A Simple Shaker Murder by Deborah Woodworth

could find more out.”
    â€œGretchen!”
    â€œI only meant . . . Rose, you must know I wouldn’t break my vows. I’ll keep my ears open, and I’ll let you know immediately if I hear anything more about our visitors.”
    Rose still felt uneasy, but she decided to leave Gretchen’s behavior to her conscience. Surely she had learned her lesson.
    Rose trusted Gretchen’s intentions, but not Earl Weston’s understanding of the need for distance between them. She lost no time in tracking Earl down. One of the brethren had seen him enter the West Dwelling House, another of North Homage’s unoccupied buildings. It must be pleasant to have the leisure to wander around aimlessly , she thought, as she climbed the wooden steps to the single front door. She was not in the most tolerant of moods.
    The unused dwelling house was cold and dim inside, and Rose entered carefully, not sure what condition it might be in. Eight or nine years earlier, the brethren had begun renovations, hoping to turn the house into a shop for Shaker goods, but times had gotten too bad, both for the Shakers and for their customers.
    Rose left the door ajar to admit fresh air and some light. She’d hoped to find Earl near the front of the house, but sounds from just overhead told her he was on the second floor. Reluctantly, she left the circle of light and climbed the stairs, holding fast to the railing, just in case. But the brethren must have been keeping an eye on the building, because the staircase was sound.
    The old pine steps were creaky enough that she was sure Earl would be at the top to greet her, but the hallway was empty when she reached it. She went directly to the room she’d heard footsteps in, a retiring room on the east side. The door hung open. Earl stood at the window, which gave him a panoramic view of most of the village of North Homage, as well as the acres and acres of land beyond.
    â€œIt’s a breathtaking sight, isn’t it?” Rose said.
    Earl whirled around so fast that he stumbled back against the deep window frame. Unable to steady himself in time, he sat with a plunk on the wide sill.
    Earl stared at Rose as if he couldn’t place her. He couldn’t be much older than Gretchen, if they’d been childhood pals, but he looked closer to forty. Unlike the Griffiths cousins, he was taller than average. Rose supposed he might be considered handsome, but the telltale signs of a dissolute life had already added extra inches to his girth and dark pockets under his eyes, which were deep brown and hard to read. Rose must have given him a severe shock, because his breathing was rapid and red splotches formed on his already florid face.
    â€œI’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you so. I’ve no idea what shape those sills are in.”
    Earl stood up and rearranged his expression into one of affability. “I’m fine, just fine. Rose, is it? You just startled me, is all. I, uh, was having a look-see around the house, just outof curiosity. If I may ask, why aren’t you using this place?” He scanned the large, empty room as if he could already see it filled with elegant, and probably expensive, furniture.
    â€œYou may have noticed when you entered that this dwelling house has only one door,” Rose said. “Decades ago, when we were a much larger community, this was where our gathering order lived—people who had not signed the covenant. Since they were still outside the faith, they lived apart from the Shaker families, and took care of their own affairs. Some of them decided to sign the covenant, but others never did. Such folks just don’t show up much anymore. It’s wasteful to keep this dwelling habitable for one or two people.”
    Rose didn’t go on to tell him about their various other plans for the house. After asking his question, he’d seemed to lose interest, inspecting the woodwork instead of looking at