Amish Scarecrow Murders

by Samantha Price

  “No. Are you residents here?”

  “No,” Ettie said. “We’ve come about another matter. Would you have a couple of moments?”

  “Sure. Until the doc gets here.” He now seemed quite happy to have visitors and his initial gruffness had disappeared. There were two small chairs and he arranged them facing the bed and, when they sat down, he sat on the end of the bed. “What can I help you ladies with?”

  “We’re here about some matters that happened many years ago.”

  “Ah, I’m putting two and two together and thinking you’re talking about the scarecrow murders. Is that right?”

  “Yes,” Elsa-May said.

  “Years ago, when that happened the cops tried to pin it on me for some reason. I don’t know why, but I never had nothin’ to do with it.” He scratched the side of his head. “No idea. Someone either said they saw me there or something. It’s all a bit hazy now. I’ve got a bit of Alzheimer’s, you see. I probably won’t remember this conversation tomorrow unless you write it down. Wait a minute, do I know either of you?” With piercing green eyes, he gazed at each of them.

  “No. We’re strangers,” Ettie said.

  “Ah, I see.”

  “Thanks for helping us then.” Elsa-May stood up and just as she did a well-dressed older man walked into the room.

  Ettie knew this had to be the doctor because of his obvious attitude of authority. His complexion had a strange yellow tinge, his eyebrows were white and bushy and his thin white hair was slicked back and greasy-looking.

  The doctor looked at Don Shallot and then looked at the two sisters.

  “I’ve got visitors,” Don told him.

  “I can see that.”

  “It’s alright, we were just leaving,” Ettie said.

  “This is my doctor,” Don said.

  “I’m Dr. Grifford. I’ve done studies in the past on the Amish.”

  “You have?” Elsa-May asked.

  “I have. That was many years ago. Studying your DNA and the diseases that are prevalent amongst your people.”

  “Since you’re a doctor, you might be able to help my sister. You see, she has a bad back, but she also has a sore leg along with it. Why’s that?”

  Ettie’s face flushed hot with embarrassment. “Elsa-May, we can’t get free advice. It’s rude. I’m sure the doctor’s got better things to do with his time.”

  “I do have a private practice. I’m happy to see you ladies at no charge.”

  “Why would you do that?” Elsa-May narrowed her eyes.

  “We don’t want you to do that. We’re quite happy to pay,” Ettie said. “Please don’t be offended by my sister.”

  He laughed. “I’m not offended. It takes me back to a time when I was doing the bulk of my research.”

  “When was that?” Elsa-May inquired.

  “A long time ago.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a white business card and handed it to them. “Make an appointment with Louise, my secretary.” Elsa-May stared at the card while the doctor continued, looking at Ettie. “A misdiagnosis at your age could be fatal. It could be more going on than a bad back, like your sister suspects.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Grifford,” Elsa-May said, handing the card to Ettie. “We’ll make an appointment. Come along, Ettie. And thanks for your time, Mr. Shallot.”

  Ettie didn’t want to leave because she hadn’t finished talking to Don Shallot. But they had to, because the doctor was there.

  As they walked back down the hallway, Elsa-May said, “What do you think of that, Ettie? We just got a free medical appointment.”

  “As our vadder used to say, there is nothing that is truly free except advice.”

  “Dat never said anything like that. What are you gabbing on about now?”

  “It was something like that. Didn’t he say something—?”

  “Never. Well, he said loads of things, but nothing like what you just said.”

  “It doesn’t matter, I’m not going. And what does he mean by, at my age? Does he think I’m a hundred, or something?” They walked past the people who were getting on the bus. Ettie wondered where they were going, and might they be able to catch a ride home?

  “Don’t be offended all the time by what people say, Ettie. They don’t know how fit and well we are. I want you to have a second opinion.”

  Ettie thought better of the bus idea and decided to get a taxi. “You’re just too embarrassed to go back to our original doctor.”

