Free Hearse and Buggy by Laura Bradford Page A

hot tempered, sure, but he’s got a big heart.”
    Running a hand through his hair, Jakob released an actual moan. “Yeah, but Esther was right. He was arrested about six months ago outside a bar in Breeze Point.”
    She closed her eyes again. “He’s not allowed to be in bars, is he?”
    “Outside his Rumspringa, no. But at that time, it happens.”
    She shifted on the swing enough to afford a better view of Jakob’s face, worried lines and all. “So if it happens, how does that point to the possibility he might have murdered Walter Snow?”
    “It doesn’t. The reason he got arrested, does.”
    She waited for him to fill in the gaps.
    “He smashed a glass bottle over the head of an Englishman during an argument. Guy had to get five stitches.”
    “So he had a fight.”
    “Witnesses interviewed at the bar said it was unwarranted. That Eli Miller simply exploded. And that’s what has me worried.”
    “You think he could have exploded on Walter?” she asked.
    “Why not? That man swindled his family of money. Money they rightfully earned. And from what I heard around town today, Eli made some mighty powerful threats against Walter just before the man skipped town. That’s not allowed by the Amish, either. So why would murder be any different for him?” Jakob extended his foot to stop the gentle sway of the swing and stood, his troubled gaze looking out over the distant fields of his childhood. “The only real thread of hope I have is that Millers are smart people. Elihad to know that if he killed Walter, the chance of ever getting the family’s money back would be slim to none.”
    “That’s good.”
    Jakob turned around, perching on the top of the porch rail. “It certainly bodes better for him than a fit of jealousy or a bent toward revenge would.”
    “Jealousy?” she echoed.
    “Less chance of thinking something like that through before acting.”
    Jealousy …
    Instinctively her hand moved to her skirt pocket as a new scenario attached itself to the note inside. A scenario that chilled her from the inside out.
    “Claire? You okay?”
    She looked up and saw the concern in the detective’s eyes. But try as she might, she couldn’t tell him about the note. Not yet, anyway. Not until after she’d spoken to Esther.
    “I … I’m fine. I guess I’m just worried about my friends. The Amish are such peaceful people. I hate to see the stress of the outside world invading that.” And she did. Truly. It just wasn’t the whole truth …
    Jakob crossed back to the swing and reclaimed his spot as Claire brought the suspended bench to a stop. “My niece is lucky to have a friend like you.”
    She blinked against an unexpected burning in her eyes. “I’m lucky to have her.”
    Silence fell over them as they looked out over the setting sun and the glorious shades of red and orange that spread over Heavenly like gentle fingers.
    It was Jakob who finally broke the quiet. “Do you ever see her mother?”
    She had to smile. “Martha? She’s lovely. I just met herthe other day. She’s going to be making things for my shop now, too.”
    Jakob stiffened beside her. “How … How is she?”
    The sadness intermingled with the faintest hint of hope she heard in his voice reminded her of the why behind his question, prompting her to lay a gentle hand atop his. “She seemed good to me. Very protective of her daughter yet not in a stifling way.”
    He seemed to consider her words even as he flipped his hand over and held on to hers.
    She stared at their hands intertwined, his voice filling the space between them. “I miss many people from my Amish life. But none as much as I miss my sister.”
    It was hard to know what to say. In five years of being married to Peter, he’d never shared his feelings as openly as Jakob was at that moment. It was everything she’d always wanted yet nothing she knew how to handle.
    She withdrew her hand from his and extended her own foot. When the swing stopped, she stood and