Missing with Bonus Material: The Secrets of Crittenden County, Book One (18 page)

Chapter 24

“Just because a boy don’t meet everyone’s expectations . . . it don’t mean he deserved to get hit on the head and shoved in a well.”

D
EPUTY
S
HERIFF
M
OSE
K
RAMER

L
uke found Lydia Plank sitting on a wooden bench in her family’s rose garden. The fact that they’d sat there before together didn’t escape him. Of course, the last time they’d sat together, he’d been the one full of questions and she’d been the one evading. She’d hardly looked at him, either.

Now things were different. Instead of looking shuttered and evasive, her whole expression was one of pure openness. From her wide eyes that looked directly at him, to the soft smile of welcome she gave him.

Even her stiff posture had lessened. And the two glasses and pitcher of lemonade beside her gave him no doubt that she was more than ready to make him feel at ease.

But instead of doing that, Luke felt his whole body go on alert. What had happened to bring about such a transformation?

“Lovely evening,” he said as he approached. “For once the rain stopped.”

“Hello, Detective. I thought you might be thirsty?”

“Lemonade sounds great. Thank you.” He took the proffered glass, then sat down and waited. They were done with small talk and conversation, and they both knew it.

After a fortifying sip, Lydia set her glass down and took a deep breath. “Detective, I have something to tell you.”

He took out a pad of paper and a pencil. He didn’t really need it; he was good at memorizing information. But he figured it would set her more at ease. “I’m ready.”

She closed her eyes briefly, opened them, then spoke in a rush. “I’m afraid I lied to you about when I last saw Perry.”

“Ah.”

“I saw him just a few days before he disappeared. And on New Year’s Eve, too,” she added in a rush. As soon as she was done speaking, she exhaled, picked up her glass with a shaking hand. Then set it back down.

“I see.”

“Are you mad that I lied to you before?”

What could he say? He’d known from the beginning that she was keeping information back. But telling her that wasn’t going to do either of them any good. “I’m not mad. I’m glad you told me now.”

“I had wanted to tell you, but I was afraid, you see. I didn’t want you to suspect me any more than you did.”

Luke felt curiously deflated. He’d been hoping for more information. For something earth shattering.

But maybe there was more to the story?

He picked up his glass and sipped slowly, buying them both some time. When she sipped too, he smiled to himself. The way she was breathing so unsteadily made him worry about her. The last thing either of them needed was for her to hyperventilate or faint.

When she put her glass down, he spoke. “Why did you lie about when you saw him last?”

“Because it made me uncomfortable. I felt like I was betraying a confidence.” She paused. Shook her head. “No, it was like I was betraying myself.”

Betraying herself?

He took another sip of lemonade. It was obviously homemade; the tart, sour sting of fresh lemon juice hadn’t mixed completely with the ice water and sugar. The result was tasty and made waiting for Lydia to gather her thoughts bearable.

“See, Detective Reynolds, when I last saw Perry, it was at a store in Marion.”

“At Schrock’s?”

“No. A group of us all saw him in front of Schrock’s on the thirtieth, but we all kind of ignored him.” She looked away from Luke, her eyes scanning the horizon. “Perry had kind of looked like he wanted to talk to us, but he’d burned so many bridges we turned away from him. On New Year’s Eve, I saw him at the grocery store on South Main Street. He was sitting on a park bench at the edge of the parking lot.”

“Alone?”

She nodded. “I saw him when I drove my buggy in, and decided to walk over to see him. He looked kind of forlorn, you see. And I was feeling guilty about how nobody had talked to him the day before.” She looked over Luke’s shoulder, like she was remembering a scene from long ago. “Used to be, Perry had been one of the crowd.”

Luke wrote a couple of notes down. “So you walked over to him because you were worried . . .”

“I was. And I wasn’t hurt or mad anymore. I walked over because I wanted to see for myself how he was doing. It had been so long since we’d talked.”

“And you thought he’d tell you how he was?”

