Simple Deceit (The Harmony Series 2) (23 page)

As I came down the stairs, I heard the sound of excited voices. Dale and Dan had just entered the foyer when I heard Dan exclaim, “We were trying to clear some of the roads when we found something.”

As I joined the group gathered around the two brothers, Sam said, “You found something? What are you talking about?”

“We found a body, Sam,” Dale said in a somber voice. “It’s Rand McAllister. Dead as a doornail.”

W
hat do you mean dead?” Sweetie’s nonsensical question only echoed the shock I felt at Dale’s stunning announcement.

The brothers stared at her like she was demented. “Dead, Sweetie,” Dale said. “Can’t put it any other way. He’s frozen stiff as a board.” He fixed his gaze on John. “Glad to find you here, John. Heard you used to be a doctor. Can you take him off our hands?”

John’s mouth dropped open. “Take him off your hands? And just what would you like me to do with him?”

Dale shrugged. “Have no idea, but he can’t stay with us.”

“We need to call the police,” I said. “Or the sheriff. Or someone.”

“Good idea,” Sam said, “except the phones don’t work, and I doubt they could get here anyway.”

“The phones in town were okay earlier,” Dan said. “When we get back, we’ll call the sheriff. It may take a while though. It’s mighty slow going. It could be a few hours before we can contact anyone.”

“And we can’t guarantee the phones will be working by the time we get there,” Dale interjected. He looked at his brother.

“Doesn’t Joe Loudermilk still have that old CB radio he plays with in his back room?”

Dan shrugged. “I have no idea, but if the phones are out, we could ask him about it.”

“But Joe’s probably at home,” I said. “How will you get into his store?”

The brothers both frowned at me. “We just take the key off the hook by the door.”

Living in Harmony took some getting used to. Obviously I hadn’t completely retrained my thinking from the way things are done in the big city. “Sorry. Guess I hadn’t thought it out.”

The brothers nodded at me simultaneously. For a second, I was reminded of Tweedledum and Tweedledee from
Through the Looking Glass
. I shook my head. Second time today I’d compared someone who lived in Harmony with a fictional character. Somehow it just seemed appropriate.

“Well, if you men could help us get Rand off the roof of the tractor cab—”

“He’s on the roof?” I asked, aghast. “Why is he on the roof?”

There was the look again. “Just where would you have put him?” Dale asked while Dan nodded briskly. “Guess we could have dragged him along behind us, but it didn’t seem…well…respectful. Thank goodness we had some rope with us. We just strapped him up there and drove to the closest farm.” The brothers looked at each other. “Seemed like the polite way of handling the situation.”

“Polite? Tying someone on the roof of a tractor?” I was obviously out of my league, so I just gave up. “Now what?” My question was directed to Sam, but Sweetie answered.

“Just put him in the barn,” she ordered. “On the big wood table in the middle. And for cryin’ out loud, cover him up with a horse blanket or somethin’.”

The brothers nodded together again. “Good idea,” Dan said.

“He’ll stay nice and cold out there until someone comes for him.”

“What about his family?” I said. “Someone needs to let them know.”

Once again the brothers shook their heads at the same time. “Too far from here. Rand’s place is halfway to Sunrise. It may be some time before we can get word to them.”

“We’ll help you take care of Rand,” Gabe said. “Let us grab our coats and meet you outside.”

Sweetie trotted quickly toward the front door, probably wanting to see Rand McAllister hog-tied to the top of a tractor cab. I, on the other hand, didn’t need that image in my mind. I turned the other way. Sam followed me to the kitchen.

“Guess I’ll go with them.” His expression made it clear he wasn’t enthusiastic about the proposition. But there really wasn’t much choice. Moving frozen dead bodies was definitely men’s work. At that moment, I was thoroughly grateful to be female. He returned my smile with a sickly one of his own and left the room to help the men take care of their macabre business.

As I fixed myself a cup of hot tea, I wondered how Rand got caught outside in the middle of a storm. Sam had told me more than once that snowstorms could be brutal in this part of the country. Surely Rand knew that. Maybe his car broke down, and he tried to go somewhere for help, just like Sarah. I felt bad for him and for his family. He’d been a very unpleasant man, but anytime someone dies tragically, it’s a sad event.

