Material Witness

by Vannetta Chapman

  Aaron couldn’t believe the swap had worked. He hadn’t told a soul, but he had bumped into Miss Callie the night before …

  He’d heard Max outside, and he’d snuck out to make sure the dog was okay. He was sitting on the back porch, in his chair, with Max at his side when she walked out.

  “Come out here much?” she asked.

  He liked that she didn’t ask how he’d got out there. People thought he couldn’t get around without help, but he could if it was something important — like Max. And he was getting stronger every day. Getting into the chair on his own hadn’t been that hard tonight.

  “He sounded like he needed a freind,” Aaron explained.

  “I guess he misses our place a little. To tell you the truth, I do too.”

  They sat there like that awhile, in the dark, one on each side of Max, and then Aaron remembered what had woken him up — before he’d heard Max. It was a dream about the movie. He’d actually been one of the young cowboys.

  “You ever watch John Wayne, Miss Callie?”

  “Sure. My dad loved The Duke.”

  “Can I ask you something?” When Callie nodded, he hesitated a moment, not wanting to sound stupid, not wanting to reveal too much, but curious. And who else would he ask? Finally he plunged forward. “Why did they call him that?”

  Callie laughed, reached out, and rubbed the soft spot between Max’s ears. “John Wayne said it was because he was named after a dog.”

  Aaron thought about that a minute, his hand deep in Max’s fur. “No kidding?”

  “No kidding.”

  “Huh.” Since she hadn’t called him on asking about the actor, he decided to try another question. “You ever watch The Cowboys?”

  This time she took a minute to answer. “Oh, yeah. That was one of his best.”

  Aaron wasn’t sure he wanted to watch any more movies at Justin’s. Maybe he’d suggest they play Uno or Dutch Blitz next time. This movie had stuck in his head too much for his liking. He was glad that of the two movies he’d seen, the one he’d been chasing around in his mind had been one of John Wayne’s greatest.

  “To tell you the truth, I still watch some of those old movies every now and then. I like them more than the new ones. There’s something about John Wayne that always reminds me of a better time.”

  “Ya?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What did you like about him?” Aaron asked.

  She again took her time answering. “Like when that kid died. I hated that part. I still do. But when John Wayne said … What was it? Death can come for you …”

  “Anyplace, anytime.” Aaron couldn’t have stopped the words if he’d tried.

  “Yeah. Anyplace, anytime. But if you’d done all you aim to do and if you’d done your … What was it he said? If you’d done your …”

  “If you’d done your best.”

  “Right. Then you’d be ready for it. Or something like that.” She didn’t ask how he knew the part she’d forgotten, and she didn’t ask if he needed help going back inside. She just said goodnight to Max and touched him on the shoulder.

  And that was when Aaron knew he was ready for whatever happened the next day. Not because of what John Wayne said in some movie, but because of people like Callie and Shane and his family. Somehow he believed everything was going to be all right.

  “We’re going to have extra chores for a month,” he muttered.

  “If we aren’t killed,” his bruder reminded him.

  “It’s wunderbaar to see you two are so cheerful about our future. Now help me load Aaron’s chair.” Martha was trying to put it on the back of the cart but wasn’t having much luck by herself.

  Matthew hurried to help her.

  Aaron squirmed in the seat to watch them. The farm was deserted. Everyone had gone visiting, which was normal for Sunday afternoon.

  His mamm thought they’d left with his dat.

  His dat thought they’d left with his mamm.

  Why had it worked today when they’d been caught the day before? Maybe because everyone thought the danger had passed with Creeper going to the deserted farm, going where Shane had laid his trap. Maybe because everyone was exhausted. Maybe because he’d prayed all night it would.

  One thing was certain.

  Neither of their parents expected them to try such a stupid thing again, not after yesterday’s punishment. His arms were still sore from working so hard.

  But helping to stop the killer was more important than worrying about how harsh their punishment would be. What had started with them needed to end with them.

