“Ahh, so you are a woman of the world, and don’t readily admit that you are available.” There was a smile in the voice on the other end of the line. “I respect a woman who has her guard up. If we don’t take care of ourselves, who will? We can’t trust men to do it. It’s a lesson that unfortunately needs to be learned over and over again.”

  “Zara?”

  “I’m flattered that you recognize my voice. It must be true what everyone in the village says—you are a detective.”

  “I’m not a detective,” I said.

  “How many murders have you solved now?” she asked.

  I didn’t reply.

  “Exactly. You might not be a trained detective, but you have done the legwork. That’s good enough in my book. I have a job for you.”

  A job? If she was going to ask me to make a hit, this conversation was over. What could the former judge possibly need of me?

  “Tomorrow, I would like you to meet me at the Sunbeam Café for a little chat. Be there at nine a.m.”

  “Tomorrow is Black Friday. It’s going to be a very busy day at the shop, and we are opening at eight. That’s two hours earlier than normal. I can’t just leave.”

  “Sure you can,” Zara said, undaunted.

  Now I knew where Margot got her gift of getting people to do things they didn’t want to do.

  “I really can’t,” I said.

  “I promise not to take more than an hour of your time,” Zara said. Her voice was a little less cheerful now. “Unless you want my daughter to be framed for Blaze’s murder.”

  As she spoke, I noted that she didn’t seem to be upset that her fiancé had just died. There were no tears in her voice. “I don’t want that. Margot is a friend.”

  “Neither do I. It’s bad enough that I have lost Blaze. I don’t want to lose my daughter too. That’s why I need your help. You need to find out who killed Blaze.”

  I wish I could say that this was a request I hadn’t heard before, but it would be a lie. Since moving to Holmes County I had garnered a bit of a reputation as a sleuth. I had the unique ability to move in both the Amish and English communities. I knew most of that trust was built on the reputation of my grandparents.

  So many questions ran through my head. Blaze’s death had not been ruled a homicide. Why was everyone so eager to make it one? Did Zara know her daughter had seen a trace of peanut in Blaze’s marshmallow fluff?

  Feeling like a broken record, I said, “Why do you think Margot is in trouble? Blaze’s death could have been an accident.”

  “Oh, I know it wasn’t an accident, and I know someone Amish was behind it.”

  “Amish?” I asked. “That’s a very strong statement.”

  “It may be a strong statement, but that doesn’t make it any less true. The Amish may claim to be forgiving people, but they hold grudges. While I sat on the bench here in Holmes County, I was not a popular judge, especially with those people.”

  Those people?

  “I had heard that,” I said.

  “I’m sure you have. However, it was my belief that everyone in the county should be treated in the same way. Just because someone was Amish didn’t make them better than the rest of the community. They may have claimed I was harsh, but I wasn’t. I was tough, and what the Amish seemed to forget was that I was tough on everyone. I wasn’t singling them out.” She paused. “Now, I need you to meet me at nine in the morning tomorrow at the Sunbeam Café. I will expect you to be there. Don’t be late.” She ended the call.

  I stared at my cell phone. “What just happened, Puff?” I asked the rabbit, who had finished her dinner and settled into her bunny bed in the corner of the living room for the night.

  I wondered if I would go to the meeting tomorrow. I knew I was kidding myself, thinking for a second that I wouldn’t go. I wanted to hear what Zara had to say. Did she know who’d killed her fiancé? How could she be so sure that it was murder before the sheriff’s department ruled it as such? I was happy to hear that she didn’t believe the killer was Margot, considering their rocky relationship. I doubted that Margot had confessed to her mother what she’d told me about seeing Blaze eat the church spread. However, it was a great leap to assume there was a murder and that the killer was Amish just because Zara had frustrated some plain folks over a decade ago.

  “I’m going to bed, Puff. It’s been a long day and my brain just can’t take in any more information.” I planned to set my alarm for two in the morning. I guessed that I would have a fitful night’s sleep and the sooner I could arrive at Swissmen Sweets, the better.

