“It’s unusual for an Amish woman to get involved with a man like that, isn’t it?” The detective looked at Silvie. “I mean, I know it is, but what prompted her to do such a thing?”
“She would say love,” Silvie said.
The detective scoffed. “Seems Mr. Liante had plenty of that to go around.”
“Do you think that Mrs. Liante knew of these other women?” Maureen asked.
Detective Crowley thought for a moment before he said, “Going on my talks with her, it seemed she was totally unaware, although she did comment that her husband worked hard and was away a lot. Generally that would be cause for suspicion or at least put some doubt in a woman’s mind, but not Mrs. Liante.”
Sabrina walked back in and sat down on the hard, wooden chair. “Detective, do you think I’ll get any money at all if Mrs. Liante contests?”
The widows raised their eyebrows at her comment. It hardly seemed the main concern since the man was dead, no one knew who murdered him and she’d been caught out in sin.
“It’s hard to say. It’s unlikely that she won’t contest the will. It depends what the courts decide. They’ll take into account that he was of sane mind when he wrote the will and that was his choice. You’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”
Silvie leaned toward her schweschder. “That’s hardly the most important issue here, Sabrina.”
Sabrina looked at Silvie and remained silent.
After he ate two more chocolate slices and drank half his tea, the Detective got to his feet. “I’m off to talk to Mrs. Liante at the hospital. I’ll see if she’s able to speak yet, see what else I can find out. I was going to wait ‘til tomorrow, but I’ll see if she’s up to talking tonight.” The detective chuckled. “That’ll be one less thing I have to do tomorrow.”
As soon as he left, Elsa-May said, “Mrs. Liante was my main suspect. What do you know about the business partner, Sabrina?”
“Let me think.” Sabrina pressed a finger into her cheek. “I never met him. He was gut at business and I know that Carmello was happy with him most of the time, apart from some arguments.”
“What is his name?” Ettie asked.
“Neville Banks.”
“Was he aware that Carmello was having relationships with women outside his marriage?” Elsa-May asked Sabrina.
“As far as I knew he wasn’t. I thought it was only me and he told me that he was separated and living in a different room in the haus,” Sabrina said. “I had no reason to disbelieve him especially when I saw with my own eyes how they interacted with one another. The first day I met him was after they had a big argument in a coffee shop. She knocked me over when she stormed out and he apologized to me.”
“Ahh, that’s an important thing to tell the detective since she claims that they were happily married. Just a moment.” Elsa-May drew her cell phone out of the top drawer of the dresser in the living room.
Sabrina gasped. “You have a cell, Elsa-May?”
“Only for emergencies.” Elsa-May looked at Emma. “I know, I know, I’ll use it outside.” Elsa-May stepped through the front door.
“No one can judge me for what I’ve done if Elsa-May has a cell phone. We’re not supposed to have things like that,” Sabrina said.
“What you’ve done is much worse,” Silvie snapped before she could stop herself.
“No one’s judging you. It’s Gott who judges,” Maureen said.
Sabrina looked down at the floor.
“He’s going to talk to Mrs. Liante in the hospital tonight. Tomorrow afternoon he’ll make a surprise visit to Mrs. Liante’s haus, question the housekeeper and have her show him through the haus.”
“Won’t he need a warrant?” Emma asked.
“Nee, only if the housekeeper objects, but why would she if there’s nothing to hide?” Elsa-May sat back down. “We should meet back here same time tomorrow, directly after dinner.”
“Why doesn’t everyone come to my haus for dinner?” Emma asked.
Everyone agreed, but then Elsa-May said, “Nee, I told Crowley to come back here same time tomorrow night. Some other time, Emma?”
Emma nodded.
Ettie said to Elsa-May, “Why don’t we summarize all that we’ve learned?”
Elsa-May looked down at her list. “Carmello was poisoned; his business partner, Neville Banks, is missing. Someone tried to kill Mrs. Liante at her home with a knife and now she’s in the hospital. Carmello left money to his wife and money to three other women and it’s quite likely that Mrs. Liante doesn’t know of it yet and is expecting to inherit everything. Have I left anything out?”
