Amish Country Arson (12 page)

“
See you later,” Hal said with a weak
wave.

Aunt Tootie kept watch at the living room
window. Just before eleven, she announced the sheriff and fire
chief had arrived. Half and hour later, she related the sheriff and
fire chief were headed to the house.

Aunt Tootie opened the door.

“
Morning, ma'am,” the sheriff said.
“Would it be possible to talk to Nurse Hal a minute?”

“
She isn't feeling well and is supposed
to stay quiet,” Aunt Tootie declared.

“
It's all right, Aunt Tootie. I can
talk to them,” Hal said.

“
All right, you can come in.” Aunt
Tootie begrudgingly stepped out of the way.

Chief Miller nodded. “Glad you're going to be
all right, Nurse Hal. You gave everyone quite a scare.”

Sheriff Dawson said, “You got quite a wallop
on the head I hear.”

“
Feels like it for sure,” Hal
replied.

“
We won't disturb you long. We just
wondered if you could tell us anything about what happened in the
barn,” Sheriff Dawson said.

“
Not a thing. I was ready to leave.
Last thing I remember I reached for the lantern and felt like my
head exploded,” Hal said. “Have any leads?”

“
No. I hate to tell you this, but
clearly, you were meant to burn in the barn. Otherwise, the
arsonist would have let you go outside before he set the fire,” the
sheriff said. “You made anyone mad lately?”

“
Nah, but maybe the arsonist was
anxious to get away, and he didn't want to wait for me to leave. He
might have been afraid I'd see him. He was working under cover of
that dense fog. If it lifted, he might have been afraid if he
waited much longer someone would see him out on the road,” Hal
reasoned.

“
You could be right,” Charlie Miller
agreed. “We best get out of here and let you rest.”

“
Feel better soon,” Sheriff Dawson
said.

Noah rode in from going to the school to talk
to Emma. He ran up the porch steps and stuck his head in the door.
“You doing all recht, Mama Hal?”

“
Jah, just a little swimmy headed yet.
I can't stand up for very long, and even if I could, your mammi and
aendi won't let me,” Hal grumbled to him.

“
I told Emma you had been in the
hospital. She is going to come over to visit this afternoon,” Noah
said. “Now I have to get to the barn and help.”

When John, Jim and the boys came in for
lunch, they were blackened by soot and ashes.

Hal opened her eyes when they banged the
screen door.

Redbird and Beth frowned from the quilt on
the floor where they were playing with a set of toy dishes.

Redbird scolded, “Shhh! Mama sleep.”

“
Sorry, Redbird,” John said quietly. He
turned to Jim, nodding at Redbird as he grinned. “I think we have
another Emma on our hands.”

Hal rolled over toward them, rubbing the
sleep out of her eyes. “John, how you coming with clean up?”

“
Gute, it won't take much longer. The
fire was put out before it could do much damage.”

Hal gasped. “I forgot to ask. How's my milk
goat?”

“
Jumping out of the pen this morning
more times than we could count,” Noah commented.

“
Sure enough, she followed us around
while we cleaned the barn even when we did not want her to,” Daniel
said.

“
In the way and a nuisance for sure,”
John summed up dryly.

“
Can't Gano be put in the pasture with
the sheep now? That will probably satisfy her,” Hal
suggested.

Noah said, “I think that is a gute idea for
this afternoon. The time has come for the goat to get to know the
sheep flock.”

“
Mama Hal, we have bad news,” Daniel
stated glumly. The person who hit you on the head killed Tom
Turkey. He must have tried to protect you and fought with the
man.”

“
Fudge! That's awful,” Hal cried. “I am
so sorry, boys. We will certainly miss Tom, ain't so?”

John said, “If we had found the turkey in
time, we could have butchered him, but by this morning, he was
already stiff.”

“
Daed, we could not eat Tom,” Noah
cried.

“
Nah, we could not,” Daniel agreed with
a fast shake of his head.

“
John, that was not a very gute idea,”
scolded Hal.

