3 X 3, page 13
Jenny glanced over at Müller. “Are you from an Amish background, Mr. Müller?”
“No, why do you ask?”
“Well, you have a name that comes from German or Swiss roots. It just struck me.”
Müller laughed. “No, I never even knew any Amish back in New York. I find them a rather odd group of people…” He smiled at Jenny, but it was a wintry smile. “No offense meant, Mrs. Hershberger.”
“None taken, Mr. Müller.”
“I do little socializing here in Ohio. I like my privacy, Mrs. Hershberger. My parents were wealthy from a very old New England family. I led a very sheltered life.”
“I understand, Mr. Müller, and I don’t want to put pressure on you, but a man’s life is at stake. Would there be a possibility that you could show us some of the woods, maybe take us to places you haven’t been and help us answer our questions? If what Granny says is true, then it could change the whole direction of this case. And if not, then we could lay our concerns to rest.”
Müller looked at his three visitors. “Well, I’m a very busy man. I have my own life to live.”
“If you could just give us a day, we would be very grateful. The trial is going to wind up soon, and if the jury finds Steven Lambright guilty or even insane, he will face sentencing shortly after that. We have little time.”
Müller was silent for a moment. Then he sighed. “All right. We’ll give it one day. Meet me here tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. sharp.” He looked at Jenny. “And I would recommend wearing something besides that dress. Some places in the woods are pretty rough.”
Jenny smiled sweetly. “Believe me, Mr. Müller, I’ve been out in the woods in this dress many times. I might surprise you.”
“As you will, Mrs. Hershberger.”
“Jenny. Please call me Jenny.”
Eldon and Gary sat in the courtroom. The jury had been out for three hours. The defense attorney had made a last-minute desperate plea to back up her insanity defense, and Elbert saw it swayed some of the jury members.
“So, what if they buy the insanity defense?” asked Gary.
“Then the Judge will have to commit Lambright to a mental institution. After the jury finds someone not guilty by reason of insanity, they are sent to a state-run psychiatry facility for a short period to be evaluated. The doctors decide if they need long-term treatment. Most times, the answer to this question is ‘yes’. However, it’s conceivable that someone could have had a temporary condition, and the doctors may rule that they are no longer insane.”
“Oh, like back in the seventies in San Francisco when Dan White killed Mayor Moscone and Harvey Milk? Didn’t the jury let him off because he said he ate too many Twinkies and it made him temporarily crazy? The Twinkie defense?”
Elbert chuckled. “Yeah, something like that. But in this case, Lambright is a wounded Vietnam Vet who obviously was mentally and physically damaged in combat. His attorney did an excellent job of bringing that out. So, I’d say he’s got a good chance of getting off on insanity.”
“Then what?”
“Well, because he is so damaged, I would think that he would be in an institution for the rest of his life.”
Just then, there was a stir in the court.
The bailiff stood and spoke as the judge entered. “All rise.”
Everyone stood. The judge sat down and then so did they. The judge looked over at the bailiff. “Bailiff, please bring in the prisoner and recall the jury. I believe they’ve reached a verdict.”
There was a stir among the people in the room.
The bailiff nodded to the guards, who left the room. In a moment, they brought a very confused-looking Steven Lambright back into the courtroom. He wore an orange jail jumpsuit and there were shackles on his wrists. He sat down where the guards told him. In another moment, the jury room door opened, and the jury filed in. As soon as they found their seats, the judge spoke to the foreman, who stood facing him.
“Has the jury reached a verdict?”
“We have, Your Honor.”
The judged turned to Steven Lambright. “Will the defendant please rise,”
Steven looked around. The guard behind him nudged him to his feet.
“Mr. Foreman, what is your verdict?”
“We find the defendant, Steven Lambright, not guilty by reason of insanity.”
There was a cry in the courtroom and a rumble of conversation. The judge pounded his gavel, and the room quieted.
“So say you all?”
“Yes, Your Honor. So say we all.”
The judge looked down at Steven. “Steven Lambright, because you have been found criminally insane, I must remand you to a facility for evaluation, prior to your sentencing. Therefore, I remand you to the Central Ohio Behavioral Healthcare Center for observation and to confirm the depth of your treatment and incarceration, if needed. This court is adjourned.”
Elbert and Gary stood while the judge left, and the room cleared. The bailiff and the two guards led Steven Lambright away. On a back bench, surrounded by several Amish people, Mrs. Lambright wept.
“Well, it’s good for her,” said Elbert. “I like her and this is a good thing, probably the best for Steven. At least it keeps him from being executed.”
Gary nodded. “And it gives Jenny more time to see if she can dig something up.”
Elbert smiled. “So now you’re a believer?”
“Well, the more you know, the more you know you don’t know.”
“That’s an Amish saying.”
Gary blushed. “Yeah. I learned it from Jenny.”
18
IN THE WOODS
Jenny, Bobby, and Daniel showed up at the Müller place at 7:00 a.m. Gerhard Müller was waiting for them. He glanced at his wristwatch and nodded.
“Right on time. Thank you. Follow me.”
He turned and walked toward the woods. Bobby and Jenny were right behind him, and Daniel stayed back a little.
