“I told you this would happen, Ettie.” Elsa-May glared at Ettie. “Pretty soon the whole community will find out.”
Ettie shook her head at Ava. “You said you wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“Jeremiah won’t say anything, and he’ll be able to protect the baby and both of you.”
“But Crowley only gave us two days. No one will find out in two days. I’d feel much safer if Jeremiah were to stay here for two days—two nights. The man is unlikely to come here if he sees we have a man about the place.”
“Ettie’s right,” Ava said to Elsa-May.
Elsa-May let out a loud groan.
“It will be a good idea to have an extra person about the place,” Ettie said.
“Especially a man,” Ava added with a smile.
“I suppose that’s best for the safety of the boppli,” Elsa-May admitted. “Just as well you came over here today, Ava.”
“I wasn't going to, but something told me I should come here on my way home and let you know about your chairs.”
“Everything works out for the best most often,” Ettie said.
“That's what our vadder used to say, didn’t he Ettie? Now that would've been Jeremiah’s great-grandfather. Is that right?”
“Jeremiah’s your grandson—jah, that's right—his great-grandfather,” Ettie said. “Well, don't tell Jeremiah why he's coming over here. Just tell him that we’ll tell him everything when he gets here. Okay?” Ettie asked.
“Okay.”
“Are you sure he won't mind coming here?” Elsa-May asked.
“Of course he won't mind. He’d do anything for you two. And it’ll help him get used to having a boppli around.” Ava giggled.
“So you have an agenda of your own?” Ettie asked with a twinkle in her eyes.
“I might have.”
“Do you want us to show him how to change diapers?” Elsa-May asked.
“Don't bother. He already told me he won't be doing any of that.”
Ettie giggled. “We’ll see about that.”
“Are you going to have him change a diaper?” Ava asked with her eyes widened.
“It won't hurt him to know how to do it,” Elsa-May said.
“I suppose you can try to talk him into it.”
Elsa-May laughed. “We won't give him a choice about it. That's usually the best way with men.”
“Sounds like he’s in for a fun time. I’d better get home in time to fix his dinner and let him know he’ll be coming here. I’ll try to get him to leave home before it’s dark.”
“Before dark would be good,” Ettie said, worried that the man might come back.
“Denke, for coming here, Ava.”
“You’re welcome, Elsa-May.” Ava kissed the baby on top of his head and then stood up cradling him in her arms. “Who wants him?”
Elsa-May stood. “I'll take him.”
Both ladies walked Ava to the door.
When she was gone, Ettie said, “Well, we’d better rustle up something for dinner, Elsa-May, you know what an appetite Jeremiah’s got. Even though Ava said she’d give him a meal, that man can eat two dinners—no problem.”
“I’ll take care of the boppli while you cook.”
“Okay. Shall we give him a name rather than call him ‘the boppli’ all the time?”
“Good idea. He looks like a ‘Luke’ to me,” Elsa-May stated.
“You thought of that pretty quickly. Have you been thinking about a name for him?”
“Nee. I looked at him just when you said it, and then I thought of the name ‘Luke.' He looks like a ‘Luke,’ don’t you think?”
“All right, that’s as good a name as any. We’ll call him Luke,” Ettie said before she turned to rustle through the pantry. “I’ll need to bake more bread and I’ll make an apple pie for dessert.”
“What about the main dish?”
“Let’s see now.” Ettie moved some cans around in the pantry to get to the back. “I can make some cheesy chicken and rice.”
“Gut! I love that. Why haven’t you made that more often?”
“It’s a little time consuming, but I’m sure Jeremiah will like it.” Ettie knew that she’d gotten the raw end of the deal. With disposable diapers and feeding Luke every couple hours, Elsa-May had taken the easier option. As Ettie brought all the ingredients for the meal out of the cold box, she asked Elsa-May, “When do you think Crowley will come and tell us what Mrs. Cohen said?”
“He should come back here today—that’s what he’d said he’d do.”
