The sisters pushed their lunches aside and opened the notebook carefully. Ruby’s handwriting was straight and neat. She started each page with “Dear Diary” on the top left and the date on the top right. Margaret was right, there were quite a few pages concerning disagreements with her father, followed by detailed accounts of her encounters with Levi.
What Margaret didn’t mention, however, was the several entries right alongside the recent entries of her escapades with Levi where Ruby mentioned that she felt as if she was being watched, or followed. Ruby couldn’t seem to shake the uneasy feeling she got during these episodes, which happened mostly in the evenings or early mornings, she had recorded. Ruby also mentioned that her mother disregarded it, describing Ruby’s fear as the result of Ruby’s “overactive imagination.” Ruby wrote that she desperately wanted her mother to believe her – that her fears felt very real.
Margaret sat patiently across the table from the sisters waiting for them to finish reading. As soon as the book closed, she spoke, “Well, do you think Levi could have…” she didn’t want to say the words out loud, but she knew she had to… “hurt Ruby? Do you think he could have hurt her? I don’t know him very well, and he is so young. But I don’t know what to do.”
The sisters were stunned. This diary may very well be an important piece of the puzzle.
Beth spoke, “We couldn’t say for sure, Margaret. I think we are both shocked about Ruby and Levi’s secret, but I can’t imagine young Levi….”
“But, I do think it’s important to tell the sheriff about this, Margaret. We can impress on the sheriff how important it is to keep the details secret for as long as we can, but if it could help find who did this, well, then, that is what is best for the community overall.” Anna interjected. “Everyone knows that Ruby loved her father, Margaret, and he will forgive her words when they reach his ears.”
Margaret nodded and then replied meekly, “If you think it could help the investigation…”
With the bishop’s daughter suddenly missing and a new sheriff in town, Anna and Beth find themselves roped into solving another mystery in their small town.
Everywhere they turn, another secret is revealed, but the biggest secret of all is about to be uncovered…