“So let me get this straight, James. Are you saying that the doctor only treated the women, never any men, ever?”

  James cocked his head to one side.

  “Pretty much, yes. I never actually realized it until now but yes, I think so. There were a few of the senior men who went sometimes but not that many. Like Mr. Lapp, for example, he was one of his regulars. God bless his soul.”

  Angus frowned.

  “Mr. Lapp? You’re saying he was a regular patient of Dr. Fisher’s.”

  James nodded.

  “Who else? Can you give me names of any other men who also saw the doctor?”

  The teen thought for a moment.

  “Not really, although I do remember one of the elders went once or twice but that was a while ago. Back when Joanna disappeared.”

  Angus felt as if he had been punched in the gut.

  “Joanna? What do you mean? Who’s Joanna?” he asked.

  “Sorry, I thought you knew. I shouldn’t have said anything.” James turned away and busied himself with the buggy’s wheel.

  “James, I’m not here to get you into any kind of trouble so I give you my word this will stay between us, but it’s important that you tell me everything you know. Rachel is still out there somewhere and we’re running out of time. Who is Joanna and what happened to her?”

  James turned back to him, a reticent look on his face.

  “Joanna was the bishop’s daughter. She disappeared quite a few years ago. Just vanished in thin air. Much like Rachel, come to think of it. They found her bloody clothes, torn to shreds in the woods. Bishop Yoder said she was killed by a black bear. It nearly broke Ms. Esther’s heart. She was their only child.”

  Angus struggled to control his heart that thumped with intensity inside his chest.

  “Do you remember how old Joanna was when she disappeared?”

  James took a moment to think.

  “About my age if I remember correctly. I was very young at the time, maybe ten, I think. Yeah, that feels about right. She was already sixteen. I remember now because Caleb had just celebrated his eighteenth birthday and the two of them were supposed to get married that year.”

  Angus could hardly believe his ears.

  “Caleb? As in Rachel’s brother? That Caleb?”

  “Uh-huh, the two of them were in love.”

  “Is that why Caleb left the community?”

  James shrugged one shoulder.

  “Probably, I mean the two of them had a huge argument just before she ran away. Rachel told me.”

  “A fight? Do you know what it was about?”

  “Not really. The adults don’t really tell us kids much about these things, but whatever it was about also upset Caleb’s father, Mr. Beiler.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because after they couldn’t find Joanna, Caleb had words with his father and not long after that, Caleb also left.”

  “And you say they never found her?”

  James nodded his head.

  “What makes you think she ran away?”

  “Because she took a bag of clothes with her. If something bad happened to her she wouldn’t have packed a bag, right?”

  Angus agreed, nodding in response.

  “You’ve been very helpful, James. Thank you.”

  Angus walked away, his mind racing with the new information. His investigation had just taken a turn in a different direction.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Lydia’s heart pounded inside her chest as she wound her way between the houses. With her head held down, her eyes pinned to the ground as if she was hiding her face, she moved faster toward Esther’s house. In all the years she had been married to Samuel, she had never dared speak to him with such anger and such contempt. She’d been a good wife; loyal, submissive, and reverent of his standing in the community and their home. But something deep inside her had snapped and she no longer had the restraint to hold back. She’d lost too much.

  Shame washed into her heart with every step she took. Perhaps the Holy Spirit was revealing the way she had sinned toward her husband and God, she thought. She forced the guilt aside, feeling no regret for her outburst, no desire to ask Samuel for his forgiveness, and no inclination to turn back and pretend that nothing was wrong. Because nothing had been right for far too long. Keeping silent had been her only vice, holding her hostage for the longest time. That’s what she regretted most. For not speaking up back then, for not doing something about it all those years ago. For not choosing her children over her husband. If she had, perhaps her sweet Rachel would be home, and her only son wouldn’t have left.

  Tears filled her eyes as heartache poured through her chest. There was no turning back now. Nor did she want to. This was her chance, her only chance to fix what had been broken for far too long. For the sake of her children, for the sake of her freedom, to no longer be held captive by the despicable things that happened to her and Rachel.

  New found courage spilled into her heart and propelled her into a slow jog. She rounded the last corner and burst into Esther’s house without stopping to knock. When she stumbled in through the front door, she found Esther alone in her kitchen.

  “Lydia! What’s the matter?” Esther reacted to her abrupt entrance, dropping the ladle noisily into the pot of soup she was cooking.

  But Lydia didn’t have to utter a single word. Her eyes told Esther exactly why she was there.

  Moving the pot hastily to one side of the stove, Esther pulled Lydia into one of the chairs at her kitchen table.

  “You’re doing the right thing, Lydia. I know it might not feel like it right now, but when you have Rachel home safe and sound you’ll be glad you did it.”

  Lydia wiped away the tears that were now spilling down her cheeks as she looked full into Esther’s face.

  “I should have spoken up a long time ago, Esther. I only pray that God can forgive me for the part I played in it all, and for sinning against my husband.”

  Esther’s hands closed firmly around Lydia’s arms.

