He pushed his hat back on his head. “It’ll be okay. You’ll see.”
She gave him a sideways glance wondering why her grandfather had chosen him to look after his house until she met the terms of the will. “You knew my grandfather well?”
“Yes, very much so. He and I got along nicely. I was always over there listening to all his stories. It was sad he died in jail like he did.”
“What?” Had she heard right? “Wait a minute. Did you say he died in …? in … jail?” She stared at him, carefully watching his lips, so she wouldn’t mistake his answer.
He frowned at her. “You didn’t know?”
“Jail?”
Gabriel nodded. “Yes, he was in jail.”
“What for?”
“Nothing much.” He shook his head.
“What?” she repeated, now losing what little she had left of her patience.
“He admitted to killing someone, but we all know he didn’t do it. It could’ve even been an accident, but—”
She immediately was sick to the stomach. “Stop the buggy.”
He didn’t waste time pulling the buggy off to one side of the country road. She jumped out and started walking through the grass at the roadside with her hand over her stomach. What would Eugene say when he found out her grandfather was a criminal? Being a lawyer with high hopes of becoming a judge, he’d been pleased she’d had no criminals in her family history. They’d had a conversation about it. He’d ended his last relationship when he found out the girl’s father had spent some months in jail for a white-collar crime. That was just fraud, nothing like a murder. If he found out about Abner he’d surely dump her and marry someone more suited.
“Are you alright, Selena?”
She heard Gabriel’s voice from behind her. “Yes.” She snapped at him and then was immediately sorry. He’d done nothing wrong and was trying to be helpful. She swung around. “I’m sorry. I’m just tired and angry, and now I hear about a murder. It’s too much.”
“He didn’t do it.” The stupid grin was back plastered all over his face.
“You said he admitted it.”
“That’s right.”
She fought back tears. Her life as she knew it, was over. “He must’ve done it.”
He looked thoughtful. “I know that’s how it sounds.”
She shook her head. “Just give me a moment.” She turned around and walked some more, wondering what to do. Until she found out more she’d have to keep it secret from Eugene or their perfect life would unravel faster than she’d driven his new Mercedes on the open road. She inhaled deeply. Keep it together. When she swung around, she saw Gabriel sitting patiently in the buggy. She’d really have to try to be nicer to him. He was patient even when she was rude to him and that made her feel awful.
“You okay?” he called out again as she walked back to him.
“Yes.” Once she climbed back beside him, she said, “Could you please tell me all you know about this crime?”
He took off his hat, licked his lips and then ran a hand through his hair. “Someone was run down in the street.”
“Like a hit-and-run?”
“Yes. And, many years later, Abner admitted to it.”
“How many years are we talking?”
He shook his head. “So long ago. Twenty or thirty years, or something.”
“He can’t have been in jail that long. I visited him when I was about eight in the house I was just at. I remember that, and now I’m twenty-four.”
He smiled. “Same age as me.”
She managed a weak smile in an effort to be nice.
“He only went to prison a few months before he died, and he died five years ago. The police visited him again because they were re-investigating it and that’s when he told them he did it. You see, the man was run over many years ago and the police didn’t find anyone who had done it. Years later they were looking at it again and they came around asking questions of Abner. That’s when he said he did it.”
She’d never heard of anyone admitting to an unsolved crime years later. “It all sounds very odd. He just volunteered that he did it? Was there an interrogation, witnesses who came forward or anything?”
“Yes and no.” He smiled at her.
She shook her head.
“Yes, he admitted it, and no, there was no interrogation or witnesses who came forward.”
She slumped lower in the buggy seat. “The man was run over by a buggy? That doesn’t make sense. I can understand how it might cause serious injuries, but death? How fast was the buggy going? I’ve never heard of a horse and buggy galloping.”
“No, a car. Abner claimed he borrowed a car and wouldn’t say who from or anything.”
“Hmm, that’s odd that he would drive a car. He was still in the community, right?”
“Of course. He never left.”
She still had some friends on the force from her brief career in law enforcement. They weren’t allowed to give out information to civilians, so she’d be asking a lot if she reached out to them. “How can I find out more about what happened?”
“I’ll tell you all about it. Thirty-something years ago a man who did odd jobs for your grandfather was run down in the street. His name was Wayne Robinson. The driver didn’t stop. The man wasn’t too popular, and he had a few enemies. Was it an accident and someone didn’t stop?”
“I don’t know. How would I have any answers?”
He frowned at her. “I’m not finished. Here's the next question. 'Or, did someone kill him on purpose?'“
“Is there anyone around here who might know what actually happened, in some detail? Do you remember who the investigating officers were?”
His grin widened. “No, but I can take you to some very nice Amish people who can tell you more.”
She sighed. “Will they be able to help?”
“I think so. They were trying to get Abner out of jail.”
She brightened up. That sounded hopeful. If these people thought he hadn't done it, maybe he hadn't. It also sounded odd that Abner would have claimed to be driving a car. From what her mother said, Abner was a man of God, who was always preaching to his daughter to stay on the narrow path. Would this man have strayed? The grandfather she’d been told about wouldn’t have.
