Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 7

by Samantha Price

  Ettie didn’t know why he was lying, but she knew she wasn’t mistaken.

  Two officers walked forward and called them over.

  One of them took Ettie to sit in a chair behind one of the tents. “Detective Kelly will be with you soon,” she was told.

  While the officer waited with her, Ettie looked back at the tent and saw the yellow do-not-cross crime scene tape being wrapped around the perimeter of the tent.

  When Detective Kelly finally walked out of the tent, he headed toward Martin Cruise who wasn’t too far away. “Mr. Cruise, you were the one who called it in?”

  “I was.”

  “This way please.” Detective Kelly took Martin into one of the smaller tents to question.

  Fifteen minutes later, Martin Cruise left and Kelly poked his head out of the tent and called Ettie over.

  “Have a seat,” he said when she walked into the small tent, full of food supplies for one of the food vendors.

  She sat down and looked around, placing her sore hands gently in her lap.

  “Here we are again.”

  “Yes.”

  “Mrs. Smith, what’s to stop me thinking you killed her?”

  Ettie pointed to herself. “Me? I didn’t.”

  “Would you tell me if you did?”

  “I didn’t. I mean, I wouldn’t. Wouldn’t do it.”

  “Still, I have to treat you as I would anyone else. I can’t let the fact that we know each other affect my process. I’ll need you to come down to the station and make an official statement, but for now, tell me everything you know from the moment you walked into the tent this morning.”

  Surely he couldn’t be serious about thinking she might’ve done it. No, he couldn’t be. He was trying to sound official for the young officer who was standing at the door. “I tripped over her feet and looked under the table and there she was. I called out for help and Mr. Cruise came in and helped me up. It was he who called 9-1-1.”

  He wrote the notes in his book.

  “Wait a minute. I saw someone leaving the tent on the other side when I came in.”

  He frowned. “From a tent on the other side?”

  “No. The tent has two doorways. I came in one just as someone was going out through the other.”

  “Who?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What did they look like? Man or woman?”

  Ettie sighed. “I don’t know. I just saw the tent flap swaying and the back of someone as they moved through.”

  “Could the flap have been merely swaying in the breeze?”

  “No.” Ettie shook her head. “It was someone. If only I’d been a second or two earlier, I would’ve been able to tell you exactly what they looked like. I don’t even know if it was a man or a woman. I just saw the back of someone moving through,” Ettie repeated. “An inch of his, or her, back.”

  “It seems likely that was the murderer you saw. According to the coroner, she’s only just expired.”

  “It must’ve been seconds after she talked with me.”

  “Can you recall anything else? Anything at all?”

  Ettie put a hand over her fast-beating heart. If she had been a few seconds earlier, she would’ve looked into the eyes of the killer. She even might’ve become his next victim.

  “Mrs. Smith? I asked if you can recall anything else.”

  “No. I was supposed to be judging the cookies. I went into the blue tent and I think I should’ve gone into the green. No, wait. It was the other way around.” Ettie shook her head and looked down. “Oh, I’m not sure now. It’s all left my head completely.”

  “Take a minute. It’s okay. Take a deep breath.”

  Ettie filled her lungs with air, held it, and then breathed out slowly. Then she came over a little lightheaded, so she waited a moment before she spoke again. “We saw Greta when we arrived. She told me where I was supposed to be and then she was gone.”

  “Did she seem upset?”

  “Just flustered. It is a big job organizing something like this. She does it every year. She was in a hurry, that’s what I thought at the time.”

  “Where is her business located?”

  “In the row of shops right next to the farmers market.”

  He jotted that down in his book. Then when he looked back up at her, something caught his eye. Ettie followed his gaze through the tent door to Elsa-May and their neighbor. “Ah, I knew Mrs. Lutz wouldn’t be far away. She never is. Is that her granddaughter?”

  “That’s our new neighbor and her daughter. They’re staying in the house next door for a while until they find a permanent place. They’ve just moved here.”

  “I don’t suppose Mrs. Lutz saw anything?”

  “No. She was looking after our neighbor’s child.”

  “Where was the mother?”

  “She went to the bathroom.”

  He uncrossed his legs and crossed them again the opposite way. “Did you have a quilt entered into the contest?”

  “No. I haven’t attempted to make a quilt for years.”

  He nodded. “All of the quilts and everything in the quilt tent will have to go into evidence. We’ll pack it all up after the evidence technicians have been over it.”

  “I understand. I thought as much.” And that was exactly what she had told Leonora.

  “When you approached the tent, did you see anyone around, apart from the person slipping out the other entrance?”

  Ettie dissected his question. He was talking about before she found Greta’s body. “No.”

  “How soon did Cruise appear?” he asked.

  “I called out, 'Help,"' and he was there right away.”

  “How loud did you call out?”

  “Loud enough for him to hear.”

  “Must have been fairly loud for him to have heard you from outside the tent. He must’ve been very close by, wouldn’t you say?”

  Ettie nodded, still wondering whether she should tell him about Leonora taking her quilt. “That’s right. He must’ve been right outside.”

  “Tell me about …” He looked down at his notes. “Greta O’Toole’s store.”