“
Jah, I forgot for a moment he was
everybody's pet. You might as well carry him off to the timber for
the coyotes to find,” John said to the boys.

Daniel's shoulders sagged. Noah's lips
tightened as he stared at the floor. Hal could tell John's second
plan for the deceased pet wasn't any better received than the first
one. The boys didn't want to let the coyotes eat Tom.

“
I have a better idea. Would you like
to bury Tom in the walnut grove by Patches, say a prayer over him
and put a cross on his grave?” Hal asked.

Nora listened at the kitchen doorway. “Sounds
like a good idea to me. What do you think, John?”

Noah and Daniel perked up, waiting for John
to agree. “If the boys want to do that, it is all recht with me.
Tom Turkey has earned his way around here as a watch dog. He
deserves a nice burial for protecting Hal when the arsonist killed
him. He should have a proper burial. That what you want for Tom,
boys?”

“
Jah,” they said in unison and started
for the front door.

“
Tom Turkey should have a proper send
off. We all got a kick out of him. Can Mammi and I come?” Jim
asked.

“
Sure enough,” Noah said. “Come on,
Daniel. We'll get the shovel.”

“
Wait a minute,” Jim said. “I think the
funeral could wait until after lunch. You might have your grandma
and aunt after you with a wooden spoon if you don't eat
first.”

“
We wish you could go with us, Mama
Hal,” Daniel said.

“
I wish I could, too,” Hal replied
wistfully.

“
Oh, no, she's not getting up for at
least another day,” Nora protested.

Hal winked at Daniel. “You heard your mammi.
I'll say a prayer for Tom from here and visit his grave as soon as
I feel up to it.”

While they milked that evening Noah said,
“Daed, we are going to take the dog through the timber by Bender
Creek this evening. We plan on stopping in on that party.”

“
Are you really sure you want to do
this?” John frowned.

“
We are now,” Daniel said. “After what
happened to Mama Hal and Tom, we want to find the fire setter as
bad as everyone else does. He is dangerous.”

“
You're right about that, Daniel,” Jim
said. Your Mama Hal is lucky she survived that blow on her head and
to not be burned alive with the barn. That makes me worry about you
boys getting hurt by the same man if you find out who he
is.”

“
You have to be careful,” John
cautioned.

“
We will, Daed,” Noah
agreed.

After supper, Noah and Daniel put Biscuit on
a leash and walked across the pasture to the timber along Bender
Creek. A boom box, cranked up to the max, blasted them with music
long before they arrived at the clearing.

Albert Jostle swaggered over to meet them. He
shouted to be heard over the music. “I thought you said you did not
want to come to the party.”

Noah shook his head. “Nah, I said we had not
thought about coming. We decided to run our coon dog in Bender
timber to get him used to trailing again.”

“
We heard the music and stopped in,”
Daniel added.

“
Come on. You might like the party well
enough to hang around,” Albert said loudly.

When Daniel tugged on Biscuit's rope, the dog
stiffened his legs and drug his feet. He didn't want to go with
them. “Come on, boy. We will not stay long,” Daniel whispered in
his ear.

Biscuit whined as he flopped down in the
dried leaves. He put his front paws over his ears. The music hurt
his ears, and he didn't want any closer.

“
Tie him to a bush. We can come back to
get him,” Noah said.

“
I cannot say I blame the dog. The
music is too loud. The mood Biscuit is in he might bite someone,”
Daniel joked.

When they caught up with Albert, he said to
the others, “Look who is here to join us.”

Teenage boys and their girlfriends looked up
to see who Albert was talking about.

Noah and Daniel knew the Plain part of the
group. Some of the strangers were English. The ones they did know
waved a greeting. That was easier than trying to speak from a
distance which would be drowned out by the loud music anyway.

Albert sat down by a black haired, girl in a
tank top and skinny jeans. He gave her a lascivious smile as he
rubbed her thigh. “This girl's mine for the night, but I might
could pry a couple of girls away from my two brothers if you want
them.”

Noah shook his head. “Denki, but nah. Next
time, we will bring our own dates.”

