Who Killed Uncle Alfie?

by Samantha Price

  John and I stood up and headed outside the courtroom where Ettie and Elsa-May were waiting.

  “He got bail,” John told them. “I’ve just got to make some arrangements to get the money, and if all goes well he’ll be out by the end of the day.”

  “Well, that is good news,” Ettie said.

  * * *

  It was three in the afternoon when Jazeel was released from the holding cell. He was so pleased to see John and me that he embraced us both.

  “You don’t know how good it is to see friendly faces. They think I killed Uncle Alfie.”

  “We know,” John said. “I’ll take you back to my haus, Dat, and you can rest there.”

  "There's nothing wrong with me. I'm just tired. I need to go home and sleep for a couple of days and then I'll feel better."

  John ignored his father, and said to me, “You’re welcome to come too, Molly, and stay for dinner and I’ll take you home later.”

  “Denke, I’d like that. You should stay at John’s at least for tonight,” I said to Jazeel.

  “Okay. I can see I’m outnumbered and I’m too weak to put up a fight.”

  As they walked outside, I asked, "How did you end up so far north when your letter told me you were going to Onkel Alfie’s?"

  "First, I got on the wrong bus, and then I fell asleep."

  "How did you get on the wrong bus?" I asked.

  “I left my glasses at home and I had a hard time reading the schedule. I told the police that and they didn't believe me.”

  I couldn’t blame the police. It seemed odd. “How could you fall asleep for that long? The border’s so far away.”

  “I had travel sickness pills and I had sleeping pills the doctor gave me, and I'd put both in the same bottle. I didn’t want to take too much with me. I thought I’d remember which was which when I poured them into the one bottle. I’ve had trouble sleeping and I rarely take a sleeping pill because I don’t normally like taking anything, even painkillers. Every time I’ve been at Uncle Alfie’s place I found it hard to sleep, so I threw the bottle in with my things to take to his house.” He shook his head. “I’d been asleep for twelve hours when I woke. I asked the man next to me where we were and then I realized what had happened. I went up front and talked to the driver and told him he had to stop and he wouldn’t. He yelled at me to sit down or he’d call the police.”

  “What happened when you got off the bus?” I asked.

  “Anger got the better of me and I got into an argument with the driver. And then the police were called. He raised his hand to me and I defended myself. The police asked to look at my documentation thinking I wanted to cross the border. Things went from bad to worse and I was arrested. They wouldn’t allow me a phone call and didn’t even listen to anything I said. I wanted to have someone else look in on Uncle Alfie and that’s why I was so desperate to make a call. They threw me in a cell and the next thing I knew I was being brought back here for Uncle Alfie’s murder.”

  From the front seat of the buggy, John said, “We’ll work it all out, Dat.”

  “I heard them talking about me, saying I murdered Alfie and that’s why I was heading to Canada. I told them if I’d done that I’d be going south not north. And then I said if I was moving to Canada I would've taken more with me than just the clothes I was wearing and the small backpack. They didn't want to hear it." He looked at me and his blue eyes crinkled at the corners. “It sure is good to see you again, Molly. I hope they find who killed Uncle Alfie because I don’t want to miss one more day of being with you.”

  I smiled at him and was pleased that he was making his intentions known in front of his son. He grabbed my hand and held it tight.

  When we got to John and Julie’s house, Jazeel headed to the shower while I helped Julie with the dinner, along with Julie’s three teenage daughters. Seeing the three of them laughing as they scraped the peels from the vegetables made me realize again what I’d missed out on. My life had been lonely at the end of every day, once I’d come home from school. There was no one to share tales of my day with and no one to tell me about theirs. The girls were fascinated by my relationship with their grandfather and asked me questions in between giggles.

  The girls fell silent when Jazeel walked into the kitchen. “That feels better,” he said, looking all clean and fresh.

  “Molly, why don’t you and Jazeel sit in the living room and the girls will bring you some hot tea?”

  “Good idea,” Jazeel said before I had a chance to respond.

