Amish Country Arson

by Risner, Fay

  “Then you're in for a shock.” The doctor lifted the sheet up from the bottom of the bed to expose Gladys's ankles and feet. “She has a contusion on that left ankle. The ankle is swelled three times its normal size. From the green and yellow coloration, I'd say that has been there a week at least. I've ordered x-rays to see if the ankle is broken. What kind of an accident did this woman have?”

  Hal shook her head slowly. “Gladys hasn't had an accident that I knew about. We need to ask her sister what kind of accident Gladys had when Lucy is done with her.”

  Hal walked to the foot of the bed for a closer look.

  The doctor said, “That isn't the worse part. The worse part is the laceration on her leg.” He pulled the sheet up to Gladys's knees.

  Red streaks ran up the left thigh from the ankle. Yellow pus oozed from a jagged gash on the outer side of the leg. It was a foot long with scabbed over smaller punctured spots around it.

  Hal was mystified. “I didn't know about any of this. Like I said she wouldn't let me near her. Talk to her sister.”

  The doctor pushed a button on the intercom attached to the wall. “Lucy, bring the patient's sister to the exam room.”

  The exam door opened, and Lucy stepped in with Wanda. “This is the patient's sister, Wanda Bruner,” she told the doctor.

  “Come in, Mrs. Bruner,” he said. “We need more information about your sister.”

  “I'll tell you anything I can,” Wanda said softly.

  Hal took her hand. “Come over to the bed and look at Gladys's left leg. She has hurt it very badly recently. Did she mention an accident to you?”

  “Nah, she didn't.” Wanda stopped by the bed. When she saw the gangrenous wound she clamped her hand over her mouth. She looked away while she regained her composure before she spoke. “No wonder she has been in pain and sick.”

  The doctor explained, “The wound is old and has been left untreated. The leg is infected. Full of gangrene. I'll clean the wound, but we might not be able to save her leg. For that matter, not her either now that she has infection through her system. Of course, I'll do what I can. The rest is up to her.”

  “And God,” Wanda added.

  “Did the paramedics tell you Wanda was combative?” Hal asked the doctor. “She definitely will pull out the IV tube when she comes around.”

  Dr. Christensen nodded. “Lucy and I saw that for ourselves. I ordered a sedative given to her to calm her down. “Now we wait to see how well the IV works. Hopefully, we see some improvement by morning. She's going to be moved to Intensive Care right away.”

  Wanda said, “I want to stay with my sister until I know she is feeling better.”

  “That's fine. The patient might be more cooperative if she has you with her,” Doctor Christensen said as he went out the door.

  “I'm going home, so I'll stop and update Enoch. Wanda, is Gladys a good horseman?” Hal asked.

  “At one time, she was, but she had given up on life a long time ago. I have not seen her ride in years. You might as well know her thinking has been all crooked and bitter. She grew worse each time she heard one of her lifetime friends had switched to Beachy Amish. Why do you want to know about her riding a horse?”

  Hal replied offhandedly, “Ach, I just wondered if Gladys fell off a horse recently. Maybe that was how she got hurt.”

  Worried, Wanda stared at her very ill sister. “Nah, she has not been on one.”

  Hal had a feeling about the shape of the wound on Gladys's leg. Could it have been her blood left on the Stolfus barbed wire fence? The arsonist used small juice jugs to carry kerosene. The fact Gladys's drainboard was laden with plastic juice bottles seemed like a peculiar coincidence. The thought wouldn't leave Hal's head. Gladys Kraybill might be the arsonist. Could Enoch and Wanda have slept through her nightly excursions?

  Hal wasn't going to feel right about being aware all this information until she reported what she knew to the sheriff.

  Chapter 14

  Right away Hal drove to the sheriff's office. She asked at the desk to speak to Sheriff Dawson. He came to his office doorway. “I thought I recognized your voice, Mrs. Lapp. Listen, if you're here about information on the school fire, I haven't any lines on who did it yet.”

  “Nah, I am here, because I might know who set all the fires,” Hal admitted.

