Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 2

by Samantha Price

  “Not everyone buys things. Sometimes people just want to have a look, and they come back later.”

  “Sounds like a waste of time to look at something and then come back later. When I see something I like and I’ve got the money, I buy it. What’s the point of dithering?”

  “People like to shop—to look around.”

  “I know how to be a shop keeper. I was here the other day, remember?”

  Bethany nodded but was worried Elsa-May’s boldness would scare all her customers away. She reached into a cash tin and pulled some money out. “How about you go to the café and get us a take-out kaffe each?”

  Elsa-May glanced out at the women who were now looking in the window. “Are you sure you don’t need my help?”

  “You’ll help me by getting me a half-strength cappuccino with extra chocolate and extra froth.”

  “I shall try to remember that, but I’ll buy my own.”

  “Nee! Ettie didn’t argue with me so much.”

  Elsa-May chuckled. “Okay.” She walked over, took the money from Bethany, and headed to the front door.

  Rather than go to the café, Elsa-May stopped and struck up a conversation with the ladies looking in the window. Bethany was horrified until she saw that the women were merrily chatting with Elsa-May. Then Elsa-May pointed into the store and the women squinted to see what she was pointing at. At last, Elsa-May left the women alone.

  To Bethany’s surprise, the ladies came into the store with big grins on their faces. They walked right up to Bethany. “That lady was telling us about your wedding ring quilt. My daughter’s getting married in a few months and she’s always wanted an Amish wedding ring quilt.”

  Before Bethany could answer, the other woman added, “You only have one of those, is that right?”

  “Yes, that’s it hanging there.” She pointed to it. “I’ll get it down for you.”

  The women went right over to the quilt looking at all the stitches.

  “It’s beautiful, but it’s so much more than I thought it would cost.”

  “It takes a long time to sew. It’s all hand-stitched,” Bethany pointed out.

  Elsa-May walked back through the door with two take-out coffees. The ladies turned around to look at her.

  “Haven’t you bought it yet?” Elsa-May asked.

  The ladies giggled.

  Elsa-May set the coffees down beside the till and stood between the two women. “Do you want it?” she asked the lady whose daughter was getting married.

  “Yes, I do, but it’s a little more than I thought it would be.”

  “How much did you think it would be?”

  “About five hundred dollars.”

  “And how much is this?” Elsa-May asked Bethany.

  “This one is fourteen hundred dollars.”

  “How many daughters do you have?”

  “Only the one.”

  The other woman said, “Go on, get it, Judy.”

  Judy winced. “It’s a lot.”

  “Do you love it?” Elsa-May asked.

  “I do. I’m in love with it. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I can see what good quality it is.”

  “How would you feel if you walked away without it today?”

  “Pretty sad.”

  Elsa-May nodded, and then asked, “And how would you feel if you had to buy a lesser quilt?”

  “Pretty bad.”

  “If you buy it, will you still have enough to eat and enough to pay your bills?”

  “Oh yes.”

  “Who will suffer by you taking this quilt home with you today?”

  The woman giggled. “No one except my bank balance.”

  “Go on, do it, Judy,” her friend urged.

  “My daughter will love it. She’s always wanted one. If you’ll take a credit card, I’ll take it.”

  Bethany could scarcely believe what had taken place. “Yes, we do take cards.”

  “You do the credit card thing, Bethany. I’ll wrap it up for Judy.”

  As Bethany ran the credit card through the machine, she held her breath that the transaction would go through. It went through fine. It was the biggest sale the store had made.

  When the ladies were gone, Bethany said, “Well done, Elsa-May.”

  “Denke. I think I’m going to like working here.” Elsa-May chuckled.

  “Keep that up and you’ll have a permanent job.”

  “It was a lovely quilt,” Elsa-May said, “And it’d want to be for that amount of money. One thing I have to ask, Bethany, is…”

  “Jah, Elsa-May, that quilt was a lot more expensive than the one Ettie sold.”

  Elsa-May’s face lit up.

  When the day was over, Elsa-May had been the one who had made all the sales, and she’d managed to sell another quilt.

  “I suppose you’ll be pleased to tell Ettie how much you’ve sold.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.” Elsa-May chortled.

  “I didn’t mean for you to work so hard. You were only here to keep me company, or watch over me, so I wasn’t by myself.”

  “This was the best day I’ve had in a long time. I’ve had a wunderbaar day meeting all the nice people who came in. That police officer’s still sitting out there in the car.”

  “Jah, I know. I’ll go home in the taxi, and then they’ll follow me, but they won’t be able to follow me all the way home.”

  “I hope you’ll be okay. I wish I could do it in your place.”

  “Denke, Elsa-May. You’ve been so good to me already.”

  “When you’re finished with everything, call us two taxis. I’ll let you take the first one so you’re not waiting by yourself.”

  “Denke. I’ll be five minutes.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Bethany was riding home in a taxi. She’d had a nerve-wracking day with Elsa-May, thinking she was going to lose customers, but the customers had liked her. Now her heart was racing for a different reason. If the detective’s plan worked, she could soon be face-to-face with her uncle’s killer.

