When Secrets Strike

by Marta Perry

  Aaron’s safe. The words echoed in her heart as she ran for the chicken coop. It was close to the barn—too close. At least the heavy rain would have helped.

  Carrying an objecting hen under each arm, she ran back and forth. Too foolish to do anything sensible, they’d probably head into the fire if she didn’t keep a firm grip. Becky ran up and grabbed a pair.

  “Jonny’s manning the hose. We got it to reach. If only the truck comes soon...”

  “It will.” Sarah looked toward the barn, longing to see Aaron’s tall figure safely outside. She knew what he’d be doing—trying to wet the fire down, pulling away anything that would spread the flames. And Daadi would be right beside him. If they stayed too long... If the fire roared out of control...

  But it didn’t. Even as she and Becky leaned against the brooder coop, breathless after shoving the last of the hens inside, she could see that the men seemed to be gaining control. Jim and Nick Whiting were there, and she hadn’t even seen them come. A car screeched into the lane and stopped in a spray of gravel as a couple of the Englisch neighbors arrived.

  Figures appeared in the barn doorway—Jonah, supporting Aaron, who doubled up, coughing. And then Mac and Daad, dragging something between them.

  No, not something. Someone. But who...? She glanced around. Everyone was accounted for.

  “Who is it?” Becky’s young voice was scared.

  “I don’t know. We’d best see if we can help.” They hurried toward the small knot of men.

  Daad turned and, seeing them, held them back. “No. Don’t go. There’s nothing you can do.”

  “Are you sure? The ambulance...” Sarah could hear the wailing of sirens coming down the road fast.

  “It’s too late. He’s dead.” Daad’s voice sounded strained. “It’s Gus Hill, and he’s dead.”

  * * *

  AARON WAS OVERCOME by another fit of coughing as he tried to process the words. Through the smoke he’d glimpsed a pair of legs, grabbed them and tried to make it to the door. Thank the gut Lord the others had come in time. He might not have made it out by himself.

  But they hadn’t been in time. Gus was dead.

  Aaron straightened, his arm still around his brother’s shoulders, and Jonah moved quickly to support him.

  “You should sit. Drink some water.”

  “In a minute.” His voice sounded like gravel. He pulled Jonah close. “Denke, little brother. You saved me.”

  He could see Jonah’s blush even under the soot.

  “You’d have made it,” he said.

  Aaron shook his head. He might have, if he’d left the body behind, but he wouldn’t. And still, Gus hadn’t made it.

  Aaron tried to focus his stinging eyes. The volunteers had set up the pumper quickly. It grumbled and complained, but sent out a steady stream of water. The flames were nearly under control already, and it looked as if they would save most of the barn.

  Darkness was drawing in, seeming to make the glow from the fire brighter and burnishing the faces of the volunteers. He shuddered. It was a scene from a nightmare—the flames, the firefighters, the body...

  Mac was kneeling over the body on the ground, his face grim. Surveying, not touching.

  “He must have been setting the fire and been caught by it himself.” Eli Bitler spoke gravely, staring down at the mute form. “Caught in his own trap.”

  “Maybe.” Mac sat back on his heels and began speaking into his phone. When the ambulance crew approached, he waved them off. “There’s nothing you can do. I don’t want him touched until the medical examiner arrives.”

  The paramedics exchanged a startled glance and began moving through the crowd, checking people out for burns and smoke inhalation.

  Aaron caught Sarah’s horrified expression as she realized the import of Mac’s words. She seemed to feel his gaze and came quickly to him.

  “You should let the paramedics check you out.” She glanced at Jonah, who nodded and headed for the nearest one.

  “I’m not burned. Just swallowed a bit too much smoke is all.” Aaron glanced toward Mac and instinctively lowered his voice. “He’s going to investigate. Just when we thought the worst was over...”

  “It will be all right.” She clasped Aaron’s hand, heedless of who might be watching. “Gus was caught in his own fire, like Daad said. What else could it be?”

