Myra shook her head. “I knew it was too good to be true.”
Crowley cleared his throat. “Myra, do you still have that invitation?"
"Yes, I do. I've got it in my handbag in the living room.”
"Mind if we take a look?"
"Do you want me to get it right now?"
"Yes, please.”
Myra pushed out her chair and left the kitchen.
Detective Kelly said to Ettie, "Who do you think would've played this prank on you and your sister?"
Ettie thought for a moment. "I don’t know anyone who would’ve done it. I'm not particularly close with Naomi or Moses, so I was surprised at them showing up at my door, but it makes sense now because they both had grievances with Earl."
Ronson said, "So you think this was all a set up to kill Earl? Perhaps to give someone an alibi, or to cover someone’s tracks in some way?"
Detective Kelly glared at Ronson. "Just take the notes."
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.” Ronson hung his head and looked back down at his notes.
“He’s new,” Kelly explained to Ettie.
“That’s quite all right. We all have to start somewhere.”
The young man looked up at Ettie and offered a weak smile.
Myra flounced back into the room with the invitation and passed it over to Detective Kelly who scanned his eyes up and down it.
“Can I see it?” Ettie asked.
Kelly handed it to Ettie. “It’s nothing like my handwriting.”
“It looked like it to me,” Myra said.
Kelly leaned over and plucked the invitation out of Ettie’s hands.
"We might have to hang onto this, Marie, if that's okay."
"It’s Myra! Keep it! I don't want it.” As she sat, she gave her mother a sour look and then looked back at Kelly. “Do you have any more questions, Detective?”
“Not for now, but we might need to speak to you later.”
“Later, another day? Can Michael and I go home now?”
“No!” Crowley said before Kelly had a chance. “We’ll need to speak to everybody before anyone leaves; that means Michael too.”
“What happened to Santa?” Myra asked.
"Santa Claus left,” Kelly said bluntly.
"We had to take him down to the station to lock him up. We think he’d been drinking,” Ronson explained.
"You’re locking up Santa Claus on Christmas day?"
“He’s not the real Santa,” Ronson said.
Detective Kelly said, "That's all for now, thank you Mara."
“It’s Myra,” she corrected him once again.
“Sorry. Thank you, Myra.”
When Myra left the kitchen, Kelly turned to Ronson. “Why are you going on about the real Santa? I suppose you believe that there is a real one living at the North Pole?” Kelly laughed and looked at Crowley, expecting him to laugh too. Crowley gave a slight raise of his eyebrows and remained silent.
“I didn’t want people to think poorly of the police for locking up an old man at Christmas time. And it does look bad to have Santa in a cell at Christmas time.”
Kelly frowned. “It’s for his own good. And for the good of the investigation.” Kelly’s phone sounded and he pulled it out of his inner coat pocket. “Yes? Well, that explains a lot. Keep him there and I’ll talk to him again when I get there.” Kelly put the phone back in his pocket.
“Is everything all right?” Ettie asked.
“We had a report of a missing person from one of the mental health facilities. One of their patients went missing in his Santa suit. Their patient believes he’s Santa.” Kelly chuckled as he explained. “He goes missing every Christmas, delivering presents and trying to get back to his wife at the North Pole."
“That’s sad,” Ettie said. “Poor Santa.”
"Does he have a history of violence?" Crowley asked.
“They said he’s harmless.” Kelly’s attention turned to Ettie. “Mrs. Smith, would you mind bringing Michael in to us?”
“Yes, of course I'll get him.”
“And then can you wait in the living room?”
When Ettie told Michael the police wanted to talk with him, she showed him to the kitchen and waited outside so she could hear everything. She knew it wasn’t good to eavesdrop, but a man had been murdered outside her house, so she figured that gave her the right.
Detective Kelly wasted no time getting to the point. “Michael Skully, did you kill Earl Fuller?"
"No! I did not.”
“Why were you in the street at the same time the man was murdered?”
