Lancaster County Reckoning

“Thank you for the ride to the hospital,” he said, handing her a hot cup.

“Of course,” she said. “Thanks for the coffee.”

They sat opposite each other at one of the cafeteria tables. Darcy stared into the black liquid, watching steam swirl up from the cup. She took a drink. It was bitter and stale, and as it hit her stomach, she was reminded that she’d skipped breakfast and hadn’t had a chance to eat lunch.

“So, how is he?” she asked at last. She had a feeling that the news wasn’t going to be good or he would have already told her.

“They are operating on him.” Thomas’s voice was quiet and strained with emotion. “But...apparently there’s some internal bleeding and they are having a hard time stopping it.”

“So what does that mean?”

“They are going to try another procedure. If it works, it will stabilize his condition.”

“And if not?”

“If it doesn’t work...then they don’t expect him to live through the night.”

“What?” Darcy had not expected good news but she hadn’t expected anything as bad as this. “That can’t be. There must be something we can do. Maybe we need a second opinion?”

She pushed away from the table, fighting tears of rage and fear. Thomas grabbed her gently by the wrist. His hand felt strong and warm as he pulled her back to her seat.

“Dr. Jamison is one of the best ER doctors in the Northeast. He and his team are doing all they can. It’s in God’s hands.”

Seemed more like Jesse was in this doctor’s hands, not God’s. And she wondered why one of the best doctors would be working all the way out here. But she couldn’t muster the energy to ask.

Darcy slumped back into the chair. She felt so out of place and helpless. And confused. It wasn’t like her at all. “It’s just that... I don’t know how to deal with all of this. I just found out my father has actually been alive all this time and now he’s...well, beaten almost to death. I just wish there was something I could do to help. And yet, I don’t even know if it’s my place to help or if Jesse would even want me to.”

“It’s okay. It will all get sorted out. These things take time. The doctors are doing everything they can to save him. Plus, I know Jesse pretty well and I can tell you for sure and certain that he is a very strong man.”

“I just hate doing nothing. Just sitting here and waiting.”

“Well, there is something you can do. Something we all can do.”

“What’s that?” She lifted her head.

“We can pray.”

“Oh.” Pray? Really? Darcy looked away and tried to keep her facial expression neutral. It wasn’t that she thought praying was stupid. It just wasn’t for her. “Of course... I guess I was thinking of doing something more active and practical, maybe, like finding who did this to him.”

“Ja, well, one thing at a time. Plus, I’m sure the police have been notified about the beating. They will look for whoever is responsible. There is no need for us to go anywhere until Jesse’s condition is stable.” There was a lovely lilt to his voice. He had a faint accent that she hadn’t noticed before. “If Jesse were awake, he would be praying. That I am sure of. But you would know that, of course, since you’re his daughter, ja?”

Darcy swallowed hard. She put her elbows on the table and surrounded the warm cup of coffee with her hands. “I only met Jesse a few weeks ago. And we mostly talked about me.” She regretted that now.

“But you are his daughter?” He stared out at her from under a wisp of dark curls. He tilted his head, focusing hard on her face. “Truly Jesse Troyer’s daughter?”

Strange emotions flowed through her. “I’m afraid so. And I understand your surprise.”

He grinned, revealing a beautiful set of white teeth. “Ja, it is a surprise. But truly, if I hadn’t known Jesse for the past twenty years, I would not question ye so many times. You have his eyes, for certain.”

In spite of herself, Darcy smiled a little, remembering meeting Jesse for the first time and feeling that shock of recognition when faced with those unusual dark gray eyes she’d seen in the mirror every day of her life.

“But it is just that, well...he never mentioned you,” Thomas said.

“No one ever mentioned him to me, either.” Darcy rubbed her temples, thinking back to when she’d first met Jesse at the coffeehouse just a few weeks ago. “I grew up with my grandparents—my mother’s parents—in northern Virginia. I was told my parents had both died in a car accident right after I was born. There were newspaper articles and everything, showing the crash. Turns out half of it was a lie. The crash did kill my mother...but my father was alive all along.

