Chapter 18
As Rebecca and I made our way through the ever-moving island of straw hats toward the tent, I remembered once more how Amish men and women do most things separately. The men were all gathered around the equipment on sale such as driving harnesses, saddles, blankets, and brushes while the women were all down the other end, selling the quilts, pies, and crafts.
However, Amish men and women were together in the huge sale tent. When we reached Matilda and Eleanor, Eleanor handed me a hotdog. “Can you believe it? These were only fifty cents and the extra sauerkraut was free.” She handed one to Rebecca as well.
We thanked her. “Where’s Matilda?” I asked her.
Eleanor’s expression held clear disapproval. “She’s getting us some milkshakes. She ate her hotdog quickly.”
She looked behind me and then I swung around to see Brian Birch.
“Imagine seeing you all here,” he said.
“I didn’t know you’d be interested in an Amish school sale,” I said.
“I don’t intend to buy anything,” he said, “apart from the food.” He broke off with a chuckle. “I wanted to come because it’s Amish and nearby, and I’m curious about Amish culture.” He saw Rebecca and quickly added, “I hope you don’t mind me saying that.”
“Not at all,” Rebecca said.
“Have any of you bought anything?” he asked us.
“Only hot dogs,” Eleanor said. “You really should get one. They’re only fifty cents and the extra sauerkraut is free.”
From the look on Brian’s face, I guessed he wasn’t partial to sauerkraut. “They’re awfully good hotdogs,” I told him.
“Well, I am rather hungry. Anyway, how are you all doing?”
“Fine,” I told him.
Brian looked around. “I haven’t seen the detectives here today.”
Eleanor stopped eating her hotdog for a moment to ask him, “Why would they be here?”
“To keep an eye on suspects, of course,” he said. To Rebecca, he added, “I’m a suspect, given that I was Judy’s IT manager. I thought the police would have made an arrest by now.”
An Amish lady walked over and struck up a conversation with Rebecca. I took the opportunity to walk away a little so Brian and Eleanor would follow me. “I don’t like to talk about it in front of my sister in case it upsets her,” I said.
“Have the police questioned her again?” he asked me.
“I don’t think so,” I said. “What about you?”
He shook his head. “No. It concerns me actually.”
“You’re worried because the police haven’t questioned you again?” Eleanor said in surprise.
He chuckled. “At least it would show they were on the job. I hope they haven’t lost interest in the case. After all, even though Judy was a nasty person, her murderer should still be brought to justice.”
Matilda arrived, clutching three milkshakes. She handed one to Rebecca before walking over to us. “Sorry Brian, if I knew you were here I would have bought you one.”
He held up one hand, palm outward. “Thanks anyway, but I’m lactose intolerant. Cakes don’t hurt me but milk itself sure would.”
“There are so many suspects now, aren’t there?” Matilda said. “If you didn’t do it, Brian, and Rebecca didn’t do it—which we know she didn’t—that only leaves Karen Francis, Selena Starr, and Judy’s husband James.”
“It certainly does narrow it down,” Brian said. “I don’t like being a suspect, to tell you the truth. I’m going to be on tenterhooks until the police actually arrest someone.”
“Yes, the police do seem to be a little slow,” Matilda said. “And the thing is, what’s the motive? There was no money for James to inherit.”
“She was using up every cent they had, though,” Brian pointed out.
Matilda readily agreed. “There is that. And Judy was pretty terrible to Selena Starr so she had a motive. I haven’t uncovered a motive for Karen Francis, though.”
Brian looked surprised. “You know what I think! I do find it hard to believe that anyone I know could commit such a heinous crime, but if I had to make an educated guess, my money would be on Selena. I’m certain Karen didn’t do it, even though she had a motive.”
“Karen had a motive?” I echoed. “We didn’t think she did have a motive.”
“Oh yes, she most certainly did. She knew Judy paid for lots of nasty fake reviews on her book.”
