“Yes, we do. How and when did you find that out?” The detective slumped into his chair.
“Brandy came to our house last night.”
Elsa-May nodded. “Yes, she thought we’d be interested to know.”
“Did you already know that, Detective?” Ettie asked.
“How could I have known something like that right away? I looked into things and found it out.” The detective appeared to be annoyed; he picked up his take-out coffee and took a mouthful.
“It’s just strange that you asked, or mentioned that you might need our help before you knew the woman was Amish.” Ettie turned to Elsa-May. “Do you remember him saying something like that?”
“Yes, but he only said that in relation to the fact that the body was found on your property, Ettie.”
“Okay,” Ettie said. “That seems reasonable.”
The detective said, “Elsa-May’s quite right. How would I have known the woman was raised Amish? She certainly wasn’t dressed Amish, and there was no sign on her forehead.”
Ettie frowned and breathed out heavily at the detective’s sarcasm.
“What questions do you have for us?” Elsa-May asked.
“I’m afraid I have none today; maybe tomorrow. The autopsy report isn’t back yet, and neither are the forensic results. Some of the results might not be back for weeks. I should have some later today, though.”
“Have you spoken to Margaret’s family already?”
He gave a sharp nod. “I informed them yesterday.”
“That must have been dreadful news for them.”
“We were going to visit them. We might leave it for a day or two, Ettie.”
“I think that’s best,” Ettie responded.
The detective stood. “I’ve no more questions for the moment. You should have access to your house soon, Mrs. Smith. I’ll personally bring the key back to you when the team is finished with it.”
“We’d appreciate that, Detective,” Ettie said.
“And I will have more questions for you as more information comes to light.”
Two days later, Elsa-May and Ettie visited Margaret’s parents. Margaret was the youngest of seven children and the only one who’d left the community.
When they knocked on the door, Margaret’s mother, Rose, opened it. “Nice to see both of you. Come inside.”
Rose certainly didn’t look as though she’d lost a child.
“I’ve had a few visitors. I suppose you’ve heard about Margaret?”
“Yes, we have. Elsa-May and I were the ones who found her. She was working as a realtor and doing an open house on Agatha’s old haus that I decided to sell.”
“I wasn’t told about that part, but I didn’t ask too many questions of the men who came here,” Rose said her bottom lip quivering.
Rose turned and walked into her living room, and the two sisters followed. When Rose sat down, so did Elsa-May and Ettie.
“I had detectives come and tell me she was found murdered.” A tear came to the corner of her eye, and she wiped it away and lifted her chin.
“We’re both sorry for your loss, Rose.”
“Don’t be. She made her choices, and those choices had nothing to do with the way she was raised. I can’t make any of my kinner or my grosskinner stay on the narrow path. It’s a choice they have to make on their own. Strait is the gate and narrow’s the way.”
“When will the funeral be?” Ettie asked.
“I’m having nothing to do with that. The detective told me she was to be married to an Englischer, and I’m going to let that man take care of things.”
“Will you go?” Elsa-May asked.
“Nee. I’ll not go to an Englischer’s funeral, and that’s what she was.” She stared at the elderly sisters’ faces. “Don’t look so shocked. I did everything for her when she was alive. Let the dead bury their own dead.”
Ettie had never heard Rose be so bluntly. Perhaps that was her way of coping with the loss of a child. Not only had Margaret died, but she’d also died as an Englischer and Amish beliefs were that she would never enter the kingdom of God. Her soul was lost for eternity.
Elsa-May asked Rose, “Do you ever hear from Josh Tomson? I know he used to spend a lot of time at your haus many years ago when Josh and Margaret were courting.”
Rose shook her head. “That was another disappointment she gave us. That poor man; he never got over her leaving him. I don’t know how he would’ve taken the news that she was going to marry someone else. She ruined his life completely. I won’t allow her to ruin mine. I’ve got other kinner and grosskinner to care for.”
“As you said, Rose, everyone has to make their own choices. Margaret did just that. She lived as an Englischer, but does that mean you shouldn’t go to her funeral?” Elsa-May asked. “You might feel better after a final goodbye.”
Rose tilted her chin high. “I will not go.”
“Perhaps you might regret that decision later on?” Ettie added.
She shook her head emphatically. “My mind’s made up, and Gideon agrees with me.”
Ettie wasn’t surprised that Rose’s husband, Gideon, thought that way. He was the kind of person who saw everything in black or white.
“Is there anything we can do for you?” Elsa-May asked.
“Nee. We’re fine. She was dead to us long ago. I can’t say the same about Josh, though.”
Ettie studied Rose’s face to get a clue what she meant by her last comment. “You think Josh was still in love with her after all these years?”
“He’s a shadow of the person he used to be before she shamed him.”
“Josh was a lot older than Margaret, wasn’t he?”
“Yes, he had a good ten years on her.”
Ettie wasn’t quite sure what Rose meant about being ‘a shadow of the person he used to be.’ He had gained many pounds, so he certainly had not wasted away to become a shadow in that sense.
“And do you mind if I ask how old Margaret would’ve been?” Elsa-May asked.
