Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 2

by Samantha Price

  “Are you going to tell the police?”

  “We have to,” Elsa-May said.

  Sarah nodded. “Okay.”

  In the barn, Ettie dialed the detective’s mobile number and reached him on the first try.

  “Detective Kelly, Sarah, Margaret’s sister, just told us that Margaret thought that Norman had grown suspicious of her. Someone from a previous assignment recognized her and called her a different name and she thought Norman might have overheard.”

  “She didn’t make that known to us,” Kelly grumbled. “Did she say when that took place exactly?”

  “The last visit, which was a week before she was killed.”

  “Interesting because according to Broadfoot, the robbery was arranged two weeks before her death.”

  “Norman wouldn’t have known where she would’ve been because Brandy only arranged for her to be at the open house a day before,” Ettie said.

  “Good work, Mrs. Smith. I’ll handle things from here. I’ll contact Sarah to come in, so we can amend her statement.”

  Ettie and Elsa-May left Sarah and went on to Josh’s house. They knocked on his door, and he answered looking as though he’d just got out of bed.

  “Are you unwell?” Elsa-May asked.

  “I’m feeling dreadful.” He stepped back to let them in. They followed him to his living room. As soon as they sat, he said, “I’ve lied to the police.”

  “What about?” Ettie asked.

  “I don’t want to go to jail.”

  “What did you lie about, Josh?”

  He rubbed his face in both of his hands. “When I got to your house, Ettie, I saw her car there and got out of my buggy. I knew no one would see us together because there was no one about. All I was hoping for was a quiet word with her.”

  The sisters waited patiently for him to continue.

  When he finally spoke, he said, “I saw her lying there. I knew she was dead, and I panicked and drove away.”

  “Did you see anyone?” Ettie asked.

  “I saw a man and a woman in a dark colored car when I was driving toward your haus, Ettie, and they’d just come from your haus.”

  “Why didn’t come forward about this sooner?”

  “I was going to tell the police, but then that man said he saw me. I never saw that man, so I don’t know how he saw me. I just had to make something up about her being alive so they wouldn’t think I killed her.”

  “Josh, you’ve made things worse. Why couldn’t you have just told Detective Kelly exactly what happened?” Elsa-May asked.

  He shrugged. “I’ve never been good at talking. I’d never be able to go to a court or anything to defend myself. I’d freeze.”

  “They have lawyers to do that for you, Josh,” Ettie said.

  He raised his eyebrows. “I don’t know how it works.”

  “Well, you’re coming with us right now to tell Detective Kelly the truth of everything.”

  “I don’t feel well.”

  “You’ll feel much better once you tell the truth,” Elsa-May said with a nod of her head.

  “I can’t spend another night in that cell, and I can tell that they think I killed her. What should I do?”

  “Are you sure you didn’t see a man driving away. He’s made a statement that he passed you.”

  He shook his head. “Nee, Ettie, I saw a man and a woman in a dark car, and I’m certain they were heading away from your haus. I only remember them because I saw an open house sign and thought I’d go and have a look and assumed they must have just been at the open house. I didn’t even know that Margaret would be there.”

  Ettie recalled that they had seen no open house signs when they had approached the house. “Could you identify the people in the car?”

  “Nee, I didn’t have a good look at them; I only got a glimpse.”

  “What about the car?” Elsa-May asked.

  “Mercedes, large and dark blue. I remember that because it was odd to see a car like that around here.”

  “Would you feel better if the detective came here?”

  “Jah, and can you both stay with me?”

  Ettie nodded. “You’ve got a phone in the barn, haven’t you?”

  “Jah right by the door on the left.”

  “I’ll call the detective and have him come here, but I’m certain he’ll want you to record your statement.”

  “I’m unwell. Maybe we should do this tomorrow.”

  Ettie knew they had to move on things quickly. “I’ll go and phone the detective while Elsa-May stays with you.”

