Plain Wrong

by Samantha Price

  “Exactly, and they’ve had the body for days, if they were going to do anything they would have done so by now.” Maureen looked out the window.

  When Crowley stopped the car outside Maureen’s house, Maureen turned to him. “I have apple cake, would you like some?”

  Detective Crowley smiled and looked at his watch.

  “I mean, to take with you. It’s too close to dinner time to have cake.”

  “Thank you, Maureen. I’d love some.”

  “Come inside and I’ll package it up for you.”

  The detective walked into Maureen’s home and followed her into the kitchen.

  “You’ve never been here before, have you, Detective?”

  Detective Crowley smiled. “Ronald, please call me Ronald. No, I’ve never been here.”

  “Have a seat, Ronald.”

  Detective Crowley sat at the kitchen table, amused that Maureen appeared to be uncomfortable with calling him Ronald. Everyone was always so official with him either calling him Detective, Crowley or Detective Crowley. He’d given almost his whole life to the job and had few friends. Hearing someone refer to him as Ronald would be a welcome change. “How long have you been by yourself, Maureen?”

  “My husband died a good many years ago. He was a very sick man. We had two good years together before his health failed. I took care of him for ten years before the Lord took him home.”

  “Sorry to hear that, Maureen. It must have been hard for you. He was a lucky man to have you to care for him.”

  Maureen looked up from cutting a large section of cake and gave him a large smile.

  He wondered what it would be like to have a woman like Maureen to come home to. Should he suggest that he join her for a meal at some stage since they were both on their own? He’d always liked Maureen and found her easy to talk to. What if she said no? That would make things awkward since he was friendly with the five widows. Maybe she could not say yes due to the Amish beliefs of keeping separate from Englischers. Either way, it was most likely not a good idea to ask.

  “There you are, Detective. I mean, Ronald.”

  Detective Crowley stood up and took the container from Maureen. “Thank you; it’s very kind of you.”

  “I know how much you enjoy your cakes.”

  “I’ll let you know how the autopsy went. I’ll get a call tonight and I’ll go by the hospital tomorrow morning and let Ettie know.”

  Maureen followed the detective to the door.

  Crowley walked quickly to his car and before he opened his door he gave Maureen a wave.

  She waved to him and as he drove away, he watched Maureen in his rear view mirror.

  * * *

  Maureen had always liked Detective Crowley’s calm, slow manner. In that way, he reminded her of her late husband. He was easy to be around and she missed having someone to care for. She thought for a moment that he was thinking the same, but he never let on as much.

  She shook her head. What are you thinking you silly woman? A man like Crowley would never become Amish and I would never leave my community and my friends, she thought. Maureen giggled out aloud. How would she ever get used to calling Crowley, Ronald? She never even wondered what his first name might be. She would call him Crowley or Detective in front of the other widows.

  It was unusual for Maureen not to cook herself a proper dinner, but tonight she wasn’t hungry. She sliced herself the chicken that she had saved earlier and made herself a chicken and relish sandwich. She needed something in her stomach. After her sandwich, she sat in her living room with a cup of nettle tea.

  She looked around about her and wondered what Crowley would have thought of her humble, small haus. She had to sell her large house after her husband died. They had expected to have a large familye when they were married, but Gott had other plans.

  Maureen regretted never having kinner, but that must have been Gott’s will. Maybe her recently married friends, Emma or Silvie would have kinner soon and she would be close to them and be like their aunt.

  * * *

  Just as Ettie closed her eyes a male nurse came into the room. He looked down at the clipboard in his hands. “Mrs. Ettie Smith?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ve come to fetch you for your x-ray.”

  Ettie could not remember her doctor mentioning another x-ray to her. She had one the first day she arrived at the hospital. “There must be a mistake. My doctor said nothing about an x-ray.”

  The nurse looked down at his board again. “We’ve got you down for one this afternoon.” He leaned forward and raised his eyebrows. “Perhaps you forgot?”

  Ettie frowned at the nurse.