  The sheriff looked surprised. “Come in my office and tell me. I'm all ears.”

  After they were seated, Hal explained, “I just helped admit an Amish patient at the hospital ER. The woman has a long, jagged gash on the outside her lower left leg and a very swollen ankle, possibly broken, with at least two weeks old bruising or maybe longer.

  Her name is Gladys Kraybill. She moved here from Kansas recently with her sister, Wanda Burner and Wanda's husband, Enoch. They have been in the Plain community such a short time I hadn't met Gladys until today. Her sister, Wanda, told us she has been too sick to come to worship services. Her sister says the woman has been depressed and bitter about so many Plain people she knew where they lived before becoming Beachy Amish. Not a pleasant person for her family to be around I gather.”

  “I expect you see all sorts of wounds from farm injuries,” Sheriff Dawson said, leaning forward in his chair and placing his elbows on the desk. “What makes you think this one is suspicious?”

  “I might not have if I hadn't seen about three dozen cleaned small, plastic juice bottles on the woman's kitchen sink drainboard. According to Wanda, Gladys drinks a lot of orange juice and keeps the bottles. Her sister doesn't know why she saved them, but she knew that the amount of bottles on the drainboard goes down times. Wanda assumed Glady threw some of the bottles away.”

  “Interesting,” the sheriff said, sitting up straight in his chair.

  “Add to that the fact that Wanda says the woman is a good horse rider, but she doesn't think Gladys has been on a horse for years. Of course, the arsonist strikes in the middle of the night when Wanda and her husband are asleep.

  I thought maybe while the woman is in the hospital you might get Dr. Christensen to order a blood test to compare with your DNA sample from the Stolfus fence. Now would be an easy time to get a finger print, too. Gladys Kraybill is sedated to keep her from fighting and pulling out the IV tube.”

  “You think she will be in the hospital long?” The sheriff asked.

  “Dr. Christensen is admitting her to Intensive Care. He says she might not recover. She should have seen a doctor right away with a wound like that especially if it was made by rusty barbed wire. She has never had a tetanus shot. If she was setting a barn on fire when she got hurt, that might be the reason she was so adamant about not going to the doctor.

  Her body is full of infection. If she lives, it's a good possibility she will loose her leg,” Hal told him. “Sheriff, I'd rather you not tell anyone you got her health information from me. I'm not supposed to tell any of this because of patient confidentiality health privacy.”

  “I understand. Do you think her sister and brother-in-law were involved in this and trying to cover up for her?”

  “If I'm right about Gladys being guilty, I'm pretty sure the family didn't know what she'd done. Wanda said she hadn't seen Gladys ride a horse, and she was puzzled about why her sister kept the juice bottles. As cranky as Gladys is, I think Wanda kept her questions to herself to keep the confrontations down.”

  “Do you know where in Kansas the family came from? It might be a good idea to check on this woman's past,” the sheriff said. “If she had the law suspicious of her there that might be why the family moved.”

  Hal paused. “I think I heard Hutchinson, Kansas mentioned.”

  Sheriff Dawson asked, “So you and Emma Keim have given up on Albert Jostle as our suspect?”

  Hal shrugged. “I don't know. I could be wrong about Gladys. Did you find out anything about Albert?”

  “I did. It's probably the reason for their move here from the Amish community near Middleton in Minnesota. Albert and a deacon's son were arreste
d for being Peeping Toms. Since they were only thirteen, the boys were released into the custody of their parents. It didn't take the Jostle family long to move to Wickenburg out of the reach of harassment.”

  Hal's forehead furrowed. “Ack, nah! Emma sure had Albert pegged. She sensed that boy might be a pervert. So it wouldn't take much for him to go from peeking in windows to setting a building on fire.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Sheriff Dawson agreed.

  Hal stood up. “If I am right about Gladys Kraybill, I'm sure the whole county will sleep better knowing you caught the arsonist, but I'm not sure how the Amish Community will treat the family of the guilty person.”

  “No need for me to bring what you told me out in the open right now. We have to investigate first before we accuse either Kraybill or Jostle and see where that leads us. I do thank you for coming in with this information,” the sheriff said. “You're making my job easier.”