  Matthew and Martha climbed up on the cart seat, and Matthew directed the pony away from the barn. They were about to pull out onto the lane when they heard a bark.

  “Max?”

  Trotting the cart over to the front porch they found the gold-colored dog tied to a tree. Water and food sat in the shade.

  “Looks like someone else was forgotten,” Martha murmured. “Miss Callie never would have left him here.”

  “Unless she was going somewhere she couldn’t take him.” Matthew stared down at the dog.

  “What should we do?” Martha asked.

  “I say we take him with us. Max is a gut guard dog.” Aaron had stayed close to Max the last couple of days, when he wasn’t doing extra chores.

  “All right. We have enough room, barely. It’s going to be crowded though.” Matthew hopped down and helped Max into the cart.

  They started down the lane, but stopped again when they saw Martha’s mamm in her buggy pulled over a few feet shy of the main road. Matt directed the pony into some tall grasses and watched. Callie was sitting in the cart with Deborah. They were holding up a quilt as if they were studying it in the afternoon light.

  “I thought they were gone already.” Aaron turned to Martha as if it were her fault.

  “They should be. They left a gut fifteen minutes ago. I thought they were following everyone else.”

  “Huh. Doesn’t look like it.” Matthew leaned forward for a better look. As they all watched, Deborah turned left onto the two-lane road. “Looks like they’re going the opposite direction. Everyone else went to my grossdaddis — to the right.”

  Matt said, “Giddyap,” to the pony pulling their cart, hurrying to catch up to where they could see Deborah’s buggy. They were almost to the main road when a Jeep pulled out with a screech. They could see where it had been parked across the road beneath some trees. The driver didn’t look their way. He was completely focused on Deborah’s buggy, gripping his wheel and scowling.

  As he turned, he was close enough that they could make out his features.

  “Why is he here? He’s supposed to be at the abandoned farm!” Matt pulled down on his wool cap.

  Aaron’s stomach started to churn, and he thought he might lose what little he’d eaten. He heard his bruder’s question, felt Martha tense beside him. It seemed to him even Max’s breathing changed.

  But all Aaron could think about was the face he’d seen and that it was the same face that had stared at him on Thursday evening, the same face that had knelt over Mrs. Knepp. The same face that had tried to run over him with a car.

  “What do we do?” Martha asked. “Do we still go to the abandoned farm?”

  “Why? He’s not going to be there. It’s the same direction as my grossdaddi’s. Creeper is following your mamm and Miss Callie.” Aaron felt sick like the time he’d eaten six apples. “Why is he doing that? We heard Miss Callie tell him to go to the abandoned farm. We were sitting outside the window. Shane is there waiting for him. Who is going to protect Callie and your mamm?”

  “We have to make a decision here, guys. I can barely see them.”

  “Our plan is to help catch the killer — I mean, Thomas.” Martha clutched the front of the cart so hard Aaron noticed her knuckles turning white. “I say we’d better follow his car.”

  So Matthew turned left onto the two-lane.

  At that moment, Aaron knew there was no t
urning back.

  Melinda stared at Noah in disbelief. “What do you mean they aren’t with you?”

  “I thought they were with you.”

  “Don’t tell me they did it again.”

  Noah checked her buggy one more time, as if the boys might appear. “Maybe they rode with someone else.”

  “It’s the swap!” Melinda’s cheeks turned a bright red. “Whatever they had planned yesterday, they’re doing today!”

  “Honey, stay calm. The festival is over. Whatever they had planned yesterday, they couldn’t do today. Let’s check with the rest of the family and ask if anyone has seen them.”

  Melinda tried to force the panic down into her stomach, but it refused to stay there. It kept finding its way back into her voice, her face, even her eyes.

  Finally she convinced Noah to go with her to the phone shack.

