"Snowy and I'll wait for you by the front door."
* * *
While they walked in the cool morning air, they discussed who might be responsible for the death of Earl Fuller. They didn’t come up with any new scenarios, and just when they were on the home stretch, they saw a white car pull up outside their house. Someone walked up to their front door.
"Who could that be?" Elsa-May asked, squinting to see the driver.
“It’s a young woman.”
When they got closer, Elsa-May said, “It’s Roslyn, Betsy’s pen pal.”
“Why is she here?”
“I gave her our address.”
“Why did you do that?”
“She was hesitant to give me Betsy’s address, so I gave her ours.”
“You didn’t tell me that.”
“I don’t need to tell you everything.”
Ettie and Elsa-May came up behind Roslyn as she knocked on their door.
“Hello, Roslyn,” Elsa-May said.
She swung around. “Oh, hello. Have I caught you heading out or coming home?"
"We just finished walking the dog,” Ettie said.
“Are you here with news of Betsy?" Elsa-May asked. “We spoke with her at the hospital where she worked.”
"I thought there is something you might like to know about Betsy."
Elsa-May and Ettie looked at one another.
"I'll put on a pot of tea, and we’ll sit by the fire," Ettie said.
"I'll put Snowy outside while you put the pot on to boil, Ettie. Roslyn, make yourself comfortable by the fire."
When they were all sitting in the living room in front of a raging fire with hot tea, Roslyn began, "The last few letters I got from Betsy were all about Earl. She was being obsessive. I was worried. She asked me if I could help her find out where he was. I refused and told her that the way he’d treated her she shouldn’t be interested. She hadn't mentioned him for years and I hoped she wasn't trying to reunite with him or anything."
"Why didn't you tell me the other day?"
"I don't know. It's only now that I was thinking things over and I thought somebody should know. Especially with Earl being murdered."
"Do you still have those letters?"
"I do. I have them at home."
"What else did she say?"
"She asked whether I might be able to find out where Earl was. I know someone who works for the IRS and she asked me to see if my friend would somehow be able to find his address."
"And do you know if she’s in contact with anybody else in her old community?"
Roslyn shook her head. "Not that I know of. I don't think so, but she could be."
"Denke, Roslyn. You’ve been very helpful."
"I just hope she didn’t do anything foolish.”
"Do you mind telling the police what you told us?"
"I’m not comfortable talking to them. I will if you think it’s important.”
“It might be and it might not be,” Ettie said. “We’ll let the detective know what you told us.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to get Betsy into trouble. Maybe I shouldn’t have come here.”
* * *
When Roslyn left, Ettie and Elsa-May hurried down to the road to call Crowley and tell him what they had learned.
"We had better go back and visit Betsy. I'll have someone from the station call the hospital and find out what shifts she’s on. It’s better if we can catch her at home.
* * *
Half an hour later, Crowley was standing at their front door.
"I've just learned that Betsy is finishing a shift in half an hour. If we leave now we can catch her at home. Unless you ladies have something better to do this evening?"
"This takes priority," Ettie said.
Elsa-May said, "Doesn't Detective Kelly want to speak with her?"
"I ran it by him and he's following other leads."
"I don't think we'll find out too much if you're there with us," Ettie said to Crowley.
"I'm just the driver; you ladies can talk with her by yourselves, and I’ll wait in the car."
Ettie and Elsa-May knocked on Betsy’s door. They didn't have to wait long before the door opened and Betsy stood there in her scrubs.
"This is a nice surprise. Come inside."
The sisters walked inside and followed Betsy to her small living room.
"Is this about Earl?" Betsy asked.
"Yes, it is."
"I don't see how I can help you. What is it you want to know?"
"We heard from your old pen pal that you were talking a lot about Earl in your letters.”
"Yes, that's right."
Elsa-May asked, "And why was that?"
"When I ran away with him, it changed the course of my life. It took me some time to get my life back together and I was just curious to find out where he ended up."
"What do you know about a drug called meperidine?" Ettie noticed Betsy’s eyes flicking about as though she didn’t know where to look.
“It’s a fairly common drug, commonly known as demerol. Of course, I’ve heard of it.”
“Common, but only available by prescription,” Elsa-May pointed out.
Ettie continued, “Betsy, this is how I think things played out. You ran into a man, a pharmaceutical salesman, Michael Skully, and you forged some kind of a friendship. Soon you found out you had an acquaintance in common and that was Earl Fuller. He was an enemy to both of you. You wanted to pay him back for what he’d done to you, and Michael simply wanted him out of the way for the sake of his girlfriend."
A tear trickled down Betsy’s face. "We didn't kill him."
Ettie leaned forward, "Tell me what happened, Betsy—the truth this time."
Betsy breathed heavily. “I need a drink of water.”
The elderly widows waited patiently for Betsy, and when she came back, she began her story, "We had it all planned out, but we didn't end up killing him. Earlier that evening, I put meperidine in Earl’s drink, wanting him dead. I got it from Michael. It was supposed to kill him but he only drank half of it. I tried to get him to drink the rest, but he said he had things to do that night. He mumbled about someone sending him a note and trying to make things right.” She wiped another tear from her eye.
