Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 6

by Samantha Price

  “She asked us to help,” Ettie confirmed.

  “Don’t go doing anything stupid. We know this is a murder case now, and not a robbery gone wrong. Don’t get in my way, and if you find out anything you must let me know.” The two sisters remained silent. “I know you want to help a fellow human being, but you don’t know these people other than from them living next door. I doubt you’ll be any help to her whatsoever.”

  “Elsa-May told Stacey we’d help her.”

  “At any rate, that was before we found out his murder was premeditated.” Kelly rubbed his forehead. “Would one of you mind making me a cup of coffee?”

  “I don't mind a bit.” Elsa-May pushed herself to her feet and headed to the kitchen.

  “Are you okay?” Ettie asked him.

  “I have a nasty headache coming on.” He blew out a deep breath.

  “That’s no good. You probably haven’t been sleeping lately.”

  A gruff noise came from the back of his throat. “I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since I made detective.”

  While her sister was busy with coffee-making, Ettie told him what they knew so far from their visit to the restaurant.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Smith, but I already discovered he’d been telling everyone Evelyn Chairgrin was his cousin. It seems he didn’t want people to think he only got the job because his sister-in-law was doing him a favor.”

  “But that’s probably exactly how he got the job. He wasn’t a trained chef. We found out he trained after he got the job and that would’ve made some people a little cranky with him. The man who was the original manager was demoted because of him. Imagine how he would’ve felt taking orders from someone who didn’t know what he was doing.”

  “I know. I know all that you’re saying.”

  Elsa-May walked out of the kitchen with a mug of coffee. “Here you are, just as you like it.”

  “Care for some cake as well?” Ettie asked.

  Kelly smiled. “I wouldn’t mind a little something.”

  “I have lemon cake with thick frosting.”

  “Perfect.” he said to Elsa-May before he even took a sip of coffee.

  While Elsa-May was getting his cake, Ettie thought how to get more information from him. “We do feel a duty toward Stacey, so we can’t really keep out of things. I know you’re not happy with the idea—”

  “Look, Mrs. Smith, I have no control over what a private citizen does in their own time. Just don’t get in my way, okay? That’s all I’m asking.”

  “Okay.”

  Elsa-May set a plate of cake down on the table in front of Kelly. “Would you like some, Ettie?”

  Ettie shook her head.

  Elsa-May took a piece of cake back to her chair with her. “Well, who are our suspects?” she asked once she sat down.

  “Our suspects?” Kelly stared at her.

  “Yes. I thought it would be better if we all worked together sharing information.”

  Kelly shook his head. “I don’t think so. I was just telling your sister to leave this to us, the trained professionals. If you must proceed down the track you’ve started on, you’ll get no help from me.”

  “Detective Kelly said we must keep out of his way.”

  “Oh.” Elsa-May bit into the cake, chewing thoughtfully. After she had swallowed, she asked, “Then, why are you here, Detective?”

  “To let you know that the murder was premeditated. It wasn’t a home invasion like we first thought. Someone was poisoning Greville and then he was strangled, so putting all that information together—”

  “Then you must suspect Stacey.”

  He looked over at Ettie. “Must I?”

  “Or someone from his work,” Elsa-May added.

  “If you happen to think of something or learn of something, anything at all, please let me know.” He took another mouthful of coffee.

  Ettie nodded. “We will.”

  When Kelly had finished his coffee and eaten two pieces of cake, he stood ready to leave. “The mystery of the whole thing is, why wasn’t the poison in his system at the time of his death? According to the medical experts it should’ve been.”

  “Perhaps a mistake at the hospital?” Elsa-May asked.

  “No. That's highly unlikely,” Kelly said. “They took three separate test samples on three different occasions.”

  “Are you going to the funeral?” Ettie asked him.

  “I am. I suppose you’ll both be there?”

  Ettie and Elsa-May nodded.