“Maybe not everything, but yes, I did think he would talk to me.” Lines formed around her mouth as she frowned. “There were a lot of rumors about what he was doing . . .”

“About drug deals?”

“Jah.”
She bit her lip. “About a lot of things. He didn’t look good, detective. He was pale and had lost weight. When I asked him if he was okay, he said he wasn’t.”

He took another sip, waited. Then gently nudged again. “Lydia, why wasn’t Perry okay?”

“He was seeing another woman, I don’t know who. She’d made him upset.” She paused. “I think he was worried about other things, too. I don’t think he was fancying his new English friends. It seemed they wanted more money from him. They wanted more money than he had.”

“Do you have their names?” Luke forced himself to sound detached. Calm. He didn’t want his excitement to scare her from telling him everything she knew.

“I do not. I didn’t want to know their names, I’m afraid.” Pretty blue eyes met his again. “To be honest with you, Detective, I didn’t want to know anything more about Perry. Breaking things off with him had been hard for me. I didn’t want to get involved in his life all over again.”

“Then what happened?”

She bit her lip. “He asked me if I would have him back if he changed. Again.”

“Again?”

“If he considered joining the church again.” She waved a hand, obviously at a loss of how to describe the conversation. “If, you know, he went back to acting more like he used to. More the way I’d hoped he’d stay.”

“And what did you say?”

“I told him no.” Her voice held all the confusion and all the pain that he guessed was in her heart. “I told Perry that I knew who I was, that I knew who I wanted to be . . . and that I had no patience for a man who was confused about his life. I fear I was terribly full of myself and rather mean to him.” Sliding a finger around the rim of the glass, she added, “I didn’t think it was possible for him to make amends, which is wrong, I know. All of us can repent and ask forgiveness, don’t you think?”

Luke slowly nodded.

“
Jah
. . . that is what the Bible teaches us.”

“You told Perry this after you approached him? Even though you just told me you didn’t want to make Perry mad or distrustful?”

“It doesn’t make sense, does it?” she asked. “I can’t explain myself except to say that I was feeling two different things . . . worry for a friend, but still hurting as a girlfriend.”

“I see.”

“Do you? See, that is why I’ve never shared the information, Detective. I didn’t keep this a secret because I wanted to shield Perry. It was because I wanted to shield myself. Back then, on that day, I was so sure that I would always be right and he would always be wrong. Instead of caring about someone who was clearly in trouble, I wanted to keep myself from feeling more pain.”

Sitting up straighter, she continued. “But lately I’ve realized that people can change. Oh, not like Perry of course, but incidents can happen. Or secrets can be told that change absolutely everything you thought to be true . . .” She paused. “I’ve told you everything now. I am sorry, Detective. I hope I haven’t disrupted your search too much.”

“What matters is that you finally did tell me everything you know. That helps a lot.”

She got to her feet as well. “Detective, what do you do if you aren’t sure how to pick up your feet and start walking? I seem to feel like I’m frozen in place right now. If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

He shrugged, then pressed a hand to his stomach. “If all else fails, I trust my gut. And then I start walking, because we all have to go somewhere, right? It’s pretty impossible to stay in one place for long.” He waved then, and turned toward his vehicle, but not before catching a glimpse of Lydia sitting back down.

Luke wasn’t sure, but he had a feeling she might be there for a very long time.

That, of course, was just a guess.

I
t had been a while since she’d eaten breakfast with Walker. “What are you doing up so early?” Abby asked as she walked to the cabinets and pulled out a box of Rice Krispies and a bowl.

He looked up from his own bowl of cereal; his was Cheerios. “Couldn’t sleep.”

After grabbing a spoon from a drawer, she looked his way. “Milk still out?”

“Yep.” He lifted the gallon container. “Juice is here, too.”

Once she got her cereal, she retrieved a glass and sat to his right. In the just the same spot she’d always sat with him. For years and years.

“Do you think we’ll ever switch cereals? Mom and Dad switch all the time. I never liked anything but Rice Krispies.”

He flashed a smile. “I was the same way with Cheerios.”

