During the questioning, Alvin had admitted returning to Monte Vista regularly. Often he would meet with his brother or oldest nephew. Each time he would give a small amount of money, whatever he could spare, to his brother to help with Franey’s expenses. He’d insisted that she not know where the funds came from.
“I have every reason to believe you’re telling me the truth, Alvin.” Meg stood. “Thank you for coming in. Thanks to all of you. We don’t always get this sort of support on an investigation, and it makes a big difference. Now instead of scouring the countryside for you, we can focus on finding the real arsonist.”
“I’m free to go?” Alvin’s eyes widened in disbelief. Perhaps the day’s highs and lows, mostly lows, had come as too big a surprise. Maybe he was in shock, finding himself at the center of an investigation. Or it could be that he was emotionally and physically exhausted. Henry suspected it was all three.
Alvin had driven his brother Abe home first because his house was closer to town, and then he continued on to Henry’s. When Henry opened the car door, Alvin stayed him with a hand.
“I want to thank you.”
Henry waited, remembering that it sometimes took Alvin a few moments to find the words he was hunting for. It wasn’t that he was slow, but he had a desire to say exactly what he meant.
“Today you showed grace to me. You acted… well, you acted much more compassionately and fairly than I would have given you credit for.”
“I only dealt with you as I hope you would deal with me, given the same situation.”
“Ya, you followed the Golden Rule. ‘In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.’ I hope one day I do have the chance to return the favor.”
“Only not during an arson investigation.”
“Nein. This one is plenty to last me a lifetime.”
Henry grew suddenly somber, remembering what Alvin had given up and all he had been through the last twelve years. He would never be able to agree with the reasons Alvin had felt it necessary to leave his wife and his faith and begin his life again, but he certainly understood that the man was doing his best, given the choices he’d made.
“Gotte’s blessings upon you, Alvin. Upon you and your family, your friends, your church, and all you hold dear.”
Henry didn’t glance back until he was on the porch and fitting his house key into the lock. When he turned around to watch Alvin leave, the interior of the car was still illuminated by the dome light. Henry saw Alvin wipe his eyes with the back of his hand. Alvin gave a short wave, put the car in reverse, and turned around to travel back down Henry’s lane.
Lexi was ecstatic to see him. He’d been gone for more than twelve hours. Fortunately, before he’d left he had stopped by his neighbors’, who had a key, and asked them to look in on the pup. Apparently they had because there were no messes in the mudroom and there was plenty of water in the dog’s bowl. He walked out the back door with Lexi and stared up at the night sky as she took care of her business.
Henry focused on the stars and the coolness of the night. He smiled to himself when he remembered one of his grandfather’s favorite verses, from the Psalms. “ ‘In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.’ ”
Lexi stopped sniffing the porch steps and cocked her head, as if she were waiting for an explanation.
“I suppose if Gotte can handle all that, He can take care of one person bent on destruction.”
Lexi didn’t disagree.
Sixty-Four
Henry was up early, as usual, but he wasn’t yet fully awake when a buggy turned down his lane. Lexi set to barking as if she could scare the intruders away with her voice. When Henry told her to “sit and hush,” she gave him one reproachful look before curling up in her basket.
Five minutes later Clyde and Emma and Henry were seated around the kitchen table. Emma had poured everyone a cup of coffee and cut thick pieces of the coffee cake she’d brought. Henry savored the taste of cinnamon and brown sugar. Clyde finished his piece and shook his head when Emma offered another.
“We’ve come to talk to you about a serious matter. It has to do with the fires.”
“I was afraid this wasn’t merely a social call.” Henry smiled to let them know he was kidding. Although he was still tired from the day with Lewis and Alvin and Abe, he understood their situation would only grow more taxing until Meg caught the arsonist. He’d steeled himself even as he went to bed the night before, praying for strength and wisdom and the energy to endure.
It took only a few moments for Clyde to lay out what they’d learned from the youngies. Emma interjected with observations now and again. When they were done, Henry poured them more coffee.
“It’s a gut thing Katie Ann trusts you enough to be honest with you, Emma.”
“Ya. I agree.”
“And danki, Clyde, for handling this situation while I was away.”
He gave them a brief accounting of the day before.
“What does it all mean, Henry?” Clyde looked worried and tired.
Henry needed to remember that, as they were struggling through this situation, men like Clyde still had farms to run, children to raise, and homes to care for. Life didn’t stop because danger lurked around the corner.
Emma folded her napkin in half and then in half again. “Are we closer or only entangling ourselves in the chaos of this person?”
“I believe we are closer, but sometimes when you get closer to a dangerous thing…”
“It becomes even more dangerous.” Emma’s eyes met his.
“Ya, like a wild animal you’ve cornered. A person must be extra careful in such situations.”
Clyde sat back and crossed his arms. “Would you like me to handle speaking to the parents?”
“The fact that you said you would probably buys us some time. The youngies will be on their best behavior, waiting for one of us to arrive and spill the beans.”
“Is that what we’re going to do?” Emma asked. “Tattle on them and force them to abandon their traps?”
