“Why?” someone called out.
“Good question.” Ettie hesitated and continued pacing up and down.
Elsa-May leaned forward. “Are you going to answer the question this week?”
Chapter 26
Ettie looked at her sister, who wasn’t knitting for once, as she sat in her usual chair surrounded by a sea of faces. “I’m gathering my thoughts.” A deathly silence washed over the room. “Perhaps the guilty party and the one who killed Wayne is no longer with us—Frederick Lehman.”
“No!” Selena called out. “He wouldn’t have.”
“You’re right, Selena, the answer is no, and the only way you’d know that is if you’ve figured out the identity of the real killer.”
Selena hung her head. “I don’t have any idea.”
Ettie continued, “Wayne was an opportunist. He wasn’t only blackmailing his best friend over a robbery the friend had committed before turning from a life of crime, he was blackmailing his own brother.”
Everyone turned and looked at Terrence. “I didn’t do it, but, yes, he was blackmailing me. It’s true.”
“Terrence, you told me the world would be a better place without him. And, you told Abner that you knew for a fact that his daughter didn’t do it.”
“Abner’s dead. Who told you that?”
“I did,” Gabriel said. “I never had a father or a grandfather, and to me, Abner was like both of those in one. We’d sit by the fire and he’d tell me stories. He told me everything he remembered about the time leading up to Wayne’s death and after it. I knew he didn’t do it, and I knew he thought his daughter did.” He looked at Selena. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t tell you he thought that.”
“That’s okay. You didn’t know for certain if she did it or not. There was really nothing to tell.”
Gabriel continued, “Abner told me Terrence assured him his daughter didn’t do it.”
Everyone looked at Terrence, Wayne’s brother. “Why would I do that? How would I know who did it or who didn’t?” Terrence asked.
“Because you killed your brother,” Ettie said. “Your car was given a speeding ticket minutes after the incident, and you were traveling north away from the scene of the crime.”
“I get a lot of speeding fines. I’ve gotten many over the years. That doesn’t mean nothing.”
“The officer who gave you the ticket made notes about you having a broken headlight and various scratches on your car.”
“This is where I take over, Mrs. Smith.” Kelly stood up. “At the scene of the crime, headlight glass was found. We ran tests and found that it matched the same model car you owned at the time. The day after that, you disposed of that car.”
“So what?”
“I’m glad you asked. We’ll let a jury decide ‘so what’ because that information was enough for me to get a judge to sign off on a warrant for your arrest. Terrence Robinson, I’m arresting you for the murder of your brother, Wayne Robinson. Would you stand up please?” Kelly took handcuffs out of his pocket. “You have the right to—”
The man jumped to his feet, kicked his foot free from his plaster cast and made a run for it, leaving Kelly standing there as he fled out the front door with one foot bare.
“He won’t get far,” Kelly said. “I’ve got officers waiting for him outside.” He chuckled as he leaned over and picked up the cast. “Looks like we’ll look into insurance fraud to add to his list. He never had a bad leg from the look of his sprinting action.”
Ettie pushed people out of the way, and hurried to the window to see two officers either side of Terrence, escorting him to a police car.
“Good work, Detective Kelly,” Elsa-May said.
“Yes, I knew it would all come down to the car.”
“Why didn’t the people investigating the case come up with this information years ago?” Selena asked. “Then my grandfather wouldn’t have had to die in jail.”
“The technology for the testing on the glass wasn’t around back then, and the second time we investigated, Abner confessed before it went further. When someone confesses, we don’t keep investigating.”
Selena nodded. “No, of course not.”
Ettie looked at Eugene. “How did you meet Selena?”
He smiled. “We met at a coffee shop. It was one where we both used to go. I saw her there a few times and we struck up a conversation.”
“How often did you go there before you talked with Selena?”
“A few times?”
Ettie stared at him. “Three, or four?”
He frowned. “Why do you ask?”
“I’m just trying to work out how much effort you put into all this.”
“Ettie, what are you talking about?” Selena asked.
“Will you tell her, young man, or shall I?”
“I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.” Eugene stood. “Let’s go, Selena.”
Selena hurried over to Ettie. “What is it, Ettie? What do you know?”
“Your fiancé here, read about the robbery Wayne was said to be involved with and it’s my guess he was marrying you to get closer to the money. It would go a long way toward paying those student debts wouldn’t it, Eugene? It must take a lot of money to keep up with your rich friends when you’re on half their salary. How many cars are you leasing?”
“Leasing?” Selena stared at Eugene. “Half their salary?”
“She’s mad. This old lady doesn’t know what she’s talking about. No one would work for half the money. Forget her.”
Selena looked back at Eugene. “What’s going on? I can tell when you’re lying.”
“Okay. I knew about the robbery and knew about Wayne, but that doesn’t affect how I feel about you.”
“You knew? Before you met me?”
“Yes, but she’s talking complete rubbish about my salary. You’ve seen how much I get paid.”