  She was about to say that being old did not necessarily mean she was also forgetful when he said, “I’ll go and get a wheelchair; it’s at the other end of the hospital. Or would you rather me wheel you in the bed?”

  “Oh, no. A wheelchair would be better.”

  The nurse was gone for a few minutes and returned with a wheelchair. He helped Ettie into it and a few minutes later, she was in a different wing of the hospital. “They’ll call me when you’re finished to take you back to your ward. Wait here, they’ll call your name shortly.”

  Ettie looked around the empty waiting room. There were the usual side-tables with out-of-date magazines and the same paintings on the walls that Ettie had seen in other areas of the hospital. As she waited, she wondered why her doctor had never mentioned another x-ray. Something seemed odd.

  “Mrs. Smith?” A young woman who Ettie had never seen before stepped into the waiting room. She wore a different uniform to the nurses and Ettie thought that she must be a radiographer rather than a nurse.

  “Smith, that’s me.”

  The young woman wheeled Ettie into the x-ray room. “Nurse won’t be a moment.”

  Ettie remained silent as the woman left the room. The door opened a minute later and Ettie looked up in horror to see Deirdre Hadley walk through the door. She had never known for sure that this nurse was Deirdre Hadley, but her instincts told her that it was. Ettie gulped and tried not to look nervous. If she was right, this woman was a killer, and she was alone with her. Worse still, none of her relatives, friends or detective Crowley knew where she was. No one could help her. It was a rare moment that Ettie wished she had the strength of her youth. This woman would have no trouble in overpowering her now frail, elderly body. Gott, help me, Ettie prayed silently.

  Deirdre sat beside her. “So Mrs. Smith, how are you?”

  Ettie coughed. “I’ve got pneumonia apparently. I didn’t know my doctor ordered an x-ray.”

  “Why did you have a detective visit you; is he a friend of yours?” Deirdre’s green eyes opened wider then narrowed as her head twisted to the side.

  A chill ran through Ettie, but she knew she had to stay calm. “Yes, quite a good friend.”

  “Your other friend, the fat one, she’s been asking questions about me, I hear.”

  Ettie knew the nurse was speaking of Maureen. “I wouldn’t call her fat. I’d say she was pleasantly plump. She’s a good cook; I’ll have her bring in some cake for you.”

  “I don’t care about cake,” the woman hissed like a snake. “Why was she asking questions about me?”

  “I have no idea. Perhaps you should ask her yourself.”

  “You’re holding back something from me, Mrs. Smith.”

  Anger rose within Ettie. This woman had killed someone and now Ettie knew that it was not an assumption; by the actions of the woman, it was a fact. Ettie figured she had nothing to lose; she was old and would soon die anyway. “Why did I see you giving Judith an injection the night she died?”

  The nurse stood up and yelled. “I did no such thing. Who have you been speaking to? You better not have told anyone that. Did you tell that detective friend of yours?”

  “It’s all over the hospital; everyone knows what you do.” Ettie figured that her best chance would be to make the nurse think that everyone knew what she was up to. “It
’s just a matter of time before the police get you.”

  The woman drew her hand back and smacked Ettie across her face. “What do you mean by that?”

  Ettie’s heard her neck crack and felt her face sting. She tried not to show how much it hurt. She moved her neck and was relieved that her neck had not broken. “You’ll go to jail for a long time.”

  The nurse stretched out her hands towards Ettie but snapped them back in fright when her cell phone rang. “What is it?” she barked at the caller.

  Ettie listened hard and heard the caller on the other end yelling, “Get out of there now. The police have just been here; they’ve taken one of the bodies.”

  Hadley clicked her flip-top cell phone shut, gave Ettie an evil glare before she ran out the door.

  Ettie knew Crowley was close to finding the truth. It seemed he had been successful in having Milton agree to the autopsy. She wheeled herself over to a large, red button on the side of the room and pressed it. The words under the button said ‘call.’ She picked up her chart that one of the staff had left on the table. Ettie saw that it was Nurse Hadley who had ordered her x-ray.

