Shunned and Dangerous (An Amish Mystery) by Laura Bradford Read Free Book Online

go.”
    “Ben?” She half walked, half ran after him, the abrupt change in his demeanor catching her by surprise. “Ben? What’s wrong?”
    He hoisted himself onto the driver’s seat of his buggy and grabbed hold of the reins. “It is as I told Eli and many others in my community last night. Mose Fisher did not kill Harley Zook.”
    She stared up at him. “How can you be so sure?”
    “Mose Fisher would not murder. It is not the Amish way.”
    “Is it the Amish way to be angry?”
    He softened his grip ever so slightly. “We do not show anger.”
    “Eli said Mose was angry at Harley for extending a job offer to Isaac.”
    “Eli should mind his tongue!”
    Claire shifted from foot to foot under the weight and force of Ben’s words. “Eli was asked a question by a detective, Ben. He did not take joy in answering, but he did so with the truth. I commend him for that. Besides, if Mose is not guilty, nothing Eli said will make a difference.”
    Again, Ben firmed up his hold on the reins, gently guiding the horse and buggy down the alley toward Lighted Way—the quaint shop-lined thoroughfare that connected the English and Amish sides of Heavenly, melding the two worlds in almost seamless fashion. When he reached the end, he stopped. “Mose Fisher did not murder Harley Zook. It does not matter that he was bitter about so much. It does not matter that he had bursts of anger. Mose Fisher would not play God for any reason.” Pulling his gaze from Claire, he fixed it, instead, on the fields in the distance. “I will prove this to my community. I will prove this to Jakob. And I will prove this to you, Claire, as well.”

Chapter 5

    “O h, Esther, this footstool is exquisite!” Claire bent over the hand-painted wooden step and marveled at the winter scene. The snow-covered bridge that graced the surface looked so real, she found herself wishing for a sweater and a mug of hot chocolate. “I can’t imagine anyone actually stepping on it.”
    Smoothing her slender hand down the sides of her pale blue, white-aproned dress, Esther merely pointed to the next item on the counter. “I made the dolls this time.”
    Claire stepped to her right and scooped up two of the dozen faceless Amish dolls into her arms. “You made them?”
    “Yah. When she is not painting, Mamm has been busy canning. I saw that we had only two dolls here, so I made these, instead. Do you like?”
    Slowly, Claire turned each doll over in her hands, the traditional Amish dress and kapp soliciting a smile from her lips despite the doll’s lack of one. “They’re every bit as good as your mom’s.”
    Esther’s eyes widened. “You think so?”
    “How could I not?” Swapping the two dolls in her hands for the two still on the table, Claire was pleased to find the attention to detail every bit as good as the first pair. “You do beautiful work, Esther. With
everything
you make for the store.”
    Dropping her head ever so slightly, Esther stared down at the floor, her uncharacteristic silence prompting Claire to set the dolls down. “Esther? Is everything okay?”
    “I do not want to be ungrateful.”
    She drew back. “Ungrateful? You? Why would you say something like that?”
    Esther looked up with eyes that glistened. “All I have wanted is to marry Eli. For my father to see him as a good man.”
    “Okay . . .”
    “Both things have happened,” Esther whispered, her voice choked with emotion. “I should be happy, but I am not.”
    Claire felt her mouth gape and rushed to close it for fear her reaction would be the thing that pushed a teetering Esther off the edge. Instead, Claire tucked her hand inside her friend’s arm and led her to the pair of stools on the other side of the counter. For now, the shop was quiet thanks to the lunchtime lull that transferred the tourist traffic to the handful of cafés and quaint eateries along Lighted Way. “Did you and Eli have a fight?”
    Esther slapped a hand to her own mouth and shook her head,