“So, you do suspect Rosh?”
“He’s always hanging around the Studer farm. And he’s known Mary Rose all his life. My mother said he had a crush on Mary Rose and Alma said pretty much the same thing.” She lifted her shoulders and let them fall. “Maybe he wanted to protect her from Daniel?”
“Or maybe he wanted to get rid of Daniel so he’d have a chance with Mary Rose?”
“Right,” Rachel agreed. “I told you I saw him get out of Mary Rose’s buggy Sunday morning.”
Mary Aaron got up off the bed. “Everyone I know thinks Rosh is harmless. Sweet and a little odd, but a boy with a good heart. Even I think he’s a good kid. I hate to say it, Rae-Rae, but Moses is still the one who looks the guiltiest. And I know you’re tired of people saying this, but he did say he did it.”
Rachel turned to her. “I’m not ready to accept that. Are you sure you can’t think of anything we’ve missed?”
“Not really,” Mary Aaron said. She sliced a section of apple Rachel had put out on the table and dipped it in her mother’s special caramel sauce. “What’s happening with the lawyer? Have you talked to her since she agreed to represent Moses?”
“Tried to. Got nowhere. She took my phone call, but told me in no uncertain terms that anything that passed between her and her client was strictly confidential. She said she appreciated my interest in the boy’s case, but that she couldn’t tell me anything other than that she asked for and got the hearing delayed. She’s hoping that a little time in prison will make Moses reconsider.”
“If he does,” Mary Aaron said, “if he admits he lied, will they let him go?”
“I doubt it. Not unless they get another confession. Unfortunately, the justice system isn’t open to recanting. I’ve been reading up on the subject on the Internet. Apparently, a large percentage of those imprisoned for a crime but later released because of DNA evidence were jailed on false confessions.”
“I’d never confess to anything I didn’t do.” Her cousin munched on her apple.
“Neither would I, but a lot of people do. I have to believe that Moses is one of them. The lawyer did say that she didn’t think it would be helpful for me to visit him again. If I say the wrong thing to Moses, she thinks I might do more harm than good.”
“Which means you can’t ask him if Lemuel hunted with him all day.”
“No. But I can go back and talk to Lemuel again. Maybe he’ll feel a little less intimidated by me and I can find out if he was with Moses.”
Mary Aaron passed Rachel a slice of apple. “This all seems so crazy. Do you really think Moses is innocent and knows who killed Daniel and is trying to protect them?”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense with this case.” Rachel set down the marker. “I want to go back and talk to Chuck Baker again, too. I didn’t ask him if he saw anything in the woods that day. Maybe I’ll do that first thing in the morning.”
“I’ll go with you,” Mary Aaron volunteered. “I don’t like the idea of you up there in the woods with him by yourself.”
“I thought you promised your parents you’d be there with them for Thanksgiving.”
“I will be. Right after we talk to the crazy English prepper, you can drop me off at the farm. Then you can meet Evan and his mother for your delicious Thanksgiving feast.” Mary Aaron wrinkled her nose. “I think I’d rather be eating bread and butter and praying with the family than going out to a restaurant. Who does that on Thanksgiving?”
“Apparently, I do.” Rachel smiled sheepishly and then they both laughed.
* * *
“Chuck, it’s Rachel. Rachel Mast. Could you let us in?” Rachel said into the intercom at the main gate. She and Mary Aaron had done the over-the-river-and-through-the-woods thing to get around his first defense of barbed wire. “I need to talk to you again. I’ve brought my cousin with me, and I have a sweet potato pie for you. We won’t take up much of your time, I promise.”
She glanced back at the Jeep, where Mary Aaron waited. Her cousin was properly dressed in full Amish attire, complete with white kapp, for an afternoon of prayer and Bible reading with her family. Rachel was in jeans, hiking boots, a sweatshirt, and her barn coat. There was no way she was going up on the mountain in her dress clothes. She’d have to make certain that she left enough time to dash back to the house and make herself presentable before Evan arrived to take her to the restaurant.
When there was no response from Chuck, Rachel repeated her request. She returned to the Jeep, got out of the cold, and waited. After ten minutes, she tried again. Still nothing. “I can’t imagine why—” she started to say to Mary Aaron, but then she broke off abruptly as the prepper’s voice sounded through the speaker.
“Go away, Rachel! I can’t see you today. I’d rather not see anyone. It’s . . . it was a bad night. Having a bad day. I’m sorry . . . really sorry.”
“Chuck! What’s wrong? Can I help in some way?” she asked.
“Yes, just go away and leave me alone. I can’t be around people today. You. It isn’t safe.”
“Chuck, please. I promise it will just be a couple of minutes.” In the background, she heard the whining and barking of the dog pack and then there was a click and everything went silent. “Chuck?” She waited again, but there was no further communication. Perplexed and disappointed, she went back to the Jeep. “He won’t let me in. Said he’d had a bad night, whatever that means. But worse, he