Three bites later, Walker was finishing up his juice. “You ready for school?”

“Yep.”

“Nervous?”

“Not so much. I’ve been thinking about something Grandma Francis said about weeding.”

“What was that?”

“She told me to try to get rid of some of the garbage I’ve been carrying, and look around and appreciate what I have.”

Intrigued, Walker leaned back in his chair. “Really?”

“Well, she didn’t say ‘garbage,’ she said ‘weeds.’ But it was the same thing. She told me that only God needed to worry about my plans for the rest of my life. And in the meantime, I should try to learn something at school.”

Walker’s bark of laughter lifted her spirits. She smiled back at him. “Grandma Francis is a pistol, don’t you think? I’m surprised Grandpa puts up with her.”

He smiled her way. “She’s not for sissies, that’s for sure. She’s never been worried about speaking her mind.” Scooting out his chair, he rinsed out his bowl, then poured himself a cup of coffee. “Good luck today. Maybe with a new, Grandma Francis, attitude, things will be better for you.”

“I hope so.” Looking at Walker more closely, Abby decided that there was something off about him. “So, what are you doing today?”

“Same thing I’m always doing. Work and school.”

“Will you see Lydia?”

He looked away, studying his coffee cup long and hard. “I don’t think so. We might not see each other for a while.”

“Because she’s Amish and you’re not?”

“Basically.” He sipped again. “She’s right. I feel the same way. I don’t want to be in a relationship that doesn’t have a future. What’s the point, right?”

“But the point it that you really like her and she really likes you back.”

He stilled. “Do you think so?”

There was such hope on his face she smiled as brightly as she could. “Lydia stared at you when she didn’t think you were looking.”

He blinked, sipped his coffee, then turned around, shrugging. “It’s over now.”

“It doesn’t have to be, does it?”

Instead of answering her, he grabbed his cell phone and checked the screen. “So, you want a ride to school?”

“So I don’t have to walk all around the Millers’ farm? Definitely.”

“Go get your stuff. I’ll be out at the truck.”

Ten minutes later, Abby stepped out of his truck and waved goodbye, smiling at a story he told her about one of college friends.

Still thinking about her brother, Abby almost ran into another girl by the main door. When their bodies connected, her lunch fell to the ground.

“Hey!” she said.

When Abby glanced at her again, her heart sank. Way to go, she thought. She not only ran into another girl, but it was a cheerleader. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“Obviously. You were smiling like crazy. No one can be that happy to be here.”

“Oh. My brother just dropped me off. He was telling me a story.” Feeling dumb, because who else in high school actually talked about their brothers? She bent down, grabbed her lunch sack, then stepped to the side. “I’m sorry again, Valerie.”

“Wait.” Valerie looked her over. “You’re Abby Anderson, right?”

Abby nodded and tensed. Waiting for the inevitable comment or question that always came, something about finding a dead body.

“Aren’t you in my American History class? Second Block, Hernandez?”

She blinked as her mind wrapped around the unexpected question. “Yeah.”

“Did you understand the homework?”

Slowly, she let down her defenses. “Kind of.”

“Do you mind if I show you what I did and you can tell me if I did it right? I wasn’t sure how she wanted us to set up that graph.”

Abby couldn’t believe it. Here was a perfectly nice girl, Valerie James—a cheerleader, no less—and she wanted to talk to her about homework?

“Sure. Anytime.”

“How about now?”

“Now?”

Valerie pointed to the clock mounted on the wall above their heads. “We’ve got, like, twenty minutes before first bell. Is that okay?”

“Sure.” Next thing Abby knew, she was walking side by side with Valerie in the halls. Smiling as all kinds of people walked by.

More than a couple of people smiled back. Two said hi.

That’s when Abby realized that today might just be the best day ever.

Chapter 25

“Some say a fool can’t ever be trusted. I prefer to say that a fool can’t ever be trusted twice.”

A
ARON
S
CHROCK

M
aybe it was time for a new job. It was becoming obvious that these days people were coming into Schrock’s only to get rodent updates.

