Gladys’ face brightened up. “Oh, I love cake. Denke, Ettie.”
Ettie, who was nearly at the front door by this time, gave a giggle. “You're welcome. I better get outside before this taxi drives off without me.”
“Bye, Ettie.”
Ettie waved while hurrying to the waiting taxi. “Goodbye, Gladys.” She opened the door and sat in the back seat. “Was that twenty minutes?” Ettie asked.
“It was ten.”
Ettie waited for him to give an explanation, but he didn't, and that was all he said during the whole ride.
When Ettie finally arrived home, she pushed the door open to see Elsa-May sitting on her usual chair, knitting. “Where’s the boppli?” Ettie asked.
“Still sleeping. You weren’t gone that long.”
Ettie was relieved that the baby was okay. “I feel like I’ve been around the world and back again.” She sat down and told Elsa-May everything that had happened and what she’d found out, and then she handed Elsa-May the list of names.
“It seems these are mostly Englishers and many are from out of town.”
“I didn't notice that. I haven't had a chance to look at it properly.”
“We need a way to find out about these people on the list, so how can we do that?” Elsa-May asked.
“I suppose I'll have to go to the library tomorrow while you're looking after the boppli and see what I can find out about them from the Internet. But they're not going to publicly say that they've had a baby if they’re hiding that fact—so what use will that be?”
“I don't know, Ettie, I don't know what we're going to do. But you're right, we can't keep the baby forever. Someone is bound to ask questions about the little fellow.”
Chapter 4
After the baby's second feeding of the day, Elsa-May put him back into his basket on the kitchen table. He closed his eyes immediately. Elsa-May and Ettie, both exhausted, went into the living room and sat down and drifted to off to sleep. They were woken by a loud knock on the door.
The two women stared at each other.
“Who could that be?” Elsa-May whispered to Ettie.
“I don't know, but I’m nervous.”
Elsa-May pushed herself up from the chair. “I'll answer it.” She pushed the door open a crack, just enough for her to see who was there. “Yes, what can I do for you?”
When Ettie heard a male voice answer, she scurried to the window to see who it was. It was an Englischer. He was a tall man, untidy, and wearing sneakers and jeans, and a jacket with white and red stripes on the shoulders. His face looked hardened, like she expected a criminal's would.
Then Ettie heard him say, “I'm the father of the baby. My wife told me she left the baby here.”
“Yes we did find a baby here this morning, but we handed the baby over to the authorities.”
“You did?” he asked.
Ettie closed her eyes tightly, praying that the man would believe her sister.
Elsa-May continued, “Yes, I called the local police, the ones on Main Street, and then they came out.”
Ettie opened her eyes to see the man staring at Elsa-May. Ettie knew Elsa-May would be unhappy with the fact she’d lied, but she was doing it to protect the baby. Elsa-May clearly didn't believe that this man was the father of the baby, and neither did Ettie. This man had to be one of the Englischers that the mother had wanted to protect her baby from. Now the baby wouldn't be safe here if the man didn’t believe Elsa-May. And even if he did believe her now, he’d soon find out she’d lied to him. Ettie put her fingers in her mouth while she listened some more.
“Do you mind if I use the phone?” he asked in a gruff tone.
“We don't have a phone. We use that one down the street in the shanty. It's not ours, it's our neighbor’s, but anyone’s welcome to use it if they put the money in the tin.”
The man didn't look too happy at Elsa-May’s suggestion.
“Don't you have a cell phone?” Elsa-May asked.
“Dead battery,” was all that he said as he continued to glare at Elsa-May.
Ettie hoped the man wouldn’t force his way inside. She walked back to the kitchen, hoping the baby was still soundly asleep. If the baby woke up and cried just at that moment, the man would surely push Elsa-May aside.
Seeing that the baby was still asleep, Ettie got paper and a pen from the bureau and went back to the window. Sure enough, she saw a black car that had to be his. It was one she’d never seen in their street before. From where she was, she could see most of the plate's characters. She scribbled down the three letters and the numbers she could clearly see, and then added combinations of what the other numbers might be. Hopefully, they wouldn’t need to contact Detective Kelly, but if worse came to worst they would have to.
“Was the baby all right?” he asked.
“Yes the baby appeared to be well and healthy. Who brought him here? Was it your wife?”
He nodded his head. “We were having a disagreement, and she mistakenly thought I didn't want the baby. She's only young, and she thought I’d want her to get rid of the baby, but I didn't say…” He put his hand to his forehead pretending to be upset and fake tears came into his eyes.
“Well, I hope you work everything out with your wife.”
“The baby is… what police station did you say?”
“I called the one in Main Street. They should know where he is if you go and see them.”
“Thanks. I’ll go and get him back. Did you see my wife or did you talk to her at all?”
“No, we didn't. We opened the door and saw the baby there, and no one was around.”
“We? Do you live here with someone else?”
“Yes, my son. He’ll be back soon. He phoned the police and then we both waited for the police inside the house. What is your name?”
The man’s top lip curled into a snarl. “If I find out you’re lying to me, I'll be back.”
