“I’d better check to see if the water’s boiled.” Ettie hurried back to the kitchen and poured the boiling water into the teapot.
After the lawyer left Mildred’s house, Ettie was tired and left for her home.
When the taxi stopped at her home, Ettie was pleased she’d be able to have a rest before going back to the hospital. Just as she opened her gate, she saw Bernie, the neighbor walking his dog.
“Hello, Ettie.”
“Hello.” Ettie leaned down to pat his dog. “It’s a nice day for a walk.”
He pushed his hat back on his head. “Where’s Elsa-May? I don’t often see you out and about on your own.”
“Elsa-May’s in the hospital. Nothing serious. She’ll be home anytime.”
“Ah. I see. Well, I’d better keep going.”
Ettie headed toward her front door hoping Elsa-May wouldn’t be mad at her for telling Bernie she was in the hospital. She had asked Ettie not to tell anyone, but Bernie asked, so what was she to do?
After a rest, Ettie headed to the hospital, hoping Elsa-May wouldn’t be mad at her for leaving her alone for so long.
Ettie walked in to the hospital room and saw Elsa-May reading the bible that had been in the drawer next to her bed. Elsa-May smiled when she saw Ettie walk in.
“Are you ready to come home yet?” Ettie asked.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to leave until tomorrow. I’ve had some kind of reaction to the dye.” Elsa-May lifted the sheet to reveal a very red, swollen leg.
“Agh. That doesn’t look good. Does it hurt?”
“Funny thing is, it doesn’t hurt anymore than it did before. The test today was uncomfortable, but at least I can eat again. They’ve given me the all clear.”
“You don’t have a clot?”
“Nee, I don’t.”
“That’s wunderbaar. What caused your leg pain, though?”
“That, they haven’t found out yet. The doctor from this hospital also said something about me having to lose weight, and that would improve circulation. Maybe that’s why my leg’s been hurting.” Elsa-May pushed the sheet back over her leg and Ettie straightened the end of the sheet.
“Shouldn’t you let the air get to your leg?” Ettie asked.
“Nee, the breeze of the air-conditioning irritates it. Tell me what the latest news is.”
Ettie told Elsa-May all that had been said at Mildred’s house.
“The only way I can figure that Jacob’s gun was used was if someone had deliberately tried to make it look like Jacob did it. They would’ve had to sneak into the house, use the gun, and then place the gun back in the house. Or, as I’ve said before, was it Jacob’s gun in the first place?”
“I asked Jacob about that. He said it was one of his vadder’s old guns.” Ettie continued, “The lawyer says it’s all circumstantial evidence. All the same, I think the lawyer’s worried, and I know Jacob is dreadfully concerned to the point of being sick. He tries to be brave but I can see the worry in his face.”
“Well, hello.”
Both women looked in the direction of the familiar voice.
“Detective Crowley, it’s so nice to see you.” Ettie was overjoyed to see him and tried to contain her excitement. Now they might get someone to help them, or at least listen to them.
The detective glanced around the hospital room and moved toward Elsa-May’s bed.
“How did you know I was here?” Elsa-May asked as Crowley walked further into the room.
“One of your neighbors told me where to find you.”
Elsa-May glared at Ettie. “Ettie, I asked you not to tell anyone I was in the hospital.”
“I was walking out the front gate and Bernie was walking his dog. He asked where you were and I couldn’t lie.”
Elsa-May sighed.
Crowley said, “I heard an Amish man was arrested for the murder of his sister. I figured you would know the people involved.”
Elsa-May looked at Ettie. “Pull the curtains, would you?” Ettie pulled the curtains around the bed to give them privacy from the three other patients in the room.
“We do know them,” Ettie said in a low voice, hoping that he was there to help them. Now they might finally be able to help Jacob if the former detective was going to be on their side.
Crowley said, “I thought of both of you as soon as I heard.”
“Thank you,” Elsa-May said.
“Do you know the family well?” Crowley asked.
