After a pause in the conversation, Elsa-May said, “There were five people murdered some years ago and in each case a scarecrow was left in front of their house. They were stabbed. They never caught the murderer. Now, years later, three people have been shot, and the scarecrow left in each place. The detective on the case is trying to work out if the former scarecrow murders and the latter ones are connected.”
Denise and Peter just stared at each other without saying a word, just as Elsa-May set a large teapot in the middle of the table. “I see cookies in a jar …”
“Please, cookies, Elsa-May,” Denise said.
While everyone at the table was silent, Elsa-May shook some cookies out of the jar onto a plate. When she placed the plate in the center of the table, she said, “Can I pour anyone more tea?”
“Jah,” Denise said.
When everyone had a cup full of tea in front of them, Ettie said to Denise and Peter. “Are you sure you don’t remember Cedric Bloom?”
They looked at one another then looked at Ettie. “Nee.”
She rattled off all the names of the other suspects, and the couple didn’t recognize any of them. It’d been a long shot that hadn’t paid off.
“We’re here if you need us for anything,” Elsa-May said.
“Are you handling the funeral?” Ettie asked.
Denise shrugged her shoulders. “I don't know what's happening. She never married. I suppose we will give her a funeral. I don’t know how it’s all going to work. The bishop’s on his way now.”
“I think she should be buried in an Englisch cemetery because that was the way she chose to live.” Peter wiped his eyes.
“We can decide later. We don't have to worry about that today.” Denise put a comforting hand on her husband’s shoulder.
The bishop and his wife arrived just as they were finishing their tea. Elsa-May cleared the table and put another pot of water on to boil before she and Ettie walked out and got into Selena’s car.
“Thanks for waiting.”
“You’re welcome. Was that the bishop and his wife who just arrived?” Selena asked as she drove away.
“That’s right it was.”
“How were the parents?” Gabriel asked.
“Devastated. They’ll never get over it. They say she never married, but she must've had a circle of friends,” Elsa-May said.
“I’m starting to think the killer didn’t know the victims. It just mattered that they used to be Amish.” Ettie shook her head.
“I guess we've got another funeral to go to,” Elsa-May said.
“Is there anywhere else you want to go now?” Selena asked them.
“Nee, denke. I think we have to be home for Kelly this afternoon. He's got a small job which he wants us to do.”
“Yes, I heard.”
* * *
Later that afternoon, Kelly sent someone to collect Elsa-May and Ettie and bring them to the police station. There, he told them he’d made the arrangements for them to visit Cedric the next day. Then he ran through all the questions he wanted them to ask.
When they arrived home, Selena had the dinner cooked and was sitting in the living room with Gabriel.
Chapter 18
The next day at eleven forty-five, Ettie and Elsa-May were driven to the prison. Then they were ushered into a small room. Ettie was nervous about the surroundings. It wasn’t the first time they’d visited someone in jail. The sterile gray atmosphere and the despair that always hung in the air saddened her heart. The armed guards and the security measures everywhere only served to make her increasingly nervous.
She patted the listening device strapped under her clothing to make certain everything was in place. Then she remembered—she’d been told not to touch it because it would possibly alert someone to its presence.
At twelve fifteen, a small man in an orange prison jumpsuit was led into the room. Ettie had a hard time guessing his age. Maybe he's around seventy, she thought, which would put him in the right bracket for the first of the murders.
He smiled when he saw them and sat down in front of them, handcuffed. One guard left and the other one stood against the wall.
“I don't believe I met you two ladies before. You must have something real good to say.”
They introduced themselves, as Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Lutz, figuring he didn't need to know more than that about them.
With an evil grin, he asked, “Are you relatives of that woman killed the day before yesterday?”
“No," Ettie answered, "we're not, but we are friends of the family.”
“Why have you asked for a visit with me? It must be pretty important. They told me your visiting time won’t take away from my other visits.”
Ettie recalled having heard that inmates were only allowed a certain number of visitor-hours per month.
“We’re not sure,” Elsa-May said. “This is where they told us to come.”
He looked from one to the other. “Why are you here?”
There was no point dancing about. Ettie blurted out, “We've come about the scarecrow murders.”
“They're happening again, and it’s funny you just mentioned them,” Elsa-May added.
“We get news in here. I heard about it. Like I told the cops, I don't know anything about it except for knowing the one man who was killed.”
“That’s too bad. You see, a good friend of ours was nearly killed and we know two of the others who died. Thanks anyway.” Ettie got up to go and she could feel Elsa-May staring at her.
“Don’t go.”
Ettie glared at him. “You want us to stay?”
“There’s not much else on for the day. I’m not going anywhere.” He grinned and when Ettie sat back down, he leaned forward. “I mightn’t know about the murders, but I know someone who does.”
“You do?” Ettie didn’t really believe him and figured he was just trying to fill in time.
He nodded. “Name’s Grifford. Dr. Grifford. He’s responsible for the killings.”
