Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 7

by Samantha Price

  “That girl's just got a lively mind. I do think what Kate said about Martin Cruise judging the quilts is correct. Doesn’t he help organize the fairs as well?”

  “He does it all apparently.”

  The next morning, Ettie and Elsa-May traveled to the fair in the back of Gabriel’s buggy with young Matilda between them. Elsa-May had insisted Kate sit in the front with Gabriel.

  “We’ll show you around the area, Kate.”

  “No need. Mary insisted on doing that on Monday. And she’s going to teach me Pennsylvania Dutch since I’m not familiar with it. She said I’d need to learn that. I mean, you can all teach me I suppose. I know a few words but that’s it.”

  “It won’t take too long,” Gabriel said.

  Elsa-May leaned forward. “What caused you to move here, Kate?”

  “Mama wants to open a quilting store,” Matilda answered before her mother had a chance.

  Kate turned around and glared at her daughter. “I believe I was asked the question, Matilda.”

  “Sorry, Mama.”

  “What Matilda said is true. I do hope to open a small quilting store here and it would’ve helped if I took first prize in the show, but Greta wouldn’t take a late entry.”

  “We do have a lot of that kind of store here,” Gabriel told her.

  “We could always do with more,” Elsa-May said. “Greta said she can’t keep up with the demand.”

  “That’s the rent, Elsa-May. She said she can’t keep up with the rent.”

  Elsa-May stared at her sister. “Are you sure?”

  “Quite sure.”

  “I knew she couldn’t keep up with something.”

  Ettie continued, “That’s why she had to change her consignment amount from twenty-five percent to thirty-five percent. She said she had to do it to survive.”

  Gabriel laughed. “Sounds drastic.”

  “Well, for her to keep her store open she might’ve had to do it,” Elsa-May commented.

  Kate turned around to face the sisters once more. “Are the rents in town high?”

  “No higher than anywhere else, I wouldn’t think,” Elsa-May answered.

  Ettie said, “I haven’t seen your quilts, Kate, but I have to tell you that Leonora Shroder always wins the quilt competitions. She’s won every one of them for the past fifteen years straight.”

  “I can’t wait to see her sewing, then. That’ll let me know what I’ll be up against for the next fair.”

  When they arrived, Matilda could barely sit still. Ettie had to hurry out of the buggy before Matilda just scrambled over the top of her.

  Ettie was smoothing down her dress when she looked up and spotted Leonora. She told Kate, “That’s Leonora over there going into the green tent.”

  Everyone looked at Leonora.

  “I’ll be back around two,” Gabriel told them.

  “Denke,” Elsa-May said, “We’ll be here waiting so you don’t have to come find us.”

  As Gabriel drove away, they walked through the gates and into the fairgrounds.

  “Would you mind looking after Matilda while I go to the ladies room?”

  “Of course. We’ll look at the exhibits while you’re gone,” Elsa-May said. “The ones that are open that is.”

  “Okay, I’ll come and find you.”

  When Kate walked away, Greta O’Toole, the organizer, came running over.

  “Yoohoo, Ettie.”

  Ettie knew she was coming to tell her where she needed to be. Greta looked very conservative in her white lace-up tennis shoes she always wore and a blue floral dress. Ettie was amazed at how her hair always stayed in place, neatly curling up above her shoulders, while near her face she had one distinct white streak that stood out among the gray. It was clear from the look on Greta’s face that she was panicked and the day had hardly begun.

  “Hello, Greta.” Ettie was just about to ask how she was doing, but she didn’t get a chance.

  “Meet me in the blue tent in five minutes. The other cookie judges are there already.” She put her hand on her chest to catch her breath and scurried away.

  Ettie looked back at Greta to ask which color tent she’d just mentioned, but she saw her talking to a lady with blonde hair and didn’t want to interrupt.

  “You go, Ettie. Matilda and I will be fine.”

  “Oh, there’s ice-cream. Can I have some, Mrs. Lutz?” Matilda asked.

