Simple Secrets (The Harmony Series 1) (36 page)

“Where is he now, Ida?” I asked.

“I don’t know. But he said something about washing away his troubles. Could he be talking about Trouble Lake?”

“That lake is huge,” Emily said, her eyes wide with fear. “He could be anywhere.”

“He asked me if the men were working at Benjamin’s today,” Ida said. “I told him yes. Then he asked if Sweetie was home.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I told him Sweetie was in Council Grove. I should not have done that. I—I just was not thinking. He must be there.”

“I’d be glad to check on him,” I said hesitantly. “But I don’t think he’s actually in any danger.”

“Levi can’t swim,” Emily said quietly. “Never learned how. The water around the end of Sam’s dock is very deep. If he jumps into the lake from there...”

“And there is something else, Gracie,” Ida said. “Remember when I told you Sam was the only person at Benjamin’s last Saturday?”

I nodded.

“Well, I did not know Levi was driving Sam’s other car. It was not the truck I saw at Benjamin’s in the early afternoon. It was that other car. The big one. The one Levi drove today.”

I turned to Emily. “I’m going to Sam’s. Will you find someone to drive over to my house and get him? Maybe Abel should come, too. We might need his help.”

“I’m coming with you,” Emily said, her face set with determination. She ran up to Ida’s buggy. “Ida, please get Mary. Tell her to go to Benjamin’s house and get the men over to Sam’s as quickly as possible.” She ran toward my car while she called out to her daughter. “Hannah, you stay with Ida until we get back. Do you understand?”

“Yes Mama.” Hannah may have understood her mother’s instructions, but her confused look matched the jumbled thoughts careening around inside me.

I jumped into my car as Emily slid into the passenger seat, pulling her long skirt in after her. Although I was trying to understand Ida’s revelation about Levi being at my house on the day the vase was planted there, I was also struck by the sudden forcefulness of Emily’s attitude. The timid woman I knew was gone, and someone else had taken her place.

As I pulled out onto Main Street, I looked in my rearview mirror and saw Hannah helping Ida from her buggy. A second glance revealed the young girl patiently guiding the older woman toward the café.

As we sped down the street, I didn’t say anything to Emily, but she saw me glance sideways at her.

“Gracie,” she said finally, “do you remember me telling you about a man I cared about when I was young? The one who asked me to marry him?”

“Yes. Was Levi that man?”

She nodded. “When I turned him down, after Jacob disappeared, Levi changed. He quit going to church. He was friendly to people, but ... I don’t know. It was like something in him died. He never acted quite the same. Around me, he was especially reserved. And when I married Abel, he almost stopped acknowledging me at all.” She sighed. “It wasn’t so noticeable that anyone else would see it. But I did.”

“You never talked to him about it?”

“No. I couldn’t tell him what had happened to me.” She stared out the car window, silent for a few moments. When she turned toward me, her eyes were wet. “If Jacob Glick hadn’t attacked me, I would have married Levi. I turned him away because I cared for him, not because I didn’t. In my mind, I couldn’t be the kind of wife he deserved. It wasn’t until I met Abel that I had the courage to give love a chance.” She smiled sadly. “Abel’s the first man I ever trusted completely, but Levi was the first man I ever loved.”

Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, I reached over and touched her shoulder with the other. “Emily, if you trust Abel so much, why won’t you tell him the truth? You’ve spent too many years bound by the past. God wants you to be free. Please talk to your husband.”

She patted my hand. “Let’s take care of Levi first. Then we’ll tackle my marriage.”

“Fair enough.” I put my hand back on the steering wheel and concentrated on driving as fast as I safely could. When we reached the intersection of Main and Faith, I almost turned toward Benjamin’s. I really wanted Sam’s help. But not knowing what kind of situation we faced with Levi, I drove on to Sam’s. I’d been looking in my rearview mirror ever since we’d left downtown Harmony. There was no sign of Mary’s truck behind us. I prayed she’d reach the men soon.

As we approached the big red house, I felt relief that Levi’s car was parked in the driveway. If we hadn’t found him here, it would have been almost impossible to locate him since the lake was so large and surrounded by thick clusters of trees.

