Amish Scarecrow Murders
Page 6
“That would be nice, Ettie. Why don’t you stop by in a day or two with Elsa-May? We can have a nice pot of tea together and talk about old times.”
Ettie nodded. “I’d like that.”
“Me too.”
The two women hugged and then Ettie walked over to tell Molly that she’d failed in her mission of talking Kate out of moving away.
Chapter 9
As Selena drove them home from the funeral, they compared what they’d learned by talking with people.
“Kate said she couldn’t think of a single person who’d wish him any harm except for the neighbor. They had some dispute over where the fence should be,” Ettie told them.
“I came up with nothing except for finding out Eli’s son hated him and wished him dead,” Elsa-May said. “Apart from Kate’s sister, Molly, I didn’t talk with anyone.”
Ettie rolled her eyes at Elsa-May, who was sitting in the backseat with her. “You were too busy eating. I saw you.”
“It was good food. No one was eating it and I hated to see it go to waste.”
“I was helping Elsa-May,” Gabriel said, unable to hide his laughter.
Elsa-May patted Ettie’s knee. “Don’t be troubled. There was no one to speak with. Selena talked to Detective Kelly and you talked to Kate. The only other people there were ones I didn’t know.”
Ettie narrowed her eyes at Elsa-May. “That was the point. You were supposed to mingle and ask questions of people you didn’t know. That’s how we find things out.” Ettie threw her hands in the air. “I can’t do everything. Yes, Eli’s son might’ve hated him, but don’t forget John Fuller was also murdered. Did he hate him too? Eli’s son probably didn’t even know him.”
“Anyway, I found out the same as you, Elsa-May. David never got along with his parents. All of a sudden, he arrived here a couple of weeks ago and he wasn’t even staying at their house. Now his father is dead, and he’s talked his mother into moving away with him back to Canada, or somewhere far away.”
“I had an interesting talk with Detective Kelly,” Selena said. “It seems the man killed a week ago and Eli were second cousins.”
Gabriel laughed again. “That’s not unusual. Everyone’s a second, third or fourth cousin of someone in our community.”
Elsa-May agreed, “Jah and if you go back far enough, everyone’s related to someone in various ways.”
“Maybe Eli’s son did know John Fuller. Is that all he said, Selena?” asked Ettie.
“Pretty much. The rest was just small talk about me moving here.”
“Did he offer you a job, Selena?” Elsa-May’s blue eyes twinkled with mischief.
Selena smiled at the question and glanced at Elsa-May in the rear-view mirror. “No. It doesn’t work like that. Besides, I’ve given up hopes of becoming a detective. There’s no point to it anymore. I’m going to take some time off to figure out exactly what I want to do with my life. My mother had that lottery win, as you know, and she gave me quite a bit so I figured I’d take the opportunity to have a good think.”
“Good idea,” said Ettie.
As they drove on, Ettie decided they shouldn’t waste time. Tomorrow, they’d talk to Eli and Kate’s neighbor.
Ettie knew they’d need Selena’s car once more, so she took the opportunity to mention it, in a roundabout way. “You know what we have to do with what we've learned at the funeral today?”
“What's that?” Selena asked.
“We have to talk to the neighbor.”
From the front seat, Gabriel turned around to face them. “Who does?”
“She means me. She always means me when she says, 'We,'” Elsa-May stated flatly.
“We should. We have to follow up every lead. He was the only enemy the man had according to Kate.”
Gabriel looked at Ettie. “But he didn't have any connection to the first man who was killed, John Fuller … Did he?”
“That's something Selena can find out for us.”
“Me?”
“Yes, posing as a journalist. You can ask him some questions.”
Selena grimaced.
"And," Ettie added, “neither Elsa-May or I can go because we’re Amish and it’s a good guess the murderer hates Amish people. And then, more than likely, he won't tell us anything.”
“And he might kill us, too,” Elsa-May added.
