Amish Regrets (Amish Secret Widows' Society #4)

by Samantha Price

  “I did email it to him, as a formality.”

  “Email.” Silvie thought for a while and then said aloud. “I wonder who had access to his email.”

  “Maybe his secretary? No, I remember now. He had two email addresses and I sent it to his private email. Every time we have a new client we have them fill out their details on a New Client sheet. I remember that he had two emails, one marked ‘personal’ and one marked ‘work.’”

  “Thank you, Mr. Winters. You’ve been a marvelous help.”

  All Silvie had to do now was find out who had access to Carmello’s private email. “Oh, one more thing, Mr. Winters. Can you tell me what time exactly that you sent the email?”

  “I’ll look it up right now and tell you.” Mr. Winters tilted his computer screen toward him and pressed some buttons. “It was 12.30 p.m. and I put a receipt on it which tells me what time it was opened. It was read at 12.45 p.m.”

  A cold shiver ran down Silvie’s spine. What if someone else read that email and found out that they were not in the new will? “Can you tell me what the email said?”

  “I’ll print it out for you.”

  Mr. Winters walked to the printer on the other side of the office and picked up the page as it printed out.

  He handed it to Silvie and she read it out. “Attached is a copy of your Last Will and Testament. Sabrina Tildy is named as your sole beneficiary. As agreed, I will see you just after five today for signing.” Silvie looked up to Mr. Winters. “Do you mind if I hang on to this?”

  “By all means. I hope it helps.”

  Silvie folded the page in two. “I’m sure it will help.”

  * * *

  On Wednesday night at the next widows’ gathering, the ladies sat waiting for Detective Crowley.

  Ettie and Elsa-May asked Silvie what she learned from visiting the ex-girlfriends, Miss Scotsdale and Miss Tobrill.

  “Both of them weren’t home when I went to see them. I talked to Carmen Scotsdale’s bruder and he said she’s getting married soon and was off meeting the future in-laws. He said that Mrs. Liante knew about his sister’s relationship with her husband and she denies knowledge of any of his relationships.”

  “Okay, not a word to Crowley that you went to see them. We’ll use that information when we need to. He won’t be happy, and if you’ve no information to give him there’s no point us saying anything to him,” Elsa-May said.

  Silvie agreed and at that point there was a loud knock on the door that could only be Detective Crowley.

  The detective dusted off his shoes on the front door mat before he entered the house. He took a seat on a wooden chair and shared his updates on the murder. “The business partner was telling the truth, about his father at least. His father was in a hospital in Cleveland and we have Neville Bank’s credit card records showing that he was on route to Cleveland at the time of Carmello’s death. I really learned nothing at the funeral; there were surprisingly few people there.”

  “Could he have poisoned Carmello before he left?” Emma asked.

  “The poison is not instantaneous; so it’s possible he could have poisoned him.”

  “Look at this.” Elsa-May handed the detective the email Mr. Winters sent Carmello, with the copy of the will attached.

  While the detective read the email, Elsa-May said, “Don’t you think it’s possible that someone found out that they would be left out of the new will?”

  “Yes, and if it was Mrs. Liante, she knew she would have a fight on her hands in court to keep the money,” Ettie said.

  “This is enough to allow me to get a warrant on Mrs. Liante’s house.”

  “Wouldn’t the fact that Mr. Liante has been murdered be enough to allow you to search his house?” Silvie asked.

  “Normally, depends who you go to, to sign off on the warrant. Judge Bower’s usually good for granting warrants, but he’s away ‘til next month. There’s really only Judge Peters and she’s a stickler for not invading privacy. This’ll be enough to tip her over the edge.” Crowley stared at the paper. “I will have every computer removed from the house and I’ll have the computer team go right over them. If she did this, then she’d have motive.”

  “What about the other two women who would’ve been left out of the will?” Ettie asked.

