Who Killed Uncle Alfie?

by Samantha Price

  “Good. Now I’ll drive you home.”

  “Is it too much trouble to drive us to Molly’s house instead? She doesn’t live that far from us.”

  “Okay. Give me her address and I’ll put it into the GPS.”

  After they were on their way, Kelly said, “I can tell you something, but I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Your friend might be in the clear if we can find footage that he was on a bus at the time of the murder. We’ll be looking at the CCTV footage from the bus company to see if we can spot him.”

  “Oh good. When will you be doing that?”

  “As soon as it arrives.”

  Chapter 12

  When Detective Kelly approached Molly's house, Ettie and Elsa-May saw Jazeel’s buggy.

  Kelly’s car zoomed away as soon as the sisters had gotten out, and they hurried to the door.

  “I hope Tom doesn’t attack us.”

  “He’ll only do that if we try to touch him, Molly says.”

  “I certainly won’t be touching him. You should’ve seen how deep the cut on her thumb was. And she’s still wearing the bandage.”

  Jazeel opened the door before they knocked. “Hello. Molly is holding Tom while you get inside.”

  Elsa-May and Ettie hurried through the door to the sound of growling. They saw Molly crouching over Tom and holding him down. As soon as Jazeel closed the door, Molly let Tom go and he scurried away.

  “Was that the detective?” Jazeel asked.

  “Jah, Detective Kelly, and you’ll never guess what happened.”

  “Sit down,” Molly said.

  When they were seated, Ettie told them about the housekeeper and the diamond.

  “That’s right. Uncle Alfie gave the necklace to Dawn because she’s always been so good to him. She was always taking him hot meals and cleaning his house. He paid her for cleaning once a week, and she regularly did far more than what he paid her for.”

  “Do you know if there’s any proof Alfie gave her the necklace?”

  “I was there when he gave it to her.”

  “Oh, Marlene’s not going to like that,” Ettie said.

  “Dawn was reluctant to take it, but Alfie insisted, saying his daughter didn’t give two hoots about him. I don’t remember if I told you this or not, but it was Dawn who called me and asked me to stay with Alfie for a few days. She was due to go on vacation with her family and she told me he’d developed a nasty cough.”

  “That’s interesting,” Elsa-May said.

  “Marlene’s claiming that Dawn stole the diamond.”

  Jazeel shook his head. “Where was Marlene when her father needed her? I do know that he hadn't seen her for at least five years. That’s what he told me.”

  “Kelly was wrong about Marlene falsifying an insurance claim, anyway, because the diamond existed after all.”

  “We found out something else from the detective, Jazeel.”

  “That’s right. We found out that Bruno Gillespie was released from prison last week. Before Alfie was killed."

  "Have they questioned him yet?"

  "We don't know about that. I don’t think so, but they will."

  “The funeral is on Monday. John was over here earlier and said that Marlene called and told him this morning.”

  “Where is it being held?”

  “John asked if he could have the viewing at his house and give him an Amish funeral, but she refused and said she’s having a service at the graveyard with a non-denominational minister leading the service. John asked if the bishop could say a few words but she flatly refused.”

  “Ah, that’s a pity,” Elsa-May said.

  “I’ll give you the address before you leave,” Molly said.

  “Denke,” Ettie said while trying to keep her eye on Tom, who was now sitting on top of his closed cat carrier.

  Elsa-May turned to Jazeel. "Have you given some thought to what information Alfie had about Bruno?"

  "I’ve been thinking hard. I asked him once but he didn’t tell me. All I can remember was it was some crime the man had done and Alfie was keeping the evidence at the house.”

  “And the man knew Uncle Alfie had the evidence?” Elsa-May asked.

  “I’m not sure, but I think so.”

  “Just as well you don’t know,” said Molly, “or you might have ended up the same way as Uncle Alfie.”

  Ettie sighed. “Why would your uncle keep evidence about a crime?”

  Molly said, “Perhaps he was scared of him or what he would do.”