“Would he come here today even if it’s later tonight?”
“I’d say so.”
Ettie looked at the food and knew she had to make certain she had enough so she could invite Crowley to stay for dinner if he came around the time of the evening meal.
“You’d better make enough dinner for Crowley, too, if he arrives near dinner time.”
“Jah, I was just thinking the very same thing. I hope he’s found something out. Do you think she might be Luke’s mudder?”
“I do, but Crowley seems to think it’s a long shot.”
When Ettie was half an hour into cooking the dinner, a knock sounded on the door. “Elsa May, will you get the door? That should be Jeremiah now.” Ettie heard Elsa-May’s footsteps head to the door, and seconds later, she heard Jeremiah’s voice. Ettie was immediately relieved that it was Jeremiah and not that dreadful man back again. She hoped Elsa-May had looked out the window before she’d opened the door. Surely she would have.
Minutes later, Jeremiah came into the kitchen and gave Ettie a kiss on the cheek. “Hello, Aunty.”
She giggled at him calling her 'aunty' when for the past several years he’d dropped the ‘aunty’ and called her just ‘Ettie.’ “Hello Jeremiah, denke for staying with us. Ava has told you everything, has she?”
“She has, and she told me how important it was that I keep quiet about it.”
Elsa-May walked into the kitchen. “See, Ettie, no one can keep their gums from flapping.”
“What? I haven’t said anything to anyone,” Jeremiah said.
“Good!" Elsa-May said, “At least that’s someone who’s kept their trap shut, but we told Ava that we’d tell you when you got here.” She sighed. “I guess I’ll need to heat another bottle about now. You should watch and see how it’s done, Jeremiah; it’ll be your turn soon.”
“Nee not yet,” Ettie said. “It’s not quite time yet and I’m using all the burners.”
“All of them?”
“Jah, this is a complicated dish. I have to make the cheese sauce separately.”
“Cheese sauce! Sounds wunderbaar. I like anything with cheese in it,” Jeremiah said. “You could warm the bottle in hot water, Elsa-May, what about that?”
“That will have to do.”
“I won’t be long,” Ettie said.
“I’ll get it all ready to go.” While Elsa-May got the formula ready, Jeremiah sat down at the kitchen table.
“Denke, for fixing those chairs, Jeremiah. Ettie, Jeremiah just brought back the last of the chairs.”
“Those chairs have been needing fixing for ages,” Ettie said. “Denke, Jeremiah.”
“It’s nothing. You should’ve told me much sooner and I would’ve come and fixed them right away.”
“We don’t like to bother you,” Elsa-May said.
“Where’s the boppli? Can I see him?” Jeremiah asked.
“We’re calling him Luke,” Ettie said.
“You’re not growing too attached to him, are you?” Jeremiah swiveled in his chair to face Ettie.
“Nee, we just thought we should give him a name.”
“Can I see him?”
“He’s asleep in Ettie’s room at the moment. It’s the quietest end of the house. He’ll be awake soon enough. I don’t want to show you now in case he wakes up and there’s no warm bottle.”
“Tell me more about this man who came to the door.”
Elsa-May told him everything that
had happened and all about the man who'd come to the door and what Crowley had found out about him.
“He still could’ve been the father,” Jeremiah said.
“Maybe he was,” Elsa-May said. “We don’t know for certain, but still, we were not going to hand Luke over to anyone.”
“If he’s a criminal, maybe the mother was trying to keep him away from the baby.”
“What about the quilt?” Ettie asked.
“Any number of people could’ve come by the quilt. It might have been a gift from someone. I guess the detective will have to go through all the names of the people who bought quilts like that and find out what became of them,” Jeremiah said.
“That’s time consuming, but I suppose that will have to happen if the mother can’t be located in any other way,” Elsa-May said.
“If that man was the real father you do understand that he will have rights?”
“Jeremiah, we’re not trying to keep the baby from the man if he’s the real father. We just didn’t believe he was.”
