Dark Crossings by Marta Perry Page B

kind,
but it didn’t bother her so much as he might think, being near the body. Death
was a part of life, and she’d been old enough to help lay out the body when her grossmamm passed. It was only the Englische who thought people should die in hospitals
and be taken off to funeral homes.
    Chief Byler put a notebook on the kitchen table. “Did Mr.
Strickland seem well when you left yesterday? And what time was that?”
    “Four o’clock,” she said promptly. “That was my time. Mr.
Strickland had dinner at one o’clock, like always. Roast chicken, it was, so
there was plenty left for his supper.”
    “And did he seem all right then?” Byler asked.
    “ Ja, he seemed fine.” Her voice
thickened despite her efforts. “He was upstairs in his study, working at his
desk. I asked if he needed anything, and he just said no and that he would see
me tomorrow.”
    But he hadn’t.
    Chief Byler nodded. “And this morning?”
    She hesitated, putting her thoughts in order. Surely, since he
asked, she ought to tell him what she’d noticed.
    “It’s all right, Sarah,” Mr. Frost said, his lined face kind.
“Just tell it the way it happened.”
    “I unlocked the back door and came in. Hung up my things and
went to the kitchen to do the breakfast dishes, but there weren’t any.” She felt
the chill again. “I knew something was wrong. Mr. Strickland’s routine was
always exactly the same.”
    “True enough,” Leo Frost said. “Richard insisted everything be
done exactly the same way at the same time every day. He went through I don’t
know how many housekeepers because he couldn’t find anyone to suit him, until I
found Sarah for him.” He patted her shoulder. “You always made him comfortable
and as happy as he was likely to be, my dear. I know he wasn’t easy to get along
with.”
    That was true enough, but it might seem rude if she agreed, so
she kept silent.
    “So you found him and called 911,” Chief Byler said.
“Apparently he’d been dead for some hours, according to the doctor. If there’s
anything else…”
    He paused, as if waiting for her to say something.
    The words hovered on her tongue. But the odd things she’d
noticed—would they mean anything, or just sound like so much foolishness to an
officer of the law?
    A step sounded in the back hall, and then Jacob was standing
there, looking solid and safe and familiar in his faded blue work shirt,
suspenders crossing broad shoulders, his summer straw hat sitting squarely on
his light brown hair. “Sarah? Was ist letz? ”
    What’s wrong? At the question, the
tears she’d held back overflowed, and she ran to him.
    His arm encircled her shoulders firmly. “Komm,” he said. “I will take you home.”
    * * *
    J ACOB LOOKED OVER S ARAH ’ S head at the two men. Both Leo Frost, the lawyer,
and Chief Byler were usually thought of as friends of the Leit, the Amish people. If they objected to her leaving…
    Well, it was his job to look after Sarah, like always.
    Frost and Byler exchanged glances and the chief shrugged.
“That’s fine. You go along home. I know where to find you if I have any more
questions.” A smile tempered the words.
    “I’m sorry you were the one to find him, Sarah. Try not to
dwell on it.” Leo Frost looked at her with concern. “I’ll come by the house and
check on you later.”
    Sarah managed to smile at Frost, but it was a wobbly effort
that worried Jacob. The sooner he got her home, the better.
    “Danki.” With a word of thanks, he
steered Sarah to the door, stopping while she grabbed her bonnet and sweater,
and out into the warm spring air.
    He helped her up to the buggy seat and climbed in himself. He
didn’t like that frozen look on Sarah’s face. Whether she’d admit it or not, it
had been a shock to find her employer dead. She’d been fond of the old man,
despite his crankiness, and she was grieving.
    Sarah didn’t speak until the buggy had passed the outskirts of
Springville and started along the narrow