Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 2

by Samantha Price

  “Yes, that’s right. He might be hard to track down, but we’ll see you afterward. He’ll be at the Sunday meeting, so we might have to wait until then.” Elsa-May rose to her feet.

  Ettie and Elsa-May showed the detective to the door.

  “Thank you for your fingerprints and giving us your DNA for elimination purposes, ladies.”

  “I’m certain you already would’ve had all that on record, but we’re always happy to comply.”

  “Have you found something else out that you’re keeping to yourself?” Ettie asked.

  “We did, but that’s all I can say at the moment. I’ve got the taxi driver coming in and Norman Cartwright, his daughter, and Josh Tomson. I’m hoping they’ll all submit to DNA testing. We need samples from all of them. Well, good day, ladies.”

  When the detective left, Snowy woke up and sniffed where the detective had been.

  “Not much of a watchdog, are you Snowy?” Elsa-May said as she sat down again.

  Ettie leaned down and picked Snowy up and then sat on the couch with him on her lap. “That’s going to be awkward, Elsa-May. We can’t turn up where Josh’s living and start asking him questions. He’ll know we’re asking because Margaret’s been found dead. And he’ll wonder what business it is of ours to be asking him anything.”

  Elsa-May thought for a moment and then said, “I can’t think of a reasonable excuse for talking with him either.”

  “It’s Friday now and this Sunday there’s a meeting on, so that’s only a couple of days to wait. That will seem more natural.”

  “I would feel more comfortable with that, but now we have to come up with something to ask Josh. And find a way to bring Margaret up in the conversation,” Elsa-May said.

  “I could mention something about her being found just in front of Agatha’s haus.”

  “Jah say something like that. Anyway, I’ll stay close so I can back you up if you stumble over words or forget what you’re saying.”

  “Denke, Elsa-May, that’ll be good. I know I’ll be nervous speaking with him. I don’t know what the detective thinks Josh has to gain. Brandy has obviously got this all wrong; she’s mistaken somehow.”

  Elsa-May chortled. “Why can’t we live a peaceful life? Seems like something is always happening.”

  “I had hoped we could keep out of the whole thing, but it’s not easy when the woman was found dead after doing an open house for me at my haus.”

  “The detective never mentioned if he’d followed up all the people from the open house. He might find some leads there; someone might have seen something.”

  “Perhaps we could find out next time we see him. It makes me feel uneasy that the murderer might have been in the haus.”

  “I wonder what other leads the detective is following up.”

  Chapter 7

  When the Sunday meeting was over, Ettie and Elsa-May moved outside the Shrocks’ house amongst the crowd. Ettie had her eyes on Josh, and if they stayed close to him, she hoped they could strike up a conversation.

  Just as Ettie was staring at him, he looked over and caught her eye. Then, he walked toward them.

  “Hello, Josh.”

  “Hi, Ettie, Elsa-May.”

  Elsa-May nodded, and then he cleared his throat as though he was about to say something.

  “Ettie, I heard that Margaret was found outside your haus? Can I ask you about it?”

  Ettie stepped closer to him. “Of course, you can.”

  He looked down at the ground, licked his lips, and then looked up at her. “Do you think she suffered?”

  “I really don’t know. The police say she was strangled, and she did have marks on her neck.”

  “You saw her?”

  “Jah, both Elsa-May and I saw her. She had just finished an open house for me, and as we drove up in the taxi, we saw her lying there.” His face contorted, and Ettie thought he might cry. “I’m sorry, Josh, I don’t know how much you want to know.”

  He looked up and blinked hard. “I can’t believe she’s gone. It doesn’t seem real.”

  “When did you see her last?” Elsa-May asked.

  “Not since she left. I’d hear about her, though. People would tell me things about her and the man she was to marry.”

  “You heard she was engaged?”

  He nodded. “I did.”

  “What did people tell you about him, if I can ask you that?” Ettie said.

  “I heard he wasn’t a reputable person. Well, there’s not a polite way to say it. He was dishonest was what I heard.”