  Chapter 10

  Ettie and Elsa-May sat in the chapel of the cemetery and crematorium waiting for Greville Charmers’ funeral service to begin. Bored because they had gotten there far too early, Ettie looked around the room. It was full of highly varnished honey-colored wood from the floors to the vaulted ceiling. Being constructed of dark wood, Greville’s coffin seemed out of place as it sat on metal supports between the two white opened curtains.

  “How do we know we’re at the right funeral?”

  “Because I’d say this is the only one on this morning. The coffin’s here already.” Ettie looked around. “Here’s Stacey and some other people now.” People appeared in two groups, one at the front door and one at the side doors.

  “We should say hello to Stacey.”

  “Not right now. She looks lovely in that dark blue dress.”

  Elsa-May turned and stared. “Jah, she does. It’s only a plain dress, but it’s the way she wears it that makes it look good. And, she’s not in those high heels that so many of the Englisch women favor. The flat shoes suit the dress so well.”

  Within a couple of minutes, the place was half full of people.

  Elsa-May leaned closer to Ettie, and whispered, “Here’s the minister now. This must be all the people who are coming.”

  Ettie was only half-listening to her sister as her eyes were fixed on the front of the room. “I’d much rather become worm food than be burned,” Ettie whispered, as she stared at the coffin wondering how much it’d cost. It seemed a shame to burn a perfectly new coffin.

  “What does it matter what happens? You won’t feel a thing, you’ll be dead.”

  Ettie’s mouth turned down at the corners. “It’s the thought of the thing that matters to me.”

  “Good for you that you’ll be buried then. I’ll see to it.” Elsa-May said with a sharp nod. Ettie managed a smile. No Amish she knew of had been cremated. Her smile didn’t last long because her sister elbowed her in the ribs. “Ettie, there's the waitress from the pizzeria.”

  Ettie looked over to where her sister pointed. “Let’s say hello. There’s a few minutes before it’s due to start, I’d say, because barely anyone’s taken their seats.”

  “Okay. You go first.”

  As they walked toward Lauren, she saw them and smiled. “Hi. You were in the restaurant last week, weren’t you?”

  “That’s right,” Ettie said.

  “I didn’t know you knew Greville that well.”

  “We were neighbors of his,” Elsa-May said.

  “Yes, we lived right next door to him and his lovely wife, Stacey.”

  “Oh.”

  Ettie looked around at the people coming through the door. “Is everyone from your work here?”

  “Yes. I think they’ll all be coming. We’ve closed the restaurant especially for this.”

  Ettie looked over at Stacey who was at the front of the room talking angrily to a young man. “Is that man over there, the one who’s talking to Greville’s wife, one of the restaurant workers?”

  The girl looked over. “Oh no. That’s Greville’s son.”

  “Son?” Ettie and Elsa-May jointly asked.

  “Yes.”

  “How do you know him?” Ettie asked.

  “I don’t.” She moved closer to them. “Between you and me, he came in a couple of times asking Greville for money. I only know he’s the son because someone overheard them speaking. Greville said he was through with him and told him to get lost. He said h
e wasn’t giving him another dime. Then the son tipped over a whole box of knives and forks and they scattered all along the floor. Then he walked out.”

  The organ music started. “I guess we should take our seats,” Elsa-May said.

  Lauren smiled at them.

  Ettie wasn’t finished talking with Lauren just yet. “He has quite a temper, then—Greville’s son?”

  Lauren nodded. “Seems so. We better sit.” Then she moved over to sit with other young people, while the sisters made their way back to the row where they’d previously been.

  “They have a son. Did you hear that?” Ettie whispered.

  “I sure did. Now be quiet until it’s over. Then we’ll ask around and see what we can find out about the son and why he was kept a secret.” Once again, Elsa-May nudged Ettie in the ribs when she noticed Detective Kelly walk into the chapel. Ettie rubbed her side, absentmindedly wondering if there'd be a bruise there later, and watched as Kelly sat on the other side of the room.

