Amish Regrets (Amish Secret Widows' Society #4)

Amish Regrets (Amish Romance Mystery)

(Amish Secret Widows’ Society Book 4)

Samantha Price

Copyright 2014 Samantha Price

All Rights Reserved

License Notes

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Thank you for respecting the author's work.

*****************

This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The personal names have been invented by the author, and any likeness to the name of any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Chapter 1.

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find;

knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth;

and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Matthew 7:7-8

“It’s your turn next,” Silvie whispered to Emma once the bishop pronounced their friends, Angela and Robert,
mann
and
fraa
.

“
Jah,
it’s not far away now.” Emma smiled and looked lovingly over at her husband to be, Wil. They’d finally set a date just two months away and now with Angela out of her
haus,
Emma could concentrate on her own wedding day.

“Where’s Sabrina? I thought she’d be here,” Emma said.

“She hasn’t shown up to anything of late. I’ve a
gut
mind to send her packing back to Ohio. Now that she’s not under
mamm
and
dat’s
eyes, she thinks she can do anything she likes. She hasn’t even been to the last few Sunday gatherings. I wouldn’t be surprised if the bishop called in on us to have a talk with her.”

“What’s she doing then? I thought she was looking for a husband, so wouldn’t she attend everything she could, especially a wedding? Look at all the single
menner
here.”

Silvie looked around. “
Jah
, that’s true. I wonder what she’s been up to. I’m going to have to take more notice of her comings and goings.”

“Maybe we should spy on her, follow her.” Emma giggled, then leaned close to Silvie and whispered, “From what you said of your
mudder
she’ll blame you if Sabrina gets into any trouble. She is your younger
schweschder
after all.”

What Emma said about Sabrina getting into trouble played on Silvie’s mind and was the reason she left the wedding celebrations early. Why hadn’t she thought of it herself? It was clear, now that Emma had pointed it out to her, that Sabrina was up to something. But what? Sabrina freely admitted to being in Lancaster County solely to look for a husband, so why wasn’t she at Angela’s wedding – a perfect place to find such a
mann
?

Silvie had been so caught up in her own long wait for Bailey, the
mann
she loved, to become Amish that she had completely ignored her duty as big
schweschder
. Whatever would her
mudder
think of her?

While her horse clip clopped home in the dark with the mandatory lights of the buggy flashing, Silvie recalled that Sabrina had been out and about nearly every day of the past week. Silvie had been so pleased to have some time to herself that she never thought to ask Sabrina where she went. The truth was that she hadn’t cared where she was. That was before she considered that she might be doing things she shouldn’t be doing. As Silvie drew closer to home, she was more sure than ever that her
schweschder,
Sabrina, was secretly dating an
Englischer.

Anger rose within Silvie as she recalled that just recently Sabrina told her she was disappointed in her for being in love with Bailey because he was an
Englischer.

Calm down, Silvie,
she told herself.
There could be a logical explanation. Maybe she’s sick and that’s why she didn’t go to the wedding.
Silvie’s body trembled in anger.
Well, she had better be sick,
she thought.

Once Silvie had the horse rubbed down and safely in his stable, she headed into the
haus
to see what she could find out about what was going on with Sabrina.

Silvie had given Sabrina the downstairs bedroom, which had its own outdoor access. Silvie realized it was a mistake to give her a room in which she could come and go as she pleased. Silvie would have no idea what time she was coming home or whether she was sneaking out after she’d come home.

Silvie lit one of the gas lanterns, opened Sabrina’s bedroom door and peeped in. There was no sign of her. Sabrina would have known that Silvie would have been home very late that night. Maybe Sabrina thought she could slip home unnoticed at a late hour. She had a good look around Sabrina’s room. Nothing seemed out of place.

Silvie felt sick to the stomach and decided to help herself to a small glass of the fortified wine, which she only kept for medicinal purposes. She walked into the utility room, stretched onto her tiptoes and reached to the back of the highest shelf. Once she poured some of the dark fluid into a small glass she sank into the couch and put the glass to her lips.

