by Debby Giusti
“I’m looking for the foreman. Have you seen Brian Burkholder?”
The guy shook his head. “Not today.”
“Dave, at the office, said we’d find him here,” Noah explained.
The workman glanced around the site as if searching for the foreman. “Sorry, sir. He must be working somewhere else.”
“We might as well go,” Ruthie advised. “We’ve driven around the entire area.”
“Yet Dave talked to the foreman.” Noah sighed. “Which only confirms my suspicions about this whole development and Castle Homes in particular. As I said before, something’s fishy.”
The workman tapped another man’s shoulder and pointed to Noah’s truck. The guy shook his head and approached.
Bending down, he peered at Noah through the passenger window Ruthie had lowered. “You folks are looking for the foreman?”
Noah nodded. “That’s right.”
“Drive down that road.” The guy indicated a narrow lane on the far side of the lake. “He’s got a trailer about half a mile from here. If he’s not on-site, you can usually find him there.”
“We appreciate your help.”
Noah circled the lake and passed a house in the final stages of completion.
Ruthie tugged on his arm and pointed to the mountain. “The valley is even more visible from here.”
He nodded. “You’re right about shifting the direction of the river, especially at the source. Trying to divert the flow of water farther down the mountain from our properties would be more difficult.”
“Castle is promising a lake and Prescott Construction is buying your land, and maybe mine, in hopes of selling Castle the water access he needs for a huge profit.”
“Although,” Noah said, “Castle could have made us an offer himself instead of going through Prescott Construction.”
“Yah, but perhaps Burkholder did not tell his boss how he plans to get the water, especially if he hopes to make money from the deal.”
“If Burkholder is going behind the boss’s back, he might be getting anxious. Maybe he sent the notes and attacked you to ensure you would sell so the deal would go through in a timely manner.”
“Yet he has not attacked you,” she added.
“Because he’s convinced I will sell, Ruthie. You received the offer from Prescott Construction when you stopped at the post office. How long ago had the letter been mailed?”
“Almost six weeks ago. Do you think Brian Burkholder feared I would not sell so he decided to scare me off the property?”
“Crazy as it sounds, I think that was his plan.”
She hugged her arms. “We need to call Deputy Warren and tell him to question Burkholder. Then I want to get Simon and Andrew and return home, Noah.”
“Let’s locate the trailer before I call the deputy. After that we’ll make a fast stop for paint so I can work on the chicken coop.”
She nodded. “If we must, but I am worried. Not about the mountain property, but about the boys. With everything that has happened, I do not like having them out of my sight.”
“Then we’ll wait until another day to get the paint and go directly to your aunt’s house.”
“Ben said I was too protective, but I watched my mother’s condition become life-threatening in a short time.”
“I remember. Your father blamed you.”
She nodded. “He waited too long to go for the midwife. Deep down, he probably knew he had made a mistake, but it was easier to say my inattentiveness had somehow caused her death.”
Noah rubbed her hand. “I’m sure the boys are fine.”
“I pray they are, but my anxiety will not ease until I see for myself.”
“We’ll drive just a bit farther before we turn around. I’d like to ensure that guy was telling the truth about the foreman’s trailer.”
As Noah steered the pickup away from the curb, Ruthie tugged on his arm. “Look at that house.”
A team of men were painting the trim. “Notice the man carrying the bucket of paint?”
The guy was tall and muscular. He wore a short-sleeve shirt. His left arm was covered with tattoos.
“That is the man who returned the envelope to me at the library. The man who was living in the woods. He must have gotten a job with the painting company.”
“Can you be certain it’s the same man?” Noah asked.
“He looks like the same man, but—”
Ruthie flicked her gaze around the construction site searching for the missing gravel truck before she turned back to stare at him. He glanced at her, then nodded as if he recognized her.
Her stomach knotted. After seeing his face, she was sure he was the man at the library. Was he also the man on the mountain? Could he be the man who had driven the gravel truck or the red pickup?
NINETEEN
After leaving the lake area, Noah drove along the dirt road that flanked the back of the cleared housing development. He pointed to a trailer in the distance that was parked in a small thicket of trees.
“Looks like Burkholder found a little shade for his trailer,” he said to Ruthie.
“I do not want him to see us, Noah. We need to turn around and head back to town.”
At that moment, a red truck sped around the trailer and headed toward them.
Ruthie screamed. Noah turned the wheel and drove off the road. The truck accelerated and raced past them.
A red truck with tinted windows.
“Oh, Noah,” Ruthie gasped. “That was the third time today we have almost been in an accident.”
“But nothing was accidental about any of those near collisions. Did you see the driver, Ruthie? I’m sure it was Brian Burkholder.”
“I only saw a blur as the truck passed. The same truck that shoved us onto the train tracks.”
“You’re right about that.” Noah pulled out his phone and tapped in a number. “I’m calling Deputy Warren.”
The call went to voice mail. Noah explained what they had discovered. “We think Brian Burkholder just left the area in a red truck.”