Müller led them into an open meadow surrounded by woods. He led the way along the upper edge of the field until they came to a well-marked trail. He swept his arm, taking in the open space.
“This area is called The Field. This is the Old Field Trail. I think the Spanglers had some crops in here before they turned it over to the city. This trail is medium difficulty.”
They crossed the field on the trail and then came to a junction.
Müller stopped and waited for them to catch up. “This is the Education Trail. A lot of the schools in the area bring their kids here for field trips. If you turn left, the trail runs along the edge of the woods. It’s very open, not really any places that could be hidden there, so we’ll go right.”
They followed the trail into the woods. It wound around through the trees. Ahead, they heard the rushing of a creek. They came down to a small stream. Trees clothed in fall colors closed in above them. Müller halted.
“Most of the creeks out here are part of the Apple Creek watershed. This one runs out of the park and down through Grosjean Park on the other side of Wooster. From there it flows into Killbuck Creek, down to the Wahonding River, and from there into the Ohio.” He turned and went ahead. Jenny called to him.
“Mr. Müller?”
He stopped and turned back. “Yes?”
“These trails, Mr. Müller, they seem to be very easy and quite out in the open. Perhaps we should look deeper in the park, along some more difficult trails.”
Müller got a look of exasperation on his face. “Very well, Mrs… Jenny. I was just trying to make things a little easier for you.”
“I’m just fine, Mr. Müller. Lead on.”
They started off again. Jenny turned to Bobby and whispered. “How are you doing?”
Bobby grinned. “No worse than the jungles of Guadalcanal.”
“You were a little younger then, Bobby.”
“I’m good, Jenny. If I collapse, Daniel can just drag me back to that field and bury me there.”
They both chuckled. “No, really Jenny. I am good.”
Daniel came up. “I’m watching out for him, Mama.”
“Coming?” Müller was waiting. “We’ll go back and hit the Spangler Trail. That leads to the Outer Trail. That’s where the wildest part of the park is. Hope you can keep up.”
“Actually. Mr. Müller, we are fine.”
Müller turned and strode off.
In about half an hour, they came to the junction of two trails. Beyond them was a small pond. Müller pointed to the left. “This is the Outer Trail. It runs along the northern boundary of the park. We’ll go north for a bit and then turn east. From there, we will go through the densest part of the park. I have done much walking here, but I still don’t know every bit back here.”
Jenny nodded. “May I ask something of you, Mr. Müller?”
“What is that, Jenny?”
“On this part of the trail, we will look for places that could conceal the hiding place we are hoping to find. So instead of just strolling through here, perhaps we can slow the pace and be a little more observant of our surroundings?”
It was clear from the look on his face that Müller did not like to take directions. Jenny spoke up. “I know this is a bother for you, Mr. Müller, and I promise, if you can just bear with us for a few more hours, we will be out of your hair and we will go on our way. Does that work for you?”
Müller sighed. “That’s fine, Jenny. I won’t borrow trouble from tomorrow.”
Jenny watched Müller as he turned and led them up the path. She had a quizzical look on her face.
Soon they were in the deep woods. The trees closed in all around them and the brush crowded the trail. They came into a more open area with tall pines all along the trail, and then they crossed another creek. At one point, they had to force their way through some brush that crowded right up to the trail. Bobby, walking just behind Jenny, glanced down. A very faint trail split off under some brush and trailed away. Bobby called to Jenny. “Look at this.”
Müller stopped, turned, and walked back. “What did you find?”
Bobby pointed. “An old trail leading off into the woods. Hasn’t been used much.”
“How did you see that, Sheriff?”
“Well, Mr. Müller, I was a member of a sniper patrol in the heart of the Guadalcanal jungle back in World War Two. They trained us to find Japanese hideouts. The Japanese were very good at sneaking through the woods on that island. There were bogs and swamps, trackless wastes, and rugged mountains. And that’s where they hid. Compared to them, this one stood out like it had a road sign on it.”
Müller looked closer. “It looks like it’s been used before, but not for a while.”
“Since 1967, perhaps?” asked Jenny.
“Perhaps.”
“Do you know what’s up there, Mr. Müller?”
“Not much, I’m afraid. The boundary of the park is just ahead and there are just a lot of steep banks leading up to higher ground and then private property.”
“Just what we are looking for. Lead on, Mr. Müller.”
They bent down under the brush and pushed through, following the trail. It wound faintly through the trees for a short way, then meandered through a maze of rocks and came to an area where it went left and right along the face of a very steep bank. The left-hand split went forward about ten feet and then came to a very brushy area at the base of a cliff and stopped. The group looked around and then turned to the right. The trail went over very rough ground and then through some more pines, across a creek and out into the open, where it joined back in with a very defined trail.
“This is the Outer Trail again,” said Müller. “I’ve never been that way before. What say we walk on ahead. We will cross Rathburn Run, connect to the Trillum Trail and head back to my place from there. Does that sound good?”
Jenny nodded. “Well, I think so, Mr. Müller. It looks like there are not that many places to build a hiding place like we are looking for.” They headed down the trail.