Her body flooded with warmth after one sip.
Oh Gott, what am I to do?
She asked in desperation. She knew that
Gott
was the only answer. He could help her with her problems with Sabrina. The more she thought about it, the more she realized there was a problem as things with Sabrina just didn’t add up. She was angry with herself for not realizing before now and angry with herself that it needed Emma to point it out to her.

There was nothing she could do, but wait until Sabrina came home and then she would confront her with her suspicions.

Silvie was drifting off to sleep on the lounge, then jolted awake when her head tipped down suddenly. She looked up at the china clock on the sideboard. It was ten past twelve. The clock reminded her of John, her late husband. She thought of him less and less as the years passed. It wasn’t a bad marriage and Silvie had grown to love John over the years. She did miss being married and having a man to care for. She hoped that Bailey would fill that gap in her life before too long.

The low hum of a car’s engine outside her front door snapped Silvie out of her daydreams. She flung the door open to see Sabrina racing towards her. She collapsed in Silvie’s arms and the taxi sped back up the driveway.

“What’s the matter with you, Sabrina?”

Sabrina pushed Silvie inside, shut the door behind them and then sank to the floor. “He’s dead; he’s dead.”

Chapter 2.

And rend your heart, and not your garments,

and turn unto the Lord your God:

for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger,

and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

Joel 2:13

Silvie sank to the floor beside her
schweschder.
“Who, Sabrina? Who’s dead?”

“Carmello. Carmello’s dead.”

Silvie searched her memory banks for someone named Carmello and came up with a blank. She was sure that she’d never heard of anyone who went by that name. Her next question was one that she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to. “Who’s Carmello?”

Sabrina looked up at her through tear-filled, blue eyes. “My boyfriend. He’s my boyfriend; his name’s Carmello.” Sabrina sobbed uncontrollably as she sprawled herself out on the floor.

Silvie’s heart began to pound fast. Carmello was no Amish name; that was for sure and for certain. Sabrina’s boyfriend was an
Englischer;
her suspicions were correct. What would their
mudder
think when she got to hear about it? There was only one thing to do and that was to try and conceal everything from their
mudder
for as long as they possibly could. But, did Sabrina say this ‘Carmello’ man was dead?

“You mean, dead dead. Not alive?” Silvie asked.

Sabrina lifted her head, looked at her and then her mouth downturned and she sobbed louder.

“I’m sorry, Sabrina. Try and stand. Come over to the couch.” Silvie lifted Sabrina to the couch and handed her a handkerchief to wipe her tear-drenched face. After a time, Sabrina’s sobs lessened enough so that she was able to speak.

“I found him dead,” Sabrina managed to say.

“Don’t try and talk for a while. I’ll get you a glass of water.” Silvie hurried to the kitchen and came back to hand Sabrina the water.

Sabrina held the glass in both hands and wobbled it to her lips with shaky hands. She managed to drink a little.

“That’s
gut
. Now tell me about it when you’re ready.” Silvie patted her on her shoulder.

Sabrina looked into Silvie’s eyes. “
Ach
, it was terrible, just terrible.” She placed the glass on the table and covered her face with both hands. “Carmello and I arranged to meet and when he wasn’t at our usual place, I went to his office and found him dead. He was just lying there.”

“Did you call the police?”

Sabrina looked down into her hands. “I heard someone coming, so I hid in the adjoining office until they left; then I slipped out.”

“How did he die?”

“I don’t know I didn’t wait to find out.”

“Who was it who came when you were hiding?”

“His wife.”

“What?” Silvie immediately became sick on the stomach. Things were much, much worse than she ever could have imagined in a trillion years. “Did you say wife? So, Carmello was married?”

“He was separated. He was trying to get a divorce, but she didn’t want a divorce unless he gave her everything. He finally agreed to give her what she wanted and she was to sign papers tonight.”

