A Dark Amish Night (22 page)

   “Sheriff, I’m not that man anymore. I have a wife and children now. This life I live is for them. I love them. I never want to go back to my old life out in the Englisher world. That’s not the place for me.”

   It was hard for Quinn to tell if Peter was lying. It could be Peter was just ashamed of his past life. So Quinn pressed on.

   “I can respect that, but you see I got a murdered man on my hands, and I need to find out who did kill him. You have motive and opportunity. You spoke to Eric the night of his death, and you had a problem with Eric in the past. Didn’t you?”

   “No sir, I sure did not have any problems in the past with Eric. He was a brother to me. We lived and worked in the same community. He and I understood each other.”

    “So, Eric stealing your girl was never a problem. Isn’t that why you left town before the end of your Rumspringa?”   

   “What? No! Okay, there was one night that I wanted to be with Hannah, but that was all just that one time. I’ll admit I was upset that Eric took Hannah away from the dance. But, Lord forgive me, my intentions to Hannah that night were not pure. I wanted her, but I did not love her. I left the community because I thought I was somehow better than the plain folk. I thought I was missing something that I could find in the outside world. I learned my lesson. The Amish are my family. I never want to go through what I went through in the outside world again. And I did not have anything to do with the death of Eric Hershberger. I told you we talked about his horse and that was the end of it. Eric left the square in his buggy and I never saw him again.”

   Quinn stayed silent, watching Peter’s body language as he spoke. It sure looked to him like Peter was telling the truth.

   “Okay, Peter, I believe you. I’m done for now, but I’m still investigating this homicide so I may have some more questions for you later. So don’t go anywhere I can’t find you. Got it?”

  “I’m not going anywhere, and I’ve nothing to hide. I’ll answer any questions you may have.”

   Quinn shook Peter’s hand again and walked away. His mind was now on a more elusive suspect.
McVey, where are you hiding? I will find you, and when I do you’re going to have a lot to answer for.
 

    On the second Sunday of her shunning, Hannah and the children came home from church feeling worse than they did the first Sunday. Hannah pulled off her heavy black bonnet and straightened her prayer cap that she wore beneath it. She understood why she had to be shunned. She accepted her penance, but the community was shunning her children as well. The Bishop did nothing to stop them from doing it, even though he said to the entire congregation that her children were innocent.

   She went into the kitchen to make lunch, slamming kitchen cabinets as she pulled out ingredients for a quick casserole.
I know I have to go to church and be shunned every Sunday, but I don’t have to go to the after Sunday meeting picnics.
Bang! She slammed another door.

   Her frustration over her current situation was made worse by her anger because her children had not been allowed to sit with or play with the other children at church. Timothy, at least, understood, Ruth Anne didn’t. It was painful to listen to her daughter’s cries to the other little girls she liked to run around with, and watching those pleas for attention go unanswered as parents held their children away from Ruth Anne.

   Timothy did not complain, but Hannah knew the children at school were doing the same thing. They were shunning him. He was completely innocent of any wrong doing, and the more Hannah thought about it the angrier she got.    

   The three of them sat at the kitchen table and ate their lunch in silence. Hannah felt like a failure. Her little family was so unhappy, and it seemed there was nothing she could do about it.
God forgive me my anger. I know I have to suffer through this, but please don’t let my children suffer any more. They are innocent.
A thought came to her about the sins of the father being visited on the son. She shook her head.
This is just not right.

   “You know what? Let’s just leave these dishes for later and walk down to the drugstore for some ice cream.”

    Both Timothy and Ruth Anne brightened at the mention of this rare treat. They were out the door almost before Hannah could catch up.

    The last week of her shunning passed uneventful. Timothy was struggling at school, but thankfully he’d not had any more fighting incidents. Then came the final Sunday of her shunning, this service was just as the other two had been, awful. Hannah was so relieved when it was done. She just had a few more days to go and this nightmare would be behind her and her children.  

    The evening she was to be presented to the community and welcomed back into the community came at last. She stood at the front, facing the Bishop with her back to the congregation.  The indistinct chatter of voices became silent as the Bishop began to speak.

   “Widow Hershberger, having endured the shunning from the community, are you prepared to repent forever of your sins of impure thoughts and in carrying on an inappropriate forbidden relationship with an outsider to the Amish faith? Are you ready to rejoin your brothers and sisters in a pure and faithful community?”

   “Yes, Bishop, I repent of my sins of impure thoughts and in having a forbidden relationship with an outsider to the faith. I would like very much to rejoin my brothers and sisters of our community.”

   “Do you promise to keep your thoughts pure and to not have any kind of relationship with the English man who is not your husband?”

   “Yes, Bishop, I give my word.” Hannah kept her eyes downcast and her head bowed in a display of submission. She had to keep reminding herself that she was doing this for her children. She could do this for her children.

   “Then turn around and be welcomed back into the fold. You are forgiven.”

   Hannah turned around and smiled as warmly as she could at everyone in the room. She expected to be surrounded by loving arms to be forever forgiven. The only ones who came forward to greet her were Millie and Abe. Then Pattie Sue came and wrapped her in a loving embrace. They both cried on each other’s shoulders. Hannah never thought the day would come when Pattie Sue was her most beloved friend.

