The Secrets Beneath

by Kathleen Fuller

Overview

Rebekah Yoder loves a good mystery—that is, until she becomes a part of one.

Rebekah Yoder has always been curious . . . or nosy depending on whom you ask. When a Yankee stranger moves into the house next door, she’s fascinated. Who is this strange old man who never waves or smiles? When Bekah sees him digging holes in his back yard, she’s sure there is a case to be solved.

Unfortunately, when her cousin blabs the story to the whole school, rumors fly. Is he hiding something? Treasure? Victims? And worst of all, annoying Caleb Mullet is now determined to solve the mystery with her. What they don’t realize is there’s not just secrecy lurking next door—there’s danger. Will Bekah take her curiosity too far?

Readers will love journeying with Bekah Yoder as they learn the danger of gossip, the importance of prayer, and the real story of The Secrets Beneath.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781400316205
Publisher:	Nelson, Tommy
Publication date:	11/28/2010
Series:	The Mysteries of Middlefield Series , #2
Pages:	271
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

With over two million copies sold, Kathleen Fuller is the USA TODAY bestselling author of several bestselling novels, including the Hearts of Middlefield novels, the Middlefield Family novels, the Amish of Birch Creek series, and the Amish Letters series as well as a middle-grade Amish series, the Mysteries of Middlefield. Visit her online at KathleenFuller.com; Instagram: @kf_booksandhooks; Facebook: @WriterKathleenFuller; Twitter: @TheKatJam.

Read an Excerpt

The Secrets Beneath

Book Two: The Mysteries of Middlefield Series

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By Kathleen Fuller

Thomas Nelson

Copyright © 2010 Kathleen Fuller
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4003-1620-5

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Chapter One

"Why do ya always got your nose in a dumm old book for?"

Rebekah Yoder rolled her eyes at the sound of a boy's voice. Caleb Mullet—otherwise known as the biggest pain in Middlefield—stood over her. But she refused to look at him. Instead, she calmly turned the page. "Maybe if you read a book sometime you'd understand."

Caleb snatched the book from Bekah's hands. "Maybe I should read this one."

"Hey!" Bekah popped up from beneath her favorite tree in the backyard and rushed toward Caleb. She wished his family had never stayed for lunch after church. Then maybe she would have a moment's peace. "Give it back!"

He held it up over her head, flashing an annoying grin. Although they had both just turned thirteen, he was taller than she. He wasn't wearing his usual weather-beaten straw hat, and a hot late-August breeze lifted a large lock of his light brown hair. Chocolate colored eyes, filled with teasing glee, gazed back at her. "You'll have to catch me first!" He spun around and ran off toward the sparkling pond that edged her parents' property and also spanned to the Mullets'. She could see his house from here, and wished he would just go home—she wasn't in the mood for Caleb's annoying games. But she wanted her book back. She'd come to the part where Nancy Drew solves the mystery, and she couldn't wait to find out how it ended.

"Bekah!" Caleb had reached the pond and held her book over the edge. "Say good-bye to Nancy Drew!"

Fists clenched, Bekah ran to the pond. "Don't you dare, Caleb Mullet! That's a library book. If you ruin it, you're gonna pay for it!"

Caleb dangled the book above the water. Grinding her teeth, she picked up speed and hurtled herself toward him, ready to grab the book out of his hands. But just as she reached up he tossed the book over her head and onto the grassy bank behind her.

Bekah dug her bare feet into the grass but couldn't slow down. She slipped on the wet bank surrounding the pond and tumbled forward headfirst into the murky water. Stunned, she drew water up her nose. She broke through the surface, coughing and sputtering, touching her toes to the soft bottom of the pond. Her nose burned as she tried to steady herself. Then she heard Caleb's laughter. Wiping the water from her eyes, his guffaws battered her ears as he rolled on the grass, clutching his stomach.

"Woo hoo!" He gasped for breath. "That was the funniest thing I ever saw! You went like this"—he jumped to his feet and imitated the way she'd tripped on the bank, windmilling his arms before pretending to tip into the pond—"and then you did this ..." He cupped his hands around his mouth and let out a high-pitched shriek, which turned into a hiccup.