  Aaron shook his head, unable to accept the easy explanation. “Mac wouldn’t look that way if it were that simple. The body isn’t burned. If he made a mistake, maybe splashed kerosene on himself, he would be.”

  “He could have been overcome by smoke. Maybe trapped by the flames and passed out. It could be that.” Sarah sounded as if she was trying to convince herself.

  “It’s like a nightmare. Jonah is cleared, but now we are entangled with the police again. And there are still no answers about Matt’s death. It feels as if it will never be over.”

  Her grip tightened on Aaron’s hand. “You don’t mean that. Have faith that the truth will come out. It will, you know it.”

  His eyes met hers, and the love and caring he saw there struck him right in the heart in a wave so strong it nearly knocked him off his feet. He leaned toward her, longing to feel her arms around him again. Sarah’s eyes darkened, and her breath caught in an audible gasp.

  The noise and confusion around them seemed to recede, leaving the two of them enclosed in a tight little circle, untouched by the world.

  A hand landed on his shoulder. “Let’s have a look at you, Aaron. Your brother says you swallowed a mess of smoke in there.”

  It was Mike Callahan, one of the paramedics. Even as he longed to shove Mike away, Aaron knew it was just as well they’d been interrupted. Otherwise he and Sarah might have stood there, wrapped up in each other, until everyone noticed them.

  “Go find somebody who needs you, Callahan,” he rasped, and Mike grinned at him.

  “Listen, you might know fires, but I know smoke inhalation. You march right over to the truck and get some oxygen, or I’ll have Sarah make you.”

  “Go on,” she said. “I’ll help your mother get some drinks out.”

  In a few minutes Mike had him perched on the step of the EMT vehicle with an oxygen mask on his face. Much as he hated to admit it, Mike had been right. Aaron could almost feel the oxygen flooding through him, chasing out the constriction in his chest and returning the energy to his body.

  From here he had a good view of the whole scene. He saw the medical examiner arrive, hurrying toward Mac to kneel next to the prone, still figure on the ground.

  Why had Gus come back? Was he so crazy he thought he could get away with another fire when the whole valley was searching for him? Well, maybe so. He’d nearly done it. If it hadn’t been for Jonny Bitler’s sharp eyes spotting the flames so quickly, the whole barn could have gone.

  Daad came to him, moving at a pace that showed his age. He shouldn’t have been running around trying to save everything, but no one could have stopped him.

  “You are all right, ain’t so?” Daad’s gaze assessed him. “The paramedic says you’ll be fine.”

  Aaron took the mask away. Traci Elder, the young woman paramedic, looked for a moment as if she’d object, but then she let him do it. Maybe she’d dealt with enough stubborn patients to know when to quit.

  “I’m all right.” He forced a smile. “It’s not as bad as it could have been, ain’t so? We’ll have to do a lot of repair work, but everyone will help.”

  Daad nodded, his red-rimmed eyes filling with tears before he blinked them back. “We saved all the animals. And no one was hurt except—” He stopped, casting a sidelong glance toward the body. “Anyway, the family is safe. We’ll rebuild.”

  “We will.” Aaron put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Jonah and I will see that everything i
s done just the way you want it.”

  “Ja, I know you will.” Daad’s gaze seemed to follow Jonah, who was now working with the men wetting down the barn. “Our Jonah has done some growing up, I think.”

  Aaron agreed absently, his own gaze drawn inexorably to Sarah. She was setting cold drinks and coffee out on the picnic table near the back porch. She seemed to turn at a sound behind her, and he saw that Anna and Lena had come out onto the porch, barefoot, in their white nightgowns.

  He started to move, but Sarah was already dealing with them. He watched as she knelt to talk to them, whatever she said chasing the scared look from their faces and making them smile. In another moment she had scooped Lena up in her arms. Anna grabbed her hand, and the three of them went inside.

  How had he been a blind fool for so long? How had he not seen how perfect she was for him and for his daughters?