It was also becoming obvious that everyone—Mr. Schrock included—thought it was in Walker’s job description to provide those updates.

“Walker, have you found all the guinea pigs yet?” Yet another person asked.

“Nope.”

“How many are missing?”

“I’m not sure,” he replied. Yet again. After listening for squeaks and hearing nothing, he got down on his knees and straightened an arrangement of leashes and other dog and cat items.

“Oh, Walker? Anything new with the pigs?”

Straightening, he bit back a groan. Maybe if he didn’t reply the lady would go find Mr. Schrock?

“Walker? Did you hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am.” With effort, he pasted a smile on his face. “Hey, Mrs. Miller. Uh, no. I don’t think all the guinea pigs have been rounded up yet.”

Just thinking about all their failed attempts made him frown. The pigs on the loose were surprisingly destructive and sneaky. And vocal! When the store was empty, they loved to chirp and chat to each other.

Though they were plenty quiet now.

She looked around the floor with distaste. “Maybe you should set a trap.”

“I think that’s what the snakes were for.” He now knew for a fact that mousetraps didn’t interest those pigs in the slightest.

“I wouldn’t downplay the use of a good steel trap, Walker. Guinea Pigs are cute and furry, but they’re going to raise a ruckus, mark my words.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” He kept his other thoughts to himself, because it really wouldn’t be a good idea for him to talk badly about his boss.

But things had gotten out of hand. But one or two of the pigs were still on the loose, and had become a constant source of amusement for all the customers.

It was getting pretty old, working at a place that everyone made fun of. And a place that was like an overgrown circus. Too much was going on, way more than three rings’ worth. What he needed was a nice, calm job. One that kept him busy but was predictable.

Racking his brain, he tried to think of something that fit the bill.

He thought about it while checking out two men who’d come in for hardware supplies—and while he checked out Mrs. Miller and handed her her packed box of goods.

He was watching her leave, and thinking about maybe applying for a job at the university’s student center, when his boss came back inside.

“Mrs. Miller get her eggs okay?” Mr. Schrock asked.

“Yep. Everything else, too.”

The shop owner watched her through the glass in the door. “She’s lookin’ better, don’tcha think? For a while, she was looking mighty glum.”

“It was probably hard, having Perry’s body found on her land and all.”

“Even though Mose and that fancy-pants detective seem to have decided long ago that Perry’s death wasn’t Perry’s fault.”

“Well, Perry was murdered. Someone must have had a pretty good reason to want him dead.”

“True.” Mr. Schrock looked at him for a long minute, then brushed his hands over the front of his trousers. “But no one really knows the why of it, do they?”

Walker figured his boss had a point, but he kept his silence.

“Well, now. You’re going to be here another three hours, right?”

“Yes, sir. Do you have anything special for me to do?”

“How about you clean and straighten up things for a bit? With all the commotion that’s been going on, things have gotten a bit out of sorts.”

“I can do that. Sure.”

“Gut.”
He started to turn away, then stopped. “You being here is a blessing, Walker. I don’t know what I would have done without you these past few weeks, especially with Jacob gone to Lexington. I probably don’t tell you that enough.”

Suddenly, guilt overwhelmed him. He knew had to say something. Knew he had to tell the whole truth. “Mr. Schrock, I never told you, but I quit because I saw Perry steal from you. I saw him take a twenty-dollar bill out of your cash box.”

The older man paused. “I know.”

Walker couldn’t have been more shocked. “You did?” Now he felt even worse about the whole situation. “I’m really sorry. I know I should have tried to stop him.”

“You were frightened, weren’t you?”

Too embarrassed to speak, Walker nodded.

Mr. Schrock reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “It’s okay, Walker. I knew Perry was up to no good, too. But I took my time firing him.” His voice barely above a whisper, he said, “I kept hoping he would decide to stop all that. Or that I would realize that he wasn’t doing things I suspected him of doing.”

“He only got worse, though.”

Mr. Schrock nodded. “That is true.”

“I’m sorry I never told you. You know, before.”