  Over the phone in Josh’s barn, Detective Kelly said, “Well, Mrs. Smith, I don’t see how the time line fits. But that is the description of one of Cartwright’s cars.”

  “Can you come and speak with him here? Maybe take a recording here? He’s very distressed.”

  “I’ll be there soon, Mrs. Smith. I’ll bring a team with me, and we’ll do our best to accommodate him—only for you, Mrs. Smith.”

  “Thank you, Detective.” When Ettie hung up the phone, she sat on a bale of hay in the barn.

  One scenario was that Cartwright murdered Margaret and saw Josh, so he paid someone to say that he’d robbed Margaret of the ring and had Broadfoot describe an Amish man as coming toward the house to make it look like Josh killed Margaret.

  Why would Cartwright drive his own car if he intended to kill Margaret? Perhaps it just happened, and it wasn’t pre-meditated. He could’ve confronted her with his suspicions of her being an undercover police officer.

  “What if she admitted to it? Nee, she’d never do that and endanger her own life and all the hard work she’d put into investigating him,” Ettie said out loud.

  Ettie heard a meow and turned around. It was an orange tabby cat.

  “Well, hello,” Ettie said. “What do you think of the whole thing? And who was the man and who was the woman? The man could’ve been Cartwright, but who was the woman? It could’ve been one of his staff members; it could’ve been anyone.”

  Ettie remembered that the ex-wife of Cartwright and his daughter had rock solid alibis, but what about Brandy? She couldn’t recall whether the detective said anything about Brandy’s alibi, or whether she had one at all.

  The detective had seemed concerned about Brandy’s change of name once they mentioned it in passing, but he never mentioned it again. Ettie couldn’t decide what she thought about the whole thing; she still couldn’t put all the pieces together, so she said goodbye to the cat and wandered back to the house to wait for Detective Kelly. Just as she was about to go inside, she turned around when a sudden thought occurred to her.

  Detective Crowley! He can look into Brandy’s past for me and see if there’s anything there. She knew his number by heart, so she walked back into the barn, picked up the phone, and then dialed his number.

  “Hello,” Crowley answered.

  “Oh, you’re there.”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s good.”

  “Ettie? Is that you?”

  “Yes, it’s me.”

  “What can I do for you?”

  Ettie did her best to gather her thoughts.

  “Hello? Ettie, are you still there?”

  “I’m still here; I’m thinking. I’m wondering if you might be able to look up someone’s past for me.”

  “Who?”

  “Brandy Winnie.”

  “The realtor?”

  “Yes. She told me some time ago when I first met her that she changed her name so it would fit better on her business card. I got to thinking that maybe there’s another reason she changed her name.”

  “She’s well known. It’s doubtful she’s hiding anything. Do you mean you want me to find out if she’s got a criminal record?”

  “Yes, that kind of thing.”

  “Ettie, she can’t have one. If she had a record, she wouldn’t be able to be a realtor. They’re very strict about that kind of thing.”

  “What if she was convicted under her old name and
that’s why she changed it?”

  “I see what you mean. When did she change it?”

  “I don’t know exactly, but it was when she began her real estate career, I believe.”

  “Okay, give me her old name and I’ll see what turns up.”

  “Really? You’d do that?”

  The detective chuckled. “I can’t play golf all year round. It won’t hurt to keep my hand in, just in case I take up that new career I was telling you about.”

  “Thank you. I’d appreciate that.” Ettie gave him Brandy’s former name, and then promptly hung up the phone before she hurried back to the house.

  When she entered the kitchen, she found Josh was sitting down at the table having a cup of hot tea with Elsa-May.

  “Would you like a cup, Ettie?”

  “Jah.”

  It was a good half-hour wait before Detective Kelly arrived with a few officers. Ettie and Elsa-May stayed in the kitchen while Josh was interviewed in the living room.

  “Poor Josh,” Elsa-May whispered. “To find Margaret dead and have to lie about it through fear of being accused of her death.”