  The feeling seemed to well up from deep within his being. This wasn’t the flash and sparkle and excitement of the first love he’d had for Mary Ann. It was something far deeper, flowing smoothly and strongly. Quiet, and yet sweeping everything before it.

  He loved her. He’d loved her since they were children, and that love had matured into something strong and enduring. If only they could get clear of this current trouble...

  Mac was walking the doctor to his car. A snatch of conversation came to Aaron’s ears.

  “...tell more after the autopsy. I’ll let you have a report as soon as possible, but in the meantime, I’d say you should proceed as if it was murder.”

  Murder.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  SARAH THOUGHT SHE’D be relieved to get to the shop the next day to distract herself from the whirling thoughts that had kept her awake much of the night. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be working. Every other person who came in the shop wanted to gossip about Gus Hill’s death.

  After Allison had taken over one especially persistent customer and finally seen her out the door, Sarah was ready to explode.

  “I think some of them are making up excuses to come in here just so they can gossip,” she fumed.

  “Sure they are.” Allison was resigned, but then, she wasn’t the one most deeply concerned. “It’s natural, I guess. They’re not all as mean-spirited as that woman was, though. Just to spite her, I’m going to make sure she never gets another coupon to use here.”

  Sarah tried to smile. “Don’t do that. We’ll take her money, no matter what her motives are. But imagine saying that probably Matthew Gibson was murdered, just like Gus Hill!” And the police had questioned Aaron about Matthew, showing that they suspected him. How much more might they suspect him of Gus Hill’s death?

  “People like to exaggerate. Gossip is only fun for someone like her if she can add a little spice to it. It doesn’t make sense. Besides, the police haven’t even established that Gus was killed by someone else. He’s just as likely to have killed himself, trying to set that fire.”

  “I hope that’s true.” Sarah hesitated, but she longed to talk to someone about her fear. “But I’ve heard that the medical examiner thought it could have been deliberate.”

  “Poor Aaron. It was bad enough for him to find his barn was on fire, and then to find a body...” Allison let that trail off. “I’m sorry. I’d forgotten that you were the one to find Matthew Gibson’s body. It’s stupid to remind you of that.”

  “Well, Matthew was an old man in poor health. Everyone knew with him it was just a matter of time, and I do think he was ready to go. He missed his wife, you see. They’d lost their only son in a motorcycle accident, and when she died, all the hope seemed to go out of him.”

  Sarah thought of Matthew the way he’d been the last time she’d seen him alive. He’d come to supper the night before he’d left for Florida, making an obvious effort to eat and talk and seem enthusiastic about his trip. She’d thought then how lonely he was, and how different his situation was to that of her grossmammi, living as part of a large family. Matthew, like Julia, hadn’t had anyone of his own.

  “From the things I’ve heard, no one is going to miss Gus Hill much,” Allison said, taking advantage of the quiet in the shop to flip through her notes about the festival. “Except possibly Julia.” She glanced at Sarah in consternation. “We probably ought to make sure she’s all right.”

  “I’ll go this afternoon.” Somehow, whether it was wise or not, she’d begun to feel responsible for Julia. They’d been friends a long time. “If she has questions about his death, maybe I can reassure her.”

  Allison shuddered. “Probably the fewer details, the better, but I don’t suppose Julia will let you get away with that. She’s certainly someone who believes in facing the truth.”

  Sarah nodded. “Maybe that’s better than hiding from it.”

  Her partner looked at her with lifted eyebrows. “In that case, why don’t you tell me what really worries you. It’s Aaron, isn’t it?”

  “It’s that obvious, is it?” She tried to smile.

  “Just to me,” Allison said quickly. She dropped the file and came to stand by Sarah, touching her hand. “Why are you worried? Is it something he said?”

  “Partly.” She rubbed her forehead, trying to think it through. “He was telling me it feels as if we will never be free of this situation. Now that Jonah has been cleared, it should be so simple to get back to normal. To move on with our lives.”

  Allison studied her face. “And will your life include Aaron?”

  Sarah’s cheeks grew hot. “I’m not sure. Maybe I’m reading too much into it.”