  When everyone was seated, the minister stood and said a prayer, and then he talked about Greville Charmers and what a good man he was. Unlike at other Englischer funerals they’d been to, no one else stood to say anything nice about Greville. The service was over in a matter of twenty minutes. After the minister said another prayer, he announced that there were refreshments served in the adjoining room. The minister walked away, music played, and white curtains closed around the coffin.

  “That was quick,” Ettie whispered.

  “I thought so too.”

  Ettie and Elsa-May stayed seated until most of the people had headed to the other room. “We’ll split up and find out what we can,” Ettie whispered. “There’s Evelyn, I’ll talk to her.” Ettie left Elsa-May at the doorway and headed over to Evelyn. “Hello, Evelyn.”

  Evelyn smiled at her. “Hello. You’re one of the neighbors. Stacey introduced us.”

  “That’s right. We met the other day. How’s Stacey coping?”

  “As well as she could be under these grisly circumstances.”

  Ettie glanced over at Stacey and saw she was talking again to the young man they’d just found out was Greville and Stacey’s son. Just to confirm, she asked, “Do you know that man Stacey’s speaking with?”

  “That’s her son.”

  “Oh. She told me she didn’t have any children.”

  “They only have Logan and he’s been a real disappointment. They wiped him from their lives.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yes. He left home when he was sixteen to study abroad on one of those student exchange programs and then he got in with a bad crowd.”

  “That’s a shame. He looks quite good. I mean, he seems well dressed and presentable.”

  Evelyn lifted her head high. “They’ve disowned him. They might as well have not had any children.”

  “What’s wrong with him?”

  “What’s right with him should be the question.”

  “You said he went on a student exchange program, so does that mean Greville and Stacey had a student living with them?”

  “No. Greville wasn’t too well at the time.”

  Ettie wondered how long he might’ve been poisoned. “Greville was ill?”

  “I think it was the stresses of his job. Then he changed vocations. He was a chef recently, and had been doing quite well, Stacey says.”

  From her reply, it didn’t seem like she wanted Ettie to know she owned the restaurant where Greville worked, but other people knew. “That’s right and you own the restaurant where he worked, don’t you?”

  Evelyn scowled. “Who told you that?”

  “Um, someone who was here today. I can’t remember who, but all the staff is here. Is it true?”

  “It is. I suggested he step in and manage the place and he did a good job and raised the takings by thirty percent. He did that while becoming a fully qualified chef. I was lucky to have him.”

  Ettie looked back over at Stacey and saw the young man walking away. “What is Stacey’s son’s name?”

  “Logan.”

  “Ah, that’s right. You did tell me.”

  “Excuse me, dear. There are some people I should see before they leave.”

  “Of course.” Ettie watched Evelyn walk toward the group of people who worked at the restaurant.

  Elsa-May hurried over to Ettie. “Why do you look so worried? Greville and Stacey’s son?”

  Ettie nodded. “That’s right. How many times did she tell us they didn’t have any children?”

  “Many times.”

  “Well, there he is.”

  Elsa-May shook her head. “Tsk tsk. And, the thing is, Ettie, if they lied about that what else might they have lied about?”

  “If you remember, it wasn’t Greville who said that, it was Stacey.”

  “Only because Greville was yelling at us every time he saw us.”

  “I know.” Ettie nodded. “Did you find out anything?”

  Elsa-May looked around them. “I did. I found out that the person who used to be the manager of the pizzeria before Greville came, hated him. They were enemies.”

  “We already know that.” Ettie tugged on Elsa-May’s sleeve. “And, he would’ve had access to him to poison him.”

  “Shh,” Elsa-May said.

  “I said it quietly.”

  “Jah, but we’re at his funeral.”

  “Well, keep it in the back of your mind,” Ettie said.

  “I will.”

  Ettie looked around. “I wonder if one of these people killed him.”

  “Very likely. Let’s split up again and we’ll come back together and compare what we find out.”

  “Okay.”

