“Maybe you’re talking to the wrong person.” She hesitated. “I hear talk. Maybe you should ask Mary Rose’s neighbor Rosh who he thinks shot Daniel.”
Rachel frowned. “You suspect Rosh may be involved in Daniel’s death?”
“I suspect no one, but . . .” The old woman lowered her voice. “I did hear someone say that Rosh’s mother feared for her son’s life.”
“From who? Who was Rosh afraid of?”
“I cannot tell you whether the story is true or false, but it was repeated in my hearing—not to me directly, you understand. You should probably talk to the man with the fences and the dogs. I overheard this person say that the crazy Englisher who lives on the mountain caught Rosh digging ginseng and threatened to nail his ear to a tree and leave him for the black bears if he ever caught him trespassing on his property again.” The midwife pursed her lips and frowned. “Who would say such a terrible thing to a boy only trying to make a living in hard times? A man so heartless might be cruel enough to take the life of a neighbor he didn’t like.”
The woman went to the outer door and opened it. Clearly, the interview was at an end. “You must come again whenever you are in the neighborhood or when you are in need. You are a dear girl with a loving heart. But ask me no more questions about my patients, for I have no more to tell you.”
* * *
That night, in her bedroom, Rachel stood beside her whiteboard with a red marker in her hand. “I just feel as though we’re going in circles,” she said to Mary Aaron. “And we’re getting nowhere.”
Mary Aaron sat cross-legged on the bed. She was wearing blue jeans and a tie-dye tee. Her feet were bare, and Rachel noticed that her cousin’s toenails were painted a pale pink, a color that looked identical to the new nail polish that Rachel purchased at the boutique next to the wedding shop when she’d gone for her last fitting.
“Don’t look at me,” Mary Aaron said. “I’ve talked to my brothers and your brothers and half the men in the valley. Most of them were hunting that day, but no one knows of anyone hunting near Daniel. I got the same story Joe gave you about how he and Moses were supposed to hunt with Daniel, but then went on their way. Of course everyone had heard it from Joe.”
“Did you ask your father?”
Mary Aaron nodded. “I spent the afternoon helping cook at Mam’s and he came in for the noon meal. He had heard that a couple of men walked up to have a look after Daniel was found, but they were all hunting a ways away. The conversation got a little uncomfortable after that. He told me I’d been rumspringa long enough and it was time I took my baptism classes and married Timothy or someone else he approved of.”
“Does your mother agree with him?”
Mary Aaron nodded again. “If anything, she’s worse than he is.” She sighed. “It was not a good day, lots of arguing. Sometimes I wish . . .” She trailed off.
“It’s hard, I know.” Rachel sighed. “It was awful for me, trying to decide. Stay or go.”
“I love my mother and father, and home is home. I love it in the kitchen when Mam and my sisters are there, but right now, it’s easier when I stay away.”
Rachel rolled the marker between her fingers. “Aunt Hannah blames me, doesn’t she? She probably thinks I’m a bad influence on you. Tempting you into the world’s false vanities.”
Her cousin rolled her eyes. “Actually, that sounds more like Dat. It’s depressing. Everyone keeps telling me to make up my mind, and the more they try to force me, the less I’m sure of what I want.”
Rachel came over to the bed. “What about Timothy? He’s already baptized. If you leave the Amish faith, you can’t be married. Do you care for him?”
“Of course I do, but I’m not sure it’s what you feel for Evan. Does that make sense?” She shrugged. “Timothy is such a good person. But, in spite of his goofing around, he’s devout. You’re right. There’s no way he would ever leave the faith. His mother is trying to convince him to court one of the Miller twins.”
Rachel sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed Bishop’s head. The big Siamese closed his eyes and began to purr loudly. “How do you feel about that? Would you be hurt if he did start courting someone else?”
Mary Aaron worried at the corner of a thumbnail. “That’s the thing. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I want Timothy to be happy, and the Miller twins are both sweet. Either of them would make a good wife for him. You know them, Emma and Annie. They live right next door to Timothy’s parents, and the two families have always been friendly. It would be a good match.”
“For you as a way of getting away from him, or for one of the twins?”
Mary Aaron grimaced. “I thought we came up here to try and figure out who killed Daniel Fisher, not dissect my private life.”
“Sorry. But I worry about you,” Rachel said, patting her cousin. “You know I just want you to be happy. I’ll support you, no matter what you choose.”
Mary Aaron exhaled. “I know that. I’m just . . .” She shrugged again. “Let’s not talk about this anymore tonight.”
Rachel opened her mouth to speak again, but Mary Aaron whispered, “Please?”
With a quick smile, Rachel returned to the whiteboard. “So, no information from any hunters, except Joe and Lemuel and Rosh. Can you think of anything we haven’t looked at? Anyone who would have a reason to kill Daniel?” She erased the column that said Hunters and replaced it with Persons of Interest. Without further comment, she listed Moses,