“You don’t need to be sorry. What matters is you told me,
jah
?”

“Yes.” And Walker realized Mr. Schrock was right. It did feel better to get the truth out between them.

Seeking to lighten the mood, he said, “Mr. Schrock, you ever get tired of everything being so crazy in here?”

“Not at all.” Looking mildly offended, he said, “Besides, things ain’t that crazy.”

“Something is always going on. I mean, really.” Walker stopped himself from naming examples. Because it was pretty obvious that guinea pigs and snakes were just the tip of the iceberg.

But that didn’t stop his boss from frowning deeply. “You, Walker, sound like my wife.”

Feeling hopeful, he said, “What does Mrs. Schrock say?”

“About what you’d think. She seems to think my life would be easier if I didn’t have such foolhardy schemes.” He leaned forward, capturing Walker in a piercing gaze. “But I’ve enjoyed the commotion, if you want to know the truth.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s kept me young. And laughing. I’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment from the guinea pig hunt, I can tell ya that.”

“But maybe something else—”

But Mr. Schrock wasn’t listening. His voice had warmed and he was looking off in the distance with a fond expression. “The way I figure it, I’ve only got one life to live. It might as well be exciting, you know? The last thing in the world I’d ever want is to stand here being bored.” His lips turned up. “And have you seen how crowded it’s been lately? Business is up.”

That was news to Walker. “I wasn’t under the impression that people were buying anything. I thought they only came to look and talk.”

“That’s because you’re not the owner, Walker,” his boss said with more than a touch of pride. “People are happy to stop by, pick up a few things so their gawking won’t seem too rude, and take a peek at the action. It’s exciting, that’s what it is.”

“Maybe,” Walker replied.

Mr. Schrock shrugged. “I’d rather have excitement than know what I’m getting into every day. Wouldn’t you agree that it’s better to be surprised by what life gives you instead of planning everything? After all, we all need to enjoy today; it won’t come back.”

“That would be good, if I didn’t like plans.”

“Ach.” Mr. Schrock’s expression turned knowing. “Now we’re getting somewhere. You’ve been thinking about Lydia Plank, ain’t so?”

“A little bit.”

“That Lydia, she’s always been a favorite of mine. I had hoped she and Jacob would court, but they didn’t suit.”

Walker winced. He hated even thinking about Lydia being with any other guy. “Lydia and Jacob are pretty different.”

The older man chuckled. “Some might say the same thing about you and Lydia, pup.”

Even though he hadn’t planned on getting the opinion of his boss, Walker couldn’t resist a little free advice. “So, you think I need to step back and give Lydia space and time to figure out what she needs?”

“That’s what I would do, but you should do it only if you care for her.” His eyes twinkled. “And we both know you do.”

Obviously his boss had been keeping a pretty close watch on everything that had been going on. “I care, but I don’t know if I should.”

“Seems to me that a person can’t help their feelings.” He winked. “I mean, take Mrs. Schrock. She still loves me and I’ve been practically bringing every creature from Noah’s ark into our shop.”

Walker chuckled. “You may have a point.”

“I know I’m right about this. Just give Lydia time, Walker. Besides, you’ve got other things to work out.”

“Such as?”

“Well . . . I know you’ve been upset about Perry Borntrager.” He held up a hand when he saw that Walker was about to protest. “It’s not a secret that we’ve all been upset about what happened to him, Walker. I know I am.”

“I wish Sheriff Kramer would solve the case. Then Detective Reynolds could go back to Ohio, and the rest of us could go on with our lives. Waiting to find out who killed Perry is making everyone on edge.”

“I think that city detective is doing the best he can.” Leaning forward, he quipped. “Guess what, I heard the detective’s been busy.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Um-hum. Heard he’s found a few more leads.” Mr. Schrock shrugged. “That’s just hearsay, of course. All I do know is that if anyone in Crittenden County knows something about Perry that they haven’t told the police, I hope they step forward. The detective can’t do his job without knowing all the facts.”