When Henry and Clyde stared at her, she added, “Their plan wasn’t a bad one. It’s only that we don’t want to see our youngies in harm’s way.”
“What are you suggesting, Mamm?”
“She’s suggesting we keep the traps.” When Emma nodded, Henry almost laughed out loud. Emma Fisher never failed to surprise him.
“I agree with Emma that the plan might work. But no one does anything until I speak with Meg Allen. If she approves our doing so, or even offers to help, then we’ll move forward.”
“What of the parents?” Clyde asked.
“Emma, could you start something through the women in our group? Send a smoke signal or however you gals do such things.”
Emma laughed out loud. “It’s nothing so complicated. One person speaks to another. It’s a form of communication that worked for my grandparents and their grandparents.”
“Tell them of the traps and that we don’t want any children involved, though we will take boys who are sixteen or older.”
“To help catch an arsonist?” Clyde nearly came out of his chair, surprise raising his voice and causing his face to flush red.
“Only if Meg approves it. These boys will soon be men, Clyde. They want to help ensure the safety of our homes, and they should be a part of anything we decide to do.”
“The girls aren’t going to take that very well.” Emma stopped Clyde’s retort with a look. “Those girls have every bit as much invested in this community, and they deserve to be included.”
Clyde muttered something about his mother being the first “Amish feminist,” but Henry knew she had a point.
“All right. Girls and boys, but only those sixteen and up. And they can be involved only in ways we approve. We’re not putting anyone inside a dilapidated barn waiting on our arsonist to show up.”
Both Emma and Clyde seemed satisfied with the compromise. As they made their way back outside, Emma stopped to scratch
Lexi behind her ears. “She’s getting bigger.”
“A little more every day. Abe warned me she was the runt, but I think she’s growing nicely.”
“It seems appropriate you should have the runt, Henry.”
“And why is that?”
She pulled a treat out of her pocket and handed it to Lexi. “Because you are a champion of the underdog.”
Henry called out to Clyde as he stood holding the buggy door open for his mother. “Come back tonight after dinner. We’ll meet with Leroy and Abe and decide what needs to be done.”
“And you’ll talk to Meg before then?”
“I’ll go right away.”
As Emma and Clyde made their way back down his lane, Henry hurried inside to fetch his hat. Lexi gave him the most pleading look he’d ever seen on the face of an animal, and he found himself saying, “Okay, fine. But you’ll have to wait in the buggy.”
Which for Lexi was apparently the best thing she’d heard so far that day.
Sixty-Five
Henry, Clyde, Abe, and Leroy met later that evening. There was no coffee cake this time. The mood was all business.
“I don’t like it,” Abe said. “I don’t like anything about this.”
“It’s a gut plan, though.” They were sitting on the front porch, their chairs pulled into a circle of sorts. Rain beat a soft rhythm against the roof, and Henry offered a silent prayer of thanksgiving for that. It would help the crops and had come at a perfect time.
Clyde jiggled his knee, tapped his fingers against the chair, and scanned left to right. He’d had more time to think about the plan and was obviously ready to tackle it head-on. “We probably should have thought of it ourselves.”
“We shouldn’t have thought of it,” Leroy argued. “We should not be involved in this at all. It’s an Englisch problem, not an Amish one.”
“Tell Vernon that.”
“You’ve made your point, Clyde.” Henry paused a moment, hoping everyone’s emotions would simmer down. “Meg decided there was no need for three locations. It’s natural enough for our youngie to get together, and she thinks the bonfire is a perfect ruse. She will have people from her department at that location—hidden, of course. They’ll be there two hours before sunset to ensure no one sees them.”
“Why do we even need our youngie, then?” Leroy ran his thumb over a callus on his forefinger. “I don’t like Jesse being involved in this at all. He thinks he’s grown, but he’s only twenty. He’s still a pup.”
Lexi yipped in her sleep, no doubt chasing rabbits like the one she’d caught after lunch. Fortunately, she’d dropped it at Henry’s feet, and he’d been able to set the little thing free.
“I know it seems like they’re young,” Abe agreed. “But they’re out of school.”
“We expect them to act like adults,” Clyde added. “We need to treat them like adults.”
“Explain to me again what they’d need to do.” Abe was plainly leaning toward Clyde’s position.
Leroy continued to frown and shake his head.
While their leadership wasn’t exactly a democratic process, Henry wouldn’t go forward with something like this unless he had the support of each man sitting on his porch. Unity was the best policy if at all possible.
“First of all, we’d need them to spread the word, as they were planning to do. This only involves being in public—at the restaurants or stores—and talking about an upcoming meeting of young people.”
“And they think the arsonist will just be hanging around?” Leroy scoffed at the idea. “He’ll happen to listen in to one of their conversations?”
“He’s obviously tied into our community somehow. Chances are that, ya, he will hear. Outside of taking out an ad in the paper, which would look ridiculously obvious, it’s our best chance.”
“I see no danger in allowing the youngie to talk of such a thing.” Abe rubbed at a muscle on the back of his neck. “Though it’s not completely honest since they won’t be actually meeting.”
