Amish Country Arson (22 page)

Hal replied offhandedly, “Ach, I just
wondered if Gladys fell off a horse recently. Maybe that was how
she got hurt.”

Worried, Wanda stared at her very ill sister.
“Nah, she has not been on one.”

Hal had a feeling about the shape of the
wound on Gladys's leg. Could it have been her blood left on the
Stolfus barbed wire fence? The arsonist used small juice jugs to
carry kerosene. The fact Gladys's drainboard was laden with plastic
juice bottles seemed like a peculiar coincidence. The thought
wouldn't leave Hal's head. Gladys Kraybill might be the arsonist.
Could Enoch and Wanda have slept through her nightly
excursions?

Hal wasn't going to feel right about being
aware all this information until she reported what she knew to the
sheriff.

Right away Hal drove to the sheriff's office.
She asked at the desk to speak to Sheriff Dawson. He came to his
office doorway. “I thought I recognized your voice, Mrs. Lapp.
Listen, if you're here about information on the school fire, I
haven't any lines on who did it yet.”

“
Nah, I am here, because I might know
who set all the fires,” Hal admitted.

The sheriff looked surprised. “Come in my
office and tell me. I'm all ears.”

After they were seated, Hal explained, “I
just helped admit an Amish patient at the hospital ER. The woman
has a long, jagged gash on the outside her lower left leg and a
very swollen ankle, possibly broken, with at least two weeks old
bruising or maybe longer.

Her name is Gladys Kraybill. She moved here
from Kansas recently with her sister, Wanda Burner and Wanda's
husband, Enoch. They have been in the Plain community such a short
time I hadn't met Gladys until today. Her sister, Wanda, told us
she has been too sick to come to worship services. Her sister says
the woman has been depressed and bitter about so many Plain people
she knew where they lived before becoming Beachy Amish. Not a
pleasant person for her family to be around I gather.”

“
I expect you see all sorts of wounds
from farm injuries,” Sheriff Dawson said, leaning forward in his
chair and placing his elbows on the desk. “What makes you think
this one is suspicious?”

“
I might not have if I hadn't seen
about three dozen cleaned small, plastic juice bottles on the
woman's kitchen sink drainboard. According to Wanda, Gladys drinks
a lot of orange juice and keeps the bottles. Her sister doesn't
know why she saved them, but she knew that the amount of bottles on
the drainboard goes down times. Wanda assumed Glady threw some of
the bottles away.”

“
Interesting,” the sheriff said,
sitting up straight in his chair.

“
Add to that the fact that Wanda says
the woman is a good horse rider, but she doesn't think Gladys has
been on a horse for years. Of course, the arsonist strikes in the
middle of the night when Wanda and her husband are
asleep.

I thought maybe while the woman is in the
hospital you might get Dr. Christensen to order a blood test to
compare with your DNA sample from the Stolfus fence. Now would be
an easy time to get a finger print, too. Gladys Kraybill is sedated
to keep her from fighting and pulling out the IV tube.”

“
You think she will be in the hospital
long?” The sheriff asked.

“
Dr. Christensen is admitting her to
Intensive Care. He says she might not recover. She should have seen
a doctor right away with a wound like that especially if it was
made by rusty barbed wire. She has never had a tetanus shot. If she
was setting a barn on fire when she got hurt, that might be the
reason she was so adamant about not going to the doctor.

Her body is full of infection. If she lives,
it's a good possibility she will loose her leg,” Hal told him.
“Sheriff, I'd rather you not tell anyone you got her health
information from me. I'm not supposed to tell any of this because
of patient confidentiality health privacy.”

“
I understand. Do you think her sister
and brother-in-law were involved in this and trying to cover up for
her?”

“
If I'm right about Gladys being
guilty, I'm pretty sure the family didn't know what she'd done.
Wanda said she hadn't seen Gladys ride a horse, and she was puzzled
about why her sister kept the juice bottles. As cranky as Gladys
is, I think Wanda kept her questions to herself to keep the
confrontations down.”

