Jenny's Choice (Apple Creek Dreams #3) (23 page)

“Yes, Jill.”

“The hospital does have an Amos Stutzman. He was semiconscious when they brought him in, but he’s awake now. They’re holding him for observation, but you can talk to him if you need to.”

“Thanks, Jill.”

Bobby looked back at Johann. “Now, what’s this about Lapp saying Reuben was trying to kill him?”

“We had a meeting at my house this afternoon. Reuben and Jenny brought an accusation against
Bisschop
Lapp.”

“What kind of accusation?”

“Jenny accused Lapp of striking her with his fist. She did have a swollen face. We tried to resolve it, but Lapp was adamant that Jenny attacked him and he was just defending himself. One of Lapp’s men bore witness to the testimony, but the other refuted it. We couldn’t force
Bisschop
Lapp to stay, so he left. Reuben was very angry with Lapp, and Lapp was frightened. Reuben controlled himself, but such a look he gave Samuel.”

Bobby smiled. “I’ve seen that look before myself. I can tell you that once you see it, you don’t want to push Reuben any further.”

“There were other, more serious allegations brought by Jenny and one of Lapp’s men that are internal church matters. But I can tell you that
Bisschop
Samuel Lapp is not what he appears to be. However, that matter is out of my hands. It’s for the church in Lancaster to decide.”

“Well, whatever happens, I’m going to bring this guy in for questioning. There’s the matter of the assault on Jenny and now Reuben. I’m going over to the hospital to talk to Stutzman, and I’m sending someone over to pick Lapp up for questioning.”

“
Ja
, Sheriff. I’ll tell him to wait for you.”

“Thanks for your help, Bishop.”

Bobby got on the intercom. “Jill, would you send Bull in?”

“Yes, Sheriff.”

In a few minutes, Bull Halkovich, Bobby’s chief deputy, walked into the office. “What’s up, Bobby?”

“Bull, I want you to go over to Bishop Troyer’s house and pick up a man named Samuel Lapp. I don’t want the guy to leave town before we get there. When you get him, bring him over to the hospital. I’ll be there with a man named Amos Stutzman. There are some serious allegations being made, and I need to get to the bottom of this.”

“Sure, Bobby. Consider it handled.”

Amos Stutzman looked nervous. He looked at Bobby and then looked away.

“I’m going to ask you again, Mr. Stutzman. What happened at the train crossing? I need to sort this out. Two very dear friends of mine are lying in this hospital badly hurt. There are serious allegations being made against your friend, Samuel Lapp—that he’s responsible for what happened to Reuben and Jerusha. They are not in good shape and if they…if they die, I will have to detain you and Bishop Lapp on manslaughter charges until I get it sorted out. So why don’t you just give me your version of the story now and avoid any complications.
Verstehen sie
?”

Amos Stutzman wiped his forehand with his sleeve. “
Ja
, Sheriff, I don’t know how I got involved in this in the first place. First of all,
Bisschop
Lapp is not my friend. I work for him on his farm. I testified falsely for him this afternoon, and that’s why he was even on the road. If I had gone against him,
Bisschop
Troyer would have instigated immediate discipline.”

“What happened at the train tracks?”

“We were approaching the tracks, and the red signal lights began flashing. I wanted to stop, but Samuel was afraid that Reuben Springer would come after him. He yelled at me to cross the tracks before the crossbar came down.”

“Then what?” Bobby asked.

“We were crossing the tracks and something frightened the horse. Maybe it was the bells and the motion of the crossing arm—I don’t know. But the animal stopped dead and reared up. He wouldn’t move. The arm came right down on top of the buggy, and the horse bolted. The arm hit me and crushed the roof. The horse was terrified and pulled the buggy over on its side. I fell out and hit my head. I think I managed to crawl away, but Samuel was still trapped in the buggy, and the train was coming.”

“Jenny Hershberger says that Lapp hit Reuben with a board and knocked him down into the wrecked buggy. Is that true?”

“I don’t know, Sheriff. I don’t remember anything more until I was being put in the ambulance.” Stutzman looked down at his hands. “Are the Springers going to live?”

“I don’t know, Mr. Stutzman. For Samuel Lapp’s sake, I certainly hope so.”

A nurse walked in and signaled Bobby. He walked out in the hall with her.

“Officer Halkovich is here with an Amish gentleman. They’re in the waiting area.”

Bobby walked briskly down the hall. He couldn’t quite comprehend what was happening.

Fighting among the Amish! I’ve never heard of such a thing. Leave it to Reuben to be in the middle of it!

When he walked into the waiting room, Bull was standing with a very short, very nervous-looking bald-headed man. Bobby noticed right away that his face had a tic and that right now it was very pronounced.

“Mr. Lapp?” Bobby asked.

“I am
Bisschop
Lapp, and I resent your officer hauling me down here like—”

Bobby stepped up close to Samuel Lapp and looked him in the eye. The little man’s outburst faded to nothing as he looked into Bobby’s eyes.

“Mr. Lapp, I think you’ve seen this look once before today, and it should tell you something. Do not mess with me. My best friend and his wife are lying in this hospital near death, and my witnesses tell me that you had a hand in them being here. So I would keep your little outbursts to yourself. Understood?”

Lapp hesitated and then nodded.