Silvie wanted to ask what she was doing involved with an
Englischer
and a married one at that, but what was done was done. Silvie knew Sabrina would be in no state of mind to listen to any straight talking commonsense right now. She would have to wait for a time when Sabrina would be more receptive; nevertheless, Silvie wanted to shake Sabrina for being so stupid.

“I’ll make you a cup of tea.” Silvie wrapped the crocheted rug that she kept near the couch over Sabrina’s shoulders. “Keep that around you. You’ve had a nasty shock; I’ve heard it does you
gut
to keep warm.”

Sabrina’s sobs lessened to snivels and sniffs. Silvie rushed to make the tea, glad she had taken a little of the medicinal wine before Sabrina arrived home. She put two spoons of sugar in Sabrina’s tea and hurried back to the living room with it, hoping Sabrina would soon be able to tell her the whole story from the beginning. “Here, drink this; it’ll make you feel better.”

“
Denke
.” Sabrina took a sip of tea then set the cup down on the saucer.

“Do you feel up to telling me how all this happened?”

Sabrina nodded and lifted her eyes to the ceiling. “I met Carmello when I was in a coffee shop in town. We just got to talking. Things went from there.”

“Things, what things exactly?”

“Do I have to spell everything out for you? You’re over thirty. You should know a bit about life. You know what I mean. We were having a relationship.”

Sabrina’s words were snapped and angry, but Silvie knew that she was scared and trying to keep up a front. Silvie reminded herself that it was no time for a lecture and knew she had to show kindness and empathy. After all, who was she to judge? She knew how hard it was when she fell in love with Bailey, even though he was no Amish
mann.

“Did his wife call the ambulance and the police?”

“I left when the wife left.”

“How did you know he was dead? Sometimes people can look dead, but they can be unconscious.”

“His eyes were open and just staring,” Sabrina said before she jumped up and ran outside.

Silvie heard the noises of Sabrina throwing up, so she went into the kitchen and wet a cloth. Silvie sat on the front doorstep and waited ‘til Sabrina finished.

Sabrina sat on the ground after she had finished.

“Here.” Silvie handed Sabrina the damp cloth then helped her back into the
haus.
“Feel a bit better?”

“I don’t know how I feel. I’m just numb. I checked to see whether he was really dead, and he was. He wasn’t breathing and I felt for his heart and it wasn’t beating.”

Silvie knew it was important to ask Sabrina as many questions as she could straight away, even though Sabrina might not want to answer any. “Come back inside. It’s getting a little cold.”

Once they were both back on the couch. Silvie said, “You probably don’t feel like answering any questions, but it’s important you tell me all you can remember.”

“We were to meet at the little place where we always met. When he was half an hour late, I knew there was something wrong. He’s never late. I went to where he worked, figuring he might still be busy. I could see from the road outside that his office light was still on. I went up there. Everything was unlocked. I opened his door and peeked into his office and he was right there on the floor, dead. Right in front of the door.”

Sabrina dabbed the damp cloth all over her face. “I thought at first that he was playing a joke on me. He always does silly things like that. I told him to get up and that he wasn’t fooling me. I scolded him for leaving me waiting. When he didn’t answer me or didn’t laugh, I feared the worst and reached down and touched him.”

After a long pause, Silvie asked, “Then what?”

“I heard someone calling his name. I hid in the other office and closed the door. I didn’t hear her scream or anything. She stayed there for a few minutes then left.”

“Did you scream when you saw him?”

“
Nee
because I thought he was joking, playing a prank. When I realized he wasn’t, I just froze. I hid when I heard someone coming because I didn’t want anyone to know about me. We were keeping things a secret until his divorce then we were going to be together. Carmello didn’t want anyone to know about me yet.”

“If you were hiding in the other office, how did you know that it was his wife who came into his office?”

“I looked out the window after she left and I saw her cross the street. It was her.”

“Where had you seen her before?”

“The first time I saw her was at the coffee shop that I mentioned. It was before I met him; in fact, the first time I laid eyes on him. I could tell they were having an argument and trying to keep their voices down. I got up to leave and she got up to leave at the same time and then she bumped into me and called me a ‘stupid religious freak’ and stormed out. She caused me to overbalance and I knocked into the table where he was still sitting. Carmello apologized for what she had said and that’s how we got to talk. That’s how we met.”