  It seemed to Ettie that if it were true, there was something more to it. Things just didn’t add up.

  Chapter 13

  Maureen and her husband, Max, were the only Englischers that Ettie could see at Uncle Alfie’s funeral.

  Ettie and Elsa-May had gotten out of the taxi at the chapel in the grounds of the Englisch cemetery and joined the crowd waiting to go inside. As they waited, they were soon joined by Jazeel and Molly.

  “Dawn Wilson is here,” Jazeel whispered.

  “The housekeeper?” Ettie asked.

  “Jah.”

  “I hope she’s not wearing the diamond."

  "It looks like we might be in for a fun funeral with Dawn and Marlene together. I hope they’ve managed to sort out the thing about the diamond," Elsa-May said.

  "I haven't heard anything about it," Jazeel said.

  “Maybe they could cut it in half. That’s what King Solomon would’ve suggested.” Ettie giggled at her own words.

  "Ettie, don't mention the diamond today. It's not the time or the place."

  "Technically, we’re not at the funeral until we get inside the chapel. Anyway, of course, I won't mention it."

  “Why haven’t they opened the doors yet?” Jazeel asked.

  Just then the double doors of the chapel were opened from the inside and a man with black robes and a white collar welcomed everyone in.

  “This is dreadful,” Ettie said. “Alfie would’ve wanted an Amish funeral.”

  “There’s nothing we can do about that now, Ettie. Marlene was his only child and she has all the say.”

  Ettie screwed up her nose. When everyone started moving in, Ettie told her sister and Molly and Jazeel, “You three go ahead. I’ll join you in a minute.”

  “What’s wrong?” Elsa-May asked. “Do you need a tissue?”

  “Nee. I’m okay. I just need a moment.”

  “Suit yourself.” Elsa-May walked into the chapel with Jazeel and Molly.

  When everyone else was inside, Ettie was just about to go in too when she saw Detective Kelly walking toward the chapel, so she waited for him.

  "It's nice of you to come"

  "I didn't know him, but I wanted to pay my respects. No one deserves to die in that way.”

  Ettie nodded, and wanted to believe he was there out of respect, but he’d told her many times that he always attended the funerals of murder victims to see who showed up.

  They both walked in and found that the chapel was nearly full, so they had to sit in the back row. The rows had seats that had to be pulled down to sit on, although the backs were fixed. Ettie looked down at her black lace-up shoes against the deep red carpet. Scarlet, she thought. That's what I'd call that color. The carpet also had a fine black swirled pattern in it. She thought it was too fussy-looking. When Ettie looked toward the front, she saw the minister standing beside a wooden coffin that was flanked by two large bowls of white flowers. On a stage behind the minister was a large organ with pipes rising all the way to the large vaulted ceiling.

  The minister opened in prayer and then said a few words about Alfie, which made Ettie cross because she could tell that the minister had never met him. The organ sounded and everyone stood to sing a hymn, accompanied by the loud music.

  The closed casket was at the front of the chapel and Ettie couldn’t help but wonder what Alfie would make of it all if he were looking on. The Amish never sang to a musical accompanim
ent in their meetings or at their funerals. Ettie was pleased to know that she had no intention of dying outside the community, and her children would know better than to give her anything other than an Amish funeral.

  When the singing was over, Marlene read Psalm twenty three. After that, she sat back down and the minister introduced another hymn. A final prayer was said and then it was over. The minister then invited everyone to have refreshments in a dining room next to the chapel.

  “Is that it?” Ettie whispered to the detective.

  “I’ve been here for funerals before. They bury the coffin in the grave and no one gathers around to watch, not like they do at other places, or at your funerals.”

  “I see.” When Ettie saw everyone leaving, she said, “I should join the others, and I’ll let you do what you came here to do.”

  “Yes, I’ll pay my respects to Alfred’s daughter and her husband.”

  Ettie found Elsa-May in the dining room reaching for a cupcake.

  “What did you think of the funeral?” Ettie asked her sister.

