After he’d left the hospital, he’d grabbed a bite to eat. The chance of finding food at home was slim to none. The more his mother drank, the less she seemed to eat. One day she would disappear right before his eyes, and he couldn’t say he would miss her. Yes, she was his mother, but he couldn’t remember the last time she’d offered a kind word or deed. Theirs was not that type of family. Night was falling by the time he walked into his house, and she immediately began lobbing questions his way.
“Where have you been?”
“Did you find a job?”
“Where do you go all day?”
He ignored her questions and tried not to look left or right as he made his way through the living room. The place disgusted him. Memories of their last home were emblazoned on his mind. They stood in stark contrast to the room he walked through, the hall, and his pitiful excuse for a bedroom. When he opened the door, it banged into the twin bed. He shut it quickly, pulled down the shade, and collapsed on top of the mattress.
He spent the next few minutes allowing his mind to drift back over the details of the day.
Overall, he’d have to say it had been a rousing success.
But now it was time to get back on his schedule. He reached under the mattress and pulled out the sheet of paper listing his five targets. Three down and two to go. Plus bonus points for the newspaper. Time to get busy.
After all, he wasn’t done exacting his revenge.
Fifty
Because of the explosion and subsequent injuries, the workday at Henry’s house was postponed a week, which suited him fine. He looked forward to some time at home tending to his garden, training Lexi, and praying for his congregation. Plus, he needed to find homes for the kittens in the barn. They were growing faster than the crops in the fields.
The day after the explosion passed quickly, and he had just sat down to dinner when Lexi began to bark and turn in circles.
He glanced out the window and saw a buggy making its way down the drive. “Didn’t hear them again. Gut thing I have you to let me know when someone’s here.” He scratched Lexi behind her ears and opened the door to find Elmer stepping out of his buggy.
“Elmer.”
“Henry.”
“Would you like to come in?”
“Best not. I have some work still to do at home.”
“Oh. All right.” Henry stepped out on the front porch and waited, knowing the man would get to what was on his mind eventually. Elmer was in his forties, with five children and a constantly worried expression.
“Wanted to let you know that we appreciate all you’ve done for us, but Grace and I believe it’s time for a change.”
“Change?”
“Ya. We heard Kentucky has a nice community.” Elmer jerked his hat off his head, twirled it in his hands, and stared at it instead of meeting the gaze of his bishop.
“Kentucky?”
“Truth is, I’ve already talked to a real estate agent. The sign went up today.”
“You’re moving?”
Elmer nodded, but seemed hesitant to say more. The silence lengthened, became more uncomfortable, and then he cleared his throat and said, “I put Grace and the kids on the bus today—all except Albert, who will help me load our things into a moving van. Grace’s sister moved to Marion a few years ago. Says it’s gut farming land and that we’re welcome to stay with them until we can purchase a place.”
Henry moved forward, sat down on his front step, and waited.
After a few moments of silence, Elmer sat down beside him. Lexi had finished sniffing the newcomer and was attempting to catch one of the toads that lived under the porch.
“What’s this about, Elmer?”
“I hardly know where to start.”
“Try the first thing that comes to your mind.”
“The last set of twins has been hard on Grace.”
“No doubt five children require a lot of energy and attention, and I’m aware that your wife wasn’t expecting the last set. She told me she thought her birthing years were over, but often Gotte has a different path for us than what we envision.”
“Add to that how difficult it’s been to pull in gut crops—”
“Last year was especially dry.”
“And this year will be better. Yeah, I know. I’ve read the long-term forecasts too. The thing is, she misses her family.”
Henry didn’t interrupt. He waited, knowing that eventually Elmer would reveal the real reason for the sudden move. It was the reason he’d come—to confess to his bishop.
“The fires… well, they were the last straw.”
“Grace is afraid?”
“She’s nervous. Who wouldn’t be? And yeah, I know we are to have faith, but Vernon had faith and he’s dead. You had faith, and you no longer have a workshop. Abe and Lewis had faith, but now one has seven stitches and the other near a dozen.”
“Having faith doesn’t mean every aspect of our life will turn out fine.”
Elmer stood, slapped his hat against his pant leg, and for the first time since he’d arrived looked directly at Henry. “Neither does it mean we are to live in fear. Jesus told the disciples to shake off the dust of a place where they’re not welcome.”
“I can see you’ve given this a lot of thought, and that you’ve spent time in Gotte’s Word looking for answers. I can’t say as I agree with your conclusions, but I respect your decision.”
“Danki.”
“Our congregation will keep your family in our prayers. You’ll write to me once you get settled?”
“Ya. Of course.” A look of relief passed over Elmer’s face. Had he expected Henry to reprimand him? He couldn’t fault the man for putting his family’s safety first. And he wouldn’t second-guess something Elmer had obviously spent a good amount of time agonizing over.
Henry cleared his throat and changed the subject. “Since there’s no service Sunday, I’ll be eating at the Fishers’ place. I’m sure Emma would like you to join us.”
“I’d be happy to.”