  Chapter 24

  The detective had instructed Bethany to act as she normally would when she arrived home, in case Cheryl was observing the house before she approached. One officer was staying hidden just inside the alcove near the back door adjacent to the kitchen, and one would be in the spare bedroom upstairs. The detective said he’d be there as well.

  Since she still hadn’t been to the store to buy food, she’d had the taxi driver go through the drive-through take-out restaurant they passed on the way home.

  Rather than eating the food from plastic containers, she dished the food onto a plate. She sat down on the couch with knife and fork. It wasn’t easy eating with one hand. Her arm was still hurting from where Creighton had slashed her with his knife.

  As she ate, she imagined how different her life would be if she married Jabez. There would be no more eating with little thought to the food. A hard-working man like Jabez would need a proper meal. What made that notion even more daunting was the fact that Jabez still lived at home, and his mother cooked marvelous food. Her mother had been a good cook too, but had only made the effort when people visited.

  Bethany took the plate to the kitchen and washed it and then put the take-out wrappers in the trash by the back door. The officer was sitting by the back door and gave her a smile and a wave. She nodded back—the situation was more than a little odd. Now back in the living room, Bethany sat down on the couch, too nervous to do anything but wait.

  The hands of the clock moved closer to midnight and with every tick Bethany grew more convinced that the woman, Cheryl Bailey, was not going to show. If she didn’t, what would the detective’s next move be?

  Bethany jumped when a loud pounding sounded through the door, breaking through her thoughts. Once she’d taken a moment to steady her nerves and take a deep breath, she walked toward the door and opened it.

  “Hello?” Bethany barely recognized the woman dressed head to toe in a black jumpsuit and sneakers.r />
  “Are you going to ask me in?”

  What should she say? “Who are you?”

  “I’m Cheryl. We met at the funeral the other day.”

  Bethany stepped back and opened the door more fully. When she was inside the house, Bethany said, “Why are you here? You aren’t Ian or Randall’s sister. I know that now.” That’s not what she was supposed to say. She was going off the detective’s script—it had completely left her mind.

  The woman stared at Bethany without saying anything.

  “Have you come to kill me?” Bethany asked.

  Cheryl laughed. “Are you serious?”

  “Creighton held me at knife point.” She lifted her arm. “He cut my arm. I think he would’ve killed me if the police hadn’t shown up.”

  “Yes, I’d heard something along those lines.” The woman wandered casually further into the room. She spun around to face Bethany. “I’m sorry I lied to you the day of the funeral, but it was necessary.”

  “Why?”

  “Your father and I were going to be married. That’s why his family claims they don’t know me. They don’t want to know me and won’t acknowledge my existence.”

  “So Creighton’s mother is dead?”

  “No. They divorced years ago, and she moved back to England.”

  “When did you meet my father?”

  “Two years ago. We worked together on a few projects and got to know one another. I guess you know your father was in the engineering industry.”

  “I’m not even certain what that is. He designed things, I think.” She shook her head. “No one told me anything about him. You told me the day of the funeral that there was a big family argument, but how would you have known that? Were you there?”

  She scoffed. “Most of the family wanted nothing to do with me—all but Ian. We were friends. He called me and told me he was on his way to see you, and he told me about the argument the family had. Ian and I wanted you to inherit your father’s money. Did Ian bring you the will?”

  “Wouldn’t he have told you if he had?”

  “He might not have wanted me to get too involved in the whole nasty business. The family always disliked me. Let’s speed this up a little. I heard from Randall’s lawyers that you found his missing new will.”

  “That’s right, and one of their staff is driving here tomorrow to collect it in person.”

  “That’s right. I told them I was coming here, and they asked me to get it to them.”

  “They didn’t let me know. I’ll call them tomorrow and ask them.”

  “There’s no time. I was here on business, and I’m going back home tonight. They won’t be happy if I don’t bring the will. The quicker I get the will to them the quicker you’ll get your money.”

  She tried to remember the script the detective had for her, but it had all flown out of her head. She was on her own. After she had sent up a silent prayer for protection, she said, “I’m sorry, I don’t believe you.”

  “Just tell me where it is.”

  “It’s hidden.”

  Cheryl reached into her bag and pulled out a gun. “Hand it over now or I’ll put a bullet in your head.”

  This was what she’d feared. “How do I know you won’t kill me once I give it to you?”

  “Drop the gun!”

  Two officers appeared in the room. One came from his hiding place to knock the gun from Cheryl’s hand while the other one behind Bethany pointed a gun at Cheryl.

  In a split second, Cheryl was on her knees and an officer was slapping her in handcuffs. Bethany backed against the wall so she wouldn’t fall. She’d nearly been killed—again.

  Police sirens sounded and four police cars pulled up at the house with lights flashing. When two officers escorted the woman out of the house, Detective Kelly rushed down the stairs.

  “Are you all right?”

  Bethany nodded while holding her throbbing head. A female officer entered the house and talked with her.

  “Officer Tarrin will bring you down to the station once you feel a little better. I’ll need you to make a statement.”