“It is honest in that they will be close to the meeting place, which will draw our arsonist in. The idea is that—for an arsonist—it’s not enough to cause a fire; someone has to see it. Meg agrees this is the perfect set-up. She’s surprised our youngie thought of it.”
“Let me get this straight.” Leroy shook his head in disbelief. “We have our sons and daughters out there talking about a supposed party, trying to lure this person into a trap where they will be waiting, though not too close because Meg’s people will be there, and then we catch him as he sets the fire.”
“Well, ya. I suppose that sums this up.”
No one spoke for a moment, and then Leroy said, “Is this what we’ve come to? Because if it is, then it’s as far from the plain and simple life as I can imagine being.”
Henry’s temper flared, and he clamped his mouth shut. The younger version of himself had learned long ago to wait for emotions to recede. When he trusted himself to speak, he said, “You bring up a gut point, Leroy. We don’t want this type of life. We want a quiet one. We want a life set apart where we can focus on our families, hard and honest work, and following Christ’s example. But we can’t live a simple life as long as this arsonist is intent on causing devastation and hurting people. Ya, we are pacifist, and that’s important to remember. However, this doesn’t require us to lift a hand against another person. There’s nothing at all violent or militant about it.”
“Neither is it completely honest.” Leroy was now leaning forward, his forearms propped against his legs, his eyes on the porch floor.
“I share Leroy’s concerns,” Abe admitted. “But it seems to be the only way, and I trust you, Henry. I trust that you have prayed over this and that you’re sure it’s the proper thing to do.”
Clyde nodded in agreement. “That’s gut enough for me.”
Leroy closed his eyes.
Henry knew he didn’t want to agree, but neither could he argue with what Abe said. He blew out a sigh and said, “Ya. All right. Put that way, I’ll agree. But there’s something else.”
Leroy sat up straighter. “We need to speak of the families that are leaving.”
“I’ve stopped by and visited with a few of them.” Henry thought of the list on the scrap of paper in his house. It seemed that every few days another name was added. “There are no hard feelings. They just don’t want to be involved in this. They don’t want to remain in a place where they’re not wanted. They don’t want to live where someone is actively trying to force them to leave.”
“Better to go than to resist the pressure.”
“Exactly, even though this pressure comes from someone who is misguided, at best.”
“The reason I bring it up…” Leroy scanned the group, settling his gaze on Henry. “The reason I bring it up is because this will drastically reduce the amount of money we have for missions and benevolence.”
“Gotte will provide what we need,” Henry assured him.
“No doubt, but this reminds me of a leak in a dam. You put your finger in the first hole and water spurts from another spot. It continues until the dam fails, flooding everything around it.”
“An unpleasant analogy, but I see your point.” Henry stood, indicating the meeting was over. “Let’s hope and pray the arsonist is caught before we are all carried away in the flood waters.”
Sixty-Six
He was standing in line to purchase a burger behind two Amish girls. At first he didn’t grasp what they were saying, but gradually he became conscious of the conversation, especially since they made no attempt to lower their voices. Girls, especially Amish ones, were oblivious to others. His pulse jumped when the taller of the two, with slightly reddish hair, mentioned the proposed bonfire.
They literally did not realize he was behind them. But then, when had an Amish girl given him more than a nod and hello? Nope. For whatever reason, he wasn’t their type. He was practically invisible, which could work to his advantage.
The bonfire wo
uldn’t happen until the weekend, and it was going to be held at a farm to the east of town. Based on their description, he knew exactly where they were talking about.
“It’s too bad we have to wait until Friday.”
“Ya, but no one could get away tonight or tomorrow. Too much work in the fields. Friday most everyone stops working a few hours early. It’s the perfect time.”
Maybe it was, for them. He’d promised himself after the newspaper incident that he would stick to the list. Two more targets and he would be done. He’d started worrying about that. The fires provided something for him to plan and look forward to. What would he do once he’d finished? And would it be enough? Would they have paid the debt they owed him?
He wasn’t so sure.
And the plans for a bonfire… well, they proved he was still not being taken seriously. He needed to show them he decided when fires would occur. He was the one in charge here.
A bonfire on Friday night.
Providence.
But he was thinking it would be much funnier if they arrived to find their bonfire a smoldering stack.
The place wouldn’t be much of a challenge—no cameras to disable or security to avoid. He momentarily wondered if it might be beneath a man of his talents.
But it was sitting there—waiting.
Unless it was a trap.
The girls in front of him giggled, heads practically touching as they accepted their order from the cashier. They smiled at him shyly—smiled through him, actually—and hurried over to a table in the corner.
He asked for his order to go.
There were things to prepare if this was going to be done correctly, and he had little time to waste. Plus, he’d need to stop by the discount store. He mentally started a shopping list, which included more fuel and a kitchen timer.
Sixty-Seven
Henry sat inside a hastily constructed deer blind with Meg.
They were positioned on the far side of the field, about fifty yards from the stack of wood where the youth were supposed to have their bonfire. The sun had dropped significantly in the last few minutes, but they were still at least an hour away from when the activities were supposed to start.
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