He added, “I know these two women well.”
“Oh, good. Where can I find them?”
“I’ll take you to them right now. Unless you’d like to look at the house first?”
She prioritized everything. If Eugene found out about the skeleton in her family’s closet, he’d call off the wedding for sure, and then she wouldn’t inherit the house for years. “Take me to these people first, please.”
“Okay.” He pulled the horse back onto the road and then turned the horse and buggy around.
Chapter 2
Ettie continued her knitting, helping Elsa-May knit small brown squares to be assembled into teddy bears for the hospital. It was all they’d been doing of late and Ettie wanted nothing more than to get out of the house into the fresh air and sunshine to do something exciting. Much to her sister’s annoyance, Ettie had positioned her chair to look out the window. Ettie said it was to see the distant hills and to watch the birds as they flew about, but they both knew it was to watch what the neighbors were doing.
The Charmers had been far too quiet over the last few weeks. There’d been no angry Greville at the door reprimanding them about Snowy’s imaginary barking and neither had he pushed the fence palings over again to blame it on poor old Snowy. Stacey his wife, had gone from watering her plants in the front yard in the rain, to not watering them at all. They were dying from lack of attention.
That led Ettie to think …. “Elsa-May, have you seen Stacey lately?”
Elsa-May left off her knitting and looked at her with piercing blue eyes from over the top of her glasses. “You know I haven’t. You asked me that yesterday, and the day before.”
“Ach nee, that’s what I feared. He’s k
illed her. She’s lying inside dead, and she died alone. It’s so sad. It seems they must have no children because no one ever visits them. She’s alone day in and day out ... and to die like that.” Ettie made tsk tsk sounds while shaking her head.
“Oh, Ettie, you have such an imagination.”
“It’s possible it’s true. I always knew there was something funny about him and she hasn’t stolen any of our mail lately, or watered her dying plants.”
Elsa-May chuckled. “She might’ve stolen our mail and we don’t know about it. I mean, think about it. How would we know if she had stolen letters from our box?”
“That’s right.” Ettie placed her knitting in her lap and tapped a bony finger on her chin. “I usually have far more people writing to me. She must’ve pinched some letters.”
“It was a joke, Ettie.”
“Do you think we should knock on their door? Or peep in the window?”
Elsa-May sighed. “Have you ever heard the expression, 'Let sleeping dogs lie?'”
“Nee.”
“Forget about the Charmers, would you?”
Ettie blew out a deep breath. One day she’d find out what was really going on with them. One day her sister would agree to accompany her while she peeped in the windows, but going by her sister’s attitude it wasn’t going to be any time soon.
“Oh, we have a visitor.” Ettie folded up her boring knitting, stabbing the end of the needles into the fat round ball of wool. She much preferred her fancy-worked samplers to knitting. Knitting was more Elsa-May’s pastime.
“Who is it?” Elsa-May asked.
Ettie stared at the buggy through the window. “It looks like Gabriel Yoder.”
“He hasn’t visited before.”
“And he’s got an Englischer with him. She’s a pretty young girl with long straight fair hair. She’s wearing jeans and a blouse and high heels.” Ettie was pleased to have visitors to break the monotony of the day especially since the Charmers weren’t doing anything interesting.
Ettie was first to the door and Elsa-May was close behind her. Gabriel was smiling at them and heading to the door, while the woman was now across the road with her back to them talking on a cell phone.
“If you don’t mind, Gabriel, I’ll make a quick call to my mother before you knock on the door.”
“Sure. I’ll wait.”
She turned away from him with her back to the house. She hit the speed dial and her mother answered. “Mom.”
“Have you arrived yet?”
“Yes. I got here a couple of hours ago.”
“How’s the food at your bed-and-breakfast?”
“I’ll find out tomorrow morning.” Her mother was obsessed with food. “The room’s nice, but I didn’t stay there long. Just enough time to book in and …” She shook her head. “Mom, you didn't tell me your father killed someone.”
“Oh, that. I didn't want to upset you.”
“You knew?”
“I did.”
Selena couldn’t believe it. “I wish you’d told me. What will I do if Eugene finds out?”
“He'll just have to deal with it.”
Selena swallowed hard. Her mother was a fan of Eugene’s and he was the only boyfriend of whom Mom had approved. She could only imagine what Eugene would say once he found out about her grandfather. It was the worst thing she could possibly think of and she wished she’d never come there. “You know he wouldn’t like this. I just wish you’d told me.”
“I didn't think you'd find out about it and I didn’t want to upset you. That’s all.”
“Well, I’m upset now! And I'll be even more upset if Eugene calls off the wedding because of this. If you’d told me earlier, I might’ve been able to do something about it.”
“I’m sorry, dear.”
She heard her mother light up a cigarette. “Are you smoking again, Mom?”
“No.”
“You are. I heard the lighter. You told me you’d quit.”
“My show’s coming on soon. I’ll have to go shortly.” She heard her mother breathe in deeply and then slowly exhale.
“Don’t go. I need to talk. There’s a man here who said he didn't do it.”