   The others in the packed church still held back. They did not openly shun her, but Hannah figured she would forever be tainted in the eyes of her community. She could live with that as long as they fully accepted her children back with open arms. She wondered, then, why she felt like she had just made a huge mistake.
Because I will always regret you, Quinn.
She answered herself.

   The bakery stayed busy with an almost constant stream of customers. The Thanksgiving holiday brought in even more work. Hannah and Dylan took turns running back and forth to the front counter while they worked tediously on decorating a special order wedding cake. It had been two weeks since she had been welcomed back to the fold. Yet the only Amish to visit the bakery had been Abe, Millie, and Pattie Sue.

   Millie was entering her second trimester. Hannah thought she positively glowed. Abe had decided it was time for Millie to not have to spend a large part of her day going to and from the farm in the buggy so she would not be returning to work at the bakery. Hannah was overjoyed for them and completely understood.

   Pattie Sue came to the bakery early every morning for a cup of coffee. Hannah never brought up the issue of her brother. She considered Pattie Sue her dearest friend and there was no point in discussing matters that they could not change. Pattie Sue was at first very suspicious of Dylan, but Dylan completely won her over with a delightful apple pecan turnover.

   Hannah worried for Timothy. Though things at school had gotten a little better, he was still having some issues with certain boys. All she could do was pray the situation would work itself out.

   “Whew, I’m so glad that’s done.” Dylan plopped herself down on a stool and surveyed the entirely white and freshly decorated three tier wedding cake she and Hannah had been working on.

   “Me too.” Hannah thought she might take a short break too, but the doors to the bakery swung open and an out of breath young Amish girl ran in.

   “Mrs. Hershberger, you have to come quick. Teacher sent me to get you. It’s Timothy.”

   Hannah threw off her white icing covered apron and ran out the door before the girl could say another word. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her to the schoolhouse. There she found Timothy swinging a big stick to keep everyone away from him.

   “My mother is not a whore!” He shouted as he swung the sick in a wide circle around him,

    Hannah did not hesitate. She ran to Timothy jerked the big stick out of his hands then pulled her boy close to her. Timothy crumpled in his mother’s arms as hot tears flowed down his cheeks.

   After Timothy had calmed down, and the Bishop had been sent for, Hannah sat with Timothy in an empty classroom. Timothy’s eyes were red and swollen from crying. The two of them sat in silence until the teacher and the Bishop came to join them.

   Hannah did not give either of them a chance to talk as she flew into a tirade. “This is your fault, Bishop Miller. You said my children were innocent and that they would not be shunned with me. But that is exactly what happened. It’s still happening.”

   “Hannah, I know you’re upset, and I know you and Timothy have been through a lot. You’re right, I should have done more. I just didn’t know things had gotten this out of hand.”

   “Well, it’s no matter now. I’m withdrawing my son from this school. I’ll homeschool him.”

   “Hannah, are you sure you can do that and run the bakery full time?” 

   Hannah took Timothy by the hand and led him out of the classroom without answering the Bishop. She felt good having stuck up for herself and her son, but she hoped she had done the right thing. When they got back to the bakery Hannah thanked Dylan for watching over Ruth Anne as she had left the bakery in a panic. Then she turned her attention to Timothy.

   “Are you okay? You want to tell me what happened?”

   “I’ll be all right. I’m glad you took me out of the school. I don’t care if I ever go back there. I don’t want to talk about it. Am I in trouble?”  Timothy looked up at his mother with those red puffy eyes and Hannah’s heart broke.
Dear Lord, how much more can my boy take? This has to be it. He’s had enough.

   “Well, why don’t we talk about this later when we’re at home?”  Hannah let the matter drop for now. She still had to finish out the work day, so she sent Timothy to sit with Ruth Anne while she and Dylan closed up the shop.

   The next day was Thanksgiving and Hannah thought they might attend a group dinner with the church, but decided instead to stay home with the children. She made a small dinner and the three of them rested at home the remainder of the day. She let the incident at school with Timothy go. It was just too painful to think about punishing Timothy for defending his mother’s honor.

A Dark Amish Night

Chapter Nineteen

     Quinn’s days at work got longer and longer. He hated going home to an empty house, so he worked Thanksgiving and ate a heated, over frozen turkey dinner for lunch. Those old feelings of loss always hit him hard when he was alone. He was vigilant about watching over Hannah as she came and went, always keeping a safe distance. He carried himself through his days doing the best he could to keep his thoughts of Hannah at bay. When he did make it home, he crashed onto his bed and then got up the next morning to start all over again.

   Ollie checked in with him often for any updates. It was during one of these calls in early December that something occurred to him. It was kind of a hunch, but Quinn’s gut feelings were usually right. He got off the phone with Ollie and pulled Peter’s rap sheet and put it next to Georgie McVey’s. 

   “Hmmm…” Quinn scratched his head. By the look of it McVey and Peter Yoder had been in prison at the same time. He made a few phone calls and had an answer. Not only had McVey and Peter been incarcerated at the same time they had been cellmates. This was an interesting connection. Perhaps these two were chums searching for the gold together. It was now time to pay Peter an impromptu visit with some more questions. He picked up his hat. As he was leaving he hollered to Jess.