A Sister's Test (9 page)

Dad’s lips compressed into a thin line. “What’s that guy doing back in town? I thought he’d left Holmes County for good.”

“He said he’s decided to do a few more stories on the Amish in our area.” Grace’s voice trembled as she spoke. It was all she could do to keep from crying. She’d been especially emotional lately and figured it had to do with her changing hormones. The distress she was dealing with right now, however, had nothing to do with her pregnancy. She was worried that Gary had come back to the area to fulfill his promise to get even with her for breaking up with him after they’d dated awhile during her rumschpringe years. Grace’s life was just getting back to normal, and she didn’t think she could deal with more attacks on her family.

Dad looked at Martha, and they exchanged worried glances. “Maybe you should get Anna so Grace can go home and rest,” he said.

Martha nodded. “That’s a good idea.”

“Where is Anna?” Grace asked. “Is she in the barn?”

“She’s at the woodworking shop with Cleon,” Dad said.

“What’s she doing there? I’ve told her not to bother Cleon when he’s working.”

Dad rocked back and forth on his heels. “She. . .uh. . .came out there with Martha to talk to us.”

Grace frowned as she turned to face her sister. “I thought you were going to keep Anna entertained in the barn, not haul her out to the shop to bother the men.”

“I didn’t
haul
her out there. We went there because—” Martha stopped speaking and glanced over at Dad.

“What’s going on, Roman?” Mom asked. “You and Martha are acting so
missdrauisch
. Is there something you’re not telling us?”

“We’re not acting suspicious,” he was quick to say. “It’s just that—well, we had a little incident in the barn a while ago, and I didn’t want to worry you.”

“What kind of incident?”

“Someone threw a stink bomb through one of the barn windows, and Martha brought Anna out to the shop to tell us about it.”

Mom hurried into the barn, and the rest of them followed.

Mom’s nose twitched. “I do smell something funny in here.”

“I thought I had the barn aired out pretty good, but I guess the putrid odor will linger awhile.” Dad motioned across the room. “I’ll have the window fixed before the day’s out.”

Grace’s stomach clenched as she gripped her mother’s hand. “This was Gary’s work. I’m sure of it.”

Dad shook his head. “
Sell kann ich mir gaar net eibilde.
”

“What do you mean you can’t conceive of that? Gary’s back in Holmes County. He promised to get even with me someday, and I’m sure he’s the one who did all those horrible things to us before he left for Pennsylvania.” Grace’s knees nearly buckled, and she leaned against a wooden beam for support. “I think Gary may have come here and thrown the stink bomb into the barn before he went to town. I–I’m afraid if he’s not stopped, he’ll continue to do more things.”

“You’re worried for nothing, Grace. I’m guessing that stink bomb was thrown by some prankster,” Dad said.

“You said that before, when the attacks first began. But things only got worse.” Grace drew in a deep breath to settle her nerves. “Anna or I could have been killed when our house was set on fire. I don’t think that was done by any prankster.”

“She’s right, Roman,” Mom put in. “Whoever did most of those things to our property was out for more than a good time.”

Dad stared at the ground, and a muscle in the side of his cheek quivered. “Cleon and I will keep an eye on things; I can promise you that.”

Grace shrugged and headed out of the barn. “I need to get Anna and put her down for a nap.”

“I’ll do that,” Martha said. “Mom, if you’d like to walk Grace up to her house, I’ll be there with Anna real soon.”

Mom nodded, and they started up the driveway toward Grace and Cleon’s new home, Mom leading Grace by the arm.

Martin hurried down the sidewalk toward the bakeshop. He’d come to Berlin to pick up some supplies for the harness shop, and since Abe
had told him to take all the time he needed, he figured he may as well stop at the bakeshop and say hello to Ruth. He might even pick up a few doughnuts and take them to Abe.

When he stepped into the bakeshop, the pleasant aroma of freshly baked pastries flooded his senses and made his stomach rumble. He was pleased to see that no customers were there at the moment, but then he spotted Ruth sitting behind the counter with her head resting in the palms of her hands.

“Ruth, what’s wrong?” he asked, rushing over to the counter. “Do you have a
koppweh
?”

Ruth lifted her head, and his heart clenched when he saw the weary look on her face.

“I don’t have a headache, but I have had a rough morning,” Ruth said, rising to her feet.

“What happened?”

“That reporter, Gary Walker, is back in town. He came into the bakeshop a while ago, while Grace and Mom were here.”

Martin pursed his lips. “Grace used to date that fellow, right?”

Ruth nodded. “She thinks he’s the one responsible for all those acts of vandalism that were done at our place.”

“What do you think?”

“I–I’m not sure, but I do know that Gary is a troublesome fellow.”

“Did he do or say anything to bother you?”

Her gaze dropped to the floor. “Well—”

“What did he say?”

“He just gave me a hard time, but Jake put a stop to it.”

“What exactly did the reporter say to you?”

Ruth’s face flushed the color of ripe cherries. “He wanted me to have supper with him after I got off work today.”