  Elsa-May rushed off, and Ettie was about to go in the other direction when she caught Detective Kelly’s eye. She nodded to him and he walked over.

  “I thought you’d be here,” he said.

  “I told you we would. He’s our neighbor, or was our neighbor.”

  He smiled at them. “I mentioned to Stacey you’ve been a certain amount of help to me from time to time when I’ve been investigating your Amish community.”

  Ettie frowned. “That sounds awful. You mean when you’ve been investigating cases connected with our community,” Ettie corrected him.

  He chuckled. “You’ve been spending too much time with your sister. You’re beginning to sound just like her.”

  Ettie grimaced. “Really?”

  He nodded.

  “Did you find out why Greville wanted people to think his boss was his cousin?”

  “I’d say to make a friendlier work environment.”

  Ettie shrugged her shoulders. “Hmm, I don’t really see the difference. Wouldn’t it be just the same favor no matter if the cousin or the sister-in-law gave you a job?”

  “You’re right. I don’t think it’s a big deal.” Kelly shook his head. “I don’t know anything about that. I think someone could’ve simply made an error. He worked for his sister-in-law and maybe someone got confused and thought Evelyn was his cousin. Did you manage to find out anything that I should know?”

  “The man who used to be the manager of the restaurant didn’t like him because Greville took his job. Now that man has got it back again.”

  Kelly pulled out a notebook out of his inner coat pocket and flipped through it. “That would be Nate Bowen. We talked about this the other day when I was at your house.”

  “That’s him, Nate Bowen.”

  Kelly pushed his book back into his pocket.

  “Oh, and another thing. Stacey and Gr … well, Stacey told us on many occasions that she never had any children. Now we find out she has a son.” Ettie looked around Kelly’s left shoulder. “He’s over at the table now fixing himself a cup of coffee.”

  Kelly turned and looked over at the help-yourself tea and coffee table. “Is that right?”

  “Yes. Did you talk with him?”

  “She also told me she only had a sister. She never mentioned a son.”


  “Don’t you think that’s odd?” Ettie peered into Kelly’s face, delighted that she had information he didn’t know.

  “Extremely. I think I should say hello.”

  Before Ettie could say anything, Kelly marched toward Stacey’s estranged son. On looking around the room, Ettie saw Nate Bowen by himself and wasted no time seizing the opportunity to speak with him. Before she got to him, someone else had walked up to him. It was Elsa-May. Ettie stayed nearby to listen in.

  “Hello,” Elsa-May said, as she looked out the same window as he.

  He turned around. “Hello.”

  “You worked with Greville.”

  “That’s right.”

  “I heard you weren’t a fan of his, and neither was I.”

  Chapter 11

  Nate Bowen turned to face Elsa-May more squarely and made a gravelly sound from deep in his throat. “What did he do to you?”

  Elsa-May shook her head. “I was his neighbor and there were too many incidents to name. From complaining about my poor little dog, to the fence …”

  “He was ruining my life. I can’t say I’m glad he’s gone because I wouldn’t wish murder on anyone, but it sure makes things easier for me.”

  “I don’t know how anyone could work with him,” Elsa-May said. “It must’ve been hard.”

  He shook his head. “You’ve got no idea. When he first started at the restaurant, he had these crazy ideas about doing functions. He was supposed to organize things but he was never around and I was the one who had to pick up all the loose ends. When I complained, he told me to do my job and shut up. He said all the staff should stop complaining. It was then I knew I wasn’t the only one who disliked him with a passion. He wouldn’t listen to any of the staff. In the end, he stopped the functions. We didn’t have enough staff to do that and run the restaurant.”

  “It sounds like he had big ideas.”

  “Yeah, ideas he should’ve kept to himself. Then, he wanted to change where we were sourcing the food. I’d made friends out of all our suppliers when I was running the place and I knew we were getting the freshest ingredients at the best prices. He comes in like a bull at a gate and offends all the suppliers and then they refused to deal with us.”