Her Amish Child

“Nathan Craig,” Josiah said. “I first contacted him when Josie went missing in Kentucky. But we never found her. When I got word she might be back in this area, I called him again. He is supposed to be good at tracking Amish.”

The woman’s face went blank but her eyes said a lot that didn’t seem in Mr. Craig’s favor. “Yes, he is good at that. He used to be Amish.”

Raesha let that settle. It happened. People who left somehow always came back around in one way or another. But they didn’t always rejoin the Amish community or confess and ask for forgiveness.

“So you know him?” Josiah asked.

“More than I care to admit,” the lawyer lady said. “But he is the best at his job. Is he meeting you here?”

“He has arrived,” a deep voice said from the open door.

“Mr. Craig.” Josiah stood and shook the man’s hand while Raesha took it all in.

The man looked world-weary, his expression edged with darkness while his brilliant blue eyes burned bright. His gaze moved over them and bounced back to Alisha Braxton and stayed on her for longer than necessary.

“Good to see you again, Alisha,” he said.

“I wish I could say the same,” Miss Braxton replied.

Raesha noticed the way the lawyer woman said that.

Seemed the pretty female lawyer might have a beef with the handsome private investigator. Raesha hoped their personal differences wouldn’t interfere with Josiah’s problem.

Maybe Raesha had read too many Amish mysteries.

The man leaned back against a table off to the side, his boots scraping the hardwood floor. “Okay, so let’s get to this.”

“What have you found?” Josiah asked, the hope in his voice piercing Raesha’s resolve.

Mr. Craig reached inside his leather jacket pocket and pulled out a notepad. “Exactly what we needed. A lead on your sister,” he said. “According to several people I talked to in another Amish community not far from here, about three months ago a young girl matching Josie’s sketched picture was rushed to a nearby hospital where she had a baby girl.”

“That’s not definitive information,” Alisha said. “Amish women about to give birth are rushed to the hospital all the time. It could have been someone who resembled the missing girl.”

“Yes, but several people knew of her and said she kept to herself. She was staying at a bed-and-breakfast and the owner verified that and the fact that she was pregnant. She went into labor in the middle of the night. The owner called for an ambulance. I also went to the hospital and asked around.”

Standing, he turned to lean against the wall. “They couldn’t tell me everything but when I explained this was an Amish girl and that her brother had hired me to find her, the hospital officials verified that a woman matching her description had been a patient there but she’d left without officially checking out.”

“Did they verify that she’d had a baby?”

“No.”

“What else?” Alisha asked. “Because you always manage to dig information out of people.”

“I might have cornered an aide in the maternity ward.”

She gave him a stern look. “And what might you have found?”

“I told her the truth. That Mr. Fisher was searching for his sister, and that he was concerned for her safety. The aide verified by nodding to my questions, that a woman named Josie had a baby there and that she’d left without being discharged.”

Alisha shook her head. “One day your backdoor tactics are going to get you in serious trouble, Nathan.”

“I’ll take what I can get to help that girl and her child.”

Turning to Raesha, Josiah nodded, tears in his eyes. “Dinah is my niece.”

Mr. Craig twisted to smile at Alisha Braxton. “While we haven’t verified proof yet, Josiah, I believe you’re kin to the baby the Bawell women found.”

“Does that mean we don’t have to report this or send Dinah away?”

Mr. Craig turned to Alisha, lifting his hands up. “Well?”

She glared at him for a moment and then said, “If the mother didn’t receive an official certificate at the time of birth, it’s going to be hard to prove this. The HIPAA rules won’t allow for much more.”

“And I can’t get access to the birth certificate,” Nathan said. “But Josiah could file for a copy at the Department of Vital Records. You have the mother’s name and the baby’s name. And in the state of Pennsylvania, the father can’t even be listed on the birth certificate if they’re not married. He has no rights if his name is not on that document.”

Crossing her arms, Alisha gave Nathan Craig a heavy appraisal. “He’s right there, but none of your tricks, Nathan. This is a serious matter.”

“I told you,” he explained. “I’m doing this close to the book, but with the Amish, certain English rules don’t necessarily apply. The searches are difficult at best.”

The lawyer lady’s eyebrows went up. “In this case, we have a missing Amish mother fitting the description of Josie Fisher, who left the hospital with her baby in the middle of the night. Most Amish don’t have an official birth certificate, and if this was Josie, she obviously didn’t take the time to grab one.”

“Should I try to get a copy of the original?” Josiah asked.

“We can do it right here, online, since we have most of the information,” Mr. Craig said. “If Josie used her own name and recorded the baby’s name, it’s worth a shot. You can file since you are related and have the same last name.”

“I can walk you through it, Mr. Fisher,” Alisha Braxton said. “We have to try but it might be hard if the baby wasn’t assigned a social security number and you can’t provide one.”

Josiah bobbed his head. “You see, Josie wanted me to find the baby. She must have come here to the old place and seen it wasn’t livable. Somehow, she knew about the Bawells taking in people. Maybe she wanted to ask for their help and panicked. But she left Dinah, to keep her baby safe.”

“She didn’t return to the bed-and-breakfast where she’d been staying,” Nathan said. “That means she must be moving around. I’ll start checking homeless shelters and women’s shelters next, with your permission.”

Alisha lifted up in her chair. “Okay, your findings give us a strong indication that we’re on the right track. Even with access to her medical records, the hospital can’t just hand over information. But a birth record would help solidify Dinah staying within the Amish community.”

“So she could stay with Josiah?” Raesha asked. “Maybe if Josie knows her child is with her brother, she’ll return to Campton Creek.”

“I hope so,” Alisha said. “Normally, Mr. Fisher, you’d have to file for guardianship, but seeing as your sister is Amish, that makes the baby Amish. And I understand the Amish tend to take care of their own.”

Mr. Craig leaned down to stare at Alisha Braxton. “I’m impressed. You rarely veer from the letter of the law.”

“Sometimes, the laws become a little gray in certain areas,” she explained. “And the Amish are one of those areas.” Then she looked at Josiah. “But I expect you to be responsible for this child. The Bawells will help you, because it’s the Amish way. But ultimately, the responsibility falls on your shoulders since her mother is missing and, apparently, her father is not legally involved.”

Josiah nodded. “I wonder if that’s why she ran away. Maybe something happened to the man she was to marry.”

“That’s a question to ask her if you ever find her,” the lawyer said. “I know this is hard on you but the bonnet with the initials is a strong indicator, as is the fact that she left the baby near your old home, with two women known for taking in orphans and people in need. That shows she was thinking of the baby’s safety, and you came here not long after she had to have been nearby. She might be keeping tabs on you and could come back on her own.”

“So we’re all clear?” Josiah asked. “I won’t do anything illegal but I want my niece with me.”

“You’ve done everything right, Mr. Fisher,” Alisha Braxton said. “Even hiring this irritating man.”