Read Online Murder in Plain Sight by Marta Perry - Free Book Online Page B

been at that party, and even when she did, what would they have to contribute? The crime hadn’t occurred there.
    Leo was watching the movement of Thomas’s hand on the paper. When it stopped, he spoke. “Now the names of all the Amish at the party.”
    Something that might have been rebellion tightened Thomas’s face. “I don’t—”
    “We know you weren’t the only Amish there.” Leo’s voice had a note of command. “Names. Ms. Langdon won’t tell on them to their parents if she can help it.”
    She opened her mouth to say that she probably would have to talk to parents, especially if any of the party crowd was underage. Then she shut itagain. Thomas was writing down the names. Leo had the knack of dealing with the boy.
    When Thomas finally pushed the pad back across to her, she felt a sense of satisfaction. At least it was a place to start. But now she had to ask the tough questions.
    “When did you and Cherry leave that party?” she asked.
    The whites of Thomas’s eyes showed. “I don’t know.”
    “How did you get to the barn?”
    “I don’t know.” His big hands clasped together.
    “How can you not know?” Her voice sharpened. “Thomas, you have to be open with me if I’m going to help you.”
    “I don’t know,” he said again, desperation in his voice. “I don’t remember.” He looked at Leo, unleashing a torrent of words in a language she didn’t understand.
    Leo listened, then waved him to silence and turned to Jessica. “He says the last thing he remembers is being at the party, having a beer and talking to some English kids. Then it’s a blank until the police woke him up.”
    Her heart sank. I don’t remember wasn’t a particularly good defense.
    She wanted to ask if Leo believed him, but that was a question best left until they were alone. She put a few more questions to Thomas, not expecting much and not getting it. Ja, of course he knew the barn that the Morgan family owned. He hadn’t been there in a long time.
    When the guards had taken Thomas back to his cell, she stared at the single sheet of yellow paper. Not much to show for the interview with her client.
    She glanced at Leo. He looked a little better than he had earlier, as if getting his teeth into the case had been good for him.
    “You understood the language…Amish, is it?”
    “Pennsylvania Dutch. Or Pennsylvania German, if you wanted to be more accurate, which most people don’t.” He shrugged. “Plenty of old-timers like me understand. My parents spoke it when I was a child.”
    “Your family was Amish?” She tried to get a grip on a situation that seemed to be slipping out of her hands.
    “Not Amish, no. Of German-Swiss descent, like them. It’s not that unusual in this area. Even some of the younger folks understand. Trey, for instance. He’s quite fluent.”
    Trey, again. She could do without having Trey Morgan shoved in her face every other minute.
    “About the other kids who were at the party,” Leo said. “I don’t want to interfere—”
    “If you know anything that will help, just tell me,” she said quickly. “I’m beginning to understand just how much a fish out of water I am in this case.”
    “The English kids will probably be easy. Some of them may have already talked to the police. But the Amish are another story.”
    “They won’t willingly get involved with the law.” Trey had said something like that, and Thomas had confirmed it.
    “That’s right.” Leo looked relieved that she understood. “You’ll need an entrée—someone who knows them, if you’re going to get anything out of them.”
    It went against the grain, but surely she was smart enough to know when she needed a hand. “If you’re willing to help, I’d be grateful.”
    He nodded, smiling a little. “One last challenge before I retire. I’d like that.”
    She smiled back. Maybe she hadn’t gotten what she’d hoped for from her client, but she began to feel she’d gained a friend. “Thanks,