  “I’ll look after Hannah,” Esther said, moving baby Simon to her left arm so she could reach down and take Hannah’s hand. “Deborah and Callie aren’t here yet either. Maybe the boys are riding with them.”

  Melinda nodded as if that made sense, but it didn’t make any sense at all. The afternoon meal was already starting. Why wouldn’t Deborah and Callie be here already?

  Once they were at the phone shack, she dialed the police station’s number and asked to be patched through to Shane. The phone was slick in her hands and she clutched it tightly so she wouldn’t drop it.

  “Melinda, what’s wrong?”

  “I can’t find the boys. Deborah and Callie are missing as well.”

  “What do you mean ‘missing’?”

  “I mean I can’t find them. What do you suppose I mean ‘missing’?”

  “All right. I want you to stay calm.”

  “I’m sorry, but I’m frightened. What if something happened to them?”

  “Where are you?”

  “Down the road from my parents’ place.” She gave him the address. “We left to use the phone at the shack near the county road. What should we do? What if they’re hurt?”

  “Probably they’re running late. I want you to go back to your parents’, and I’m going to send an officer out. She’ll have a cell phone, and we’ll be able to stay in contact. I imagine by the time the officer arrives, the boys and Deborah and Callie will be there.”

  Melinda mumbled her thanks and hung up the phone.

  As they made their way back in the buggy, she tried to find some comfort in what Shane had said, but she couldn’t help thinking something terrible had happened.

  “Gotte will be with them, Melinda. He’s provided Shane to help us, and Shane won’t let anything happen.”

  Melinda knew Noah was right. She felt it all the way into the marrow of her bones, so she did what was left for her to do — what was often left for a mother to do. She bowed her head and she prayed for the safety of her children.

  Chapter 26

  SHANE CLOSED HIS CELL PHONE, exhaustion drawing his face tight, and surveyed his assembled personnel. “That was Melinda. Her boys are missing. Deborah and Callie haven’t shown either, but we need to stay focused on Thomas. We intercepted his cell phone conversation, and we know he’s headed toward the abandoned farm like he should be.”

  “How many men do you want with you?” Taylor asked.

  Shane studied the clock. Three in the afternoon. It would take Thomas over an hour to reach the designated spot from South Bend, which was where he’d been when they’d intercepted his last call. And that was if he’d left immediately after the call. Per his agreement with Callie, he wouldn’t be in Shipshe for another three hours. “We’re certain no one is at the farm?”

  “Checked it myself an hour ago. No one’s there, and we’ve had a man from county stationed at the front road since I left.” Taylor pointed to a spot on the map where the lane leading to the old farm intersected the two-lane road. The map was actually a blown-up version from Google earth that showed each building of the property. “No one’s gone in or out.”

  “All right. I walked the property yesterday. There’s an old gate and a dirt road here.” Shane pointed to the back part of the property. “It’s bumpy, but manageable. Looks overgrown from the main road, and I’d like to keep it that way. If you could put a man back there on foot —”

  “Done.”

  “I want to pull Thomas all the way in. Now that we’re aware of his mental instability, there’s an even greater danger of innocent bystanders getting hurt on the road. For some reason his mind has focused on the money.”

  Taylor studied him a moment before speaking. “He heard that his mother had died, saw the announcement in the paper … that certainly could have set him off.”

  “But set him off enough to kill?” Shane scrunched down another inch in the chair.

  “Remember Mrs. Knepp was an accident. After that, his accomplice was probably killed in a moment of rage.”

  “We do know he thinks there’s money hidden and that he won’t stop until he has his hands on it. And we know he thinks Callie has it.” Shane reached up and massaged the back of his neck. “As long as we’re certain the place is empty, there’s no danger in letting him drive up the lane. I want to position myself where I’ll have good line of sight over the entire spread.”

  “Still determined to set up on the windmill?” Taylor tapped a spot between the house and the barn. “I know you checked it out, but I’m not sure it’s the safest place. If he looks up, you’re an easy shot.”

