A Perfect Square

Chapter 39




Fort Wayne, Indiana

Late January

JUDGE STEARNS’ COURTROOM was nearly empty when Callie entered, followed by Deborah, Esther, Tobias, and Reuben. Mr. and Mrs. Lapp sat with Shane, directly behind the defendant.

“I’m surprised Reuben is here,” Deborah whispered. “He’s barely left the farm in the three months he’s been home, has he?”

“No. Reuben’s back to his normal self, which means staying on the farm.” Esther smiled. “Though since we’ve moved into his grossdaddi’s house, I believe he’s eating a bit better. It seems as if Samuel’s process has dragged by so slowly. Reuben’s initial arraignment happened so quickly, like a whirlwind we were all caught up in.”

Callie leaned forward and peered down at him. When she did, Reuben turned her way, caught her staring, and winked. She jumped back and looked over at Esther, who smothered a laugh.

“Takes time to grow used to Reuben’s sense of humor.”

“I’ll say. The man’s as big as an oak tree. Didn’t know he had a sense of humor.”

Deborah shushed everyone as the bailiff ordered them to all rise for the Honorable Judge Stearns, which they did. Callie resisted the urge to peek back down their row at Reuben again, but her mind was on him, wondering.

Reuben had been released and the charges against him had been cleared. When he’d cleaned up the blood he’d found in the house, he hadn’t realized Katie had died. It was true that he hadn’t told Shane about the chair he’d straightened up or the blood he’d found. And he’d also burned the rag he’d done the cleaning with, but he’d done it thinking one of them had cut themselves in the kitchen, and he’d hoped all would be fine. He had no reason to believe serious harm had come to either of them. It wasn’t until he saw Katie’s body in the pond that Reuben realized something far more tragic had happened.

Would Samuel have been found sooner with Reuben’s help? Possibly. But Shane chose not to press charges against Reuben, which was something else for Callie to think about.

How did Reuben feel sitting on this side of the partition in a courtroom in Fort Wayne?

Did his heart race as he watched the proceedings?

Did his hands still sweat as if his own life were hanging in the balance?

In fact, why had he decided to come at all?

There was so much about the Amish that Callie still didn’t understand, but after that terrible day on the silo, she knew she had to be present for Samuel’s sentencing. If only in the hopes that the boy’s eyes would no longer haunt her dreams. At least once a week, she still heard him cry, “I won’t go to an Englisch jail,” but in her dreams he didn’t accept Timothy’s hand.

In her dreams, Samuel didn’t trudge back to the farmhouse and explain what had happened at Reuben’s farm the days after he and Katie had secretly married. No, instead, he always turned and stared once more into her eyes. Then he let go, and fell backward, into the darkness of the storm.

She always rushed forward, but as often happens in dreams, she moved slowly, as if her feet were stuck in molasses. And it always seemed as if she knew he was going to let go of the metal rail, knew it a second before he did, but she was never able to stop him or warn Shane or Timothy.

Why couldn’t she warn them?

Why couldn’t she cry out?

Instead the dream repeated the same hopeless cycle. It had all winter long.

Samuel would stare at her. She would hesitate one second too long, then move slowly and try to reach him. But never in time.

And always she would wake, covered in sweat and shaking, Max pressed against her side.

So when Deborah had mentioned that she and Esther and Reuben and Tobias were coming for the sentencing, Callie had asked to tag along. Deborah had tilted her head, pulled Callie’s hands across the counter, squeezed them once, and said, “Of course.”

She hadn’t asked any questions, and that, too, was proof of how deeply their friendship had progressed.

For today, Callie needed to put an end to her nightmares, whatever the outcome of the hearing. Callie realized how selfish such thinking was as the judge’s voice broke through the reverie of her thoughts.

Samuel and Adalyn had moved to a podium in front of the judge. Judge Stearns had been asking after Samuel’s health, but the boy only answered in one-word replies. Finally, the judge settled down to the matter at hand.

“Samuel, we have kept you in prison until this hearing because your actions convinced me you were a flight risk. According to the paperwork before me, you have pled guilty to obstruction of justice. Has your lawyer explained to you what that means?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Has anyone coerced you into pleading guilty or promised you anything in order to persuade you to plead guilty?”

“No, ma’am.”

“By pleading guilty, this court will determine your sentence, Samuel. And I will be able to choose a sentence in the bottom quarter of the sentencing range. Has your lawyer explained that to you?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Callie could see now that the boy was visibly shaking. Adalyn Landt put a hand on his back to steady him.

“If you were to plead not guilty, you would be subject to a trial by your peers. In that case you might be found not guilty and freed. Or you might be found guilty and receive a sentence anywhere in the range of the sentence guidelines, from the most lenient to the most extreme.”

Samuel nodded.