Soaked completely through, the ribbons of her kapp lying limply against her dress, Bekah wished she could yank Caleb into the pond and dunk him underwater. It would serve him right, especially if he got water up his nose like she just had. A fly flew around her head, but she didn't bother to wave it away. She glared at Caleb. "Shut. Up." When he kept laughing and hiccupping, she shouted, "Shut up!"

That seemed to get his attention. At least it quieted him for a moment. His lip lifted in a sneer. "What's your problem?"

"You're my problem!" She slammed her fist against the waist-deep water. Droplets splashed in her eyes. She wiped them away. "Look what you did to me."

He shook his head and hunkered down, his forearms resting casually over his knees, his face the picture of calm. "Don't blame me." He hiccupped. "You're the one who slipped."

"I wouldn't have slipped if you hadn't stolen my book."

"I didn't steal anything. It's lying over there on the grass. I just wanted to look at it for a minute." His lips curved into a mischievous grin.

"Oooh!" she exclaimed. He always had an answer for everything.

"What's going on here?"

Bekah shifted her gaze to the left to see her older sister Katherine and Caleb's older brother Johnny hurrying toward them. Caleb immediately leapt to his feet, casually shoving his hands in his pockets. He looked at the ground, kicking at a tuft of grass while whistling off-key.

Katherine put her hands on her slender hips, her red-gold eyebrows forming a V shape above her blue eyes. "Bekah, what are you doing in the pond?"

Bekah gritted her teeth. "I was bored, so I decided to jump in the pond and catch some fish with my bare hands." The sarcastic words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

Katherine frowned, her left eyebrow lifting as it usually did when she was confused. "But, Bekah, why would you do something like that? There aren't any fish in the pond."

Bekah rolled her eyes and made her way out of the water. "I know." There hadn't been fish in the pond for years. Bekah felt a pang of guilt. Katherine wasn't exactly the sharpest person around, but she was one of the nicest. She didn't deserve sarcasm. That she should reserve for Caleb. She turned her gaze to him and glared.

"You had something to do with this, didn't you?" Johnny moved to stand in front of his brother. He was sixteen years old, the same age as Katherine. Unlike Caleb, he had his black, wide-brimmed hat on and still wore his black pants and white shirt from the church service earlier that morning, the sleeves rolled up above his elbows. His bluish-gray eyes narrowed. "What happened?"

Caleb glanced away from his brother's accusing gaze. "Uh, it was an accident."

Her dress dripping, Bekah shook her head, water droplets flying from her wet kapp. "Nee. It wasn't an accident. You did that on purpose because you wanted me to fall in."

"Did what?" Katherine went to stand next to Johnny. But she wasn't looking at Bekah or even Caleb. Her sister had been chasing after Johnny ever since Bekah could remember. Even with Bekah dripping wet and Caleb finally looking slightly guilty, she still had her attention on Johnny.

Johnny turned to Bekah. "I know you'll tell me the truth. What really happened?" He shot a skeptical glance at Caleb.

Bekah relayed what Caleb had done. "And when I went to get my book, I slipped and fell into the pond."

"See?" Caleb held out his hands. "I told you it was an accident. She admitted it herself."

"An accident you caused," Johnny said. "Tell her you're sorry."

Caleb shook his head, crossing his arms. "Nee. I don't have to apologize to her."

"You will apologize." Johnny moved closer to Caleb until he was almost in his face. "Now."

Caleb looked up at his brother, as if he wanted to challenge him. Then his shoulders slumped a little, and he stepped away. He looked at the ground and kicked at another clod of grass. "Sorry."

"I don't think she heard you."

"I'm sorry!" Caleb looked at his brother. "There, satisfied?"

Bekah didn't accept his poor excuse of an apology, but she kept quiet. It wouldn't matter what she said, Caleb would manage to defend himself. He always did. She watched as Johnny shoved Caleb toward the house, with Katherine close behind. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but from Caleb's grimace she could tell he was getting an earful. Gut.

