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folded his arms. “Not if you’re Amish. The kitchen is in the back of the house where I wouldn’t disturb them. Their bedroom is in the front. As you can see, it’s a very large home. Besides, Griffin planned to be here at five, and Mrs. Braddock knew and approved this. I thought me coming at six wouldn’t be any more disruptive than Griffin being here.”
    The deputy arched his brow. “You knew what time Griffin Bright planned to come to the Braddocks this morning?”
    Jonah nodded. “He told me yesterday.”
    In my head, I screamed, “Jonah, stop talking!”
    The officer changed his tone to a more conversational one. “Why would Mr. Bright be here so early?”
    Jonah’s frown deepened. “He said he had another job to do today, so if he was going to do any work for the Braddocks, it had to be at five.”
    The deputy changed the subject. “What did you see outside of the trailer, in detail?”
    “Griffin at the base of the stairs leading to the trailer. His neck was at a peculiar angle. He appeared burnt, at least his hands and feet were. He wasn’t wearing any shoes.” He spotted me over the deputy’s shoulder when he said this. “It looked to me like he was electrocuted. I thought the trailer’s generator may have shorted. To be safe, I turned it off before calling the police. I didn’t want anyone else to be hurt.”
    “No shoes? That’s strange on a job site, isn’t it?” the coroner asked.
    Jonah shook his head. “Not when the ground ismuddy like this. It’s etiquette. He took off his work boots to avoid tracking mud into the trailer.”
    “Did you know he would have taken off his shoes?” the deputy asked.
    Jonah’s brow wrinkled. “Anyone who works on a job like this would have. I took off my boots yesterday anytime I went into the trailer.”
    “What’s your relationship with Griffin Bright?” The deputy asked.
    Jonah’s eyes flicked in my direction and pleaded with me. I knew what he was asking. He didn’t want me to tell the police what he’d told me the day before about Kamon and Griffin. Even though I didn’t know the entire story about how Kamon died, I knew that Jonah still felt strongly about Griffin because of Kamon’s death, very strongly. But I knew my friend would not feel strongly enough to kill. He was incapable of hurting a soul.
    Deputy Anderson appeared at my side. “Angie, please come back into the house.”
    His comment caught the attention of the deputy questioning Jonah. The older deputy scowled at me.
    “Anderson,” I began, “I’m just checking on my friend.”
    I turned to Jonah. “You okay?”
    He gave me a quick nod just as Sheriff James Mitchell strode into the yard. Deputy Anderson watched in awe as his hero made his entrance.
    I might have had a similar expression if I hadn’t been so freaked-out about someone dying in my parents’ yard and if one of my best friends wasn’t potentiallythe prime suspect for the murder. If it was murder—it hadn’t been ruled as such yet.
    The officer questioning Jonah looked up from his notebook. “Hello, Sheriff. I was just going over a few things with Mr. Graber here. He’s the one who found the victim.”
    Mitchell nodded, and then he glanced at me with his beautiful aquamarine eyes. Just for a second his cop face softened, and I saw the compassionate man and devoted father I’d fallen in love with. As quickly as the tender expression appeared it hid behind the seasoned cop face again. “Jonah.” Mitchell nodded at my friend. “Did you see anything unusual when you approached the trailer? Other than Mr. Bright’s body?”
    “I—I don’t know,” Jonah stammered. “It’s hard to explain.”
    “Tell us,” Mitchell said.
    I was grateful Mitchell hadn’t asked me to leave. Maybe he didn’t bother because he knew Jonah would tell me everything anyway. I didn’t care what his reasons for letting me listen in were as long as he did.
    Jonah gripped the rim of his felt hat just a little bit tighter.