“Yes,” Ettie said.
“Mildred, the mother – well, the stepmother – is in my knitting circle,” Elsa-May said.
“Any chance of you coming out of retirement?” Ettie asked, staring at him and hoping he’d say that he’d help.
He frowned at Ettie. “Why? Is there a problem?”
Ettie and Elsa-May filled the detective in on what had happened. Ettie finished up by saying, “I’m not happy with Detective Kelly and how he tricked me in the beginning.”
“I can understand how you feel about that. From what you said they’ve got pretty strong evidence against the young man.”
“Be that as it may, he’s innocent. I know he didn’t do it,” Ettie said.
Crowley rubbed his chin.
“Can you see what you can find out for us?” Elsa-May asked. “It’s hard for Ettie with me in the hospital. She’s been doing a lot of rushing here and there, and it’s not easy at her age.”
Normally Ettie would’ve taken offense at Elsa-May’s reference to her age since Elsa-May was the older of the two, but she didn’t mind at all if it prompted Crowley to help them.
“I’ll see what I can do. I’ll go straight in there. I visit everyone there every so often so it won’t look like I’m there on an information-gathering expedition.”
“Even though you are,” Elsa-May chortled.
“Do you expect to be in here for long?” Crowley asked Elsa-May.
“I’m hoping to be out tomorrow.”
“It’s not possible that he can be found guilty if he didn’t do it, is it?” Ettie asked before she thought the question through. She knew, of course, innocent people had been found guilty in the past.
“It does happen more often than you’d think. Some people have served long prison sentences and now, with the new DNA testing constantly evolving, they’re finding out they were innocent.”
Just then a nurse poked her head through the curtains. “I thought I heard voices. Visiting hours is over.”
“Visiting hours are over,” Elsa-May corrected her.
“Yes, that’s right,” the nurse grumbled while staring at the visitors, not realizing that Elsa-May had corrected her.
Crowley said, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware there were restrictions.”
Ettie took a step toward the nurse. “I’m her sister. I find it hard to get here in visiting hours.”
“Well, I’ll go and see some other patients and I’ll be back in ten minutes to check on the patient.”
“Thank you,” Crowley said.
The nurse walked out.
“Can I drive you home, Ettie?”
Ettie’s face lit up. “Yes, thank you. That’ll save me getting a taxi.”
“Off you go; don’t mind me. I don’t want you to get into trouble when Nurse Grisly comes back,” Elsa-May said, laughing.
“Is that her real name?” Ettie asked.
Elsa-May chuckled again. “Yes, it is. I know because she signs my chart.”
“You look at your chart?” Crowley asked, picking up the chart hanging on the end of the bed.
“Why not? It’s my chart. I can’t make head or tail of it, but I still read it. Hopefully they’ll say I can go home tomorrow. The doctor will see me in the morning when he does his rounds.”
Chapter 13
On the way home, Ettie told Crowley as many details as she knew about Camille and Jacob.
When he stopped the car, Crowley said, “From what you said, Kelly’s looking at a promotion. He’ll be trying to get a
ll the help he can so he’ll look good.”
“I think he only wants the kind of help that’ll make Jacob look more guilty. He might not like help if you’re trying to find a way to prove he’s innocent.”
“There’s only one way to find out.” Crowley glanced at his wristwatch. “Hopefully he’s working late.”
“You’re going there right now?”
Crowley nodded.
“I’m concerned that Kelly knows about the argument Camille was seen having with a woman and yet he’s done nothing to find out who she might be,” Ettie said.
“And two different people told you that, you say?”
“That’s right. The man next door, what was his name again? That’s right, his last name was Bradshaw. I’m certain it was Ronald Bradshaw. And then someone told Camille’s stepmother that they saw Camille in town arguing with a lady with long black hair.”
“And you think that woman is the doctor?”