  Honestly, I would have left my house right then to go to the candy shop and work the whole night through. But if I did, I would wake up Maami and Charlotte, who were sleeping upstairs. Knowing the two of them, they would feel obligated to work the whole night long with me, and then we all would be zombies in the morning.

  Moving slowly, I’d gotten halfway up the stairs, when I stopped at the sound of a knock on the front door.

  Looking behind me, I could tell Puff heard it too. By the light of the one lamp that I left on all the time, I could see her lift her white head from her bed. Her long ears twitched.

  The knock on the door came again. It wasn’t terribly late. It was before ten, but I wasn’t a person who got unexpected knocks on her door at night, unless it was my nosy next door neighbor, Penny, and I seriously doubted that she would be out this late at night.

  I walked over to the door and peered through the peephole. Aiden stood on my doorstep holding a duffel bag. I opened the door. “Aiden, what are you doing here?”

  He came into the house, dropped his duffel bag on the floor, and kissed me on the lips. “That’s what I wanted to do when I saw you on the square, but it didn’t seem right under the circumstances.”

  I stepped out of his embrace and asked again, “What are you doing here? I thought you had to get back to Columbus.”

  He frowned. “I didn’t tell you I was leaving.”

  “But when I didn’t see you . . .” I trailed off.

  “You thought I would leave the village without saying goodbye?” His brow furrowed.

  I hugged him. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  He studied my face as if he didn’t believe me. In the last few months Aiden and I had seen very little of each other. It seemed every time he could come home to Harvest, I was called away to New York for the show. Texting and talking on the phone weren’t enough. I just had to admit that. I didn’t want him to feel bad about taking the BCI job any more than I should feel bad about making the show in New York.

  “I’m happy you’re here. I always want to see you. I just thought you were working a case in Columbus and had to get back tonight. I’m sure your mother kept you at their house as long as possible.”

  “It doesn’t matter how long Mom kept me there. I would always say goodbye to you, Bailey.”

  I looked away. “I know that.” I swallowed and was unsure why I was feeling shy around Aiden. I blamed it on the events of the day, most notably Blaze’s death and the odd conversations I’d had with Margot and her mother. I also had worries about the weekend. The first weekend of holiday shopping was always exciting, but also nerve wracking.

  He closed the front door and locked it, then walked over to my sofa and sat. The couch was still the same one I’d bought for two hundred dollars in a tag sale at a local furniture store. It was terribly uncomfortable. With the success of the show and the shop, I could afford something much nicer now, but never seemed to be able to find the time to look, not even online.

  “Besides,” Aiden said. “Most of my visit with Mom and Reverend Brook was my mother asking where you were and why weren’t you with us. I told her you were getting ready for tomorrow, but I don’t think she thought that was a satisfactory answer. I would not be surprised if she stopped by the candy shop tomorrow looking for a better explanation.”

  “It wouldn’t surprise me either.” I followed him to the couch and curled up crossed-legged on the cushion facing him. “What are you doing here? And what’s with the duffel bag?”

  He laughed. “I shouldn’t be surprised that you want an explanation.”

  When I didn’t say anything, he went on, “My superior assigned my case to another agent. They want me to stay here and see if I can improve relations between BCI and the Holmes County Sheriff’s Department by assisting on this case.”

  “This case? Do you mean Blaze’s death?”

  He nodded.

  “Is it a homicide?” I asked.

  “Right now, it’s a suspicious death. We should know tomorrow if it’s a homicide.”

  I guess the town gossip mill had been premature in its information. On the heels of that thought, I realized Margot might indeed have cause for alarm. Lastly, my mind was still trying to work its way around the notion that Aiden would be assisting with a case here. “Do they really think it’s a good idea for you to help the sheriff’s department? Sheriff Marshall, to put it mildly, is not your biggest fan.”

  “BCI hired me because they thought I could be a bridge between the Amish and English communities, not just in Holmes County, but in all of Ohio. This is my first chance to prove to them that they made the right choice.”

