Secrets Come Home

by Samantha Price

  Ettie looked at Ava. “What shall we do?”

  Ava looked down at all pages in her hand. “Well, there’s an awful lot here, Ettie.”

  “We’ve had a lot of people work here. People come and go all the time, always did. I don’t mind doing it. Just tell me your address.”

  “It’s on the other side of town.”

  “That’s okay. I just got my license and I need the practice.”

  “That’s awfully kind of you. Ava, why don’t you write down our address for Chad?“

  While Ava wrote, Chad asked, “What are you trying to find out?”

  “The police think that Horace was killed by our friend who died recently. We know she didn’t do it,” Ettie said.

  “You’re trying to find out who really did kill him? Aren’t you scared?”

  “No, not a bit,” Ettie admitted.

  Chad’s eyes widened. “You think one of these people killed him? Someone who used to work here?”

  Ettie shook her head. “No, we just want to talk to someone he knew back then. You see, he left our Amish community briefly on what we call a rumspringa – that’s when young people can leave our community for a time and they are free from following our rules. Anyway, we want to talk to people who knew him, people other than our Amish folk.”

  “I know, my father told me about the Amish. I hope you find something out. Why do the police think your friend did it, then? Surely they’d have to have some kind of evidence to suspect her.”

  “Someone told the police about an argument our friend had with him,” Ava said.

  Chad nodded. “I read about how the body was found under the floor of the house. Funny that the body was there for so long without anyone knowing. You’d think that a body would smell after a while. It would rot or something, wouldn’t it?”

  “He was wrapped up,” Ava said. “In plastic.”

  “That’s awful. I’d hate to have that job – the job of unwrapping the body. Who had to do that?”

  Ettie pushed out her lips. “I don’t know. I stayed inside when they were doing that.”

  “You were there?” Chad asked.

  “Oh yes. It’s my house.” Ettie realized the boy didn’t know the full story. “My friend left me the house, and my sister noticed something wrong with the floorboards so she had her grandson come take a look. He’s a builder – my sister’s grandson, my great nephew.”

  “Go on,” Chad urged, his eyes wider still.

  Ettie continued, “He lifted up a board, then went under the house and he found the body directly under the boards – the ones that weren’t right.”

  “And did he – your sister’s grandson – unwrap the body?”

  “No, that’s when we called the police.”

  “I read in the paper he was covered in plastic, but I thought he’d still stink. And wouldn’t someone have looked for what was causing the smell? If I wrapped a dead animal in plastic, I’d reckon it would stink after some time.”

  “I don’t know anything about that. I didn’t know my friend very well back then,” Ettie said.

  Chad pushed his dark hair away from his face. “What did they find with him?”

  Ettie frowned. “Like what?”

  Chad shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I just think it’s odd that he was under the house like that. The paper said he had no identification on him, nothing.”

  “That’s right. Well, we better go now. Thank you for being so helpful,” Ava said, handing him their address.

  “I’ll have these to you later on.”

  “Thank you, Chad. Where might we go to call for a taxi?” Ava asked.

  He pulled a cell out of his pocket. “I’ll call one for you.”

  “We’ll wait outside.” Ava put her arm through Ettie’s.

  When they were out of the front gates, Ava said, “What a strange young man.”

  Ettie had to agree. “What do you make of him asking all those questions?”

  “I don’t know, but I didn’t like it.”

  “I think he might be right about the body having an odor even though it was wrapped in plastic. I wonder why Agatha was never bothered by the smell?”

  “Maybe she just didn’t know what it was,” Ava suggested. “Do you think that might be partly the reason the police think she did it?”

  “Possibly. I know she wasn’t the kind of woman not to look into something like a strange smell.”

  “Shall I see what I can find out? I know someone who works at a funeral home. I could ask him some questions and find out what would be expected in a situation like Horace’s.”

  “Jah, do that,” Ettie said.

  “Okay. Do you think that young man asked too many questions?” Ava asked.

  “Murder doesn’t happen often around these parts. You know what people are like; he was probably just curious with it being in the newspaper and all.”

  Chapter 10.

  Ettie was alone in Agatha’s house when Chad knocked on the door to deliver the photocopies as he’d said he would. When Ettie opened the door she was pleased to see him.

  “There you go.” He handed the pages to Ettie.

  “Thank you. It was so kind of you to do this for us.”

  “No problem.” He pinched the front of his loose white shirt and shook it. “It’s so hot. Do you think I could have a glass of water?”

  “Yes, come in.”

  Ettie headed to the kitchen with Chad close behind her. She placed the papers down on the kitchen table and proceeded to the sink. “I’m sorry I can’t offer you chilled water.” She turned away from the sink and was surprised to see him right behind her.

  “This is fine,” he said taking the glass from her. He drank quickly and handed her the empty glass. “Thank you. I hope you find what you’re looking for. I’ll leave you to it.” He turned and walked toward the front door with Ettie close behind. When he was in the middle of the living room, he stopped. “Where exactly did they find him?” His gaze swept across the floor.

  Ettie thought it macabre that he would want to know, but like she’d said to Ava, he was probably just curious. “Around this area,” Ettie said with a sweep of her hand. She had moved the rocking chair to the side of the room.