Emily and I jumped out of the car and ran around the side of the house toward the tree line. Buddy came running up behind us, barking wildly. We must have been a sight. Me in my jeans and T-shirt, Emily in her prayer cap and long dress, and Buddy frantically bringing up the rear. As we cleared the trees we saw Levi standing at the end of the dock, staring down into the water. A quiet approach was out of the question, thanks to Buddy. Levi swung around and saw us coming toward him. As we got nearer, he held his hand up.

“Stop right there,” he yelled. “Don’t come any closer. I don’t want your help. Just go away.” His eyes were locked on Emily. It was as if I weren’t there at all.

“Levi,” Emily called back. “What are you doing? Tell me what’s wrong.”

He glared at her, his face pale and twisted. “What’s wrong? I guess that’s the big question, isn’t it? What’s wrong?” He laughed bitterly. “Perhaps you could answer that question better than I.” Tears streamed down his round cheeks. “I loved you. I—I still love you, Emily. You’re the only woman I ever wanted. In all these years. But you rejected me. And after everything I did for you...”

Emily took a small step closer to him. I had no idea what she thought she could do. If Levi jumped into the water, there was no way we could get him out. He was too big for us.

“I didn’t reject you, Levi. I loved you. I—I just couldn’t marry anyone then. It wasn’t you at all. It was...” Her voice trailed off.

“It was because of Jacob Glick,” Levi said angrily. “Because of what he did to you.”

Emily’s whole body shuddered. “You—you knew? How...?”

“Because Jacob told me. In fact, he boasted of it.” Levi spit the words out as if they were bitter. “I was at the church one afternoon, painting one of the classrooms because the bishop had asked for my help. When Jacob came in and found me there, he became angry. He didn’t like anyone, even Angstadt, working in that building. He acted like he owned the place. He started taunting me, calling me names. I tried to ignore him, but then he asked if I was the boy who was sweet on Emily Kruger. I—I said yes. That’s when he said ... it.” Levi made his hands into fists and shook them several times in the air. “I—I can’t even repeat what he said. It was vicious and disgusting. I ran out of the church, but I couldn’t forget his words. I had to know what he meant. That night I followed him down to the lake. I saw Daniel Temple and his girlfriend, Beverly, running away from the clearing behind the Temple’s house like the devil was chasing them. I hid in the trees. Jacob was there all right. Rubbing his jaw. Mad and yelling at no one.”

“You were there,” I said slowly. “I should have realized it. You admitted as much to Sam and me. You mentioned Jacob standing in the open with trees all around him. We never told you exactly where it happened. You knew because you saw him. I knew I’d missed something.”

He shook his head. “I didn’t even realize I’d said that. I was so panicked after you told me you knew about Jacob.”

I took a step closer to Emily. Levi didn’t seem to notice. “So you confronted him that night, Levi?”

He looked down at the dock, his body shaking with sobs. “I confronted him all right. He told me what he did to you, Emily. And he was proud of it. Laughed as he said horrible, vile things.”

“And that’s when you picked up a rock and hit him?” I tried to keep my voice steady. I didn’t want to spook him.

He nodded slowly. “It—it was in my hand before I realized it. I just wanted him to quit talking about Emily—to stop saying those things. I—I didn’t mean to kill him.” He looked up at us, his eyes pleading for understanding.

“I believe you, Levi,” Emily said. “No matter what happens, Abel and I will stand with you. You know that, don’t you?”

He ignored her and looked at me. “I’m sorry about the vase and the fire. I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I just wanted you to leave town. I couldn’t risk anyone knowing about Jacob. If I’d known that you already knew the truth, I never would have done those things. Especially the fire. I’d hoped the house would burn down and you’d leave town. Maybe no one would ever dig up the land and find the body.” He shook his head. “I set the fire and then drove into town to meet you and Sam. I figured that since most people were still at work, by the time help arrived, the house would be gone.” A sob ripped through him. “And then you told me about Ben’s letter. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t know what to do. Here I’d caused you all this trouble for no reason. Decades of carrying the guilt of murder and trying to keep the past hidden. I—I just can’t do it anymore. It’s too much to bear.”

“But even if the body had been discovered, why would anyone have suspected you?” I asked gently.

