Page 64 of A Gathering of Secrets

He hesitates, looks away. “I don’t know.”

“We can do this at the station if that will help your memory.”

“Look, I don’t know if she told him. What I can tell you is that … sometimes Danny would sort of hint around about things. I mean, about what he did. You know, he’d brag about his conquests or whatever. Thought he was some kind of fucking Romeo or something.” He shrugs. “Word gets around.”

“So it’s possible Mark Petersheim knows?”

“I’m betting he probably knows something happened. I doubt if he knows how ugly it got. Let me tell you something about Mark. He may be Amish, but he’s not the kind of guy who’d put up with any kind of infidelity.”

“That wasn’t infidelity,” I snap.

“All I’m saying is he’s not the kind of guy who’d swallow something like that happening behind his back. To his woman. If people were talking behind his back … he wouldn’t like that either. He cares about what the Amish think.”

I don’t know if he’s telling the truth, giving me some half-truth, or making it up as he goes. If he’s lying, he’s good at it. I find myself thinking about Ruth Petersheim and how an insecure husband might react to rumors that his wife had betrayed him or that his child belonged to another man.…

“Did Ruth’s parents know?”

“You’ll have to ask her about that.”

“Were there other women he assaulted?” I ask.

He winces as if the question causes him physical pain. His cigarette has burned down to the filter, but he doesn’t seem to notice. “I don’t know. Danny was … you couldn’t believe half of what he said. I mean, when it came to women. He was always hinting around that he’d been with someone.”

“I need names.”

“I don’t have names. The only one that stands out now is this young Amish girl. I mean, really young. Like jailbait.”

He has the audacity to blush. “I remember because Danny said she was, you know, cherry.”

“What’s her name?”

“I don’t know. Danny just mentioned her in passing. Bragging. I’m not even sure he said her name. He was an asshole that way.”

“Milo, you had better give me something.”

He grimaces.

“He used to go up to that little shop in Charm all the time just to see those girls. Had his eye on all of them, I guess.”

“The Mercantile?”

He nods. “It was like he was … stalking them. But after all that happened with Ruth, I cut ties with him. We stopped talking.”

“Is it possible Daniel bragged about things that didn’t really happen?” I ask.

“I’m sure he did. He was like that.” His brows go together. “But I think something happened with the girl from The Mercantile. I don’t know about any others.”

I pull out my card, write my cell number on the back, and pass it to him. “I may want to talk to you again, so if you have to leave town, you need to let me know.”

He takes the card, looks down at it. “All right.”

“Stay away from Ruth Petersheim,” I tell him. “If you try to make contact with her, I will come after you and I will make your life a living hell. Are we clear?”

“I got it.” He shakes his head. “I tried to do the right thing that night, Chief Burkholder.”

“Evidently, you didn’t try hard enough.” Turning away, I start toward the door.

“Chief Burkholder. Wait.”