Ettie nodded. “She is a doctor.” Ettie was pretty sure that she’d told him enough details, and he understood enough to find out a few things to help Jacob. Crowley believed her based solely on her word that Jacob wasn’t guilty. Unless he was tricking her like Detective Kelly had. Nee! She shook the thought from her mind. Crowley had always been straight with them. He wasn’t deceptive at all, unlike Kelly.
Once Crowley had driven away, Ettie unlocked her front door and pushed it open. She wasn’t used to coming home to an empty house.
For dinner she ate a couple of pieces of fruit and then sat down on the couch to do some more needlework. A few minutes after she’d begun, she looked at the wooden chair that Elsa-May usually sat in. Without Elsa-May knitting while she sewed it seemed to be a waste of time and not as interesting. Ettie sighed and bundled the needlework up and pushed it to one end of the couch.
She closed her eyes and before long her mind drifted to Jacob and the evidence that was stacked against him. She hoped that Kelly would allow Crowley to help, just like he had last time.
A sudden knock on the door made Ettie jump. “Who could that be?” she muttered.
She opened the door to see Ava. Ettie immediately felt bad that she hadn’t visited her and kept her up to date with what was going on. “Ava, come in. Can I get you something?”
“Nee, I’m fine. It’s not been long since I had dinner.”
“Come and sit down.”
Once the two of them were sitting down together, Ettie told Ava everything that had happened since she’d seen her last.
“It would be interesting to know more about that doctor.”
“The only way we could find out if Camille knew her because she was sick is if someone looked up Camille’s medical records.” Ettie clicked her fingers. “I should’ve mentioned that to Crowley. I told him everything I could remember, but I was trying to tell him all the facts about the evidence. I did tell him about the woman Camille was seen arguing with.”
Ava’s eyes glazed over.
“What is it, Ava?”
“Oh, I was just thinking how we’d be able to find out about Camille’s medical history.”
“I don’t think we can, can we? I haven’t been able to think of a way, not with the patient-privacy regulations these days."
“Hmmm, I’ll give it some thought.”
“Is there any way we can look up the records on the hospital computer if we both go and see Elsa-May tomorrow morning? You distract the nurse while I look on her computer.”
Ettie giggled. “Nee, we can’t do that. The patient files on the computer might not be open, anyway.”
“Well, I think it’d be worth a try.”
“There’ll have to be another way. Anyway, we’re putting a lot of store on this woman having something to do with Camille’s death. She might not have anything to do with it at all. I think we’d do better to consider who would’ve taken a gun out of Jacob’s haus, shot at Camille in her apartment, then placed the gun back in Jacob’s haus.”
“Either Jacob did do it, or it looks like someone wanted it to look like he did it.”
Ettie was painfully curious to know more about Camille’s life. “Mildred did talk about a friend of Camille’s. I can’t remember exactly, but I’m fairly certain Camille still kept in contact with an Englischer. We should look into the girl who left the community, Leah Miller.”
“Whoever did kill Camille had planned it carefully. It wasn’t something they rushed into. Who has Camille’s cell phone?”
Ettie’s eyes opened wide. “I’m not certain, but if the police didn’t take it, maybe Mildred would let us take a look at it.”
“Jah, there could be texts and voice messages.”
“Surely the police would have taken it in as evidence. Or it might be still at her apartment.”
“Would they have taken it?” Ava asked. “They got her phone records.”
“As soon as I see what’s happening with Elsa-May in the hospital tomorrow, I’ll go over and visit Mildred. They could be letting Elsa-May out tomorrow. It would’ve been today, only she had some kind of reaction to something they gave her.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“Nee, I don’t want to bother you to go to the hospital, but I would like you to come with me when I go to Mildred’s haus.”
“I’d be happy to. What if I come here at twelve? Do you think you’d be back from the hospital by then?”
“Why don’t I give you a call when I’m leaving the hospital? We have to wait until the doctor does his rounds, and that could be anytime in the morning. I wouldn’t want you waiting here a long time. Ach, there’s no phone at your place.”
