“What are you saying, Ettie? Do you think he might have been pointing somewhere?”
Ettie ignored Elsa-May’s question. “Do you have a flashlight, Bethany?”
“I do. Someone advised me to get a flashlight in case of a power outage.”
Ettie held out her hand. “Fetch it for me?”
Bethany rustled through some drawers under the till and then handed Ettie the flashlight.
Ettie flipped the flashlight on and took some steps toward one of the cabinets built into the wall. Once she was down on her hands and knees, she shone the flashlight under the cabinet. “There’s something here.”
“No!” Bethany gasped.
“What is it, Ettie?” Elsa-May asked.
“It looks like a big envelope, but it’s too far for me to reach it.”
“I’ll see if I can,” Bethany said, crouching down next to Ettie. When Bethany couldn’t reach it either, she jumped up and got a ruler. With the ruler, she was able to slide the envelope out and then Ettie grabbed it.
“Do you think that came from Ian Whitmore?” Bethany asked. “That wasn’t here before when I was having the cabinets built.”
“We shall see.” Ettie opened the large parchment-colored envelope. As soon as Ettie saw the official looking document she knew at once what she was looking at. She opened her mouth in shock. “It is the missing will.”
Elsa-May stepped closer to look at it. “Is it signed, Ettie?”
Ettie looked down the bottom for a signature. “It’s signed by Randall and witnessed by Ian.” She read on. “It’s just what Kelly said. Half to you, Bethany, and half to Creighton.”
“What do we do?” Bethany asked.
“We call Detective Kelly right away,” Elsa-May said, “before someone else gets killed.”
Chapter 22
After they called Detective Kelly, he drove to the store to collect the will from Bethany.
Detective Kelly ran his eyes over the will. “I’m no legal eagle, but looks to me that this is all official. Where did you find it?”
Bethany pointed to the cabinet it was found under.
“It was right under there,” Ettie said, also pointing. “I remembered that the dead man had his arm out, and his finger extended. It looked very much like he was pointing at where he’d hidden it.”
“Is that right, Mrs. Smith?”
Ettie nodded.
“There was no indication when we arrived that he was pointing to anything.”
“I had to take his pulse. I might have moved his arm slightly to do so.”
Detective Kelly scowled at her.
“I had to see if he was dead or alive,” Ettie said.
The detective finally nodded. “I suppose I can’t blame you for that.” Kelly crouched down and had a look where they’d been pointing. “The man must’ve come into the store to hide the will. Possibly with the notion of calling you when it was safe to do so to let you know where it was.”
Elsa-May added, “And someone knew where he was going and possibly followed him right here. Then they killed him, not realizing that he’d hidden the will.”
“Yes, and it does give Cheryl Bailey a clear motive,” Ettie said.
The detective raised both hands in the air. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We can’t assume anything like that, Ettie. Ms. Parker, I’ll need you to accompany me to the station, and do you two require a ride home?”
“We’ll call for a taxi,” Ettie said. “I just had an idea, Detective—an idea to flush out Cheryl Bailey. If you make it known that the will is found and that…”
The detective stepped forward and put a hand on Ettie’s shoulder. “I do appreciate you trying to help. It’s kind of you. But I want both of you to go home and bake a cake or do whatever it is that you like to do best. When this is all over, I’ll come and have a cup of tea with both of you. Okay?”
Ettie’s shoulders drooped. Then she nodded. “Okay.”
“I don’t think you should stay by yourself at home, Bethany,” Elsa-May said.
“I'll make the necessary arrangements to make certain Bethany is safe tonight,” said the detective.
“Very good,” Ettie said.
Ettie and Elsa-May waited outside the store for their taxi while Bethany road back to the station with Detective Kelly.
“It’s quite remarkable that the man died to make sure his brother’s belongings went where his brother wished them.” Ettie pulled her cape around her to keep out the cold.
“They must’ve been close,” Elsa-May said.
“It makes me wonder why Creighton was so anxious to get his hands on the will.”
“Nee. It doesn’t surprise me. Kelly said that with the first will, Cheryl got the bulk. He’d be desperate to find the will where he got half.”
“I suppose you’re right, but he doesn’t seem the kind of man who’d be content with half a share of anything.”
“And if you’re right, Ettie, that means Bethany is in danger until this whole business with the will is settled.”
“Exactly!”
“I’ve made a plan, and it’ll only work if you help us, Ms. Parker.” The detective stared across the table in the interview room at the police station.
There were two other officers in the room and Bethany felt outnumbered. “What is the plan for?”
“I believe the guilty party is Cheryl Bailey. Once we make it known that the will has been found in your possession, I’m pretty sure she’ll come to you, and we’ll be there waiting for her.” The detective went on to explain exactly how the plan would be carried out.
“That sounds a little dangerous. Why not hand the will to the lawyers?”
“And let a killer slip through our fingers? No, Ms. Parker! This is our best chance to trap the killer. Don’t you owe your uncle that much?”
Bethany hesitated. She hadn’t felt as though she owed anyone anything until the detective made her feel obligated. After all, her uncle did die trying to put things right.