  “It was about what I expected—nothing more and nothing less.” Her eyes sparkled as she looked back on the cupcakes. “These cakes look good.”

  “Elsa-May, don’t you think it’s dreadful? Alfie wouldn’t have wanted a funeral like that.”

  Elsa-May had just taken a big bite from a pink cupcake with blue frosting. When she swallowed, she said, “Why worry? It won’t affect where he’ll end up.”

  Ettie frowned. “I suppose you’re right.”

  “Of course I’m right. Another thing I’m right about are these cupcakes being scrumptious. Have one.”

  Sweeping her eyes across the array of cakes and small triangular sandwiches, Ettie spotted a bowl of soft candies. She leaned over and popped one into her mouth.

  “Try a cupcake, Ettie.”

  “I might when I finish this.”

  “They’re moist and the frosting is good too.”

  Ettie took a cupcake and was just about to take a bite when she heard raised voices. She turned to see Marlene talking to Dawn.

  “I thought this might happen,” Elsa-May whispered.

  After Ettie had taken a bite of cake, she looked around for Kelly and saw him walking toward Marlene. “Mmm," she said, "the cake is good.”

  “I told you.”

  Elsa-May and Ettie continued to watch as Kelly said a few quiet words to Marlene and then led Dawn out of the room.

  “It was a bad idea for her to come,” Elsa-May said.

  “Why shouldn’t she come to her friend’s funeral?”

  “Because it was obvious that Marlene’s angry with her, that’s why. You don’t have to be a genius to figure that out.”

  When Kelly came back inside, he was alone. Ettie continued to watch while Kelly headed back over to Marlene.

  “I’m going to see if I can hear what they say.”

  “Okay, but don’t get too close.”

  Ettie moved over until she could hear.

  “What are you doing about the diamond she stole from me?” Marlene hissed.

  “She has a note from your father saying it was a gift, in thanks for all her attention and service. I read it myself and it’s your father’s handwriting.”

  “Before that, there was a verbal contract between my mother and myself where she said she’d give it to me. I was their only child.”

  “You’ll have to take that up with a lawyer.”

  “That woman probably forced him to write that note. He was old and stupid and didn’t know what he was doing.”

  “When was the last time you spoke to your father?”

  “I couldn’t say.”

  “It seems reasonable to me that your father gave the diamond to the woman who looked after him as a token of his appreciation, since you were no longer around.”

  “I was busy and anyway, I’m his only child and I found his will in his paperwork and everything was left to me.”

  “As I said, that’s something you’ll have to take up with a lawyer.”

  “Yeah, but they cost money. Why should I have to go to the expense of court and all that? You should just give it back to me because it’s mine! She’d give it back if you said to. She’s only hanging onto it because she thinks she can.”

  Marlene was raising her voice again and Ettie was feeling a little sorry for Detective Kelly.

  “I should just go and get it back from her myself.”

  “That wouldn’t be a good idea,” Kelly said calmly.

  “Yeah? Well isn’t possession nine-tenths of the law?”

  “I’m not a lawyer, but I’d advise you not to try getting it back any other way but through the courts, or else you could find yourself facing criminal charges.”

  “It’s my diamond! It was my mother’s and she wanted me to have it!”

  Now she’d grown so loud that everyone was staring at her. Her husband hurried over to her and whispered something in her ear, which sent her storming outside.

  “I’m sorry about that, Detective,” Marlene’s husband said, “My wife is upset because we’re renewing our vows soon for our twentieth wedding anniversary. She wanted the diamond to put into a new ring. I could never have afforded a diamond of that size and that’s all she ever wanted.”

  “Is that right?”

  “Yes. I’m only a labourer and things are tough because I’ve got a bad back now and Marlene has never worked. At least we can sell her old man’s house now and have a bit left over once the mortgage is paid up. Although the realtor reckons we won’t get much, with the murder and all.”

  Kelly nodded. “It’s an emotional time. Funerals are hard on close relatives.”