Ettie looked at all the widows. “Nee, I think that’s it.”
“Well, we’ll meet here with Crowley tomorrow and see what else he’s found out. Now, we’ll have to find out things as well, or Crowley will stop being so free with giving us information. Silvie, you see if you can find out which lawyer is handling the will. It could be your lawyer friend, the one who comes to the bakery all the time.”
Silvie said, “George Winters? I’ll see what I can do.”
Emma leaned over to Maureen and said quietly, “I’ve got the house address of the Mrs. Liante and the housekeeper’s name. Crowley gave it to me.”
“Denke,” Maureen said.
Elsa-May overheard what Emma said. “Jah, Maureen. You see what you can find out.”
Maureen nodded. “I’ll snoop around the house, talk to the housekeeper and see what I can find out. She’ll most likely talk to me rather than the police. I’ll pretend I’m there about a job.”
Chapter 7.
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
Romans 5:18
An hour later, Silvie was glad to be home.
As Silvie and Sabrina walked through the front door, Sabrina said, “I suppose you think that I should confess to the bishop what I’ve done.”
Silvie sank into the couch. “I’m tired, Sabrina, I don’t want an argument.”
Sabrina sat next to her. “I just asked a simple question.”
“I know, but your tone is argumentative and I can’t deal with it tonight. It’s too late and I’ve got to get up at five tomorrow morning and go to work.” Silvie glanced at her china clock. “That’s just five hours I’ll have of sleep if I’m blessed to have that much.”
“I don’t want to go and see the bishop.”
Silvie winced at Sabrina’s high-pitched tone and covered her ears. She’d had enough of her schweschder, enough of her problems and enough of her constant whining. She wondered if Carmello had ever seen this side of her. “It’s up to you, but I’m certain that he’ll be knocking on our door soon to ask why you haven’t been to the gatherings. It’ll either be him or one of the ministers. They might even write a letter to your bishop in Ohio.”
Sabrina sighed. “I’ll think about going to see him then.”
Silvie still did not understand how her schweschder could do what she had done. Things were worse if Carmello had been lying to her about being separated from his wife.
“If you want to stay in the community you’ll have to speak to the bishop. You may be shunned for a time,” Silvie said.
“Shunned, ach nee.”
“Jah, shunned. Maybe you’ll have to confess what you’ve done at the gathering. You’ll have to stand and ask forgiveness. Maybe you’ll be shunned and then have to ask forgiveness before you come back.”
Sabrina was quiet then tilted her head upwards as she said, “I won’t be shunned because I haven’t been baptized yet.”
Silvie tilted her head to the side. “I thought you had been baptized.”
Sabrina shook her head.
“Have you thought about your prospects of attracting a mann after all this has happened? It won’t help you find a mann once they hear of this. Your name will be associated with what you’ve done.” Silvie knew her word
s were harsh; she didn’t want to hurt Sabrina, she just wanted her to come to terms with the reality of what she’d done.
Sabrina stood up. “I was in love with Carmello. Don’t you understand that? I’ll never be able to love another man. So what does it matter?” Tears poured down Sabrina’s face as she ran to her room sobbing uncontrollably.
Silvie sat by herself. She was giving her opinion and it was true, Sabrina would find it difficult to find a husband now with the scandal in her past. She was trying to prepare her for what was to come. Silvie knew that there was no use speaking to Sabrina when she was tired and crying. She would speak to her tomorrow, but tonight Silvie needed to get as much sleep as she could before her 5 a.m. start.
Silvie took off her prayer kapp and took the pins out of her hair. Her long, dark blonde hair fell down her back. She climbed the stairs to her bedroom hoping that the next few weeks would not be too horrible for Sabrina. At least Sabrina wasn’t a suspect in Carmello’s murder; that was one thing that they could be thankful for.
Moments later Silvie heard a voice in the darkness. “Are you asleep, Silvie?”
