A Murder of Aspic Proportions by Amy Lillard

Author:Amy Lillard [Lillard, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2023-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

What you don’t know can’t hurt you . . . until you find out about it.

—Aunt Bess

When she walked into her aunt’s house, Daniel was reading to Lizzie from The Budget newspaper. Sissy had finally gotten used to the fact that everyone—well, the Amish really—just walked in without a knock or a previous warning. They came in, shouting out a greeting, and that was that.

“Sissy!” Lizzie called as if it had been eons since they had last seen each other and not just a couple of days. “I’m so glad to see you.”

“Me too,” Daniel quipped. “You can take over now.” He handed Sissy the newspaper as Duke climbed over Lizzie’s belly to flop down and snuggle into the crook of her neck.

Sissy shook her head. “He’s going to be heartbroken when the babies come and he can’t be the center of your world.”

Lizzie gave a mock pout. “Well, maybe you should give him more attention then.”

“Uh-huh,” Sissy said. “That’s exactly what he needs.”

“I’m going . . .” Daniel pointed toward the kitchen and disappeared through the doorway that led into the large room.

Lizzie rolled her eyes. “He’s been reading to me in the evenings,” she said. “But I don’t think he likes it.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know.” Lizzie stroked Duke’s silky head, and he let out a blissful puppy sigh. “He says it’s because he’s already read them all and that I get argumentative about the articles. But I just want to discuss them. With a person. You know, a living, breathing person, something I haven’t seen in hours and hours.”

Sissy gave her an understanding smile. “Bored, are you?”

“Beyond belief,” Lizzie admitted. “And then scared. I want the babies to come so badly, so I can get up and move around, but when they come, am I going to be ready?”

“Of course you are.” Sissy patted her hand, and Duke let out a small growl. He was possessive of Lizzie. Maybe he could sense her fear and doubts. Whatever it was, she decided to let his impertinence slide. “What are y’all reading about?”

“He just finished the one about the Swartzen-truber community in Pennsylvania that moved out of state because they don’t want to add safety triangles to the back of their buggies. I guess Pennsylvania requires that.”

Sissy found the article and scanned it while Lizzie rubbed one of Duke’s silky ears between her thumb and forefinger. “I don’t get it,” Sissy said. “What do the triangles have to do with following the word of God?”

One thing she had truly learned while living in Yoder was that Amish was a religion, first and foremost. She felt like people on the “outside” lost a sense of that when they started talking about buggies, one-room schools, and no electricity. When they contemplated whether or not they could “become” Amish, whether or not they believed the same doctrine as the community was never brought up. Most times, such conversations centered on what they would have to give up in terms of convenience—curling irons, cars, and computers.

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