  “It wasn’t your fault, Lydia, none of it was. What Dr. Fisher did to you, to all of us was wrong and it was his sin. His and the other men that behaved alike. And God will punish them for it. He has already.”

  Lydia’s eyes were full of questions, her heart yearning to ask her friend if she and the other women killed Dr. Fisher and Brother Lapp, but she held back, fearing she’d offend her, fearing the truth.

  Esther shifted in the chair next to her, her voice low and steady as she spoke.

  “Does Samuel know you’re here, what you’re doing?”

  Lydia quickly shook her head.

  “No, and I won’t tell him either.”

  “Good, you’re doing the right thing, trust me.”

  Lydia watched as Esther jumped to her feet, cast a quick glance toward the front door, shut the kitchen door, then knelt in front of her pantry cupboard. From the bottom shelf she lifted out a large basket of onions and plunked it on the floor next to her before she stuck her hand back inside the dark cavity and pulled out a small wooden box. When she got up, she turned around and placed the box on the table in front of her, lifting the lid to reveal a two-way radio.

  Lydia’s mouth dropped open.

  “Where did you get that?” she whispered, her eyes wide.

  “We’re borrowing it, that’s all.”

  “You mean you stole it from the search and rescue team. Oh, we’re going to go to hell for this, Esther,” Lydia said, angst written all over her face.

  “I’ll take my chances,” Esther replied as she switched the radio on and spoke into it.

  “Nightingale, come in, over,” she said, repeating the call twice.

  Louise’s voice came back over the radio.

  “Receiving you loud and clear, Phoenix.”

  “Get the others. Rendezvous, five minutes, over.”

  “Copy that, Phoenix. Over and out.”

  Esther tucked the radio into her apron pocket before spinning around to return the onions to the pantry.

  “What on earth was all that?” Lydia said as she watched Esther hide the empty wooden box behind the basket of vegetables.

  When Esther turned to face her, she had a mischievous smile on her face.

  “Just a bunch of bored old women having a bit of fun to lighten the mood, is all.” She winked. “Now come, we don’t have a lot of time.”

  Esther rushed ahead toward the door, Lydia close behind her.

  With her hand resting on the doorknob, Esther turned to Lydia.

  “I suggest you leave that panicked look on your face behind. We don’t need to draw any attention to ourselves now. We’re just two friends out for a walk, got it?”

  Lydia nodded, desperate to control the tension that had knotted in her stomach.

  Esther led the way, quickly walking toward a row of houses on the far side of the property. As she caught up and walked next to Esther, zigzagging between the houses, Lydia did as Esther instructed and held her composure, even managing to greet a couple they passed along the way.

  “Where are we going?” Lydia whispered after they turned another corner.

  “Almost there,” Esther whispered back.

  A few short moments later, they stopped outside a house Lydia hadn’t been to before, her nerves suddenly taut with fear of the unknown.

  “Whose house is this?” she asked as a horse neighed nearby.

  But Esther didn’t answer. Instead, she glanced in all directions to see if anyone was around then knocked on the door three times. Within seconds, the farrier’s wife yanked it open and quickly ushered them inside.

  Once inside, the farrier’s wife cast a cautious look at Esther.

  “She’s fine,” Esther answered quickly. “Lydia has decided to join us.”

  Esther flashed Lydia an assuring smile before she followed the farrier’s wife through the house and into a room in the back where Louise, the midwife, and several other women sat around a quilting table.

  Chapter Thirty

  “Good, you’re all here,” Esther said as she ushered Lydia to one of the nearby chairs.

  Lydia smiled nervously at the half a dozen women who now stared at her. Some with sympathy in their eyes, others with suspicion. She recognized a few of them from church, others she had hardly spoken to. They ranged in age - the oldest being Louise, the midwife, the youngest, around twenty or so.

  “Lydia,” Esther said, startling her. “Every single one of these women has faced the same trauma you have. Two of them sadly lost their daughters. One tragically took her own life, and the other girl ran away. Just like Rachel did…and Joanna.”

  Her voice cracked as she said her daughter’s name out loud then briefly looked down to gather herself again.

  “We have all fallen victim to Dr. Fisher’s sin, you included.”

  Lydia found herself blushing as Esther spoke aloud the truth she’d been hiding for so long.

  “But,” Esther continued, “unfortunately Dr. Fisher wasn’t the only sinner among the men in this community. We believe there are several men currently living in our community whose flesh has ruled their hearts for quite some time now. Brother Lapp was one of them.”

  A few of the women shuffled uncomfortably in their chairs as Esther continued.

  “For years we have been told not to speak of these things, to turn the other cheek, even to pray for them, but no more. The truth cannot be swept under the rug any longer. Rachel’s leaving showed us that we women must take matters into our own hands. We need to stand up for ourselves, do what the honorable men should have done but were too cowardly to act. The time is now, Lydia. There is no more denying it or pretending that we’re okay with it because we’re not. Our bodies are sacred, temples of our Lord most high, and no man has the right to take what isn’t his.”

  Two women affirmed Esther’s statement with a loud “Amen” before Esther continued.

  “The women you see here today have formed a pact among us to expose these evil men, to stop them from hurting us, our sisters, our daughters.”