“I mean, I don’t have any legal documents to show you as proof of paternity. Jesse talked about getting them if I wanted him to. But at this point I wasn’t really sure where this whole thing was going. And anyway, he had proof enough for me—pictures of me as a baby. And pictures of my mother. Pictures of the three of us together. And he had this locket. My mother’s locket. She always wore it. It’s around her neck in almost every picture I’ve ever seen of her.”

Darcy lifted the beautiful silver necklace off her collarbone to show him. Thomas looked at the locket then turned away. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking. Whether he believed her or not. His stoic face hid his emotions. Calm strength was all he allowed her to see. But she didn’t really care what he thought of the situation. Thomas was just a neighbor. She was Jesse’s daughter, his own flesh and blood.

After a long moment of silence, Thomas looked back at her with faraway eyes that were hazy with sadness. “Jesse did talk about your mother. He spoke of her often to me.”

“Yes, my grandparents talked about her all the time. She was amazing,” Darcy said, thinking of all the comparisons they’d made when raising her. Comparisons she’d never lived up to.

Thomas sighed. “So how did you find out? How did you and Jesse meet?”

“Jesse wrote to me.” She smiled. “An old-fashioned letter. He told me who he was and he sent some pictures. One of them was a picture I had seen before in my mother’s things.”

“That must have been strange.”

“Yes, at first. But then I became curious. I asked my grandparents about it. About him.” A sharp pain stabbed at her heart. “But they wouldn’t tell me anything, except that my mother was dead and that it was his fault. They told me if I wanted to go down that road of getting to know my father, that I would have to do it alone.”

“I am truly sorry.” Thomas’s eyebrows pressed together, his brown eyes examining her carefully. “Family... Well, we should always be able to count on family.”

“It’s okay. My grandparents have always been a little...different.” Cold. “But actually what they said only confirmed to me that Jesse was telling the truth. So I met with him. And when I saw him, I knew. Jesse is definitely my father. I just wish...” I’d known about him...

Tears started to well in her eyes. Thomas reached across the table and patted her hand.

“Hey, now, I am certain that he had a reason for not getting in touch with you sooner. And if I know Jesse, and I think I do, then he had a very, very gut reason.” He gave her hand a quick squeeze, then slid his hand back to his side of the table. “Jesse—your father—is a gut man. A man of God. And he is strong. I am praying that God will let him stay with us a bit longer. We cannot change the past, but you can still have a future together as father and daughter.”

The tears started to spill over. Darcy tried to hold them back. She didn’t want to cry in front of this stranger. She covered her face with her hands.

Thomas stood. “We should go back now. The police will probably be here soon.”

Darcy felt the blood drain from her face. She did not want to talk to the police. She couldn’t imagine that she knew anything which would be helpful. And what if no one believed that she was Jesse’s daughter? “Oh...but I don’t know what to say to them...like I told you I don’t have any real proof that he’s my father.”

“It is going to be okay, Darcy. Just tell them what you told me.”

“Do they know about the phone call?”

“I haven’t spoken with them yet. But I hope you plan to tell them. It may help them find out who did this. Isn’t that what you want?”

“Of course it’s what I want. But how can I explain what the man said to me? Not to mention, no one really knows I’m Jesse’s daughter. What if Jesse doesn’t want anyone to know?”

“I don’t think you can keep being Jesse’s daughter a secret any longer.” He smiled. “You have nothing to fear from Jesse’s friends. I know that much. Which makes me wonder why—”

“Why he kept it a secret?” she said, finishing the question for him. “I don’t know. It’s not a topic you just jump right into the first time you meet your father.”

And now he might die and she would never know.

Darcy closed her eyes. Thomas was right. There was no escaping her identity any longer. She was the daughter of a man who had been attacked for hiding something. And the man who had committed—or commissioned—the attack was now after her, unless she turned over something she knew nothing about. It was all so cryptic and horrifying. She didn’t know what they wanted and if Jesse didn’t wake up and give it to them then...

What did they have planned for her?

THREE

“Chief McClendon.” Thomas shook hands with the Lancaster head of police. They had met before during another stressful time in Thomas’s life, when his own niece had been murdered. And while most Amish didn’t have much to do with government or law enforcement agencies of any sort, Thomas had a healthy respect for the chief. McClendon had always kept his family’s confidences and respected their boundaries. Right now, Thomas had a sense that the chief would be helping him again through whatever was going on with Jesse and Jesse’s long-lost daughter.

