Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 2

by Samantha Price

  Ettie gently put her hand on Elsa-May’s shoulder. She was getting a little too loud, and some people might think she was obnoxious. Any time they’d pushed Detective Kelly for information things had never gone in their favor.

  The detective rose to his feet. He addressed Bethany directly, ignoring Ettie and Elsa-May. “I’ll be in touch the moment I find anything else out, Ms. Parker.”

  “Thank you! I'd appreciate knowing anything—anything at all.”

  The ladies hurried out of the police station and headed back to Bethany’s store. Ettie called all the ladies she had lined up to give the store and the stock a thorough cleaning.

  “Why don’t you go home and let me and Elsa-May look after things for you? You’re looking rather pale.”

  “Denke, but I must stay here and work. It is my store and my responsibility.”

  “Will you at least sit down for a while?” Elsa-May asked her.

  “Jah, I’ll do that, but just for a moment.”

  “I’m going to call Jabez and have him come in and look at re-polishing the floorboards. Or whatever that word is that means to grind down a layer of wood.”

  “Nee, Ettie, I can’t have Jabez do that.”

  “Why not? Isn’t he a friend of yours? And doesn’t he do that for a living?”

  She nodded. “He does, but I don’t like to ask.”

  “You won’t be; I’ll be the one doing the asking. It would be perfect if he could do it tonight and we could have all the stock out of the store.”

  Elsa-May added. “Jah, it will create dust, so best everything’s out. Then Ettie and I will be here bright and early tomorrow to help clean.”

  Bethany looked down at the highly polished boards. “I won’t be able to put the varnish back on—it takes so much time to dry. There will be no time since I need to get the store open as soon as possible. Every day the store’s closed is a day I’m losing money, and the rent is so high.”

  “Will the landlord mind you changing the store?”

  “He said I could do anything internally that I wanted.”

  “Excellent! Have Jabez take up the varnish to have the natural wood look. I’ve seen many stores that have floors like that,” Elsa-May said.

  “I suppose you’re right,” Bethany agreed, feeling a little better about things.

  Jabez agreed to go to Bethany’s store after work and strip the boards back to a more natural look. By the time he got there, the store had been stripped bare of stock.

  Chapter 8

  It was two mornings later that Bethany had a well-dressed male customer walk into her store.

  “Hello, are you looking for anything in particular?” she asked when the man stopped and looked around.

  “I’m Ian Whitmore’s son, Greg.”

  “Oh! The man who died here.” Bethany studied the man’s face. He could very well be her brother. He was much taller than she, but he had the same slim build and a similar eye color.

  “Yes. Are you Bethany Parker?”

  “I am.” She figured him to be older, but then did that mean if Ian was her father that he was married when Bethany was born? Was that why her mother never married her father? She’d have had no choice but to return to the Amish where she had support to raise a child on her own. It would also explain the constant unhappy demeanor of her mother. Some pieces of her life puzzle were starting to fit.

  “The police told me you were the one who found him.”

  She tried not to seem as though she was studying him too intently. “Yes, I was. I’m very sorry for your loss.”

  He slowly nodded. “Thank you.” He frowned and scratched the side of his face. “I did ask the detective why he’d be found here, and he said he was just about to ask me the very same thing.”

  Bethany shrugged her shoulders.

  “I’m sorry you had to be the one to find him, Ms. Parker. That can’t have been pleasant.”

  “It wasn’t. I’m still getting over the shock. Thankfully I had a friend with me at the time, otherwise it would’ve been worse.”

  He handed her a card. “Please, if it caused any monetary loss forward me the details and I’ll see that you’re compensated.”

  She held a hand in the air and waved it. “No, thank you. That’s not necessary.”

  “I insist,” he said, catching her hand and placing his card in it.

  “Thank you. Are you staying in town?”

  “I’ll be in town until they release my father’s body, which might be today, and I’ve made arrangements for him to be sent home.” Greg looked around the store. “I can’t think why he was here at all. It’s a great mystery,” he said as he looked back at her. “Did he bring anything with him?”

  “No. He was just here in the store on the floor. The police might be able to tell you more. I called 911 right away.”

  “Had you ever met my father before?”

  “No, never. I’d forgotten to lock my back door. I was distracted as I was locking up the previous day. Maybe he was sheltering in here.”

  “That can’t be it. There was no reason for him to be in this particular spot so far away from home. Please, if you think of any reason he might have been here or hear of him knowing anyone in this town, call me?”

  “Yes, I will.”

  “Thank you.” The man turned and walked out of her store.

  Bethany moved closer to the window so she could see where he went. He got into the passenger side of a dark car that was parked up the road. She watched as the car sped away, but because it drove in the other direction she was unable to see who was in the driver’s seat.

  Early in the morning, three days later, Ettie and Elsa-May walked back into the store to have the newspaper thrust at them.

  “Look here! It’s in the paper. I didn’t even know,” Bethany said. “I just went to the café, sat down and picked up the paper while they were making me coffee, and I saw this; it’s a whole article about Ian Whitmore. His funeral’s taking place tomorrow.”