Although the day was hot, she started to shiver a little bit. She looked down to see her dress clinging to her skin, water droplets dangling from the hem. She reached up and touched her kapp, which was soaking wet. Her mother would be mad when she found out about this. Bekah sighed. All she wanted to do was spend a peaceful Sunday afternoon reading her book. Leave it to Caleb Mullet to ruin it.

* * *

"Caleb likes you, you know."

Bekah gaped at Katherine as she sat on the edge of her bed later that evening. Just as she'd suspected, her mother hadn't been happy when she found out what happened at the pond. But at least she understood it was Caleb's fault. Katherine must be ab im kopp to think Caleb liked Bekah. "Nee, Katherine, he doesn't like me at all. Look what he did to me this afternoon." She ran a brush through her waist-length hair, which had finally finished drying. "And that's not the first time he's embarrassed me. Last year in school he stuck gum in my chair before I sat down. He's always yanking on my kapp strings. And right before summer break, he hit me in the head with a volleyball."

"I'm sure it was an accident," Katherine said.

"It wasn't, but he pretended it was, just like he did today. You haven't seen him play. He's very gut, and he knows exactly how to hit the ball and make it land where he wants it to."

"Usually when a bu treats you like that, it means he likes you." Katherine went to the mirror on Bekah's dresser and checked her kapp, adjusting one of the bobby pins holding it in place.

Bekah loved her sister, but she should have known not to expect her to make sense. "If Caleb likes me, he should be nice to me. You don't see Daed hitting Mami with a volleyball."

"Well, of course not, they're adults." Katherine giggled, and turned around. "Buwe are different. The weirder they act around you, the more they like you."

Shaking her head, Bekah said, "The last thing I want is Caleb Mullet liking me. And just because you've liked his bruder forever doesn't mean you know anything about buwe. If you did, maybe Johnny would start liking you." Bekah bit her bottom lip. That wasn't very nice. For the second time that day she wished she could take back her words. "I'm sorry."

Katherine joined Bekah on her bed. Fortunately she didn't look angry. "It's okay. I know Johnny doesn't pay attention to me. But that doesn't mean I'm giving up on him. He's the bu for me. I can wait until he realizes it too." She tilted her head and looked at Bekah. "If it makes you feel any better about Caleb, his daed was very upset with him."

"Gut. I hope he gets grounded. He deserves it."

"Don't be so hard on him, Bekah. Buwe are strange."

Bekah smirked. "So you're saying Johnny is strange?"

Katherine shook her head. A dreamy look appeared on her face and her pale cheeks flushed, making her freckles disappear. "Johnny is perfect."

Of course Katherine would think that. "Is he taking you to the singing tonight?"

The dreamy expression disappeared, and she looked away. "Um, nee. Not tonight."

As far as Bekah knew, Johnny had never taken her sister to a singing, although Katherine desperately wanted him to. She thought Katherine was wasting her time on Johnny. Sure, they had walked over to the pond together after Bekah had fallen in, but Bekah suspected her sister had followed him over there. There were plenty of other boys in their church district, and Bekah thought a couple of them might be interested in her sister. But Katherine only had eyes for Johnny. One thing was for sure, Bekah would never be that silly when it came to boys. "So who are you going to the singing with?"

"Mary Beth and some other friends." Katherine looked at the battery-operated clock on Bekah's nightstand. "Oh, I'm running late. See you later."

Bekah watched Katherine leave, wondering how her sister could be so excited about a dumm singing. She couldn't think of anything more boring than sitting around and practicing hymns all evening. But that was what young adults did, and a lot of them seemed to enjoy it. As for Bekah, she'd rather curl up with a good book instead.

She continued to brush her hair, picking up a lock and untangling a small knot out of the ends. She had the same blue eyes and fair skin as Katherine and their older sister, Leah, who had married and moved with her husband to Pierpont two years ago. The only difference was that Bekah's hair was closer to light brown than red. Still, all three of them looked similar. "Like triplets, but spaced out a few years," one of her aunts said. That same aunt also saw fit to give them labels: "Leah's the practical one, Katherine's the sweet one, and Bekah's the nosy one."