  “She sells Amish quilts and quilting items as well as fabrics. Most of the quilts, I believe, are on consignment from our ladies in the community.”

  “Interesting. I wonder why she does that.”

  “For money. It’s her business. She earns money from the sale of the quilts. She also sells other bits and pieces too.”

  “I can see from her clothing she wasn’t an Amish woman, but does she have any other connections to your Amish community, other than selling the quilts?”

  “I don’t think so. If she does, I don’t know about them.”

  “Do you know anything about her family?”

  Ettie searched her mind. “Only that she’s a widow with no children. When her husband died years ago some of our ladies from the community went to his funeral.”

  “Yes, you said that, and you told me you attended.”

  “Yes I did. I remember being told that Greta’s niece was a famous TV star. She didn’t attend the funeral because she was too busy. I just remember people talking about her. They said she was in a soap opera. I recall that because it struck me as such a funny name. No one knew why the word soap was used at all.”

  “I believe the term goes back many years to before TV was around. The radio shows were called soap operas because they were often sponsored by soap companies.”

  Ettie stared at Detective Kelly. “Is that so?”

  Kelly smiled. “I’m a bit of a trivia buff. I do have a good memory and I retain odd pieces of information.”

  “Interesting. Now I know. Thank you for that.”

  “What was her name?”

  “Who’s name?”

  “The soap opera star’s name.”

  “Ah, that would be … I don’t remember the name. I just remember the soap bit.” Ettie shook her head, hoping Kelly wasn’t too disappointed.

  “What about
other family members?”

  “Her sister passed away. She was the one with the two daughters. That’s all I can tell you.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Smith. We’re locating the nieces now so we can break the news.”

  Ettie looked down at the ground, sad that the nieces would soon learn the tragic news. “What a terrible way to go.”

  “It wouldn’t have been the fastest death. It takes longer than you’d think to cut off someone’s air supply completely enough for them to expire.”

  “Yes, I have heard that. It just doesn’t make sense. I can’t believe this has happened. Who would’ve wanted her dead?”

  “That, Mrs. Smith, is exactly what I aim to find out. I need you to come down to the station to make a formal statement.”

  “I will. First thing Monday morning. Tomorrow is our day of rest.”

  “Monday morning, then.”

  Ettie shifted in her seat. The hard, wooden chair was uncomfortable. “Can I go now?”

  “Yes, and thank you. If you remember anything at all, be sure to let me know.”

  “Of course.” Ettie left the detective and the first thing she saw when she looked up, was a pair of police officers taking hold of a young man. Just as she was about to turn back and ask Kelly if he had something to do with Greta’s death, two officers walked into the tent where Kelly was.

  Not wanting to interrupt him, she walked toward a group of people that had gathered over at the other side of the fairgrounds. There she found Elsa-May, Kate, and Matilda, waiting with Gabriel.

  “You’re back so soon, Gabriel. I thought you were coming back at two o’clock.”

  “I heard what happened and I came right back to make sure everyone was okay.”

  “We’re fine,” Ettie said. “I’m glad you’re here because you can take us back home.”

  “The fair hasn’t even started, has it?” Matilda asked. “Is this all there is? I thought it would be better than this.”

  “Yes, it’s over,” her mother told her.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but this has not been the best fair I’ve been to, and why are the police here?”

  “The fair had to be shut down,” Ettie told her. “That’s why it hasn’t been a good one.”

  “Why?”

  “Because someone got sick,” Kate told her.

  “Why don’t they go home? It doesn’t make sense that we all have to go home just because one person’s sick.”

  “Don’t talk so much, Matilda,” Kate said.

  Matilda folded her arms across her chest. “I’m only asking.”

  “Come along, Matilda,” her mother said walking back to the buggy.

  Ettie felt sorry for Matilda. She’d worked herself up to expect a good day. “They’ll close it down today, but it could be open next weekend or the one after instead.”

  “Will it?”

  “It’s possible.”

  Soon, they were in Gabriel’s buggy heading home.

  Chapter 5

  Matilda had gone to sleep in the buggy and Kate had to shake her awake.

  “I’m sorry our day wasn’t what we thought it was going to be, Kate,” Elsa-May said. “Now, who would like to come in for a cup of tea?” Elsa-May looked around at everyone.

  Matilda didn’t say anything and rested her head against her mother, looking very tired.

  “No thank you. I think Matilda and I will just have a rest. Matilda didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  “Why’s that?” Gabriel inquired.

  “She’s just not used to the new place. She’s missing her old bedroom back home.”

  “I can understand that,” Gabriel said.

  Kate said goodbye and walked Matilda into their house.

  “Denke for taking us to and from the fair, Gabriel.” Ettie patted his shoulder once she was out of the buggy.

  “You’re welcome any time. Too bad about the woman being killed.”

  “I know and I’m not looking forward to going over the whole thing again on Monday.”

  “What’s that?” Gabriel asked. “Why would you have to?”

  “Ach, I should have explained. Detective Kelly needs an official statement from me.”

  “Do you need a ride there and back?”

