Amish Winter Murder Mystery

by Samantha Price

  “Maybe we frightened him, Ettie. Anyway, let’s sit down to eat this meal we’ve been blessed with and we’ll put it out of our minds while we’re at the table.”

  Ettie pulled out the chair. “Sounds like a good idea to me.” She looked down at the leftovers from the night before—meatloaf, and the vegetables they’d cooked to go with it.

  As soon as they were both seated and about to give thanks, a loud knock sounded on their door.

  “Botheration!” What Elsa-May disliked most was being interrupted at mealtimes. “I’ll put our plates in the oven.”

  Before Ettie got to the door, a voice rang out, “Yoo hoo! Is anyone home?”

  Ettie opened the door to see a flustered-looking Ruth Esh wringing her hands.

  “Ruth, what’s the matter?”

  Elsa-May stood behind Ettie. “Come inside,” Elsa-May insisted.

  Ruth hurried through the doorway and Ettie closed the door behind her. Ruth took a deep breath, and then she leaned against the wall.

  “What is it that's got you so upset, Ruth?” Elsa-May asked.

  “He was married!”

  * * *

  Both Ettie and Elsa-May knew who Ruth was talking about.

  “Give me your coat and then sit down, Ruth.”

  Once Elsa-May had Ruth's coat, Ettie led their visitor into the living room. “How did you find out he was married?”

  Ruth flopped onto the couch. “No one ever knew about it. She wasn't even mentioned at the funeral. I called a friend of mine in Walker County and sure enough she remembers a man called Ebenezer and he was married.”

  “How do we know if it was the same Ebenezer? We heard he came from a place close to Divine Creek. Oh wait, is Walker County close to Divine Creek?”

  “It’s not far. Divine Creek is just outside the county line. My friend told me he wasn’t married very long, and why he didn't bring her back to his community—because he left for her. That’s where he’s from, Walker County! I reached out to all my friends. I wrote to every community I could, asking about Ebenezer. I knew someone would have to know him. You see, the woman he married was an outsider—an Englischer. It caused a fuss when he left the community for her.”

  “Of course it would,” Ettie said.

  “Ach, that is a little odd,” Elsa-May said. “Now he’s back. What happened to the marriage? Did she die?”

  “No wonder we knew nothing about her if she wasn’t one of us,” Ettie said. “I don't know how he could keep something like that to himself.”

  “It seems Ebenezer was good at keeping secrets.” Ruth put her hands on her cheeks. “I should’ve insisted I get proper records when he first came here. It's all my fault.”

  Ettie patted her on the back. “You weren’t to know. You can't blame yourself for something like that.”

  “If I can’t blame myself, who can I blame?”

  “Well, no one,” Ettie said.

  “Sometimes these things just aren't anybody's fault. He didn't want anybody to know where he was from or that he was married to an Englischer.”

  “Did she die?” Elsa-May asked once more.

  “I don’t know. We’ll have to try to find her and let her know he died.”

  “Did they divorce, or what?” Ettie asked.

  “I don’t know the answer to all these questions. I've got people looking into it.”

  “What kind of people?”

  “My friends from the other communities.”

  Ettie flung her hand in the air. “That’s it! That’s why he had a beard. He was married.”

  Elsa-May raised her eyebrows. “That’s right. I never gave it a second thought.”

  “Her name was Elaine,” Ruth stated.

  “You know her name?” Ettie asked, stunned.

  “Jah. Elaine, last name Greene. Greene, with an e on the end. My friend particularly remembered that. Elaine’s father was a farmer, and a wealthy one. The family were well known around the district.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us you knew her name right away, Ruth?”

  “So her name was Elaine—”

  “Greene,” Elsa-May finished Ettie’s sentence. “What else do you know about her?”

  Ruth shrugged her shoulders. “They were only married for a couple of weeks when they separated. The rest, I can’t tell you. My friend said she heard that they fought like cat and dog, and not friendly cats and dogs. I have a cat and a dog and they get along, but that’s because they grew up together.”