  Elsa-May chuckled. “I don’t see why not. I’ll find you later, Ettie, after you finish eating the cookies. I mean, judging the cookies.”

  “Cookies?” Matilda asked, looking between the two women.

  “They’re not for eating,” Ettie told her. “Don’t listen to Mrs. Lutz.”

  Matilda’s freckled nose screwed up. “What are they for if you don’t eat them?”

  “They’re for judging,” Ettie said. When Ettie looked back around, she didn’t see Greta anywhere and the blonde woman was gone.

  Elsa-May took hold of Matilda’s hand. “Let’s get you that ice-cream.”

  Ettie stood there for a moment and watched them walk away, thinking how funny it was that the very old and the very young got on so well together even though there was a full generation in between them. Then Ettie remembered she had to be somewhere.

  The cookie tent.

  What was the color of the cookie tent where Greta told her to go?

  She looked around and saw at least ten tents. People were busy posting signs outside the tents, and none of them was labeled as the cookie tent. There were three tents with no signs. Ettie ruled out the red tent right away, being sure Greta had said either green or blue. Both of those colors had been mentioned in the past few minutes.

  She decided to go to the one farthest away and work her way back.

  When she stepped into the green tent, she caught a glimpse of someone scurrying out of the tent on the opposite side. This was the wrong tent, clearly. There were no cookies.

  Ettie looked around at all the magnificent quilts everywhere. Some were hanging and others were spread out on trestle tables. Quilts had always been a source of fascination for her. Probably because her mother and her grandmother before her had been keen quilters. She and all her sisters had been involved with family quilting projects, but nowadays, Ettie preferred needlework. Quilting took up so much time and space. Space was something she didn’t have in the small house she and Elsa-May shared, and as for time, it didn’t take that long to finish one of her needle-worked samplers.

  “The quilt tent,” Ettie murmured as she looked at each of the pieces. Ettie guessed there were upwards of forty of them.

  When Ettie saw a fine star patterned quilt, she was transported back to days gone by when she’d been in her grandmother’s house. A quilt similar to this one had been on her bed for as far back as Ettie could remember. She ran her fingertips over the dark greens and then the navy blues.

  A bright blue and pink quilt that looked like a painting of a house quickly took her attention. It was exquisite and nothing like any quilt she’d ever seen. To be sure it was actually a quilt, she had to inspect it closer.

  She took a step, tripped over something and landed heavily on her stomach. Even though she’d been quick enough to put her hands out to break her fall, the wind had been knocked clear out of her. It took her a while to regain her breath. Lying on the floor, she hoped she hadn’t broken anything. She wiggled her toes and was pleased she felt them move. Her hands felt scraped, but she was very glad to realize she hadn't injured her wrists. Once she sat up, she looked back to see what she’d tripped over.

  A white tennis shoe was sticking out from a quilt that reached the floor. On her hands and knees she crawled over and lifted up the quilt.

  Two white tennis shoes ... and they were on someone’s feet.

  Ettie’s heart pumped with adrenaline.

  Looking past the shoes, she saw legs and then a floral dress. A blue floral dress.

  This wasn’t good.

  She lifted the quilt eve
n higher to see it was Greta.

  Dead!

  Chapter 3

  “Help!” Ettie tried to yell, but it came out as a croak. She needed to attract someone with a cell phone who could call for help. But first she needed to get some air into her lungs.

  She moved away and managed to push herself to her knees. “Help!” she called out with all her strength.

  Then someone burst into the tent “Are you okay?” It was a man. Immediately, she recognized him as local councilor, Martin Cruise. He was always at these kinds of events.

  She stared down at her grazed hands. “I think I’m okay, but there’s someone under the table who’s not.”

  Martin moved forward, reached down and lifted up the bottom of the quilt. When he saw Greta lying there, his face turned white. Then he looked back at Ettie as though asking for an explanation.

  “I just found her here,” Ettie said.

  “Is she …?”

  “We need to call for the paramedics. Do you have a cell phone?”