And just like that, the mood in the store changed. Walker became even more aware of the secrets he’d been keeping. “Actually—”

“Nope. Don’t you be telling
me
. Talk to the detective, son.”

“You think so? Even if he tells other people? And if the news gets out, and it might hurt some people along the way?”

Mr. Schrock studied him for a long moment. “Seems to me that trying to stop the truth from rising to the surface is a thankless task. People already are hurting, even people who didn’t know who Perry was. And the longer that city detective is here, the longer everything will go on. No, we need to rip the bandage off the secrets, so to speak. Get everything out in the open.”

The visual his boss was creating made Walker wince. “Mr. Schrock, that’s pretty disgusting.”

“Murder ain’t pretty, son. Hasn’t anyone ever told ya that?”

After his boss walked away, Walker pulled out his cell phone and texted the detective, asking for a meeting.

He tried to pretend he had a good reason for having the man’s name in his directory.

Tried to pretend that he didn’t feel a huge sense of relief when Detective Reynolds texted back that he’d be over within an hour.

Now all he had to do was hope no more animals were going to ruin his day for another sixty minutes.

Or that anyone would come in and ask about the wayward guinea pigs.

But that, of course, was probably too much to ask for.

L
uke figured there was something in the air. What else could be encouraging these kids to finally start divulging secrets when pretty much everything he’d been saying for the last week or two had been falling on deaf ears?

When he opened the main door to the country store, he now knew enough to shut it firmly behind him and wait a minute. His muscles were tense and all of his senses were on alert, ready to be attacked by hens on the loose.

Mr. Schrock looked at him curiously. “Afternoon, Detective. What might you be you doing?”

“Preparing myself for flying poultry.”

The shop owner scowled. “The hens are penned up today.”

“Is there anything else on the loose? I feel like I now need to pause when entering, just to see what else might be exploding or running around.”

“Well, we’ve got a few runaway guinea pigs, but unless you’re a stalk of celery, I’d say you’ve got nothing to fear. So, did you come to gawk or buy?”

Feeling vaguely embarrassed, Luke shook his head. “Neither. I came to speak with Walker, if he’s still here?”

“He’s here.” The store owner looked him over in the kind of way that made Luke want to double-check that he hadn’t spilled something on his shirt. “Why don’t you have a seat over by the parking lot? There’re some benches out there. I’ll have Walker bring you some iced tea.”

There was an edge to the man’s tone, one that brooked no argument. That was fine. He’d happily play the game if it meant that he could get out of Crittenden County sooner than later.

“I’ll be out there waiting.”

He sat down on one of the benches. Moments later, a buggy parked near him. Almost immediately, an Amish woman slowly got out, secured her horse to a hitching post, then walked right by him, never once looking to meet his gaze.

Was she shy, or keeping her distance because he was English?

Or, perhaps it was because he was still a stranger to everyone.

Or maybe it was because everyone knew he was there to ask too many questions and pry into secrets.

But for whatever the reason, Luke found himself wondering, just for a moment, what it would feel like to finally feel like he belonged.

Less than five minutes later, Walker strode out to meet him, two plastic cups filled to the brim with tea in his hands.

Luke stood up to take one from him. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Thank you for meeting with me.”

Walker looked more nervous than he’d ever been. He’d set his glass on the ground by his feet and was gripping the edge of the bench so hard that it looked like he was afraid he’d collapse if he relaxed.

Luke took pity on him and prodded him on. “Want to go ahead and tell me your news? Sometimes it’s easier to get it over with.”

The muscles in his cheeks tightened. “Perry was stealing money out of the cash drawer at the store,” he blurted.

“Ah.” After waiting two beats, he said, “And you never told your boss?”

Walker shook his head. “Perry said if I told he’d make sure Mr. Schrock would hear that we did it together.”

“So what did you do?”

“I quit.” After darting a look his way, Walker rested his elbows on his knees. “I figured no one would believe me. Perry was taking quite a bit of money, and it was just me and Jacob and Perry who had access to the cash drawer. I was the only one not Amish.”