"I don't know what else we can do," Elsa-May said. “We've called everybody we know and no one’s seen her."
Kelly flung his hands in the air. "Dig deeper. Call everybody again."
"We don't want to alarm anybody," Ettie said.
"Why not? At least that way it might make her easier to find," he said.
"That's true. I hadn't thought of that."
"You must find her." Kelly rose to his feet.
"Will you stay and have a cup of tea with us?"
"Any other time I'd love to, but I’ve got far too much to do. Can I trust you both to bring Gertie in for questioning as soon as you find her?"
Elsa-May said, "It sounds like you think we’re hiding her somewhere.”
"All I want is to see her in my office within the next couple of days. Do you think you can do that?" He looked from one sister to the other.
"We’ll try," Ettie said.
"We’ll do everything we can," Elsa-May added.
"Good." The detective gave a sharp nod before he headed to the front door.
Ettie managed to get there first and open the door for him.
Out of the side of his mouth, he said, "I'll expect to hear from you soon."
"Goodbye."
Ettie sat heavily on the couch.
“What do you think of that, Elsa-May?”
Elsa-May picked up the knitting by her feet. “Let Snowy back in by us, would you?”
Ettie rose to her feet. “Well?”
“I’ll tell you when you get back.” Hurrying to open Elsa-May’s bedroom door, Ettie wished her sister wouldn’t be so bossy and stubborn.
Snowy scampered into the room, passed Elsa-May, got into his dog bed and made himself comfortable. He didn't even bother with his usual routine of sniffing where Detective Kelly had been.
“There, happy now?” Ettie said to Snowy, who just looked up at her.
“Denke, Ettie. We’ll have to go back to Gertie’s house and call everyone in her address book again. Surely someone would have to know something. Maybe Amos has remembered something.”
“What if the murderer has got her?”
Elsa-May stopped knitting and fastened her blue eyes onto Ettie. “That would be dreadful. We can’t think things like that.”
Chapter 15
Elsa-May and Ettie had the taxi let them out at the road close to Gertie’s house. That way they could walk up the driveway and get into Gertie's house without alerting Amos from next door. With him looking over their shoulders, they figured they wouldn't be able to have a good look around Gertie's house for clues to her whereabouts.
They saw that their plan hadn't worked as a dusty looking Amos walked toward them. Clouds of dust rose from his clothing as he patted himself down.
"What happened to you, Amos?" Elsa-May asked, staring at the black smudges down one side of his face.
"I lit a fire this morning and my chimney started smoking. I was just cleaning it."
"How would you manage to do that by yourself?" Ettie asked.
“I get up on the roof with chains, and I lower them down and then lift them up, and I do that a few more times, working all the way around the chimney, and that cleans it out. Then I go inside and clean up the mess.”
“How often do you do that?” Ettie asked.
“Every few years. Whenever it starts smoking.”
“Amos, have you ever found anything that’s come out of the chimney?”
“What do you mean, Ettie?”
“That book I saw in your house—the one that looked all old and black.”
A smile brightened his face. “Jah, that came out of the chimney. It might have been there for a long time.”
“What was in it?”
“Books are no good to me. I never learned to read.”
“Mind if I take a look at it?”
Ettie and Elsa-May followed Amos into his house, and he handed the book to them. "I don't know what it was doing there in the chimney."
“What is it, Ettie?”
“Just a moment.” Ettie carefully opened the brittle pages. “It's got names and dates here. Just names and dates." She slowly lowered the book, and said, "Elsa-May, it's got Earl Quinn's name in it and what must be the date he died next to it, and it's got…" Elsa May shook her head and looked down.
"What is it, Ettie?"
"Aaron! Aaron’s name is there as well, with the date next to it.” Ettie stared back down at the page. “I can't make out the first digit, but it is May 1956."
Elsa-May's fingertips flew to her throat. "Nee!"
Amos said, "What does this mean?"
"We’re not sure, but this must've been left by the man who lived here before you. He must've hidden it on a ledge inside the chimney."
Elsa-May said, "Amos, can we hold onto this for a few days?"
"Keep it. It's no good to me. No word on Gertie?"
"Nothing more, but the police are still confident that she's just gone somewhere and she’s okay."
“You think the man who lived here before me killed that man you found?”
“Maybe,” Ettie said. “It’s not for certain.”
“That’s why the police are so interested in me? It’s not me, it’s the haus?”
Elsa-May nodded.
Amos looked down at his dusty clothes. "I'll go back to cleaning out the bottom of the fireplace. Do you need me to help you with anything?"
"Nee. We might just have another look around Gertie's place again."
"And we’ll call everyone listed in her address book."
"Very good. And please let me know as soon as you hear anything." He shook his head. "I feel so useless just doing nothing to help find her, but I don’t know where to go or where to look. I feel I should be doing something but I don't know what to do. If only I could go somewhere and make sure she's okay."
Amos’ bottom lip started wobbling and Ettie hoped he wouldn’t cry. “It’ll be okay. She’ll come back. Can I make you a cup of tea or something?”
He shook his head. “I’ll have to get back to work on the fireplace in case the night is cold.”
