Page 76 of A Gathering of Secrets

Neva gives a minute shake of her head. “She never said.”

“We didn’t ask,” Viola says.

“Maybe her mamm told him.” Ina offers the words with a shrug. “I don’t know.”

“She wasn’t that close to her datt,” Neva says. “I mean, he was a good datt and all that, but to talk to a man about.… that. Emma wouldn’t have.”

Nodding, I move on. “Did Emma tell Elam Schlabach what happened? Did he know?”

Neva gives the question a good bit of thought and shakes her head. “She didn’t say, but I don’t think she would have told him.”

“She wouldn’t have risked hurting him,” Viola adds.

Ina shakes her head as if the other girls’ statements are naive. “Or else she was afraid he might—” She cuts the words off abruptly, as if realizing she’d been about to say something that shouldn’t be said.

“That he might what?” I ask.

Ina’s gaze skitters away from mine. “He might’ve blamed her, too,” she mutters.

Neva sighs. “That would have destroyed her.”

“Was Elam protective of Emma?” I ask.

The silence that follows goes on a beat too long. “Sometimes,” Ina says.

“Does he have a temper?” I ask.

“He didn’t … I mean, before Emma died,” Neva says.

“And after she died?” I ask.

Neva slants a look toward the other two women and nods. “He … changed after he lost her. All that pain, I guess.”

“Can’t blame him,” Viola says.

Ina squares her shoulders. “Anyone would change after something like that.”

Neva looks me in the eye. “Elam Schlabach is one of the most decent young Amish men we know, Chief Burkholder. There’s no way he would hurt anyone.”

Viola wipes her nose with a tissue. “He would never commit such a sin. Not Elam.”

Nodding, I rise. “I appreciate your answering my questions and talking about something so painful.”

The three girls are subdued as they rise and push in their chairs. I take my time with my own chair, lingering as they shuffle from the room. I’m thinking about Ruth Petersheim now, and Neva is the girl I need to talk to. Alone.

“Neva?” I say as she goes through the door.

The Amish woman looks at me over her shoulder and raises her brows. “Yes?”

“One more thing.” I walk to the doorway, motion toward the table and chairs. “Do you have a minute?”

Ina and Viola stop and turn toward us, start back into the room. I make eye contact with both of them. “Just Neva.” I soften the words with a smile. “I won’t keep her too long.”

The two young women exchange looks, their expressions wary. They don’t want to leave her.

Neva shrugs it off. “No problem.” She sends a smile to her friends. “Go on. I’ll be out in a sec.”

I pull out one of the chairs. She returns to the break room and sinks into it. I wait by the door until Ina and Viola start toward the front of the store and then I go back to the table.