Selena’s mouth fell open. “Did you follow me and deliberately meet me in the coffee shop?”
“I went there for coffee and saw you and wanted to get to know you better. It’s not a crime. Okay, I’ll tell the truth. I read about your grandfather, refusing to give an affirmation and swear an oath. I was fascinated, and then looked further into the man he was supposed to have run over, because I doubted he had done it. Then I read about the robbery. I’ve always loved bank robbery movies and here I'd found one in real life.”
She held her head in her hands. “Everything is a lie.” Looking up at him, she asked, “You knew about Wayne and the robbery and you sought me out. Why?”
Elsa-May said, “Because it seems like the man who raised you might have known about it too.”
Eugene took a step toward the door. “This is a waste of my time. Are you coming, Selena? We’ll go back home tonight and I’ll send someone for the other car.”
She shook her head. “No. I need to sort some things out.”
“All right. You sort out your business and I’ll see you when you get home.” He leaned down to kiss her and she pulled away. Then he walked out looking angry and embarrassed.
There was silence in the room and Selena sat down feeling like a fool. She’d been oblivious to all the secrets and lies that had surrounded her from even before she was born. “That explains why he was so friendly with my mother and always asking questions about Frederick and his life. Frederick told me he did some bad things as a young adult, and then made amends and changed his ways.”
Elsa-May stood and said, “We have dessert if anyone’s still hungry. Any takers?”
“Yes, me.” Jill James bounded to her feet.
Elsa-May stared at her. “Aren’t you concerned your brother was just arrested?”
“No. It serves him right. We never got along. I was closer to Wayne except for that thing with the dog.”
Elsa-May took people into the kitchen for the dessert, while Ettie stayed in the living room with Selena and Gabriel.
“Are you okay, Selena?” Gabriel asked crouching down next to her.
&nb
sp; She shook her head. “I’m not. Everyone close to me has lied to me. My mother, the man I thought was my father, and my fiancé. If Wayne was my father like I’ve been told, my uncle is going to jail for killing him. It’s going to take me a while to feel okay about anything.”
Gabriel sat down next to her. “I’m sorry this has all happened to you.”
“My fiancé is a fraud. I can’t marry him, not now. He was just on some kind of a treasure hunt. He probably never would’ve gone through with the wedding. He only paid the wedding planner the deposit, and she kept asking about the final payment, so that kind of proves it.”
“You still have me. I’ll marry you.”
Selena laughed. “I wonder what happened to the money.” She looked up at Ettie who was standing nearby.
“I have no idea. Maybe Wayne hid it somewhere and his secret died with him, but if that was so, he wouldn’t have needed to blackmail anyone.”
Selena shrugged her shoulders. “My parents never had any money.”
Ettie said, “Maybe Detective Kelly will find out more from Terrence.”
“Do you want me to drive you back to the bed-and-breakfast, Selena?”
“Yes, I do. Thank you.”
Selena said goodbye to the elderly sisters and left with Gabriel.
Later on, when everyone had gone, Elsa-May and Ettie were washing up.
“Ettie, something doesn’t add up in my mind.”
“Jah?”
“Didn’t Kelly say Frederick Lehman was working in New York? How would he have done the robbery, which I remember was on a Tuesday night and get back in time for work the next day? It would’ve taken them all night to make that hole in the roof.”
“Ah. Remember when you went to the bathroom in the middle of us talking to Kelly today at the station?”
“Jah.”
“That’s when he told me, he had a closer look at Frederick Lehman and found it was another Frederick Lehman. Someone with the same name.”
“Oh. It would’ve been nice if you’d told me that.”
Ettie chortled. “There’s been so much going on. I’m sorry, I forgot.”
“Hmm, okay. I suppose I’ll have to accept your apology.” Elsa-May put the first of the dishes in the sink, while Ettie wrapped the leftover food. “I feel sorry for Selena. Do you really think that man would’ve married her for a chance at some money that had disappeared?”
“That’s a good question and I have no idea of the answer. I’d love to know what happened to the money. Selena said her parents had next to nothing, and Wayne lived like a pauper according to Kelly.”
“We’ll have to find out.”
“You know what else was funny?”
“What?”
“Frederick could’ve met Selena’s mother here and they traveled to New York together. And you got suspicious because of the dates that Wayne was the father, and from Kelly’s error about the mix up with two Frederick Lehmans, thinking Frederick was in New York at the time Selena was conceived.”
“It was all a big mix up if you ask me. But, Selena’s mother admitted Wayne was the father. My guess is that Frederick loved her from afar and didn’t like the way Wayne treated her. One day Frederick made his move and revealed his feelings, then they ran away together after Frederick swore he’d go straight. Then they made a life together, a life that didn’t include Wayne.”
Ettie raised a bony finger in the air. “Ah, yes, that was their plan but right before they left, Wayne was killed.”