I sipped my tea while Sweetie spent her time checking her chicken and rolling out dough for biscuits. She didn’t share what she’d seen when she rushed out to see Rand’s body, and I didn’t ask. Actually, we didn’t talk much at all about anything. It had been an extremely stressful day. I was exhausted, mentally and physically. Sweetie must have felt it as well. For her to spend thirty minutes in silence was something that didn’t happen very often.

Finally Sam, John, and Gabe came back into the house. Their expressions were grim.

I stood up when they entered the kitchen. “Is…is everything…um, taken care of?”

Sam and John sat down in the chairs at the kitchen table while Gabe leaned up against the wall near the door.

“Well, he’s in the barn,” Sam said. “It doesn’t feel quite…proper. But I can’t think of anything else we could possibly do. Hopefully Dale and Dan will be able to contact the sheriff.” He shrugged. “I have no idea how long it’ll be until he’s picked up.”

“John, did you, um, look at him? Did he die of exposure?”

John shook his head. “It’s impossible to be certain without a thorough examination, but it’s a very good possibility. One thing I can tell you for certain, though. He’s been dead awhile.” He gestured toward the window. “This storm didn’t do it. My guess is he got drunk and lost his way. Wandered off and passed out. He probably never woke up.”

“So he was already dead by the time this storm hit?” I asked.

“I’m just guessing, but I think it’s the reason he didn’t show up for his meeting with Eric Thursday night.”

I frowned. “I know Rand hasn’t lived in Harmony as long as the rest of you, but he’s been here through several winters, right?”

The men nodded in unison.

“You’re wondering how he could get caught out in a storm like this.” Gabe said it matter-of-factly. “I think John’s right. He must have been three sheets to the wind. That’s the only way he’d be wandering around outside in the winter. He knew better.”

“I hope you’re right,” Sam said. “I’d hate to think his wife and daughter got stranded somewhere, and he was out looking for them.”

I couldn’t hold back a gasp. “Oh, Sam. Surely not.”

He rubbed his hand over his face. “Let’s not worry about it yet.

My guess is that John and Gabe have it right. Man, I sure wish the phones were working so we could check on them, though.”

Great. One more thing to think about. I’m a snow nut. Love it. But even I have my limits. This blizzard had exceeded them. First Sarah got stranded; now Rand was found dead. Jessica’s sad face floated through my mind. I said a silent prayer for her protection as well as her mother’s.

“Don’t start worryin’ about that girl,” Sweetie said, breaking her silence. “Her mama’s too smart to let her run around outside in nasty weather.” She pointed her spatula at us. “Look, I know I get cranky and say things I shouldn’t about people, and I know it’s wrong to speak ill of the dead, but what no one is sayin’ here is that Rand McAllister didn’t have the sense God gave a duck. Makin’ bad choices was par for the course with that man. Seems to me his last bad choice was…” Sweetie stared at us for a moment. “Well…his last bad choice. It’s an awful tragedy, but now it’s our job to help take care of his family. Isn’t that what the Good Book says to do? What was that scripture about takin’ care of widows and orphans?”

“James 1:27,” Gabe said. “ ‘Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.’ ”

“That’s it,” Sweetie announced triumphantly. “Boy, I used to think religion was just a bunch of rules and regulations. When I read that scripture, I saw God in a whole new way.”

“Wait a minute,” John said. “You people believe in more than just helping widows and orphans. I thought you loved your religion.”

“We love God,” I said gently. “Religion is a set of beliefs, but it isn’t necessarily a relationship with God. Jesus had some pretty harsh things to say about the religious leaders of His day.”

“God is love,” Sam said. “Religion can actually push love out
while it tries to enforce rules and restrictions on people.” He looked down at Buddy, who was curled up at his feet. Snickle leaned up against his old friend. Both snoozed away, oblivious to life’s trials. “It’s kind of like having a pet. I can try to train him through rules and punishment. Or I can love him. Develop a relationship of trust. Buddy would do anything I asked him to do because he trusts me so much. It would never occur to him that I would lead him in a direction that would hurt him. It’s kind of like that with God. He wants us to obey Him because we love Him and trust Him so much. Not because we’re trying to follow a set of regulations.” He sneaked a quick look at us, and his face flushed pink. “That’s probably an overly simple explanation….”

