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26. Shane

26

Shane

The first person I looked up was Delores's daughter. She and her mother had to know if the baby was really dead or alive. We still had to contact the other families who had been told their child had died. If they didn't see the body, there was a good chance their child had lived.

"What a mess," I muttered. I picked up the phone to call Michael when Maverick walked into the room.

"Hey, Michael will be here tomorrow," he said.

"I was just about to call him," I replied, setting the phone down.

"He's bringing a list of the families who lost babies at birth—the ones Delores and her daughter were involved with," Maverick explained.

The following day, Ruth arrived early. She found Rebecca in the garden and joined her there. I watched from my office window as they worked side by side, digging in the soil. They spent hours outside, laughing and playing with Matthew.

While Maverick was picking up Michael from the airport, I finally found what I was looking for. Ruth's mother had gotten her through a lawyer, not an adoption agency. They paid fifty thousand dollars for her. Having access to the FBI files had helped me gather all the information I needed.

I heard a noise and looked up as Michael and Maverick walked into my office. "Hello," I said, standing up. Ruth was behind them, smiling. Michael turned and stumbled slightly when he saw her.

"Mary?" he whispered.

"No, I'm Ruth," she corrected gently.

"Of course, I'm sorry," Michael said, clearly shaken.

"Ruth and I have talked," Rebecca said. "She saw a photo of our family and knows she's my sister. We both realize that if she had been with us, she probably would have died with the rest of the family."

"I'm so happy I have Rebecca," Ruth added. "I know I'm not supposed to have a computer, but I need it for my writing."

"I think she's talking to you, Bishop," I said, nudging Michael.

"What? Oh, it's just incredible how much you look like Mary," Michael said, still stunned. "Is Mark still around?"

"It doesn't matter if he is. This is Ruth, and Mark was engaged to Mary," I said, feeling my patience thin.

"I remember how upset Mark was," Michael said. "I just didn't want him freaking out because they looked identical."

"Shane, have you found anything yet?" Maverick asked, shifting the conversation.

"Yes, let's sit down and have some tea. I'll go over what I discovered," I said.

"I'm putting Matthew down for a nap. You can make the tea while I'm gone," Rebecca said.

"I'll make the tea," Ruth offered.

I glanced into the kitchen as Ruth prepared the tea. It felt good to see her there, comfortable in my home. I couldn't help but wonder if she thought I was too old for her. Well, there was only one way to find out—I'd ask her once we got all this other stuff settled.

"Michael, how is the community doing after the flooding? Have people gotten their farms back in order? Have you talked to Rebecca's cousins? How are they doing on the farm?" I asked, trying to redirect his focus away from Ruth's resemblance to Mary.

"It's still a big mess," Michael replied. "The community will lose a lot of money this year because there's no way to plant. Other farmers have been helping clear the mud, but it's a long process."

"And Rebecca's cousins?" I pressed.

"They've been digging through the mud nonstop. The house is intact—it didn't get swept away—but it was flooded. The barn's still standing too. They're working day and night trying to clean everything up."

"Maybe we could bring in some dozers to help clear the mud," I suggested. "The cleaning crew did what they could inside the house, but there was so much mud they couldn't get it all. Rebecca, what do you want us to do?" I asked as she returned to the kitchen.

"We'll let my cousins handle it. They'll appreciate it more if they do the work themselves. I'm just relieved the house and barn are still there. Have they been able to save any of my family's things?" she asked.

"Yes," Michael said, sipping his tea. He took a bite of his pie. "They've been cleaning everything they could. The boys have hand-washed the quilts and will send them to you. Maverick mentioned you're building a new home?"

"Yes, we are. We'll live next door to Shane. Matthew would not like living away from his Uncle Shane."

"Your cousins were able to save most of the furniture too. It might need some refinishing, but from what I saw, it's in pretty good shape. You can always take a truck there and get what you want to keep for your family."

I watched as Rebecca looked at Maverick. "We can fly over there and rent a U-Haul to bring back what you want," he said.

"I only want a few things. I want my great-grandmother's kitchen table. My cousins can make themselves another one. They can replace whatever I take since they know how to build furniture. I'll think about what I want, and once our home is built, we can get a few things."

"Okay," Maverick said.

"Is everyone ready to listen?" I asked, shifting the conversation. "Let me start from the beginning. There's a lawyer who knew Delores's daughter. They met when Delores's daughter left the community. The only reason she came back was to steal babies."

"I don't understand how she got away with this," Ruth said, her voice tense. "How could people in the community not question twenty-something babies dying at birth? It doesn't make sense. If it were my baby, I'd want to know what happened and why it died, especially if I felt it moving up until birth."

"Ruth, you're forgetting something," I said gently. "The Amish are peace-loving people. They don't cause trouble or friction. When Delores's daughter said the baby died at birth, they accepted it. They had no reason to question her."

"There were a total of twenty-three babies that Jolene and the lawyer stole and sold for fifty thousand dollars each. Jolene got ten thousand per baby, and the lawyer kept the rest," I explained.

"The FBI is arresting them as we speak. It doesn't matter if anyone thinks we should handle this differently. I decided to prosecute them both. They didn't care about the families they hurt," I said firmly.

"Michael will speak to the families. The local police won't be involved; the FBI will take care of everything."

Ruth's face paled. "Are you saying my parents bought me from a lawyer?"

"I'm sorry, but yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

"So, they knew I was stolen? My mother knew all this time. Why didn't she tell me when she was dying? I was twelve years old—I could have gone to my real family. Instead, I ended up living with our pastor. I always felt out of place there. When they went on vacation, I had to stay with someone else. They were nice, but I was never included in family time."

"I don't know why she never told you," I said gently. "But remember, if things had been different, you could be dead right now."

The anger surged in me as I thought about how this child had been excluded from family life at the pastor's home.

"I'm grateful they took me in," Ruth continued. "Otherwise, I would've ended up in foster care. It's hard for Amish children in the foster system because they only know what their parents have taught them. They have no idea what's happening in the real world."

"That's so sad," Rebecca said softly. "I never knew there were Amish children in the foster system."

"There are children from every background in the system," I said, turning to Michael. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess, but I can't think of anyone better suited for the job. The families know and trust you."

"You should call a meeting with just these families," Rebecca suggested. "That way, you can talk to them all at once. If you spoke to them separately, word might spread through gossip, and they'd find out the hard way."

"I agree," Michael said. "I'll leave in the morning."

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