“With a jury trial, you have a right to an appeal. By pleading guilty, you lose that right to an appeal. Whatever I decide will be your sentence and must be carried out. Has that been explained to you by Ms. Landt?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“All right. Now according to my records, you are nineteen years old and have an eighth-grade education with no prior criminal record. Is that correct?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“According to your testimony, which I have before me, and the coroner’s testimony, Katherine Lapp Eby died from a blow to the back of the head. You two were staying in the house on Mr. Fisher’s farm. Katie had been standing on a kitchen chair to reach for something on a top shelf, and she fell.”

Samuel’s head dropped, so Callie could see nothing except the back of his neck. She thought again of how he had looked hanging onto the metal railing, of his insistence that he would not go to an Englisch prison.

But he had been in prison for the last three months.

Would he stay there?

Was that what he was thinking about now?

Or was he thinking about that final morning with Katie?

“Is that correct, Samuel?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Judge Stearns sat back, took off her glasses, and wiped them with the sleeve of her robe. With her glasses off, she looked to Callie more like a grandmother and less like a judge. She put the glasses back on, crossed her hands, and sat more erect.

“It’s important that you understand why the charges for negligent homicide were dropped, Samuel. Even if you had possessed better first-aid skills, in all likelihood you could not have saved her. Many people, especially young people, wouldn’t have known how to stop the bleeding of a head wound.”

“I should have known.” It was the first thing Samuel had said that wasn’t a yes or a no.

“Perhaps, but that you didn’t know wasn’t a crime. Negligent homicide is a criminal offense committed by someone whose negligence is the direct cause of another person’s death. Your negligence did not cause Katie to die, Samuel. Your crime is based on what you did, not on what you failed to do. Your crime by the laws of this state and according to this court does not involve Katie’s death.”

Samuel stood straighter now, and it seemed to Callie that it took all of his strength to do so. As if he were, as she watched, shedding the last visages of childhood and putting on the mantle of being a man. One that for Samuel would begin with the burden of grief and guilt and the loss of the dreams he’d shared with a beautiful young woman.

“It is true you did not call for medical assistance when Katie Lapp, then Katie Eby, was injured. If you had done so, her life could possibly have been saved. This is complicated by the fact that you had a phone. Perhaps you forgot you had that phone. Perhaps, being Amish, you didn’t understand how to use the 9-1-1 system. We don’t know. No one knows, because no one else was there that day.” She paused and for the first time Judge Stearns’ gaze sought out Katie’s parents.

Turning back to Samuel, she continued. “The coroner’s report indicates that Katie died very quickly, so in all likelihood a call would not have saved her. However, it was your civic responsibility to try. It was your civic responsibility to place that call.” Judge Stearns cleared her voice and looked down at her paperwork before she continued. “However, that is not the crime you are being charged with.

“The crime you’re being charged with is obstruction of justice. You attempted to cover up the crime by depositing Katie Eby’s body in Mr. Fisher’s pond and by not reporting her death to the proper authorities.”

Callie couldn’t help it. She shifted slightly on the hard oak bench and glanced at Reuben. Not that he would have noticed if she’d stood up, moved over, and grasped both of his hands. His eyes were glued on what was occurring at the front of the room, his jaw clenched so hard that Callie could see the muscle from his eye to his neck jumping.

And then it occurred to her.

It finally all made sense.

She understood the reason he’d spent thirteen days in the Shipshewana Municipal Jail, the reason he’d refused to admit that he’d known the young couple and given them permission to stay in his home, the reason he was gripping the side of the bench so tightly now Callie feared he might break it.

Reuben counted his life lived — she’d heard him tell Tobias before that he was grateful for the years he’d had. They’d all teased him about it, since he was essentially a young man at only thirty-five. But in many ways Reuben felt his choices had taken him down a different road than most.

“We can’t turn back and choose a different path.” Wasn’t that what he’d said to Deborah?

Reuben had finally admitted to Deborah and Tobias that he hadn’t known about Katie’s death, hadn’t understood what had happened or where Samuel had gone. He’d been as surprised as Deborah and Esther when they’d found Katie’s body in his pond that day. And he’d made the instantaneous decision to switch paths with the boy. To allow Samuel to live a life that Reuben was willing to forfeit. He’d also admitted to knowing Samuel’s mother, Emma, to promising her that he would look after her son — as if he were his own.

But the Englisch system didn’t allow for that type of mercy.

“Now I’m going to call a twenty-minute recess. I want you to take that time to consult with your lawyer, to think one last time about what you’re doing. If when I return, you remain convinced you want to plead guilty, then I’ll hand down my sentence. Do you understand?”

Samuel nodded, and when he turned, Callie saw what she hadn’t seen when she walked into the courtroom: His hands were bound by handcuffs in front of him. It was a sight that might have scraped her heart even more, except for the light in his eyes. He didn’t look at Katie’s parents, but instead paused a moment to make eye contact with Reuben.