  Lydia’s palms were clammy as Esther’s words hit home.

  “So, Lydia,” Esther paused, her eyes never leaving Lydia’s. “Are you sure you have the courage to fight the good fight alongside us? It won’t be easy and it will challenge your boundaries and faith, but we believe it’s what we have to do to put an end to the evil that has festered inside our community for much too long.”

  “But how?” Lydia heard herself ask, the courage she had summoned earlier fading. “How are we supposed to stop it if our husbands won’t even listen to us? I told Samuel years ago when it happened to me, back when we were trying so hard to have another baby, but he refused to believe me. And when Rachel went missing, I tried to tell him again, but he lost all self-control and forbade me to ever speak of such evil again. How are we supposed to stop these men?”

  Her questions were met with silence and sideways glances from the women. Lydia gasped, her hands covering her mouth as she read the room.

  “You did kill them, didn’t you? That’s how you’re stopping these men, by murdering them!”

  Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke the accusatory words, her hands still covering her mouth as if to stop more words from coming out. She waited for Esther to answer, to explain, to tell her it wasn’t true. But Esther’s eyes darted between the women whose gazes were fixed on Lydia’s anguished face.

  “Not exactly,” Esther finally answered, her mouth and nose twisted to one side.

  “Not exactly? What does that mean?” Lydia demanded.

  “We think that there’s someone else who must know about these men. Someone who isn’t in our circle.”

  “Someone else, you mean the murderer?” Lydia guessed to which Esther nodded.

  Lydia was on her feet now, pacing the small space around the circle of women.

  “I don’t understand. What is all this about then?” she asked, desperate for it to all make sense.

  Louise spoke next.

  “All we want to do is stop the sheriff from finding out who this person is. Throw him off the trail so to speak.”

  Lydia stopped.

  “Have you lost your minds? You’re sabotaging the investigation. There’s a law against that among the English, you know. Not to mention that you’re helping a cold-blooded killer get away with murder!”

  Esther stood behind Lydia, her steady hands wrapped around Lydia’s shoulders in an attempt to usher her back into her chair.

  “I did warn you that your beliefs would be challenged, Lydia, but try to keep an open mind. We don’t believe we’re committing any evil here, merely buying time.”

  Disgust flushed into Lydia’s face.

  “Are you listening to yourself, Esther? You’re the bishop’s wife! You of all people should know that helping a murderer is no different from committing murder yourself.”

  “We don’t know for sure that there is a murderer, Lydia,” Louise spoke up again. “As far as we understand, they have no idea how Brother Lapp or Dr. Fisher died. For all we know, God struck them dead for what they’ve done. But what we do know is that the sheriff suspects Rachel.”

  “Rachel? There has to be a mistake,” Lydia exclaimed as she sank back into her chair.

  “I heard it with my own ears. It’s true,” one of the women added.

  “Me too,” said another.

  “But…she couldn’t have. Rachel could never be capable of doing such an evil thing.”

  Doubt crept into Lydia’s heart as she recalled the time she was victimized by the doctor and temptation nearly got the better of her.

  Esther’s voice was gentle when she knelt next to her.

  “We think Rachel ran away because it was her. She was the last to see the doctor alive, Lydia, and we think it was her footprints that the sheriff found in the snow behind Brother Lapp’s barn. But, if we help Rachel finish what she started, we will also put a stop to the evil that has plagued this community for far too long.”

  As Esther’s final attempt at persuasion washed over Lydia, the bitter sting of betrayal arrested her heart. When Lydia looked Esther full in her face, her voice was calm and solid with conviction.

  “My daughter is not capable of doing these despicable things you are accusing her of, and I will not sit here and listen to all of you telling me otherwise.”

  She got to her feet and turned to leave.

  “If you turn your back on this, Lydia, you are no different from these men who put us in this predicament in the first place,” Louise spat at her.

  “Don’t do this, Lydia,” Esther added. “This is our chance to rid this community of the festering evil that had claimed the innocence of our daughters, of us. You cannot in good conscience let them get away with it any longer. We won’t let you.”

  Esther’s threat horrified Lydia as she opened the door to leave. With her heart and emotions in turmoil, fear pushed into her veins and she did the only thing her instincts told her to do. She ran.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Lydia’s feet pounded the unpaved paths that wound between the houses. Behind her, Esther yelled after her to stop. She dared not turn around, dared not stop. Inside her chest, her heart beat hard and fast. Raw emotion and fear pulsed through her entire body. She tried desperately to control her tears but when she turned the final corner toward her house, they spilled over and ran down her cheeks. The door to her house came into view and she focused on it, pushing her legs to go faster. Noticing nothing else, she kept going. It wasn’t until she slammed into someone that she was forced to stop. The impact nearly caused her to fall. When she looked up, she saw the sheriff, his curious eyes taking in the angst and tears on her face. Panic ripped through her, desperate to break free from his grip that had stopped her from falling onto the ground.

  “Mrs. Beiler, it’s me, Sheriff Reid. Is everything all right?”

  Lydia glanced back at the path between the houses and saw Esther and Louise where they had stopped and stood watching from the shadows.