  Elsa-May shook her head. “Nee, I’m not. You have to go back there to give him his walking stick back.”

  Looking down at the walking stick, Ettie felt bad for accidentally stealing it. If she really had.

  Chapter 8

  Selena had found out when and where the service for Eli's funeral was being held and she’d offered to drive the elderly sisters and Gabriel.

  On the way to the chapel, Gabriel turned around from the front seat and asked Ettie and her sister, “What do you hope to find out here?”

  “We need to find out what, if anything, this man had in common with the first man who was killed.”

  “That's right,” Elsa-May said. “And we need to find out if there was any connection between the newer and the old scarecrow murders.”

  “I wish I could do more to help,” Selena said.

  “We’ll spread out and ask questions of people and see what we can find out,” Ettie said. “I'll talk to Kate.”

  “Is that the wife?” Selena asked.

  “That’s right.”

  When they walked into the white wooden chapel, they noticed they were the only Amish people there, aside from Kate's sister, Molly. They sat down in the back row. Then someone handed them a leaflet about Eli Schaeffer with his photograph on the front.

  Ettie held it and showed it to Elsa-May. “What’s this thing called? We always get one at Englisch funerals.”

  “I’m not sure. I don’t think it’s called anything.”

  “It should have a name.”

  Elsa-May nodded. “Maybe it does, but I don’t know what it is.”

  “I think it’s called a memorial program,” Selena whispered.

  Ettie nodded, and kept looking at it. “Hmm. I would’ve named it something different, but nothing comes to mind.”

  Selena asked, “Was Eli raised Amish and then all his family left when he was just a boy?”

  “No,” Elsa-May, said leaning across Ettie to talk to Selena. “He married Kate within the community, and then they moved away a little later.”

  “Ah, I think I was getting him mixed up with someone else.”

  Ettie looked around the room. There wasn’t a spare seat anywhere. She’d never been to an Englisch funeral that was so crowded. Eli must’ve had a lot of friends.

  “I can't think what he might’ve done to upset anybody,” Elsa-May said now looking at the coffin at the front of the room. “Are you cold, Ettie? It’s chilly in here.”

  “Shh. It’s starting.”

  “If you’re not cold, can I borrow your coat?”

  Someone got up to talk, and—so her sister would be quiet—Ettie dug Elsa-May in the ribs. Then she got a poke in the ribs right back, which very nearly made her giggle. Funerals weren’t the place to laugh, so Ettie looked to the front and concentrated on what was being said, thinking about what a shock it was to the family to lose a loved one unexpectedly.

  The minister talked about Eli and told how Eli and Kate worked for several hours a week in soup kitchens for the homeless. They appeared to be decent-living church-going folk, and that was something Ettie didn’t know about them.

  Kate was sitting in the front row mopping her eyes, while the younger man sitting next to her looked concerned for her. That had to be Eli and Kate’s son, Ettie figured.

  When the ceremony was over, curtains were drawn around the coffin. That was when Ettie realized it was a cremation and not a burial. Everyone was invited to refreshments in the next room. The four of them walked through an
d helped themselves to the sandwiches and finger-food.

  Ettie hung back and waited until she saw Kate alone. Once she was, Ettie wasted no time. Aided by the walking stick, she made her way over, traveling as fast as she could.

  Kate looked up and smiled. The smile was genuine, Ettie noted. “Thank you for coming, Ettie. I haven’t seen you in decades. You haven’t changed and it was nice of you to bring your sister as well.”

  “It was a dreadful thing that happened. I’m sorry.”

  “It was awful and unbelievable.” She looked around. “I don’t see the bishop here.”

  “I’m not sure if he heard about it.” Ettie knew there wasn’t much chance the bishop would’ve come to a funeral of someone who’d abandoned the community, but under the circumstances she kept that to herself. According to Elsa-May, there had been plenty of talk about it at the Sunday meeting, so he surely knew, and could have found out about the funeral.

