Free Shunned and Dangerous (An Amish Mystery) by Laura Bradford Page B

blame.”
    She considered his words, the meaning behind them making it difficult to breathe let alone think. “You can’t really believe Mose killed Harley, can you? Your dat is
Amish
.”
    “That did not stop him from hating for sixteen years.”
    It was a simple statement and one she couldn’t dispute no matter how much she wished she could—for Isaac’s sake and for Jakob’s. Abandoned beliefs often had a domino effect.
    “You have to know that the last thing your brother wants to see is Mose convicted of any crime, much less murder.”
    “Dat will not speak to him.”
    “He might not have a choice.”
    “Dat will not speak to him,” Isaac repeated, the force of his statement softened somewhat by the worry that tugged at his broad shoulders.
    “Jakob will figure this out, Isaac. I’m confident of that.” And she was. Jakob Fisher was a smart man. He also maintained a fierce and undying loyalty to the family who’d long since turned their backs on him. “If Jakob needs me to step in and help by talking with Mose, I’ll do that. He just has to ask.”
    She felt Isaac’s worried gaze turn to one of a more studying variety and she looked down, unsure of his thoughts. “For so many years I worried about Jakob. I wondered if he was well. If he was happy. If he was lonely. I would lie in my bed at night trying to picture his new life. Even though I did not know much of life outside, I would picture only good. Like you. You are good for Jakob. You make him happy. Martha sees it, too.”
    She pushed off the support beam, her face warm. “It’s not like that with Jakob and me. We’re just . . . friends. Please make sure your sister knows that.”
    “Friends, yah. But there will be more. Esther tells of the smile Jakob has for you.”
    Torn between the desire to set Isaac and his family straight, and the flutter the man’s conviction caused inside her stomach, Claire merely looked away, desperate for a way to steer the conversation into safer territory.
    “I’m going to miss your niece when she gets married.”
    “Esther will still make things for your shop the way Martha does.” Isaac stepped around Claire to get a closer look at a simple wooden chest. “She will slow down a little once children are born, but she will still do some, I am sure.”
    So much for safer territory . . .
    She tried again, taking the conversation back to Harley. “I’m sorry about your friend . . . and your job. Perhaps you could take over with a fix-it business of your own once the dust settles.”
    His brows furrowed. “Dust?”
    “With the investigation.” She wandered over to the window and peered outside, the gathering storm clouds she spied in the distance an obvious player in the decreasing foot traffic along Lighted Way. “If there was a market for Harley’s woodworking know-how, surely there will be a market for yours, too.”
    Isaac’s momentary hesitation gave way to a nod and the faintest hint of a smile. “Perhaps you are right. Perhaps I could even give someone work the way Zook gave me work.”
    “You’d already have an apprentice in place in Patrick Duggan . . .” she reminded.
    “If that Englisher were to work with me, he would have to do his own work. I would not have time to fix his mistakes.”
    She stared at Isaac. “Are you saying Patrick wasn’t a hard worker?”
    “Yah. He did not want to work.”
    “Then why did Harley keep him on?”
    Isaac’s shoulders hitched upward beneath his suspenders. “I do not know.”

Chapter 9

    “G ood heavens, Claire, how many times are you going to read that same page before you either
turn
it or put the whole thing down?”
    Surprised, Claire glanced up from the paperback mystery novel in her lap to find Diane eyeing her curiously from across the dimly lit parlor. “Oh. Aunt Diane. I didn’t hear you come in just now.”
    “I’ve been sitting here for nearly ten minutes, dear.” Diane maneuvered her knitting needles in, out, and around the royal