“We don’t want that,” Gabriel said. “There have been enough killings.”
“I suppose I could,” Ettie said.
Elsa-May stared at Ettie. “Could what?”
“I could ask him things if Selena doesn’t want to.”
“That’s a bad idea. I don’t want you to do that, Ettie,” Selena said. “Not if he doesn’t like Amish people.”
Ettie chuckled. “Good.”
“If I agree to it, when would I have to do it?”
“Today?” Gabriel asked, smiling.
Ettie knew he was motivated by wanting to spend more time with Selena.
“Best to do it as soon as possible,” Elsa-May added.
Selena nodded. “We can do it now if you want.”
Ettie was surprised. She was a little tired, but if everyone else was happy to do it now, she’d go along with them. “Okay. We’ll wait in the car while you do it,” said Ettie. “I only hope he’s home. He certainly wasn’t at the funeral.”
“She can’t go by herself. It’s far too dangerous,” Gabriel said. “I’ll go with her.”
“No!” Ettie said. “He won’t talk if you’re there. Selena looks non-threatening and that’s how it should be.”
Selena smiled at Gabriel. “I can do it. It’s broad daylight.”
He shook his head. “I don’t like it. It's far too dangerous. You don’t even know the man.”
“I’ll be fine. You can wait in the car and watch me in case there’s any trouble.”
“I don’t like it, but if you’re determined, I can’t stop you.”
Selena asked, “Do we have an address?”
“I know where Kate lives,” Gabriel said. “I’ll direct you. They only had one neighbor because their house was the last on the street.”
“Am I going the right way?”
“Yes. You’ll need to take a left two miles ahead.”
* * *
When they found the place, Selena stopped the car slightly up the road, and looked back at Eli’s neighbor’s house. It was the same as every other house in the street. The gardens were neat and tidy, the lawns were carefully edge-trimmed and without a weed in sight, and low fences separated the houses from one another.
Gabriel said, “If you have any trouble, I’m right here. I’ll be watching everything.”
“Thanks. I should be fine. I won’t go into the house.” Selena placed her hand over her stomach. “I’m a little nervous.”
“Just breathe through it,” Ettie told her.
Elsa-May grumbled, “She’s not having a baby, Ettie.”
“I didn’t say she was.”
Selena got out of the car as quickly as she could. When she was away from the squabbling sisters and the overprotective Gabriel, she mentally rehearsed her story as she ambled toward the house.
I’m Selena Rose, journalist. I’m asking about the recently deceased neighbor, Eli.
Secretly hoping there was no one home, she lifted her hand and knocked on the white front door. When she heard footsteps inside the home, her heart pounded so hard she felt it in her head.
Breathe, just breathe.
The door opened and in front of her stood a middle-aged man. He wouldn’t have been more than sixty. Selena was surprised that in this cold weather, he only wore a white T-shirt with his casual trousers. When she noticed his frown and the large tattoos sprawled up and down his arms, she wanted to run. Then she remembered her former police training.
I can do this.
“Hello, my name’s Selena.” She cleared her throat. “I'm Selena Rose, a journalist and I would just like to ask you a few questions about what h
appened next door if I might.”
“I'll tell you what I told every other nuisance who’s knocked on my door today. GET LOST!” He went to shut the door and Selena couldn't let the opportunity go by.
“Wait!” she yelled, pushing against the door.
He stopped, startled and opened the door further to look at her.
“Are you frightened of being a suspect?” she shot back.
The man opened the door wider, frowned deeper, and stepped forward, looming over her. “What do you mean?”
She wanted to run, but stood her ground. “I thought you might’ve heard, you're a suspect.”
“I don’t think so. The police came and asked me questions and that was it.” He stared at her and his top lip curled into a snarl. “What are you playing at?”
“I simply want to ask you a couple of questions. For starters, why do you hate Amish people?”
He crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Who says I do?”
“Everyone’s saying it. That’s what I’ve heard.”