"As soon as we know anything we’ll tell you."
“I appreciate it,” he said.
“We’ll leave you to your fireplace cleaning.”
They left Amos and hurried into Gertie’s house and sat down on the couch. They saw around ten names with dates next to them, listed in chronological order. Then Ettie opened the next page and they saw Simon’s name. His was the last in the book, with his date of death beside it.
Elsa-May bounded to her feet, letting out a scream, and the book skidded across the floor. "Ettie, Simon’s name is in here.”
"Jah, I saw that." Ettie was too shocked to move.
They both knew that the man who’d lived in that house before Amos, whatever his name was, he was in all probability a killer.
"The man who lived here must’ve been hired by Appleby to kill Earl, and then he had to kill Simon because Simon saw him do it.”
“That makes sense, but what about Aaron? Why’s his name in the book?” Ettie asked.
“What was her other husband's name—the Englischer that she married after Aaron died?" Elsa-May sat down with her hand on her chest. "Give me a moment." Elsa-May glanced over at Ettie. "You look calm."
"I might look it but my heart is pounding and my hands are shaking. I can't believe this. No wonder Gertie disappeared. I wonder what else she knows."
"A lot more than she told us, I think."
"How are we going to find out the name of the Englischer she married?" Ettie asked.
"Amos is the only one who seems to know that she married him."
"And she mentioned that he died too, didn't she?"
"Yes, she talked about two husband's dying, remember?"
"I do. Or it was something like that. Didn't she just say two men she loved died?"
Elsa-May sighed. "I’m not certain. I should’ve been listening more carefully. You go ask Amos his name while
I sit here and recover."
Ettie rose to her feet, picked up the book and placed it on the couch beside Elsa-May. "I'll be back in a minute."
Ettie walked over to Amos' house. Just as she approached it, she heard scraping noises. The front door was open and she knocked on the doorframe. "Amos?"
"Oh, come in, Ettie."
"Just a quick question. Do you know the name of the Englischer that Gertie was briefly married to?"
He stood up from his crouched position over the fireplace, and he drew his eyebrows together and rubbed his forehead. “I think it was a funny kind of a name. Maybe it was an Italian name. It might come to me later.”
"Let me know when you think of it."
"Why is it you want to know? Do you think she's gone to see him? Because he's dead."
"Jah, we heard that. We just thought his name might be in the book of names that you gave us."
"We just have to hope and pray that Gertie comes back to us safely."
"That's what we're doing. Denke. I'll leave you to your fireplace project." Ettie walked out the door. Once she got talking to him, Amos was just like a regular person and not as menacing as she had first thought.
Ettie burst through the door of Gertie's house. “Wouldn’t it make sense that the name of Gertie’s Englischer husband would be in the book since she’s convinced the murders are linked and Aaron’s name is there?”
Elsa-May glanced at the book beside her. "I don't want to touch the book anymore — the book the murderer wrote in."
Ettie picked up the book and sat down beside Elsa-May. “We wouldn’t know which one would be his name, and I suppose it wouldn’t help us find Gertie anyway.”
They both stared down at the book.
"We'll have to take it to Detective Kelly," Ettie said.
"Let's do it now, right away. The quicker we do it, the quicker he might be able to find Gertie."
They took Gertie's address book with them, too, so they could make further calls from the phone near their own home.
Chapter 16
As soon as Ettie and Elsa-May sat down opposite the detective, Ettie handed him the book.
"What's this?"
"Amos, the man living in the house next to Gertie found this in his chimney a long time ago."
"We think it belonged to the murderer and he wrote down everybody he killed and on what date he killed each of them."
Detective Kelly carefully placed the book on the desk. "And how many people have touched it?"
"Ettie, me, and Amos. And," said Elsa-May with a shudder, "the killer."
He shook his head. "This is evidence." He opened the drawer and pulled on disposable gloves and then he looked through the pages. “And Amos has only just realized what it is?”
“He can’t read," said Ettie. "We saw it there when we were at his house recently and today, when we saw him cleaning out his chimney, I remembered having seen the smoke-stained book.”
“I see. I think we’ll have to have another talk with him.”
“No, he wouldn’t have done anything.”
He looked down at the book. “This suggests otherwise.”
"The funny thing is that Gertie's first — well he wasn't her husband, but they would have married if he had lived. Anyway he's in there; his name was Aaron Fisher. He was Simon’s brother. He drowned when he was about eighteen. Earl Quinn's name is in there too. And Simon's."
Detective Kelly turned to his computer and tapped on a few keys. Sitting in silence he turned the pages while referencing the screen. Then he’d turn a page and tap a few more keys. Finally, he looked over at them. "This is a log book of murders." He leaped to his feet. "Stay here." With great care, he picked up the book and took it out of the office with him.
"Where’s he going?" Elsa-May frowned.
"He'll be taking it for fingerprinting, I’d say.”
"I guess we shouldn't have touched it. But we didn't really know what it was."
“That’s true. I hope he understands that.”
“He’s not in the best of moods, and that won’t help him to tell us anything.”
