“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 something 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 someone 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?”
“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.”
Amish Quilt Shop Mystery Page 11