“How did you find out?” I ask.

“Friend of mine heard it on the news, and called me.”

“We looked for family. The sheriff of Lancaster County looked, but came back with nothing.”

“I would have been hard to find.”

“Why is that?”

He laughs, but it’s a sad sound. “Well, as you can see I’m no longer Amish. The sheriff’s deputies probably looked for Planks living in Lancaster County. He won’t find any relatives there.”

“No aunts? Uncles?”

“Datt had a brother. We had three cousins.” He purses his lips. “They were killed in a buggy accident six years ago.”

“That’s a lot of tragedy to beset one family.”

“It was horrible.”

I let that settle for a moment. “When’s the last time you saw your family?”

“I haven’t seen them since the day I left for Philly over three years ago.”

“No letters? Phone calls?”

“We never had a phone, so phone calls were out. I got one letter from Mary.”

My interest surges. “What did she say in her letter?”

“Just the usual teenaged girl stuff. You know, who’s courting whom. Who’s getting married. Gossip.” He smiles. “Amish style, of course.”

“She ever mention a boyfriend?”

Aaron hesitates. “No.”

I nod, but I’m wondering about the hesitation. “How long are you going to be in town?”

“I don’t know. A few days.”

Wanting as much information as I can get, I switch gears. “How long ago did you leave the Plain life?”

“Shortly after my rumspringa. I decided at that point not to be baptized.”

“Any particular reason?”

His eyes flick away, then back. “That was about the time I realized I was gay.”

Surprise ripples through me and at the same time my cop’s suspicions jump. I know even before I ask that the news did not go over well with his parents. The Amish are generally tolerant. But that doesn’t mean Aaron’s being gay was met with approval. How bad had it been for Aaron?

His eyes dart to Glock and then back to me. “I’d been . . . confused about it for a long time. Since I was little, I think. I pretended I wasn’t different. I hid what I was.”

Religion pervades all aspects of Amish life. Most live their lives according to the Ordnung. The Ordnung is a sort of unwritten charter of basic Amish values that is passed down from generation to generation and varies from church district to church district. Over the passage of time, the rules evolve and, to some, they are open to interpretation. The more conservative Amish adhere strictly to the Ordnung. Some of the more liberal-minded live their lives a bit more loosely, going so far as to utilize electricity and drive cars. Having been born into a conservative family, I know how difficult life could be for someone in Aaron’s shoes.