  “I’ll make the tea,” the older daughter said.

  “Denke.” I walked out of the busy kitchen with Jazeel. I was so pleased to have him back, but fearful at the same time that I might lose my second opportunity with him. What if he was found guilty of Uncle Alfie’s murder?

  We sat on the couch together.

  “Now tell me what’s going on with you,” he said.

  “I’ve been so worried about you. I didn’t get the letter until you missed lunch. It was the next day that I got it.”

  “Sorry, I found out that no one was looking after him when the housekeeper told me she was going away and she didn’t think he should be alone. She cleans for him once a week and looks in on him from time to time. You don’t have a phone, so I wrote to you.”

  I’d never had a landline phone after cell phones came into use, and now that I’d decided to go back to the Amish, I’d done away with the cell phone. The new house didn’t even have a phone line installed.

  Sally, the oldest daughter brought us out a teapot and two cups and saucers on a tray. “I’ll bring back milk and sugar. I couldn’t carry it all.”

  “Thanks, dear.” When she walked away, I said, “I miss the energy of young people. That’s what I liked most about teaching. It’s nice to be around young people. They’re so carefree and positive.”

  “I notice you talk about the past a lot. I hope you’re not thinking about me and how I was in the past. I’m not the same man as the one you knew back then.”

  I stared at him. “No. I’m not. I know who you are deep down. People’s true nature never changes.”

  “We must celebrate what we have today and not look behind at what has gone. Missed opportunities and missed chances are things to be learned from not things to be sorrowful over.”

  “You’re right. See? You were always so sensible with your positive attitude, and you’re still the same.”

  “Jah, I am. And I’ve been wanting to ask you something, Molly. Will you marry me if I don’t go to jail?”

  I smiled at him, having known that we were heading for marriage as soon as we both decided to come back to the community. “I will.”

  He picked up my hand and kissed it gently while his blue eyes never left mine.

  A giggle escaped my lips and, feeling a little awkward under his gaze, I said, “I’ll pour the tea.”

  “Have Elsa-May and Ettie been keeping an eye on you?”

  “They’ve been helping me and now they’re trying to find out who killed Uncle Alfie.”

  “That sounds dangerous.”

  “I don’t know. They seem to know what they’re doing. I’ve heard they’ve done this kind of thing before.”

  When I handed him a cup of tea, he asked, “How’s our Tom?”

  “He’s missing you and he’s been rather grumpy.”

  Jazeel chuckled. “Tom’s always grumpy.”

  “He had a hard life until I rescued him.”

  “I know.” He sipped his tea.

  “Would you be recovered enough to visit them tomorrow?”

  “Ettie and Elsa-May?”

  “Jah.”

  “I’ll be fine after I have a good rest. I can collect you mid-morning and we’ll see them together.”

  “Oh, what about you getting a lawyer?”

  “That can wait a day, or maybe two. I have some names from some friends I made in prison.”

  * * *

  After I had dinner at John and Julie’s house, they
took me home while Jazeel went to bed. I hoped he’d be okay.

  I walked in my front door and closed the door quickly behind me so Tom wouldn’t escape. “Here, kitty kitty.”

  When there was no answer, I went from room to room looking for him and, eventually, I found him under my bed. "What are you doing under there, Tom? Come out now for Mommy."

  Tom stared at me with luminous amber eyes. I reached out my hand to stroke him and he drew back and hissed showing his long white teeth and his pink tongue.

  "What's wrong? Didn't you like your dinner? I know you don't like the dry cat food, but it is supposed to be good for you. It wouldn’t hurt you to try some at least. Alright, Mommy will cut up some fresh meat for you, if you come out now."

  I walked to the kitchen and pulled out the fresh meat. When he heard the knife on the chopping board, he was instantly sitting at my feet looking up.