  “I’m not questioning your ability, Aiden. I would never do that.”

  He took my hand in his. “I know that. I’m just tired and that’s making me short-tempered. Also, I know you’re right that Sheriff Marshall is not going to make it easy.”

  I held his hand and was quiet for a moment, and then I added, “You said you’re on this case because the Amish are involved. Who are the Amish? Blaze was from Florida. Zara’s not Amish and neither is Margot. Who else is involved?”

  He pressed his lips together, and I knew there was something he wasn’t telling me. Was it because he was with BCI now? Had I lost his trust? He used to share more about cases with me.

  I considered telling him what Margot had said and that Zara had asked me to meet her at the Sunbeam Café the next day, but then I decided against it. I felt I needed to hear Zara out first, and then I would tell Aiden. I wasn’t going to keep information from him. I was just waiting. That was different. Even as I rationalized the decision to myself, I knew it wasn’t different. Not really.

  Aiden was watching me again, and his shoulders sagged. It seemed to me that he wasn’t up to having the conversation we so desperately needed to have. I knew it was just a matter of time. But it was still Thanksgiving, a Thanksgiving that had gone terribly wrong. I wasn’t in the mood to add more hurt to a troublesome day.

  “So you are working this case, and need a place to stay?” I gestured to the duffel bag by the door.

  He nodded. “The bureau offered to get me a room at one of the local hotels, but I said it wasn’t necessary. I hoped that I could bunk with you.” He took my right hand in both of his.

  Bunk with me? He made it sound like a kids’ sleepover party.

  “I’m sure your mom would want you to stay with her,” I said, not sure why I was so hesitant. It wasn’t as if Aiden hadn’t spent the night in this house before.

  He smiled as if he were expecting that answer from me. “I know she would, but while I’m here in Harvest, I want to spend as much time with you as I can. I know I’ve been absent these last few months.” He held onto my hand more tightly. “I think in our heads we knew it would be like that, but in our hearts, we had no idea how hard it would be.”

  I gave a sigh of relief. Even if we weren’t ready to have a deep conversation about it, I was grateful that he had acknowledged how hard it had been to have him away from the village. It made me a little more hopeful about the conversation I knew was coming.

  “I’m not asking for anything other than to spend time with you. I’ll sleep on the sofa.” He patted the hard seat. “It will be perfect.”

  I gave him a look. “This couch is no better than sleeping on a concrete floor.”

  “It’s a nice concrete floor,” he said with shining chocolate-brown eyes, and I had a glimpse of the man I had fallen in love with.

  “Aiden, you barely fit on the couch. At least let me get the air mattress out. I use it when Cass is visiting here from New York.”

  He cocked his head. “It’s kind of hard for me to imagine Cass sleeping on an air mattress.”

  “Are you crazy? She doesn’t. I sleep on the air mattress and she sleeps in my bed.”

  “That sounds about right.”

  I went to get the air mattress, sheets, blankets, and a pillow to give him. The activity kept my mind off everything that had been preoccupying me just an hour before. “Sorry that the air mattress has to be in the living room. It’s the only place where it will fit. It’s a queen-sized bed, and the two bedrooms upstairs are both too small for it. I know I’ve talked about converting the other room from an office back into a bedroom. And, truly, I will.”

  He smoothed the sheets and blankets over the air mattress. “This is perfect. Plus, I will be closer to the floor. Puff might like that.”

  She might also nibble on his toes the way she did mine when I slept on the air mattress, but I thought better of telling him that.

  I nodded. “Well, I have to be out the door by three a.m. tomorrow. It’s Black Friday and the shop will be crazy. I’ll try not to wake you when I leave.”

  “Three a.m. That’s early even for you.”

  “It’s a big day.”

  He looked up at me from the mattress. “Are you nervous about tomorrow?”

  I nodded. “It’s an important day for the shop.” But I didn’t tell him that wasn’t the only reason I was nervous. I had no idea what Zara had in store for me.

