When it had grown quite late I felt like I should turn in. Grace had been a gracious hostess and had kept the conversation flowing. I watched as she began to yawn so I stood, "Thank you for the conversation and the delicious meal. I'm going to turn in now so you can as well." Her green eyes sparkled in the dim light of the room, "I've enjoyed it Sam. Breakfast will be ready around 7 in the morning." I nodded in acknowledgement before making my way to my room.
I closed the door behind me and slipped my boots off first and then my plaid shirt, tee shirt and jeans followed. Folding them semi neatly I lay them in the chair in the corner of the room before I walked to the window to look out at the lay of the land cloaked in darkness. The moon was full so I was able to see the fields around the house. Everything looked quiet enough but my hunter skills were always on high alert. When I was satisfied that everything was alright, I walked to the king size bed and pulled back the quilt and the top sheet. Sliding between the sheets I let out a soft sigh at the feel of the soft cotton sheets. I was so accustomed to sleeping in roadside motels with less than soft sheets that these felt like heaven.
I lay in the bed looking at the ceiling and my mind drifted to the petite woman in the other room. She was unlike any woman I had ever been around. Not just because she was Amish but her sweet nature was so different from the women that Dean and I tended to run into in our line of business. I often wondered if our mother was like those women or if she was more like Grace. My suspicions were that she was somewhere in between. Finally I drifted off to sleep, probably getting the best night's sleep I've had in forever.
The next morning when I woke up the sun was shining brightly. I got out of the bed and turned around to make it. When that was finished I grabbed clothes from my bag and walked into the bathroom to shower. I ran my fingers through my wet hair when my shower was finished and put on my clean clothes. Grabbing my toothbrush and toothpaste I brushed my teeth and then slipped on my boots. I headed into the main part of the house suddenly smelling the aroma of bacon. When I walked into the kitchen Grace was standing in front of the sink washing dishes. I cleared my throat and she turned and gave me a beaming smile. "Good morning Sam. I have breakfast ready if you want some.", she said as she dried her hands on a rag.
"It smells wonderful. You must have been up for a while." She pulls a pan of cats head biscuits from their resting place in the oven, the smell of buttermilk assaulted my senses, "No earlier than normal. I have always been a morning person I guess. It may be that it's just something ingrained in me from a young age. I used to have to get up to help my Ma get the breakfast ready for all of us." She worked as she talked, pulling plates from the cabinet and began filling both of them with the goodies she had made. When my plate was full of bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy she placed it on the table, "Sit. Enjoy.", she said as she gestured toward the table. She added her own plate and then turned to pull two cups from the cabinet. She filled those with water from a pitcher in the refrigerator and placed those on the table before sitting down herself.
Sam ate the plate of food that I fixed him and then looked up sheepishly, "That was the best breakfast I've had in days. May I have more?" I laughed quietly at the fact that he looked almost like a little boy as he asked, "You certainly may. Here give me your plate and I'll fix you more." I could tell he wasn't used to having anyone wait on him much as he hesitated before finally handing over the plate. I refilled it and then placed it back in front of him. When I finished my own meal I rose from the table and took my plate and cup to the sink where the warm sudsy water waited. I began to wash my plate, dried it and then placed it back in the cabinet. By this time Sam was finished and he brought me his plate, "Did you get enough?", I asked as I looked up at him. He nodded, "Yes, even though now I feel like a pig." I took the plate from him and placed it in the water, "Don't ever feel that way while you're here. I love cooking for people and I love having them enjoy my cooking.
When the kitchen was cleaned up, with the insistence from Sam that he help me, I had chores to do around the house. Sam asked if he could help in the barn so I told him what needed to be done and he headed out to do that. As I walked into his room to make his bed and freshen his room I was surprised to see that the bed had already been made, the corners tucked in just so and the quilt on top as smooth as if no one had even slept in the bed. I turned to see the clothes he had worn the day before folded neatly on the chair beside his bag so I walked over and picked those up. I would take them into the laundry and wash them for him.
As I turned to leave my foot got tangled in the strap of the duffle bag he had sitting in the floor by the chair. The bag was still unzipped and a sawed off shotgun clattered out onto the wooden floor. I gasped and stepped back in surprise. We did not condone violence in our community and hardly any of us owned weapons of any kind other than a few kitchen knives. My Pa had owned a shotgun for hunting purposes when I was growing up so I wasn't totally unfamiliar with weapons. I hoped that this was the reason for Sam having this shotgun. Laying the clothes on the chair I reached to gently lift the gun off the floor and place it back inside the bag when something rattled inside. I looked in and saw several other weapons stuffed inside the bag. Now I was a bit worried. What kind of man had I let into my home?
There was a knock on my door just then. I grabbed the dirty clothes and lay them in the laundry on my way to the front door. When I opened it my neighbor Eli was standing there, "May I come in Grace?", he asked politely. Eli was almost my Pa's age with a light smattering of grey hair peeking out beneath his hat. "Of course Eli. Come in.", I said as I stood back for him to enter the house. He took off his hat as he stepped through the door. I closed it after he was inside and motioned for him to follow me into the living room. We sat across from each other, "Is there someone staying here in the inn?", he asked finally. I nodded to him, "Yes there is a man named Sam that is here." Eli nodded in understanding, "Do you know how long he will be here?" I was confused by his questions, "I'm guessing not long because he said he was only passing through. He's looking for his brother. I guess it's kind of a long story."
Eli watched me as I talked, "I just want you to be really careful. I had several cows slaughtered in the night last night. Their bodies were mutilated pretty badly and I'm not sure what or who killed them." "You don't think someone killed them do you?", Eli reached up to scratch his head, "I don't know what I think. I just want you to be careful." About that time I heard heavy footsteps on the porch before the door swung open. Sam walked in running a hand through his long hair. When he saw Eli sitting on the couch he drew up short, "Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt." I stood and gestured for Sam to come on into the room, "No you didn't interrupt anything. Sam this is my neighbor Eli, Eli this is Sam. He's staying here for a few days." The two men shook hands as Eli stood to meet Sam. "Eli came by to tell me that he had a few cattle that were slaughtered." Sam's brows wrinkled as he listened to me talk, "He said that they were mutilated pretty badly and he was afraid for me."
Sam turned his attention to Eli then, "Could you tell me more about the cattle. How were they slaughtered exactly?" Eli looked a little confused at the question, "Well just slaughtered. They looked like an animal had mauled them or maybe a person if they were into something wicked." Sam nodded thoughtfully, "Will you take me to where they are? My brother and I have worked with cases like this before." Eli looked even more confused now, "What kind of job do you and your brother do exactly?" Sam cleared his throat, "We work for the CDC, the Center for Disease Control." "I'm pretty sure this isn't any disease that killed these cows.", Eli answered. "No but it may have been a disease that caused the thing to kill the cattle.", Sam said with confidence.
Eli nodded, "I'll take you. I hope you don't mind to walk. I don't have a horse and buggy like some do." Sam shook his head, "I don't mind the walk at all. Just one second I'll be back." Sam then walked to his room, when he came back he looked at me, "Do you know where my clothes are?" I nodded, "I took them into the laundry to be cleaned. I hope you don't mind." "No that's not a problem at all. I was wondering is all. The chores in the barn have been taken care of. I'll be back after I check this out with Eli.", he told me as he looked down at me though his dark lashes. I nodded in understanding.