“Twenty-six. She had the same birthday as Russell, her bruder, and he was four years older. He just had his thirtieth birthday.”
After Ettie got ‘the look’ from Elsa-May that she was ready to go, she said, “Let us know if you need anything. We’ve got people we need to see in town.”
“Are you sure? Why don’t you stay and I’ll put a pot of kaffe on?”
“Nee, we’ve got appointments and errands to run. Denke, anyway,” Elsa-May said. “Can you possibly call us a taxi?”
“Of course.” Rose went into the barn and called them a taxi. When she came out, she waited with them on the porch until the taxi appeared.
As soon as they were driving away, Elsa-May asked, “Well, what did you think of that, Ettie?”
“A little bit of a surprise.”
“Which part?”
Ettie pulled a face. “All of it really. I can’t understand people who can wipe their kinner from their memory just like that. Gott gives everyone a choice in what they believe. Is it right or even fair to block their hearts when someone does not believe the same thing they do?”
“It’s easier for them that way. If they don’t think about them, they don’t go through any pain. Also by turning their backs, they hope it will bring their kinner home to them.”
Ettie nodded. “I suppose that’s true about being easier, but I’ve never been able to believe that if someone turns their back or disowns their kinner, it will cause them to return. I’ve never seen that be the case. If it were me, it would give me more reason to stay away.”
“I don’t agree, Ettie. They’re doing it for the gut of their kinner.”
“Each to their own way of thinking.”
“That’s why we have shunning. I suppose you don’t believe in that?”
Ettie shrugged. “It’s not for me to say.”
“I can see Rose’s point. Grieving won’t bring Margaret back, but it will make her feel worse if they fret and go through all the t
hings they could’ve done differently. When in fact, nothing would’ve changed. I can see why Rose is hardening her heart.”
“Should we just go home, then? I don’t want to get caught up in another murder investigation. Let’s leave Detective Kelly to handle this one. This one’s too close to home. Especially when I’ve got Myra who’s still out of the community.” Ettie wiped a tear from her eye. “I pray for her daily.”
Elsa-May nodded, which was just as well because Ettie had already given the taxi driver their home address and they weren’t far away.
Chapter 6
They hadn’t been home long when a knock sounded on Ettie and Elsa-May’s front door.
“Who could that be?” Ettie asked as she pushed herself up from the couch.
They only had one couch in their small living room. The rest of the room was filled with old wooden chairs and one coffee table. Elsa-May was happy to sit and knit for hours in one of the chairs.
“It could be Brandy again,” Elsa-May said.
Ettie opened the door to see Detective Kelly.
She smiled at him. “Come in. I’ve been wondering what you’ve been able to find out.”
He handed Ettie her key. “Thank you. You’re free to go back to your house.”
“Good.”
The detective walked a few steps and sat down in their small living room on one of their rickety chairs. After he nodded hello to Elsa-May, he said, “Did you visit Margaret’s parents?”
“Yes, we saw Rose, her mother, this morning.”
“We didn’t even recognize Margaret, but we didn’t tell her mother how much she’d changed.”
“How well did you know Margaret?” Kelly asked.
Before Ettie could answer, Elsa-May said, “Brandy told us she’d changed her name and dyed her hair. Her name was Margaret Yoder, and Brandy told her to change it to Margo Rivers.”
“Yes, we know all of that, but I do find it rather odd and perplexing that neither of you recognized the woman as coming from your own community.”
Elsa-May frowned. “She looked completely different. We hadn’t seen her for a good five years and back then she had dark hair and was dressed very differently.”
“Significantly different, and she was wearing makeup, which we don't wear at all,” Ettie added.
“Yes, makeup can change a woman’s looks drastically,” Elsa-May said.
“I suppose that’s true,” the detective agreed.
“How did she die? Was she strangled?” Ettie asked.
He nodded. “Yes, that’s how she died. I also requested a complete toxicology screen, but that will take weeks to come back. That’s just in case she had anything in her system.”
“You think she might have been poisoned as well?”
“I just want all bases covered. Ettie, in my investigations I’ve come across a name.”
Ettie looked at him hoping he wouldn’t say, Josh Tomson.
“That name is Josh Tomson. Do you ladies know him?”
“We do. He and Margaret were going to be married, but at the last minute, she called a halt to everything and that’s when she left our community. Well, very soon after.”
“Could he possibly be harboring a grudge of sorts?” The detective leaned forward and stared from one sister to the other.
“I think he was understandably upset, Detective, but I don’t know if he would’ve held a grudge,” Elsa-May stated.
“I tried to talk with him and couldn’t get anything out of him. Essentially, he refused to comment. Could you possibly find out for me, Mrs. Smith?”
Ettie’s mouth turned down at the corners. “I don’t know him that well. What am I supposed to ask him?”
“Find out how he’s taken the news of her death.” He agitatedly scratched his chin. “I believe Josh is heavily involved in her murder.”
“No! He would never be,” Ettie blurted out.
“How have you come to that conclusion?” Elsa-May asked.
“I have to keep that to myself, but I do need your help again, Mrs. Smith.”
Ettie pulled a face. “I will help, but only to prove you wrong about Josh.”