“Myra asked me to come here and at first I said no, but then I changed my mind. I thought Myra and her mother would’ve had enough time to reconcile and I wanted to meet Myra’s mother.”
“Did you see anyone else in the street?”
“No. I stopped the car, and in my mind I went back and forth about whether I should go inside, and I decided it was a bad idea so I tried to start the car to drive away, but it wouldn’t start. Next thing I know, the place was swarming with cops.”
“Did you know the deceased?”
“I met him once or twice.”
“That’s a yes?” Ronson asked.
“Yes.”
Kelly continued, “And you knew he was an enemy of your… girlfriend’s?”
“I knew he’d stolen her idea. Myra and I do talk about things.”
Ettie peeped around the door to see Kelly lower his right eyebrow the way he did when someone was annoying him. Michael’s tone was bordering on sarcastic.
Kelly looked over and saw Ettie. “Mrs. Smith, kindly close the door, would you?”
Ettie closed the door, annoyed with herself for not staying out of sight.
The next person to be interviewed was Moses who in his own quiet way made it clear that he wasn’t happy with Earl for taking his daughter away. He hadn't seen his daughter since that day and didn't even know where she was. They asked him about the Christmas invitation that had been sent to him. Moses was able to tell them word-for-word what the invitation had said. Ettie heard the words through the door. ‘A Christmas dinner that you’ll never forget.’
It was certainly a Christmas day that Ettie wouldn’t easily forget.
The next person to sit in front of the detective was Naomi Fuller. Naomi was Earl’s wife whom he’d deserted. Naomi was understandably hurt and angry with Earl for leaving her to run away with another woman.
Ettie couldn't blame Naomi for the bitterness she still carried. With the Amish there was no divorce and Naomi had been reasonably young when he’d left her. She was forced to live a lonely life without children or husband.
As all the other guests filed into the kitchen one by one for their questioning, Ettie realized that all of them were people Myra knew from her childhood. This was all to do with Myra. Everyone had come there tonight because of Myra.
Ettie had managed to hear enough through the closed door to learn that no one had noticed anyone go outside her house and then return.
Elsa-May came up beside Ettie. "Have they finished interviewing everyone yet?"
"There are only a couple more people to go now. And then there's you."
"Well, I know nothing.”
"Elsa-May, I never thought I'd hear you say those words."
Elsa-May chuckled.
Ettie added, "And they found out that Santa Claus wasn't really Santa Claus.”
"Thanks for enlightening me."
"Well, he didn't know that. He thinks he's the real Santa Claus who lives at the North Pole, when he really lives in some kind of an institution.”
"He thinks he's really Santa Claus?" Elsa-May asked.
"It seems so."
Chapter 6
After the detective finished interviewing everyone, Kelly took Ronson's notes and was going over them when Ettie stepped into the kitchen.
"Mind if I have a word?"
"Take a seat."
Ettie sat down in front of the three men. "I don't think it'
s a prank that people were invited here tonight. With the exception of Michael, everyone here is someone that Myra knew from when she was growing up in the community.”
"So it's all about Myra?" Detective Kelly asked.
"I'm sure of it.”
"Do you have any idea why Earl would come to your house?” Kelly asked.
Before she could answer, Crowley asked, “Do you think he also had an invitation?"
“Myra said she invited him here.”
Kelly took his phone from his pocket. "Let me make a call. I'll see if they found anything in his car.” A few minutes later, Kelly ended the call not looking too happy. "He had an invitation in his car from Myra saying to meet him at this address. The note was signed from Myra and said she hoped they could sort out their differences once and for all.”
Ettie’s jaw dropped open when it dawned on her that things now didn’t look good for Myra.
“Ettie, can you send Myra in again?" Kelly asked.
Ettie hurried to fetch Myra who was sitting close to Michael on the couch.
"The detective wants to speak to you again."
"Okay." Myra followed Ettie back into the kitchen.