  The boy pulled a face then looked up at Ettie. “A terrible way to go.”

  Ettie nodded, then walked past him to the front door, hoping he would follow. She opened the door and he walked out. “Thank you once again, Chad.”

  “Bye, Mrs. Smith.”

  Once he was gone, Ettie wasted no time in flicking through the stack of papers. Something about Chad struck her as odd. What if he’d left some names out? But why would he do that? Now Ettie regretted taking up his offer of delivering the copies to her home. He’d acted strangely and she was certain that she couldn’t trust him.

  Before long, Ettie heard Ava calling to her from the back door.

  “Door’s open, Ava.”

  Ava joined Ettie at the kitchen table. “I see Chad’s been here?”

  Ettie looked up from the pages. “Yes, and he asked where the body was found.”

  Ava shivered. “Weird.”

  “Anyway, did you speak to your friend from the funeral home?”

  “Jah. Myles said that the body would still smell even though it was wrapped in plastic. He told me about a murder victim last year. The people living in an apartment block complained of a dreadful smell coming from one of the apartments. That’s how the authorities were notified – because of the smell. And that body had been wrapped in layers of plastic.”

  “So the smell would’ve been bad. Well, there are no close neighbors here, and back then it was just Agatha living in the house by herself with no one living in your grossdaddi haus.”

  * * *

  Elsa-May and Ettie arrived at the cemetery for the funeral of Horace Hostetler. The bishop was getting ready to give the message at the graveside when Ettie saw two cars amongst the buggies. She had to find out who the Englischers were.
<
br />   “Ettie, are you looking at the cars?”

  Ettie turned around and saw Ava, who continued, “Do you think that they might be some friends he had from all those years ago when he was on rumspringa?”

  “How would they know about his funeral?”

  “It was in the local paper. I’ve got a copy of it in my buggy. There’s another article that came out in the paper this morning along with a picture of Horace as a young man – must’ve been taken when he was on rumspringa. It gives the whole story and gives the address of your haus.”

  Knowing the Amish didn’t read the Englisch papers, Ettie asked. “How did you know it was in there?”

  “I didn’t. Myles, my friend from the funeral home, told me. He came early this morning and asked if I wanted him to come with me today. I said no, but he did give me a copy of the paper if you want to see it.”

  “I’ll have a look at it later,” Ettie said. The outsiders were never hard to spot amongst the Amish. Ettie’s gaze swept over the crowd. “Ava, there are two Englisch men standing over there. Why don’t you go talk to them?”

  “Why me?”

  “Because I want to have another talk with Sadie.”

  Ava looked around as though she were looking for Sadie. “Here?”

  “Jah, now go. We’ve no time to waste.”

  While Ava went off in the direction of the Englischers, Ettie caught sight of Sadie. Ettie walked toward her then stood close to her until she caught her eye.

  “Hello, Ettie.”

  “Hello, Sadie. I see your cousins from Ohio are here?”

  “Jah, the whole familye have come.”

  Ettie nodded. The look of sadness in Sadie’s eyes deterred Ettie from asking her anything regarding Horace or Agatha.

  Ettie was all too familiar with loss. She’d lost her parents, then her husband years ago, and two weeks ago she lost her constant canine companion; her loving dog, Ginger. Ettie rubbed Sadie’s arm in an affectionate manner and Sadie smiled sweetly. Her talk with Sadie could wait for another day. Today was her time to say goodbye to her brother. There were other people heading over to talk to Sadie, so Ettie walked on and stood to the side where she’d get a good view of the people attending the funeral.

  Ava appeared deeply involved in a conversation with the two men who looked like they knew each other. Could they be two men that Horace had worked with at the building company? Even though Horace would’ve known many more people when he was living as an Englischer, the building company was the only place they knew that he had worked.

  When Ava came back, Ettie asked, “What did you find out?”

  “One’s a reporter and the other is an off-duty policeman.”

  Ettie was disappointed that they weren’t people who knew Horace.

  The bishop stood by Horace’s grave plot, and then coughed loudly to draw everyone’s attention. Four Amish men carried the coffin to the graveside. Ettie admired how fine they looked in their black suits and hats. They rested the coffin by the freshly dug grave while the bishop gave a lengthy talk about the meaning of this life and the life hereafter. Ettie stood next to Elsa-May, and while Ettie was being careful to appear as though she was listening to what the bishop had to say, she studied everyone in the crowd. She knew most of the Amish folk with the exception of Horace’s Ohio relations.

  Ettie’s attention was drawn to a car that had just parked nearby. She strained her eyes to see who was getting out of the car. It was a man dressed in a dark suit and when he leaned against his car, Ettie was certain it was Bill Settler.

  Elsa-May followed her sister’s gaze. “Who’s that?” she whispered.

  “It’s Bill Settler from the building company where Horace once worked. He’s Horace’s old boss’ son.”

  “Hmm. It’s awfully nice of him to pay his respects.”

  Ettie nodded and wondered why Bill stayed a distance away, and on further thought wondered why he’d come at all.

  Chapter 11.