“Fair enough. I want you to find out what he knows. See if he was close with Margo or had any contact with her recently, and if he did, find out what she said to him.”
“If he’s involved like you think, why would he tell us anything?” Ettie asked.
“You just have to trust me. I can tell you more later, not now. I’d like you to find out what you can from him before I interview him again. Or, I should say try to have another talk with him.”
Ettie looked over at Elsa-May. “Will you come with me?”
“If I have to,” she replied.
“Good. I suppose we’ll go tomorrow, Detective.” She looked back at her sister. “I don’t even know if he still lives with his parents or not.”
“He doesn’t. He lives with Arthur Gosling,” Elsa-May said.
“Does he?” Ettie raised her eyebrows at him living with the older Arthur Gosling. She wondered what the two would have in common. “How do you know that and I don’t?”
“It is surprising; it’s a wonder you don’t know. They’ve been sharing old William Harrington’s house for a good two years. It makes sense to share a house and split the expenses since they both look like they’re never going to marry.”
“I suppose that’s true if Josh doesn’t want to stay with his parents. In my day, no one moved out of their parents’ home; if they didn’t marry, they just stayed on.”
“Thank you, both of you, I’d appreciate anything you can find out. I need to ask the right questions when I visit him, and that’s why it’s so important you find out what you can.”
“Do you have any suspects other than the misguided notion that Josh Tomson is involved?” Elsa-May asked.
He raised his brows. “We’re following up on a few leads.”
Ettie could tell by the detective’s tight-lipped response that he didn’t want to share what those leads were. She thought she’d give him a little prod especially since he had asked for her help. “Brandy mentioned that Margaret was engaged to someone, and we did notice that the third finger on her left hand was swollen and red.”
He nodded. “I suppose I can let you in on this much; her engagement ring is missing. It was a large diamond. Margo’s fiancé, Norman Cartwright, claims the ring was set with a single diamond of eight carats and of extremely pure quality.”
Elsa-May pulled a face. “Strange he’d admit to a thing like that. I thought a man with his wealth would give the woman he was about to marry something good.”
“It is good, Elsa-May. That’s what the detective just said.”
Elsa-May scrunched up her nose and looked at the detective. “You said the diamond was poor quality.”
Ettie giggled and covered her mouth. “I keep telling you your hearing’s going. No, Elsa-May, he said the ring was an eight carat diamond of pure quality, not poor quality.”
Elsa-May laughed. “I see, so a large good diamond, then, Detective?”
“To be exact, the paperwork says it’s a D which is the best color a diamond can be, which is actually no color at all. It does have a few white spots within the stone that can’t be seen without magnification. According to the paperwork Cartwright provided us with, it did have a laser-inscribed number on its girdle. The girdle is the perimeter of the stone. Cartwright didn’t want to talk about the diamond; he said he’d deal with the insurance claim later. It’s hard to deliver bad news to people who are so in love.”
“You delivered the news to him yourself?” Ettie asked.
He nodded. “I did. In murder cases, I like to be there to see people’s reactions.”
“And what was his reaction?” Elsa-May asked.
“Inconsolable was what he was. He’s a broken man.”
Ettie said, “Brandy says that he has a daughter.”
“She wasn’t home at the time. I’ve got her coming into the station tomor
row as soon as she gets back from a business trip. I suppose Brandy also told you that the daughter would have been disadvantaged in her father’s will if he’d married Margaret?”
Ettie nodded. “She did mention something along those lines. We visited Margaret’s mother, and she said her family was having nothing to do with the funeral. We were wondering whether Norman is organizing that?” Ettie asked.
The detective appeared not to be listening to Ettie. “As you know, the night of the murder, I went to visit Margo’s, or I should say, Margaret’s family. I called her Margaret while I was there. They’re not happy that she had changed her name. Anyway, they were polite, but they were restrained.”
“I guess that’s just how they are,” Elsa-May said. “It would be hard to hear something like that. They’d already cut her off in their minds and their hearts since she left all those years ago and that’s possibly the only way they can cope. And you brought news that killed any hope they had of her coming back to the community.”
“I’m sorry, Ettie, you asked me about the funeral?” the detective asked.
“I did. Do you know who’s organizing it? Rose, Margaret’s mother, said that they weren’t organizing anything.”
“As far as I know, her body hasn’t been released yet. That might happen later today. If Margaret’s parents don’t want to handle the arrangements, I’d guess that Norman would be happy to do that. Do you plan on going to the funeral yourselves?”
“Yes, we’d like to go and pay our respects,” Ettie said.
“I’ll let you know when I find out what the arrangements are.”
“Thank you. We’ll visit Josh tomorrow and then we’ll drop by the station and let you know what we’ve found out.” Ettie heaved a sigh.
The detective looked at Snowy sleeping in his bed in the corner. “Still haven’t found a taker for that dog yet, Elsa-May?”
“No. She wants to keep him now,” Ettie said firmly before Elsa-May could say anything. “He’s part of the family now.”
“He certainly looks like he’s made himself at home.” The detective stood. “I can expect you ladies at the station after you’ve talked with Josh Tomson?”
Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 2 Page 4