“But I thought Judy didn’t know about Karen’s book, as it was a paperback,” I said.
Brian looked surprised. “Of course she knew about it.”
I sipped my milkshake before adding, “But Karen said they were in different categories. When I looked on the big online store, Judy’s book was in the ebook section and Karen’s book was in the paperback section.”
“Judy was driven by her ego and didn’t like any rivals, whether real or perceived,” Brian told us. “I managed her website and I can tell you she most certainly did pay for plenty of false negative reviews on Karen’s book.”
“Do you have proof?” Matilda asked him.
“Of course I do,” he said. “I’m the IT manager and I had all of Judy’s logins. I could see where she bought negative reviews from those disreputable online sites that sell reviews.”
“Yes, we heard about those sites that sell both positive and negative reviews,” I told him. “The only thing is, we didn’t realize the reviews were on Karen’s book as well.”
“I’m afraid we’ve fallen down in our duty,” Matilda said. “We took Karen at her word, and did not actually check to see if what she was saying was the truth. Eleanor, I want you to get Karen’s book on your phone right now. Let’s see if she does have negative reviews.”
We stood around Eleanor, looking over her shoulder. “It’s slow to load, for some reason,” she lamented.
Soon, we all gasped. There were certainly plenty of negative reviews on Karen’s book.
“Maybe they’re all genuine,” I said. “After all, everyone has a different opinion.”
“You can tell they’re fake reviews,” Brian said. “They always say that they really wanted to like the book, but weren’t able to. Some of them even say they love all the author’s other books.”
“But it’s her only book,” I said.
Brian shrugged one shoulder. “I went to the negative review sites to read what they said. They said they do both books and products, and they suggested paying for a short good review to leave on another book by the same person.”
“Why would they do that?” I asked him.
“I really don’t know enough about it,” he said, “but I assume it’s so the review looks genuine. I mean if they leave a five star review on an old book that isn’t selling, then the fake review on the new book looks more genuine.”
I was aghast. “I had no idea this sort of thing went on, to be honest.”
“Nor did I until I read all the emails,” he said.
Matilda made a horrible slurping sound as she drained every last drop from the bottom of her milkshake. “So you say you know for certain that Judy Jenkins paid for negative reviews on Selena Starr’s book.”
“Yes, it cost several hundred dollars for so many reviews,” he said. “Every time Karen’s book went high in the rankings, Judy bought another negative review to send its ranking lower.” He shrugged. “Anyway, I’m hungry. I must go off and get that hotdog. I hope to see you all around later.” With that, he left.
“So Karen Francis did have a motive after all,” I said. “Do you think she’s the murderer?”
“I don’t know. I thought the murderer was Selena Starr until now. Karen Francis did keep it from us,” Eleanor said.
“We’re not the police, so she was quite within her rights not to tell us,” Matilda pointed out. “Still, we hadn’t suspected her until now, as we couldn’t see she had a motive. Now that we know she has a motive, we will have to look into her a little more.”
Just then the auctione
er started calling and we couldn’t hear a thing. “Let’s go outside,” Matilda yelled.
We headed out of the tent and I cast a longing look at a horse being led past us. My thoughts went to my money. Once more, I tried not to get too excited just in case it didn’t happen, but there was a chance, a good chance, that I would have my own house on my own land. I could scarcely bring myself to believe it.
Matilda and Eleanor wandered off to look at a stall selling antiques, despite their protestation they weren’t interested in antiques.
“You’re looking awfully happy,” Brian said.
I jumped. “I didn’t see you.”
“Would you like to come over for dinner tonight, Jane?” he asked with a wide smile.
My stomach sank. I wasn’t the slightest bit interested in Brian. As I hesitated, he added, “Don’t get the wrong idea.” He held up both hands in protestation. “Just as a friend, I mean. I didn’t invite Eleanor and Matilda as their constant bickering drives me mad.” He broke off with a laugh. “You’d be doing me a favor. I’ve been quite stressed ever since I moved to this town. I don’t know anyone here, and now I’m even more stressed after what happened to Judy.”