  "Who's a good cat?" I put all the chopped meat on the saucer and when I placed it next to him, he demolished the lot and I just got my hand away in time. "I'm going to bed now, Tom." I washed my hands in the bathroom and headed to the bedroom. I thought back to what Jazeel had said about living in the past, but that was my way of working things out. I'd felt lost for so many years and now I knew it was because God had not been the center of my life. It wasn't because I was without children or without a husband. I tried to fill the hole in the depths of my heart with my career, and it sort of worked for a while, but then my career came to an end and I was forced to retire. Jazeel was right about not looking back with regrets. The past was something that could never be relived.

  I figured that the bishop would want us to wait a few months at least before we got married. I knew he would say that I should be settled in the community first before I married Jazeel. I was well prepared to wait however long the bishop thought I should.

  * * *

  I woke the next morning pleased to see the sunshine. I'd had a good sleep, although I remembered hearing rain at some point during the night, and I knew today was going to be a good day. Tom was even sleeping in the basket by the bed rather than under the bed where he usually slept. I sat up and Tom opened his eyes and looked at me

  "Good morning to you, Tom."

  Tom put his head back down on the edge of the basket.

  After I showered, I put on the Amish clothing I’d been wearing since I came back and this time, I pinned my shoulder-length hair to my head and placed on the Amish prayer kapp. Never again would I have to bother with a flat iron. I made Tom and myself breakfast and then slowly did some chores until I heard Jazeel's buggy.

  I laced up my boots and went out to meet him.

  "Guder mariye," His voice was bright and he didn’t seem like a man who’d spent a couple of nights in prison.

  "Guder mariye, Jazeel. Can you come in and help me get Tom into his cat carrier?"

  "Where are we taking him?"

  "To visit Elsa-May and Ettie."

  "That’s where we’d planned to go, but I believe they have a dog. Why don’t we leave Tom here?"

  "I could, but he was here by himself all day yesterday and I don't want him to feel like he's been abandoned."

  Jazeel jumped down from his buggy. "Whatever makes you happy."

  "We’ll have to walk back into the house quickly, or he'll escape if we're too slow.”

  Jazeel and I managed to get Tom into the basket and then we headed off in the buggy.

  I stared at Tom in his cat carrier on the backseat of the buggy. "Do you think he likes the buggy? He’s only ever gone in a car before."

  "He's not growling or hissing, so I'd say he likes the buggy very much." He chuckled.

  "What's funny?"

  "You are. What do you see in that cat?"

  “He’s a lovely boy.”

  “You’re a kind woman. I hope you’ll always treat me as well as you treat Tom.”

  I giggled and slapped him playfully on his arm. “You don’t have to worry about that. We have a second chance with our love and we have to make the most of it.”

  “Gott has been good to both of us. That’s why I know they’ll find who did this to Uncle Alfie. They’ll find out I had nothing to do with it.”

  “You should really wear your glasses more.”

  “I’ve got them with me.” He patted the glasses holder on the seat between us.

  I picked up the holder, pulled his glasses out and handed them to him. “If you couldn’t see to get on the correct bus, you probably need them to drive the buggy.”

  He glanced over at me, took them with one hand while the other held the reins and put them on. Looking over at me, he asked, “How do I look?”

  “As handsome as ever.”

  He laughed.

  The buggy traveled at a steady pace down the winding roads toward the elderly sisters’ house. We sat in silence—a silence where we enjoyed each other’s company and neither one of us wanted to ruin our togetherness with unnecessary chatter. It was a perfect spring day with yellow wildflowers on the roadside swaying in the gentle morning breeze. Birds flew from tree to tree and chirped as they carried on their busy work of gathering twigs and dried grasses to build their nests.

  It was always so fresh after the rain. The grass was greener and I could still smell the rain, which blended nicely with the freshly turned soil in the fields we passed. Jazeel successfully navigated the water-filled potholes, but we still had a few bumps along the way.

  “It’s so lovely after the rain,” I said.

  “I like the rain too. Not being in it. I like watching it fall and listening to it during the night.”

  “Me too.”

  “We have so much in common. We’ve got so much to talk about with our new life together, but first we’ll speak to the bishop.”