  Without replying, he straightened up and took his cell phone out of his pocket and pressed 9-1-1. She looked under the table and when she looked back at him, she saw him with one hand on his cell phone and with the other hand he was pushing something into his pocket. When their eyes met, he quickly looked away. “I’m waiting for the operator.”

  Reluctantly, Ettie crawled under the table to get a better look at Greta. If there was any chance the woman was still alive, Ettie didn’t want to waste time. Knowing every second was crucial, Ettie pressed two fingers against Greta’s neck and waited to feel a pulse.

  Nothing.

  Then she held her hand in front of Greta's face to see if she could feel any breath coming from her mouth or nose.

  Still nothing.

  Then Ettie saw the marks around Greta’s throat.

  She’d been strangled. This was a murder.

  While the councilor talked to the operator, Ettie couldn’t think of a reason the woman would’ve been murdered. She was a kind-hearted Englisher who ran a quilting store and organized local charity events.

  Ettie crawled out from under the table.

  “They’re coming,” Martin told Ettie, holding the phone a distance from his ear. “Police, and the paramedics.”

  “She’s been murdered!”

  His jaw dropped open, and then he said to the operator, “Yes, I’m still here. It looks like she’s been murdered.”

  Ettie left him there in the tent. Not wanting young Matilda to learn that someone had been killed, she walked around trying to find her and Kate.

  Minutes later, she saw Elsa-May coming out of a tent followed by Kate and Matilda.

  “Where were you, Ettie? Everyone’s been looking for you,” Elsa-May said.

  Ettie tried to catch her breath. “I went to the wrong tent.” Ettie looked down at Matilda to see her eating cookies. Was this the cookie tent?

  Elsa-May continued, “That’s too bad because they couldn’t find you and I had no choice but to fill in for you as a judge.”

  As much as Ettie was annoyed, she couldn’t worry about cookies or judging right now. There were bigger things to be concerned about. She pulled Elsa-May aside and told her what had happened. Elsa-May then ushered Kate and Matilda to the other side of the fairground.

  Ettie headed back to the quilt tent to see if she could do anything to help. By now, a crowd had gathered, and the councilor was still on the phone pacing up and down while ordering everyone to stay back and keep out of the tent. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, Ettie slipped around the back of the tent and walked in the back entrance. She was surprised to see someone in the tent. It was an Amish woman, Leonora Schroder, and she was stuffing a quilt into a bag.

  Chapter 4

  Ettie stepped forward. “Leonora, what are you doing?”

  “I don’t want my quilt to be taken. I won’t be able to sell it.”

  “Stop! You can’t touch anything. It’ll all be evidence now.”

  The councilor walked back in and frowned at each of them. “No one can touch anything, that’s what they said.”

  Leonora smiled at him until he left, and then her face hardened when she looked back at Ettie. “This is my quilt. No one can tell me what to do with something that’s mine.”

  Ettie walked closer to her, not understanding why she seemed totally unconcerned about what had happened. “You do realize that Greta has not died from natural causes, don’t you?”

  She stopped what she was doing. “I am sorry about that, but it’s got nothing to do with me or my quilt.”

  Ettie stared at Leonora still shoving the quilt into her bag, trying to think of something to make her stop. “The police won’t like it.”

  “What they don’t know won’t hurt them. Me and my quilt have nothing to do with anything.”

  “They’ll be here any minute.”

  Martin stuck his head inside the tent. “They’re here.”

  When he was gone, Ettie turned back to Leonora and did her best to sound more urgent. “You’ll need to leave the quilt. It might have evidence. This is now a crime scene.”

  By now, Leonora had her quilt secured in her bag. She grabbed it with both hands and slipped out the back of the tent without even looking at Ettie again.

  Right at that moment, Detective Kelly walked in. Ettie turned around and the two of them locked eyes. “Mrs. Smith. Well, well, I might’ve known.”

  Ettie gulped. “I was only here at the fair to judge the cookies.”