  Ettie and Elsa-May walked further into the store and they both read what the paper had to say about Ian Whitmore.

  “They mention your name and the store. I’m not sure whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing for your business,” Ettie said. “Although, all the local people already know about it.”

  “From what it says here, he was a very wealthy man just like the detective said,” Elsa-May stated.

  “A few days ago, Ian’s son came into the store and handed me his business card.”

  “Really? What did he say?” Ettie asked.

  “He said he’d pay for anything I had to pay for because his father died here.”

  “That was decent of him,” Elsa-May said.

  “What else?” Ettie asked.

  “He asked what his father was doing here and whether he knew anyone in this town. I said I didn’t have any idea. I didn’t tell him that I could be related to him.”

  “That’s best for now,” Elsa-May said.

  “That’s all he said?” Ettie inquired.

  “He asked if he brought anything with him, or he might have asked if he left anything here. I can’t recall his exact words.”

  “What did you answer?” Elsa-May asked.

  “I said ‘no’ and told him to ask the police. I didn’t see that anything was left here. Then he said he is staying in town until his father’s body is released and then he’s having him taken back to Washington.”

  “Why don’t the three of us go to his funeral?”

  “It’s quite a distance away,” Bethany said.

  “We can stay at a hotel or a B&B overnight and then come back the next day.”

  “I’d like to go, but I couldn't. I’ve got the store.”

  “I’ll stay and look after the store,” Elsa-May said. “I can't go anywhere and stay overnight, Ettie—I've got Snowy to look after.”

  “I’m sure Bernie next-door would mind him.”

  Elsa-May shook her head. “I couldn’t. Snowy and I have a
routine.”

  Ettie nodded at what Elsa-May had to say and then looked back at Bethany. “What do you say? Elsa-May can mind your store and we might be able to find out more about Ian Whitmore.”

  “Who would we say that we are? Don’t forget, if he was my father, the family might not know about me.”

  “We can say we’re there to pay our respects, and he was found in your store. That would be quite an appropriate thing to do—to go to the man's funeral after he was found dead in your store. You don't have to say that you think you might be the man’s long-lost daughter.”

  “Jah, you're right, Ettie, you're right. I would really like to go.”

  “Well, that’s settled, then. I'll figure out how we’re going to get there. There should be a bus or maybe we could go by train, and then we need to find a place to stay. I’m not sure if trains go there.”

  Elsa-May said, “Why don’t you phone Ava and get her to do those things, Ettie? She's good at things like that.”

  “Jah, I will. Can I use your phone, Bethany?”

  “Of course you can.”

  Chapter 9

  Bethany and Ettie arrived at the small hotel that Ava had found for them in Washington DC. After they had booked in, they took a taxi to the church where the service for Ian Whitmore's funeral was to be held.

  When they got out of the taxi, Bethany clutched at Ettie. “I don't know if I can do this. What if he was my father?” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have come. I can’t go through this not knowing if he was my father or not.”

  “I understand what you're saying, but we’re here now. What you need to do is put the fact that he might be your father right out of your mind, and for all intents and purposes, this funeral is for the man who was found dead in your store.”

  Bethany inhaled deeply. “Okay. I’ll do that.”

  As they walked to the church, Bethany whispered, “Ettie, I think it’s a cremation.”

  “I don’t like that,” Ettie said without thinking.

  “Why not?”

  “Well, for one, in a murder investigation if the police come across fresh evidence there’s no way they can exhume the body. The evidence will be destroyed forever.”

  “I don’t like the idea of cremation for myself.”

  “Have you been to an Engilscher’s funeral before?” Ettie asked.

  “Never.”

  “They’re not like our funerals. They speak about the person who died, and sometimes various people get up and talk about their experiences with them.”

  “They don't speak about Gott?”

  “Not so much; it's mainly about the person who died.”

  Wearing their usual plain clothes with over-aprons and prayer kapps, Ettie and Bethany got a few odd glances from people as they made their way through the crowd to move into the church. At the doorway, there were two young men handing out pieces of paper. Ettie took one of them and looked down to see that it was an order of service. When they stepped inside, they heard organ music playing in the background.

  “This way.” Ettie nudged Bethany. “We’ll try to sit at the back.”

  When they’d sat down in the back row, Ettie looked down at the carefully folded paper in her hands and, seeing an image of Ian Whitmore on the front, whispered to Bethany, “Does he look more familiar?”

  Bethany lowered her head to look at the page. “Ettie! Look what it says!”

  Ettie looked down, wondering what had upset Bethany so greatly. She noticed the name ‘Randall.’ Reading it now, she saw that it read ‘Ian Whitmore, now at peace with his brother, Randall Whitmore.’

  “It says he’s deceased.” Tears poured down Bethany's face while Ettie did the best she could to comfort her.

  Ettie had one arm around Bethany’s shoulder while wiping tears from her own eyes with her other hand.

  A lady from somewhere in the front of the church walked over with a box of tissues and offered them to Ettie.

