Page 75 of The Hidden One

“I don’t believe that’s what happened,” I tell him.

He stops what he’s doing and throws me a puzzled look. “You want to explain that?”

“This was deliberate,” I tell him.

He chokes out a sound that’s part laugh, part incredulity, but sobers quickly. “To what end?”

“I’ve been looking into the Ananias Stoltzfus case,” I tell him. “After the incident at the Kish Valley Motel, I’d say this individual doesn’t want me asking questions.”

“Look, I’m not discounting what you’re telling me, but I don’t think we have any proof of that.”

I look down at the skid mark. “I guess that depends on your perspective.”

Frowning, he slants his head and speaks into his shoulder mike. “Ten-fifty-one,” he says, requesting a tow truck.

It takes the rest of the morning to get the rental car uprighted and winched out. Sure enough, there’s substantial damage where the truck’s bumper or brush guard plowed into the passenger-side door. As the deputy and I worked to re-create what happened, he warmed to the notion that someone ran me off the road. When we finished and the car was towed, he offered to drive me to Lewistown and I accepted. I called the repair shop where the Explorer was and the manager assured me it would be ready in a couple of hours. It’s a good thing, because I’m pretty sure the car rental agency wouldn’t be thrilled to rent another vehicle to me.

It’s almost four o’clock by the time the Explorer is ready. I’ve just pulled onto the street when a call comes in from Minnesota.

“Chief, this is Deputy Leonard with the Fillmore County Sheriff’s Office.”

It’s the female deputy I talked to yesterday. I feel a quick jump of hope in my chest; I’d all but given up on any information coming from the Amish community in Harmony.

“I’m out here at Bishop Hostetler’s farm,” she tells me. “He’s happy to talk to you if this is a good time.”

“Put him on,” I tell her.

Rustling sounds as her cell phone is passed to the bishop, and then an old man’s voice rumbles over the line. “I had a cousin lived down to Pennsylvania,” he begins.

“Kish Valley?” I ask.

“Lancaster County.”

I clear my throat and switch to Deitsch. “Bishop, I understand Ananias Stoltzfus was the bishop in Harmony years ago. Did you know him?”

“How long ago was that?”

“In the 1960s, I believe.”

“I’m eighty-two years old, Chief Burkholder. I’ve lived here in Harmony since 1974 when I left Ohio. I’ve never heard of anyone by that name, certainly not a bishop. Either he’s mistaken. Or you are.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m not exactly a spring chicken anymore, but I remember my Diener just fine. Orla Weaver was bishop from the time I was knee high. He baptized me in 1963. He got me married off in 1965. He spoke at my mamm’s funeral in 1973. The next year, several Amish families—my own included—moved from Wayne County, Ohio, to Harmony.” He pauses. “Orla went to the Lord in 1985. June, I think it was.”

“Is it possible Ananias Stoltzfus was Diener in another community?” I ask. “Nearby?”

“If someone told you this Ananias Stoltzfus character was Diener in Minnesota, I might just think they were pulling your leg.”

CHAPTER 22

For a full minute, I sit with my hands on the steering wheel, trying to figure out what it means that the bishop in Minnesota has never heard of Ananias Stoltzfus. If he’s not from Minnesota, where is he from?

I can’t speak for Ananias, but Mia was from Germany. Bavaria, I think it was.

Amanda Garber’s words float uneasily in the back of my mind. If the couple were from Germany, why would they lie about it? Who were they? What are they hiding? Most importantly, does it have anything to do with the murder?

Of course, it’s possible that all of this is a benign comedy of errors. Maybe Ananias Stoltzfus was from another part of Minnesota, the southeastern part of the state, for example, where most of the Amish live. Or maybe Bishop Hostetler is simply mistaken. I make a mental note to pay Deacon Kempf a visit to see if I can get my hands on a copy of Raber’s New American Almanac. Even if I do, without DNA or fingerprints, a driver’s license or some kind of ID, there’s no way I can get the definitive answer I need.