  “You're wilcom. Now I have to go by the Bruner farm to tell Enoch what's going on with his sister'-in-law. His wife wanted to stay with her sister tonight so he needs to know Wanda isn't coming home until tomorrow.”

  On the way home, Hal worried about what she suspected about Gladys Kraybill. She certainly didn't want to discuss the woman with Enoch. This was something she wanted to discuss with John and let him help her decide if she should talk to the bishop.

  The milk generator was humming by the time Hal reached home. She'd just have to wait until after supper to talk to John. The boys were going to the youth singing. She'd have John alone to tell him about Gladys Kraybill and Albert Jostle.

  Hal peeled potatoes and set the pan on the stove. Maybe some sausage cakes would go good with potatoes and gravy. Hal headed for the basement to bring back the jars of sausage. A jar of carrots caught her eye so she grabbed it, too.

  Soon Hal had the stove filled with pans, and the cakes sizzling in the skillet. While she was turning the sausage cakes, she heard the front door open.

  “Hello, you in here, Hallie?” Emma called.

  “In the kitchen,” Hal shouted. Emma appeared in the doorway. “I didn't hear you drive in. Adam with you?”

  “He headed for the barn. Can I help you fix supper?”

  “Jump right in anywhere you want,” Hal declared.

  “The house is quiet. Where are the girls?” Emma asked as she checked the skillets and kettle on the stove.

  “They must be in the barn with the men. I got home from the hospital rather late,” Hal said as she looked out the window toward the barn.

  Emma asked, “You want me to make a pan of biscuits to go with the sausage and gravy?”

  Hal didn't answer. She was still staring out the window with a far away look on her face.

  “Hallie?” Emma didn't get a response so she walked over and patted Hal on the shoulder. “Hallie, are you all recht?”

  Hal flinched with surprise. “Ach! Of course, I'm all recht. Why?”

  “I have been talking to you, and you didn't hear me. Something happened today after you left with Wanda Bruner that bothers you, ain't so?”

  “Jah, and after supper, I need to discuss it. I'd like Adam and John to be here when I do,” Hal said. “Now did you say something important that I missed?”

  “I wondered if you want me to put a pan of biscuits in the oven for supper to go with the sausage and gravy?”

  Hal laughed. “Sure enough, that was important. Of course, you must make us some of your light, flaky biscuits.”

  After supper and devotion was over, the boys left for the singing. Emma said, “Now, Hallie, out with it. I am very curious.”

  Adam's eyebrows raised at John.

  “I do not know what this is about, Adam. So is something wrong, Hal?” John asked.

  Hal nodded. “In the English world as Gladys Bruner's nurse, I'm not supposed to talk about her health or anything concerning her. What I've found out today is too much of a burden for me to keep to myself. I need my family to tell me what to do next.”

  John asked, “How is Gladys Kraybill?”

  Hal said, “Very ill. Wanda stayed to be with her, but Gladys doesn't know that or anything else. Hopefully, by morning Gladys's health will improve or worsen.”

  “What is it about Gladys that worries you?” Emma asked.

  “After I saw her infected leg wound, found she drinks orange juice in small bottles and saves the plastic bottles, I got to thinking she might be the arsonist. So I went to the sheriff to report Gladys and tell him this would be a gute time to get a sample of her blood for DNA. If that sample matches the blood on the Stolfus fence, she's the arsonist. Now do I keep quiet about this investigation so people aren't hard on the Bruners? Enoch and Wanda cannot help what Gladys did if she's guilty.”

  John rubbed the back of his neck. “This seems like a problem for Bishop Bontrager to handle. I think people would breathe easier if they knew the arsonist is not going to strike again. If the woman lives, we have to wait to see what the sheriff finds out. If he arrests her, everyone will know anyway.”

  “Enoch and Wanda just moved here. They are gute people, and I hate to see anyone be unkind to them,” Emma said.

  “What do you think, Adam?” Hal asked.

  Adam pointed at Emma and patted his chest. He believed as she did.