I shot him the brightest smile I could muster. “That’s so kind of you Brian, and I really do appreciate it, but it just wouldn’t be right.”
He frowned. “Why wouldn’t it be right?”
I laughed nervously. “I was raised Amish you see, and it wouldn’t be right for me to go to a man’s house alone.” It was quite an exaggeration as I had been non-Amish for most of my life, but I hoped he wouldn’t know that. I didn’t want to be rude, but under no circumstances did I intend to go to Brian’s house alone.
He looked quite put out. “Well, if you insist,” he said. “I thought you’d be lonely. I heard Matilda and Eleanor discuss the class they were going to tonight and they said you’d be home alone.”
I simply shrugged. “You must come for dinner one night soon, Brian, when all this settles down.”
He looked thrilled, too thrilled. Had he taken my words the wrong way? I meant when Matilda and Eleanor were there.
Before he could say anything else, Matilda called out to me. “Hurry, Jane! We all need to go to a class.”
Chapter 19
I hurried over to Matilda and held up both hands in front of me. “There is absolutely no way I am going to another self defense class!”
I expected her to protest, but she simply smiled. “Jane, you know we need to question Karen Francis again now we know she has a motive.”
“That’s fine, but I refuse to go to any more self defense classes,” I said. “I’m already sore from people grabbing me around the neck.”
“It wasn’t as bad as that,” Matilda said. “Honestly, Jane.”
Eleanor looked up from her phone. “You don’t need to worry. Karen’s always on Instagram. She’s just posted this. Have a look at this.”
She shoved her phone under our noses. Karen was smiling widely next to a beautiful standard white poodle. “Pom-pom and I at the pet salon waiting for her usual treatment,” the post said.
“We’ll have to hurry,” Eleanor added. “She posted that five minutes ago.”
I knew I was defeated. “What’s the plan?”
“We’ll go to the pet grooming place and I’ll make enquiries about grooming,” Eleanor said. “We can pretend to happen across Karen again. She won’t find it the least suspicious.”
I had my own reservations about that.
“Let’s go,” Matilda said. “Where’s Rebecca? Should we say goodbye?”
“We can come back here and say goodbye to her later,” Eleanor said. “We don’t have time to say goodbye to her now.”
I thought that an awfully strange thing to say. In fact, I thought Matilda would admonish Eleanor, but she did not. She seemed to be in complete agreement. The two of them took off at a fast walk toward my car.
“I’ll direct you,” Eleanor said.
Half an hour later, I parked not far from the pet grooming salon.
It was an attractive storefront, with a blue and white striped awning. A large sign displayed the words, ‘Paws Here’.
“What if they’re finished her dog by now?” I asked them.
“It would take longer than that to shampoo and condition a standard poodle and do the dog’s toenails,” Eleanor said, “and perhaps touch up the clip. That dog was in full Continental clip.”
“You two stay here and I’ll make a sweep,” Matilda said. She wasn’t away long. Upon her return, she announced, “There’s no sign of Karen. She left the dog there, so no doubt she’ll come back later.”
“Then what do we do?” I asked.
“We wait, of course,” Matilda said. “This is a good spot from which to observe. Everyone, back in the car.”
When we were back in the car, Matilda said, “Jane, keep your eyes peeled. Eleanor, go and fetch the supplies.”
“What sort of supplies?” I asked, intrigued.
“Coffee and donuts of course,” Matilda said. “Haven’t you ever seen cop shows with stakeouts? Stakeouts are incredibly boring and the only thing to do is to eat. Well then, off you go Eleanor!” She waved her hand at her.
Matilda was right. I was soon awfully bored staring at the grooming salon, all the while waiting for Karen to show up.
I cheered up immensely when Eleanor brought back coffee and donuts.
I was munching on a strawberry donut when Eleanor clutched my arm. “There she is! Don’t get out of the car yet—it’s best if we catch her when she’s leaving. Just give it a few moments and we’ll go in.”
