Free Hearse and Buggy by Laura Bradford

the way that they did. But I didn’t. I came back. And then, after I was baptized, I decided I had to be a cop. I couldn’t spend my life farming when bad things were happening.”
    She listened to his words, tried them on for size. “How old were you when you left?”
    “Nineteen.”
    “Nineteen,” she repeated softly. “So Esther was what? Three?”
    “Almost four.”
    Tipping forward, he reached into his back pocket and retrieved his wallet. He flipped it open and turned the empty sleeve of pictures for her to see. “With the ban against picturesI had growing up, I was left to just my memories all these years.”
    She swallowed over the pain that rose up in her throat. “You’re a brave man, Jakob Fisher.”
    A bitter, almost sarcastic laugh emerged from the detective. “Brave?”
    “Far braver than I am, that’s for sure.”
    Cocking his head to the right, he studied her closely. “Why do you say that?”
    “Because I was running from my mistakes when I came here to Heavenly.” Slowly, deliberately, she reached past the last swallow of wine that remained in her goblet and grabbed hold of her water glass. “You, on the other hand, knowingly charged into enemy territory when you came back here.”
    He shrugged. “Maybe. But at least by being here I can see my loved ones’ faces once in a while.”
    “Are you content with that?” she asked.
    “I have to be.”
    She considered arguing but knew it was futile. The Amish had rules, and Jakob had broken them. Mostly, she just felt bad for him.
    “I made my choice to come back here, and now I have to live with it. I just didn’t realize how my past would make it so difficult to do my job.”
    She thought back to that afternoon, to the tension in the air at the simple notion that Jakob would have questions to ask of the Amish. “I could help, you know.”
    “Oh?”
    “I’m close to Esther, and, through her, Eli. I just met Benjamin, but he seems nice, and—”
    “Looks can be deceiving, Claire.” An unmistakable cloud rolled across Jakob’s face, taking with it any semblance of warmth.
    She drew back. “So that … that whatever it was between you and Benjamin in my shop was more than just your being shunned?”
    “Much more.”
    “I … I mean I just met him today, but he seemed so nice.” She heard the incredulousness in her voice but could do little to stop it. His words and his attitude just didn’t mesh with what she knew. “Why, he drops off fresh milk for his sister every morning before any of our shops are even open.”
    Jakob grabbed his goblet, downing the last of his wine. “That’s Benjamin Miller for you. Always helping. Always nice. Always doing everything better than the next guy.” A momentary pause gave way to a weary shake of his head. “Gosh, I sound bitter, don’t I?”
    “You must have your reasons.” She pushed back her chair, stood, and felt the flutter in her chest at the instantaneous disappointment on his face.
    “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get all heavy on you.”
    “You didn’t. I just feel like sitting on the swing. Will you join me?”
    The corners of his mouth lifted upward as he, too, vacated his chair and crossed the porch to Claire’s favorite piece of furniture. Together, they sat down, the weight of their bodies and the synchronized motion starting them off in a swing. “It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it?”
    Resting her head against the back of the swing, Claire closed her eyes and inhaled, the last of Diane’s stew wafting its way onto the porch from the parlor’s open window. “It certainly helps lighten the day a bit.”
    Jakob sighed. “It sure was a doozy, wasn’t it? I’m in town less than a week, and Heavenly has its second murder? Only this time, rather than an Amish man being killed, it appears as if an Amish man was behind the crime.”
    She sucked in her breath as her eyes flew open. “You can’t truly believe what that woman said about Eli, can you? I mean, he’s