A Plain Disappearance (19 page)

A waitress, thankfully not Becky, stopped at Curt’s table. He said something to her and she nodded. Their exchange seemed pleasant enough. Maybe he didn’t plan to make trouble, but his presence made trouble for me, no matter his intention.

The waitress returned a minute later with a to-go box and his check. Curt packed up his uneaten meal, placed a stack of bills on the table, and left.

Tanisha pulled on my sleeve. “Tell me again what this guy said.”

Guy? Curt?
I blinked at her. No. She referred to Nathan. “Later,” I whispered.

Tanisha nodded and turned her attention back to Grandfather Zook and the children.

When we finished eating, I looked across the room, but the Garner table stood empty. Two young Amish women removed the dirty glasses and dishes from its surface. When had they left?

“Now, can you tell me?” Tanisha whispered as we followed Grandfather Zook, Thomas, and Naomi across the dining room.

I leaned toward her, my voice low. “He said his rival for Katie murdered her, but considering the source, it could just be his jealousy talking.”

Tanisha’s eyes sparkled. “Let’s go talk to him.” She was really getting into this sleuthing thing. “We can decide whether or not he’s lying. You ask the questions, and I will put on my liar glare.”

“You have a liar glare?”

“I’m a schoolteacher. It’s an occupational requirement.”

“It’s too late. He’s already gone.”

She glanced around. “Well, then, let’s find out where he lives and stake out his house.”

“Tee . . .”

As we stepped into the restaurant lobby, Grandfather Zook turned. “Tanisha, have you ever been on a buggy ride before?”

Tanisha seemed to forget about Nathan Garner and the stakeout. “No.”

“I think the
kinner
and I are going to take a short one around town before we head back to the farm. Do you want to ride with us?”

My best friend stopped just short of jumping up and down. “Yes!”

Grandfather Zook pulled on his beard. “
Gut
. Chloe, do you want to come too?”

I shook my head. “I think I’ll go find Timothy.”

A knowing grin spread across the old man’s face.

Thomas took one of Tanisha’s hands and Naomi took the other. “
Grossdaddi
’s horse is named Sparky,” Thomas said.

“Really?” Tanisha followed Thomas and Naomi out the side door near the offices.

Grandfather Zook cocked his head. “You be careful around Nathan Garner.”

“I—”

“You’re surprised I overheard you, aren’t you?” He yanked on his right ear. “My legs might not work right, but my hearing is just fine. The Garner family has a lot of money and influence in the district. Even Deacon Sutter doesn’t pester them.”

“Why? I thought they owned a furniture store.”

He removed his black felt hat from the peg by the hostess stand and placed it on his head. “They do, and it’s one of the most successful businesses in the county.” I helped him in to his coat. “Just be careful. I don’t want my grandson’s heart broken because something happened to you.” He squeezed my hand. “I don’t want my heart broken either.”

“I’ll be careful.” I held the door as Grandfather Zook maneuvered outside with his braces. I was anxious about him navigating the icy ground, but thankfully, Sparky and the buggy were only a few steps away. Thomas ran over and held onto his grandfather’s elbow the rest of the way to the buggy.

Tanisha waved at me from the backseat. She had her camera out, ready to snap photographs. I hoped that if she caught any of the children in the shots, Mr. Troyer wouldn’t care.

When the buggy pulled away, I let the side door close and headed toward the offices in search of Timothy. I had to tell him everything that I learned since I saw him last. Thankfully, my search was short-lived because he walked toward me.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as soon as he saw my expression.

“Is there somewhere we can talk?”

He put his arm around my shoulders and led me to the office in the back. It once belonged to the late Elijah Young, and his twin Uriah let Timothy use it as a home base for the pavilion project. The split-paned window looked out onto the jobsite. When the project was completed, I wondered if I could enter the pavilion again without remembering the sight of Elijah dead on the dusty floor with shears stuck in his back and his beard cut. His murderer was at Knox County jail awaiting trial.

Mabel lay under the desk. I arched my brow. “Does Ellie know she is in here?”

He grinned. “No, and I hope to keep it that way. It’s too cold to leave her in the pavilion.”

