Where Shadows Meet(48)

Blake looked away. “What if I said I was?”

Matt sagged back in his chair. He hadn’t wanted to believe it. “Who?”

“Vanessa. Your sister-in-law.”

Matt bolted upright. “You’ve got to be kidding. She’s a man shark, buddy.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t know how it happened. It just did.”

Matt clenched his fists. “You idiot! This will kill my sister.”

“I know, I know. I’m in a mess. She’s pregnant, so what can I do?”

Matt found no pity in his heart for his partner. “You’re stupid if you believe that. Vanessa is playing you, man. She came by my house today.”

Blake scowled. “What was she doing there?”

“Looking for some containers of clothes and shoes. I gave them to the Salvation Army.”

“She’ll be steamed. What’d you go and do that for?”

“I don’t run a storage service. I told her at least six times to come get them. She moved out of the place over six months ago, and it’s been rented out since then. She had plenty of time to get them. Man, you’re stupid if you can’t see you’re giving up gold for pot metal.”

Blake wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Look, if she says she’s pregnant, I believe her.”

“Yeah, right. She doesn’t like kids.”

“I’m trying to figure things out, okay? My marriage is important to me.”

“Not important enough to keep your pants zipped.” Matt’s voice vibrated with anger.

Blake flushed. “Just shut up. It’s none of your business.”

“Look, we’ve been friends a long time, Blake. And this is my sister we’re talking about. I want the best for both of you. And that’s not Vanessa.”

“You don’t know her that well.”

Matt rolled his eyes. “Please. She was a thorn in my flesh for the seven years I was married to Analise.”

“She just made you mad over Caitlin.”

“Is that what she told you? Ask her how she mocked her own sister after two miscarriages. Or the way she talked about Caitlin as though she were some piece of trash not worthy to be part of our family.” If the woman was going around bad-mouthing his family, he’d strangle her. “Let’s not talk about her.”

“You brought her up.”

“My mistake.” Matt pulled the mouse toward him and began to look at the evidence again. At least solving crimes was something he understood.





FOURTEEN


“The Drunkard’s Path Quilt is a symbol of the journey. To the Amish, their journey is to live a life pleasing to God. They believe you can’t know your path will end in heaven and that it’s presumptuous to think you can. The decision is up to God.”

—HANNAH SCHWARTZ,

IN The Amish Faith Through Their Quilts

Quilting calmed her. Occupied by a needle and thread, Hannah’s hands had finally quit shaking after Reece’s appearance. She studied the block in her hands. The quilt was taking shape. She tied the Triangle Quilt to the three things the Amish held dear: God, their families, and their communities.

Hannah loved the colors. Each set of two rows featured the dark and light opposites of each other—dark blue and light blue, dark green and light green, dark red and light red—all against black triangles that caused the colors to pop. This was the quilt that had to be on the cover of the book. No one could understand the Amish faith without understanding how those three elements shaped their culture.

“I heard from FOX & Friends,” Angie said. “They were so impressed with their interview, they want to come here for a show. Tape you in the kitchen with some traditional Amish food, film the house and greenhouse, that kind of thing.”

Hannah laid the quilt piece in her lap. “No. I told you no publicity while we’re here.”

Angie rolled her eyes. “Hannah, you have to do this! Do you have any idea how huge this is? We can’t turn this down.” She folded her arms across her chest. “I already told them yes. They’re coming next Friday. Your aunt will let you come out there. And it would be good publicity for your cousin’s greenhouse.”

“Luca doesn’t want publicity. No one here does. Don’t you get it, Angie? We are content with what God gives us.” Or she used to be. When had the desire for more crept in? When the first awestruck reader emailed her? When she made her first TV appearance?

“You owe it to your publisher. You can’t turn down something like this. It could translate into tens of thousands of copies sold, Hannah. This is just too big. After this is over, if you want to step back and take a break, I’ll go along with it. But we can’t turn up our noses at this.”

Maybe Angie was right. Didn’t she owe it to her publisher to do everything she could to sell the books? But she wanted to be sensitive to her family’s beliefs. How could she walk that tightrope? It was hard enough being an outsider. After just a few days of this treatment, she could see why some came back to the Amish faith. She missed the love, the community.

“All right,” she said. “But tell them they can’t tape Aunt Nora or any other Amish person.”

“If you explained it to Sarah, maybe she would let us tape the children. They’re so cute.”