  “Of course, I’ll get warrants for their houses as well, but it’s more likely that it’s Mrs. Liante. Carmello might have had a computer at his home where his personal emails went. Most people are automatically logged into their emails on their personal computers, which would make knowledge of a password unnecessary. The other two women would have only been able to access his emails by password unless he had a personal computer at their place, which is unlikely as he wasn’t in a continuing relationship with either of the women.” The detective looked at each of the widows. “There’s a good chance that whoever opened this email is the same person who killed him.”

  “They would’ve needed access to him pretty soon after they read it too, wouldn’t they? He sent the email at 12.30 p.m. How long does that poison have to take effect?” Emma asked.

  “The poison in the dosage he was given takes three to four hours to take effect. We know that he had back-to-back appointments that afternoon until 5 p.m. The receptionist left at 4.30 p.m. and Carmello was alive when she left.”

  “Detective, how can we find out what he ate at work? Since he didn’t go out, he must have had lunch in his office. Can you go to his office and find out exactly what he ate that day? Have you done that yet?” Elsa-May asked.

  “Yes, we’ve tested everything in the office kitchen and everything in the office fridge. There’s no more we can do.”

  “Was there any take-out ordered, or any take-out that came into the office that day?” Ettie asked.

  The detective noted it in his book. “I’ll check all the nearby cafes and check the logs of the reception for that day. I’ll have the team go back and check for residue in all the waste-bins in every office of the suite.”

  “Detective, weren’t all the waste bins in the office checked for poison when the forensic team first came in, the day they found him?” Elsa-May asked.

  The detective answered, “Only the waste bins in his personal office and in the kitchen.”

  Elsa-May raised her eyebrows and Silvie knew that Elsa-May was thinking that all waste bins should have been searched at the beginning of the investigation and not days later.

  * * *

  The next day, Detective Crowley made a surprise visit to Silvie’s house. Silvie and Sabrina sat in front of him.

  “We have a development in the case. There was a lunch order that came in for Carmello’s business partner, Neville Banks. The secretary remembers that since Neville wasn’t in, Carmello ate his lunch. He was seen in Neville’s office. Traces of Aconitine were found in Neville’s office. Which leads me to believe that someone was trying to kill Neville Banks. Carmello was nothing more than an innocent bystander.”

  “That means that Neville would be in danger.” Silvie said.

  “That’s right, you would have no way of knowing.” Detective Crowley lowered his head. “I’m afraid last night Mr. Bank’s had a car accident. His brake lines were cut; he plowed into a tree after he lost control of his vehicle.”

  Sabrina hid her face and sobbed, “Why, why?”

  “We have a suspect in custody and we found Aconitine in his car. The man we have in custody is a known hit-man.”

  The two women looked at him blankly until he explained, “That means he is paid to kill people.”

  Both women gasped.

  “I never knew of such a thing,” Silvie said.

  “I’m afraid there are people like that out there,” Detective Crowley said.

  “So it wasn’t Mrs. Liante or any of the other women?”

  Detective Crowley shook his head. “Mr. Liante was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “Why would someone want to have Mr. Banks dead?” Silvie asked.

  “
Gambling. He was addicted to gambling and borrowed heavily to cover his debts. He had his house heavily mortgaged and on top of that a $300,000 personal loan, which he was months behind in. It’s evident that he also borrowed money from some very dangerous people.”

  “I’ll tell the rest of the ladies tonight what you’ve found out.”

  * * *

  Silvie called an emergency widows’ meeting that night so she could tell everyone at the same time what she’d learned from the detective. Then they could put the matter to rest.

  Before anyone said anything, Maureen began by saying, “I am positive that Mrs. Liante did it. I saw Mrs. Liante’s housekeeper, Maud, driving a very expensive looking car. I checked with the motor vehicle department and it’s registered in Maud’s own name. Mrs. Liante is not generous with money, that’s evident in her money struggles with Mr. Liante. It seems to me that Mrs. Liante paid her for her silence. Mrs. Liante probably faked that knife attack and there was no attack on her at all.”