After a few minutes, Matilda and Eleanor got out of the car and I followed suit, casting the uneaten portion of my donut a sad glance.
I stood back and let Matilda and Eleanor walk in first. Matilda marched straight up to the counter. There was no sign of Karen. I figured she was in the grooming room with her dog. “Do you shampoo cats here?” Eleanor asked the receptionist.
“Yes we do,” the receptionist said. “Has your cat been shampooed before?”
“Not as far as I know,” Eleanor added.
“Here’s a list of our fees and services,” the receptionist said, pushing a glossy brochure across the counter to Eleanor. “Would you like to book?”
“I’ll have to think about it first,” Eleanor said. “My cat is a rescue and I’m just waiting for him to settle down a little more.”
The woman nodded. “That’s quite wise, but I can assure you we take good care of them here.”
Karen had not yet emerged. I guessed that’s why Eleanor tried to continue the conversation. “So, I have several pet goats. Do you trim their hooves?”
The woman looked shocked and was rendered speechless for a few moments. When she recovered, she said, “No, I’m afraid we don’t. That requires someone experienced with perhaps sheep. Or maybe someone who is experienced with pruning shears.”
“I would get some pruning shears and do my goats’ feet,” Eleanor said. “Still, they are quite wild. Do you think maybe I should ask a vet?”
The woman looked relieved. “Yes! That’s a good idea. I’d ask a vet if I were you.”
Just then, Karen walked out the door with a magnificent poodle.
“Oh, it’s you,” she said. Her tone was sharp, but she at once smiled.
Eleanor stepped aside. “I’ll just let this lady pay.”
“She’s already paid,” the receptionist said.
Karen made her way to the door, but Matilda stepped in front of her. “Imagine seeing you again. What a magnificent job they’ve done with your poodle.”
“Thank you,” Karen said. “Do you own dogs?”
“I was just here to book in my cat,” Eleanor said. “Look, do you mind if we ask you a quick question? Something’s come up.”
Karen looked quite put out, but said, “What is it?”
“The police have said they’re going to arrest Jane’s sister.”
Kare
n looked genuinely surprised. “The Amish one?” she said in disbelief.
“Yes,” Matilda said. “We think the murderer has to be Selena Starr or maybe Brian Birch. Those are our suspects. If the police can’t get it right, then we’re going to need to investigate.”
“What precisely did you want to ask me?” Karen said in clipped tones.
“We think Brian is trying to frame you,” Matilda said.
Karen clutched the leash tightly. “Brian? Frame me? Why, whatever did he say?”
“Brian told us he had access to all the negative reviews on your book. He said he had all the passwords because he was Judy’s IT manager. He read all her emails. He said Judy paid for negative reviews on your cookbook to shut it down.”
Karen’s face turned beet red. Her mouth opened and then shut again. “Did Brian say that?” Her tone was filled with anger.
“Yes, so that made us suspicious of him,” Matilda said. “Why else would he say that about you? Were you aware that Judy put those negative reviews on your book?”
“Yes, of course I was,” she said, “but I didn’t have any proof. I looked into it and found there are several sites that advertise they will leave either positive or negative reviews on people’s books. I’m sure it’s illegal. It’s against the terms of conditions of all the online stores, but that doesn’t stop the sites from doing it.”
“Why didn’t you tell us this before?” Eleanor said.
Karen’s eyes narrowed again. “Why would I? I mean, you’re not the police, are you! And besides, I didn’t want the police to know because then they’d think I was a suspect. I don’t want them to know I have a motive. After all, I know I didn’t do it, so they’d waste their time investigating me. You didn’t tell the police, did you?”
“Of course not,” Matilda said in even tones. “As I told you, we don’t think you did it. We think Brian was trying to throw suspicion onto you to cover up for himself.”
Confection is Good for the Soul: An Amish Cupcake Cozy Mystery Page 13