  Ettie blinked hard. “Dishonest? In what way?”

  “I’m not certain, but I heard he was in some shady deals. I didn’t really listen too much. Now I wish I had taken more notice.”

  “Do you remember who told you these things?” Elsa-May asked.

  He shook his head. “Can’t say that I do.”

  Ettie bit the inside of her lip. What was it that the detective wanted her to find out? She found out he hadn’t seen her since she left, and he’d heard things about her fiancé being involved in dishonest dealings. They hadn’t really found out anything useful for the detective at all. “Do you know anyone who might have wished her harm?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “I wouldn’t know. As I said, I haven’t seen her in years.”

  Elsa-May patted him on his shoulder. “We know it’s upsetting for you.”

  “Denke. I’ll just have to get used to her being gone. You know, I always thought she’d come back. That had been in my hopes and prayers every day.”

  The man looked genuinely upset, and Ettie was certain he was innocent. A man who had been hoping and praying that a woman would come back to him didn’t sound like the same kind of man who would have been unkind.

  He looked to his left. “I might say a word to her parents. Excuse me.” Josh left the ladies alone.

  Ettie turned to look at Elsa-May. “What do you make of that?”

  “He certainly seemed genuinely upset.”

  “And he hasn’t seen her for years.”

  “I wonder what exactly he heard about Margaret’s fiancé?” Elsa-May asked.

  “It could be just rumors. Wealthy people are often surrounded by rumors. People do like to create drama; maybe that’s all it was. There might have been no truth in it at all.”

  “I know the detective’s wrong about him being involved. How could he have anything to do with her death?”

  “That might be true. Look, there’s Ava.” Ettie pointed over to where Ava was.

  They waved to Ava, and she came over to them.

  “Hello! I’m an old married lady now.” She giggled.

  “About time too,” Ettie said with a smile.

  The happiness quickly left Ava’s face. “Ettie, I heard that Margaret Yoder has been murdered and found outside our haus.”

  “Jah, that’s true. We drove there in a taxi to see how the open house went. We expected to see Brandy, but instead, Margaret was there lying on the ground near her car.”

  Elsa-May was quick to point out, “We didn’t know it was her. She’d changed a lot. She’d even changed her name and her hair was light.”

  Ava put her fingertips to her mouth. “Hasn’t Josh Tomson been waiting for her to come back to him? That’s what I’ve heard.”

  Ettie nodded.“Jah, he’s very upset. We were just speaking to him.”

  “Who do they think killed her? Do they have any idea?” Ava asked quietly.

  Ettie shook her head. “None at this stage. None at all.”

  “She was to be married,” Elsa-May said. “The detective said the man she was going to marry was very rich. What was his name again, Ettie?”

  “Norman Cartwright.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Brandy Winnie tells us that Norman’s daughter wasn’t too happy about sharing her inheritance when her father married Margaret.”

  “Isn’t that a motive?” Ava asked.

  Ettie pulled her mouth to one side. “I
suppose we’ll just wait to see what the detective uncovers.”

  Ava’s eyes grew wide. “Detective Kelly?”

  The elderly sisters nodded.

  “Has he asked for your help again, Ettie?”

  “He asked me to talk with Josh to see what I could find out. Then he’s going to speak with him.”

  “Did Josh tell you anything when he was speaking to you just now?” Ava asked.

  “Nee. He said he hasn’t seen her in years.”

  Elsa-May added, “But he did say that he heard about her intending to marry, and that the man wasn’t always honest in his dealings. Ettie thinks it’s just a rumor.”

  “Well, it’d be hard to know, wouldn’t it?” Ava blurted out, “Wait a minute. Did you just say that he said he hadn’t seen her in years?”

  Ettie nodded. “That’s what he said.”

  “That’s not what I heard. I happen to know that Josh met with Margaret regularly, and that’s why Josh found it hard to let her go.”

  “Do you remember who told you that?” Elsa-May asked.