“This is Darcy Simmons.” Thomas moved his eyes quickly between her and McClendon. “And she is...well, she is Jesse Troyer’s daughter.”

“Oh.” McClendon turned to Darcy, taking in her fancy clothes. “I guess you left the fold.”

Darcy looked taken aback.

“She was not born or raised Amish,” Thomas answered for her. “Jesse came to the Ordnung later in life.”

“Oh, I see.” McClendon frowned. “So I understand Mr. Troyer was badly beaten?”

“We hope he will pull through, but it’s too early to know his status for certain,” Thomas replied quickly, wanting to keep Darcy focused on the positive.

She looked well past the point of exhaustion. Her hands shook. Her eyes were swollen. She seemed so horribly...alone.

“I’ll need to ask you a few questions about your...well, about Jesse,” McClendon said to Darcy. “And about what happened earlier today.”

She nodded.

“You add in anything in that might be helpful,” McClendon said to Thomas. “I understand you were both there?”

“I arrived first,” Darcy said, explaining how she and Jesse had planned for her to come at noon. “When I got there no one answered at the door, and I noticed it was cracked open. Then Thomas came. We went in together and found that someone had torn the place apart. Then we discovered Jesse upstairs on the floor. Thomas called 911. And then—then I got this strange phone call.”

Thomas exhaled a sigh of relief, pleased that she’d overcome her hesitation and decided to share the truth with the police chief.

“How do you mean, strange?” McClendon asked.

Darcy quoted the caller verbatim. McClendon scratched his head. “And you have no idea who would have sent you a threatening message?”

“No.” She shook her head.

“You didn’t recognize the voice?”

“It was modified. Computerized. It didn’t sound natural.”

“Did either of you see anyone coming or going from the area around the house?”

They both shook their heads.

“Did you see anything unusual or missing?”

“It was impossible to tell. The place was wrecked.”

“Right. We sent a team over to Mr. Troyer’s place to investigate. But they won’t know what or if anything is missing. Then again, based on this phone call you’re telling me about, it seems likely that the caller didn’t find what he wanted at Jesse’s home.”

Thomas nodded. That made sense. Whatever the man from the phone call was after, he’d probably tried to get Jesse to reveal where it was first. When that hadn’t worked, he’d tried searching the house for it himself. When that failed, he’d threatened Darcy. But how had he known about Darcy? That was still a puzzle.

“So, you’re from Philadelphia?” McClendon asked her.

“Originally, I’m from Virginia. But I’ve lived in the Philadelphia area since college. I work as a buyer for Winnefords department store.”

“You live alone?”

She nodded. “I have a small town house in the suburbs.”

“You work in the city?”

“Mostly. I travel to New York a lot.”

McClendon flipped through his notes. “Now, what was your relationship with your father?”

“We...didn’t have a relationship until recently.”

The chief looked up at that. “None at all? Was it a custody issue?”

“No, it was... To be honest, I’m not really sure what it was. I was raised by my mother’s parents. They blamed Jesse for my mother’s death, so maybe that’s why they told me my father had died when I was a baby. They didn’t want anything to do with him.”

“And when did you find out the truth?”

“About a month ago. Jesse sent me a letter, and we met for the first time a week later.”

“Did you tell anyone that you were coming to Willow Trace today? Did anyone of your acquaintance know about Jesse and your recent discovery that he is your father?”

“No. No one knew I was coming. Only Jesse. And I hadn’t told anyone about him contacting me, other than my grandparents. But they didn’t want to discuss it.”

McClendon looked to Thomas, who hoped the questions were nearly over. Darcy looked ready to collapse.

“She’s told you everything as it happened,” Thomas said, hoping to head off any more questions.

“Has she?” the chief asked. “So you can confirm what she’s said about the letter and meeting with Jesse? He told you about his daughter?”

Thomas flushed. “Well...no, actually, today was the first I heard of it.”

“Do you consider yourself close to Mr. Troyer?”

“Ja, of course. We have been neighbors for twenty years.”

“And he never mentioned a daughter? Not even in the past few weeks?”