When he did, it was as if some of Reuben’s strength flowed across those old marble floors to the boy. Callie knew that wasn’t possible, didn’t believe in such things at all, but she saw Samuel pull his shoulders back and a quiet assurance pass over his features.

Then he turned and shuffled from the front podium back to the defendant’s table.

Noticing the same thing Callie had, Deborah grabbed Reuben’s arm as soon as Judge Stearns exited the courtroom.

“What was that about?” she asked in a voice louder than she intended. She needn’t have worried though, the courtroom was suddenly abuzz with talk.

“Ya, cousin. Have you been speaking with the boy?” Tobias stood and stretched, cracking his back as he did so.

“Tell them about the letter, Reuben.” Esther placed her hand on her stomach, rubbing in a circular fashion.

“Is the baby moving?” Tobias asked.

“No. It’s too early for that, but he seems to be making things uncomfortable already. I believe I need to find the girl’s room.”

“He? Since when is this baby a he?” Callie demanded.

“Since I started having night sickness. Mamm says night sickness means a boy. With Leah I had morning sickness, so maybe she’s right. Now back to the question, Reuben. What did your letter to Samuel say?”

Reuben stood, touched Esther’s back gently, and in the touch, Deborah thought she could sense that much of the tension from earlier had left him.

“I did send a letter to Samuel. As to what was in it … well, I said what needed to be said. I’m glad to see the boy received it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to speak a word with Shane before the judge returns.”

Deborah noticed that Esther no longer flinched at Shane’s name. Instead she looked over to where he sat and a soft smile crossed her lips. Was all the old bitterness gone then? Was that one of the results of this terrible tragedy? Shane had worked hard on the case and had personally seen to Reuben’s release the day they had come back from the Lapp farm.

Esther excused herself to find the restrooms, and Deborah reached over and squeezed Callie’s hand as they waited. She wanted to go speak with Katie’s parents, but now didn’t seem like the time. The Lapps sat up front, shoulder to shoulder, heads bowed as if in prayer.

Twenty minutes later, when the bailiff stood to announce the judge, everyone hurried back to their respective seats.

Deborah didn’t know what she expected, wasn’t familiar enough with Englisch ways to have a clear idea of how the judge would rule, though Shane had explained the process to her. One person judging another was so far outside her concept of things. Shane had said it was similar to what their bishops did.

In Deborah’s mind it was completely different though.

The bishops were guided by the Scripture.

Was this judge a Christian? Would she rule with compassion?

Nothing Judge Stearns could say in the next few minutes would bring Katie back to her family. What had happened had been a horrible mistake. Taking away more of Samuel’s life, more of his freedom, wouldn’t change any of what had already happened.

It wouldn’t give the Lapps back their daughter. Nothing could replace that loss. And only God could heal their pain.

“I’d like the defendant, Samuel Eby, to please rise and approach the bench.”

Samuel was escorted back in front of the small podium that stood in front of the judge, the same place he had been standing through the morning’s proceeding. This time, though, his posture was straight, and when he glanced around, it seemed his gaze passed slowly over Callie, Deborah, and Esther. She noticed his left arm was still shaking, but she gave the boy points for mustering as much courage as he did.

“Your lawyer sent me a message via the bailiff that you wish your plea to remain guilty. Is that correct, Samuel?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I want you to know that this court has received a petition from Timothy and Rachel Lapp asking that your sentence be commuted. However it’s not in my authority to do that. As explained before, I must rule within the bottom quadrant of what the law requires.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Samuel brushed at his eyes with his arm sleeve.

“Then by the power vested in me by the state of Indiana and the upper district court, I, Judge Beverly Stearns, do find the defendant, Samuel Eby, guilty of obstruction of justice. I sentence you to one year in the state prison, with time served to count toward that sentence.”

A groan came from the direction of the Lapps, but Judge Stearns pushed on with her sentencing. “I further sentence you to one thousand hours community service and five years’ probation.” The judge hit her gavel against her podium, the sound echoing through the chambers, slicing off another portion of Samuel’s life. Then the woman stood, gathered her things, and exited the room.

When Samuel turned to face them, Deborah expected to see despair, fear, maybe even anger. What she didn’t expect to see was quiet acceptance.

Rachel and Timothy rushed forward, trying to reach Samuel, but the guards stopped them.

“Don’t worry, son.” Timothy spoke around the guards. “It’s nine months. You’ll be home before next winter.”

Reuben didn’t say a word, though he, too, was standing. He met Samuel’s gaze over the small group of people, and Deborah knew that something passed between them. She knew because Samuel again drew back his shoulders before nodding once and turning to walk out of the courtroom.