Later, back at the Apple Creek house, Jenny, Bobby, Daniel, and Rachel sat around the table in the kitchen drinking Kaffee.
Bobby was rubbing his knee. “A little creaky after that walk. Oh, to be young again…”
Jenny looked over at Bobby. “There is something not copacetic about Mr. Müller.”
“What makes you say that?” asked Bobby.
“Just a few things I noticed. I will tell you if, and when, I figure all this out.”
Bobby nodded. “Well, he certainly was not helpful. It was almost as if he were keeping us away from certain areas. When I found that faint trail back to the cliffs, he did not look happy at all.”
“Yes,” said Daniel. “And he got us out of that area as fast as he could. Besides that, he was rude to Jenny. I wanted to punch his face.”
Rachel looked at her husband in shock. “Daniel!”
“I didn’t do it, but it’s not a sin to think it.”
Just then, Bobby’s phone chirped. Bobby answered. “Halverson.” There was a pause. “What? When?”
There was more conversation from the other end. Then Bobby answered. “Wow. Yes, we will come right over.” He clicked the phone off and looked at the faces around the table.
“What, Bobby?”
“Granny Lengacher is dead. They found her in her well. Elbert wants us to come over.”
Bobby and Jenny listened as Elbert talked to a young man in a postal uniform.
“So, tell me again what happened.”
The young man swallowed hard, obviously upset. “I came this morning to drop of the mail. Granny doesn’t get much, but sometimes there are some ads, or junk mail, and I use that as an excuse.”
“Excuse?”
“Yeah. Granny always has some cake and hot cider for me when I come. But today was different. When I drove up, the place was quiet. It’s fall, and getting colder. Granny always has a fire going in her kitchen stove this time of year. But there was no smoke from the chimney. I pulled up and went to the front door. When I knocked, there was no answer. That’s when I knew something was wrong.”
“How’s that?” asked Elbert.
“Granny never ever leaves this place, except on very special occasions and on Sunday, when her neighbors come and take her to church. She’s so independent, but everybody loved her. And so predictable. The man from the grocery store always comes out to deliver on the same day of the week because she always needs the same things. So, no fire and no answer.”
“What happened then?”
“I thought I better look around. She’s getting old and something might have happened. I looked all around the place. Nothing.”
“Then what?”
“I was walking past the well and I saw that a couple of bricks were missing from the edging. Granny keeps… Granny keeps this place up all the time. She can do mortar work and brick-laying. She never would have left the bricks missing from that edge. So, I looked over the edge and I saw something down in the well. It was dark, so I went to my truck and got a flashlight. I went back to the well and looked in.” the young man paused, and wiped his eyes.
“There she was, her legs sticking up out of the water at the bottom. It was terrible. Poor old thing.” The young man began to cry.
Jenny put her arm around him. “There, there. It’s all right.”
Elbert motioned for a uniformed officer. When his officer came up, he pointed to the mailman. “Take Jerry and get a full statement.” The officer nodded and took Jerry off.
A man approached. Elbert introduced him. “This is Doctor Sherry. He’s my medical guy. What’s the word, John?”
The doctor shook his head. “Granny did not fall down the well and drown. There was no water in her lungs. She was dead before she hit the water.”
“Did she hit her head on the way down?”
“A few slight bumps, Lieutenant, but not enough to kill her. No, she was strangled first and then pushed down the well. Granny Lengacher was murdered.” The doctor held something up. “This was clutched in her hand.”
It was a piece of cloth, torn off the sleeve of a coat.
“Granny fought her attacker.” Jenny looked at Elbert. “And I’ve seen a coat like this before.”
19
THE PAST SPEAKS
Jenny Hershberger tossed and turned in her bed. Dark memories crowded into her dreams…
She hobbled down the path, leaning on the heavy stick. The nylon line she wrapped around her leg and the branch to splint it was strong, and it supported the broken pine branch against her still throbbing ankle.
Suddenly, she stepped on a hidden rock, rolled her bad ankle, and pitched forward into the snow. The pain was agonizing. She tried to get up and realized she was going to have a hard time going any farther. She looked around for a place to hide. The light from the sun was slowly illuminating the sky. Ahead of her was a clump of bushes, and it was darker behind them. She poked the pine stick into the bushes, and instead of the wall of the ravine, her stick encountered… nothing!
A cave!
Jenny knew she had to hide somewhere, but her tracks would give her away. Then she remembered something Uncle Bobby had told her about hiding from the Japanese when he was a scout in the Marines.
“We would walk out to a place where the ground was hard and made our tracks hard to see and then walk backward in our tracks until we came to where we wanted to hide,” he had told her. “Then we would jump off the trail and walk backward using a branch to sweep our tracks away. The enemy often walked right by where we were hiding and lost us. Some of the Indian guys from Arizona taught us that in sniper training.”
Up ahead, the ravine narrowed, and the snow had not covered the trail because of the brush overhanging it. Jenny broke a branch off a Scotch broom and walked up the trail until there was no more snow. She stepped out onto the hard trail and took a few steps. Then she stepped backward as carefully as she could in her tracks until she came to the bush that hid the mouth of the cave. She gathered her strength and jumped off the trail.