  “If Gladys dies, it seems a shame to reveal she did these awful things. It would be better for the Bruners if people didn't know,” Hal said.

  “That is true,” Emma agreed. “Just think, I was ready to blame Albert Jostle for the fires.”

  “Ach, I almost forgot. Sheriff Dawson found out that Albert had been charged with window peeking. That is why his family moved here and are so withdrawn around us. They want to hide what Albert did,” Hal shared.

  “I was afraid the sheriff would find out something like that, but as long as Albert behaves himself, we have to hope he has changed his ways,” Emma said.

  While the boys unhitched Ben from the buggy that evening, Daniel said, “You are very quiet tonight.”

  Noah said, “I have been thinking about the radio.”

  “Did you look to make sure the radio is still hidden on the rafter while we milked?”

  “Nah, I didn't, but I will while we are out here alone.”

  Daniel took Ben's lead rope. “Gute, go do that while I take Ben to the pasture gate.”

  When Daniel came back, Noah leaned against the barn with his hands stuffed in his pockets. “Well?”

  Noah's voice trembled. “The radio is gone.”

  “I was afraid of that. I have a feeling the radio did not just disappear. Daed has found it,” Daniel said.

  “I am afraid of that, too,” Noah said softly.

  “You better talked to him recht away, before he has to confront you. He will go easier on you that way,” Daniel insisted.

  When they entered the house, Hal was reading the latest issue of Family Life. John had the Wickenburg Daily in front of his face.

  Hal greeted, “Ach, back already. How fast the evening flies.”

  Both boys nodded at her and put their hats on their pegs.

  Hal's forehead wrinkled in concern as she tried again, “Did you have a gute time?”

  “Jah,” Daniel answered. “We had a gute time.”

  Noah cleared his throat as he stepped from one foot to the other. “Daed?”

  John lowered the newspaper. “Jah?”

  “Could we talk in the kitchen? I have something to tell you,” Noah said.

  “Sure enough.” John laid the newspaper beside the rocker and stood up.

  Noah followed his father and sit across the table from where John sat down. “I have something to confess to you.”

  “I see.” John stuck his hand in his trouser pocket and slipped out the radio. “Would it happen to be about this radio I found in the loft?”

  “I'm not surprised. When I found it gone, I knew you must have it. The sermon today was aimed at me, wasn't it?”

  “Not just
you. Was Daniel a part of this? Maybe he should be in here, too,” John said sternly.

  “Nah, he tried to talk me out of buying the radio, and I would not listen to him. That radio has been on the rafter for awhile, and I have been too busy to listen to it,” Noah said.

  “That is gute. You have found your life is just as well off without a radio, but why did you buy it in the first place?”

  “Albert Jostle and some of the other boys in rumspringa said they liked their radio. They thought it was a gute idea if I had one,” Noah excused.

  “Even though you knew better. By buying this English convenience, you have tested the boundaries to the limit. You knew you were breaking the Ordnung. I raised you to know our faith prohibits all things modern.

  I'm glad you came to me on your own. I was not going to wait much longer to confront you. Are you sorry you bought the radio?”

  “Jah, my conscious has been bothering me ever since I put the radio in my pocket. I am sorry for being so dishonest,” Noah said tearfully.

  “That is gute. I cannot let this transgression go without some sort of punishment. You are to stay home from the youth singing for the next two Sundays. I am going to get rid of the radio, and we will not talk about this again,” John said.

  “Denki, Daed.” Now that the confession was over Noah let out a whooshing sigh of relief.

  John stood and stuffed the radio back in his trouser pocket. “How about we call it a night. We have work to do tomorrow.”

  The next evening, John and Hal visited Bishop and Jane Bontrager so Hal could tell the bishop what she found out about Gladys Kraybill.

  The elderly couple were surprised. They hadn't met Gladys, but they were well enough acquainted with the Bruners to wonder how Gladys could be so different from them.

  Elton agreed with Hal that it wouldn't hurt to keep quiet about their suspicions until Gladys was officially charged. He asked Nurse Hal to keep him posted.