  After waiting a while, Ettie realized that no one was coming for her. Ettie pushed on the wheels at the side of her chair and managed to wheel herself out the door. She wheeled herself through the waiting room and into the hospital corridor. Which way had the nurse brought her? Should she turn left or right? All the stark corridors looked the same.

  “Can I help you?” an approaching nurse asked Ettie.

  “I’ve lost my way; I’m supposed to be in Ward D.”

  The nurse smiled. “I’ll take you there.”

  The nurse took Ettie back to her ward and helped her get back into bed. “What were you doing so far away?”

  “I thought I’d take a look around.” Ettie smiled back at her trying to appear as though she were a vague old lady.

  As she pulled the sheet up over Ettie, the nurse asked, “Is there a reason that one side of your face is very red?”

  With her fingertips, Ettie touched her still stinging face. “It could be a rash or could be one of my allergies.”

  The nurse seemed to be satisfied with Ettie’s answer. Ettie knew she could not tell the nurse anything about Deirdre. She could not tell anyone anything until Crowley was able to get that warrant. Ettie hoped she hadn’t ruined Crowley’s chance of catching Deirdre and all those involved with her. For her own safety’s sake she had to have Deirdre think that everyone knew about her.

  After the helpful nurse left, Ettie relaxed in her bed. “Denke, Gott,” she said aloud, “for saving me from that wicked woman.” She thought back over what the wicked nurse had said. She said that Maureen had been asking questions about her, but she was sure that Maureen had said that she overheard conversations about the nurse. Ettie knew for certain now that Deirdre Hadley was guilty. She closed her eyes to rest, but there were too many questions swirling in her mind.

  Why had Deirdre sent her for an x-ray? Was she going to give her a lethal injection once she was alone in the room with her, or just ask questions? What if Deirdre came back now and found her alone in the room? Ettie reached for the phone and called her nephew Bailey. She would have him come and stay with her.

  Chapter 11.

  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil,

  as a roaring lion, walketh about,

  seeking whom he may devour:

  1 Peter 5:8

  Ettie woke the next morning to see Bailey fast asleep in the chair next to her. He’d been good to her since she’d been ill. She had forbidden Elsa-May to tell her five kinner that she was sick enough to be in the hospital. None of her children were in the same community. Three of Ettie’s sons were in Ohio. It wouldn’t be long before gossip reached them, but Ettie figured she would most likely be out of hospital when it did. Ettie’s two dochders had left the community when they were teenagers; Ettie had no idea where they were and it had been ten years since they had contacted her.

  Ettie looked up to the ceiling and wondered if her kinner would be upset when she died. Did they even love her as she had loved her mudder and vadder? She did not feel as though they did even though she loved them and had done the best as a mudder to them. What had forced her dochders out of the community into the Englisch world? Her sons had married women in an Amish community in Ohio. All her sons had kinner, but what of her dochders? She had no idea about them. What if she died and never learned what became of them? Maybe Crowley could find out.

  She had heard nothing the previous evening from either Crowley or Maureen and just as she was getting worried, Crowley walked through the door.

  “Crowley, it can’t be seven yet,” Ettie said a little too loudly and woke Bailey.

  Bailey Rivers blinked and stretched his hands above his head. “I can’t believe I slept. Morning, Crowley.”

  Crowley nodded his head. “Rivers.”

  “I’ll leave you two alone. Silvie’s working this morning and I want to see her before she goes.” Bailey stood up then leaned over and kissed Ettie on her cheek before he walked out the door.

  Crowley promptly sat in the empty chair. “Ettie, I’ve something to tell you. Yesterday afternoon, Milton Morcombe agreed to have his mother’s body taken for an autopsy. The autopsy was performed last night in a different hospital.”

  “And?”

  “As we suspected, there were several body parts missing.”

  “I thought as much.” Ettie told Crowley how the nurse had ordered an x-ray for her and then assaulted her before getting a phone call.