“
What can I offer you boys to drink?
The keg is over there.” He wiggled a finger at a gooseberry bush
with the keg by it. He picked up a half full bottle of clear liquid
and said with a slur, “I have vodka here. Using orange juice in it
tonight.”

“
We are not used to the hard stuff. Got
any pop?” Noah asked.

“
Sure enough, it is Rueban Rogies's
night to furnish the pop in that cooler by him,” Albert said,
pouring vodka in a glass. He reached in a paper sack and pulled out
a small bottle of Tropicana orange juice, screwed off the cap and
emptied it into his glass.

Daniel grabbed the back of Noah's arm and
nodded.

Noah whispered, “I see.” He said to Albert,
“We will go get the pop. Denki.”

When they approached Rueban, he rose to his
knees and took the lid off the cooler. “You looking for the
pop?”

“
Sure enough,” Noah said, taking a
mountain dew and handing Daniel one. “How much do we owe
you?”

“
A buck a piece,” Rueban
said.

Noah slipped two one dollar bills out of his
trouser pocket while Daniel checked out the teenagers in the
clearing. “It looks like you had a gute turn out.”

“
Anyone new to you show up lately?”
Noah asked.

Rueban shook his head. “Nah, same old crowd
all summer.”

After an hour and a half of wandering from
couple to couple, Noah said, “We better get back to Biscuit.”

They stopped by Albert and his girlfriend
long enough to say they were leaving. Noah excused he didn't want
their dog to get restless. He might untie himself and run off.

Albert slurred, “I hope you had a gute time.
You are wilcom to come again.”

Noah stuffed his hands in his trouser
pockets. “Denki, but it is not safe to be out here with that
arsonist roaming around setting fires all the time.”

“
I do not fear that person,” Albert
bragged.

“
That so? Why not?” Daniel
asked.

Albert shrugged.

“
You know who the guy is?” Noah
asked.

“
Nah,” Albert elongated and belched.
“Do you?”

“
Nah, that is why he scares us,” Noah
said. “We will run our dog through the timber as we head for home.
See you soon.”

It was some time after midnight. The stars
were fading, and the quarter moon sank low enough to be hidden by
the tree line.

I wish I had not over slept. I meant to be
home by now, but it is not much farther to the Weber Sisters house
if I keep moving. Those women have to be stopped from luring
English into the Plain community to eat with them. Getting close to
the English gives Plain people ideas that take them away from the
Ordnung. I'll set fire to the house and head for home. Wish I could
move faster, but I cannot stand the pain. Not tonight.

The golden draft horse walked at an easy pace
on the country road along Bender Creek. He shied sideways at the
Bender timber line when he heard the throbbing sounds of the
teenage party slice through the trees.

“
Easy, Jack. I did not know there would
be such a wicked gathering here tonight. I will change my plan to
teach those that have strayed from the faith a lesson. I can get an
earlier start next time to visit the Weber sisters.”

Once the horse turned around in the direction
he came from, his ears perked up. Alerted to the smell of kerosene
spilling from juice bottles into the grass and dried leaves under
the trees, he tensed. The horse realized what was to come next now
that he had been through this procedure several times.

The raspy scratch of a match head ignited it
into a flame when the head was rubbed against the sandpaper side of
the box. A flick of the wrist landed the match in the kerosene
spill. The flame flickered and took hold, spreading fire through
the spill. Smoke boiled up as fire consumed the leaves and
grass.

A nudge of a knee in the draft horse's ribs
made him move away. A pull on the reins stopped him again for a
repeat of another spill and ignited match.

The first fire was taking hold,
spreading and creating a cloud of smoke as it licked at the
trees.
The next fire would soon catch
up.

Now I will go home.

Albert left his girl long enough to stagger
past the underbrush to take a leak. He sniffed the air. As fast as
he could scrambled on his leaden feet, he ran back into the
clearing, crying, “Fire!”. The others weren't paying any attention
to him. He dived for the boom box and turned it off. “Smoke! The
timber is on fire. Quick, get out of here.”