Chills ran up and down Ettie’s spine on hearing the tone in his voice. She peeped out the window and saw him glaring at Elsa-May.
When Elsa-May had closed and locked the door, she stepped back from the window and took a deep breath in and out. “Quick, Ettie, see which car he gets into.”
“I’ve already written most of the license plate number down.” As the car drove forward, Ettie was able to see the last two digits clearly. “Got it!” she said. “What should we do now, Elsa-May?
“I must say, that man frightened me.”
“Me too, and if he comes back again for the baby what will we do? We’ll be no match for him especially if he brings a couple of his friends.”
“Do you think he knew I was lying about the baby?”
“Possibly, if he was watching when the baby was dropped outside the house. Come to think of it, if he knew, he could’ve pushed you out of the way and taken him. He didn’t call the baby ‘him’ or ‘her,’ I noticed that. I also noticed that he was pretending to be nice to start with then he turned nasty.”
“When he didn’t get what he wanted he got mean.”
Right then there was another knock on the door.
Ettie jumped, and put a hand over her fast-beating heart. “He’s back.”
“Look out the window to see. If it’s him, I won’t open the door again.”
Ettie took a few steps and looked out the window. “It’s Crowley.”
Elsa-May opened the door and grabbed Crowley by the sleeve, pulled him inside, and shut the door behind him.
“What's going on?” He stared at Elsa-May with his hands on his hips and then caught sight of Ettie at the window.
Ettie put the notepad and pen down on a low table.
“We should tell him, Ettie.”
Shaking her head, Ettie said, “What about the note?”
“We can't worry about the note.”
“What about the man?” Ettie said.
“None of us is safe.”
“The note must be referring to that very man.”
Crowle
y folded his arms across his chest, looking from one to the other as though he were at a tennis match. “Just tell me what's going on,” he demanded.
“What if we tell him, Ettie, but ask him to keep it quiet? He can give us his word.”
“Good idea,” Ettie looked at Crowley. “Come and have a seat and we’ll tell you what’s happened.”
“I cut my game short. My new friends are cross with me so that’s the least you can do.” He sat on a chair across from the elderly sisters.
Chapter 5
The sisters told Crowley the whole story: about finding the baby boy at their door, about the quilt, and the list of names Ettie had gotten from Bethany, and the old lady Ettie had visited. They ended their story with the man who’d just knocked on their door.
“I got his plate number.”
“Good; we’re going to need that. Who has the baby now?” he asked.
“He’s in the kitchen,” Ettie said.
“He’s quite well and healthy. We’ve been feeding him and looking after him. We’ve got great grandchildren; we know what we're doing,” Elsa-May said.
“I've got no doubt that you both know how to look after babies, but there’s a certain process that needs to be put into place when a baby is abandoned.”
“Show him the note, Ettie.”
Ettie went to the kitchen and brought back the note and handed it to Crowley.
“It just says not to give the baby to Englischers and some rubbish about his life being in danger. Once someone abandons a baby, they shouldn’t have any say in what happens—in my book. The law has a different view. A search will begin for the mother and once she’s located, she’ll receive counseling, and the idea will be to put the baby back into her care.”
“I don’t think it’s the fact that she doesn’t like Englischers. She said the baby was in danger. It seems that the baby is in some danger, and probably from that man who came to the door.”
“He said he was the father—what makes you think he isn’t?” Crowley asked.
Ettie and Elsa-May looked at each other.
“How would he have known the baby was here?” Ettie said. “And he kept saying ‘the baby’ rather than ‘he’ or ‘she.’”
“You’re making a mountain out of this whole thing. I think that he must've followed the mother and saw her drop the baby here early this morning, and then he's come back to get him. He’s probably still watching the house right now. Give me that plate number, Ettie, I'll get an ID on the owner of the car.”
“Unofficially, I hope?” Elsa-May asked.
He shook his head. “I'm sorry. I'm going to have to call this in. It's not just about the baby it’s about the mother and the father. It’s something that affects more than one person.”
“But we only told you because we trusted you, and you said you’d keep it quiet.”
“I didn't know it would involve an abandoned baby. This is much bigger than both of you realize.”
“All we care about is protecting the baby and following the mother’s wishes, or the wishes of whoever dropped the baby here. I can feel from the letter that the person was afraid for the baby, and that man was scary. Maybe the mother is in danger, too.”
On hearing Elsa-May’s words, Ettie knew she was right. This wasn’t an Amish baby as they’d first thought. This was an Englisch baby who was in danger and someone thought the baby would be safe, hidden, amongst the Amish. Now they’d ruined everything by trusting Crowley—an Englischer.
“We have psychiatrists in the Police Force. They’ll be able to determine things from the note, Elsa-May.”
Elsa-May’s lips turned down at the corners. “Detective Crowley, I have years of experience with people—mothers, fathers, daughters, grandchildren. and great-grandchildren, so I think I would know better than some twenty-five year old who’s had his head stuck in a book for four years doing some useless degree.”
“I'm not a detective now. You can call me Ronald, as I keep telling you both.”