Ettie shook her head. “He’s rarely in a good mood. Anyway, he needs us. We found the body, and now Gertie is missing. It’s in his interests to share his knowledge with us.”
Pursing her lips, Elsa-May slowly nodded.
When Kelly came back, he sat behind his desk. “Hopefully we’ll lift a fingerprint off it. Meanwhile we’re bringing in your friend, Amos, for questioning and there’s every possibility he’ll be arrested.”
“No.” Ettie sprang to her feet. “He’s got nothing to do with this.”
Kelly remained calm. “If that’s true, then he’s got nothing to worry about.”
“You can’t.”
“I can, ladies, I can, and that’s what’s happening. Someone’s on the way to fetch him now.”
“He won’t be able to understand what’s going on. He can’t even read.”
“There’s no reading required for killing someone.”
"But how would he have been able to write in that book?"
Elsa-May touched Ettie’s arm. “Sit down, Ettie. Everything will work out.”
Ettie’s stomach churned at the thought of how Amos would feel. She had to get her thoughts straight if they were to be of any help to Gertie, and now to Amos. “The man you spoke with at the funeral, Harold Appleby—”
“Earl Quinn’s boss,” Elsa-May added.
“Yes?”
“He might have paid someone to kill all these people,” Ettie said, convinced that Appleby was guilty, and certain that Earl was murdered for trying to get his daughter back.
“We’re working on that and a few other scenarios.”
Ettie continued, “You agreed with me when I said before that Harold had just been divorced, and when Earl came along Harold was afraid he’d lose his daughter’s affection. If indeed he really was the man who’d adopted Earl’s child.”
Kelly leaned back in his chair. “All I want you to do is find your friend. How is that coming along?”
“We found the book. We hoped that would help you find her.”
He frowned at them. “We’ll ask your friend, Amos, what he did with her. How about this scenario? Since you’re throwing them around... Gertie lived in fear of Amos, the murderer living next door! He didn’t find the book because it was his book all along.”
Ettie was sick to her stomach by now, and wished she’d never brought the book to him.
Elsa-May said, “We’re going to call everyone in her address book again. Hopefully someone has heard something.”
“Good,” Kelly said.
“I think you should forget about Amos. What if Appleby is the one who killed Earl, and Simon, and he knows that Gertie knows? Are you having him followed? He could have kidnapped her or worse.”
Ettie added. “Appleby didn’t have to do it himself. He could’ve paid someone to do it.”
“Leave that with us, Ettie. Both of you do what you can do to find her, and leave the detective work to me. And be grateful I’ve said nothing about you putting your hands all over that piece of evidence.”
Ettie glanced over at Elsa-May who had her eyes cast downward.
“We didn’t know what it was,” Ettie explained, "until we saw the names inside."
Kelly stood. “Thanks for coming in, ladies. I’ll be in touch as soon as I know more, and you go and find your friend, would you?”
“We’ll do our best.” Ettie pushed herself to her feet and then they headed out of his office.
“What do we do now, Ettie?” Elsa-May asked.
“We call through this book as soon as we get home.” Ettie still had Gertie’s address book clutched in her hand.
“What if that dreadful man has got her?”
“Don’t think like that.”
“I hope Amos will be okay.”
Chapter 17
Ettie and Elsa-May had just stepped outside of the taxi at their house when Detective K
elly's car pulled up behind the taxi.
"When are you ladies going to get a phone?"
“Weren’t you just about to interview Amos?” Elsa-May asked.
“Change of plans,” Kelly said.
Ettie was relieved that his focus was off Amos, at least for the time being. "Would you like to come in?"
"No. I've just come to tell you that that book you brought in today..."
"Yes?" Elsa-May asked, stepping forward.
"We lifted a print. Which is quite amazing given the condition of the book. I had them make two comparisons and one of them was Harold Appleby and it was a match.”
Ettie gasped and held her stomach. “Appleby?”
Kelly kept talking. “He was in the military in his twenties, so his prints were in the system."
Elsa-May patted Ettie on her arm. "Do you think he's done something to Gertie?"
"Or got someone else to do something to Gertie?" Ettie asked.
"We’ll soon know. I’ll get it out of him one way or another. He’s being picked up now. It’s all due to you for bringing the book to our attention."
"I hope he tells us what he’s done with Gertie."
Kelly started walking back to his car, and said over his shoulder. "I'm heading back now. He'll be arriving there soon."
"Do your best to find Gertie for us?"
"Of course," he said.
Kelly got back into his car and drove away.
"That'll be fifteen dollars," the impatient taxi driver yelled out.
“Oh, I didn’t know you were still waiting,” Elsa-May said to the driver. “Pay him would you, Ettie?”
“Nee.”
Elsa-May jerked her head backward. “Why not? It’s your turn.”
“Get back in. I know where Gertie is."
"Where?"
"Just get in.” Ettie gave the driver directions and in fifteen minutes time Elsa-May and Ettie stepped out of the taxi at a secluded park near the river’s edge.
"Do you know where we are now?" Ettie asked.
"At a river. Is this where Aaron drowned?"
"Jah.”
“And you think Gertie's around here somewhere?" Elsa-May asked.
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