  “I’m worried, Ettie. I have to tell you that. What if he finds me?” Kate said. “It feels so awful not knowing why or who.”

  Ettie noticed Detective Kelly had walked in. “What did the police say?”

  “They said the killer never comes back to the same place twice.”

  “How could they possibly say that?” It seemed unreasonable to make such a statement. When Ettie saw Kate's eyes now wide with fear, she said, “I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about, but it wouldn’t hurt to take precautions.”

  “They said they’d give me protection, but so far I’ve seen none of it. He doesn’t even know if this is the same killer as last time. Who knows when and where it will end?”

  Ettie nodded. “It's important he's found before he kills anybody else. Did your husband have any enemies?”

  “Like I told the cops, he only had one person he was arguing with and that’s the man who lives next door.”

  “And what was that all about?”

  “He was continually arguing about property boundaries. We live on a modest plot of land, not like the farm we had before we left the community. The neighbor said our fence should’ve come in on our land another foot. But Eli said it’d been that way when he bought it and it could jolly well stay that way. That’s not exactly what he told him, but I’m sure you don’t want to hear the curse words.”

  “No, I don’t. Yes, I get the idea. The two were at loggerheads, then?”

  Kate nodded vehemently. “Our garage was built right on the fence line, and if we moved the fence, we would’ve had to pull down our garage and the slab upon which it was built. That’s not an easy thing to do and it would’ve cost us so much. At one point, Eli offered him money just to help him forget about the whole thing, but he wouldn’t hear of it. I mean, what difference would a foot make to him?”

  “Not much.”

  “The neighbor said it was the principle of the matter. But he wasn’t going to use it for anything at all and for us it would’ve cost us thousands.”

  “Apart from him, was there anybody else that you can think of? Anybody who would’ve had something against Eli, or you?”

  “No, I can’t think of a single soul who would’ve been upset with us.” She shook her head and cast her gaze downward. “It was dreadful, Ettie. There was a knock on the door in the middle of the night. Eli got out of bed to answer it. I stayed in bed half asleep, nodded off for a bit, and when I woke up I remembered someone had knocked on the door and Eli still hadn’t come back to bed. I went out there and saw him dead on the floor lying in a pool of blood. I screamed and called 911. I didn’t see the scarecrow outside until I looked out hoping the ambulance would hurry. A chill pierced through my body when I saw the scarecrow standing there staring back at me.”

  “Staring at you?”

  “Facing me. It was just a pole with a black hat on its head and straw stuffed into the clothing. It was the evilest thing I’d seen. It was mocking Eli as he lay there dead.”

  Ettie shook her head. “I’m so sorry to hear it.”

  “Is this God punishing us for leaving the Amish community all those years ago?”

  Ettie pulled her mouth to one side. “I wouldn’t think so.”

  “What then? And why did Gott allow this to happen to us? We kept our faith in our own way. We didn’t leave Him, we only left the community.”

  “Sometimes things happen and we don’t have the answers. There are no answers to things like this.” She looked up and saw Kelly glaring at her, but she ignored him and concentrated on Kate. “Can I do anything for you?”

  “No. David, our son, is staying with me for a few days and then I’m moving back up north with him and his wife.”

  Ettie nodded. “That sounds like a good idea. You shouldn’t be alone.”

  “It’s nice that they want me. I really had no one here. We didn’t fit anywhere after we left the community. David managed to make a life for himself and then he married Tamika.”

  When other people came up to talk with Kate, Ettie backed away. She found Elsa-May at the food table, still eating, and headed over to her.

  Elsa-May looked up at her, and swallowed her mouthful. “Did you learn anything useful?”

  “Not really. He had an argument with the man who lives next door about a property line between their two properties. It seems it was an ongoing argument and nothing to do with his murder. She can’t think of anybody who would’ve had any grudges against her or him or anyone in their family. Anyway, she’s moving away to live with her son and his wife.”