“Go on,” Elsa-May said.
“I didn’t know what to do. I called Michael in a panic telling him that he didn't drink all of it and Michael suggested that we follow him and finish him off." She looked down into her hands that were fidgeting in her lap. "All this is so awful."
Elsa-May said softly. "Go on. Then what happened?"
“We followed him to a house and then it was dark and we couldn’t see him. We knew he hadn’t gone into the house. We got out of the car and walked closer, and then we found his body there with a rope around his neck and he was dead. We got out of there quick. We ran back to the car and tried to drive away but the battery in the car was dead."
"And then you got out of the car and walked away while Michael stayed there and tried to start the car."
"Yes, how did you know?"
"Santa Claus told me."
"What Ettie means is that a man dressed as Santa Claus was in the street, and he heard various car doors opening and closing.”
"Oh. Will they arrest me?"
“I think your best chance is to come with us and turn yourself in. Tell them what you know and what your part in it was.”
“Otherwise, this will haunt you forever,” Elsa-May added.
“Okay. I’ll do what you say. I’ve had enough trouble in my life. I’ve learned it’s best to face things rather than run away from them. I've wished I could turn back the clock.”
Ettie and Elsa-May accompanied Betsy out to Crowley’s car and he drove them to the police station.
* * *
When Betsy was taken into an interview room, the sisters waited for her while Crowley disappeared somewhere in response to a call on his cell phone.
As they s
at, Elsa-May whispered to Ettie, “Do you believe that she didn’t do it?”
“She tried to kill him. I don’t think she’ll get off lightly.”
“That’s not what I asked. How do we know what she’s saying is the truth?”
“I don’t suppose we do. But, if what’s she’s saying is right, who finished him off outside our haus?”
“Ettie, didn’t she say there was a rope around his neck?”
Ettie nodded. “That’s right and by the time I got there just behind Crowley, there was nothing around that anyone could’ve strangled him with.”
“So, we have a missing piece of rope?”
“It appears we do.”
A little while later, Detective Kelly came and sat beside them. “Good evening, ladies.”
“Hello, Detective Kelly. Were you interviewing Betsy Stoll?”
“I wasn’t directly, but I heard what she had to say.”
"Will you arrest her?”
He shook his head. “Not at this stage. We still have to determine if she’s telling the truth or trying to save Michael and herself from a murder charge. It works against us if we arrest people without proper evidence.”
“While Ettie and I’ve been sitting here, we realized that Betsy mentioned that there was a rope around Earl’s neck.”
Ettie added, “And I reached the body just behind Ronald, and there was nothing around his neck. I remember Ronald stating that there was nothing around that he could’ve been strangled with. It’s a little fuzzy now, but I assume that Ronald must’ve seen marks on his neck or something like that.”
Kelly scratched his head. "Yes, you’re right. I’d thought of that. Where did that rope get to? We need to find it. According to the coroner, he was strangled with a rope. There were fibers embedded into his neck and the wounds were consistent with a corded nylon rope. It seems Betsy was telling the truth about that.”
"Perhaps you should talk to Santa Claus again?" Ettie asked. “To ask if he saw a rope.”
Detective Kelly stuck his nose in the air. "The man’s not right in the head, Mrs. Smith, we can't really rely on anything he says. There’d be no point.”
"Well that might be true, but don’t you think it would be interesting to hear what he said about a rope?"
"I’ll go over the evidence and make a determination whether I have enough to arrest Skully and possibly Betsy as his accomplice. Attempted murder is a serious felony. Since Betsy’s come forward first, she’ll be better off than Skully.”
"Will Betsy be able to go home tonight?”
“Later. And we’ll need to search your house."
“Of course, any time,” Ettie said.
“I’ll get a team out there tomorrow. We’ve gone right through your garden and your front yard.”
"Do you mind if Ettie and I visit Santa?"
"It's a free country.” Kelly was then called away by Ronson, the young detective who had been at the sisters’ house on Christmas Day.
Ettie and Elsa-May stared at each other again.
"It seems like they’ll be charged for attempted murder,” Ettie said.
Elsa-May sighed. “That’s what they did. Unless, they were lying and they really did it. Attempted murder’s a better charge than murder.”
"Well, she didn't have to tell us what she told us. And I’d guess she wouldn’t have said anything if she were guilty of actually murdering him.”
"Don’t worry, Ettie, Kelly said she’d get off lighter for coming forward.”
Crowley approached them. "I'll take you ladies home now.”
"But what about Betsy?"
"An officer will drive her home. She’ll be okay. They won’t keep her too much longer. They’re preparing a statement for her to sign.”
"Thank you, Ronald. It's been very good to have your help throughout this whole thing, and I know Myra appreciates your support."
Crowley smiled somewhat wistfully, and gave a small nod.
Chapter 21
The next day, Ettie and Elsa-May sat in front of Santa Claus in the day room of the facility where he lived.