Ettie gulped and looked over at Elsa-May. Then Ettie grew suspicious that he was lying. It was a huge leap between knowing someone who knew something and then suddenly knowing—naming—the murderer.
“Why do you say that?” Elsa-May asked, calm and collected, not letting on that they knew the doctor. Ettie was impressed. She was too rattled by his disclosure to have spoken so calmly just then.
“I know it.”
“The first ones?” Elsa-May asked. “You do know there were five scarecrow murders years ago?”
The man nodded. “He probably did the lot. Each and every one of ‘em.”
“What makes you say that?” Ettie asked.
“He admitted it.”
Still sticking to her original thoughts, Ettie asked, “What was his reason for killing all those innocent people?”
“How do you know him?” Elsa-May asked.
Ettie stared at her sister. “I asked a question and he still hasn’t answered it. Wait your turn.”
“I didn’t hear you. Sorry, Ettie. You’ll have to speak up,” Elsa-May said.
“Well, listen next time.”
He said to Ettie, “I’ll answer your question first. They weren't innocent, not to him. They were Amish people infiltrating into society. According to him, Amish people have diseases and they should stick with their own kind.”
“What diseases?” Ettie asked.
“Genetic ones. Diseases that come from inbreeding with your own kind.”
“We don't do inbreeding.” Elsa-May scoffed.
Shrugging, he looked at Elsa-May, “To answer your question, I don’t remember how or where I met him. I know a lot of people who know him as well. The killer, they thought had medical knowledge and he’s a doctor. He didn’t like the Amish.”
Elsa-May asked, “Where did you meet him? You must know.”
He leaned back in his chair and laughed. “I'm not stupid. You tell whatever cops sent you in here that I'm willing to talk, but I wanna get out of this
place first. If I’m let out, and all charges and convictions squashed, I'll tell ‘em all I know.”
Ettie and Elsa-May exchanged glances, and then Ettie asked him, “How can you be sure this information you have is true?”
“Everyone in here talks. That’s all I’m gonna say. I'm not saying more till I get a deal.”
“If you know the truth for real, you’re carrying a huge burden,” Elsa-May said.
He bounded to his feet. “And thanks for visiting me.” With his ankles shackled, he shuffled to the door. “Guard, I'm done.”
He was escorted out and Ettie and Elsa-May were left sitting there looking at one another. “Dr. Grifford,” Elsa-May said.
“Jah, and a strange motive.”
“Do you believe it, Ettie?”
“I’m not entirely sure what I believe.”
“I think I do.”
“You’d believe anything. You’d believe blue was green if someone told you.”
Elsa-May frowned. “That’s not fair.”
A guard coming into the room interrupted them, telling them he was there to escort them out.
* * *
Ettie and Elsa-May were driven back to the station and Detective Kelly met them when they got out of the car.
“You did well,” he said.
“Do you think he was telling the truth about the doctor?” Elsa-May asked.
“I think it was a total waste of time,” Ettie said smoothing down her dress. “Why would that doctor kill people? Of course, I did say that he was creepy looking ... didn't I, Elsa-May?”
"Jah, you did. In fact, you said he looks like a murderer."
“We’ve looked him up. He’s never had so much as a traffic violation. A lot of prisoners want to do deals to get themselves out. I wouldn’t put too much store in what Bloom says. Still, we’ll talk with him. He'll get his deal if he tells us what we want to know.”
“What’s the likelihood of it being true?” Elsa-May asked.
“According to the forensics, the way the bodies were cut, there certainly seemed to be knowledge of the human body. A doctor could be a possibility. So, that fits with the medical knowledge.”
Elsa-May stared at Ettie. “How would that man sitting in that prison have known about the murderer having medical knowledge?”
Ettie looked at Kelly. “Where had he come into contact with the doctor?”
“He wouldn’t tell us,” said Elsa-May.
“We’ll have to find out what we can from him,” Kelly said. “He could’ve heard talk at the time of the original investigation. Now, I’ll have someone drive you home.”
“First, could I have someone release me from this nonsense?” Ettie patted the listening device.
Kelly gave a rare smile. “Ah yes. Right this way, and then I’ll have someone drive you home. Laine’s body will be released tomorrow.”
“That was fast,” Elsa-May said.
Chapter 19
It was four days later before they found out from the local newspaper when Laine’s funeral was. Selena drove the sisters, and Gabriel went with them. It seemed the funeral had been arranged by some of Laine’s friends and not her family.
As soon as Ettie walked into the small church, she saw that they were the only representation of the Amish community. There wasn’t one member of Laine’s family among the small group of people. It was possible, she knew, that they were too upset to attend.
The four of them sat in a row behind the crowd. There had been nobody at the door to greet them like there had been at other Englisch funerals. They soon found out there was no minister or pastor officiating. A man who introduced himself as a good friend of Laine’s stood in front of the coffin and spoke about Laine and her life.
As they listened, they found out she was fifty-six and had recently retired from being a nurse. That piqued Ettie’s interest and she wondered if Laine had known Dr. Grifford.