  Bethany nodded at what Detective Kelly said.

  Bethany opened the store the next day, having had only two hours of sleep.

  Jabez arrived just after she did. She opened the front door of the shop and burst into tears. His strong arms held her firmly while she sobbed. When she stopped crying, she told him all that had happened.

  “It’s all over?”

  “It is.”

  “I’m glad you don’t have to be involved in anything like that again. You’re coming to dinner with me tonight.”

  Bethany nodded. “I’d like that.”

  “Your choice: my haus or I’ll take you out to dinner somewhere, just the two of us.”

  “Just the two of us.”

  He put his arm around her again and hugged her tight. “I’m so happy you’re okay. If I’d known it would be so dangerous, I’d never have allowed it.”

  “The whole thing kind of went off plan. I forgot the things the detective told me to say and I think I made her mad.”

  “It’s all over now.” He stroked her shoulder.

  They both turned to see who was knocking on the window. It was Ettie.

  “Ettie’s early.” Bethany opened the door for her. “It was open, Ettie.”

  “I thought it was locked. Hello, Jabez.”

  “Hi, Ettie. I’ll see you at five, Bethany.”

  Bethany nodded and watched Jabez walk out of the store. Then she looked at Ettie when she felt her staring at her.

  Ettie raised her eyebrows. “Tonight?”

  “Jah, dinner.”

  “Did that woman come to your haus?”

  Before opening time, Bethany managed to tell Ettie every detail of what had happened the night before.

  “It’ll be interesting if the gun she had was the same one that killed Ian.”

  “They can tell that?”

  “They can. I wonder when we’ll find out more from the detective.”

  “He said if he knows more he’ll call me today or come by the store.”

  “Gut. Now, Elsa-May tells me she sold two quilts yesterday.”

  “That’s right. Are you out to better her score?”

  Ettie scoffed. “That would be a childish thing to do.” Ettie tapped on her chin. “But tell me just out of interest—how exactly did she do it?”

  Chapter 25

  That same afternoon, Bethany waited at the store, anxious for Jabez to arrive. It was ten minutes after five when his buggy pulled up outside her store. She was careful to lock both doors and the two windows on the north side of the store before she hurried toward him.

  “How was your day?”

  “Interesting. When we’re sitting down, I’ll tell you all about it.” Bethany knew she should be tired, but for some reason she wasn’t. She was excited by the idea of spending time with Jabez and hearing more of how he felt about her.

  He stared at her while they sat motionless in the buggy and she wondered why he hadn’t ordered his horse forward.

  “I just want to know that you’ll be safe.”

  She nodded. “It’s all over. They got the woman and everything. I think it’s the same woman who killed Ian.”

  He smiled. “Gut. Are you sure you’re up to going out to eat?”

  “I am.”

  The horse clip-clopped onward at Jabez’s command. They only went six blocks up the road and he pointed to a restaurant as they drove past. “I’ve made us early reservations here.”

  “It looks nice.”

  The buggy parking was further up the road and when they stopped, he rushed around and helped her down.

  “Denke.”

  When they entered the restaurant, they were shown to a table near the window.

  Bethany looked at the menu, wondering what to eat; she was too nervous to eat anything. She placed her hand over her stomach. “I feel like something light.”

  “I’m h
aving a steak. I haven’t had one for a while.”

  “That sounds good. I’ll have one too.” She closed the menu and placed it on the table.

  He laughed. “That’s not light.”

  She smiled back at him. “I like the sound of a steak.”

  “Okay.”

  Once the waiter had left with their orders, Jabez said, “Okay, tell me what happened.”

  Bethany took a deep breath and told him every detail of what had transpired over the past twenty-four hours.

  He sat in silence when she finished. Finally, he said, “I would never have allowed you to do it if I’d known what was involved and how dangerous it would be.”

  “I think it was my fault. Somehow I angered the woman.”

  He reached out and took hold of her hand. Bethany looked down at her small hand in his. It was a bold thing for him to do—hold her hand in public like that. When she looked up at his face, he stared into her eyes.

  “I won’t pressure you into answering what I’ve asked you before, but if I hadn’t asked you before, I’d be asking you right now.”

  She couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “What would you ask me?”

  “To marry me.”

  “Go on, then.”

  “Bethany Parker, will you make me a very happy man and marry me?”

  She nodded at the same time as tears came to her eyes. “I will.”

  He lifted her hand and pressed his lips to it. “Denke. I will be a gut husband. I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’ve agreed to marry me. Are you sure?”

  “I’m a little scared, but I’m sure.”

  He laughed. “Scared of me?”

  “Nee! I’d never be scared of you. I feel safe with you. I’m scared that I won’t be a good wife for you.”

  “That’s silly thinking.” He squeezed her hand. “You never need to be scared again. I have no doubts you’ll be a good wife.”

  “I’m not the best at wifely duties.”

  “You could learn.”

  “What about if I’m late home from work and there’s no evening meal on the table? You might get annoyed since you’re used to a hot meal every night.”

  “There’s more to life than food. We’ll face those things when we come to them and work out solutions together. How does that sound?”