“No,” Thomas admitted. “He has spoken of his wife and I knew she had died, but there was never mention of a daughter.” Thomas couldn’t deny that the situation was strange. There were so many things that didn’t make sense. And the only people with answers were the threatening man from the phone call and Jesse, who might never wake up again.

But Thomas believed that Darcy was being honest with them. Her shock and horror at Jesse’s attack had been real. And so was her fear at the phone call.

“It must be related—the beating and the phone call,” Thomas said. “Don’t you think? It was almost like the caller was watching us. Like he knew exactly when to call.”

“So what’s your theory on why anyone would want to beat up a nice Amish man and threaten his daughter?” McClendon asked.

Thomas shook his head slightly. For that he had no answer. “I cannot even imagine who would want to hurt Jesse. He’s just a sweet old Amish fellow who minds his own business.”

“You said he’s been your neighbor for twenty years. Where did he live before?”

Thomas took off his hat and scratched his head. “I don’t recall. That would be a question for the bishop.”

Could all this be tied to Jesse’s past? Jesse’s life before he came to Willow Trace? But that was so long ago. Even if he had enemies from decades in the past, why would they come to trouble him now?

Thomas shifted his weight and kept one eye on the door. He was on the lookout for his friend Elijah. Earlier he had asked the ER staff to notify not only the bishop and leader of the Ordnung about the beating, but also his friend, who had spent many years in the Englisch world working as a police detective before returning to his Amish roots. Thomas hoped Elijah’s experience with police investigations could help them.

McClendon continued questioning Darcy. “Do you give the police permission to track your incoming phone calls? In the case this happens again?”

“Of course. You can have my phone if that helps you find whoever did this to Jesse,” she said, handing over her phone.

Thomas saw Elijah Miller enter through the waiting room doors and walked over to greet him. He met his good friend with a hearty handshake. “Are you a sight for sore eyes. Here. Come. McClendon is speaking to her.”

“Chief,” Elijah said as they joined Darcy and McClendon. “And you must be Miss Simmons. The whole Ordnung is praying for Jesse. And I’m here to help in any way I can.”

Darcy seemed confused as she looked over Elijah and took in his Amish dress but somewhat Englisch mannerisms and speech, which Thomas had learned that his friend could turn on and off depending on what the situation might call for.

“Eli is a former detective,” Thomas explained.

“Well, I’m just a farmer now, Miss Simmons. But I worked for ten years on the force in Philly, before coming back home,” he said.

Darcy nodded.

“I just came from the cottage,” Elijah said. “There was a team of investigators. So far, they seem to have no leads on who attacked Jesse. Jesse lived plain. Very plain. There was nothing in his home that anyone would want to steal. But there was a business card with Miss Simmons’s personal information and number. We found that on the floor with a few papers and some old pictures.”

“Well, that could be how they got your number,” McClendon said, turning to Darcy. “But that doesn’t explain how they would know you’re Jesse’s daughter.”

“There was a letter there from Darcy,” Elijah said. “I didn’t read it. I think it was marked into evidence with the photos.”

“Photos?” Thomas repeated. “I can’t imagine Jesse having photos. It’s verboten.”

“Forbidden,” Elijah said, translating. “But if they were his only tie to his daughter for all these years maybe he kept them anyway. Or maybe he just got them recently.”

Still, pictures? Thomas’s head spun with doubts and confusion. This did not sound like the Jesse that he knew.

“In the morning,” Elijah continued, “a few of us are planning to meet up at Jesse’s and help put the place back together. It’s quite a mess.”

“I’ll be there.” Thomas shook Elijah’s hand.

“Miss Simmons—” Elijah tipped his hat “—I hope you hear some good news very soon.”

“Thank you.” Darcy nodded and finished up answering a few more questions from the chief.

Thomas walked Elijah from the waiting area.

“Thank you for coming.” He shook his friend’s hand. “It is gut to have someone who can help us make sense of these things. Not that I can see any sense in the harm that was done to Jesse. He was really beat up. And you heard about the phone call to Darcy?”

“No.” Eli looked grim. “What phone call?”

Thomas filled Elijah in on every detail. “If only Jesse could tell us what this is all about.”