“Excellent. Bring Albert, of course. Growing boys can be difficult to feed.”
“I never was any use in a kitchen, and Albert is even worse. We’ll be eating sandwiches until we join the family in Kentucky, which will hopefully be next week.”
“I will pray that you have safe travels, sell your land here quickly, and receive a gut price.” Henry clapped the man on the shoulder.
Elmer nodded, embarrassed, and mumbled, “We’ll see you Sunday, then.”
As Elmer drove away, Henry realized he needed to spend more time in prayer for his congregation. It wasn’t unusual for a family to leave abruptly. Instead of arguing about a decision made by a group, often a man would say to his wife, “I heard land is inexpensive in Ohio,” or “Read in the Budget last week that the community in Maine needs more families.” It was the way things were done.
Don’t agree with the use of tractors in Oklahoma? Move to Indiana.
Have strong opinions that solar energy should be allowed? Move to Pennsylvania.
Henry wasn’t concerned that a family had decided to leave their fellowship. He was concerned that their reasons were driven by fear.
And beneath that lay a more disturbing question. How many would they lose? Their community was small, even after he and the others from Goshen joined those already here. It was an understood fact that a community required a minimum of ten families to be able to offer the support a community needed. If they were to fall below that, then they’d all be selling their property.
They’d be scattered to the wind.
If that was God’s will, then Henry would accept it. But in his heart, he found it hard to believe God would lead them to Monte Vista only to have their community torn apart by someone bent on destruction.
Fifty-One
You’re hovering, Mammi.”
“I have a right, Katie Ann. I found you huddled beneath a counter as the room burned around us. Must have taken a year off my life.”
They were sitting on the front porch, shelling purple hull peas Clyde had picked up at the farmer’s market in town. They often resorted to purchasing fresh food shipped in from areas farther south until their own garden came in, which wouldn’t happen for at least another month.
“I still don’t remember any of it,” Katie Ann admitted.
“Perhaps that’s for the best.”
“I guess, but I’m tired of hanging around the house. I want to check on the horses.”
“Your brothers can do that.”
“They don’t brush them down as well as I do. Silas is always in a hurry. Stephen and Thomas are even worse. Half the time they become distracted and never finish.”
“You care about the horses and so are very careful with their grooming. Probably it’s okay for them to receive a little less attention for a day or two.”
“Less attention? What if you had to sleep with tangles in your hair or walk around with a pebble caught up under your toenail?”
Rachel walked out onto the front porch, a cup of coffee in her left hand and a book in her right.
“Is my doschder complaining again? Surely she doesn’t mind helping her grandmother.” Rachel’s voice was teasing, and she stopped next to Katie Ann’s chair long enough to plant a kiss on top of her head.
“You all treat me like a fresh egg.”
“An egg?” Rachel plopped into a rocker and set it in motion. “Are you saying we put you on the shelf in a cool place?”
“Nein! As if I might crack… get it? An egg?” Katie Ann rolled her eyes, but she also laughed, and it did Emma’s heart a world of good to hear that.
“Speaking of eggs, perhaps you could go and gather today’s bounty.”
“I thought that was Stephen’s chore.”
“It was until he and his brother ended up in an egg fight earlier this week.”
“How did I miss that?”
“You were in the barn. Your dat had them clean out the coop as a punishment, but we both agree that perhaps they’d be better mucking stalls for their morning chore.”
“I’ll do anything that gets me off this porch.” Katie Ann dumped the last of her shelled peas into the pail and bounced out of her chair, dusting off the front of her apron as she walked toward the chickens.
“I’m not sure what other quiet things I can find for her to do,” Rachel said. “She nearly drove me crazy yesterday begging to work with the horses.”
“She’s usually gut about doing any chore you give her. It’s probably normal for her to be a little restless, and the horses… well, they seem to provide a measure of calm for her.”
“That they do. I have no idea what she will do besides help me now that she’s out of school, but I’m pretty sure it will be something to do with animals.”
“I’m glad she doesn’t seem more upset about what happened.” Emma shelled another handful of peas, and then she peered over her cheater glasses at her daughter-in-law.
“I like those glasses on you,” Rachel said with a smile. “A very pretty blue frame.”
“On sale at the grocer. I’ve grown used to wearing them when I read, but I never thought I’d need them to shell peas.”
“Susan has a pair in every room because she’s always losing them.”
“Abigail keeps hers on a chain around her neck.”
Quiet settled around them as Emma shelled the peas and Rachel sipped her coffee. They’d spent the morning cleaning house for Sunday’s luncheon as well as preparing most of the meal—sliced ham, fresh bread, and creamy potato salad. The peas Emma was shelling would round out the meal nicely. Their guests always brought dessert, though Emma had told Henry not to worry about it. She didn’t expect an old widower to bake a pie.
“Henry will come tomorrow?”
“Said he’d be happy to.”
“That’s gut.” Rachel ran her hand across the top of her book, something with angels’ wings on the front of the cover. “I worry about him.”
“We all do.”
“You were there when he drew the pictures for the arson investigator?”
