A Sister's Hope (23 page)

Click. . .click. . .clang!

Martha bolted upright.

Squeeeak
.

Someone must have opened one of the cage doors.

She held her breath and listened.

Woof! Woof!
She recognized Fritz’s deep bark.
Woof! Woof! Woof!
The other dogs chimed in.

Martha clicked on the flashlight and shined the light on the kennels. Sure enough, Fritz was out, and his cage door hung wide open. She sent a beam of light around the area. No one was in sight. If someone had come into the barn and opened Fritz’s door, she would have heard them moving about. Besides, why would they open only Fritz’s cage door?

Martha stepped out of the stall, and Fritz bounded up to her, wagging his tail. “You little stinker,” she said, bending to pat his head. “I don’t know how you’re doing it, but you’ve figured out some way to get your cage door open, haven’t you?”

Fritz gave a couple of barks, and Heidi, the female sheltie, followed suit. Soon Polly and Beau and both sets of puppies woke up and started barking, yapping, and running around their kennels.

“
Shh. . .
you’ll wake up Mom and Dad.” Martha grabbed Fritz’s collar and led him back to his kennel. Fritz looked up at her and gave a pathetic whimper.

“You’re not getting out so you can run all over the barn,” she said with a shake of her head.

Using the flashlight to guide her steps, Martha hurried to the other side of the barn where some tools and supplies were kept. She returned to the kennels a few minutes later with a piece of sturdy wire, which she tied around the latch on Fritz’s cage door. “That ought to hold you.”

She shined the flashlight around the kennels one last time then hurried out of the barn. Mom would probably be up soon, and they’d need to start breakfast.

Luke’s heart kept time to the rhythm of the horse’s hooves as he headed to Berlin in his buggy. Since it had snowed again and the roads were a bit slippery, he wasn’t sure if Martha would meet him at
Heini’s or not. He’d been tempted to stop at her place and ask, but that wasn’t a good idea.

Luke grimaced as he gripped the reins tighter.
If Roman knew Martha and I had plans to go anywhere together, he’d probably pitch a fit.

A black truck whizzed by, honking its horn and splattering wet slush across the buggy window. The horse reared up then took off on a run.

“Whoa! Steady, boy,” Luke said as he fought to keep his gelding under control.

The buggy wheels slipped on the snowy pavement, causing the buggy to slide first to one side and then the other. Just when Luke was sure his rig was going to tip over, the horse calmed down and started moving at a slower pace.

Luke wished he could have driven his truck today. It would have been safer than being out on the snowy road in a buggy with a skittish horse. He only had a few days left until his dad gave the truck keys back. He was glad there’d been no more episodes at the Hostettlers’ place since the fence had been cut. To Luke’s knowledge, his dad didn’t know about that event, but even if he did find out, Luke had an alibi—he’d been home in bed. Since his dad had the truck keys, he couldn’t accuse Luke of driving his truck or being anywhere near the Hostettlers’ place.

“I need to get to the bottom of these attacks,” Luke muttered under his breath. Maybe when he told Martha about Toby’s missing glove and said he thought Toby might be responsible for the attacks, they’d be able to come up with a way to catch Toby in the act.

As Rosemary placed her breakfast dishes in the sink, she decided it might be a good time to pay a call on Sheriff Osborn. She’d gone there a few weeks ago, but he hadn’t been in his office. Since then, her brother’s fence had been cut, and she was determined to see the sheriff.

She glanced out the window and noticed that it had finally quit snowing. Hopefully, the roads had been cleared enough so she could
make the trip to town without any problems.
Maybe I’ll stop by and see Ruth on my way,
she decided. It had been awhile since they’d had a good visit, and she wanted to see how Ruth was getting along with her new family.

Half an hour later, Rosemary pulled her car into the Wengerds’ driveway and headed for the back door. Ruth answered her knock, red-faced and teary-eyed.

“Ruth, what’s wrong? Have you been crying?”

Ruth nodded and hiccupped on a sob. “I’m afraid I’ll never be a good stepmother.”

Rosemary stepped into the house and shut the door. Then she put her arm around Ruth’s waist and led her to the kitchen. “What’s troubling you?” she asked, guiding Ruth into a chair.

Ruth took a napkin and wiped her nose. “I. . .I had another run-in with Gideon this morning.”

“What happened?”

“I asked him to take out the garbage, and when he didn’t do it right away, I asked him again.” Ruth dabbed at the tears running down her cheeks. “Then he reminded me that I’m not his mudder and said I shouldn’t be telling him what to do.”

Rosemary’s forehead wrinkled. “What did Abe have to say about his son speaking to you that way?”

