him off the wildlife refuge.

  Even better.

  That might not stop him, though.

  He strikes me as the nosy sort.

  If we have to, we take him out.

  That would bring too much

  scrutiny on us.

  You’re afraid of that now?

  You should be.

  Talk to me about tomorrow

  night’s pickup.

  Everything’s ready.

  Then stop worrying.

  Forty-Two

  Henry was processed out of the jail faster than he imagined. He walked into the lobby and found Clyde waiting for him.

  “Thought you might need a ride home.”

  “Danki.” They stepped out into a warm September day, one bright with fall leaves and busy with folks driving and walking up and down Main Street. Henry hadn’t realized how much he’d missed everything in just twenty-four hours. He hadn’t allowed himself to focus on life outside the jail’s walls. But now that he saw it, he was nearly overwhelmed with gratitude that he was for the moment free.

  “With weather like this, I might have enjoyed the walk.”

  “Ya, but little Lexi here was eager to see you.”

  Clyde laughed when Henry opened the door to the buggy. The small dog had been sitting on the seat, looking out the window. She threw herself at Henry and began licking his face.

  “Katie Ann enjoyed watching after her. So much so that she’s started pestering me about getting one.”

  “It’s not a bad idea. She’s a gut guard dog and a pleasant companion to have around.”

  Clyde grunted at that, and Henry let the subject drop. He understood his deacon wasn’t short on companions. He had his mother, his wife, their four children—and soon the children would marry and bring spouses and then have children of their own. It was the Amish way of life to be surrounded by family, and companionship wasn’t usually an issue. Henry’s life had been different, but then it had blessings of its own.

  “How does that contraption work?” Clyde asked, nodding toward the ankle bracelet.

  It was bigger and chunkier than Henry had imagined, though how could he have known what to expect? He didn’t remember ever seeing such a thing or even hearing about one.

  “The way Lawson explained it to me—he’s a very nice young man, by the way—is that there’s a homing device—”

  “I’ve heard of homing pigeons,” Clyde muttered.

  “This device inside the monitor sends out a radio frequency at timed intervals.”

  “Can you feel it when the signal is sent?”

  “Nein.”

  “And the signal tells them what?”

  “My location.”

  “So you’re limited in where you can and can’t go?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Does it shock you or something if you step out of the area?”

  “Nein. The light is green now.” He pointed to a small light on the side of the monitor. “Which means I’m within my allowed area. My understanding is that it will turn red and send an alert to the police department if I go somewhere I shouldn’t.”

  “Can you leave your property once I take you home?”

  “I can. I just have to stay in the Monte Vista region. No trips to Alamosa, which I hadn’t planned on anyway. I’ll be able to visit the folks in our church, which is a real blessing.”

  “Better than sitting in a jail cell, I suppose.”

  “Indeed.” Henry glanced out the window. The fall migration of the sandhill cranes was nearing its peak, and now he would miss that. “No birding for me this year. Not allowed to go out to the wildlife refuge. Delaney cast enough doubt on my character that the judge wants to make sure I’m not a menace to any unsuspecting bird-watchers.”

  “That’s a shame. I know you’re disappointed, but the cranes will be through here again in the spring, and this will be behind us then.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “I know I’m right.” Clyde thrust his chin forward as he spoke, which made Henry want to laugh. His friends were bound and determined to assert his innocence. It was a balm to his soul.

  “How’d you get the lawyer?”

  “Sheriff Grayson contacted her. She has some experience with others like us who have run afoul of the law.”

  “Plain? She has experience defending Plain folk?”

  “She didn’t have time to explain before this morning’s hearing, but as we waited for them to process my release, I asked her about her experience. She mentio
ned a Mennonite gentleman she helped with a drug charge. She convinced the judge to consider his lack of criminal history as well as his limited role in the enterprise. Worked well for all involved. The man is out now and staying clean. Another man was imprisoned for failing to follow his municipality’s fire code. She worked out a compromise.”

  “When will you see her again? To plan your defense?”

  “Later this week. She’s going out of town for another trial, but she assured me she’d be working on my case.”