Once Myra and Ettie were seated, Kelly told her about the note found in Earl’s car.
"Yes, I sent it. I wanted to make amends with him."
"But you’ve got no idea who sent the invitations on behalf of your mother and your aunt?"
"Do you think I killed Earl? It couldn't have been me because I didn't even leave the house."
"It appears no one did,” Kelly said.
“Or, no one noticed anyone leave the house,” Ronson added.
Kelly ignored Ronson. “I understand your concerns, Mrs. Smith, about what happened here tonight, but I think what we might have here is nothing more than a prank. Earl’s murder could have been a random killing. The prankster who sent those invitations is probably under your roof right now. Maybe it’s someone who knew Myra back in the day, and knew of her annoyance with Earl. They could very well have wanted to watch some drama play out before them. People are strange like that.”
“But why was he murdered?" Ettie said.
“I'd say if someone was deluded enough to believe they are really Santa Claus they would probably be mad enough to kill someone."
"He seemed a harmless old man." Ettie said. “Are you thinking he murdered Earl?”
"It’s possible. We’ve got everyone’s handwriting.” He turned to Ronson. “Haven’t we?”
“Yes, sir, and everyone’s names and addresses.”
“We’ll run the handwriting up to an analyst and I’m hundred percent positive that we’ll find a match from someone here tonight.”
Ettie nodded. “I’d feel better knowing who organized this whole thing.”
"What happens now?" Myra asked.
"We’ll see what the forensics team has found, and meanwhile Earl’s relatives will need to be informed.”
Ettie said, “There’s Naomi his wife, whom you’ve already spoken with, and then there are a few brothers scattered around the country. I’m sure Naomi could inform them.”
Myra added, “He didn’t have any close family.”
"Can people go now?" Ettie asked.
Detective Kelly looked at Ronson. "Have we got everything we need?”
"Yes, sir.”
"Good.” He looked back at Ettie. “I’ll just make a call to see where the evidence technicians are up to.” Kelly made the call and then slipped his phone back in his pocket. “The body’s been taken away and his car towed.” He stared at Ettie. “Oh, I’m sorry, Mrs. Smith. I know you don’t like anyone using phones in your house.”
“Under the circumstances, that’s quite all right.”
He glanced at his watch. “Two o’clock already. I’m sorry it’s been such a long night.”
"Oh, it's past midnight?" Ettie asked, worried about Snowy closed in Elsa-May’s bedroom for so long.
"Sorry to keep you up so late, Mrs Smith. And it's a pity all this has ruined your Christmas day."
"That’s okay. Today is Second Christmas."
"You have a Second Christmas?"
"That's right. Some Amish communities celebrate a Second Christmas on the twenty-sixth of December."
"I had no idea."
Crowley chuckled. "It surprised me when I heard about it, too. It seemed quite odd. No offence or anything, Ettie."
"None taken.”
Detective Kelly walked into the living room and told the guests they could go home.
"Do you know who did it yet?” Moses asked as he stood up from one of the chairs near the fire.
“Not at this stage,” Kelly answered. “The investigation’s ongoing. You’ll all most likely be contacted again if we need to ask you any more questions.”
One by one, people left, much like they’d arrived.
“Well, Mother, it was good to see you again.”
“I do hope we can work out our differences one day,” Ettie said.
“I doubt it,” Myra said as her eyes darted to Crowley, who was staring at her. “And it was good to see you too, Ronald.”
“Come on, Myra,” Michael said, taking hold of her arm.
When Myra and Michael walked out the front door, Crowley stood staring after them.
Ettie felt sorry for him. He clearly had feelings for Myra.
“I’ll stay until everyone goes,” Crowley said as he turned his gaze toward Ettie.
“Thank you.”
* * *
Ettie and Elsa-May were finally able to go to bed an hour later.
Ettie lay in bed thinking about what had happened that day. Detective Kelly had promised them he’d keep in contact and let them know what the investigators found out.