“It’s a perfect explanation,” Gabe said. “Take it from someone who’s been doing it the wrong way.” His gaze drifted toward the hallway stairs. “I’ve spent too much time trying to teach Sarah the rules. Not enough time showing her God’s love.” He smiled at John. “I still don’t believe you and Sarah should be together, son. But I like you very much. I hope we can be good friends.”

“That would make me very happy,” John said. He shook his head. “You people are something else. I’ve spent a little time around religious people, and it made me want to run away. But there’s something different about Harmony. About most of the people. I would hate to leave here.”

“Why, there ain’t no way you’re gonna get outta here, John Keystone,” Sweetie said. “You’re a part of us now. Besides, we’re still hopin’ you’ll take up doctorin’ again. Sure could use you around here. Shoot. We can get all the meat we want in Sunrise.”

He chuckled. “I don’t know whether to be touched or offended, Sweetie. I think you just told me my business is inconsequential.”

Everyone laughed. Watching John and Gabe together seemed to be a miracle happening right in front of me. I’d been afraid
finding out about Sarah and John might send Gabe back to his former temperament. Thankfully it hadn’t. If John hadn’t backed off, perhaps things would be different. But at least for now, there was peace. And that was good enough for tonight.

While the rest of us got cleaned up for dinner, Gabe slipped away to tell Sarah about Rand McAllister. I hated that she would be faced with another unpleasant situation, but when Gabe came downstairs, he assured us that she had taken the news as well as could be expected.

Sweetie served us a delicious meal. Sam told us that Dan and Dale planned to come back in the morning. The men would be helping others dig us out from the almost two feet of snow that had been dumped on us. The snowfall totals were bad enough, but the winds had created monster snowdrifts that had trapped people in their homes and on their farms. Sam promised me Ida’s would be the first place they’d check.

“I guess we’ll know in the morning if the Scheidler brothers got through to the sheriff,” I said.

He nodded while chewing a big bite of roasted potatoes and gravy. “Not sure how long it will be before he can get here after he gets the news. Council Grove got hit just as bad as we did.”

I swallowed hard. “You—you mean we might have to keep Rand in the barn indefinitely?”

He raised his eyebrows. “I don’t like it either. But we might as well get used to the idea. He’s not going anywhere for a while.”

“I wonder if this will change things in regard to that retirement community,” John said. “With Rand dead, I guess Thelma could sell their farm to Eric and his investors.”

I almost dropped my fork. “Wow. I’d almost completely forgotten about that with everything that’s been happening.” I sighed. “I sure don’t look forward to watching everyone get all riled up again.”

“Me neither,” Sweetie said as she passed around her hot rolls for a second round. “Never seen people snipin’ at each other like they were at that town meetin’. And I ain’t interested in seein’ it again. Wish that Eric Beck had never come to this town. Ain’t brought nothin’ but trouble.”

“That’s not fair,” I retorted. “Eric wanted to do something to help Harmony. Rand is the one who caused all the trouble. Besides, you forget that working on that project was supposed to be my bread and butter. Without the work, I don’t know if I can stay here.”

“Don’t say that,” Sweetie snapped. “I told you we’d take care of you. You ain’t got nothin’ to worry about. I could feed this whole town, let alone a little, skinny girl.”

“Sweetie, you’re a doll,” I said. “But you’re forgetting things like utilities.” Sam started to say something, but I quickly stopped him. “Before you tell me you’ll cover my utilities, let me make it clear that I would never accept that. Besides, I also have student loans that have to be repaid. The truth is, unless I can get some fairly steady freelance work, I won’t have a choice. I’ll have to move back to Wichita.”

Sweetie snorted. “It ain’t gonna happen, and that’s all I want to hear about that now. For land’s sakes, been enough drama around here to last a lifetime. Let’s not stir up any more worries tonight. How about a game of checkers after we eat?”

“You all go ahead,” I said. “I’m going to take some dinner up to Sarah and see if she feels like coming downstairs.”

“Don’t be silly, Gracie,” Gabe said. “I’ll take care of my daughter.”

I shook my head at him. “I think you’d better relax this evening and get to bed early. Sounds like you guys will be working pretty hard the next few days. Besides, Sarah’s my closest female friend here. I like taking care of her.”