Mabel rolled on her back exposing her belly to us. I gave it a good scratch, and she wiggled back and forth with a happy dog expression on her face. If only Gigabyte were as easy to please.

There were no computers. Just paper ledgers and metal filing cabinets that held receipts. The only signs of English technology were the electric lights, which the bishop allowed for businesses, and a battery-operated calculator.

I sat on the armchair in front of Uri’s desk and told Timothy everything that had happened today, from finding the box, to Tanisha slide tackling Jason Catcher to the ground outside of the Gundy barn.

“I wished I had been there to see that.”

“I’m sure she will reenact it if you ask her to.”

He laughed.

I straightened the stack of papers on the desktop. “The only thing that would finish this day off would be an appearance by Deacon Sutter. I haven’t seen him since the Christmas pageant at the schoolhouse, but he does have a knack for popping up when you least expect him.”

“Don’t wish for that,” Timothy said. “What are you going to do next?”

“I’ll call Chief Rose and give her a heads-up, and then we need to find Billy. He is the missing piece that holds all of this together.”

“Good.” He pressed his lip into a thin line. “Because I think I know where Billy is.”

I dropped the stack of papers onto the desk. “Where?”

“I’ll tell you on the way.”

“Shouldn’t we call Chief Rose? She will want to be there when we find Billy.”

Timothy slipped into his winter coat. “We’ll call her if he’s there.”

I bit my lip. I knew Chief Rose would not be happy with that. Why wouldn’t Timothy call her?

As Timothy, Mabel, and I walked out the side door to his truck, I called Tanisha’s cell phone. “Can you ask Grandfather Zook to drop you at my house? I have to run an errand.”

“I’m glad you called. He just asked me if I wanted to see the family farm. I really do, so do you care if we go over there now? You can pick me up later.”

“That’s perfect.”

“Great! Chloe, I’m having the best time.” And then she hung up.

I couldn’t help but smile. Tanisha was someone who always had the best time. I could use a little of her enthusiasm.

“Ready to go?” Timothy asked.

I nodded. “You really think Billy is wherever we’re going?”

Timothy’s jaw twitched. “If he’s not, he left Knox County for good.”

That’s exactly what I feared.

T
imothy tapped his fingers on his truck’s steering wheel. “I hope I’m not wrong about this.”

Mabel leaned her head over the backseat, so that I could pat her head. I slid a glance at Timothy. “Now you are having doubts?”

He shrugged. “It’s the only place I can think of where Billy could hide in the county and feel at home.”

“Where is it?”

“It’s twenty minutes away. There’s an old auto parts factory off Route 13 close to Fredericktown. It closed down ten years ago. I’m wondering if Billy didn’t gather most of the parts he stashed in the Gundy barn from this factory. The company went under big time and everything was sold piecemeal at rock-bottom prices. I got three parts for the truck I owned back then for twenty dollars. Anywhere else it would have cost me hundreds.”

“What did the factory make?”

“Rearview mirrors, headlights, and other small parts.”

Timothy passed the exit for Fredericktown but turned left off 13 before we reached Mount Vernon, the county seat. The drive was smooth and quiet. “Wow. This route is better paved than most around here,” I said.

“The auto parts company had it repaved so that their workers could make it into work even during the worst Ohio winter. Unfortunately, that didn’t save the company.”

A large red brick building came into view a half-mile down the road. Timothy drove the pickup through a gate with ice-covered hinges. The galvanized chain, its lock broken, hung listlessly from the fence. He brought the truck to a stop in front of the building, or at least what I thought was the front. It was hard to tell. Snow blew in through the broken windows. Dead ivy caked in ice snaked up the four corners of the building while overgrown evergreen bushes grew over the windows on the first floor.

Timothy sighed. “Signs of the rust belt,” he said.

“I’m from Cleveland, remember, and there are parts of the city that have four or five burned-out factories like this. Lots are being reclaimed for fancy apartment buildings and small business suites though.”

Timothy removed his key from the ignition. “That kind of transformation isn’t going to happen in Knox County. There aren’t enough people to live in those fancy apartments or shop at those upscale businesses. The building will sit empty until the elements eventually knock it to the ground.”

“Looks like the elements are halfway there. Do you really think Billy could be staying inside? How could he survive? With all those broken windows he must be half-frozen by now.”