  “Good idea.” Elsa-May reached for more food.

  “We’re supposed to be finding things out, not stuffing our mouths with food.”

  Elsa-May stopped still and stared at Ettie. “You have your way of doing things and I have mine. I’ll have you know I found out something interesting by staying by the food.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “It seems that David didn’t get along with his father. I don’t just mean they disagreed on things. They had dreadful rows and that’s the reason David moved so far away. At one time, David even told Eli he wished he were dead.”

  “Really.”

  “Jah, so I’ve heard.”

  “Who from?”

  “Kate’s sister, Molly. Kate often confided in her.”

  “Interesting.” Ettie looked around for Molly and saw her now talking with Kate. She had remained a member of their community and wasn’t the kind of woman to make things up. “I’m going to talk with David.”

  “Good idea. I’ll stay here and see what I can find out.”

  Ettie rolled her eyes and then headed off when she saw David walking out of the men’s bathroom. She cut him off before anyone else approached him. It was often hard to speak with family members at funerals with so many people wanting to offer their condolences. “Hello, David. You don’t remember me, but I knew your father and I know your mother.”

  He nodded and there was no spark of recognition of his face.

  “I’m a friend of your parents. I’m not sure that we’ve met. If we have it would’ve been a long time ago indeed. I’m very sorry for what happened.”

  “Thanks. It can’t be helped.”

  “Your mother tells me she’s moving away with you.”

  “That’s right. If you’ll excuse me, I see someone I need to talk with.” He walked away leaving her standing there.

  Molly hurried over to join her. “What do you think of David?”

  Ettie was surprised by the question. “Ah, nice?”

  Molly huffed. “I’m not sure that she’ll be happy if she moves away with him. He never bothered with his folks for years. He moved away and only came back here a few weeks ago. Never even wrote to them.”

  “A few weeks ago, did you say?”

  Molly nodded. “And why is he here on vacation without his wife?”

  “She’s not here?”

  “No.”

  “I didn’t know. Was David staying with his parents while he was here?”

  Molly shook her he
ad. “No. He wouldn’t even do that. He’s staying with her now to help her pack up the house.”

  “That’s right. She’s selling up to move away.”

  “She’ll regret it, but she won’t listen to me.”

  “I suppose he’s all she’s got now except for you, and she’s not in the community now.”

  “That’s probably how she sees it. Can you say something to her, Ettie? Tell her she shouldn’t make decisions when she’s upset. She should leave it a few months. Six months at least to be sure she’s making the right decision.”

  “She wouldn’t listen to me.”

  “I think she would.”

  Ettie shook her head.

  “Please, Ettie?”

  Ettie looked around at Kate. “Okay, I’ll try.”

  “Denke, Ettie. I won’t be far away. Let me know what she says.”

  The last thing Ettie wanted to do was alter a decision that someone had already made. She would come across as interfering and meddling. She swallowed hard and walked over to Kate. Ettie stood there until Kate finished talking to someone else.

  Kate turned around and smiled. “There you are. I thought you were going home.”

  “I was, but I just couldn’t go without asking you if you think you’re making the right decision.”

  “About what?”

  “About moving in with your son.” Kate looked so upset that Ettie wished she had kept her mouth shut. She often fell victim to getting riled up about things and being the mouthpiece for someone else.

  “It’s all done. We’ve got the place up for sale already.”

  “I know, but David's been gone for years and do you really know him anymore?” She’d already started so she figured she’d follow through.

  “He’s my son, Ettie. Of course I know him. He didn’t get along with Eli and I suppose Molly’s told you about that?”

  “Oh, well … She’s just concerned about you. You’ll be so far from her.”

  “I’ll be with my son. I’ll be fine. I’ll write to Molly and she can visit if she wants.”

  Ettie could see Kate had her mind made up. “Can I stop by and see you before you go? I’d like to sit down with you quietly.”