  “Jah, that’s best.” I bit my lip, hoping that all would turn out well and they’d find Alfie’s real killer. It was still hard to accept that something had happened to the poor old man. When we went through one of the many holes that the water had created, Tom gave a low growl of disapproval.

  Jazeel said over his shoulder, “We’ll be on a better road soon, Tom.”

  He spoke to Tom just like I did. Every day Jazeel was proving to be just the man Tom and I needed in our lives.

  Chapter 9

  Elsa-May and Ettie were finishing their breakfast when there was a knock on their door.

  “Who could that be?” Elsa-May asked while Snowy yapped and turned about in a circle with excitement.

  “Put Snowy out the back and I’ll see who it is.” Ettie stood up and poured the remainder of her hot tea down the sink.

  When Ettie opened the door, she saw Molly and Jazeel, and then her gaze fell to the cat carrier in Jazeel’s hands.

  “Come in. You can let Tom out because Elsa-May’s just put Snowy in the yard.”

  When all the doors were shut, Molly leaned down and opened the basket and Tom sat there. “He’ll move when he’s ready, I guess,” Molly said.

  “Jah, leave him be,” Jazeel said, sitting down on one of the wooden chairs opposite the couch.

  “I certainly had no intentions of trying to touch him,” Ettie said. “Would either of you like tea or kaffe?”

  “Nee denke, Ettie.”

  The elderly sisters sat down with them and heard what had happened with Jazeel and why he wasn’t at Uncle Alfie’s house like he’d said he was going to be.

  Ettie turned to Elsa-May, "See what happens when you don't wear your glasses?"

  "Stop it, Ettie. My glasses are only for knitting and reading. I don't need them for anything else, like catching busses."

  Ettie chuckled.

  Tom suddenly leaped out of the basket and ran under the couch. Ettie lifted up her feet. “Will he bite me?”

  “No. He only bites when you touch him,” Molly said.

  Elsa-May and Ettie exchanged glances.

  “Molly tells me he’s had a hard life,” Jazeel said.

  “Have I told you the story of how I
found him?”

  “No. Is it a long story?” Ettie asked remembering the last story she’d told them about reuniting with Jazeel at a coffee shop.

  “Nee. It’s short. I’ll tell it fast. It was back when I had a car. I was driving home, just two streets from the apartment I had then, and I saw him jump out of a car window and the car kept going.”

  “Are you sure he wasn’t pushed?” Elsa-May asked.

  “I don’t know, but I stopped the car and found him down an alleyway. He was all battered and bruised. I took him to the vet and they fixed him up. I tried very hard to find the owner—flyers, advertisements in the paper—and I couldn’t find them anywhere. I gave up after a few months and now Tom and I are very well acquainted and I wouldn’t know what to do without him.”

  “And what do you think of Tom, Jazeel?” Elsa-May asked.

  “If he makes Molly happy, he’s fine with me.”

  Good answer, Ettie thought. Good man.

  Jazeel said, “I’m grateful to the both of you for helping Molly like you have.”

  “We didn’t do much,” Elsa-May said.

  “Do you know anyone who’d want to harm Uncle Alfie?” Ettie asked.

  “The only person I know is Bruno Gillespie, but last time I heard anything about him, he was in jail.”

  “Who’s he?” Elsa-May asked.

  “Bruno Gillespie committed quite a few crimes. He went to jail for breaking and entering but he could've gone to jail a lot longer if they could've proven what he had done."

  "And what was that?"

  "It must've been something pretty bad, like murder or armed robbery. Uncle Alfie would never tell me. But he told me that he had the proof right there in his house."

  "Did Bruno Gillespie know he had proof?"

  "I couldn't tell you that. That's all Uncle Alfie told me."

  "How would he have come in contact with a criminal like that?"

  "Uncle Alfie left the community years ago, as you know, and the area where he now lives is a neighborhood where criminals gather. There are always strange people coming and going at the house next door."