  “You were the one who found her?”

  “Yes, she’s under the table. She’s … well, she was Greta O’Toole.”

  Kelly pulled on a pair of gloves, then crouched down and lifted up the edge of the quilt. After he looked at Greta, he twisted to look up at Ettie. “What were you doing when you found her?”

  “Looking for the cookie tent. I came into this one by mistake and I was walking to the end to take a closer look at a most unusual quilt that had caught my eye …” She looked around for it and saw it was gone. The beautiful quilt had to have been Leonora’s.

  “Right now, I’m just after the short version of the story thank you, Mrs. Smith.”

  “I tripped over her. Her legs were sticking out a little ways and I didn’t know until I was flat on my face on the ground.”

  “You okay?” He frowned, appearing concerned.

  “Just sore hands.” She held her palms up to show him.

  He didn’t say anything, just nodded and then took another quick look at Greta. “What do you know about the deceased?”

  “She likes to wear white tennis shoes and always wears floral dresses and—”

  Kelly twisted around and stared up at her, frowning. “Any enemies, where’s her family, that kind of thing.”

  “Oh. I don’t know about her family. She has a store in town.” Ettie nervously pulled on the neckline of her dress. It was a hot day for the middle of spring and Kelly always made her nervous. He always asked questions and then got annoyed by her answers. “Wait, she does have family. I remember now because Elsa-May and I, and a few of our friends, attended her husband’s funeral some years back. She has two nieces and that’s all. One is quite famous and lives in Hollywood. The other one lives around the area here.”

  An officer poked his head in the tent. “Detective Kelly, the coroner’s here.”

  “Good.” Kelly straightened up. “Has anything been touched?” he asked Ettie.

  She pulled her mouth to one side wondering what to say about Leonora running off with her quilt.

  “Come on, Mrs. Smith, you’ve got to know better than that.”

  “Not me. I didn’t touch anything. It was … I just had to see if she was alive.”

  “You touched the body?”

  “I just felt for a pulse. I needed to know if she was still breathing.” Surely he couldn’t be mad at her for that.

  Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the coroner walked in and, along with him, more officers. �
��You’ll need to move away from the tent,” Kelly told her. “But don’t go anywhere. We’ll need to talk. Wait outside and don’t talk to anyone else. Have the paramedics clean up your hands first.”

  Ettie had one of the paramedics wash her scraped hands with antiseptic wipes, and then she waited outside with Martin Cruise. Martin’s cell phone rang. He answered it, turned his back and walked a short distance away, and that annoyed Ettie. She’d overheard that he’d also been told not to speak with anyone and it sounded to Ettie like he was on the phone with someone from the press.

  Ettie walked up to Martin while he was still on the phone, and pretended not to notice he was otherwise occupied. “This is a terrible thing, isn’t it?”

  He frowned at her and held the phone away from himself. “What was that?” he asked.

  “A dreadful thing.”

  “Excuse me, I’m on the phone.” Martin Cruise went back to talking, taking a few steps away from her. When she followed him, he ended his call and turned back to face her. “I’m sorry. Yes, it is a dreadful thing to happen.” He smoothed down the few strands of hair he had left on the top of his head. “I can’t believe it’s happened here at our fair.”

  Ettie shook her head. “It’s dreadful.”

  Then more police cars pulled up.

  “What’s happening now?” Ettie asked him, as more officers spread out across the fairground.

  “They said they’re going to shut down the fair and take everyone’s name.”

  “Can they do that?” Ettie asked.

  “I guess so. Something like this has never happened before.”

  “I need to ask you something, Mr. Cruise.”

  He frowned and shoved his hands in his pockets. “What’s that?”

  “In the tent I saw you putting something into your pocket. Do you mind telling me what it was?”

  He threw his head back and snorted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I saw you and you know that I saw you.”

  He pulled out his pockets until they were turned inside out. “Nothing there. See? Satisfied? Only my phone, which is all I generally carry with me.” Then he stuffed his pockets back.