“Now that we are clear on that, let’s get down to brass tacks. My witness says you smashed a pole or a board on Reuben’s back while he was trying to help the horse, and knocked him down into the train’s path. Is that true?”

“Who is your witness?”

“Jenny Hershberger.”

“Oh,
ja
! Jenny Hershberger. The woman who consorts with reprobates and writes trash—”

That was as far as Lapp got. Bobby stepped up and took him by the lapels of his coat.

“Lapp, you are making me very angry. So I’m telling you one time and one time only. Reuben may not have done violence to you today, but there’s no Amish bishop around to keep me from slapping you
into next week. And Bull here happens to be a friend of Jenny’s too, so I imagine that any action I performed on you would go unreported. Am I right, Bull?”

“Just as long as you give me a shot at him when you’re finished, Bobby.”

Lapp wanted to say something, but the determined look on Bobby’s face made him think better of it.

“Now, I’ve known Jenny Hershberger since she was a little girl,” Bobby said. “She may be headstrong, but I have never, ever known her to lie. I trust her word implicitly. You, however—I wouldn’t trust you as far as I could throw you. So open up, or bishop or no bishop, you’re going to be spending some time in the Wooster County Jail.”

“All right, Sheriff. Since you put it that way, I will cooperate. When the accident happened at the train crossing, I was trapped in the wreckage. The impact knocked me out for a few minutes. When I came to, Springer was bending over me and pulling on me. I wasn’t thinking right, and I thought he was there to hurt me. I got frightened and tried to protect myself. He shoved me down, and I thought he was going to beat me, so I grabbed a piece of the buggy and…and I hit him.”

“That’s not what I heard, Mister Lapp. I heard that you came up behind Reuben while he was trying to get the horse up, and you cracked him a good one across the back of the head. And given the way you’ve talked about Jenny, and the look in your eye while you’re telling your story, I say you’re lying.”

“How dare you say such a thing—”

“Because you
are
lying,” said a voice behind them.

They turned to look. It was Amos Stutzman.

“I can’t do this any more, Samuel,” he said. “You’ve been a liar since you were a boy. I used to back you up because you were the
bisschop
’s son, and there were certain rewards for faithful followers. Even when
your lies drove Jeremy King from the church, I backed you up. After all, what did it hurt except a man’s reputation. But this, Samuel! You have been part of injuring a man and his wife, and they might die. I want no more of it.”

“You’ll keep quiet if you know what’s good for you,” the
bisschop
said.

“Or what? You’ll kick me out of the church? After I say my part, you won’t have the authority to kick anyone anywhere.”

Amos turned to Bobby. “I wasn’t telling the truth when you questioned me, Sheriff. I was awake when Reuben came. He was trying to help, but Samuel is such a coward. He knew he was guilty of hitting Jenny Hershberger without provocation. He grabbed her and was hurting her. She slapped him, and he knocked her down. A grown man hitting a woman…shame! And then at the train tracks, when Reuben tried to help him, Lapp went crazy. He grabbed Reuben, but Reuben pushed him away so he could save the horse.”

“Don’t believe him, Sheriff! He’s lying to save his own skin!”

“Shut up, Lapp,” Bobby said. “When I want something from you, I’ll tell you. Go on, Mr. Stutzman.”

“When Reuben pushed Samuel away, he knocked Samuel down. Then Reuben turned to help the horse. Samuel snuck up behind him. I saw his eyes. They were burning with rage. He grabbed the piece of wood, struck Reuben, and knocked him down on top of the horse. The horse kicked Reuben and knocked him out cold. Mrs. Springer came running and tried to pull her husband away. Samuel saw the train and ran away—such a coward!”

Amos turned to Samuel Lapp. “You’ve always been a bully and a coward. I curse the day I ever met you. You caused these people to be hurt, and I hope you pay the price for it. As for me, Sheriff, you can do what you want with me. I’m just glad to be clean and free from this hypocrite.”

“Thank you, Mr. Stutzman,” Bobby said. Then he turned to Lapp.

“Bishop Samuel Lapp, I’m arresting you for assault with intent to cause grave bodily injury. If my friend dies, you will be facing much worse. Bull, get him out of my sight.”

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-F
OUR

One Heart—Two Lives

T
HE ROOM WAS DARK EXCEPT
for the glow from a small lamp on a stand in the corner. The soft beeping of the heart monitors was the only sound. Jenny dozed in a chair by her mother’s bed. Jerusha stirred and groaned, and the soft sound brought Jenny back to wakefulness. She had been dreaming about her childhood—images and flashes of riding on her Papa’s shoulders, standing in the kitchen watching her mama make a streusel cake, flying up high in the swing her papa had made in the big willow tree by the creek. The dream had been filled with joy and peace, with nothing of the trauma of her earliest childhood, before she came to live with Jerusha and Reuben.

Now she rubbed her eyes and looked at her parents. They lay still, resting. Jerusha held Reuben’s hand in hers. They had been that way since the doctors moved them to this room.

Earlier in the evening, Reuben’s breathing had become labored, and the doctor put him on oxygen. The tubing in his nose and the large bruise obscured his face, but he was still beautiful to Jenny. She longed to feel his arms around her, to see the smile behind his eyes one more time. Then Jerusha stirred again.