“Rumors.”
“Where there’s smoke there’s fire.”
He breathed out heavily. “There’s no law against them not being my favorite people. They're just annoying, that's all. You get behind one of those buggies and you can't get past ‘em. And then you’re sitting on five miles an hour until you get a chance to pass.”
“Tell me about it.” She faked a sympathetic smile. “There are too many of them on the roads nowadays. The roads should just be for cars not horses and buggies. I mean, buggies had their place hundreds of years ago, but today…” She shook her head. “They should just keep up with the times.”
The nastiness disappeared from his face. “Exactly.”
“I suppose you already know that the people next door to you were once Amish?”
“They didn't act like it. Aren't Amish supposed to be decent law-abiding citizens?”
From the way he spoke, she could tell he knew they were ex-Amish. “I guess so. Are you saying they weren't?”
“Eli couldn't have cared less about the law. She might have been alright, but you never saw nothin’ of her. He did all the talking. Every time I came to the door to sort something out, no one answered.”
“You were trying to sort out the fence problem?”
He grinned. “You know?”
She was getting through to him, building rapport like she’d been trained. “I do. I’m a journalist—a researcher.”
He chuckled. “Good for you. I told him the fence was in the wrong place and that was done by the people who owned the house before him, and he couldn't have cared less.”
“That's dreadful. And what else did you do about the fence problem?”
“He used to dry meat or something in his garage. Beats me what he was doin’ but it smelled dreadful.”
“What did he say it was?”
“I asked him once, but he wouldn't say.”
“Well, hopefully your problems might be over now because it looks like the widow is moving up north.”
He grinned. “My prayers have been answered if she’s sellin’ up.”
Things were going well so she probed further. Making a wild stab in the dark, she asked, “Did you know John Fuller?”
“I already told the police I only knew him because I did electrical work on his house once, and that's it. Why are you askin’ about him?”
“You're an electrician?”
“That's right.”
“Is there anything else you can tell me for my story about the man next door?”
“Nothin.’ Are ya done?”
She was pleased he didn’t say more about John Fuller. She didn’t want him to think she was accusing him. “Yes. Thank you.”
His head tipped to one side. “What newspaper are you from?”
Was he onto her? She thought fast as she fixed a smile on her face. “I freelance. I sell my stories to whoever will pay the most.” She giggled and ruffled her hair hoping to take his attention away from asking too much more. “Thank you very much, and good day to you.” After she flashed him a smile, she turned and walked away. When she heard the door of the house close, she was relieved. She’d gotten away with it.
As she headed back to her car, she noticed a faded red pickup truck in his rear yard. The beat-up vehicle seemed so out of place in the nice and neat neighborhood. She walked down the side path to his house and pulled her cell phone out of her jacket pocket and took a couple of snaps with the phone’s camera.
“Hey, get off my property.” He'd stepped back outside to holler at her.
“Sorry, I'm going.” She hurried over to her car and when she got into the driver’s seat, she saw the man had gone back inside.
“What is it?” Ettie asked.
“Just let me drive away.”
“Are you okay?” Gabriel asked.
“Fine.”
Once she was on the road and driving, she was able to breathe easy. “He didn’t say much. Not much that we didn’t already know. I saw a red pickup truck behind his house, though.”
“Really?” Elsa-May asked.
“Yes. I took a picture of it with my phone. I’ll show you as soon as we stop.”
“A red pickup-truck?” Gabriel asked
“Yes.”
“Did you get the man’s name, Selena?”
“No. Don’t you know it?”
Ettie rubbed her chin. “I can’t recall that Kate told me.”
“She probably wouldn’t know it was significant. Also, he knows John Fuller.”
Ettie gasped. “Good work, Selena.”
They all sat in Ettie and Elsa-May’s living room while Selena recounted the exact conversation between Eli’s neighbor and herself. Then she showed them the photo on her phone. “And this is the red pickup truck. It's old.”