“You’ll always be Detective Crowley to us,” Ettie said.
Crowley smiled at Ettie, and then turned to Elsa-May. “I agree with you, some of the people the department uses might be young, but they do know what they’re doing.”
“Can you just give us three days before you report this?” Elsa-May asked.
He shook his head. “The first twenty four hours is the most important.”
“You can help us find out things without reporting it. We can all do this together while keeping the baby safe. Will you help us?” Ettie asked.
“Twenty four hours,” he said. “And only if I help.” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t let you talk me into this.”
Elsa-May and Ettie exchanged glances, and then Elsa-May said, “Forty eight hours? And then we’ll tell the police everything they want to know, and we’ll hand the baby over. Agreed?”
Ettie was disappointed that they’d be betraying whoever wrote that note. The pressure was on; they had to find out who was out to harm the baby. They had to track down the mother, the real father, or whomever it was who wrote the note and left the baby with them.
Crowley leaned over to shake Elsa-May’s hand. “Agreed. Forty-eight hours, and we’ll do this ourselves. After that, you hand the baby in and keep my name out of things the best you can.”
“Thank you,” Ettie said, knowing that they could all be in big trouble if this blew up in their faces.
“I can get information without letting the force know. I can find out whose name the car is registered in.”
“You can do that?” Elsa-May asked.
He nodded. “I still have friends in the force.”
“That would be wonderful,” Elsa-May said.
Crowley took the slip of paper that had the plate number, and said, “I'll just go outside and make that call.”
Once he was outside, Ettie looked out the window to make sure no one was watching them. When she saw that there was no black car in sight, she relaxed a little. It didn't seem as though anyone was watching them or the house, but they still could’ve been.
Crowley stepped back inside. “They're just running the plates. I should get a call back within the next half hour.”
Ettie handed him a list of names.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“The names I told you about that I got from Bethany’s quilt store earlier today.”
He looked down at the names and then looked back up at them in surprise.
Elsa-May said, “What is it, Detective… Ronald?”
“I know this name.” He tapped heavily on the paper and then looked up at the elderly ladies once again. “Genevieve Cohen.”
“Who is she?” Ettie and Elsa-May asked at the same time.
“Around four years ago, this woman had her baby boy kidnapped and held for ransom.”
Ettie and Elsa-May’s eyes grew wide.
“What happened?” Elsa-May asked.
He shook his head. “It wasn't my case, but I remember it well. They didn’t get the baby back and no one knows what happened to him. The kidnappers asked for $200,000 in cash and gave the parents three days to raise the funds. Of course, the kidnappers told the Cohens not to involve the police. Genevieve was very much against her husband involving the police, but he thought it was the best way to get the baby back. He raised the money, and we had a police officer tail him to the drop the kidnappers had named, and another officer waited near the drop. You see, Cohen had been instructed to give them the money, and a day later, he was supposed to get a call telling him where to collect the baby.”
“What happened?” Ettie asked.
“No one turned up to collect the money, and that night, Craig Cohen got a call saying that they’d give him one more chance and if he involved the police again, the they’d kill the baby.”
“Did the police stay away?” Ettie asked, doubting that they did.
He shook his head. “By this time, the FBI was involved. At the second drop, the money was collec
ted and the kidnapper caught red-handed. Then the FBI discovered this man wasn’t one of the kidnappers, just a petty criminal that they'd paid $500 to pick up the package. The man knew nothing, and his story checked out. The kidnappers never got the money, but the Cohens never got their baby back either. They never heard from the kidnappers again, and our investigations, along with the FBI’s, never turned up anything.
“What happened to the baby?” Ettie asked.
“Most kidnapped cases don’t end well. They never saw their baby again.”
“Crowley, you can't tell the police anything; it might happen again. Do you think that this is that same woman’s baby?”
Ettie answered before Crowley had a chance. “I’d say without a doubt it’s the Cohens’ baby. That’s why they’re hiding him; they don’t want harm to come to this one.”
“It's a huge jump to think that, Ettie. Just because Mrs. Cohen bought a quilt at the quilt store doesn’t mean that this is her baby. She might have bought it for some other reason. To give away to someone as a present, for example.”
“I think I’m right, though. It's a bit much of a coincidence don't you think? Sounds like the woman—Genevieve—had another baby and she’s scared out of her wits that her second baby will be kidnapped. To keep him safe, she dropped him on our doorstep and begged us never to let Englischers have him.”
Elsa-May said, “I think Ettie’s right. Genevieve is hoping we keep the baby within the Amish community.”
Crowley heaved a sigh. “Yes, but why the both of you, and why your doorstep? Do you know this woman, have you ever even met this woman?”
Ettie and Elsa-May looked at each other and then shook their heads.
“No, we don't think so,” Ettie admitted.
“Then I’d say there’s little chance that this woman has left a baby at your door. I’d think if she ever had another baby that she’d keep a close eye on him—not give him away. What you’re both saying just doesn’t make any sense whatsoever, when you think it through.”
Amish Baby Mystery Page 3