“Nee, not yet. Come in.”
Sabrina pushed Silvie’s door open. “I will go to the bishop. I’ll give myself a day or two to think about what I’ll say. I’ll take whatever punishment I have to take. I don’t want to leave the community. I thought about it and I don’t want to be an Englischer. I want to remain here in Lancaster County with you.”
While propped herself up with pillows, Silvie said, “That’s gut, Sabrina. I’m glad you’ve made that choice.” Silvie would prefer Sabrina to go back home, but she was her schweschder, she had to look after her and if she wanted to stay, Silvie would have to do what she could to make her stay a happy one.
Sabrina sat on the edge of Silvie’s bed. “I’ll get a job because I don’t know if I’ll get any of Carmello’s money or not. I’ll get a job to help out with money and I’ll do more chores around the haus.”
Silvie smiled; her schweschder was finally taking responsibility for her life. “I’m happy about that.”
“Do you think I should go to Carmello’s funeral?”
Silvie shook her head violently at the thought of Sabrina showing up at Carmello’s funeral. “Nee, I’d stay away if I were you.”
“Jah, I think it’d be best for me to stay away, but it’s hard. I loved him so much; I feel as though I should be the person arranging the funeral. I feel as though I was his wife.”
“That’s the way things work, Sabrina. Officially you weren’t his wife and now you have to guard your reputation from any more talk or any more trouble. It won’t do anyone any good for you to go to the funeral. It’ll create a scene or a lot of chatter at the very least.”
Sabrina lowered her head. “Do you think that I’ll ever get over Carmello’s death?”
“After some time, jah.”
“It must have been hard for you when John died.”
Silvie had never shared with Sabrina the fact that she had not been in love with John when she married, and neither was she about to share it with her at this point in time. “It was very hard, but I adjusted. In life you have to learn to adapt to change, the gut and the bad. Life is constantly changing and most of it is out of our control.”
“Denke for helping me through this, Silvie.” Sabrina leaned over and hugged her schweschder. Once she straightened up she asked, “Can you come to the bishop with me?”
“Nee, I can’t. It’s best you go alone. That kind of thing has to be done by yourself.”
“Please come with me, Silvie? I can’t do that on my own. I really want you to come with me.”
“Nee. I’ll drive with you and wait outside, but I can’t come in with you.”
Sabrina bounded to her feet. “What do I ever ask you to do? I ask you one little thing and you say ‘no.’ I will never ask you anything ever again.” Sabrina stomped out of the room and shut Silvie’s door firmly on her way out.
Silvie sighed and sank back into her pillow. For a moment she thought that Sabrina had changed, but she was being nice so she would accompany her to the bishop. Silvie closed her eyes and hoped that sleep wouldn’t be far away.
Chapter 8.
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:
now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three;
but the greatest of these is charity.
1 Corinthians 13:11-13
At the bakery the next day, Silvie waited for Mr. Winters of Winters & Sons lawyers to come in for coffee. He came in every day for at least one coffee and Silvie would question him about the Liantes and hoped that he knew them. Maybe he was their lawyer. It was after the lunch hour rush that Mr. Winters came into the bakery. Thankfully, he was alone, so Silvie seized the opportunity of her fifteen-minute break to have a chat with him.
“Sit with me, Silvie.”
He always asked Silvie to sit and talk with him, and this time she was in a position where she was able.
Silvie pulled out the chair on the other side of the small round table. “I can today; I’ve just begun my break.”
“Mr. Winters, have you heard of the death of Mr. Liante? He owned an accountancy firm just up the road here.”
Mr. Winters finished the mouthful of the salad roll he had just bitten off. “Heard of him? I’m going to tell you something that’s normally highly confidential, but under the circumstances, you need to know. Carmello Liante came to me last week wanting a will drawn up fast. He was a new client. He came to me because his lawyer was too slow and he wanted a new will drawn up quickly. He told me that a couple of months ago he had another will drawn up and he said it had taken his lawyer three weeks to prepare it. I told him if it was simple, then I could do it for him in a matter of hours.”
