Seeds of Deception: A Kate Burkholder Short Story by Linda Castillo

started it. I mean, Billy had matches. I saw them. He was so angry and cursing at me. As far as I know, he lit those matches and tossed them inside just to spite me.”
    “Why didn’t you tell the police?”
    Mattie’s eyes flashed. “Because I was scared. Billy was like a rabid animal, spitting and snarling. He said if I told anyone what happened, he’d wait until no one was around and finish what he started. I know it sounds silly now, but at the time … if you’d seen his face. I believed him. I still do.”
    Katie didn’t know what to say. Guilt nipped at her conscience. For not believing her friend when she should have. For pressing her when she should have been patient. Worse, she didn’t know how to make things right.
    “I believe you,” Katie said after a moment.
    “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you everything from the start. I should have. But it was such an ugly thing.”
    “Not easy stuff to talk about.” Katie sighed. “What about Billy?”
    “I don’t know.” Mattie bit her lip. “I don’t know if he started the fire. Maybe he did. Maybe it was my cigarette.” She shrugged. “What if he does that to another girl? What if he doesn’t stop next time?”
    The weight of the questions settled uneasily on Katie’s shoulders. The truth of the matter was she didn’t know what to do. The line between right and wrong seemed crooked and gray. Not for the first time she wished she could talk to her mamm or datt or even Jacob. But, of course, she couldn’t.
    “Maybe we ought to just let things play out with the police,” Mattie suggested. “Maybe this is a lesson Billy needs to learn. Maybe he’ll be a better person because of it.”
    Katie thought about what Billy had done to her earlier in the day. Pushing her to the ground and damaging Jacob’s bicycle. After a moment, she nodded. “Maybe you’re right.”
    “The English police know what to do with boys like Billy Marquart,” Mattie added.
    It wasn’t the perfect solution, but it was the best one Katie could think of. She got to her feet. “I have to get back.”
    “Before someone misses you, sneaky girl.” Rising quickly, Mattie threw her arms around Katie. “Thank you for believing in me.”
    Closing her eyes, Katie hugged her back and tried hard to ignore the little voice in the back of her head telling her that wasn’t exactly the case. But it was close enough to the truth that Katie thought she could live with it.
    “See you at worship,” she whispered.
    “See you then.”
    *   *   *
    Three weeks later …
    The old draft horse whinnied softly when Katie dropped the flake of alfalfa into his hayrack. She was in the stall, brushing the animal’s coat when Jacob approached.
    “Did you hear about Billy Marquart?” he asked.
    Katie looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. “Billy who?”
    Jacob didn’t smile back. “He had juvenile court yesterday. The judge found him guilty of felony arson.”
    A sensation similar to nausea seesawed in her gut. “He’s going to jail?”
    “He got some kind of probation. And community service.”
    Katie still wasn’t convinced Billy had started the fire—a doubt that still kept her up some nights. But when she weighed the question of his guilt against the things he’d done to Mattie—and the damage he’d done to Jacob’s bicycle—she figured justice had prevailed, at least in a roundabout way.
    She stopped brushing the horse and turned to face her brother. “Hopefully he learned his lesson.”
    “I think there were lessons in there for everyone this time.” Jacob smiled at her kindly. “Come on, little sister. Let’s go eat breakfast.”
    Giving the horse a final pat, Katie left the stall, closed the door behind her, and walked with her brother into the house.

 
    Read on for an excerpt from the newest Kate Burkholder Amish mystery:
    AMONG THE WICKED

    Available in hardcover and eBook on July 12, 2016

 
    And be on the lookout for the trade paperback edition of