“
Do you know where in Kansas the family
came from? It might be a good idea to check on this woman's past,”
the sheriff said. “If she had the law suspicious of her there that
might be why the family moved.”

Hal paused. “I think I heard Hutchinson,
Kansas mentioned.”

Sheriff Dawson asked, “So you and Emma Keim
have given up on Albert Jostle as our suspect?”

Hal shrugged. “I don't know. I could be wrong
about Gladys. Did you find out anything about Albert?”

“
I did. It's probably the reason for
their move here from the Amish community near Middleton in
Minnesota. Albert and a deacon's son were arrested for being
Peeping Toms. Since they were only thirteen, the boys were released
into the custody of their parents. It didn't take the Jostle family
long to move to Wickenburg out of the reach of
harassment.”

Hal's forehead furrowed. “Ack, nah! Emma sure
had Albert pegged. She sensed that boy might be a pervert. So it
wouldn't take much for him to go from peeking in windows to setting
a building on fire.”

“
I was thinking the same thing,”
Sheriff Dawson agreed.

Hal stood up. “If I am right about Gladys
Kraybill, I'm sure the whole county will sleep better knowing you
caught the arsonist, but I'm not sure how the Amish Community will
treat the family of the guilty person.”

“
No need for me to bring what you told
me out in the open right now. We have to investigate first before
we accuse either Kraybill or Jostle and see where that leads us. I
do thank you for coming in with this information,” the sheriff
said. “You're making my job easier.”

“
You're wilcom. Now I have to go by the
Bruner farm to tell Enoch what's going on with his sister'-in-law.
His wife wanted to stay with her sister tonight so he needs to know
Wanda isn't coming home until tomorrow.”

On the way home, Hal worried about what she
suspected about Gladys Kraybill. She certainly didn't want to
discuss the woman with Enoch. This was something she wanted to
discuss with John and let him help her decide if she should talk to
the bishop.

The milk generator was humming by the time
Hal reached home. She'd just have to wait until after supper to
talk to John. The boys were going to the youth singing. She'd have
John alone to tell him about Gladys Kraybill and Albert Jostle.

Hal peeled potatoes and set the pan on the
stove. Maybe some sausage cakes would go good with potatoes and
gravy. Hal headed for the basement to bring back the jars of
sausage. A jar of carrots caught her eye so she grabbed it,
too.

Soon Hal had the stove filled with pans, and
the cakes sizzling in the skillet. While she was turning the
sausage cakes, she heard the front door open.

“
Hello, you in here, Hallie?” Emma
called.

“
In the kitchen,” Hal shouted. Emma
appeared in the doorway. “I didn't hear you drive in. Adam with
you?”

“
He headed for the barn. Can I help you
fix supper?”

“
Jump right in anywhere you want,” Hal
declared.

“
The house is quiet. Where are the
girls?” Emma asked as she checked the skillets and kettle on the
stove.

“
They must be in the barn with the men.
I got home from the hospital rather late,” Hal said as she looked
out the window toward the barn.

Emma asked, “You want me to make a pan of
biscuits to go with the sausage and gravy?”

Hal didn't answer. She was still staring out
the window with a far away look on her face.

“
Hallie?” Emma didn't get a response so
she walked over and patted Hal on the shoulder. “Hallie, are you
all recht?”

Hal flinched with surprise. “Ach! Of course,
I'm all recht. Why?”

“
I have been talking to you, and you
didn't hear me. Something happened today after you left with Wanda
Bruner that bothers you, ain't so?”

“
Jah, and after supper, I need to
discuss it. I'd like Adam and John to be here when I do,” Hal said.
“Now did you say something important that I missed?”

“
I wondered if you want me to put a pan
of biscuits in the oven for supper to go with the sausage and
gravy?”

Hal laughed. “Sure enough, that was
important. Of course, you must make us some of your light, flaky
biscuits.”

After supper and devotion was over, the boys
left for the singing. Emma said, “Now, Hallie, out with it. I am
very curious.”

Adam's eyebrows raised at John.