  I couldn’t ignore the fact that Blaze’s death was much closer to being ruled a murder than it had been an hour ago. If BCI wanted Aiden in Holmes County to help, the bureau must have a good reason for it. I just wished I knew what it was. Part of me wanted to ask Aiden outright, but in my heart, I knew that if he didn’t tell me, I would be disappointed. And that wasn’t fair. Aiden was a man of the law, and he had to maintain his moral integrity. Just because I liked to snoop and had been known to be successful following up on leads, it didn’t mean I had a right to insert myself into an active investigation. Amateur sleuthing required a great deal of balance, I realized. Enough meddling to get the answers, but not so much as to obstruct justice or negatively impact the prosecution of a criminal.

  “The shop will do great,” Aiden said, dragging my thoughts back to the present. “And so will you. You always do well, Bai.” Sitting on the air mattress, Aiden reminded me of a little boy. He looked up at me with innocent hope in his eyes, but I didn’t know what the hope was for.

  “Good night, Aiden.” I leaned over and kissed him.

  “Good night, Bailey.”

  As I walked upstairs, I felt like I could cry.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The next morning, I woke up long before my alarm went off and didn’t feel rested in the least. I’d tossed and turned all night. There was just so much on my mind. I felt I was on the cusp of making some monumental decisions, but I didn’t know what those decisions were. I didn’t know if they were about the future of Swissmen Sweets, about Aiden and me, or something else entirely.

  By one thirty in the morning, I gave up trying to sleep. I got up, showered and dressed, and set about preparing for my day. When I arrived at Swissmen Sweets, I would have to make the coffee for the day. Maami never made it strong enough to suit me, and I would need the strong stuff today.

  Honestly, if there was a coffee house in Harvest, I would have gone there and asked if I could chew on their coffee beans.

  I didn’t want to make coffee at home because there was too great a risk of waking Aiden. He was splayed on his stomach on the air mattress. The blanket I’d given him was balled up on the floor, and Puff was tucked up under his arm like a teddy bear.

  Puff’s red eyes were bright when I came down the stairs, and she shimmied out from under his arm. Aiden sighed in his sleep and rolled over onto his side. As quietly as I dared, I picked the blanket up from the floor and covered him with it.

  He snuggled under it, and I fought back the urge to touch him. He looked so adorable in his sleep.

  I went into the kitchen, and Puff followed me. It was a tad early for her breakfast, but I knew she was thinking, “Hey, she’s awake. Let’s eat.”

  I liked to eat right when I got up too, so she was a bunny after my own heart.

  “Wait here,” I told the rabbit. “I’m going to get you a special treat.”

  Her white cotton ball of a tail wiggled in anticipation. The treat was the least I could do since I didn’t plan to take Puff to the shop for the next two days. It would be just too crowded, and I didn’t want her getting stepped on by tourists in desperate need of Amish fudge.

  I went outside to gather some leafy greens from the garden for Puff. As of yet, we had not had a hard frost. I knew it was coming any day. It was just a few days from December, after all. Until then, I was happy to see that the lettuce I grew specifically for Puff was limping along until winter. There would be just enough to make her happy, but I would supplement it with some fresh cabbage from the fridge as well.

  I only had the back porch light to guide my way to the garden. There was a chill in the air as I pinched off what was left of the greens.

  “Bailey King, is that you?” a woman asked.

  I threw the lettuce and spinach in the air and grabbed my chest. I spun around and looked directly into the porch light. I had to blink a few times to make out the form in my driveway.

  “Penny?” I asked.

  My neighbor opened the gate and came into the yard. Penny looked like she was Amish, but she wasn’t. She was conservative Mennonite, which meant she dressed plainly but could drive a car. She also went to church in a church building on Sundays instead of inside someone’s home as the Amish did.

  “Penny, what are you doing outside at this time of night?” The question came out more harshly than I wanted it to, but she’d startled me.

  “I could be asking you the same thing.”

  I shook my head and began picking up the pieces of lettuce and spinach that I could find in the dark. Admittedly, I didn’t find many of them.