Then Ettie was dug in the ribs and she looked at Elsa-May to tell her to stop doing that and saw Elsa-May’s gaze was fixated on something. When Ettie turned to see what her sister was looking at, she saw Dr. Grifford sitting on the opposite side of the room.
Grifford looked over at them and raised his hand in a wave. Ettie nodded a little and then looked to the front of the room.
“Ettie, it’s …”
“I saw.”
“Those people he’s sitting with must be staff from the hospital.”
“Could be.”
When the service was over, six men carried the coffin to the small graveyard behind the church. Once everyone was gathered around the freshly dug grave, the same man who’d spoken in the church said a few words.
Rather than listen to what was being said, Ettie looked around at the attendees. They all varied in age. Most likely Laine had met many of them through her work.
Once the talking had ceased, three women walked forward and each threw a single white rose into the grave. Then everyone started leaving.
“Is that it?” whispered Elsa-May.
“I guess so. Everyone’s walking away.”
Just as they joined the tail-end of the crowd heading back to the church, a woman approached them and introduced herself as Barbara Thomas, and invited the four of them back to her house to continue the farewells.
“Thank you. We’d love to,” Ettie quickly accepted.
“I suppose you knew her before she left the Amish?” Barbara asked.
“Yes. We weren’t sure if anyone knew her history,” Elsa-May said.
“We worked together for nearly twenty years. We were best of friends. I’ll miss her dreadfully.” Barbara then proceeded to give them her address.
* * *
When they arrived at Barbara’s house some twenty minutes later, Ettie was most interested to talk to the man who’d done most of the talking at the funeral. Then she planned to speak with Barbara.
“Hello, I’m Ettie Smith. It seems you were a good friend of Laine’s.”
He put out his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Raymond Dellings.”
She shook his hand. “Did you know Laine when she was Amish?” Ettie figured he was old enough to have known her from back then.
“I didn’t. She would’ve been upset her parents aren’t here. She said they never said a word to her after she escaped. Oh, I’m sorry. I mean, since she left the Amish.”
“It’s not because they didn’t love her. They would’ve found it very hard to do, to be here. They never stopped hoping she’d return, and that was their way.”
“What’s their excuse for not being here today? I personally invited them.”
“I don’t know. I think they thought they were going to hold the funeral. I was with them on the day they found out. They were devastated.” Ettie studied his face. He seemed pleased to hear they’d shown emotion.
“Well good, but still, it would’ve been nice if they’d come. I would’ve thought it wasn’t the Amish way, but you and your friends are here.”
“It depends. There’s no hard and fast rule in our community about whether we talk to our children who’ve left us. I have two daughters who’ve left and I do talk to them when they stop by, which is very infrequently, sadly.”
“Sorry to hear it.” He looked uncomfortable.
“It sounds like everyone will miss Laine.”
He nodded. “She was a very loving woman, a good woman.”
“It sounds like it. Everybody has only good things to say about her. Did she have any enemies?”
“Certainly none that I knew of.”
He looked around. “She did see a strange car in her street a couple of days before she died. Was driving up and down the street really slow, and she has a dead-end street so it made it more noticeable.”
“I know what you mean. Where I live is a dead-end street, too. Did you tell the police?”
“I did at the time it happened. I think they thought I was crazy, but still, I had to tell them anything I could think of.”
“What k
ind of a car?”
“Well, she said it was a gray car, gray silver-tone car. She did take the plate number down.”
Ettie couldn’t believe her ears. “She did?”
He nodded. “She called me and gave it to me and then when a detective came around asking questions, I found it and gave it to him.”
“That's interesting. Do you recall if it was Detective Kelly?” What was interesting to Ettie was that Kelly never told her that there had been a sighting of a car. He was forever holding things back from her.
“I don't remember. The detective didn't seem very interested, but it must've stuck out to her because she called me and asked me to write it down.”
“Did it strike you that it was odd at the time?”
“It did. She seemed nervous.”
“And she didn't say why?”
“No, and I never saw her again. I had two scheduled days off, and then I heard the news on the radio. I hope they catch the psycho who killed her.”
“Me too. I see that Dr. Grifford is here.”
“Yes. Most of us here are from the hospital.”
“So he has a private practice, and he works at the hospital too?”
“He once worked at the hospital. He doesn’t anymore.”
When the conversation came to a natural end, she made her way back to Elsa-May and told her what she’d learned about the silver car.
.
* * *
On the way home, Ettie asked Selena, “Have you ever seen a silver-gray car on the street at Gabriel’s house?”
“Not that I've noticed, why?”
“I found out that Laine saw a silver-gray car driving very slow past her house a few times. She thought it strange, so she gave the plate number to a friend. He’s since given it to the police.”
“Are you sure you haven’t seen any strange cars in the street at all, Selena?” Gabriel asked.
“I honestly hadn't noticed. Nothing seemed strange. That's why what happened took me so much by surprise.”
Amish Scarecrow Murders Page 11