  “Jeremiah told me. He’s good friends with Josh.”

  Ettie and Elsa-May stared at each other, both wondering why he’d lie about that.

  “Do you want me to try to find anything out?” Ava asked.

  Ettie shook her head. “Nee denke, Ava. You go and enjoy married life and settling into your new home.”

  “Jeremiah and I will be over at the haus tomorrow to collect all my things. And then we’ll give the place a final clean.”

  “Denke, Ava, but I don’t know if there’s any hurry to move your things now. The place is going to be that much harder to sell now, with Horace’s body being found under the floorboards some time ago, and now this happening with Margaret out in front of the house.”

  “I didn’t think of that. Sorry to hear that, Ettie. It’s such a nice haus.”

  “I know, but I can’t worry about that. It’ll sell when it sells.”

  “We’ll still get all my furniture out and clean it tomorrow. I don’t have a lot to move.”

  Ettie nodded. “The police might still have the main haus taped up so don’t go near that one. Well, maybe not since he gave me back the key.”

  “I won’t go near it.”

  When Ava went off to talk to other people, Ettie whispered to Elsa-May, “If Josh wasn’t telling the truth about not seeing Margaret for years, he probably wasn’t telling the truth about Norman Cartwright being dishonest.”

  “It might make him feel better to believe bad things about the man he lost Margaret to. Should we speak with Brandy again?”

  “Perhaps. She certainly seems to know what’s going on.” Ettie noticed Margaret’s older sister had walked up to them. “Hello, Sarah,” Ettie said.

  She smiled and nodded politely to both elderly sisters. “My mudder told me that you were the ones who found Margaret.”

  “We were.”

  “She hadn’t even kept in contact with us. My parents are upset, but they’d never let it show. Do you know when there will be a funeral? I’d like to go.”

  “We’ve been waiting to find out too. The detective is going to let us know; we’ll tell you as soon as we find out.”

  “You can come with us,” Elsa-May offered.

  “Denke, I’d like that. You’ve got my phone number haven’t you?”

  “We don’t, but we have your mudder’s.”

  “I’d rather you not tell anyone I’m going to the funeral. It would only make everyone upset. I’ll find someone to look after my three young ones. I know Margaret hadn’t always done the right thing, but she was still my little schweschder. I’ll find paper and pen and give you my number before you leave.”

  Ettie and Elsa-May agreed, and then Sarah hurried away just as their great-grandchildren spotted Ettie and Elsa-May. Three young boys and two girls came bounding up to them.

  “Can I come and stay with you again, Mammi?” six-year-old Ivy asked Elsa-May.

  Elsa-May put a hand on her shoulder. “You can soon, if it’s all right with your mamm and dat.”

  “I’ll go see.”

  Just before she ran away, Elsa-May added, “Not today. I said soon.”

  Ivy was the only one who had ever stayed at their house on an overnight visit. The others wanted to stay close to their parents.

  Elsa-May watched Ivy running to her parents. “She reminds me so much of myself.”

  Bossy? Ettie thought to herself between talking to the remaining great-grandchildren.

  A few moments later, Ivy came bounding back. “They said they’ll talk with you about it, Mammi. I think they’ll let me.”

  “Gut, Ivy. It’ll be nice to have you over again soon.”

  “Do you know Mammi’s got a dog now?” Ettie asked Ivy.

  “You have?”

  Elsa-May nodded. “And I’m certain he’d like to play with you.”

  “We’ve got dogs too,” Ivy said.

  “This one is small. He’s about your size.”

  “As big as me?”

  Elsa-May laughed. “Not as tall, he’s the right size for you to play with. He’s about this high.” With her hands, Elsa-May showed her how big Snowy was.

  A look of delight spread across Ivy’s chubby face.

  When the children went to speak to someone else, Ettie said, “It’s most likely not a good time to have her to the haus with all the murder things happening.”

  “I know, but I find it hard to say no to her when she looks up at me with those big blue eyes.”