Elsa-May chuckled. “History is repeating itself.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look at Gabriel and that lawyer. The lawyer didn’t treat Selena well, from what I can see and from the way he spoke to her, and there’s Gabriel, obviously head over heels with Selena and ready to whisk her away.”
Ettie chuckled. “You’re right. We’ll have to wait and see what happens there.”
Chapter 27
It was two days later when they saw Selena next. She sat down in the elderly sisters’ living room with them. “I want to thank you both for all your wonderful help with all this.”
“It was our pleasure. When do you go back?” Elsa-May asked.
“This afternoon, but I’m moving back permanently.”
“Back here?” Ettie asked.
“Yes. I’ll be staying in temporary accommodation and when the Kings’ find somewhere else to live that they're happy with, I’ll move into my grandfather’s house. Of course, I won’t own it until I’m thirty.”
“Or until you get married, we’re told,” Elsa-May said.
“That’s right. I’m going to make a life here. It’s quieter and I prefer a peaceful life. I’m going to take some time to work out what I want to do with my life.”
Ettie leaned forward. “And, does a certain man factor into your decisions?”
“Oh no. I’ve ended things with Eugene.”
“Ettie meant Gabriel.”
Selena’s face flushed beet-red. “Oh, we’ll see.”
“He’s extremely fond of you.”
Selena nodded. “I know.”
“Your mother will miss you.”
“I’m not so sure. She’s pulled herself out of her usual rut and she’s going on a ’round the world tour.”
“Really?”
Selena nodded.
“I thought you said your parents didn’t have much,” Ettie said.
“She won it in a competition.”
“What competition was that?” Ettie asked.
She shook her head. “I’m not entirely sure, but she’ll be gone for a good six months.”
Ettie and Elsa-May looked at one another and each knew what the other thought. They’d just discovered what happened to the missing money. Of course, Frederick and Selena's mother would have needed to lay low for a while before they started spending it. Now, twenty-five years later, Frederick was gone and Kate decided it was a perfect time to start spending all those millions.
“I do hope you’ll visit us when you get back,” Ettie said.
“I will for certain.”
“Will you have coffee and cake with us? We were just about to put the teakettle on,” said Elsa-May.
“No thank you. I’m just about to hit the road back to New York. Then, when I settle everything up and my apartment is sub-let I’ll come back here.” She stood and gave each lady a hug, and then they walked her to the door.
“Still got your fiance’s car?”
“Yes. I have to see him one last time when I return it.” Her mouth turned down at the corners. “That’ll be awkward.” Selena gave them one last smile and got in the car and zoomed away.
Ettie and Elsa-May stood there waving to her until the car disappeared.
Selena got out onto the open road and went as fast as the speed limit would allow. She finally felt free. Free of all the lies she’d been told throughout her life. How things had changed in the short time she’d visited Lancaster County. She’d found out her father wasn’t her father, and that her newly found uncle had killed her newly-found-out-about father. Her mother had pulled herself away from daytime-TV to go on a world tour. Eugene was in her life no more, and she’d found a new love interest.
Giggling aloud, Selena’s mind traveled to Gabriel—his handsome face and his unusual dark eyes. He was a strange man, but she found, not entirely to her dismay, that she was attracted to him and it wasn’t just his looks.
Gabriel was kind, genuine and gentle, and he was what had been missing in her life. With him, she could be herself. But, for their relationship to go further she would have to join the Amish community. The prospect of doing so was daunting but also exciting. She hadn’t mentioned it to Gabriel, but it was something she was seriously considering. When she moved to Lancaster County, she intended to look into it. She’d made some good friends and people like that were hard to come by.
“Well, well, well,” Elsa-May said as she closed the front door. “Frederick said he was going straight.”<
br />
“Jah, easy to do when you have a few million stashed somewhere. I'm curious what Detective Kelly would think about Kate's trip. I wonder if he knows.”
Elsa-May sat back in her chair and picked up her knitting. “And, I have a feeling that Gabriel has got a lot to do with her moving back here.”
“So do I, Elsa-May, so do I.”
“God has a plan for everyone, and it seems like His plan for Selena brought her here.”
Ettie sat down in her seat by the window. Maybe today would be the day Greville came back from the hospital. “Weren’t you going to put the teakettle on? You told Selena you were just about to.”
Elsa-May grunted. “I’ve only just sat down.”
“What would Dat say about you telling a lie?”
Elsa-May blew out a deep breath, and then pushed herself to her feet, while Ettie picked up the boring brown knitting and gave a private little chuckle.
Fear Thy Neighbor
Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Book 18
Copyright © 2018 by Samantha Price
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The personal names have been invented by the author, and any likeness to the name of any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Scripture quotations from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
Chapter 1
“I just don’t know what to do.”
Ettie looked up at her sister who was in her usual chair, knitting. “About what?”
Elsa-May looked over the top of her glasses. “You know what I’m talking about.” Elsa-May’s knitting dropped into her lap as she reached for a white handkerchief and managed to catch a sneeze.
Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 6 Page 25