“I know. I’m just saying…”
“Crowley’s been gone a long time. I wonder if he’s been talking to that quilt woman all this time,” Ettie said.
“Quilt woman?” Jeremiah asked.
“The woman who bought the quilt from Bethany's store, and who had her baby kidnapped four years ago. I thought Ava told you everything.”
“Yeah, she did. I get the feeling both of you might be convinced that this baby is hers?”
“That’s right. That’s what Ettie and I think at this stage, at least until we get more information.”
“I sure hope you find the parents of the baby. There will be someone out there missing him already.”
“That’s what Ettie and I hope. We hope someone is missing him and really wants him. Otherwise, we’ll have to find a family who really wants him.”
“How about a cup of tea while you’re waiting for dinner, Jeremiah?” Ettie asked.
“Are you finished with one of the burners now, Ettie, so I can warm the bottle?”
“Jah, I’ve got a spare one now.”
“Can you wait for your tea?” Elsa-May asked Jeremiah.
“Of course I can wait.”
“Jah, he can wait because dinner’s nearly ready. It's only about fifteen minutes away. Can you wait that long, Jeremiah?”
Jeremiah chuckled. “Of course I can. I had a little bit of something at home before I came here.”
Right then the baby cried.
Jeremiah smiled. “Good. I can see him now.”
“Come with me,” Elsa-May said. “I’ll let you pick him up.”
Ettie was glad she was alone in the kitchen. She didn’t like people hovering around while she was cooking. Seeing the made-up bottle of formula, she popped it in the waiting saucepan, set the pan on the stove, and turned on the gas.
Elsa-May came back into the kitchen with Jeremiah, who was carrying Luke.
“Luke seems to like Jeremiah. He stopped crying when Jeremiah picked him up.”
“Gut! I’ve got the bottle heating. It shouldn’t be too long.”
Elsa-May smiled. “I’ll set the table, then.”
When they heard a knock on the door, Jeremiah said, “Do you want me to answer it?”
“Keep the boppli here; I’ll see it is who it is first,” Ettie said hurrying into the living room. She pulled the curtains back to see Detective Crowley. “It’s only Crowley,” she yelled out before she opened the door. “Come in,” Ettie said to Crowley. Then she noticed that Jeremiah had come up right behind her. “Do you two know each other?” she asked Crowley.
“I don’t believe so,” Crowley said.
“This is my grandnephew, and Elsa-May’s grandson, Jeremiah.”
“I think we might have met before,” Crowley said.
“Possibly. You’re the detective? From the investigation at Agatha's house?” Jeremiah balanced the baby in one arm while he shook Crowley’s hand.
“Retired detective,” Crowley corrected him, “and yes, that's where we met.”
“Did you get to speak to Genevieve?” Ettie asked the detective as Elsa-May came out of the kitchen. “Jeremiah knows everything. He’s staying the night to make sure we’re safe.”
“Good idea. I’m afraid I talked to her, but didn’t get very much information.”
“Did she admit to being Luke’s mother?” Elsa-May asked him.
“We’re calling the baby ‘Luke.’ Have a seat and tell us everything,” Ettie said.
“Wait!” Elsa-May said. “I’ll just check on that bottle.” When Elsa-May came back out of the kitchen, she had the bottle in hand. Then she organized Jeremiah to sit next to Ettie on the couch and feed the baby.
“Okay, we’re ready to hear all about it now,” Ettie said.
“When I arrived there, I told her I was doing follow-up investigations of her baby that was kidnapped four years ago. She invited me inside and I talked to her, but her husband was at work.”
“And what did she say?” Ettie asked.
“More importantly,” Elsa-May said, “what did you ask her?”
“I went over some basic facts about the kidnapping. She was hopeful I had some new information. I had to tell her I was a retired detective and that I wasn’t there in an official capacity. She didn’t mind when I explained that I was doing some work on the case in my own time.”
“What did she say about the quilt?” Ettie asked.