  “That would’ve been a burden too heavy for him to bear.”

  “I do hope they don’t find a reason to lock him up again.”

  “If they do, we’ll call Bishop John. He’ll be the best person for Josh to pray with so he can get through this time,” Ettie said.

  “What do you make of it all? Nothing seems to make sense.”

  “When I was in the barn I called Crowley. I asked him to see what he could find out about Brandy Winnie. I thought what if Brandy was the woman in the car?”

  “Do you think so?”

  Ettie hunched her shoulders. “As you said, so far nothing makes sense, so we know that there’s information missing somewhere.”

  “It’ll be interesting to see what he turns up. I always thought there was something strange about the woman.”

  “She might have changed her name all those years ago for a reason.”

  “Do you remember when she was telling us her name when we first met her?” Elsa-May asked.

  “I do. I recall that she readily told us her last name, but was more hesitant to tell us her first. Now, that could’ve been that she was embarrassed to have such a dreadful name, or was she protecting her true identity?” Ettie.

  “And then she possibly thought, What harm will it do to tell these two old Amish ladies my real name?”

  “I got chills down my back when you just said that, Elsa-May.”

  “If she was involved in murder, what motivation did she have?”

  “Love. Didn’t Crowley tell us a long time ago that most murders are committed over love, revenge, or money?” Ettie asked.

  “Brandy’s love for Cartwright?”

  Ettie nodded. “And she would’ve been set for life if she married him and would never have had to work another day in her life. So you could also say it was money motivated.”

  As they each finished a second cup of tea, Kelly came into the kitchen. “Thank you, both of you. His testimony has been invaluable. We’ll go back and question Broadfoot. It seems he lied to us, and either he knows who killed Margaret or he did it himself.”

  “Who do you think the man and the woman were in the car?” Elsa-May asked.

  “Brandy perhaps?” Ettie suggested.

  “No, Mrs. Smith. There’s nothing to implicate Brandy Winnie.”

  Ettie stared at the detective. “She’s got an alibi, then?”

  He nodded and then said, “I’ve got to drive the men back to the station so we can get a statement prepared for Josh to sign. We’ve explained to Josh that an officer will be back with the document for signing later today. I’m organizing a warrant for Cartwright’s car. Broadfoot says he stole a car, but no car matching the description he gave us has ever been reported as missing. And it’s never been seen where he reportedly abandoned it.”

  “You believe what Josh said?” Elsa-May asked.

  “As much as I believe anyone’s testimony. It’ll be interesting to hear what Broadfoot will have to say once he hears what Josh has said.”

  Chapter 25

  When Elsa-May and Ettie got home, they were still bothered by everything.

  “Not now, Snowy. I’ll walk you later. I need a rest.” Snowy stopped trying to jump up on Elsa-May as she sat on her usual chair. He went to his bed in the corner and made himself comfortable.

  “It’ll be just Broadfoot’s word against Josh’s. So it seems that Broadfoot was the one driving the dark blue car, and he had a female passenger,” Elsa-May said.

  Ettie untied the strings of her prayer kapp. “I was wondering if it was Cartwright driving the car and he paid someone—Broadfoot, to come forward and say he stole the diamond, and she was alive when he left. That way, he could implicate Josh and make it look like Josh was the one who killed her.”

  “That does make sense, Ettie. And if that’s right, the only thing we don’t know now is who the woman was and exactly who the man was driving the car. Didn’t Josh say that Margaret always insisted on wearing the fake ring?”

  “Jah, he said that. What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Why was her finger all swollen like that as though someone was pulling it off her finger?” Elsa-May asked.

  “I guess the insurance company would need to believe that the ring was stolen. Once it was on the autopsy report that there was evidence of the ring being forcibly taken, that would strengthen Cartwright’s claim.”

  Elsa-May nodded.

  Ettie stretched her arms over her head. “Hopefully, Kelly will sort it all out, and I’m glad he believed what Josh said.”