  “You’ll have to put her visit off until this whole thing’s wrapped up. I wouldn’t want her there when Detective Kelly comes to the house.”

  “I know. He might scare her.”

  “He scares us sometimes.”

  “I’ll let her parents know that she can come in a few weeks time.”

  “Hopefully, this whole thing will have settled by then, and Detective Kelly will have found the killer.”

  Chapter 8

  The four ladies went to the funeral of Margaret Yoder although she was being buried as Margo Rivers since her name had been legally changed. In the taxi with the elderly sisters was Ava, and Margaret’s older sister, Sarah.

  Ettie kept quiet, feeling she couldn’t speak freely with Sarah in the car. She didn’t know what might upset her. She certainly didn’t want Sarah to know that the detective had asked her to find something out from Josh Tomson.

  Norman Cartwright had arranged the funeral.

  They pulled up right outside a handsome white church, which was dwarfed by the large trees that surrounded it.

  “Just let us out here, thank you,” Elsa-May said to the driver.

  The ladies got out of the taxi, and after Ettie had paid the driver, she joined them on the sidewalk. There was a crowd of people gathered outside the church, and just as the ladies approached, everyone began to move inside.

  They took a row of seats at the back of the church. A raised platform at the front was mostly covered with tall vases of roses. The white coffin in the center covered with pink roses took prime place. Beside it, a large photograph of Margaret sat on a white easel.

  “That looks nothing like her.” Tears fell down Sarah’s face when her eyes fell on the photo.

  Since Ettie was sitting next to her, she patted her on her arm.

  “I can’t go through this. I thought I could, but Mamm was right. I shouldn’t have come. I’ll wait outside.” Sarah stood, moved past Ettie, and walked outside.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Elsa-May, who was sitting on the other end of the row, leaned across Ava, to ask Ettie the question.

  “She’s just upset. She said Margaret didn’t look like that. Then she said her mudder told her not to come.”

  “I thought she wasn’t telling anyone she was coming.”

  Ettie shrugged. “Must’ve changed her mind.”

  The music stopped, and a man with white and red trimmed robes stood at the front and said a few words. Ettie w
as too pre-occupied looking at the crowd to listen. More people came into the small church, and soon every seat was filled. When people lined the walls, Ettie glanced out the door to see even more people outside.

  Ettie noticed Brandy sitting in the front row next to an older man. On the other side of the elderly man sat a young woman. Ettie figured that the old man had to be Norman Cartwright, the man Margaret was going to marry. Perhaps the younger woman was the daughter who jealously guarded her inheritance.

  When the minister finished speaking, he stepped back, and Norman Cartwright stood, introduced himself, and said a few words about the woman he had been set to marry. His words were heartfelt, and he appeared to be genuinely distressed. He had to stop twice while he wiped tears from his eyes.

  When Norman finished, Brandy stood and said some nice things about Margo Rivers, who was formerly Margaret Yoder.

  As soon as the service was over, Norman Cartwright stood up and headed over to them. He put out his hand and introduced himself. “Are you ladies relatives of Margo? She told me she was raised Amish.”

  “No we aren’t, but her older sister is outside somewhere. She couldn’t stay through the service.” Ettie introduced everyone.

  “Thank you for coming. I’m sure Margo would appreciate it. I might see if I can find her sister. What is her name?” Cartwright asked.

  “Her name is Sarah,” Ettie said.

  Norman walked out of the church, and when Ettie glanced to the front, she could see Brandy looking around the crowd. Ettie lifted a hand and waved to her. Brandy smiled and waved back to the ladies.

  Once everyone was outside, Ettie and Elsa-May walked amongst the crowd that had gathered. There were even two news crews. She spotted Detective Kelly with five people she recognized from his police station.

  “There’s Detective Kelly, and he’s come with some officers. They’re in plain clothes, but I can tell they’re police.”

  “That was good of him to attend.”

  “Nice, but unusual of him to come with a group of his officers. Why would they take time out of their day to come to a funeral of someone they didn’t know? I can understand one or two of them coming.”