  “I’ll be fine, but denke. I’ll go by taxi because I’m not sure what time I’ll get through.”

  “Very well. You know where to find me if you need me.”

  “Jah, we do.”

  He gave them a wave, and moved his horse forward while Ettie and Elsa-May walked into the house.

  As they moved through the doorway, Snowy rushed at them wagging his tail.

  “We should’ve stayed home with you, Snowy.” Ettie collapsed into the couch. “I just can’t believe what happened today. I mean, there she was talking to us one minute, and the next she’s dead under a table.”

  Elsa-May sat in her usual chair. “Me neither.”

  “I have so much to tell you. Did you see the man that was taken away by the police?”

  “They’ve made an arrest already?”

  “Looks like it, but I won’t know any more until I go to the station Monday. Another thing I didn’t have a chance to tell you was, while we were waiting for the police, Leonora came and took her quilt out of the tent. I told her the police needed that for evidence and she didn’t care.”

  Elsa-May leaned forward. “What did Kelly say about that?”

  “Well …”

  “You did tell Detective Kelly, didn’t you?”

  Now Ettie felt even worse, if Elsa-May was cross with her, and judging by her mouth now forming a thin line, she was. “Nee, I didn’t because I thought he would somehow blame me.”

  “Ach, Ettie, I think you should tell Kelly everything you know. He’ll be even more upset with you when he finds out you kept that from him.”

  Ettie closed her eyes and thought for a moment. She could hear him now, telling her she should’ve stopped Leonora, or certainly should’ve told him about Leonora right away. “It’s worse now that I haven’t told him today, isn’t it?”

  “A whole lot worse. But I know why Leonora took it.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Her quilts are worth a lot of money. She always wins first prize. The other ladies might never get their quilts back from the police evidence room.”

  “Yes, Elsa-May, good point. She was just being smart. She even said they’d take it. I didn’t tell Kelly because I knew that Leonora wouldn’t have had anything to do with Greta’s death. I hope she didn’t think that I thought that. All I wanted was for her to leave the quilt.”

  “I know that. I’m sure Leonora didn’t think you thought she did it.”

  “I hope not.”

  “Nee. Don’t give it another thought. She was just looking out for herself without seeing the bigger picture.”

  “Who might have murdered the poor woman?”

  “No one at the fair could believe it. She was involved with many charities and was a kind woman. It’s a great loss to everyone in a great many ways.”

  “No doubt.” Ettie tapped her finger on her chin while she thought about the last time she saw Greta alive. “When Kate left us to go to the bathroom, right when we arrived at the fair, she didn’t ask her daughter if she wanted to go as well.”

  “Yes, I thought about that too. That seemed a little odd, but she can’t … No. Surely you don’t suspect Kate of killing the woman?”

  “No, but was Kate gone for long?”

  “Long enough for Matilda to eat an ice-cream and then for us to find the cookie tent. We were looking for you. She found us just when I was in the middle of the cookie judging.”

  Ettie’s face soured. “I can’t believe they asked you to judge in my stead. You should’ve said no.”

  “We looked for you.”

  “Not hard enough! I was only a few tents away. Wasn’t there a loudspeaker somewhere? They could’ve called me over the loudspeaker.”

  Elsa-Ma
y’s blue eyes opened wide. “Oh, Ettie, why would they call for you over a loudspeaker to tell you where to be? Greta had already told you where to be just two minutes earlier.”

  Ettie frowned. “Who chose you instead of me?”

  “The two other judges who were waiting for you, that’s who. They were running according to a time schedule, so that’s why they nominated me. I was there, that’s the only reason.”

  “Jah, I bet you were very sorry about that.”

  Elsa-may chuckled. “I did get to sample all of the cookies.”

  “Don’t talk about it.” Again, Ettie’s mind circled around everything that had happened that morning. “I wonder who would’ve killed her. Another thing I must tell you is that when I walked into the tent, someone was disappearing out the other door.”

  “The killer?”

  “Very likely. Detective Kelly seemed to think so.”

  “You do get yourself into some dangerous situations. You could’ve gotten killed.”

  When they had left home, she'd had no idea that going to the local fair would be so perilous. “How did I know someone was going to be murdered in the quilting tent? I didn’t even know what tent I was walking into. It’s not my fault.”

  “And it’s not my fault they made me the cookie judge.”

  “How were they?”

  “The cookies?”

  “Jah.”

  Elsa-May’s face lit up. “There was a white chocolate and oatmeal cookie. It was the best I’ve ever tasted. It had just the right amount of crunch and melted in my mouth.”

  Ettie screwed up her nose. “I don’t know that I would’ve liked that one.”

  “Trust me, you would’ve.”

  “We’ll never know.”

  “I’m sorry, all right? I know you felt honored when they asked you to judge the cookies and it was a letdown when it didn’t happen.”

  Ettie wasn’t listening to her older sister prattling on. “Tell me, when Kate found you after the bathroom trip, did she seem upset?”

  “No more than she did at the start of the day. She seemed a little jumpy and on edge, but she seems like that all the time. That must be her personality. And she always seems so impatient with poor young Matilda. She’s always snapping at her for one thing or another.”