Lost in Plain Sight by Marta Perry Page B

his wife’s arm. “Come on, Angela. We’re intruding on Mrs. Morgan, and we don’t want to do anything hasty.”
    “Hasty?” She shook his hand off, glaring at him. “There’s nothing hasty about it. If you won’t help, maybe the police can get to the bottom of this.”
    Josiah had thought Leah pale before, but at the mention of the police she lost even more color. “Mrs. Grayson, I did not do this thing.” Her voice trembled.
    “We don’t want to involve the police,” Mr. Grayson said, and Josiah thought there was sympathy in his face when he looked at Leah. “We’ll just tell the insurance company the ring is lost, and that’ll be an end to it.”
    “Absolutely not.” The woman was not moved. “I’ll wait until Monday. If the ring hasn’t shown up by then, I’m calling the police.” She spun and headed for the door. “Come along, Phillip.”
    “In a minute, dear.” Grayson turned to Leah, shaking his head, waiting until his wife was out the door before he spoke. “I’m sorry about this, Leah. Maybe I can get her to change her mind.” He pulled a wad of bills out of his pocket. “Let me pay what we owe you…”
    “Thank you, no.” Leah stood very straight, clasping her hands behind her back.
    The man hesitated for a moment. Then he shoved the bills back in his pocket and went after his wife.
    The door slammed behind them, and Leah seemed to sag, as if her legs wouldn’t hold her up any longer. Geneva grasped Leah’s waist.
    “Now, Leah, don’t be so upset. Everyone will know this accusation is ridiculous. You wouldn’t touch anything that doesn’t belong to you.”
    Josiah clasped Leah’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Mrs. Morgan is right, Leah. Everyone who knows you will understand that you didn’t do this thing.”
    She shook her head, green eyes huge and lost-looking. “What about the other Englisch I work for? They will not want me in their homes anymore. What if the ministers and the bishop hear about it? My family will be so hurt and ashamed. And the police—will they put me in jail? I can’t give back something I never had.”
    “No one is going to put you in jail,” Geneva said soothingly. “I promise you that. We’ll get a lawyer for you if we have to.”
    Leah shook her head. “My daad would never agree to get involved with the law.”
    Josiah’s gaze met Geneva’s, and he felt that she was thinking the same thing he was—that Harvey Miller was a gut man, but awful strict, always interpreting the Ordnung in the most stringent way possible.
    “Well, we must just make sure it doesn’t come to the law,” Geneva said, her voice brisk, maybe in an effort to cheer Leah. “We believe in you, and we’ll find some way of proving you didn’t steal that foolish woman’s ring.”
    “Denke, Geneva.” Leah squared her shoulders, seeming to call up strength from inside herself. “That is ser kind of you. But I cannot involve you in my troubles.”
    “We’re already involved.” Geneva Morgan would not be one to back off when someone she cared about was in trouble. Everyone knew that about her. The Morgans were people you could depend upon.
    Leah shook her head, a defeated look in her eyes. Josiah understood, in a way that even Geneva, with all her knowledge of her Amish neighbors, could not. Leah saw her whole life shattering—not just her job, but her standing in the Amish community, her relationship with her family, her whole future. For an Amish girl to be accused of theft…well, it was just unheard-of.
    “I know you’re overwhelmed just now.” Geneva’s tone was gentle. “But I believe in you. Josiah believes in you. And we’re going to help you find out the truth, aren’t we, Josiah?”
    He hesitated for a second, reluctant to get involved in something controversial before he’d even gotten settled back in the community again.
    But this was Leah. He couldn’t let her be hurt if there was anything he could do.
    “That’s certain sure,”