Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 3

by Samantha Price

  Ettie headed back to the house. She had a few ideas swirling in her mind.

  “He’s coming! He said he could come for dinner.” Ettie squealed as she walked in the door.

  Elsa-May came out of the kitchen. “That’s great.”

  “He said he’d be here at seven.”

  “Okay. I’ll start preparing it.”

  Ettie sat back down at the kitchen table with Florence. “I know you only met Dustin a handful of times, but did he mention having any enemies?”

  “Nee. He talked about his grandfather and his music. He didn’t talk about personal things about himself. I told him stories about the old days and that’s about it.”

  Ettie nodded.

  Chapter 19

  It was five minutes past seven and Ettie was growing concerned that something important had cropped up and Kelly wouldn’t make it for dinner. Having no phone in their house, Kelly wouldn’t be able to give them the courtesy of telling them he’d be late or wouldn’t be able to come at all.

  Just then, Ettie heard a car and looked out the window. It was Kelly’s car. “He’s here!” she announced to Elsa-May and Florence.

  Ettie made her way to the door, opened it and waited for Kelly to approach. She thought it best to keep quiet about her visit to the prison. As long as the lawyer had the information they’d learned—that was the important thing.

  When Detective Kelly stood in front of her, he said, “Good evening. That smells delicious. I could smell it as soon as I got out of the car.”

  “Hello, Detective. Come inside.”

  “Thank you.” He stepped past her into the house.

  Snowy ran at him and jumped up at him.

  “Stop it, Snowy,” Ettie said trying to push him away lightly with her foot.

  The detective held up his leg. “Can you get him off me?”

  Ettie scooped Snowy up. “The others are in the kitchen.”

  He nodded and headed to the kitchen while Ettie put Snowy in the yard and put the latch over the dog door. After that, she joined them in the kitchen.

  “I’ll just wash up and join you in a minute.”

  Elsa-May looked up from dishing the food onto the plates. “Well, don’t be long.”

  When Ettie got back to the table, she sat down at her usual seat. Elsa-May had already plated the food.

  “We normally say silent thanks for the food,” Florence explained.

  “Don’t let me stop you,” Kelly said.

  They closed their eyes to give thanks for the food, and then they started eating.

  “Thank you for inviting me. It’s rare I get to eat a meal like this. It’s just like my mother used to make when I was a boy.”

  After some small talk, Ettie figured it might be okay if she slipped in some talk about Dustin.

  “How are they doing with Dustin’s case?”

  “Funny you should mention that. That’s why I was late for dinner. Linda Gandara has agreed to give evidence against her husband in exchange for a lighter sentence.”

  “She knew that he killed those people?” Elsa-May asked.

  “Will she have to go to jail?” Ettie asked.

  “She lied to us?” Florence asked.

  “To answer all your questions, she might have to go to jail, she knew he killed those two people, and she lied to you if she told you otherwise.”

  “She looked me in the eye and lied to me,” Florence said.

  After the detective had swallowed another mouthful, he said, “I have a couple of questions for you, Mrs. Lapp. Would you prefer to answer them tomorrow? I could come back here, or you could come into the station.”

  “I can talk now. As long as Ettie and Elsa-May don’t mind.”

  “We don’t at all,” Ettie answered for the both of them.

  The detective asked Florence, “Who did Morrie marry? Who was his first wife?”

  “He didn’t marry—he didn’t believe in it.”

  “Well, who was the mother of Morrie’s child?” Ettie asked.

  “It was Linda Gandara. She eventually married Reginald, Morrie’s brother. Didn’t I mention that?”

  Ettie gasped loudly dropping her fork, which clanged loudly on the table and bounced onto the floor while Elsa-May froze in place.

  “Nee! You didn’t tell us that, Florence!” Ettie said.

  “Why wouldn’t you let us know that?” Elsa-May scowled at Florence.