  “It’s gut, Henry. Gut that you have someone on your side who is knowledgeable about Englisch laws and their court system.”

  They passed the rest of the drive in silence. Henry allowed Lexi to sit on his lap. She was content now that he was with her. He’d once read that dogs lived in the present moment, and that was the reason for their joyful personality. Judging by the expression on Lexi’s face, Henry would have to agree with that. As they neared his place, Clyde slowed his mare before pulling slightly on the right rein so she would turn down the lane.

  “Other than her experience, why would Grayson contact her?” he asked, returning to the subject of Henry’s lawyer.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Have you asked him?”

  “That’s the strange thing—or one of the strange things. He’s not around, but he sent a message through Miss Sitton. He wanted her to tell me he would be in touch soon.”

  They were quiet as Clyde drove the buggy up to the house. When Henry opened the door, Lexi bounded out. Clyde started to get out of the buggy, but Henry stayed him with a hand on his arm. “You’ve given up enough of your day to my concerns. I know there’s work waiting for you at home.”

  Clyde nodded once.

  “I appreciate it, though. You don’t realize how dear home is until you spend a night away.”

  “We’re glad to have you back, and you’re right. I do have work at home, so I’ll get on for now.” Clyde ran a hand over his beard before turning to meet Henry’s gaze. “But I’ll be back tonight. We all will.”

  “All?”

  “Emma, Rachel, Silas, Katie Ann. We’ve all been studying your drawings. We think we’ve found something.”

  Henry nodded as if that made sense, though he couldn’t imagine what they’d found. He barely remembered the drawings, though he could vividly recall the panic he’d felt when he’d hurried to Emma’s, when he’d asked her to keep them safe. That panic seemed so distant now as to have belonged to someone else.

  “All right. Tonight, then?”

  “After dinner. Get some rest beforehand. I imagine you need it after the twenty-four hours you’ve had.” Clyde smiled. “And the women left you some food in the house. They were certain you starved with the Englisch cooking at the jail.”

  Henry climbed the steps of his front porch, and then he turned and watched Clyde drive back down his lane.

  He didn’t know what was going to happen next. He couldn’t predict how the trial would go or how he would prove his innocence. He still lacked an alibi.

  But he knew he had friends, good friends. And together they would find a way to weather this storm.

  Forty-Three

  Henry ate too much for lunch—ham salad spread on fresh bread, a large helping of potato salad, and oatmeal cookies with a cup of hot tea. He hadn’t been in jail long, but he’d still missed Plain food—the freshness and richness of the ingredients, knowing that his friends’ hands had kneaded the dough and sliced the bread. In all likelihood someone had butchered a pig and seasoned and smoked the ham. The cookies were filled with raisins and nuts.

  “We have a gut life, Lexi.”

  The beagle rolled over on her back, and Henry couldn’t resist reaching down to scratch her speckled stomach.

  Determined to stay awake, he moved to the rocker in the sitting room. It was good to relax in a patch of sun and read from the Scriptures, a family Bible in the old language and handed down from his grandfather. Henry read the German text, comforted by verses he had been raised hearing from his bishop and his parents and his grandparents. Verses he had shared with others throughout the years. Promises of comfort and hope and an eternal reward.

  Perhaps it was that familiarity that allowed him to relax, finally, and then fall into a restful sleep. When he woke, the sun indicated it was late afternoon. “We should see to Oreo.”

  Lexi stretched and trotted to the door, her tail wagging so hard it caused her entire body to shift from side to side. “I should have named you Wiggles.”

  An hour in the barn and another in the workshop helped to reinforce the routine he’d known all his life. He was almost able to forget the ankle monitor.

  He’d eaten so much for lunch that he wasn’t hungry at all for dinner. Instead, he drank a glass of milk while standing at the sink, looking out at the sunset. As he was admiring the view—the beauty and simplicity of it—three cranes landed in what was left of his garden. He’d planted bulrush and berry bushes on the south side of his field where the water tended to stand if they had any rain at all. His fingers itched for his binoculars, but then he remembered Delaney had taken them.