  “How does your friend know for sure this is the same Ebenezer?”

  “There aren’t too many with that name and what’s more, his bruder wound up in Divine Creek for a while. That’s more than a coincidence. That’s how he knew about Divine Creek. The time frame of the marriage all fits in with him leaving there to when he arrived here.”

  "So Deirdre was right," said Ettie excitedly. "There is a bruder."

  "Yes, but I don't know anything much about him," said Ruth as she sniffed the air. “What’s that lovely smell. Pot roast?”

  “Jah. Well, meatloaf and vegetables. Stay and join us,” Elsa-May said. “We were just about to sit down and there's plenty.”

  “I've already eaten. It's fine. I won’t keep you from your delicious smelling dinner. I just thought you should know that he was married. I was so shocked when I found out and I knew you would be too.”

  “Do you have any idea at all where Elaine is now?”

  “Nee, but I’ll find her. She should know about Ebenezer.”

  “Why did the bishop think he was unmarried?”

  “That’s something you’d have to ask him,” Ruth said. “He might’ve known, but not been at liberty to say anything.”

  Ettie nodded.

  Ruth jumped to her feet. “I’ll find out what I can and I’ll let you know the second I find out anything more.”

  “Denke, Ruth.” They showed her to the door.

  * * *

  Once Ruth’s buggy was rattling down the road, Elsa-May closed the door. “What do you think about that, Ettie?”

  “Well, I think that it's a shock. It will be a shock to everybody.”

  “Solves the mystery of why he never married. He already was married.”

  Ettie sat back down at the kitchen table, and Elsa-May got their food out of the oven, and placed the plates down on the table.

  After they said their silent prayer of thanks for the food, Ettie opened her eyes and picked up her fork. When she noticed Elsa-May hadn’t moved, she looked over and saw her staring into space. “You’re not getting sick or something, are you?” Ettie popped a forkful of meatloaf into her mouth.

  “Just thinking and wondering about Ebenezer hiding he was married.” She looked down at her food. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to eat this without further interruptions.”

  Ettie swallowed. “I hope so. It’s delicious. We’ll have to tell Kelly about Ebenezer’s wife. He doesn’t know.” Ettie dropped her fork. “She killed him, Elsa-May!”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Remember that Kelly once told us that they’re most suspicious of the spouses first?”

  Elsa-May finished her mouthful.

  “What I can't figure out is why Detective Kelly didn't find this information out for himself.”

  “You said that already, Ettie. Let's stop by to see him tomorrow and ask him, shall we?”

  “Of course.”

  Elsa-May nodded. “We’ll have to tell him what we know.”

  “We’ll go first thing tomorrow. Now we’ve got her name, he should be able to get access to records. Elaine Greene was her maiden name. I wonder if she’s still alive.”

  “If she’s not, she wouldn’t have killed him.”

  Ettie frowned at her sister’s comment, and then popped another forkful of food into her mouth. Then she realized what Elsa-May had said, and started giggling. It wasn't long before her sister joined in.

  Chapter 19

  Before they left the next morning, they got
a visit from Ava, who’d come without her baby again. They sat Ava down and told her their latest news.

  “Have you told Kelly yet?” Ava asked.

  “We’re doing that today.”

  “Jah, we’re on our way to tell him.”

  “I'll take you there,” Ava said.

  “That's not necessary. We can call him from the phone down the road.”

  “I have a free day. I can take you wherever you need to go.”

  “We could do with getting some things from the markets, Ettie. We can do that after we talk with Kelly.”

  “What do we need?”

  “We’re running out of flour.”

  Ettie sighed. “We’re forever running out of things. Didn’t we just shop a week ago?”

  “Jah, Ettie, but we have to eat three times a day, remember?”

  “I suppose so.”

  “Well? Am I driving you? You should take advantage of my offer. I’m only without Aaron for two days a week.”