“That’s okay. I’ll go to my mudder’s haus and you can call me there.”
“Denke, Ava. That should work out well.”
Next morning, Ettie was back at the hospital with Elsa-May.
“Have you had a good night?”
“Nee. My leg was hurting all night and now they say my blood pressure is up. Why wouldn’t it be up, having to stay in this place for days?”
“You do look a little pale.”
“That’s because I’ve been here for days with no fresh air or sunshine. It’s not a healthy place to be.”
Ettie chuckled. “It is if you’re sick.”
“You don’t like hospitals yourself, Ettie.”
“That’s true. I don’t know if anyone would be able to make me stay in one ever again. Crowley was going to see Kelly last night, but I don’t know the outcome of it. After I take you home, if I am taking you home today, I’m meeting Ava at our haus. From there, I’m going back to Mildred’s haus with Ava to see if she might happen to know where Camille’s phone is.”
“I’d say the police would have it.”
“We’re hoping they don’t.”
Elsa-May raised her eyebrows. “I don’t want you to be disappointed.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time. I also want to find out who Camille’s friends were. I’m certain Mildred talked about her having a certain friend. Ah, yes, I know where I heard about a friend!”
“Where?”
Ettie took a deep breath while her eyes focused on the ceiling. “It was Kelly. Kelly said that Camille had told a friend of hers that she thought her brother was trying to kill her.”
“Jah, I remember.”
“So, who is this friend and how would we find her? I wonder how well she knew Camille.”
“Kelly would have to know who the woman was.”
Ettie scratched her head. “Ach, there’s so much to remember.”
“You’re having trouble remembering things?”
Ettie glared at her sister and narrowed her eyes. “No more than usual.”
Elsa-May chuckled.
Right then, the doctor walked in, followed by two younger men in white coats who, Ettie assumed, were students. The doctor murmured a ‘hello’ to the two ladies and barely made eye contact. He studied Elsa-May’s chart.
He looked at Elsa-May and walked u
p to stand by her shoulder. “How are you feeling today?”
“Much better today, Doctor. I feel ready to go home.”
“Your blood pressure is a little higher than it has been.” He examined Elsa-May’s leg. “You’ve got someone to look after you at home?”
“My sister.” Elsa-May pointed to Ettie.
The doctor looked at Ettie and gave her a faint smile. Ettie smiled back. The doctor then spoke in low tones to the two men about Elsa-May’s chart. He walked to the end of the bed and placed the chart neatly, hooking it over the end of the railing. “I’ll sign the discharge papers and a nurse will be here soon to give you instructions for when you’re at home.”
“Very good, Doctor. Thank you.”
When the nurse came and gave Elsa-May her discharge instructions, Ettie called Ava’s mother’s place to let Ava know that they would soon be leaving the hospital.
“Ettie, I’ve got something to tell you,” Ava said when she got on the phone. “My mudder told me something very interesting and I can’t wait to tell you.”
“What is it?” Ettie asked.
“I’ll tell you when I see you.”
“What’s it about? About Jacob?”
“Kind of.”
“About Camille?”
“Ettie, I’ll tell you when I see you.”
Ettie sighed and then noticed a nurse was glaring at her while waiting for Elsa-May to get into the wheelchair. “We’re just about to leave the ward. Then we’ll be home as fast as the taxi can take us.”
“I’ll see you soon,” Ava said.
“Can you just give me a little hint?” It was too late – Ava had already hung up.
Chapter 14
The taxi driver helped the sisters into the house. Ettie paid the driver and as soon as he drove off in his car, Ettie looked up, hearing the clip-clop of a horse’s hooves.
“Here she is already,” Ettie called out to her sister. “Oh, I do hate leaving you after you’ve just come home.”
Elsa-May said, “I’ll be all right. Help me into bed and I’ll have a little sleep.”
Ettie gave Ava a little wave to let her know she wouldn’t be long.
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