Secrets Come Home by Samantha Price Read Free Book Online

right.” The corners of Bill’s eyes creased as he smiled. “I’m not much better. My boy wanted to leave school early and I insisted he work with me for a year before he goes anywhere else. He just seemed too young to be out in the big world.”
    “If you don’t mind me saying, Mr. Settler, I overheard what your mother said. Do you know some people in our community?”
    “We’ve had many Amish people work here, mostly when they’re on their rumspringa. My mother’s losing her mind and doesn’t know what she’s saying half the time.” Bill laughed.
    Ava put their conversation back on track. “We’re here because we want to know if anyone who worked here might have known Horace Hostetler.”
    “I’m certain they would’ve, but I wouldn’t know who knew him or who didn’t. As you said, it was many years before my time. We’ve always had workers come and go.” He raised his eyebrows slightly. “But you’re in luck.”
    Ettie’s face lit up and she leaned forward to hear why they were in luck regarding news of Horace’s employment while he was on rumspringa.
    Bill continued, “I’ve got records from back then down in one of the storage units. My father never threw anything away, and I’m afraid I’ve taken after him in that regard. Now we’ve got our records computerized, but I haven’t been able to find it in me to throw the old paperwork out.”
    “Would you mind if we went through it?” Ava asked.
    “It might take me days to find the exact year you’re looking for.”
    Ettie told him the approximate years Horace would’ve worked there.
    He looked at each of them in turn. “Can I ask you ladies what’s so important?”
    Ava and Ettie looked at each other.
    “Are you trying to find out about his murder?” he asked before either lady could respond.
    Ettie nodded. She didn’t want to give too much away, but she had to say something to get the man to look for the information.
    Bill leaned back in his chair. “You’re trying to find who killed him and you think the man who killed him might have worked here? Is that it?”
    Ava jumped in. “No, we just want to ask questions of people who knew him back then when he had left the community.”
    “Aren’t the police doing that?” Bill asked.
    “They have their own theories,” Ettie said.
    “The police haven’t been by. Do you think they’ll come around here asking questions?”
    Ettie shrugged “I’m not sure.”
    “I’ll help you all I can. I’ll go through the records this afternoon. So you want a list of names of people who worked here at the same time as the man who was murdered?”
    “Yes, Horace Hostetler.”
    The man grabbed a piece of paper out of the printer behind him and clicked on the end of his pen. He pushed the paper and pen toward Ettie. “You’d better write that name down for me.”
    Ettie wrote Horace’s name and handed the paper back to Bill.
    “Give me a couple days, and I’ll have some names for you.”
    Ettie frowned. At first he said he’d look into it that afternoon and now he was saying two days? He didn’t seem to be aware of the urgency. “Is there any way we can get those names sooner? We don’t mind going through some old boxes or wherever you’ve got the papers stored.”
    Bill raised his brows. “That important, is it?”
    Ettie and Ava nodded.
    “I’ll have my son, Chad, take you over to the storage shed where the records are kept. They’ve got the years on the end of the boxes. Now, as well as employee records there are sales receipts, taxation records – I’d ask you not to disturb anything.”
    “Thank you so much. You’ve been very helpful,” Ettie said.
    The man chuckled. “Well, you can put a good word in for me with the old guy upstairs.”
    Ava and Ettie smiled at him.
    Bill walked past them and opened the door. Ettie could see a man standing not too far away and she wondered if he had been listening in.
    “There you are, Chad – you were supposed to be on the forklift