  Ettie smiled, glad to save a taxi fare and enjoy Ava's company. “Very well. Denke for the kind offer, Ava.”

  Ava sat in the buggy while Ettie and Elsa-May walked into the station. Just when Ettie was asking the officer behind the desk if they could see Detective Kelly for a moment, Kelly walked out from the back area looking flustered.

  He hurried over to them. “You’re here to see me?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’ll have to be quick. I’m on my way out. We just learned he was married. Couldn’t you have found that out? Wouldn’t you have known?”

  “That’s what we came here to tell you.”

  “We only found out last night,” Ettie said.

  “With all your access to records, why didn’t you find it out sooner?”

  He pressed his lips together and glared at Elsa-May. “Because, Mrs. Lutz, he wasn’t Ebenezer Fuller. He was Ebenezer Swarey.”

  Ettie moved in front of Elsa-May. “What?”

  “Ebenezer Swarey.”

  “Is his wife still alive?”

  “Yes, very much alive and I’m heading to her right now to arrest her.”

  Ettie gasped, and under her breath, she said, “I was right.”

  “Still, it would’ve been helpful to know this sooner, but our hard efforts have paid off and any minute now I’ll be on my way to arrest Elaine Wicks. That’s the name she goes by these days. She has been using her mother’s maiden name, we found out.”

  “How can you be sure she’s the murderer?” Elsa-May asked.

  “Detective work and following leads pays off. She lives out of town. We happen to know she has been here for a week staying at the Deer Acres Guest House. On the day he was murdered, she was treated for cuts on her hands at one of the local hospitals. And you remember what I told you about the attacker and the knife?”

  Elsa-May winced.

  “Did she confess to the crime?” Ettie asked.

  “No! But putting the pieces together, she’s guilty.”

  “What pieces?”

  He rolled his eyes and repeated, “She lives hundreds of miles north of here, and she happened to be here on the day he died and we know that because we have hospital records from the emergency department. I spoke to the doctor who treated her and the injury was consistent with her stabbing someone. You see, more often than not, in knife attacks the perpetrator often injures his own hand.”

  “Yes. You mentioned that the other day, Detective. No need to tell us again.”

  Kelly grinned, and told them over again, “On the knife, there wasn’t a good enough handle for her to get a good enough grip. When she stabbed into the victim’s bone, the knife would have stopped. Her hand kept going, and she cut herself in the process. She had three cuts on her fingers and he was stabbed five times. We need a blood match and we’re done. Case closed. We’ll also match her handwriting to the notes we found.”

  “Are you certain it’s she?”

  “Very. I obtained those records from the hospital and talked to the coroner. After examining the records, the knife and the victim, it was the coroner’s opinion the injuries on her hand were consistent with her being the attacker.”

  Elsa-May shook her head. “We get the picture. So, you’re going to arrest this woman for certain?”

  “We’re obtaining a warrant as we speak and once it comes through I’m taking a long drive to make the arrest.” His phone beeped and he pulled it out of his pocket, spoke with someone briefly, then ended the call and popped it back into his pocket. “Okay, Conrad’s got the warrant in his hand and he’s waiting for me out front. I’m on my way.” He nodded to them and then he was gone.

  “Elsa-May, didn’t he say there were three lots of blood?”

  “He did.”

  “I hope he’s not going to arrest the wrong person. And, he’s arresting her before he knows if her blood matches the samples he’s got. Isn’t he?”

  “Sounds like it. What will we do now, Ettie? Go home?”

  “Nee! Something’s not right. Let’s finally go see what Helga has to say. We’re long overdue to find out why she’s been keeping things from us. If she’s been keeping things from us, she’s been keeping things from the police.”

  “Helga?”

  “Jah. I don’t think she’s told us the truth.”

  “What about our shopping, and the flour?”

  “We’ll do that later. We should’ve gone to see Helga days ago.” Ettie walked out of the station and Elsa-May followed.

  Chapter 20

  On the way to Helga’s, Elsa-May said to Ava, “We do appreciate you going out of your way for us like this.”