Bekah didn't know if she should be insulted by the description or not. She considered herself more curious than nosy. People who were nosy were usually gossipy, and she didn't want any part of that.

Bekah finished brushing her hair, then stood up and went to the window. She liked leaning against the sill of the open window, feeling the warm fresh air and contemplating the light blue haus next door. It had been abandoned for three years—after the Harpers, an older couple with grown children, moved to Florida—and its forlorn and faded black shutters seemed to proclaim its emptiness. She often imagined the type of family that would move in someday. Maybe they would have a daughter her age. But not a boy who was anything like Caleb, she hoped. That would be awful.

Bekah didn't know how long she stood there, her chin resting on her cupped hand, her imagination carrying her away. The sun had started to dip below the horizon, shining a hazy light on the side of the haus. Then she remembered her book. Nancy Drew had a mystery to solve. She grabbed it off her dresser and bounded into bed. It was so warm in her room she didn't bother with a blanket or sheet.

She had just opened the book when she heard the sound of a car engine outside. That was strange. They rarely had cars driving down their quiet country road. She set down the book and went back to the window. A maroon minivan pulled to a stop in the driveway next door. A few seconds later an old man stepped out of the vehicle. His bald head shone in the fading sunlight, a few inches of white hair rimming the back of his head. He wore a short-sleeved red-and-white shirt tucked into his pants, which were belted tight and high around his thin waist.

Bekah leaned forward to get a better view. This was the first time she'd seen someone at the Harpers' place. The man put his hands on his hips and rubbed his chin as he surveyed the front of the house. After a while, he disappeared around the back. She expected him to quickly reappear, but he didn't. Finally she saw him walking through the high grass in the backyard, the part she could see from her window. Usually her father kept the grass mowed or else it would get out of control, but he hadn't had a chance to do that lately. The old man didn't seem to mind the length of the grass, though. He just paced around the yard, staring at the ground. Then he walked back around front, got in his minivan, and left.

How strange. Why was he so interested in the Harpers' house? Maybe he wanted to buy it. If so, why didn't he go inside? If Bekah were buying a house, she'd at least want to see how the inside looked. But he only seemed concerned with the outside.

Maybe he wasn't buying the house at all. Maybe he was checking to see if anyone lived there. Her mouth dropped open. Maybe he was thinking about robbing it.

She shook her head. That couldn't be the reason. He looked too old to be a thief. Still, she should probably go downstairs to the living room and tell her parents that someone had been snooping around the house. But her father was probably asleep on the couch by now; he usually took an early evening nap on Sundays, waking up later on to take care of the animals. Bekah didn't want to disturb him.

Besides, what if the man returned? She didn't want to miss him if he did.

She waited for almost half an hour and then gave up. If he were coming back it wouldn't be soon, and her legs ached from standing up so long. She thought again about telling her parents, but decided not to. There was nothing they could do about it now. She'd tell them in the morning.

Bekah picked up her book and lay down on her bed. She opened the cover and started to read. Nancy had solved the mystery, but Bekah wasn't all that interested anymore. Her thoughts were filled with the mysterious man next door.

Chapter Two

For the next two weeks Bekah kept a close watch for anything suspicious next door, but the man didn't show up again. When she'd mentioned his visit to her mother, Mami just shrugged. "Maybe he changed his mind. That haus has been vacant for a long time. Some days I wonder if it will ever sell."

On a Saturday morning after breakfast, Bekah went outside to weed the garden in the backyard. She saw her father walk out of the barn with the push mower. She waved to him as he headed toward her. Snapping a long, tender green bean off one of the plants, she handed it to him when he reached her. He broke it in half and ate one part. "Danki, Bekah."

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from The Secrets Beneath by Kathleen Fuller Copyright © 2010 by Kathleen Fuller. Excerpted by permission of Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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