  “Josh always avoided telling us the truth, and now we know why. Seeing her dead, lying there like that must have scared him especially after she told him all those things about the people she’d been investigating.”

  “He could’ve thought he might be next,” Ettie said.

  “Seems like whoever killed her knew that Josh didn’t get a good look at them.”

  The next morning just after they’d finished their breakfast, Crowley knocked on Elsa-May and Ettie’s door.

  “I hope I’m not too early?” he asked as he stepped through the door.

  “No. Come in. What is the time?” Ettie asked.

  “It’s half past nine,” he answered.

  “We’re just having a cup of tea. Would you like one?” Elsa-May asked.

  “No. I won’t even sit down. I’ve just stopped by to let you know that I found something on Boadicea.”

  “What is it?” Ettie asked.

  “She was once charged with murder.”

  Ettie gasped.

  “The charges were then downgraded to conspiracy to commit murder and then the charges were dropped altogether.”

  “Does Kelly know?” Elsa-May asked.

  “I called him late in the evening yesterday, but he already knew. He didn’t seem to think it warranted looking into her further.”

  “Why not?” Ettie frowned.

  Crowley spread his arms out. “He seems to have some affection for her. There’s not much more I can do; it’s his investigation, not mine.”

  “That’s just not right,” Elsa-May said. “Ettie, we need to pay Detective Kelly a visit.”

  “No, Elsa-May. You can’t tell him how to do his job. How do we know he doesn’t know other things he’s not letting us in on. He’s done that plenty of times before.”

  Crowley chuckled.

  “Do you know anything else? Did Kelly tell you something and tell you to keep it quiet?” Ettie asked.

  “If he did, I wouldn’t be able to tell you, now, would I? You think Brandy’s guilty?” Crowley asked.

  “She’s been accused of being involved with murder before, so what would you think?” Ettie asked.

  “I’d take a closer look at her whereabouts at the time of the murder,” Crowley said before he sighed. “I am going past the station if you would like me to
drive you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “We’re ready now,” Elsa-May snarled. “And I’ll have a few words to say.”

  “I’d tread carefully, Elsa-May. You don’t know what Kelly’s got up his sleeve. He’s a good operator, one of the best,” Crowley said.

  “Maybe you should calm down a little,” Ettie said to Elsa-May. “Why don’t we leave it until this afternoon and then if you still feel as strongly we’ll go and see him then?”

  Elsa-May nodded. “I suppose you’re both right. I’ll calm down and think things through before I say anything to him, but I’m certain he’s letting his attraction to Brandy get in his way of seeing her as a proper suspect.”

  “Is that a ‘no’ to the drive to the station?” Crowley asked.

  “Yes, that’s a ‘no.’ Thank you for the offer. If you hear anything else, do you think you could let us know?” Ettie asked.

  “I will, but I’m unlikely to hear anything on the golf course.”

  “Is that why you’re dressed like that?” Ettie looked him up and down. She’d never seen him in anything but a suit. He certainly looked odd in the geometric patterned shorts, the two-tone shoes, and the short-sleeved t-shirt.

  “That’s right. This is what we have to wear on the course. They have a strict dress code.”

  When the detective left, Elsa-May took Snowy for a walk to try to calm down.

  Later that day, the detective didn’t look pleased to see the two sisters at the waiting room of the police station. He showed them into his office and told them about Cartwright’s car.

  “We showed Josh the impounded car belonging to Cartwright. Josh said it was the same model as the one he saw heading away from the house.”

  “Have you spoken to Brandy again?” Ettie asked Kelly.

  “About what?”

  Elsa-May said, “About the fact that she came up on murder charges some years ago.”

  The detective glowered. “How did you find out? She was never convicted, and there’s no record.”

  Elsa-May held her chin high. “We have ways.”

  “Keep it to yourselves. We’re moving forward on trying to get a confession,” Kelly said.