  “I’m willing to take that risk.”

  Taylor shook his head. “Seems too exposed.”

  “He won’t be expecting me. There’s no reason for him to look up there, and if for some reason he does, then I’ll take the first shot.”

  “Why not find cover in the house or the barn?” Perla asked. “I don’t like their positions. If I choose one, I can’t see what’s happening in the other. Thomas has proven himself to be cunning.

  I’m not going to underestimate him at the last minute. Once he’s driven in, I’ll call Captain Taylor, who will coordinate all personnel. It will be like pulling a trap tight.”

  “Where will your vehicle be?”

  “I’ll park it behind the old barn.”

  “You want men stationed inside with you?”

  “No. Keep everyone else on the perimeter. I’ll call you in when he’s where I want him.”

  As the meeting broke up, Shane checked his pistol, then reached for his rifle, pocketing extra ammo as well.

  “Planning on a gunfight?” Taylor stood studying him.

  “Not planning on one, but I’m not going to back away from one either. Do you have a problem with that?”

  Taylor didn’t answer.

  Shane could feel the older man’s eyes on him, his expectations falling on his shoulders. Hadn’t it always been that way though? Fulfilling others’ hopes and needs was part of his job. Well, today his job required that he secure this town, which included keeping Deborah, Callie, and the boys from being hurt.

  Thomas had already managed to get too close on several occasions. He wouldn’t allow it to happen again.

  The killing stopped today.

  “It’s not your fault he murdered the woman.”

  “Which one, Captain? The first or the second?” Shane looked Taylor in the eye, didn’t glance away or blink when he saw the sorrow there.

  “Either one. We can’t control the things these people do. You know that. No matter how we wish things were different, we can’t always stop them in time.”

  “Today I will. Yesterday I didn’t, but today I will.” Then he grabbed his ball cap — he’d need it if he was going to perch on a windmill — and walked out of the office to his car.

  He told himself he wasn’t doing this because of his past, that it had nothing to do with that scared little eleven-year-old boy he used to be. Regardless, the details of the night continued to wash over him as he drove toward the farm. He could no more have stopped them than he could have found a way to keep the af
ternoon sun from shining through the old Buick’s windows.

  It had been the middle of the summer, and the Cubs were still in the National League East. His dad had grown up in Chicago, and he’d been a Cubs man — still was a Cubs man.

  As a boy, Shane watched Saturday games with his father every chance he had. Could still smell the microwave popcorn his mom would make, feel the way the old couch would sag under his dad’s weight when he’d sit beside him. They’d been watching the game for over two hours when the knock came at the door.

  Without saying a word, they’d run through rock, paper, scissors. Paper had covered rock — funny how he could remember that as if it were yesterday. It had fallen to him to answer — to miss out on the Cubs seventh inning at-bat. He hadn’t argued. Instead he’d run to the door, expecting it to be a salesman or maybe one of the neighbor girls looking for their dog. They had two poodles and one or the other was always running off.

  But as soon as he’d seen the shadow through the pane of glass lining the middle of the door, he’d known it wasn’t one of the girls. When he’d pulled it open, when he’d seen the Shipshewana police uniform, Shane had known he wouldn’t be seeing the end of the Cubs game. He still remembered being able to hear the announcers’ voices playing in the background.

  His dad had hollered something about the umpire being blind.

  The officer asked him if his dad was home, and he’d nodded, but he didn’t invite the man inside. Somehow he’d known, even at eleven years old, that once the man came into the house, his life — all of their lives — would change forever.

  And it had.

  His parents hadn’t thought to send him out of the room, or perhaps it was their opinion that he was old enough to know the truth and know it from the source rather than hearing rumors. He’d never questioned them about that decision or any other that followed that fateful day.

  He remembered being able to hear the Cubs game on the television still playing in the family room as they sat in the living room — a room he could only remember walking through before. His mother sat with her back ramrod straight and tears pouring down her face.