“I think Darcy should take that threat seriously after what happened to Jesse. But what could Jesse have that would be worth nearly killing him over?”

“That is what I keep asking myself over and over,” Thomas said. “Do you remember when Jesse moved here? You and I wanted to go to his cottage every day after chores and play baseball or lawn croquet.”

“I remember.” Elijah laughed then stopped abruptly.

“Do you remember if he ever said where he came from?”

“No. I don’t guess I ever really thought about it too much. He always just fit in. Like he’d been here forever.”

“But he wasn’t,” Thomas said. “And he’s got a full-grown Englisch daughter to prove it.”

“Maybe the Elders know. They must know something about his past from when they accepted him in to the Ordnung. I could ask my father.”

“Would you? But would he even be able to tell you anything?” Thomas wondered if that was the right thing to do. “I mean it’s one thing for us to know he has a daughter. It’s another for us to know the whole story behind their past and their separation.”

“I’m sure if Jesse thought that his daughter was in danger, he’d want us to help, no?” Elijah patted him on the back. “And we can help a lot more if we know more.”

“But if we interfere then are we leaving it up to God?”

“God will work through all of us. We will either get the answers or we won’t.”

“Okay. I’ll see you at the cottage at noon tomorrow.”

Elijah smiled. “All will be well.”

All will be well. In God’s time.

Thomas returned to the waiting room. McClendon had gone. Darcy had reseated herself on the other side of the room and did not look as if she wanted company. He could respect that. She had gone through a lot in one day. He imagined Darcy was barely holding it together.

Thomas slumped down into a seat that he decided looked the least uncomfortable. He lowered his hat over his eyes and let his chin rest on his chest.

Secret daughter? Jesse attacked and left for dead? Threats that he has something that belonged to someone else? Thomas just couldn’t wrap his head around it. It was as if the Jesse he’d always known was someone else entirely. Images of Jesse swam in Thomas’s head as he drifted off to sleep...

* * *

“Hey, man, wake up.”

Thomas sat up fast. There was a horrible pain in his back and neck. Dr. Blake Jamison of the ER stood over him, looking like he hadn’t slept in days. Thomas checked the clock on the wall.

“Seven thirty?” He stood and rubbed his neck. “Last I saw, it was midnight. I guess I fell asleep.”

“Glad somebody did.” Blake glanced over toward Darcy. “Is that Jesse’s daughter? I have news.”

“Ja. Come.” Thomas shook the ache from his stiff bones and led his doctor friend across the large waiting area. He hoped and prayed that Blake had good news.

“Darcy, this is Dr. Jamison.” Thomas cleared the sleep from his voice. “Blake is the head of the ER here. He’s been with Jesse.”

A brief smile brushed over Darcy’s lips. The lipstick had worn away and her lips were no longer stained with color. Plain and unpainted, they looked even lovelier to him than before. She shook hands with Blake. “So, how is Jesse?”

Blake rubbed a thumb and forefinger over his scruffy stubble. It was clear he’d been at work for hours. “Well, he’s still with us. He made it through the night. The last procedure seemed to stop the rest of the internal bleeding.”

Thomas let out a sigh of relief.

“I get the sense that you led with the good news,” Darcy said shrewdly.

Blake gave her a tired smile. “You’d be right. I’m afraid not all of my news is good.”

“So what is the bad news?” she asked.

“Jesse has slipped into a coma.”

FOUR

A coma? Thomas was thankful Jesse had lived. But for Darcy’s sake, and for the sake of Jesse’s continued safety, he sure wished he could ask his old neighbor a few questions. From the look of disappointment on Darcy’s face, Thomas guessed she was thinking the same thing. How were they going to get to the bottom of this without Jesse’s help?

“A coma?” Darcy repeated. “How long will that last?”

“I can’t say,” Blake answered. “But this can happen when recovering from such trauma to the brain. In many cases, the patient is able to eventually make a full recovery.”

“So he will wake up?”

“I can’t make any promises, but we certainly hope so. There’s a very good chance, and many of his indicators look positive. Still, he won’t be out of the woods completely even after waking up. There was a lot of hemorrhaging and we won’t be able to gauge the full extent of the damage until we can communicate with him.” Blake looked at Thomas.