The detective went on, “We’ll be right there in the house with you and will have backup nearby.”
“Do I have to do this? How do you even know it will work?”
“We don’t know anything until we try. I just need you to do everything I tell you. Do you think you could do that?”
“I don’t like to get involved in things like this,” Bethany said. “I’d like to talk it over with my bishop.”
“There’s no time, Bethany. And no one likes to get involved, but the fact is that this is about you! Anyway, the reality of it is that you won’t be safe until Cheryl Bailey’s behind bars. Do you want to live your life looking over your shoulder?”
Bethany bit her lip. “I thought once everything was sorted out everything would be okay.”
“Think of your uncle. He died trying to get this will to you. Don’t you owe it to him to help us?” The detective glared at her and remained silent for a few moments before he added, “Or did he die for nothing?”
Bethany didn’t know what to do. She certainly wanted to do the right thing by her uncle since he died trying to help her. “I’ll do it,” she said, still uncertain of what she was getting herself into.
“Good. First thing tomorrow I’ll call Randall’s lawyers and tell them the will has been found and it has been signed. I’m certain they’ll be very interested. The next call I’ll make is to the Whitmore family.”
“Then what?”
“I’ll have you stay in a hotel tonight with an officer staying right outside your door, and then we’ll have officers right by you from then on, but they’ll be out of sight. I would expect Cheryl will pay you a visit some time tomorrow, and I’d expect it to be at your home. She wouldn’t want witnesses.”
“Then I’ll go home tomorrow night?”
“After you close your store tomorrow night, you’ll go back to your house, but by then I’ll have officers hidden in your home ready for her.”
“I’m nervous. What if I do or say some
thing wrong?”
“Just do everything I tell you to do and nothing will go wrong.”
“I’ve got Elsa-May staying with me in the store all day tomorrow. Will that still be alright?”
“Yes, if that’s what’s been arranged.”
“Can’t I stay home tonight and an officer stay outside somewhere?”
“No. If Cheryl Bailey happens to visit you tonight, that could ruin everything.”
“She’s unlikely to since she doesn’t know that we’ve found the will.”
“I don’t need another Amish woman second guessing me.” He glared at Bethany, and she looked away and nodded. “I can have the officer take you home to collect some things, but I don’t want you in your house tonight. We’ll be setting up surveillance and polishing the plan. Understood?”
Bethany nodded again. “When do you get a chance to sleep, Detective?”
He laughed. “I’ve got no time for beauty sleep. Coffee helps. Now you go with the officer.” He nodded at someone behind her.
Bethany turned to see a tall woman dressed in black pants and a black turtleneck sweater. A photo ID badge hung from her belt.
When the officer took Bethany home to collect a change of clothing, she saw Jabez waiting in his buggy by her door. He met her at the car when it pulled up in the drive.
“Bethany? What’s going on?” He glanced over at the plainclothes female officer who was getting out of the driver’s seat.
“I can’t really say too much. This is a police officer and they’re taking me to a hotel tonight.”
He grabbed her arm. “Are you in danger?”
“Will you be long?” the officer asked Bethany.
“No,” Bethany said to the officer before she turned back to Jabez. “I can’t tell you much, but when this is all over, I’ll call you.”
“I don’t like the sound of this, Bethany. Why don’t you come home with me and stay the night with my familye? Mamm and Dat will be happy to have you there, and you’ll be safe. No one will know where you are.”
“We do have to be fast, Ms. Parker.”
“I know.” Bethany moved toward the door of the house. “You need to trust me, Jabez.”
“I’ll come to the store tomorrow morning.”
Bethany nodded.
He stood there and pleaded, “Please be safe?”
“I will.” When Bethany continued to the door, she heard Jabez walking away. She hoped she’d make it through the plan of the detective’s. There was no doubt he was putting her in danger, but she couldn’t see any other way out.
Chapter 23
Bethany didn’t know how, but she’d managed to have a good night’s sleep in the hotel. She had breakfast in her room and then the officer delivered her straight to the store.
“I’m quite nervous to go inside,” she said to the officer as she sat in the car, too nervous to get out.
“We had it under surveillance last night, and it’s quite safe to go in. I’m waiting here until another officer comes to take my place, so when you see this car drive away, you’ll know that another officer is nearby.”
“Thank you. That makes me feel safer.” She opened the door and headed down the alleyway. Now she didn’t know how she’d stayed alone in her home right after she’d found Ian dead.
It was eight in the morning and she’d arrived early, not knowing exactly what time Jabez would get there. Even so, the early start would give her time alone with her thoughts before she opened the doors to the public.
It was half an hour later that Jabez arrived at the same time as Elsa-May. She was grateful that Elsa-May was going to spend the day with her, but the timing couldn’t have been worse—she had desperately wanted to talk to Jabez in private. Once she unlocked that front door, Elsa-May stepped through followed closely by Jabez.
Elsa-May wasted no time in finding out what was going on. “Jabez dropped by last night and told us what happened. It sounds like the detective thinks you’re in danger.”