  He leaned closer to the window and confirmed that he was seeing a family—a male, female, and juvenile. They pecked at the seeds and meandered through what was left of his garden. Some of the farmers in the area had entered into an agreement to sell parts of their harvest to the Crops for Cranes. Henry thought that was an excellent plan. It reminded him of the verses in Leviticus where God’s people were instructed to leave a small portion of their harvest for the poor and foreigner. It was good and right that they should do so—a sort of natural tithe.

  The female stretched her neck, and even from where Henry stood inside the house, he could hear her soft purr echoing across his garden.

  “She’s saying get ready to fly, little guy.”

  The juvenile mimicked its parent, and then they were rising into the sky, a group of three against the darkening blue of the sky.

  “Perhaps Gotte brought the cranes to us since we can’t go to them.”

  Lexi whined and dropped her head on her paws, apparently skeptical as to Henry’s observation. He laughed, surprised that he could do so given his circumstances, and proceeded to make fresh coffee and set out mugs, cream, and sugar.

  Twenty minutes later, Lexi’s ears perked up, and she jumped to her feet and scampered to the door.

  “Your hearing is much better than mine.” Henry stood on the porch, the dog at his side as Clyde’s buggy trundled down his lane for the second time that day. As his friend had promised, he’d brought his family.

  They all moved inside, apparently eager to share whatever they had found.

  “Gut to have you back, Henry.” Rachel was carrying what Henry was sure had to be a fresh-baked pie. It smelled like apple. “I’ll just go into the kitchen and slice this up.”

  Katie Ann paused to scoop up the dog. “Lexi missed you, Henry.”

  “Silas stayed home with the younger boys.” Clyde clapped him on the shoulder. “Usually he’s stepping out with one girl or another, but he said this is important, and he’d be happy to stay home and help. Already gut things are coming from your trouble.”

  And then it was only Henry and Emma standing in the doorway to his home.

  “You wouldn’t believe how I’ve prayed that you would be right here, right here where you are, and soon, by this evening—if at all possible.” When she looked up at him, he saw the depth of her fear and her compassion. It was humbling to think that someone could care for him so much.

  “Gotte is gut, Emma.”

  “All the time. But Henry, I don’t ever want to see you in a courtroom again.” Her eyes were wide, intense—and beautiful. “We’ll figure this out. We’ll figure it out together, and we’ll put this behind us. Agreed?”

  “Ya. I can agree to that.” He squeezed her hand, and then on second thought followed his instincts and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek.

  She colored a pretty s
hade of pink and said, “There will be time for courting when we’ve solved this, Henry Lapp. Until then, we need to stay focused.”

  To which he had to laugh, because in that moment she reminded him of Lexi, intent on protecting the one she loved. Did Emma love him the way he was beginning to love her? Henry hoped so. He wanted to talk to her about his feelings, about their future and what it should look like, but Emma was right. There would be time for that later.

  When he walked into the kitchen, he saw that Rachel had placed five small plates on the counter, each with a slice of pie and a dollop of whipped cream. She’d also poured four mugs of coffee and one glass of milk. Both the lantern over the table and the one by the stove had been lit, casting a warm glow around the room, though it was only just beginning to grow dark outside.

  “Looks like a social,” he said, and suddenly the single glass of milk he’d had for dinner didn’t seem like enough. He gladly accepted the slice of pie Rachel handed him.

  “No reason we can’t eat while we solve this mystery.” Katie Ann had spread the drawings he’d done out on the table.

  “We spent a few hours studying these,” Clyde explained. “And we’ve made a list of people who appear in more than one picture—people who might have been watching or following Sophia.”

  “All right. Let’s hear it.” But Henry had no sooner sat down with his pie and coffee than Lexi began to bark again, followed by the sound of an Englisch car driving down his lane. Bright lights swept across the front windows.

  “Let’s hope they haven’t come to arrest me again,” he mumbled as he hurried from the kitchen.

  Emma followed him to the front door. Henry had the absurd notion that if the police were there to arrest him again, she would throw herself in front of him. Surely one determined Amish woman could stop injustice.