Martin’s spine went rigid, and he clenched and unclenched his fingers. He had enough to be concerned about, worrying whether Luke was still interested in Ruth. He didn’t need some fancy-talking Englisher chasing after her.

“I wouldn’t have gone with Gary, even if Jake hadn’t come into the room,” Ruth was quick to say. “So you needn’t look so concerned.”

“How long ago did the reporter leave the bakeshop?”

“Twenty minutes or so.”

“Maybe he’s still in town.” Martin turned toward the door.

“Where are you going?”

“To see if I can find him.”

“What for?”

Martin stopped walking and turned to face her. “I think it might be good if I had a talk with him—asked him to stop bothering you.”

Ruth dashed around the counter. “Oh no! Please don’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t trust the man. If Gary is the one who did those attacks, then he could be dangerous.”

“I’m not afraid.”

“Well, I am.” Ruth clutched his arm, and tears glistened in her eyes. “Please don’t go looking for him.”

“All right, I won’t. But if he ever bothers you again, I want to know about it.”

C
leon couldn’t believe his eyes. Sometime during the night, Roman’s shop, house, and barn had been covered with long strips of toilet paper.

He spotted Roman standing outside his shop, shaking his head and muttering, “I don’t have time for this. Don’t have time at all.”

“I wonder if the same person who threw the stink bomb through the barn window did all this,” Cleon said, motioning to the tangle of toilet paper draped over the shop.

Roman grunted. “I don’t know, but I think whoever did it must be a smoker.”

“How do you know?”

Roman reached into his shirt pocket and withdrew a pack of cigar-ettes. “Found these on the ground near our back porch. I’m thinking that whoever hung toilet paper all over our buildings must have dropped his cigarettes.” Roman frowned deeply. “I told the women yesterday that I thought the stink bomb was the result of a prankster. But Grace thinks it might have been done by Gary Walker, that reporter who likes to write articles about our people.” He grunted. “Want to know what I really think?”

Cleon nodded.

“I believe Luke may have done this, as well as thrown the stink bomb yesterday.”

“What makes you think that?”

“I’ve smelled smoke on his clothes a time or two, and since he doesn’t care for me—”

“But he could have smoke on his clothes just from hanging around other folks who smoke,” Cleon interrupted.

Roman made a sweeping gesture toward the mess above them. “Either way, he still could have been involved in this.”

“If you’re convinced Luke’s the one who did this, then maybe you should talk to him or his folks about it.”

“I’ve thought about that, but I’m not sure if I should.”

“Why not?”

“If I speak with Luke, it might give him some sort of satisfaction to know he’s got me riled. And if I talk to his folks, it might upset them too much.” Roman reached up and snatched a strand of toilet paper from the roof. “Guess I’d better get this disaster cleaned up before we begin work for the day. Judith was pretty distressed when she woke up and saw the mess. I don’t want it hanging around all day to remind her of what happened.”

“If you have something you need to get done in the shop, I can take care of getting the toilet paper down,” Cleon offered.

Roman shook his head. “Nothing pressing. If we clean this up together, we’ll get to work that much quicker.”

“Sounds good to me.” Cleon shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun and stared in the direction of his home. “Grace was quite disturbed last night about the stink bomb episode, not to mention seeing that reporter again. I think it would be good if we get this cleaned up before she has a chance to see it.”

Grace held Anna’s hand as they headed down the driveway toward her folks’ house. She hadn’t slept well. Had Gary really come back to Holmes County to write more stories, or did he have evil on his mind? Were the attacks some sort of test to see how much her family could endure?
Maybe a good talk with Mom over a cup of tea might make me feel better.

She gritted her teeth and tried to focus on something positive—the cloudless sky overhead, the emerald grass beneath her feet, the bounty of multihued flowers in bloom, a warbling bluebird calling to its mate. The babe in her womb kicked just then, and she smiled. She had good
things to think about, and as the Bible reminded in Philippians 4:8, she would try to think on those things.

“Can we go see Esta today?” Anna asked, giving Grace’s hand a tug. “I wanna see how Winkie’s doing.”

“Maybe after lunch.”

As they neared her folks’ place, Grace noticed a strip of toilet paper hanging from a branch in the maple tree. Her gaze traveled around the yard. Had Mom and Dad been the victims of a TP party? If so, it seemed odd that there was just one strip of toilet paper hanging from the tree. “That’s sure
fremm
,” she murmured.

“What’s strange, Mama?” Anna asked as she tromped up the back steps.

“It’s nothing for you to worry about.”

When they entered the house, Grace found her mother sitting at the kitchen table with her Bible open and a cup of tea in her hand.

“Wie geht’s?”
Mom asked as Grace took a seat at the table and Anna dropped to the floor beside a milky white kitten.

“I’m feeling a little better than yesterday.” Grace reached for the teapot sitting in the center of the table and poured herself some tea.

“You looked so pale and shaken when we returned from Berlin yesterday. I was worried about you.”