Selena was pleased—she’d even managed to get the plate number in the frame of her quick snap.
“I wonder ... That might mean he was responsible for the old murders and the new murders,” Gabriel said.
“Especially since he knew both John Fuller and Eli Schaeffer. I wonder why Kelly hasn’t arrested him.” Elsa-May tapped a finger on her chin, seemingly pondering her own question.
“He'd have to be older than he looks, if so. What do you think we should do?” Selena asked. “I don't think Detective Kelly will be too happy to find out I was posing as a journalist.” Then she realized she’d stepped over the line. “He could take it that I was impeding his investigation.” She shook her head, disappointed with herself. “It was a silly thing to do.”
“Don’t worry. It was Ettie’s fault. She shouldn’t have made you do it.”
Ettie’s mouth fell open at her sister’s words. “You can’t blame me.”
“Is there any other way we can let him know what we've learned without me telling him I talked to Eli’s neighbor?”
“First thing tomorrow, Elsa-May and I will pay him a visit and we’ll tell him what we found out. He'll just assume we were talking to him.”
“Yes, he’s used to us,” Elsa-May said.
Selena nodded. “Okay. Good, but how will you explain the picture? He’ll know you don’t have a cell phone.”
“We can mention we saw it in his yard,” Ettie told her, “because we did. We saw it in the photo of his yard ... on your phone.”
“And we’ll make a note of the plate number,” Elsa-May added.
Chapter 10
The next day, Elsa-May insisted on making an appointment for Ettie with Dr. Grifford for the following day. When Ettie flatly refused to see him, Elsa-May, not wanting to pass up a free doctor’s visit, made the appointment for herself instead.
With the appointment to see the doctor booked, they headed to the police station to talk with Detective Kelly. Ettie and Elsa-May were pretty excited to tell Kelly their news.
They were shown to his office, sat in front of him and told him what they’d learned about Eli’s neighbor.
He shook his h
ead. “Kevin Quinn couldn’t have done it because he spent the night in prison for drunk and disorderly behavior on the night Eli was killed. We had him in custody.”
“Oh,” Elsa-May said.
That was the first time Ettie had heard the neighbor’s name. “He has a red pickup truck right there in his backyard.”
Kelly nodded his head. “I know. I saw it when I questioned him recently. He bought it three months ago to restore it. I’ve seen receipts and checked it all through the DMV. It’s legit.”
Ettie sighed knowing that they’d wasted Selena’s time and effort on Kevin Quinn. All for nothing.
Kelly glared at the two of them. “Anything else?”
“No.” Elsa-May shook her head.
“Well, a few things have come to light,” he said.
Ettie and Elsa-May looked at one another and then Elsa-May leaned forward. “What?”
“How much do you know about Eli Schaeffer’s wife, Kate?”
Ettie and Elsa-May looked at one another again.
Kelly continued, “And about Mr. and Mrs. Schaeffer’s son?”
“Not much.” Ettie didn’t want to reveal what they’d found out about Eli’s son just yet. Not until she found out if Kelly knew. Ettie tried to read Kelly’s face, but it was as deadpan as ever, telling her nothing at all. “Kate and Eli left our community not long after they married.”
“Yes, and that’s going back many years,” Elsa-May said.
“Hmm.”
Ettie put her hands in her lap to stop them fidgeting. “What is it?” She didn’t really expect an answer. He only shared things with them on a need-to-know basis—his version of need-to-know, not hers—and, even then, the information was given sparingly and begrudgingly.
“Turns out, Eli had a sizeable life insurance policy.”
“But … so, you’re saying you don’t think it’s related to the other scarecrow murder?” Ettie didn’t like the sound of that. Kate would’ve been the beneficiary and the son had talked her into moving to Canada with him and his wife. If the son was the killer ... was Kate the next victim?
Elsa-May clarified her sister’s question. “So Eli’s death is not the same as John Fuller?”