  Elsa-May said, “Jah, Maureen. I never believed that there was any real knife attack. I think Mrs. Liante had the housekeeper cut her here and there, to make it look as though she had been attacked. Maybe she got the housekeeper to deliver a poisoned lunch to the office and that’s why she’s been paid off with that car. I agree with Maureen, Mrs. Liante killed her husband.”

  “That seems right. If someone wanted to kill her with a knife, then they’d just do it. She’d be too small from what I’ve been told of her to fend off a knife wielding assailant,” Ettie said.

  Silvie was glad that she made Sabrina stay at home because all this talk might have upset her. She held up both hands. “Stop everyone. I called this meeting because Crowley found out who killed Carmello.”

  A hush fell over the room.

  “No one wanted to kill him at all…” Silvie said.

  “That’s not true, we’ve found plenty of people who wanted him dead,” Ettie said.

  Silvie shook her head. “Nee, just listen to me. Neville Banks was killed last night. He had his brakes in his car cut. Crowley found out that someone had been paid to kill him for unpaid gambling debts. When Neville went to visit his father unexpectedly, he had already ordered his lunch that day. Carmello ate his lunch since Neville wasn’t there to eat it. They even found the same poison residue in Neville’s waste-bin. He must have eaten the lunch in Neville’s office and thrown the wrapper, or the package, in the bin.

  Elsa-May’s mouth downturned at the corners. “Carmello wasn’t murdered deliberately?”

  Silvie shook her head. “They have a suspect in custody and they found the same poison in his car. The same poison that caused Carmello’s death.”

  “Well, that’s that then,” Emma said. “How’s Sabrina coping with the news?”

  Silvie fiddled with her apron strings. “She feels no better. Maybe even a little worse that it was all a mistake.”

  “I’m not satisfied,” Maureen said. “Why does the housekeeper have a new car? I don’t trust Mrs. Liante one little bit.”

  “You’ve never met her though, Maureen,” Emma said.

  “I’ve a hunch. I’ve just a hunch that Mrs. Liante hired someone to kill Neville Banks to cover her tracks after she murdered her husband. Maybe it was true that Neville was a gambler and borrowed money, but what if he was just a decoy to throw the cops off finding the real killer? We know she lied about being unaware of her husband’s indiscretions.” Maureen said.

  “You might be on to something, Maureen. Why don’t I pass that scenario by Detective Crowley? I’ll suggest he goes to Mrs. Liante and pretend that the hit-man whom they have in custody has given her name as the person who hired him.”

  “Nee, that wouldn’t be right. It sounds to me that you all want Mrs. Liante to be the murderer. Why don’t you just believe that it was Neville Banks that they were after?” Emma asked.

  “Because, dear innocent, Emma, if a hired hit-man wants someone killed, they don’t deliver a poisoned lunch to someone’s office and risk that someone else might eat it. They are not so hit and miss - pardon the pun. They shoot to kill,” Elsa-May said.

  “You could be right, Elsa-May, you too, Maureen. I didn’t even consider it.” Silvie pushed her prayer kapp up on her head a little.

  “I’ll call Crowley first thing in the morning and run what we’ve said by him. Then we’ll all meet back here tomorrow night and have Crowley come and tell us what he’s found out.” Elsa-May said.

  “Don’t forget to tell him that Maud, the housekeeper, has a brand spanking new, expensive car. She wouldn’t be able to afford that on her wage,” Maureen said.

  Elsa-May nodded.

  Chapter 14.

  Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed,

  and was delivered of a child when she was past age,

  because she judged him faithful who had promised.

  Hebrews 11:11

  The very next night Crowley had some news for the ladies when he arrived at Elsa-May and Ettie’s house.

  “I’ve quite a lot to tell you ladies. We confiscated all the cell phones and all the computers at the residences of Mrs. Liante, Miss Scotsdale and Miss Tobrill.”

  “And what did you find out, Detective?” Elsa-May asked.

  “As I suspected, Mr. Liante’s computer at his residence was automatically logged in and was read from the computer at the house. Mr. Liante was nowhere near his house that day, so the email must have been read by someone at the house.”