  Ettie wondered how long ago they had planned the renewing of their vows. Would Marlene have killed her own father while hunting down the diamond? Could she have gone to her father’s house and asked for the diamond and when he said it wasn’t there, she could’ve thought he was lying and then hunted everywhere for it. And, when he tried to stop her tearing the place apart….”

  “Did you hear all that?”

  Ettie jumped when she saw Detective Kelly was right beside her. “Yes, well, some of it. Interesting about her wanting the diamond for the ring. And she’d have been furious about the housekeeper owning the diamond if that’s all Marlene had ever wanted, like her husband said.”

  Ettie knew that Marlene had moved onto Kelly’s list of suspects.

  “Did Jazeel tell you that it was Dawn who asked him to look after him while she was away on vacation?” Ettie asked.

  “Yes, she mentioned that and that helps his case, but we still haven’t looked at that CCTV footage.”

  Ettie hoped Jazeel would soon be in the clear. “Try a cupcake, Detective. They’re delicious.”

  Chapter 14

  The next morning after breakfast, Ettie and Elsa-May were sitting in their living room.

  Elsa-May knitted while Ettie worked on a sampler.

  Ettie broke the silence. “I didn’t like that funeral.”

  “I know. You've told me a dozen times this morning already,” Elsa-May said, shaking her head.

  “I think Kelly thinks that Marlene might have killed her father to get the diamond. And I wonder how much money she’ll get from the sale of Alfie’s house.”

  “That’s just speculation.”

  “I know, but Kelly always says that in most murder cases it’s someone the victim knows, and it’s normally a family member,” Ettie said. "And anything to do with money is a strong motive, too.”

  “Don’t forget the man that just got out of prison.”

  “I’m not. Kelly hasn’t mentioned him again.”

  Elsa-May said, “He didn’t mention him yesterday, but he’ll be finding him and interviewing him. And that man is not someone we can talk with, and if you want to find him, you’re going to have to do all that on your own. He might have murdered someone and Alfie knew about it and then he killed Alfie.”

  “Also, let’s not forge
t the drug dealers,” Ettie said.

  “They weren’t drug dealers, they were drug buyers.”

  “That’s right. Well, whatever they were, they could’ve killed Alfie too.” Ettie sighed. “We’re developing a long list. Marlene, the drug buyers, and the man who was just released from prison.”

  “Bruno Gillespie.”

  “Yes, that’s the one. Let’s try to figure this thing out. We’re two intelligent women, so we should be able to work out who killed Uncle Alfie.”

  “You’ve got that half right,” Elsa-May murmured.

  Ettie was used to those kinds of comments. She nearly said, I’m sorry you don’t think you qualify. It was less effort to pretend she wasn’t listening. She pushed her needle into the fabric to keep her place and put her sampler on the couch next to her.

  “Uncle Alfie was stabbed, and don’t they say women don’t usually kill by stabbing? They use less violent methods of killing such as poison, or… something like that,” Ettie said.

  “I hear what you’re saying, but she’s not an ordinary woman. I could see Marlene stabbing someone.”

  “Let’s rule her out for the moment. I can’t see her killing her only immediate family member.”

  “Okay, continue. Let’s hear it. Keep going.” Elsa-May continued her knitting.

  “Now we come to the drug buyers. If Alphie had what they wanted why would they stab him? There was no microphone or amplifier at the house, so they must’ve taken it. So, in my mind that clears them.”

  “Well, not necessarily. If they were on drugs they might have become irrational.”

  “Nee, it just doesn’t seem logical.”

  “Again, you’re expecting people on drugs to be logical?”

  Ettie continued, “They probably weren’t under the influence at the time because they’d gone back to Joe demanding money.”

  “In a violent manner. Don’t forget they beat him up.”

  Ettie clicked her tongue. “It must’ve been the man who just got out of prison. What we need to find out is what evidence Uncle Alfie was keeping about him, and why.”

  “Sounds easy enough. We’ll just go down to the graveyard and ask him, shall we?”