He shrugged. “As long as Jacob stayed buried, my sin was buried. I’ve spent years trying to pretend it never happened. Th– that it was just a bad dream. If Jacob was found, I wouldn’t be able to do that anymore. It would be obvious to everyone that he’d been murdered. I would never be able to allow someone else to take the blame. The pressure of what I’ve done was already too much. That would be beyond comprehension. I’d have to admit to everyone, even myself, that I’m a cold-blooded murderer.” He blinked several times and looked at Emily. “I—I wrote a note that explained all of this. It’s in the back room of the store. I knew it would be found after—after...”

“Oh Levi,” Emily said, her voice catching.

“Did you know it was Benjamin who buried the body?” I asked gently. I knew I had to keep him talking until Sam arrived.

He nodded and refocused his attention to me. “When I realized he was dead, I went down to the lake for a while, trying to figure out what to do. When I finally went back to the clearing, I found Ben digging a grave. I couldn’t believe it. At first I wondered if he’d seen me kill Jacob. Then I realized he must have thought his brother did it.”

“And you let him continue to believe that all these years?” Emily asked.

“Yes. I know it was wrong, but I was frightened. Scared to go to prison. At first what happened seemed like the answer to everything. Jacob was gone. Everyone believed he’d left town. I thought it was an answer from God. But down through the years it ate at me. And as I watched Ben distance himself from his family, I knew it was my fault.” He shook his head. “I was a coward. I just stood by and let it happen. You know, I always told myself that the truth would come out someday. There were just too many people involved. Daniel and Beverly. Ben.” He focused his attention to me. “And Sweetie ... That night, when I found Ben planting Jacob in the ground, I noticed her watching him from another spot in the trees. But she suddenly took off toward the lake. I tried to follow her, to see if she was all right, but she ran too fast. I’ve always wondered if she saw me. In all these years she’s never said a word.”

“She didn’t see you,” I said. “She thought it was Benjamin who chased her.”

Levi’s eyes grew large. “She never asked him about it?”

“No. But she’s been afraid all these years that he thought
she’d
killed Glick.”

“So many lies,” Emily whispered, tears falling down her cheeks. “So many secrets.”

“And so much hurt,” I finished for her. “Hurt that didn’t have to happen.”

“It’s all my fault,” Levi said, his voice breaking. “If I’d only told the truth.” He stepped closer to the edge and stared into the water. “I wonder if it’s true—that this lake will wash your troubles away. I—I pray it will wash everyone’s troubles away.” He took another step. His voice was monotone, and he moved as if he were in a trance. Fear that he would actually jump wiggled inside me. I was trying to figure out a way to rush him—to keep him from jumping in when Emily spoke up.

“Levi Hoffman, you will not take the easy way out this time! Do you hear me?” Her sharp tone caught the distraught man’s attention. “You’ve caused all this pain because you didn’t tell the truth. It’s time now for you to be a man and take your punishment. If you jump into that lake, the people who need to ask you questions—who need to understand—will be cheated again.” Her voice softened a little. “The man I loved would never allow that to happen.”

Levi gazed blankly at her. He blinked several times—but then he took another step back toward the edge of the dock.

“Levi, if you really love me, then I want you to come to me.” She held out her hands to him.

Levi looked back at the water once more, but then a sob broke out from somewhere deep inside him and he ran unevenly up to us, throwing his arms around Emily.

Thankfully, I heard the slamming of car doors behind us. Sam and Abel had finally arrived. Now, even if Levi jumped into the water, they could save him. I felt my body relax for the first time since Ida had driven into town.

Still holding Levi in her arms, Emily began to lead him back to land. Buddy and I followed her. As we stepped off the dock, Sam and Abel came crashing through the trees, running toward us. Gabriel and Mary were right behind them.

“What’s going on?” Sam asked when he got to us.

“I’ll explain after we get Levi inside,” I said. For some reason, my voice quivered and I lost my balance, almost falling. It was as if my legs were made of rubber. Sam grabbed me and put his arm around my waist.

“It’s over, Sam,” I said as uncontrolled tears rolled down my cheeks. “It’s finally over.”

“So what will happen to Levi now?” Ruth asked as she passed around the plate of fried chicken. “I suppose there will be a trial?”

“I doubt it,” I said. “Levi admitted to the sheriff in Council Grove what he did all those years ago. I suppose they’ll transfer him to a larger city and sentence him.”