He disconnected and pocketed his phone. “Let’s take a closer look before we turn around. Then I’ll try to call Deputy Warren again.”
He parked beside the trailer. “Wait in the pickup.”
She shook her head. “I’m going with you.”
Together they hurried to the side door. Noah knocked. When no one answered, he knocked again.
Leaning toward the window, he cupped his hands around his eyes to cut down on the glare and stared inside.
The interior of the trailer looked like a tornado had spun through the confined space. Papers were tossed helter-skelter. A coffee cup had been overturned on a table. Another cup was shattered.
Stretching to see more of the chaos, Noah groaned.
Ruthie tugged on his arm. “What is it?”
“Someone’s on the floor. He isn’t moving.”
Noah rapped on the window. “Brian? Brian Burkholder?”
“Noah, this frightens me.”
“Go back to my truck, Ruthie.”
She glanced over her shoulder and then shook her head. “I am not going anywhere without you.”
He pulled out a handkerchief, wrapped it around the doorknob and opened the door.
A cloying, acrid smell of blood wafted past him. “Stay outside, Ruthie.”
He stepped into the confusion. “Brian?”
The man pictured in the Castle Homes poster—the same man they had seen at the pizza parlor—was lying in the middle of the trailer. His mouth gaped open.
Kneeling, Noah felt for a pulse. When he withdrew his hand, it was covered with blood.
Peering from the doorway, Ruthie gasped.
“Don’t touch anything. I’ll call Deputy Warren again.”
“What do yo
u think happened?”
“Someone got to him.”
“The man driving the red truck?” Ruthie asked.
“I’m not sure.” Noah glanced at the shelf behind the table. “Look at that framed photograph of a young man.”
He leaned closer. “It says, ‘Thanks for being such a great dad! Your son, Prescott.’”
Ruthie’s eyes widened. “Brian Burkholder named the construction company after his son.”
Noah wiped his hand on his handkerchief, then hit Redial on his phone.
The deputy answered.
Noah repeated the information he had left on voice mail and explained again that they were at Castle Homes and had gone searching for the foreman. He mentioned that the man who had returned Ruthie’s letter in the library was painting homes in the area and also told him about the red truck that had raced past them.
“We found the foreman in his trailer,” Noah said at last. “But he’s dead.”
* * *
“Can you identify the body, ma’am?” Deputy Warren stared at Ruthie. Noah stepped closer and put his arm around her shoulder.
“Is this the same man who attacked you at your home?” the deputy asked.
She glanced at the dead man and blinked back tears. “I do not know. He has the same build, but as I told you, the man who accosted me wore a stocking over his face.”
“What about the tattoos on his arm?” The deputy had lifted his sleeve so she could see the markings.
“I do not know if they are what I saw on the man who attacked me. The colors look different. I cannot be sure.”
“The red truck that raced past you looked like the vehicle that pushed you into the way of the oncoming train?”
She nodded. “Yah, this is so. We thought Brian Burkholder was driving the truck, but then we discovered his body in the trailer.”
The crime-scene investigators were going through the trailer searching for evidence. The coroner had proclaimed Brian Burkholder dead and his body would soon be taken to the morgue so the pathologist could do an autopsy.
The foreman had been stabbed three times in the chest, which appeared to be the cause of death, although the pathologist would make the final determination.
“We’ve got some of our guys tracking down Vince Ashcroft, the real-estate agent.” Deputy Warren glanced at Noah. “If the two of them worked together and if Mr. Burkholder tried to coerce either of you into turning over your property to him without telling his partner, Ashcroft could have gotten angry and decided to take matters into his own hands. We’ll talk to Mr. Castle and see what kind of an agreement he had with Prescott Construction.”
“Check out Chattanooga,” Noah suggested. “I have a hunch Burkholder was involved in that dam collapse.”
“Will do.” The deputy’s phone rang. He pulled it to his ear. “Deputy Warren.”
Turning away from Noah and Ruthie, he conversed with the caller, then disconnected, pocketed his phone and stepped back to them. “The red pickup’s been found. It belongs to the assistant foreman, John Zimmer. Evidently, he also goes by the name Zimmerman. He’s definitely a person of interest. As soon as we can locate him, we’ll haul him in for questioning.”
“See if he has tattoos on his left arm,” Ruthie said.
“Will do, ma’am.”
The deputy glanced at the notes he had taken. “I’ve got everything I need from both of you. Where can I find you if I need any additional information?”
Ruthie looked at Noah. “I feel sure Aunt Mattie would let us stay with her.”
He nodded. “That sounds like a good plan, at least until the deputy assures us the murderer is behind bars.”
Ruthie provided her aunt’s address.
Deputy Warren wrote the address on his tablet. “I’ll have one of our guys follow you to your aunt’s farm. Use caution until we make an arrest.”
He turned to Noah. “How’s cell coverage at the aunt’s house?”
“Hopefully better than on the mountain. You’ve got my number?”
The deputy nodded. “I’ll let you know as soon as we find the killer.”