  Silvie gasped. “Did you speak to Mrs. Liante?”

  “I called Mrs. Liante into the office and told her that we know that she opened that email and we were able to tell her at what time the email was opened. I also told Mrs. Liante that the man we’ve got in custody implicated her when he confessed that she hired him to kill Mr. Banks and her husband.” The detective chuckled. “It wasn’t true of course, we don’t have a confession from him yet. She denied it and refused to speak to us any further. We let her leave the station and we had a patrol car standing by ready to bring the housekeeper in before Mrs. Liante had time to communicate with her. We told the housekeeper that Mrs. Liante had confessed. We offered the housekeeper a deal if she testified against Mrs. Liante and she agreed. Now, we have a full statement from the housekeeper.”

  Everyone was quiet except Elsa-May. “She did it? Mrs. Liante killed him? I knew it, I just knew it.”

  “You were right about the car. The car was a pay off for her silence.” Detective Crowley said.

  “Wasn’t the lunch labeled for Mr. Banks? How would Mrs. Liante know that Mr. Banks wouldn’t be there?” Emma asked.

  “It appears Mrs. Liante thought to cover her tracks from the very beginning. We may never find that out, but somehow she found out that Mr. Banks wouldn’t be there.”

  “I’m confused,” Emma said to the detective. “Mrs. Liante wasn’t trying to kill Neville Banks?”

  The detective laughed. “She had to kill Neville in the end to cover her tracks. She knew her husband would eat that meal because she somehow found out that Neville Banks would not be in the office. She knew her husband wouldn’t let good food go to waste. In labeling the food for Neville, it made it look as though Neville was the target. The man who cut the brakes to Neville’s car was the same man who delivered the lunch full of poison.”

  Emma nodded her head.

  Detective Crowley continued his explanation. “When we did not make the connection with the meal in the first instance, we started to question Mrs. Liante. She couldn’t tell us that we missed the evidence and ruined her little plan so she had to stage that knife attack to cause us to stop looking in her direction. It was only when poor old Banks was killed that we made the connection to the poison in the meal. I guess she thought we’d think that her husband’s death was an accident and we very nearly did. Mrs. Liante nearly got away with murder.”

  “So what was it that gave her away? What was it that led you to believe that she did it?” Emma asked.r />
  “It was the email being opened from the computer in the house when Mr. Liante was nowhere near the house at the time. It was also the fact that the housekeeper was driving an unusually expensive car. Thank you, Maureen for your keen observation.” The detective smiled at Maureen.

  Maureen smiled back at him and said, “What a wicked woman. She also killed poor Mr. Banks who had nothing to do with anything.”

  The detective slowly nodded. “Wicked indeed. We’re working on getting a statement from the man we’re holding, the man who cut the brakes. He’ll possibly talk now that we’ve got the housekeeper’s statement.”

  “Well done, Detective,” Ettie said.

  “Yes, thank you, Detective. Sabrina will be pleased that justice will be done,” Silvie said.

  The detective gave a low chuckle. “The quarter that Sabrina’s got coming to her will no doubt become a third if Mrs. Liante is convicted.”

  After Ettie brought the food out and after the detective ate two slices he got up to leave.

  “Detective, why don’t you take some slices home to your wife?”

  The detective hung his head and murmured in a low voice, “I’m not married.”

  “I thought by your age you’d be married,” Elsa-May said in her usual candid way.

  “In my line of work, it’s hard for a woman. I work long hours and don’t have much free time. Most women find that difficult.”

  The widows all stared at him as he tipped his head and walked out the door.

  “Imagine, a man of his age not being married,” Ettie said. “I might make him a few meals that he can freeze.”

  “Jah, he works long hours. How would he eat without a fraa to cook for him?” Maureen asked.

  Silvie could not think about Crowley and his stomach; she wanted to go home and be with Sabrina. “I’ll go home now and tell Sabrina everything. Denke everyone for helping with this.”

  When Silvie arrived home, she sat down with Sabrina and told her everything she’d found out.