  Ettie narrowed her eyes. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us that in the first place, Florence! We’ve been trying to help you all this time and that’s something you should’ve thought to tell us up front.”

  The detective raised his hand. “There’s no need for an argument over this lovely dinner.”

  “Where was she at the time of Allissa’s murder?” Ettie asked Florence

  “Who? Linda?” Florence asked.

  “Yes.”

  Elsa-May asked the detective, “You found out that she’s Dustin’s grandmother?”

  “Not until just now.” He looked at Florence. “Do you mind answering Ettie’s question? Do you know where Linda, Dustin’s grandmother, was around the time of Allissa’s murder?”

  “Why would I know?” Florence said. “She was probably at home.”

  Kelly jumped up while taking his mobile phone out of his pocket. He stood at the back of the room and made a call.

  “I would’ve thought the police would’ve followed through with that,” Florence whispered to her sisters. “I thought they would know that Linda was Dustin’s grandmother.”

  “It makes it even more connected now,” Ettie said to Elsa-May.

  “Jah, it does. They used the gun, then Florence’s house gets burned down and the gun’s found in Dustin’s car.”

  “Why would Linda put the gun in the car? She loves her grandson.” Ettie stared at Florence trying to figure out the missing pieces.

  Kelly sat back down. “I’ve let them know that Linda Gandara is Dustin’s grandmother and not just his great aunt by marriage. Dustin’s parents are overseas on vacation and no one’s been able to reach them.”

  “Does that change anything?” Florence asked.

  Ettie answered, although the question was directed at the detective. “She is Dustin and Darrin’s grandmother. Dustin and Darrin were both having problems with Allissa, in one way or another. If Linda looked the other way when her husband killed two people, maybe she wanted this girl out of the way to save her grandson, or grandsons, from being hurt by Allissa.”

  “That sounds like some fanciful story, Ettie,” Florence said.

  “People have been killed for less,” the detective said.

  “Let’s just say what Ettie said is correct; how does that explain the gun used in the previous murders being placed in Dustin’s car. Also, how did the police know it was there? Because they certainly seemed to know.”

  Kelly shook his head. “You’ve made some good points. And because it’s not my case, I don’t know how to answer you, but I’ll look into it. I’ll see if I can find out why they stopped his car.”

  “They said he was swerving over the road, didn’t they?” Ettie asked.

  “That’s what they said, but I’ll go to their station where the arrest was made and look in their files.”

  “They’ll let you do that?”

  He nodded. “I’m helping them. I got Linda and Reginald Gandara for them. Of course they’ll give me access to their files.”

  “Good!” Ettie was pleased with herself for asking him to dinner. They’d achieved quite a lot.

  He looked down at his half-eaten dinner. “I’m sorry to interrupt the dinner. Shall we continue?”

  The elderly ladies continued to eat in silence.

  When Elsa-May was dishing out apple pie for dessert, Ettie asked, “What about the missing twin? Was he staying at Linda’s house?”

  He nodded. “It was his laptop, but they still haven’t been able to locate him or Reginald. It seems they’re both on the run.”

 
; “But you said Darrin didn’t do anything.”

  “As far as we’re aware, he didn’t. I shouldn’t have said he’s on the run. He’s missing and wanted for questioning. But they do have a warrant out for Reginald Gandara. So, all’s well that ends well,” Kelly said.

  “No!” Florence said.

  “What do you mean?” Ettie asked the detective.

  “Well, we still aren’t certain how the gun got into Dustin’s car, but it didn’t have his prints on it and Linda is giving testimony against her husband.”

  “Dustin didn’t kill that girl,” Florence insisted.

  “The forensic evidence tells us otherwise, Mrs. Lapp.”

  Ettie didn’t comment about knowing about a slap across the face that Allissa had given Dustin. She just hoped that when they found Dustin’s brother, he might be able to shed light on everything. After all, he was the one who knew Allissa.

  When the detective left, Florence said, “I thought he’d never leave.”