  “Thank you.” Ettie took two tissues from the box and kept one for her and handed the other to Bethany.

  When everyone was seated, the volume of the organ increased. Soon, everyone was on their feet singing a hymn. Bethany had stopped crying and was trying her best to sing.

  Everything went by in a blur, and when the service was over, Ettie thought they should wait until the church was empty before they moved out.

  The same lady who’d handed them the tissues came up to them. “Did you know Ian well?”

  “I’m afraid that Mr. Whitmore was found in Bethany’s store. I’m Ettie Smith, and this is Bethany Parker.”

  “I’m Ian’s sister, Cheryl Bailey.” The woman looked at Bethany. “I’m so sorry that you found him there like that. It must’ve been an awful shock for you.”

  Ettie answered for Bethany. “It was very upsetting for her, and apart from that, she’s so sad for your family’s loss, and so am I.”

  “Thank you. It’s nice of you both to come here. It’s quite a long way from Lancaster County. They told me that was where he was found.”

  “That’s right. That’s where my store is.” Bethany nodded, dabbing at her eyes.

  “He’s being buried in the family crypt right here on the church grounds. After they say a few words there, everyone’s going to my house for the wake. You’re welcome to come.”

  “We’d love to,” Ettie said before Bethany had a chance to respond.

  “Very good. The address is on the back there.” She pointed to the order of service that was in Ettie’s hands.

  “Thank you,” Bethany said as the woman headed to the door of the church. The woman turned back and smiled.

  “She seems a polite lady.”

  “She’s friendly. I suppose we just follow the crowd to the crypt.” Ettie hung on to the pew in front of her and pulled herself up.

  When they were on the way out of the church, Bethany whispered to Ettie, “Did you hear what she said? It’s a family crypt so that might mean that my father is buried there, or has his ashes there.”

  “More likely his ashes since his brother is going to be cremated. Traditions like that most often run in families.”

  Bethany and Ettie stuck close together as they followed the crowd for what seemed to be half a mile through manicured, undulating green parklands. When they got to the top of a slight rise in the land, they saw headstones. To one side, a large cement structure decorated with stone-carved angels dominated the area.

  “That’s got to be the crypt,” Ettie whispered.

  They closed their eyes along with everyone else as the minister said a prayer.

  Chapter 10

  When they got out of the taxi, they looked up at the house. It was a kind of house they’d never seen before although it looked much the same as all the other houses in the estate. The driver had given them a history lesson as they drove through the estate, telling them that the area had been established in the early 1900s and all the houses were of a Tudor style. And, according to the driver, only the moderately to quite wealthy lived there.

  As they stood looking up at the house, Bethany said, “Are you all right with these stairs, Ettie?”

  “I’ll take your arm.”

  They walked up eight stairs, and people passed them as they did so. When they reached the front door, they walked right in as the other people had done before them.

  “I suppose we just go inside,” Ettie said as they stepped through the door.

  “Quick, in here!” A lady popped out of a doorway in the hall. It was Cheryl, and she was beckoning them. She must’ve been speaking to them, as there was no one else around.

  “Us?” Ettie asked.

  Cheryl nodded. “Quick!”

  Ettie and Bethany slipped into the room, and the woman closed the door behind them.

  “Bethany, are you here simply because the man was found in your store? Do you know who the man was?”

  Bethany looked at Ettie, wondering how much she should say.

  “Tell the woman what you
know, Bethany.”

  Bethany nodded. “On my birth certificate it says my father is Randall Whitmore, and then this man was found dead in my store, and his name was Ian Whitmore.”

  “Is that all you know?”

  “That’s all I know. Was Ian’s brother my father?”

  “Yes, he was, and after the huge family blowup the other night, Ian set out to find you. He said he had something that you needed to know.”

  “He told his brother about me?”

  “Everyone knew about you. Ian, and me, and Randall’s wife and son.”

  “Randall had a wife and a son?”

  “Yes, he was married after you were born, Bethany. He did want to make amends with your mother, and when she wouldn’t come back to him, he married Ursula on the rebound. I’m certain it was on the rebound. I can’t think of any other reason he would’ve married that woman.”

  “I’m sorry that he left a wife and son behind. When did he die?”

  “Only a month ago. Your brother, or half brother I should say, has just turned twenty, and he’s convinced that he should be on the board of directors for the family business.”

  “What was Ian Whitmore trying to tell Bethany? Do you know?”

  “Yes, that’s what I want to tell you. He was trying to tell Bethany that she has a share in her father’s will.”

  “He left me something in his will? Ettie, he must’ve cared about me.”

  “Oh, he did. He wanted to see you, but your mother would never allow it. She threatened all kinds of things.”

  Bethany raised her eyebrows. “He wanted to see me?”

  “He did, and he wanted you to receive what was rightfully yours. Creighton is contesting the will and Ian went to find you. He felt some urgency about it. We knew you’d been raised in an Amish community but we didn’t know where you were until we saw the paper and saw your name. We were on the verge of hiring a private detective to find you when you weren’t at the address Randall had written down in his paperwork.”