Timothy placed his hand on the door handle. “I can’t think of anywhere else he might be. He’s a big guy and a loner. There aren’t many places he can hide this deep into Amish Country without someone noticing. The Amish would never hide him, knowing his connection to Katie’s death.”

I pulled my pink hat farther down over my ears. “Let’s go, then.”

“I want Mabel to wait in the truck.” He pointed at the busted windows. “There’s going to be a lot of broken glass in there, and I don’t want her paws cut.”

My heart melted a little at Timothy’s concern for his dog. Mabel seemed to understand what he said because she settled onto her haunches in the backseat. She didn’t look particularly disappointed about staying behind. “Doesn’t look like she’s going to argue with you,” I said.

Timothy laughed. “I didn’t expect her too.” He opened his door and got out. I followed.

Our boots crunched across the frozen earth. Tall bushes blocked the entrance, and I didn’t see how we were going to get inside. “Where’s the door?”

“There.” He pointed to a cluster of overgrown bushes. Stacks of snow six inches high sat precariously on the branches. They didn’t look like they had been disturbed in the last millennium.

“He can’t be in there. You’d need a machete to break through those branches. It’s clear no one has entered the building through that door in the last decade.”

“He must have gotten inside another way,” Timothy said, not giving up on his idea that this was Billy’s hideout. Who was I to question him? He knew Billy better than I did.

“If you really think he’s in there, maybe we should call Chief Rose, and she and her officers can search the building.”

He placed a hand on my cheek. “Chloe, he’s my friend. I owe it to him to ask him myself before I hand him over to Greta.”

“Okay.”

“Let’s walk around the building and find another way inside. It should be pretty obvious. Billy’s built like a garbage truck.”

The bushes thinned out as we rounded the back side of the building. A metal door stood open a crack. Timothy’s face brightened.

I touched his shoulder. “But there aren’t any footprints.”

“It has been snowing pretty hard. If he came through this way, they would be covered by now.”

Timothy placed his gloved hand onto the metal door. It didn’t move. He pushed a little harder. It didn’t budge. “Back up,” he said.

I took a big step backward.

Timothy rammed his shoulder into the door, and it opened just wide enough for him to squeeze inside. His hand appeared in the door opening, so I took hold of it and stepped through.

I stood beside Timothy for a moment, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness. It was a shock after being outside with the sun glaring off the snow.

Timothy’s laughter echoed throughout the hollow space.

“What?”

“It would help if you removed your sunglasses.”

I touched my face. “Oh, right.” I tucked them in the inside pocket of my ski jacket, then grinned at him. “Much better.”

He squeezed my hand.

“Should we keep our voices down? He might hear us.” My voice reverberated off of the walls just like Timothy’s laughter had.

“I’m not sure it matters. The quietest whisper seems to cause an echo in here.”

Shards of glass the size of my leg and jagged pieces of metal covered the dusty concrete floor. Chains that used to transport heavy pieces of equipment hung from the ceiling, resembling instruments of torture. I wrapped my arms around myself. “This place could double for the set of a horror movie.”

“I’ve never seen a horror movie.”

I shivered. “Trust me, after coming here, you don’t need to.” I stepped over a rusted bar. “Where could Billy be? I certainly wouldn’t want to spend more than five minutes in this place. It gives me the creeps.”

“He has to be in here somewhere,” Timothy said.

“Why do you think that? Did he talk about this place? Did he come here a lot after it closed?”

Timothy set his jaw. “I know Billy, and he’s most at home around cars. There’s no other place like this in the county.”

“Chief Rose thinks he left the area and found a new place to hide.”

“That would have been the smart thing to do, but I’m betting he didn’t do the smart thing. I know this, though—Billy didn’t kill Katie Lambright. My guess is that he will hang around until Chief Rose arrests someone else.”

I wasn’t so sure. Billy ran before, why wouldn’t he run again? I lowered my voice. “You think he’s looking for the killer?” The image of Billy, three hundred pounds with bright red hair, sneaking around and spying on Amish farms didn’t seem to work for me. I was self-conscious in the Amish community because of my hair color and my clothing, but at least I was small.