“He didn't do it.”
“He was innocent?”
“Yes. Definitely.”
“How do you know he was innocent for sure?”
“He was always so self-righteous. He wouldn’t have done anything wrong. It just wasn’t in him.”
“Do you know how I can prove that?”
“You’d know. You were on the force. You could investigate it and clear his name, and the family’s.”
Now, her mother was being facetious.
“I wouldn't know where to start. I was only there for a year and they had me doing paperwork. I didn’t step a foot out of the station. I’m not a detective. Although, I did have good training, and paperwork gave me an insight—”
“Oh, gotta go. My show’s just started.”
“No! Wait, Mom.”
“Talk soon.” Her mother hung up the receiver—loudly—in her ear.
She looked down at her cell, lost for words. Then she spun around to see Gabriel standing in the doorway of the house flanked by a couple of old Amish ladies. She took a deep breath and made her way to them, hoping they’d be able to shed some light on the problem.
Gabriel introduced her to the old ladies. The larger one was Elsa-May, and the smaller one was Ettie. They both looked kind and friendly.
Ettie grabbed her hand. “It's so nice to meet you, Selena. I remember your mother, Kate. How is she?”
“She's fine.” She’s addicted to daytime TV, and she’s a chain smoker. She rarely leaves the house since Dad died and she leads a boring life. It was easier just to say she was fine. No one ever really wanted to know how someone was.
Elsa-May said, “Gabriel tells us you want to find out about Abner, is that right?”
“Yes, I heard he confessed to a hit-and-run incident, but Gabriel assures me everyone around here knows he didn't do it.”
“No, he didn't.” Ettie shook her head. “Let’s go inside.”
“Thank you.” Selena stepped into the house behind Ettie.
“Come through to the kitchen and we’ll make you a cup of hot tea,” Elsa-May said.
“That would be lovely, thank you,” Gabriel said.
“Yes, it would,” Selena agreed.
Chapter 3
Once they were in the small kitchen, Selena noticed nearly the entire floor area was taken up by the round table and four chairs. Elsa-May filled the kettle with water while Ettie busied herself cutting a cake.
Gabriel said to her, “Don't worry. Ettie and Elsa-May will find out what's really going on.”
Ettie sat down placing the sliced cake in the center of the table while Elsa-May, who was finished placing the kettle on the stove, put small plates in front of everyone. “Help yourselves.”
Selena listened as Ettie started the conversation about her grandfather. “We were trying to help him, and we went to the jail a few times but he didn't want to help himself.”
“Why not?” Selena asked and then noticed Ettie and Elsa-May exchange glances.
“That's okay, Selena wants to know the truth,” Gabriel said.
“That's right. I need to know everything. I need to know if he committed a crime or not. If it was a hit-and-run and he did it, what was he doing driving a car? I mean, he wasn’t driving a buggy, was he?”
“Supposedly, he was driving a car at the time. That's what he wanted the police to believe,” Ettie said.
“What do you think happened, Ettie?” Selena asked.
“You have to remember this was a long time ago. Detective Kelly wasn’t working on the original case. No, it was our dear old friend, Ronald Crowley. Crowley didn’t get to the bottom of things, and years later, someone else was re-investigating the case.”
“Tell Selena what we were told, Ettie.”
“It's a long story.”
“The dead man worked on his fences —”
“His own fences?” Selena feared she was going to get the long version.
“No. The dead man was redoing Abner's fences because the woman next door was always upset over her alpacas.”
“And she hasn't changed,” Gabriel interjected sporting a big smile. “She thinks people steal her alpacas and that's why she's worried about the fences coming down,” he explained to Selena.
“Was he like a part time handyman or something?”
“That's right.” Ettie licked her lips. “We think Abner was protecting somebody, but we cannot say who he was protecting.”
“Because we don't know,” Elsa-May placed the teapot in the middle of the table. “Would anybody like coffee?”
“No thanks, tea’s fine,” Selena said, feeling like she would not be able to keep anything down. She placed a small piece of cake on her plate just to be polite and decided she’d make an effort to sip some tea. Perhaps the tea would settle her stomach. “Do you think it's got something to do with the woman who owns the alpacas? Might she be the one who ran over the man?”
“We’re not sure of that, but we're fairly certain that Abner knew who did it. And he can't tell us because he’s dead now.” Ettie sighed and bit into a piece of cake. “If only the dead could talk. What secrets they’d tell us.”
“But we can piece together the clues and Ettie would've figured it all out given enough time.”
Ettie nodded. “And I stopped trying to figure it out when Abner died, you see. There was no point to it anymore. His daughter had moved away and there was no one in his family left.”
“He didn't seem to be bothered by sitting in jail, did he, Ettie?”
“No. Nothing bothered Abner. He was always such a pleasant man.”
Selena took a small bite of cake and figured she was wasting her time with the ladies. Then her gaze drifted to Gabriel and he gave her a big smile. All she wanted to do was get out of the small house. She felt like the walls were closing in on her. “It’s okay. I don’t need to find out. I suppose it’s too hard after all this time.”
Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 6 Page 14