  “You were lucky then; she must have been tipped off by her husband after we left the funeral home. There’s a warrant out for the arrest of Deirdre Hadley and her brother. Her brother was the one who signed Judith’s death certificate. I’ve got a warrant to search the Hadleys’ home and the funeral parlor. I doubt that we’ll find anything since he’s had the whole night to destroy any evidence. At least we’ve got Judith’s autopsy report as evidence.”

  Ettie smiled. “I might be alright to leave this place today.”

  The detective’s lips twitched. “I’d say your job is done and if you’re well enough to go home then you should.”

  “Yes, Maureen said she’d come and look after me, which will make things easier for Elsa-May.”

  “Maureen seems a good friend to you.”

  “She’s always been a dear friend. The doctor will be making his rounds and I’ll tell him I’m fit and well and have someone to look after me at home. I’m pleased this is all over.”

  “It’s not quite over at this stage. Nurse Hadley and her brother are on the run. They could have made quite a sum of money if they’ve been doing this for a while.” Crowley leaned forward. “I’ll keep you informed. For now, I’ll stay with you until someone arrives.”

  “No, you help find Nurse Hadley and her brother. Elsa-May or Maureen will be here any minute; I’m sure.”

  “We’ve got a team on it. I’m not needed until they’re brought in for questioning.” He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and studied it.

  A moment later, Elsa-May came into the room. When the detective told Elsa-May all that had happened, she insisted Ettie check herself out and not wait for the doctor.

  “I’m sure you’re alright now, Ettie. We’ll book an appointment with your own doctor for this afternoon or tomorrow; he’ll give you a general check-up. I find it too eerie for you to stay in this place any longer than necessary.”

  Ettie looked at the detective and he nodded. “It’s most likely best that you go home, Ettie. That is, if you feel up to it.”

  “I felt up to it days ago.”

  When the detective left, Elsa-May set about packing the small bag that Ettie brought to the hospital.

  “Elsa-May, I told the detective that you or Maureen would be in soon and he insisted on waiting. I thought that I saw in his eyes that he was disappointed that Maureen hadn’t come by this morning.”

  “
Why would she come in this early?”

  “You’re missing my point, Elsa-May. Do you think it’s possible that the detective is sweet on Maureen?”

  Elsa-May looked up from folding Ettie’s nightgown. She studied Ettie for a moment before she said, “Nee, I don’t think so. And you should not think about such things either. Do not mention anything of the kind to Maureen.”

  Ettie frowned and wondered why it was that Elsa-May never agreed with anything she suggested.

  Nurse McBride breezed into the room. “Morning.”

  “Good morning,” Ettie said, then leaned over and asked Elsa-May to make her a cup of tea.

  When Elsa-May left the room, the nurse looked at Ettie’s half packed bag. “Are you going home today?”

  “Yes, I’m feeling better and I’ll get my own doctor to look at me this afternoon. I’m sure I’ll feel even better in my own home.”

  The nurse looked over her shoulder at the door then turned back to Ettie. “There are rumors going around the hospital about Nurse Hadley being arrested. Did your policeman friend have anything to do with that?”

  “Yes, and the information you gave me was very helpful. Thank you.”

  The nurse smiled while she took Ettie’s blood pressure.

  “My policeman friend said Deirdre’s husband has been arrested too. It was something to do with selling body organs.”

  “That’s terrible,” nurse McBride said.

  “My friend also said that there was a warrant out for the arrest of nurse Hadley’s brother.”

  “I always thought that there was something funny about both of them.”

  “And you were right,” Ettie said. “The police also think there is someone else involved here in the hospital.”

  “Really? Why, what did they say?”

  “That’s all my friend told me.”

  Nurse McBride stepped back from Ettie. “I can’t imagine anyone else here would be involved in something like that.”

  Ettie shrugged her shoulders just as Elsa-May came back in the room with her tea. The nurse left the room after she took Ettie’s temperature and jotted some figures on Ettie’s chart.