  “We need to find the twin.” Ettie sat on the couch opposite Florence.

  “And how are we going to do that?” Elsa-May asked from her favorite chair as she knitted on her latest project.

  “Maybe he’s hiding out at his grandmother’s house?” Ettie suggested.

  “Nee, wouldn’t the police be watching it?”

  Ettie shrugged. “I don’t know, but he might be the key to this whole thing.”

  Chapter 20

  The next morning, Ettie called the lawyer to see how everything was lining up.

  “Mrs. Smith, I’m glad you called. I’ve just heard that the police have Reginald and Darrin Gandara.”

  “They do?”

  “Yes.”

  “That is good news.”

  “Darrin is being questioned as we speak and Reginald is under arrest. At this stage, Darrin claims to have witnessed his brother arguing with Allissa Thomas on the day she was murdered."

  Ettie gasped. That didn’t sound good for Dustin. “On campus?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is that good or bad for Dustin?”

  “If he tells the police that he saw Dustin get slapped across the face, that’ll be good.”

  “When will you know?”

  “I’m not Darrin’s lawyer. That would be a conflict of interests. You might be able to find out if you ask your detective friend. They aren’t too forthcoming with me unless they have to tell me something by law.”

  “I see. I’ll visit him this morning. Thank you. I’m glad I called you.”

  “Let me know as soon as you find out anything.”

  “I will.” Ettie hung up and walked back to the house. Everything now seemed to hinge on Darrin’s testimony.

  By mid-morning the three sisters were in a taxi heading to the police station.

  “I hope Detective Kelly doesn’t get sick of seeing us,” Florence said.

  “He’s probably past that already,” Elsa-May said.

  Ettie nibbled on a fingernail, wondering what excuse she’d give Kelly for coming to the station when they’d only talked to him the night before. She didn’t want to let on she’d received information from Dustin’s lawyer.

  “What are you thinking, Ettie?” Florence asked.

  “I’m thinking you should let me do the talking.”

  When they walked in the door of the station, the officer at the desk pointed to the waiting area as he picked up the phone.

  “Will he tell him we’re here?” Florence whispered to Ettie.

  “Jah. He knows us. We always ask to see Kelly.”

  As soon as they sat down, Kelly walked out and stood in front of them. “Let’s go to my office.”

  He closed the door as soon as they were all inside his office. “You’ve heard?”

  “Heard what?” Ettie asked hoping she wouldn’t get caught out.

  The detective didn’t ask them to sit which Ettie took as a sign he didn’t want them to waste his time.

  Kelly continued, “We have Darrin right now at the station where you gave your testimony. He witnessed his twin brother killing Allissa Thomas.” He looked at Florence. “I’m very sorry, Mrs. Lapp. I know you wanted this to turn out differently.”

  “That can’t be right. Why did he disappear, then?” Ettie asked.

  “He didn’t want to testify against his own brother. He was in shock and had to go away and think. When we found him, he agreed to do the right thing and testify.”

  “I think I asked you this before, but you never found out for me. Did the police get an anonymous tip-off about Dustin?”

  “Yes, they did. Someone called them and told them they witnessed Dustin strangling Allissa, and they also saw him with a gun. They gave the police the plate number of the car they saw him get into.”

  “Did Darrin say he made the call?”

  Kelly shook his head. “He made no such call. There must’ve been another witness to the murder.”

  “Who called the murder in?” Ettie asked.

  “A young lady from the college found her and then called 911.”

  Elsa-May pulled a face. “That’s odd. A man witnesses the murder and calls the police about Dustin and goes to the trouble to give the police the plate number and doesn’t make a call to 911 about the woman who was strangled.”

  Kelly frowned. “I’ll look into that. Maybe there was another call to emergency services, and the young woman made the call first. If you’re right, it wouldn’t add up.”

  “Am I right in remembering that Dustin’s prints were not on the gun?” Ettie asked.

  “I believe so, but the gun was in his car. He could’ve wiped his prints off.”