“I was.”
“What was it like? I still can’t imagine being able to do such a thing, never having been taught to draw at all, and then there’s the fact that years and years have passed since he did it last. Before all this started, I mean.”
Emma ran her thumb over the green shell she’d yet to split open.
“It’s like watching a rose bloom.” She glanced up at Rachel, smiled, and resumed shelling the peas. “When you first look at a rosebud, if you hadn’t seen one before, you wouldn’t guess it would open up into such a beautiful flower.”
“So our bishop is like a beautiful flower?”
Emma laughed with her. “He would take exception to that description. Watching Henry draw… it was effortless for him. There was a look of complete concentration on his face, but he never hesitated, never backed up and erased something as you and I might. It was as if he allowed a portion of his mind to take over, and it merely did what came naturally.”
“Like the rose blooms—naturally.”
“Effortlessly.”
“Well, it’s an amazing thing,” Rachel said. “I personally think it’s quite a gift Henry has received.”
“He’s uncomfortable with the skill as well as the attention it brings him.”
“But without it, Sam would probably still be sitting in an Englisch jail. Clyde said they had enough circumstantial evidence to keep him.”
“And yet he wasn’t involved. I’m sure of that.”
“I agree.”
“It’s just as hard to believe that Abe or Lewis had anything to do with it.”
Emma had told Rachel and Clyde everything. She’d long ago learned that she didn’t feel comfortable protecting her children from the truth. They were adults—responsible and mature. The three of them raised the children together. They couldn’t make good decisions about their family if they didn’t share all the information they had.
Rachel stood, walked into the house, and returned with two glasses of lemonade.
“Danki.” The sweet-tart taste soothed Emma’s throat as well as her nerves. Why was she on edge? It was as if she was waiting for the arsonist to pop up out of the flower bed. “Surely Abe and Lewis didn’t have anything to do with the fire, but they might have seen something they don’t realize was important.”
“Susan said they kept Abe in that station and questioned him for more than three hours.”
“I wish she had called Henry.”
“There was no need, according to her. They never threatened to arrest him.”
“Which is a relief.”
“What about this Englischer you spoke of? Douglas something?”
“Rae. His name is Douglas Rae. You’ve seen him. He stops by our produce stand occasionally.”
“Does he drive a rusty old car?”
“Same person.”
“I can’t imagine him doing such a thing either. Fairly quiet man. Well, honestly, he seems more like a boy. Wears those T-shirts with words across the front.”
Emma nodded. “Yesterday he had one that read Keep Calm and Log Out.”
“What in the world does that mean?”
“I have no idea.”
The laughter lightened the mood, easing some of their fears. Katie Ann returned, looking at them as if they had gone a little crazy, and perhaps they had. But it was better than the worry that weighed too heavily on Emma’s heart. Seeing her granddaughter huddled beneath that counter, sitting beside her in the grass as the nurse checked and rechecked her blood pressure, and waiting in the hospital had driven home the truth that they lived in dangerous times.
Until the arsonist was caught—and Emma believed he would be caught—she planned to keep a close eye on her family. All of them. She’d spend more time on her knees too, because the only person who could truly guarantee their safety was the Lord.
Fifty-Two
Though Emma had told
Henry not to trouble himself with preparing a dessert for the luncheon, he’d purchased fresh strawberries in town and brought them. He also brought several cartons of ice cream.
“You spoil our children,” Clyde said as he passed the ice cream to the boys and told them to put it in the freezer.
“Without opening it!” Emma called out in reminder.
Henry knew the freezer was located in the mudroom and, like their refrigerator, operated with gas. Mainly they used it to store meat. Having ice cream made for a special occasion, which was one of the reasons he liked to bring it.
Lexi bounded behind the boys, ears flopping and tail wagging.
The morning was exactly what Henry needed. He enjoyed visiting everyone in his congregation, but he was particularly at home with Emma’s family. In many ways, they seemed like an extension of his own. Maybe because he and Claire had enjoyed their company so many years ago. Clyde was a young man of twenty when Claire died. Their families had been intertwined for many years, drawing strength from one another, celebrating in each other’s joys, and carrying each other’s burdens.
They were about to gather for the luncheon when Elmer and Albert pulled into the lane.
“I’m glad they decided to come,” Emma said.
Henry nodded in agreement. “I’ll admit to being a little surprised. He seemed rather hesitant when I suggested it, but it’s gut that he’s joined us.”
He’d explained the situation to Clyde and Emma and Rachel. They’d all wondered if James’s episode at church the week before had something to do with the impending move. Of course, at the time, they hadn’t known the family was considering moving. Now Grace and the other children were already in Kentucky. How quickly things changed.
They gathered together for prayer, and Henry reminded everyone to pray for the Bontrager family during this time of change. Elmer seemed more at ease now that he’d shared the fact that they were moving.
“We’re going to miss you,” Clyde said. “But don’t worry about your place while you’re waiting for it to sell. We can keep an eye on it.”
What the Bishop Saw Page 20