“When I asked her about the baby quilt she’d bought, she clammed up. After that, she wouldn’t say any more.”
“Had she had a baby recently?” Elsa-May asked.
“I asked her that at the beginning of our talk and she said that she hadn’t. I did notice that she looked horribly nervous.”
“Is there any way you could find out if she’s had a baby?” Ettie asked.
“I checked into that. There’s been no birth registered. Apart from asking her doctor, I don’t know any other way to find out. I can’t request the information from her doctor without some kind of official backing.”
“Don’t you have a friend who works at the hospital?” Ettie asked.
“I do, but only in one hospital and she could’ve had the baby anywhere.”
“And maybe not even in a hospital,” Jeremiah interjected while he was feeding the baby in his arms.
“The dinner will be ready now,” Ettie said, pushing herself out of the chair.
“Will you stay for dinner?” Elsa-May asked Crowley.
“I’ve made more than enough,” Ettie added.
“Are you certain that will be all right?” Crowley asked.
“Of course, we’d love to have you stay for dinner, and I’ve made dessert.”
“I will; thank you. Everything smells delicious. I’ve always enjoyed your cooking, Ettie.”
Over dinner, Crowley told them word-for-word his entire conversation with Genevieve.
“Did she look like she’d had a baby recently?” Ettie asked.
Crowley shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. If I was still on the force, I could do a better investigation of all of this, and talk to the husband. She acted very strangely when I mentioned her husband, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he held the key to all of this, or held some kind of information.”
“Can you have one of your friends look into her credit card information?” Elsa-May asked.
“I’ll see what I can do, if I’m not stretching the friendship too much.”
“Do your best for us and little Luke,” Elsa-May said leaning forward to the detective.
The detective raised his eyebrows. “Remember our deal? I said I’d give you two days—one already gone.”
“You did say you’d help us in those two days. Don’t forget that.”
“What’s this about two days?” Jeremiah asked.
Crowley answered, “I made a deal with these ladies that I would give them two days and after that, I’ll have to alert the authorities if we haven’t tracked do
wn the mother by then.”
“What about the note that said not to leave the baby with Englischers?” Jeremiah asked. “Ava and I could look after the baby until his mother is found.”
“That would be good.” Elsa-May looked at Crowley. “Would they let Ava and Jeremiah look after the baby?”
Crowley scratched his neck. “It’s a possibility, and it could help that there was a note left with the baby with a preference for the baby to stay amongst the Amish. You might need to have a background check run, but they can do those things pretty quickly. They’ll also need to come out and take a look at your house, and ask a lot of questions to make sure the baby will be in a safe environment. You could qualify as foster parents.”
Ettie put a hand over her heart. “That makes me feel so much better. I do hope we can keep this baby safe.”
“I said it’s a possibility. It’ll be entirely up to social services.”
When Crowley left, Ettie and Elsa-May decided between themselves that Ettie would sleep on the couch and Jeremiah would take her bed. Jeremiah volunteered to wake up for the baby’s nightly feedings, saying he’d get used to waking in the middle of the night just in case he became a foster parent. That suited Ettie and Elsa-May just fine.
Once Jeremiah was in bed with the baby in the basket beside him, Elsa-May sat on the edge of the couch while Ettie arranged the blankets over herself.
“Are you going to have enough room?” Elsa-May asked.
“Jah. I can fully stretch out. It’s just like a bed and just as comfortable. I don’t mind sleeping here at all.”
Elsa-May breathed out heavily. “You know what we have to do now, don’t you?
Ettie sat up straight. “Go to Genevieve and talk with her?”
“Exactly.”
“I figured Jeremiah and Ava can look after Luke tomorrow and we know he’ll be safe. Genevieve will be much more likely to talk to women about her babies than talking to a man.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking, Ettie. And we’ll take the baby quilt with us and see the look on her face when she sees it.”
“Good idea, Elsa-May.”
“Do you think Jeremiah will mind taking Luke tomorrow?” Elsa-May asked.
Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 2 Page 32
