Page 6 of A Gathering of Secrets

“I’m Kate.” I offer my hand and she gives it a weak shake. “Does Danny have a cell phone?” I ask.

“Having a phone is against the Ordnung,” the girl says, referring to the unwritten rules of their church district.

I press her anyway. “He was on Rumspringa, right? Maybe he’d gotten a phone and didn’t want your parents to know?”

Fannie shakes her head. “He wouldn’t.”

I nod, but I know better. More than likely, an eighteen-year-old Amish boy on Rumspringa does, indeed, have a phone.

“Rumspringa” is the Deitsh word for “running around.” It’s the time in a young Amish person’s life when they have the opportunity to experience the world without all those Amish rules, usually right before they become baptized and join the church. It gives me hope that Danny simply slipped out in the middle of the night and didn’t tell anyone.

I go to Danny’s room next, open the door, and step inside. Fannie follows. Like most Amish bedrooms, this one doesn’t have a closet. Clothes are hung on wooden dowels. Shoes are lined up against the wall. I notice immediately one of the dowels is bare. A single pair of work boots is tucked beneath the bed.

I motion toward the boots. “Does he have more than one pair of shoes?”

She tilts her head to look at the boots, and her face screws up. “His cowboy boots are gone.” She begins to cry.

“Cowboy boots?”

She pulls a shredded tissue from her pocket and dabs at her eyes. “He bought them with his first paycheck from his job in town. He’s crazy about them.” She chokes out a sound that’s part sob, part laugh. “Says they drive the girls wild. They’re the ugliest things I ever saw, but he wears them everywhere.”

I reach out and gently touch her arm. “Fannie, maybe he sneaked out to meet some friends or a girlfriend. Don’t give up hope just yet. We’ve barely begun to search.”

The girl’s expression brightens, but she doesn’t look hopeful. “Luane’s mamm and datt would never let her leave the house after dark, especially with a boy. Even a good boy like Danny.”

“Luane is his girlfriend?”

“Ja.” She starts to cry again, but regains control quickly. “Her parents are Swartzentruber. Strict, you know. They love Danny like a son, but they still wouldn’t allow such a thing.”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” I mutter the words beneath my breath and motion toward the stairs. “Let’s go talk to your mamm.”

A few minutes later, Miriam, Fannie, and I sit at the kitchen table, trying hard to ignore the cacophony of voices, engines, and sirens outside. Miriam made coffee and set a cup in front of me. No one drinks.

“Fannie tells me Daniel has a girlfriend,” I begin.

The Amish woman nods. “Luane Raber. She’s a sweet girl. Only sixteen years old. They’re a good match. I suspect they’ll get married.…”

“Do the Rabers have a phone?” I ask. “Maybe he went to see his girl.”

“They’re Swartzentruber and have no need for a phone.”

I hit the lapel mike at my shoulder and hail my third-shift officer. “T.J.? What’s your twenty?”

T.J. Banks is the youngest officer in my small department and the only rookie. Since he’s got the least amount of seniority, he usually ends up on the graveyard shift.

“I’m setting up traffic cones in front of the Gingerich place, Chief.”

“I want you to run over to Mose and Sue Raber’s place out on Dogleg Road. Tell them there’s been a fire here at the Gingerich farm and we’re trying to locate Daniel. See if he’s there. Check any barns or outbuildings. And find out if their daughter, Luane, is there. Make sure you speak to her personally, just in case he decided to sneak over without her parents knowing.”

“Got it.”

I turn my attention back to Miriam. “I understand Daniel is on Rumspringa.”

“It’s true. He’s at that age.”

“Mrs. Gingerich, can you think of anywhere else he might’ve gone? Some place we might find him?” I look from Miriam to her daughter. “Any friends he might be visiting?”

Fannie shakes her head. “He would have taken the car.”