It was awful to think that they were inside enjoying Christmas when a man was outside taking his last breath. And, why, and how, was Myra involved in it all?
Chapter 7
Ettie woke the next morning, pulled on her dressing gown and headed into the kitchen. She sighed heavily when she saw plates and dishes all over the place. She’d been too tired to notice the state the kitchen had been in the night before. They had never before left the place in a mess like this.
Elsa-May came up behind her and stared at the pile of dirty plates and bowls.
“Merry Christmas to us,” Ettie said.
Elsa-May chortled. "Come on, it won't take long for the both of us to get this sorted.”
Just as they had washed and dried the last plate, three loud knocks sounded at the door.
"What now?" Ettie asked. “I hope this all doesn’t play out again for Second Christmas. If it does, I’m not letting anyone inside.”
Elsa-May said, "I'll try to work out who these serving dishes belong to while you answer the door.”
Ettie sighed figuring that once again, Elsa-May had taken the easier option. "I hope it's not Santa Claus asking directions to the North Pole." Ettie opened the door to see Myra. She looked around for her boyfriend, but she’d come alone.
"Can I come in, Mother, or are you going to leave me outside all day?"
Ettie stepped aside. "Of course, you can come in."
"I couldn't sleep all night. I was too worried about what happened here yesterday.” Myra sat herself heavily on the couch. "I'm worried that someone is trying to frame me for murder."
"And who do you think might be doing that?"
"You could at least tell me that no one would do that. Or, at the very least, that I was letting my imagination run away with me."
Ettie pursed her lips and was glad when Elsa-May joined them.
“Myra, did you come to get one of your serving dishes?"
"No. I came to see who might be trying to make it look like I killed Earl."
"Oh! Who do you think it would be?"
Myra scowled. "You two are very much alike."
Ettie and Elsa-May stared at each other.
"I don't think we’re anything alike,” Ettie said.
"The reason I'm here is I want you both to help me figure this out. I'll drive you to my home and then I'll tell you the full story. I'll tell you everything about Earl and myself, and hopefully we’ll be able to find out what happened."
"What makes you think we’ll be able to do that?" Elsa-May asked.
"You helped me when that no good husband of mine disappeared a few years ago. So I thought you'd be able to help me now.” She stood up. "Unless you don't want to.”
Ettie pushed herself to her feet. "We do want to help you, don't we, Elsa-May?"
Elsa-May nodded. "We’ll help you as much as we can, Myra."
Myra looked round the house. "I don't feel comfortable in this Amish setting with the bland walls in this dark little dingy house. I know you’ve tried to brighten it up with the Christmas lanterns and the candles, but it’s still depressing."
Ettie looked around at the place she called home. It was small, but it wasn’t dark. For Christmas they had white candles in the windowsills and had hung lanterns from the ceilings to give the place the feel of Christmas.
"Where would you rather talk?" Elsa-May asked
"As I said, I’d like to take the two of you back to my house."
"You live close by?" Ettie asked.
Myra stared at her mother. “You really didn’t send the invitation. You didn’t even have my new address.”
Ettie nodded. “That’s what I’ve said all along.”
"I live around half an hour away.”
"Can we bring Snowy?" Elsa-May asked, looking at her dog curled up on his bed in the corner.
"Is he house trained?" Myra asked.
"Yes, he is."
“More or less,” Ettie added.
“He is, Ettie.”
"Okay,” Myra answered, “But you'll have to put him on your lap in the car. I don't want him on my good leather seats."
* * *
As they set off, Ettie asked Myra if she would mind stopping by at Jeremiah and Ava’s house. Ettie was keen to explain to Ava why they hadn't stopped by the night before.
Myra reluctantly agreed and told Ettie to be quick. Once they were there, Ettie got out of the car. "Are you coming, Elsa-May?"
Amish Christmas Mystery Page 4