“I do not know what this is about, Adam. So
is something wrong, Hal?” John asked.

Hal nodded. “In the English world as Gladys
Bruner's nurse, I'm not supposed to talk about her health or
anything concerning her. What I've found out today is too much of a
burden for me to keep to myself. I need my family to tell me what
to do next.”

John asked, “How is Gladys Kraybill?”

Hal said, “Very ill. Wanda stayed to be with
her, but Gladys doesn't know that or anything else. Hopefully, by
morning Gladys's health will improve or worsen.”

“
What is it about Gladys that worries
you?” Emma asked.

“
After I saw her infected leg wound,
found she drinks orange juice in small bottles and saves the
plastic bottles, I got to thinking she might be the arsonist. So I
went to the sheriff to report Gladys and tell him this would be a
gute time to get a sample of her blood for DNA. If that sample
matches the blood on the Stolfus fence, she's the arsonist. Now do
I keep quiet about this investigation so people aren't hard on the
Bruners? Enoch and Wanda cannot help what Gladys did if she's
guilty.”

John rubbed the back of his neck. “This seems
like a problem for Bishop Bontrager to handle. I think people would
breathe easier if they knew the arsonist is not going to strike
again. If the woman lives, we have to wait to see what the sheriff
finds out. If he arrests her, everyone will know anyway.”

“
Enoch and Wanda just moved here. They
are gute people, and I hate to see anyone be unkind to them,” Emma
said.

“
What do you think, Adam?” Hal
asked.

Adam pointed at Emma and patted his chest. He
believed as she did.

“
If Gladys dies, it seems a shame to
reveal she did these awful things. It would be better for the
Bruners if people didn't know,” Hal said.

“
That is true,” Emma agreed. “Just
think, I was ready to blame Albert Jostle for the
fires.”

“
Ach, I almost forgot. Sheriff Dawson
found out that Albert had been charged with window peeking. That is
why his family moved here and are so withdrawn around us. They want
to hide what Albert did,” Hal shared.

“
I was afraid the sheriff would find
out something like that, but as long as Albert behaves himself, we
have to hope he has changed his ways,” Emma said.

While the boys unhitched Ben from the buggy
that evening, Daniel said, “You are very quiet tonight.”

Noah said, “I have been thinking about the
radio.”

“
Did you look to make sure the radio is
still hidden on the rafter while we milked?”

“
Nah, I didn't, but I will while we are
out here alone.”

Daniel took Ben's lead rope. “Gute, go do
that while I take Ben to the pasture gate.”

When Daniel came back, Noah leaned against
the barn with his hands stuffed in his pockets. “Well?”

Noah's voice trembled. “The radio is
gone.”

“
I was afraid of that. I have a feeling
the radio did not just disappear. Daed has found it,” Daniel
said.

“
I am afraid of that, too,” Noah said
softly.

“
You better talked to him recht away,
before he has to confront you. He will go easier on you that way,”
Daniel insisted.

When they entered the house, Hal was reading
the latest issue of Family Life. John had the Wickenburg Daily in
front of his face.

Hal greeted, “Ach, back already. How fast the
evening flies.”

Both boys nodded at her and put their hats on
their pegs.

Hal's forehead wrinkled in concern as she
tried again, “Did you have a gute time?”

“
Jah,” Daniel answered. “We had a gute
time.”

Noah cleared his throat as he stepped from
one foot to the other. “Daed?”

John lowered the newspaper. “Jah?”

“
Could we talk in the kitchen? I have
something to tell you,” Noah said.

“
Sure enough.” John laid the newspaper
beside the rocker and stood up.

Noah followed his father and sit across the
table from where John sat down. “I have something to confess to
you.”

“
I see.” John stuck his hand in his
trouser pocket and slipped out the radio. “Would it happen to be
about this radio I found in the loft?”

“
I'm not surprised. When I found it
gone, I knew you must have it. The sermon today was aimed at me,
wasn't it?”

“
Not just you. Was Daniel a part of
this? Maybe he should be in here, too,” John said
sternly.