  “Tell me.” Allison’s caring shone in her face. How much she had changed from the big-city businesswoman she’d been when she first came to Laurel Ridge.

  “I...we were talking about this situation. About his feelings at finding Gus dead. I was trying to comfort him, I guess. We looked at each other, and...well, I don’t know how to explain it. The feeling, as if we were connected...” She sought for words. “I know he felt it, too, and he even told me he’s begun to care.”

  “Well, then.” Allison’s voice was very soft, and her smile said she was thinking of Nick. “If you felt it, and he felt it, that’s reason to be happy, not worried.”

  “But this murder, if that’s what it is. How can I not worry?”

  Allison’s eyes widened. “You don’t suspect Aaron of killing Gus, do you?”

  “Of course not! But I just fear that all this trouble will somehow keep us from happiness.”

  Allison gripped her hand. “You know what you need to do. I told you before. You have to talk to Aaron about all of this. That’s the only way to resolve it.”

  “I know.” But what was there to say? As long as Aaron feared committing himself to her, she was caught just as much as he was by that fear. “But it’s not so easy, even to find a moment alone with him.”

  Allison glanced over her shoulder, and a smile teased her lips. “I don’t think it’s going to be so hard.”

  Sarah turned as the bell on the door jingled. Aaron was coming in, his face so grim it frightened her.

  * * *

  AARON HAD TOLD himself it would do no good to frighten Sarah by confiding in her. Unfortunately, his steps had taken him straight to the shop when he left the police station, regardless of what his practical side was saying.

  Now, seeing Sarah and Allison both staring at him, he had no idea what to say.

  Allison, it seemed, was never at a loss. “Take Aaron in the back room and give him a cup of coffee. He looks like he needs it.”

  Sarah hesitated, and Allison gave her a little push. “Go on, before someone else comes in to babble about the latest rumors.”

  Sarah nodded. Wordless, she led the way to the small room at the rear of the shop. Aaron followed her, thinking again that he shouldn’t have come.

  “
Allison’s right.” Sarah turned to him once they were alone, looking more herself again, a gentle smile curving her lips. “We’ve had more people in this morning than we usually have all day, and most of them are just trading gossip.”

  “About us?” That came out more sharply than he intended.

  “No, of course not.” The smile vanished. Sarah’s hand moved, as if she would touch him, but then she drew it back. “It’s all about Gus Hill being the arsonist and dying in the fire he set that way.”

  “Sorry.” Aaron shook his head, trying to clear it. “I’m acting ferhoodled for sure. I just wanted...” I wanted to feel the comfort of being with you. No, he couldn’t say that. “Denke. You were wonderful kind to my girls last night. Mamm told me how you comforted them and made them smile with your stories.”

  “It was nothing. It’s what I do with my little brothers when they have a bad dream.” Her direct blue eyes seemed to be searching his face for any hint of what he was thinking.

  “This is a bad dream, that’s certain sure.” He sat down on the edge of the table, feeling as if he could relax for the first time in hours. “I just came from the police station. From being questioned about Gus’s death.” They were out, the words he hadn’t planned to say. He ran a hand across his forehead, as if he could wipe away the memory of that questioning.

  Sarah gasped, but there wasn’t even a shadow of doubt in her face. She reached out and clasped his hand, drawing closer to him. “That is so foolish. Surely Mac doesn’t think—”

  “Not Mac. Anyway, I don’t believe he thinks I had anything to do with it, but he’s a police officer, and he has to go by the rules. It was the others—Fielding, and a man from the district attorney’s office.”

  “But Gus died in the fire, ja? And they know he was the arsonist. Mac told me they found the evidence at the cottage.”

  “That’s just it. They say he didn’t die in the fire. He died of a blow to the head.”

  Aaron could almost see the thoughts spinning in Sarah’s mind. He knew. He’d reacted the same when he’d heard it. To think that there had been two evildoers there in his barn, so close to his kinder—one with arson in his mind, the other with murder in his heart... It didn’t bear thinking about.