  Once the funeral was over, Elsa-May asked, “Are you coming home tonight, Ettie, or staying at the new haus?”

  “I’ll stay at Agatha’s haus. Ava’s a little worried about being on her own. She feels safer with me there.”

  “Very well. Jeremiah’s driving me home. Are you going home with Ava or shall I have Jeremiah take you?”

  “I’ll go with Ava, denke.” Ettie looked around to see if Mr. Settler was still there, but his car had gone. Turning back to see Elsa-May walking away, Ettie called after her, “I’ll come by tomorrow.”

  “Are you ready to go?” Ava asked.

  “Oh, there you are, Ava. Did you see Bill Settler standing by his car?”

  “Nee. Where was he?”

  “He parked his car just behind that white one. He watched from a distance for a few moments before he disappeared.”

  “Are you sure it was him?”

  “Pretty certain. Jah. As certain as I am that I'm looking at you right now.”

  Ava walked toward her buggy and Ettie walked alongside. “I’ve been thinking about a few things, Ettie. How was the body wrapped exactly? Was it only in plastic? They said they couldn’t get any DNA material from the skeleton or something of that nature. So does that mean he was only a skeleton?”

  “I took it that they meant they wouldn’t have any DNA material from the killer because he had rotted away so much.”

  “How could we find out?” Ava asked.

  Ettie chuckled. “I’m not going back near Detective Kelly anytime soon.”

  “Would Jeremiah know?” Ava asked. “I’m mean, since he was there at the time?”

  Ettie drew her eyebrows together while she thought. “Elsa-May was outside when the police came. She didn’t talk about it, though. I wonder if she knows more about the body. I’ll ask her when I go home tomorrow. I’m going to Agatha’s tonight and tomorrow I’ll visit Elsa-May.”

  “It must be confusing. I guess you’ll have to pick a place soon, where you want to live.”

  “All in good time. I’ve come to learn that when you give things time, the right decisions become obvious. I used to make quick decisions when I was younger – I was always in such a rush – but now that I'm older and moving more slowly, I realize that things always have a way of sorting themselves out.”

  “I guess that makes sense. If you live a little bit in both places, you’ll soon know where you’re happiest.”

  “Something like that, dear, something like that.”

  Ava dropped Ettie by her front door and then continued on to the barn to tend to her horse.

  Ettie pushed her front door open, and she didn’t go more than two steps when she saw something was wrong. She gasped and walked two more steps. The whole living room had been destroyed. Every floorboard had been taken up. She walked farther and looked down at the dirt below the house. Only the cross joists remained.

  She hurried out the door to fetch Ava. “Ava, come quick.”

  “What is it?” Ava said as she jumped down from the buggy she’d just stopped near the barn.

  Between gasps, Ettie said, “All the boards in the main room have been taken up. Go call the police. Try to speak to Detective Kelly; tell him it’s urgent.”

  “The floorboards?”

  “Jah, Ava, hurry – go now.”

  While Ava raced to the end of the road to call the police, Ettie sat on the front steps of her new home. It was an uncanny feeling, knowing that someone had entered uninvited and violated what had been a peaceful home for her friend of many years. She looked down the road to the nearest neighbor, now grateful that she and Elsa-May had people living close on either side. If there had been people living closer to here, they would’ve been sure to hear some noise. But Agatha had liked her large parcel of land, which allowed her to keep a few animals and have a large barn.

  If Elsa-May hadn’t gotten those new glasses and seen the marks on the floor, they might never have known that Horace was under the house. Pulling herself to her feet, Ettie decided to wal
k around the house to see what she could see. The disruption that had come to the house since it had been given to her made her wonder if she should continue to live with Elsa-May. It was nice to have family around in emergencies.

  “Are you all right?”

  Ettie looked over to see that Ava had returned.

  “Jah, I’m okay. Did you talk to the detective?”

  Ava nodded. “They’re coming soon. Wait in my place while I put the horse and buggy away.”

  Ettie walked into Ava’s grossdaddi haus and put the pot on the stove. A cup of tea always made her feel better. When she sat at the table, Ava came through the door. “Ava, I know you said you talked to the detective, but did you speak to Detective Kelly directly?”

  Ava shook her head and slumped into a chair. “Nee, but I told them my message the other day was not passed on. I insisted they tell him, and they said they would. They told me someone would come out straight away.”

  “Tea?” Ettie asked.

  “Jah, that would be nice.”

  Ettie and Ava sat drinking tea while they waited for the police.

  “They take a long time.” Ettie looked up at that moment, and heard a car pulling up outside. “Ah, that must be them. Let’s go.”

  Ettie was pleased to see Detective Kelly. At last he was taking things seriously. She showed the detective and the two officers with him the destruction to her house.

  “What do you think, Detective?” Ettie asked.

  The detective got as close as he could and looked at the damage. “I’d say it was some crazed souvenir hunter. We’ve had them before; very often they try to find something to auction online.” He looked back to Ava and Ettie. “They wouldn’t have found anything. I had my men comb the area the day after we found the body.”

  “They didn’t find anything?” Ava asked.

  “No.”

  “Shouldn’t you take fingerprints or something?” Ettie asked.