“I was hoping you’d come back to visit me, but I didn’t think it’d be so soon. Where’s Ronald?”
“He couldn’t come today. We just have a couple of questions. We won’t keep you long.”
“I’ve got all the time in the world, until next Christmas.”
Ettie cleared her throat. “When you found the man outside our house, did you see a rope around his neck?"
"I thought the man was drunk so I gave him a bit of a nudge and when he didn't move I put my head against his chest to see if he was breathing. He wasn’t. After that, I put my two fingers on his neck to see if there was a pulse." He shook his head. "There was no pulse, and no rope around his neck.”
"Thank you, Santa, for clearing something up.”
Elsa-May asked, “Can you tell us everything you saw and heard from the moment you entered the street?”
“Didn’t I tell you this already?” His blue eyes twinkled as he stared from one sister to the other.
“Yes, but our memory is nowhere near as good as yours.”
His rosy cheeks puffed out as he smiled. “Mind if I close my eyes while I talk? I remember better that way.”
“Go ahead,” Elsa-May said. “We’ll sit here and listen.”
“I reached the dark street…”
“How did you get there?” Elsa-May asked, which made Santa jolt and open his eyes.
Ettie dug her in the ribs. “You said you’d sit quietly.”
“Yes, sorry.” Elsa-May turned to Santa. “Go on.”
He nodded and said, “A taxi took me to the end of the street. I went on from there.”
“Very good,” Elsa-May said with a nod while Ettie frowned at her when because she’d caused Santa to open his eyes again.
Santa closed his eyes once more. “I got out of the taxi, paid the driver and he went on his way. I had my donations tin in my hand and I made my way up the street. A car drove past me and the driver was a man, Michael Skully…”
“But you didn’t know him before that night, before you overheard him tell the police his name?”
“Santa Claus knows everyone.”
“Yes, of course,” Ettie said. “Sorry for interrupting, continue.”
“Michael slowed down and had a good look at me and then he kept going. Later the police found him in the car across the street.”
“Could there have been anyone else in the car with him?” Ettie asked knowing now that there was.
“I’m almost certain there was because I heard the two car doors open and close while I was at the first house in the street. Then a few minutes after that, they opened and closed again, and then I heard the car try to start but it wouldn’t kick over. After that another door opened and closed."
"Did you see or hear anything else?”
“Only a distant buggy.”
“How distant?” Elsa-May asked.
“It was hard to tell, but the clip-clopping reminded me I was in Amish country.”
“It must’ve been close by because the snow would’ve muffled the sound to some degree,” Elsa-May said to Ettie.
“Did you hear any other cars?” Ettie asked.
“No.”
“Then what happened?”
“I approached your house, found the dead man, and I’ve told you the rest already.”
“There’s nothing you forgot to mention? Because we didn’t hear about the buggy the last time we spoke.”
“No. There’s nothing else.”
The sisters weren’t home long when they got a surprise visit from Myra.
She sat down on the couch looking terribly distressed.
"Did Crowley tell you the latest?" Elsa-May asked.
"Yes. He told me that Michael and Betsy had some involvement. I didn't even know that Michael knew Betsy.”
“I don’t think there was anything beyond a friendship. So don’t be concerned.”
My
ra nodded. “I’m not thinking about anything like that. I just don’t like to think that Michael might have done something wrong.”
“The police said they want to come here to search the place. They’re looking for a missing rope that Earl was strangled with.”
A tear trickle down Myra’s cheek. "I have such terrible trouble choosing men. What did Betsy tell you?”
Ettie told Myra everything they were told by Betsy, and then everything that Santa had told them.
Myra shook her head. "I still can't believe it. I still can't believe Michael would do such a thing.” Myra burst into tears.
Ettie looked over at Elsa-May wondering what to do. She then sat closer and patted Myra on her back.
Myra looked up at them through tear-filled eyes. “I was the one who took the rope!”
Chapter 22
“What?” Ettie asked, trying to make sense of Myra’s words.
“How could you have taken the rope, Myra, if you were in the house the whole time?” Elsa-May asked as she leaned across and offered Myra a white handkerchief.
Myra unfolded it and blew her nose. “I was on my way to make a call when I got stuck talking to people, and then Crowley came and I was talking to him. I slipped outside for a moment to make that call to postpone the talk I was going to have with Earl.”
“Did you talk to Earl?”
“No. His phone went straight to his message service. Anyway, then I saw a body, and, looking closer I saw it was Earl. I heard a car trying to start and I was upset to see that it was Michael’s car. In the light coming out from the window, I saw a rope. Then I heard someone whistling Silent Night and coming my way. The whistling was growing louder. I knew I had to do something. My first thought was to help Michael, since Earl was already dead. I pulled the rope off his neck and ran around the side of the house.”
“Where is the rope?” Elsa-May asked.
“I threw it under the house, around the side. Then I came back inside by the back door so no one would see I was gone. I sat back down just as Ronald brought me over a drink. I guess that’s why he thought I was there, in the house, the whole time.”
Amish Christmas Mystery Page 10