“How long’s it been going on?”

“I met him just days after I arrived here. I think it was the first time you let me take the buggy by myself.”

“You should tell the police that you found him,” Silvie said, hoping that Sabrina would not throw up again.

“I can’t do that. I hid. What would I say to them?”

“I’ll leave it up to you, but I really think you should tell them everything you know.”

“I’ll look like I’m guilty because I hid when the wife came.”

“Guilty of what? Are you worried about having an affair with a married man, or having people think that you killed him?”

“You think he was killed?” Sabrina asked.

“We don’t know. You probably should have stayed and been the one to call the police, then you would’ve found everything out.”

Sabrina said, “He was perfectly healthy. He looked after himself. I’ll call the police if you think I should.”

“I think it’d be a
gut
idea. I’ll walk up the road to the phone with you.” Silvie had no phone of her own. Driving to a friend’s
haus
or using a public phone was the only option and considering the late hour, the best option was the public phone up the road.

“Can it wait ‘til morning?” Sabrina asked.

“
Nee
, and rather than phone I think what we should do is drive to the police station and then you can tell them everything you know.”

Sabrina nodded. “I suppose nothing worse can happen than has already happened.”

Silvie and Sabrina arrived at the police station and two policemen sat with Sabrina as they prepared to listen to what she had to say.

“Would you like a lawyer?” one of the policemen asked.

Silvie’s eyes opened widely. “She hasn’t done anything. Why would she need one?”

“We’re counting Mr. Liante’s death as suspicious. It could well have been murder. We won’t know for sure for a few more hours.”

Sabrina told them everything she knew, about how she found Carmello and hid when Mrs. Liante arrived then looked out the window to see her leave. Silvie sat with Sabrina while the police asked questions.

Sabrina and Silvie looked at each other.

Some tiring hours later, Sabrina and Silvie were in the buggy driving back home.

“It’s strange that they knew nothing of the wife coming to see him. Are you sure it was she who you saw?”

Sabrina nodded.

Silvie continued, “I overheard one of them say they had just gone around to the Liantes’ house to tell Mrs. Liante and she was very distressed.”

Sabrina shrugged her body. “I know. I heard them say that too. She’s acting like she didn’t know that he was already dead.”

“That doesn’t add up. If she’d been in his office when he was lying there on the floor, she would’ve already known that he was dead. They said that the janitor found him. That means that after she saw him, she didn’t phone the paramedics or the police.”

“Am I having a bad dream? This all doesn’t seem real,” Sabrina covered her face with her hands.

“I know; if it is, I’m having the same bad dream as you.” Silvie considered her bad dream was that she’d get the blame from her parents about what Sabrina had been up to. They would blame her for not keeping a closer eye on her and they would blame her double when they found out about Bailey, her
Englischer
man who she was in love with. They would claim that she’d set a bad example for Sabrina.

Silvie wondered whether that were true. Had she set a bad example for her
schweschder
by falling in love with an
Englischer
? Even though she was a grown woman, her parents still treated her as a child. “I’m sorry, Sabrina, if my entertaining the idea of Bailey joining the community had anything to do with you seeing Carmello.”

“
Nee
, Silvie, it had nothing to do with it. Why would you think that? It was nothing that I planned. I never would have thought I’d fall in love with someone like Carmello. The heart wants what the heart wants.”

Silvie frowned. “Where did you hear that from?”

“Carmello used to say it all the time. Do you think that they will tell Carmello’s wife about me?”

Silvie pulled a face. “I hope not. They were separated, weren’t they?” Silvie considered that it might make things slightly better if the two were officially separated before Sabrina began her relationship with the man.

“
Jah
. He told me that they were separated, but they still lived in the same
haus
until he got the documents signed. I think in the end he agreed to what she wanted so he could get divorced without waiting any longer.”