The Amish Midwife - By Mindy Starns Clark Page 0,78

punched in a code. A second later he opened the door and she slipped through.

On the sidewalk in front of the courthouse groups of Amish and Mennonites mingled. I stood for a moment, feeling awkward and alone. I searched for David, but he must have already left.

“Lexie.” It was Alice, motioning for me to join her. I did and she introduced me to a couple of other Amish women as Marta’s helper. I asked how Hannah was, and Alice said, “Tired. She’s been resting. In fact, I should get going to help her with the girls. But first I’ll tell Will what happened.” She took a deep breath. “Something must be done about this.” Alice gave me a half hug and slipped away into the crowd and then down the sidewalk. A moment later she climbed into the front seat of a van.

My steps were heavy as I walked around the corner toward my car. I needed to take a look at the schedule and sort through who was due when. Delivering babies was such a juggle between prenatal appointments, deliveries, and follow-up care. With Marta doing the scheduling and canceling of appointments, I’d been spared the stress of all of that. Now I would need Ella’s help. I hoped she would know whom to call if a mother didn’t have a phone or didn’t check her messages very often.

While I was still in town, I went to Esther’s house to check on her and Caroline. I also wanted to let her know I would be staying with Ella and Zed at the cottage, so they wouldn’t have to move in here temporarily after all. I gave Esther the bare bones of the hearing, knowing David would fill her in more fully when he got home later.

As I examined little Caroline, Esther talked about how the baby wanted to sleep all the time. I suggested that she unwrap her when it was feeding time—that perhaps being so warm and cozy made it hard for her to stay awake. Simon was still out of sorts and wouldn’t let me come near him. When I left, Esther was sitting on the couch with both the baby and Simon on her lap.

As I reached my car, my phone beeped with a text from Sean. He was available for lunch. We ate at a Vietnamese restaurant in downtown Lancaster. The family who owned the place was friendly, and in conversation we learned that they had fled from New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Sean and I each had a bowl of beef noodle soup, the perfect lunch for a drizzly day.

He was concerned about Marta, and I gave him a play-by-play of the arraignment. When I told him how high the bail was, he whistled in response but said he wouldn’t be surprised if someone posted it. “There are many Amish who are much wealthier than they appear.”

When everyone looked pretty much the same, it was hard to tell.

“The DA must think Marta was negligent in not calling 911 sooner.” I twirled noodles around my chopsticks.

“What was Lydia’s blood pressure?”

I told him and he agreed it was high. I also explained the preeclampsia angle.

He leaned back in his chair. “Does Marta carry oxygen with her?”

“Yes. Two tanks.” I now carried one of them in my car. “And I’m sure she used it. Why wouldn’t she have?”

I thought about how Lydia might have died as I put down my chopsticks and picked up the plastic spoon. I’d heard of people dying in their sleep before, even young people, and the autopsy not turning up a cause. “Do you think her attorney can get the charges reduced to practicing without a license?” That was a really weird thing about Pennsylvania. The state didn’t issue licenses for lay-midwives—most were licensed through national organizations. But if things went wrong the state had no qualms in prosecuting midwives for practicing without a state license, even though they couldn’t get one.

“Probably not.” He paused for a moment and then speculated. “There must be evidence in the chart that she should have called 911 sooner or referred Lydia to a physician.”

I nodded. Surely the DA had subpoenaed the chart at the beginning of the case. Though I had just recently met my aunt, I knew in my heart there was no way Marta would have altered her charting afterward.

As I drove away from the restaurant, I thought of all the other things I would need to do. Ella cooked, but I would