her place in the Amish community if she lost both her husband and son to the evils of the outside world.
Her family would never be gut oh tzene. No one would ever respect the Fishers again.
Rebecca had heard rumblings at the diner that someone was dealing drugs in town and it might be one of the Amish youngie. Her insides ached every time she thought of it. She had no proof that Samuel would do such a thing, but his complete change in character made her imagine the worst. Sure, he had lost his friend, Elmer, but Samuel had been through far worse. Or maybe it was the culmination of everything he had been through that had put him in the pit of despair.
Would the professor have told her if he had heard Samuel was dealing drugs? She hadn’t dared to ask him that question. She was fiercely protective of her son.
Rebecca stopped to catch her breath and her bearings. Her chest heaved. Blinking, she looked around. She didn’t know how long she had been in Professor Burke’s office. She only hoped the driver she had hired was waiting for her.
The building in front of her looked unfamiliar. Long shadows darkened her path. Suddenly, she realized the country college campus was deserted except for a couple girls walking away from her, their heads angled close in conversation. A hollow feeling expanded inside Rebecca. She missed her friends. Willard had seen to it that she didn’t have any, both before and after his death.
And here she was alone and...lost. In the rain. Where had the van dropped her off? She had been in such a tizzy when she’d left the professor’s building, she hadn’t paid attention to her surroundings.
Stupid woman! Willard’s voice rang in her head. She shook it away. Willard couldn’t control her anymore.
Rebecca strained to see if she could hear the idling of a motor, but all she could hear was the wind whistling through the leaves clinging to the branches.
Rebecca turned on her heel and strode back the way she had come, then made a sharp right near the professor’s building. Now that she had calmed down, she recognized the bench next to a brick memorial.
Yes, she had passed this way.
Only a little farther to the main road where her driver should be waiting.
Her heartbeat returned to normal.
The shadowed brick path wandered between campus buildings.
Just a little bit farther.
Crash. The sound of exploding glass sounded over her head. Instinctively Rebecca ducked against the rain of glass fragments.
Squinting, she lifted her head. Someone was running toward her. A dark shape. Adrenaline made her blood run cold.
Dear Lord, watch over me.
The person stopped near her, the face impossible to make out in the heavy shadows under a large hood. When the person lifted an arm as if to strike her, Rebecca cowered and tiny explosions of light danced in her line of vision. Her eyes darted around, searching for an escape.
“Leave me alone,” she said, her voice squeaky with fear. Instinctively she held up her umbrella in a defensive gesture.
Get to the van!
“Rebecca!” She glanced over her shoulder, a wave of relief slamming into her. The professor.
She spun back around and the mysterious person had slipped down a dark alley between two buildings.
Professor Burke caught up to her. “Did you know that person?”
She shook her head, unable to find the words. She held the umbrella down by her side as the rain hit her fiery cheeks.
“Are you okay?” He placed his hand at the small of her back and gently guided her toward his building. Once inside the doorway, he closed her umbrella, then helped her out of her coat. He stepped outside and shook the glass off it over a trash can.
When he stepped back inside, Rebecca finally found her voice. “I think he intended to strike me. He raised his hand. If you hadn’t called my name...”
Compassion shone in his warm brown eyes. Rebecca lowered her gaze. The professor touched her shoulder. “Wait here.”
Rebecca put her coat back on, then stood inside the entryway for what seemed an eternity while the professor ran back outside. When he returned he shook his head as concern creased the corners of his eyes. “Someone smashed the light.”
“Why?”
The professor rubbed the back of his neck. “You’ve been harassed before. Because of Willard.”
Cold fear rained down on Rebecca. “W-w-we’ve had the incidents at the farm. The graffiti on the barn. The eggs smashed on the window. Nothing physical. The community was lashing out after what my...what Willard Fisher did.”
The professor scratched his head. “Did anyone know you were coming here to see me?”
Rebecca struggled to keep the threatening tears at bay. “I was talking about it at the diner. I suppose anyone could have overheard me.” A chill skittered down her spine. “I thought time would make things better. Not worse.” She hugged her coat around her midsection. “Do you think that’s what all this is about? Willard?”
“I wish I knew.” The compassion in the professor’s voice warmed her heart. He held out his arm, drawing her farther into the building. “Let’s call the sheriff.” The professor pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.
Her mouth went dry and she shook her head briskly. “No. I’m not hurt. I don’t want to complicate things. I want to go home.”
The professor hesitated a moment, then much to her relief put the phone away. He seemed to regard her a moment. “I came looking for you to tell you my assistant believes Samuel’s a good kid.”
She studied his face. “What does that mean?”
“My assistant is former Amish. He hangs out with the young men. More than I do, even. He thinks your son is a good kid and likely to be baptized.”
Her eyes flared wide and hope sparked in her heart. Had she heard him correctly?
“Some of the men in his gang are a little wild. I’ve seen it firsthand, but that’s not unusual,” Professor Burke added.
“Maybe I can get him to switch gangs.” Samuel had picked his current buddy bunch when he’d turned sixteen. His group of friends was mostly composed of youth his age. But maybe...
“Maybe.” The doubt in the professor’s eyes unnerved her.
“Uri and Jonas, the brothers helping out on my farm, are in his gang. Maybe I should question them.” She hadn’t done this for fear of embarrassing Samuel in front of his friends and pushing him further away. “Samuel is not himself. I don’t care what your assistant says.”
Silence stretched between them.
“Let me drive you home,” the professor offered.
“But