“What reason are you telling me this? What circumstances do you mean and did you end up doing the new will?” Silvie wondered whether Crowley knew about this recent will or had he only been in contact with the lawyer who had the will from months ago?
“Yes, I drew the will up as Carmello Liante requested. It wasn’t a complicated one. There was only one beneficiary.”
“Are you sure it was the same Mr. Liante who was just murdered who came to see you?” As soon as she asked the question Silvie realized how silly it was. How many Carmello Liantes could there be in the world?
He looked at Silvie from under silver, bushy brows. “Silvie, I deal in facts; of course I’m sure.”
“Do the police know that? Detective Crowley spoke of a will, but said nothing of it being drawn up the day before.” Silvie scratched her neck. “You haven’t told me yet why you’re telling me all this.”
“You can’t sit with me and not eat anything,” Mr. Winters said.
“I’ve got Teresa bringing me a cheese and lettuce roll.”
Mr. Winters nodded. “That’s good. You have to keep the food up to yourself; there’s nothing of you.”
Silvie smiled at his concern. “We were speaking of the will.”
“Ah, the will. The will was drawn up, but never signed.”
Silvie tilted her head to one side and opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when her co-worker Teresa placed her food in front of her. “Thank you, Teresa.”
“Don’t hurry from your break, Silvie. We’re not that busy,” Teresa said.
“Thanks, Teresa.” Silvie glanced around the tables in the bakery. Teresa was right; they weren’t that busy. “So, you say that the will was never signed?”
“I saw him the day he died and he told me who the beneficiary was to be. He couldn’t wait while I drew it up and fiddled around with the form on my computer. He said he had a busy day and asked me if I could wait back and meet him after five so he could sign it. I waited for him, bu
t he never showed. I figured he forgot the appointment. I left a note for my secretary to phone him the next day to re-schedule.”
“Can you tell me who the beneficiary was?”
“Ahh, that’s what I was getting to. The reason I’m telling you all this is that your sister was the sole beneficiary.”
Silvie’s hand flew to her open mouth as it fell open in disbelief.
Mr. Winters continued, “I was shocked that he was leaving his estate to a woman who wasn’t his wife. Someone I haven’t even heard about.” He leaned in close to her. “I usually hear of everything in this town. He explained the situation and said he was in love with, Sibyl, was it?”
“Sabrina,” Silvie corrected him.
“Anyway, as I said, we had a chat and he told me she was Amish and I saw that she had the same last name as the one on your badge.” He pointed to Silvie’s name badge.
Silvie looked down at her badge and her fingers were drawn to touch it. Since John died Silvie sometimes went by her maiden name of Tildy. “So he did love her.”
“I’d say most definitely.”
“He told Sabrina that he wanted to leave his wife and she wouldn’t give him a divorce until he agreed to give her everything. He wouldn’t have had anything to leave Sabrina would he, if he got divorced?”
“He was a wealthy man and had millions in non-marital assets. His wife would only have been entitled to what is termed ‘marital assets.’ Marital assets are those which are attained by either party during the term of the marriage. It was the marital assets that they were at loggerheads over. I’m a personal friend of the lawyer who was handling his divorce, so I did hear snippets. Mind you, I don’t know the finer details of the divorce proceedings or the property settlement.”
The more Silvie listened, the more it seemed that Carmello might have been genuinely in love with Sabrina. “He did tell Sabrina that he and his wife were separated but still living in the same house. Do you know anything about that?” Silvie took a bite of her roll.
Mr. Winters leaned back and dabbed at the corners of his mouth with a white napkin. “If one party doesn’t consent to the divorce, the only way to get a divorce in this state is to be separated for two years and then the divorce goes through without a hitch. There are little things she could try and do to stop it, but usually when two years has passed, it’s just some more paperwork and then a divorce is granted.”
Amish Regrets (Amish Secret Widows' Society #4) Page 4
