Free Plain Murder by Emma Miller

sorry I didn’t get back in time to serve the tea. The house was in an uproar. What did you find out about Dat? Are they going to bring him home?”
    Rachel motioned, and Mary Aaron came into the dining room. Mary Aaron greeted the older woman, who smiled and asked about her mother.
    â€œLike you’d expect,” Mary Aaron said. “Heartsick that anybody would think Dat could harm someone. Upset that anyone would think him foolish enough to bury him in his own cow pasture.”
    â€œExactly,” Mrs. Schenfeld agreed. “Just what I told Rachel. Some stranger, probably high on pills or maybe an escaped convict from that super-max prison in Waynesburg.”
    Rachel murmured something appropriate and finished making the basket of goodies for her neighbor. It would be easier to think that it was a stranger who’d murdered Willy, but if it was a stranger, how did he know that Willy regularly carried large sums of money? And if it was a robbery, why hadn’t the perpetrator taken his diamond ring?
    Once Hulda was on her way, Rachel turned to Mary Aaron and relayed what had happened at the police station, which was, basically, nothing. “Evan thinks that they will charge him with Willy’s murder, but no one, including your dat, will say why.”
    â€œ Dat could never do such a thing.”
    â€œI know that, and you know that. It’s convincing the authorities that will be difficult, especially since your father refuses to even consider a lawyer and won’t talk to the police or to me.”
    Mary Aaron grabbed two plates and followed Rachel to help put the food away. Her normally pink and rosy complexion was a pasty gray, and the worry showed in her eyes. “Will they let him come home? After they question him?”
    â€œI don’t know,” she mused, giving Mary Aaron’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.
    Rachel felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility, not just to Mary Aaron and her father, but to the whole community. When she’d returned to Stone Mill two years ago, the town had been in decline. It had been her idea to make Stone Mill a destination for tourists and to advertise it on the Internet. It had been her idea to produce income with tourist dollars. She had been the one to encourage both Amish and Englishers to have market days, to build roadside stands to sell their organic fruits and vegetables, and offer wagon and buggy rides to visitors. Her family and neighbors had put their trust in her, and the town really did seem to be taking a turn for the better. But with that trust had come responsibility. One that she felt heavily on her shoulders today.

Chapter 6

    The following morning, Ms. Hess and her sister checked out early. They refused the free breakfast, saying that they’d eat on the road. They did, however, ask that she open the gift shop so that Ms. Hess could look at Mary Aaron’s “Diamond in the Square” crib quilt again. And Ms. Baird requested rooms for the coming weekend for the two of them.
    â€œAre you certain the price isn’t negotiable?” Ms. Hess asked as she fingered the quilt. “Everyone dickers at flea markets.”
    Rachel forced a smile, but before she could utter a suitable comeback, the sister filled the void.
    â€œThis is hardly a flea market, Tina, and this would be perfect for Sasha’s baby. The blanket could be displayed on the family room wall near their stone fireplace. It will become a family heirloom in days to come.”
    Ms. Hess’s red lips puckered, and she peered over the rim of her pink glasses. “Did you see this?” She tugged at the cloth tag with the price worked in cross-stitch. The previous day’s tight yellow capris were nowhere in sight. Instead, she wore a pink-flowered, see-through top over the now-familiar tiger-striped bra, white shorts with Hottie spelled out in rhinestones on the back, and, of course, the four-inch wedges. Balanced on her arm was a