“I might be, but I just have to trust that everything will be okay. I guess I shouldn’t tell you both, but the detective didn’t say not to tell anybody. I know I can trust you both to keep this to yourselves. Detective Kelly’s got some plan to flush out Cheryl Bailey. He’s going to let my father’s lawyers know that they found the will and that it was signed and that I’m in possession of it.”
“I don’t like the sound of that. Someone’s been killed over that will already,” Jabez said.
“We don’t know for certain that his death was about the will,” Bethany said.
“There’s a good chance of it,” Elsa-May said.
“I can’t let you go through with something like this, Bethany. It sounds far too dangerous.”
“You just have to trust Detective Kelly and me. I’ve decided to do it.”
She could see the concern on his face as he stared at her. There was so much she wanted to say to him, but she couldn’t.
“I’ll go and put the food I brought for lunch in the back.”
From the look on Elsa-May’s face as she headed to the back of the store, Bethany knew she was giving her and Jabez time alone.
Taking full advantage of a private moment, Jabez took hold of Bethany’s hand. “I want you to be safe.” He lowered his voice. “Whatever you decide about what I asked you yesterday, my feelings for you will never change. You’re everything to me, Bethany.”
When she gazed into his eyes, she knew that every word came from his heart.
“I’m glad you’re telling me these things. I’ll give you my answer soon.” She ached to tell him that she felt the same, but it wasn’t the right time.
When noises came from the back of the shop, he placed her hand back down by her side. “When can I see you again?”
“Don’t come by the house tonight.”
“Is that when the detective thinks something will happen?”
She nodded. “You mustn’t tell anybody or it could ruin everything.”
He nodded.
“Can I come by in the morning tomorrow?”
She smiled. “I’ll be waiting.”
After he had flashed her a smile, he called out goodbye to Elsa-May and left the store.
“He didn’t stay long,” Elsa-May said. “I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”
“He stopped by because he’s concerned about me.”
“He is, I can see that, and you wouldn’t go wrong if you cast your eyes in his direction.”
Bethany laughed.
“Now before the store opens, tell me exactly what the detective’s got planned.”
Elsa-May’s eyes bored through her. She felt she had no option but to tell her everything, and she did just that.
“Seems like the detective is getting adventurous, and I hope it’s not at your expense. I’m sure he wouldn’t put you in danger. Forget I said anything.”
“I am scared.”
“So would I be if I had to do what you just described, but if anyone can do it, it’s you.” Elsa-May patted her on the shoulder.
Elsa-May’s words made her feel more encouraged.
“Let’s open that door early so we can sell some quilts.”
“That’s what I like to hear, Elsa-May.” Bethany opened the door and then went to the back of the store to begin her morning routine of setting up the till and logging on to the credit card terminal. “There’s a chair there for you to sit on. Ettie sat there for most of the day yesterday.”
“Denke. Did Ettie sell many quilts?”
“She sold one quilt, but I don’t sell quilts every day. I sell mostly smaller things like quilting kits and fabric.”
“Hmm, I sold one when I looked after the store the other day. I’ll just have to sell two quilts today, then.”
Bethany laughed. “Go right ahead. Are you trying to sell more than Ettie?”
Elsa-May stared at her and blinked rapidly. “I am the older schweschder. I do have to prove I can do things better than she can. She needs someo
ne to look up to—someone to emulate.”
Staring at her, Bethany tried to figure out if she was serious or joking and in the end she had no idea. “You don’t have to sell anything or work here. You’re my bodyguard for the day.”
“No reason I can’t do both. Now where’s a cleaning rag? I’ll busy myself cleaning until the customers come in.”
“I don’t want to wear you out.”
“If I stayed home I’d only be cleaning.”
As Elsa-May dusted shelves and things that had been cleaned the previous day, she asked Bethany, “If you do happen to have money coming to you, have you thought what you’d do with it?”
“Not really. Well, I have always wanted to teach quilting. I’ve heard a rumor that the business next door is closing in a few months, and I thought I could take it over and extend the store. Part of the store could become the place where women could come to learn to quilt.”
“Englischers?”
“Jah, or anyone.”
“That sounds like a lovely idea.”
“You really think so?”
“I do.”
“I could cut a hole in the wall here, and that could lead through to the next-door space.”
Elsa-May stopped dusting and sighed. “Ah, the hope and optimism of the young. When I was young, life was full of possibilities. I felt I could go anywhere and do anything. There was a delicious array of choices.”
“Are you disappointed with the decisions you’ve made?”
“Nee, it’s not that. I’ve made my choices, and it’s all done. Now I choose between chicken and lamb for the evening meal—that’s the choices I’m left with. There’s nothing like the delicious menu of options that the young have before them.”
“I’ve never thought of it like that, Elsa-May. I guess I do have an exciting number of choices ahead of me.”
“I see two women crossing the road, heading for the store. Do you want to serve them or will I?”
“I usually let them have a look around first, Elsa-May.”
“Okay, then can I sell them something?”
Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 2 Page 26