  “I need a break in my routine sometimes.”

  “How can he say for certain the wife did it before he even talks with her?” Ettie asked.

  Ava said, “He’s got enough to make an arrest, and he hopes that while he’s holding her they’ll do DNA testing.”

  “No one knew about his wife you see, Ava, because he moved communities, lied about where he was from and used a different last name.”

  “Ettie, tell me again why we’re going to Helga’s? Why do you think she lied?”

  “Think back, Elsa-May. The nurse regularly visited, the fruit man visited, and Helga never mentioned those people. Or Gabriel. She said there was never anyone there.”

  “That's true. We’ll see what she has to say about it.”

  Ettie rolled her eyes. “Good idea.”

  * * *

  Just as they had driven past Ebenezer’s house, they saw the fruit boy coming out of the neighbors’ house. “Look at that! They’re talking and laughing as friendly as can be.”

  “I see that.”

  “Pete Ross said he just met the Simpsons at the funeral. They look like they’re old friends, if you ask me.”

  Ava agreed, “He's a young boy and they’re an older couple. What could they possibly have in common?”

  “Perhaps, killing Ebenezer?”

  “Why though, Ettie?”

  “I don’t know, but something’s not right here. I’ve got to call Kelly and tell him not to arrest that poor woman.”

  “Why? She could be the killer, Ettie.”

  “I’ll call him from Helga’s phone in her barn and let him know what we just saw.”

  “He won’t listen to you,” Elsa-May said. “Besides, do you have his cell phone number?”

  Ettie tapped the side of her head. “It’s in here.”

  When they got to Helga’s house, they were greeted by her and Ettie told her she had an urgent call to make. While the others went in the house with Helga, Ettie headed to the barn.

  After she blew off a layer of dust, she picked up the phone’s receiver and dialed the number she knew by heart.

  He answered in his usual bored tone. “Detective Kelly.”

  “Detective Kelly, it’s Ettie Smith here.”

  “Mrs. Smith, didn’t I just see you at the station?”

  “Yes, but there’s something urgent you should
know about.”

  “What's that?”

  “Elsa-May, Ava, and I were driving to Helga’s house and just as well because we just drove past Ebenezer's house and we saw Ebenezer’s fruit boy talking to the people who live in between Helga and Ebenezer.”

  “And?”

  “And they looked guilty when we saw them. The fruit boy hurried to his truck. They were laughing about something when the boy was walking out of the house with Jack.”

  “What are you saying and why’s that important? You think they’ve conspired together to kill Ebenezer?”

  “Not necessarily, but don’t you think you need to look into things like this before arresting Elaine Greene?”

  “Mrs. Smith, firstly, it’s not Elaine Greene, it’s Elaine Wicks. You know the pressure I’m under. This case has to be closed as quick as possible. I don’t have time to chase shadows.”

  “I know, but—”

  “We have evidence she’s guilty, Mrs. Smith, and we have more coming.”

  “I didn’t tell you before because I thought you’d think I was stupid, but the neighbor has his hand bandaged and he said it was a horse bite. What if—?

  “Mrs. Smith, he already told us he cut his hand on the knife by accident when he discovered the body.”

  “But—”

  “Trust me on this. I have to go. Goodbye.”

  The call ended with a click. Ettie moved the receiver away from her ear and stared at it. “How rude.” Ettie replaced the receiver and made her way back to Helga’s house, upset that Kelly had dismissed what they’d seen.

  When Ettie walked into the living room, Elsa-May looked up. “What did he say?”

  Ettie shook her head as she slumped onto the couch between Helga and Ava. “He didn’t listen.”

  “What did you have to tell the detective that was so urgent?” Helga asked.

  Ettie wasn’t prepared to tell her and hoped the others hadn’t. “You've been keeping something from us, Helga!”

  Helga stared wide-eyed at Ettie. “What are you talking about?”

  “You didn’t tell us that Ebenezer and Levi were brothers.”