Noah shook the deputy’s hand. “Thanks for your help.”
Ruthie felt even more unsettled as they left the crime scene. A man had died, and another man was being hunted down. Was he the man who had come after her?
There were so many people of interest, as the deputy had mentioned. One of them wanted to do Ruthie and her children harm. Seeing how the killer had stabbed Brian Burkholder only compounded her worry. She had known the man who had attacked her was vile, but he had grown more brazen and his attacks more threatening. Now, without a shadow of a doubt, he not only wanted to do her harm, he also wanted to kill her.
Thinking of the danger she and her children were in made her tremble.
She glanced back and let out a sigh of relief when she saw the sheriff’s deputy following them.
“How soon will it be over, Noah?” she asked.
“Hopefully before long, Ruthie, although we need to be careful until the perpetrator is apprehended.”
“Poor Tiffany. She could be working for a killer.”
“I regret taking you to his real-estate office. And to think we considered having him sell our land.”
“The Englisch have strange ideas about the Amish. Some think we are ignorant of our rights and legal standing. He probably thought my farm would go into foreclosure if he forced me to leave.”
Noah nodded. “Then he could buy your property at a cut-rate price.”
“If not for you, Noah, I might have left permanently for fear of what he would do to Simon and Andrew.”
Noah reached out and squeezed her hand. “I’m glad I could help.”
“My mother always quoted the Scripture that says, ‘With Gott, all things work together for good.’”
“Your mother was a wise woman. Gott prompted me to return to the mountain and take care of my father’s property.”
“At the perfect time.” Ruthie glanced again at the sheriff’s car behind them. Perhaps the worst had passed, especially if they could stay at Aunt Mattie’s farm where Ashcroft or Zimmer or whoever killed the foreman and had attacked her would not find them. The killer would be arrested, she was certain, and all her fears would be put to rest.
“I’m eager to see the boys,” she told Noah. “It seems like more than a few hours since we left them. So much has happened.”
“Reconnecting with your aunt Mattie was a good thing, Ruthie.”
“Yah, I see Gott’s hand in this as if He is inviting me back to the Amish community.”
“You would receive help and support.”
“The boys would enjoy having friends and returning to the Amish school. I have tried to teach them, but they miss seeing other children.”
“All that will change now.”
Noah’s words reassured her. The killer needed to be apprehended first, then she and her sons could return home.
Would Noah return to his father’s home, as well? He had wanted to sell the farm, but the Prescott Construction deal was a thing of the past.
Perhaps now he would decide to stay and rejoin the Amish faith. The thought of having Noah as a neighbor warmed her heart for a moment until everything that had happened came back into focus. Once her attacker was arrested, she could relax. Until then, she needed to be cautious and careful. The vile man had come after her before. As long as he was free to roam the mountain, he would come after her again.
TWENTY
Ruthie knew Noah was as upset as she was about finding the foreman murdered. A light rain shower fell as they left town and drove to Mattie’s house. At the turnoff, Noah raised his hand in farewell to the sheriff’s deputy who had followed them along the country road. The deputy honked, turned around in the drive and headed back to town.
An
drew was on the covered porch cranking the ice-cream churn when Noah parked in front of the quaint Amish farmhouse. Mattie rose from the porch rocking chair and hurried down the steps to greet them, ignoring the rain.
“Where’s Simon?” Ruthie asked, a note of concern in her voice as she took her aunt’s outstretched hand.
“Resting inside.”
The two women dashed up the steps to the porch.
“His stomach hurts, and he looks pale,” Mattie explained. “I am glad you returned early. When he was not interested in churning ice cream, I knew something was wrong.”
Ruthie hugged Andrew and placed the palm of her hand on his forehead, relieved that he felt cool.
“Do you want ice cream, Mamm?” he asked. “It is almost ready.”
“You are working hard, Andrew. Let me check on Simon first.”
“He is sick.”
Which is what Ruthie feared. She hurried inside and found Simon resting in the downstairs guest room. One glance at his flushed face and glassy eyes and she knew his upset stomach was caused by more than eating too much cake.
“What hurts?” she asked, running her hand over his hot cheeks.
“Everything.”
“Are you nauseous?”
He nodded. “And my head is pounding.”
She turned a worried gaze to Noah, who had followed her inside along with Mattie.
His expression confirmed he was equally concerned about Simon’s condition. “Do you have a doctor who sees the boys in town?”
“Simon and Andrew are rarely sick, and I have not had the need.” She looked again at her son’s feverish gaze and weary eyes. “Until now.”
“Doctors are always on duty at the emergency room.” Mattie stepped closer. “Take Simon to the hospital in town. I have money in the bank in case you are worried about the cost. Andrew can stay here with me. We will eat ice cream, and he can help me bake cookies. I will fix enough dinner for all of you to enjoy, and you can spend the night if it is late when you return from town.”
“I had hoped we could stay with you until a bad man is apprehended.” Ruthie explained some of what had happened, taking care not to say too much in front of Simon.