“He’d already gone out to his harness shop, so he didn’t hear Gideon’s belligerent tone.” Ruth drew in a shaky breath. “I’m trying so hard to get through to Gideon, but he just won’t respond to me.”

Rosemary gave Ruth’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I know this is a difficult situation, but don’t give up. Keep reaching out to the boy.”

“I’ve been trying to, but he’s not making it easy.”

“Mammi.” Little Molly toddled into the room.

“Come here, sweet girl,” Ruth said, holding her arms out to the child.

“Mammi,” the little girl said again as Ruth lifted her onto her lap. She smiled at Rosemary. “Would you like a cup of coffee or some tea?”

Rosemary nodded. “I could use something hot to drink before I head out again. It’s pretty nippy this morning.”

Martha’s nose twitched when she stepped into Heini’s Cheese Store and smelled the tangy aroma of smoked sausage and Swiss cheese. She glanced around the room, and her breath caught in her throat when she spotted Luke standing in front of one of the cheese counters.

Luke looked up as she approached and offered her a wide smile. “I’m glad to see you made it. With the weather turning snowy, I wasn’t sure you’d be able to come.”

“I used one of our easygoing horses and took my time coming in, so everything was fine.”

“Wish I could say the same for my trip to town.”

“What do you mean?”

“Some goofy driver in a pickup splashed slush all over my front window, and then my horse spooked and nearly ran away with my buggy.” Luke poked another piece of cheese with a toothpick and popped it into his mouth. “My buggy swayed so much I thought it was gonna topple over.” He reached for another toothpick. “Would you like a hunk of cheddar cheese?”

“No thanks.” She tipped her head and studied him. “You look pretty calm. I take it you got things under control with your horse and buggy?”

He gave her a smug little grin. “Sure did.”

She smiled. “There’s a bench out in the entryway. Should we sit there and talk?”

“Sure.” Luke headed that way, and Martha followed.

Once they were seated, she told him what had happened with Fritz and how she’d discovered that the dog had been opening his own cage door.

Luke chuckled. “That dog must have wanted freedom really bad to have figured out a way to escape.”

She nodded. “Jah, but I solved the problem by wiring the door shut.”

“That’s good thinking.”

“Another problem’s been solved this week, too.”

“What’s that?”

“Gary Walker isn’t working for the Millersburg newspaper anymore. Dad found out that Gary took a job at a newspaper in California.” Martha smiled. “So that’s one name we can delete from our list of suspects.”

“That’s good to hear.” Luke’s voice lowered as he leaned closer to Martha. “I’ve got some information I think you should know about, too.”

“What is it?”

“You know that work glove you found near the fence?”

She nodded.

“I think I know who it belongs to.”

“Who?”

“Toby King.”

Martha’s eyebrows shot up. “What makes you think the glove belongs to Toby?”

“I ran into him the other day at the hardware store, and he mentioned that he’d lost a pair of gloves.” Luke sucked in his lower lip. “He was buying a new pair.”

“That doesn’t prove he was anywhere near our place when he lost his glove.”

“Doesn’t prove he wasn’t, either.”

“What reason would Toby have for cutting our fence?”

Luke shrugged. “Maybe to get even with me.”

“How would cutting our fence get even with you?”

“I told you before. . .Toby’s got a grudge against me. I think he might be trying to make it look like I’m responsible for the attacks.”

Martha drew in a quick breath. “I can’t believe our bishop’s son would be involved in anything so mean or destructive.” She shook her head. “
Nee
, I can’t conceive of it at all.”

“Well, someone’s been doing those things.”

“Seems like our list of suspects keeps growing,” she said.

He nodded. “Now all we have to do is figure out who it is.”

A
s Rosemary entered Sheriff Osborn’s office, a whiff of smoke filled her nostrils. She was allergic to cigarette smoke; it gave her a headache. She would state her business and get out of the sheriff’s stuffy office as quickly as possible.

The sheriff plunked his elbows on his desk and leaned slightly forward. “I heard you’d come back to the area. What can I do for you, Mrs. Cole?”

Rosemary took a seat. “I’m here about the attacks that are still being made against my brother and his family.”

Sheriff Osborn’s eyebrows shot up. “There has been another attack?”

She nodded slowly. “It was over a week ago.”

“What happened this time, and why wasn’t I informed?”

“The fence on Roman’s back pasture was cut, and the reason you weren’t informed is probably because Roman felt it wasn’t serious.” Rosemary grimaced. “At least not compared to some of the other things that have happened.”

The sheriff grabbed a tablet and pen. “You’d better give me the details.”

Rosemary spent the next few minutes telling the sheriff what had happened and that something needed to be done to protect her family before another attack occurred.