  “Isn’t it Dustin’s word against Darrin’s?” Elsa-May asked.

  “No, it’s not. Dustin isn’t saying he saw his brother do it. Dustin is denying knowing the girl, but we know that he knew the girl. We’ve got dozens of witnesses who confirm that Dustin knew Allissa.”

  Ettie nodded. Dustin shouldn’t have lied about that; now he looked guilty.

  “I tried to help you, but sometimes we’re wrong about people.” Kelly looked down.

  Florence pulled out a chair and slumped into it.

  “Can I get you anything, Mrs. Lapp?” Kelly asked.

  Ettie patted her sister on her shoulder.

  “I’m okay. I just need to rest a moment.”

  “I’ll get you a glass of water.”

  When Kelly stepped out of his office, Elsa-May comforted Florence. Ettie spotted a file on Kelly’s desk. She quickly opened it and scanned through the pages.

  “We need to talk to Darrin,” Ettie hissed. “If we hurry, we can catch him at the other station after they finish questioning him.”

  Florence swiveled to look at her. “You believe he’s innocent? Dustin?”

  “Do you?” Ettie asked.

  “Jah, I know it.”

  “Then so do I. Have your water, and then tell Kelly you feel much better, but don’t look happy, or he’ll think we’re up to something.”

  Right then, Kelly walked back in holding a glass of water. He handed the glass to Florence.

  She took a couple of sips, while Ettie did her best to look sad.

  Florence handed Kelly the glass when she stood up. “Thank you for all you’ve done.”

  “It was nothing. Your sisters have been a great help to me over the past years. I was glad to do something to help them.”

  “Thank you,” Ettie said.

  The detective’s eyes fell to the file on his desk and then focused on Ettie.

  “We should get out of your way,” Elsa-May said moving closer to the door.

  “It’s over now, Mrs. Smith. There’s nothing more you can do.”

  Ettie nodded. “I know. Thank you for all you’ve done.”

  “Do you mean that?” Kelly asked.

  “Come on, Ettie, let’s go,” Elsa-May said.

  “Yes, I thank you.” Ettie moved past him out of his office. She wondered why he looked at the file like tha
t. She’d been careful to place it back in the same position that he’d had it.

  Chapter 21

  Elsa-May hailed a passing taxi as soon as they were on the pavement outside the station. They all sat in the back, and again, Ettie ended up in the middle. This time, she was too involved in the thoughts revolving around in her head to care.

  “That was a close call, Ettie,” Elsa-May said after she told the driver where they were headed.

  “You shouldn’t have done that,” Florence said.

  “What did you find out?”

  “Nothing really. But we need to figure this thing out pretty quickly before we talk with Darrin.” Ettie nibbled on a fingernail while she thought. If they did nothing, Dustin would end up in prison for life, or worse.

  “Ettie, stop chewing on your nails and pull yourself together,” Elsa-May ordered.

  Ettie pulled her hand away from her mouth.

  “Now, we normally go over who could’ve done it.”

  “Right!” Ettie agreed. “Now that I know that Darrin made that call against his brother, I’m thinking it was him.”

  “Where do my gun and my house fire come into it?”

  “I don’t know. There seems no point to the gun being in his car. Unless the person wanted Dustin to be charged for those murders as well.”

  “That’s a point, Ettie. There were no witnesses to those murders and only the gun could tie the two murders together.”

  “It’s all so mysterious,” Florence said.

  The taxi driver said, “It sounds like a good mystery. Can you start at the beginning?”

  “We would, but our stop is just up here,” Elsa-May replied.

  They paid the driver and got out of the car as soon as they could.

  “What if he’s already left?” Florence asked.

  “We’ll just have to hope he hasn’t.”

  “One of us should go in there and ask if he’s still there,” Florence suggested.

  “Nee, we can’t alert them to us being here. They’ll want to know who we are. This is a murder investigation,” Ettie said.