Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 1

by Samantha Price

  “So is Brandy your real name?” Elsa-May asked.

  Brandy shook her hand. “No it’s not.”

  “Do you mind me asking what your name used to be?” Elsa-May asked.

  “It started with a B. It’s a dreadful name. It’s Boadicea.”

  “Ah, I see why you changed it,” Elsa-May said.

  “I think Boadicea is a lovely name. I know many people who don’t like their names,” Ettie said.

  When Brandy left the house, Elsa-May said, “I never knew it was so easy to change one’s name. She’s right about Winchester being too long on the business card.”

  Ettie and Elsa-May chuckled.

  “Well, she was a whirlwind,” Ettie said.

  “Ruth did say she was pushy,” Elsa-May reminded her.

  “What do you think about what she said about Big Freddy?”

  “Seems as though Alan Avery got himself into a lot of trouble.”

  “I think we should tell Kelly. That’s something he should know about.”

  “He knows already. Didn’t you tell me Kelly knows that he was having money problems?”

  “Didn’t you hear what Brandy said, Elsa-May? It was Big Freddy, not just any private lender, or loan shark. Sounds like this man kills people who don’t pay up.”

  “We should go straight to Detective Kelly, then, and tell him.”

  Ettie nodded.

  “Will he listen to us?” Elsa-May asked.

  “He might.”

  Chapter 11

  “Come in, ladies. You know the way by now,” the detective said when he greeted Elsa-May and Ettie at the front of the police station.

  They followed him into his office and sat down.

  When Kelly had taken his seat opposite them, he asked, “Have you come to tell me something?”

  Ettie was the first to speak. “We’ve come to tell you that we’ve heard that Alan Avery owed money to someone called Big Freddy.”

  “Big Freddy? Are you certain?”

  Elsa-May said, “That’s what we were told.”

  “Who told you?”

  “The realtor who came to look at Ettie’s house. Her name is Brandy Winnie, and she says she knows everything that goes on.”

  “We’ve never been able to pin anything on Big Freddy. Interesting information, but it’s unlikely he killed Avery. Besides, how would Big Freddy get his money back if he killed him?”

  Ettie said, “You mentioned Melissa Avery having a payout from her father’s death. Melissa said they want her to pay. That’s what she told Ruth at the funeral.”

  “Yes, I remember Ruth mentioning that, but I didn’t know that it had anything to do with Big Freddy. This does shed light on things.”

  “Do you know about Avery’s wife disappearing and then being found dead?” Ettie asked.

  “I’ve only just found that out. How did you find out?”

  “The same realtor.”

  “I wasn’t working in this area around that time. It’s a wonder your friend, Ruth, didn’t mention anything about it to you. She would’ve known; it was big news a few years back.”

  Ettie and Elsa-May looked at each other. It was strange that Ruth had never mentioned anything of the kind to them.

  Elsa-May pushed herself up from the chair. “I’ll have to get home to my dog.”

  “Would you happen to have the realtor’s number?” the detective asked Ettie.

  Ettie shook her head. “I didn’t bring her card with me; I left it in my house. Her name is Brandy Winnie; she’ll be listed in the phone book.”

  “Yes, she’ll help you win some information,” Elsa-May said. “You might even win the case.”

  The detective lifted an eyebrow.

  Ettie stood up and poked Elsa-May in the ribs. “Stop it.”

  Kelly frowned at them.

  Ettie felt the need to explain Elsa-May’s odd behavior. “Elsa-May’s trying to put a ‘win’ into every sentence. She was doing it all the way here in the taxi. It gets quite annoying after a while.”

  “I’m not going to win with you, am I, Ettie?” Elsa-May said.

  Ettie grunted and looked at the detective. “I’ll get her out of here for you.”

  The detective blinked and nodded. “Please.”

  After Ettie managed to steer Elsa-May out of the office, she stepped back in, and said, “Is Melissa in any danger from Big Freddy?”

  “She could well be. I’m on my way to talk to her now.” He grabbed his coat that was draped over his chair.

  As the detective rushed past the two sisters, Ettie said to Elsa-May, “We forgot to mention what Brandy said about Hugh Dwyer being unscrupulous.”

  “You won’t win by forgetting things, Ettie.”

  “Stop it!” Ettie stamped her foot, which caused Elsa-May to snigger.

  “Don’t worry. It sounds like he’s going to talk to Brandy himself.”

  “I hope so. I’ll have the policeman at the front desk call us a taxi.”

  When they arrived home, Snowy ran up to them. “I’ll take him outside, Ettie, you check to see if he’s left any surprises.”

  They’d shut the bedroom doors before they’d left that morning, so Ettie looked over the kitchen and the living room floors. “All’s clear in here,” she yelled to Elsa-May.

  While Elsa-May was outside with the dog, Ettie put the pot on to boil. She then sat at the kitchen table wondering why Ruth hadn’t mentioned the fact that Alan Avery’s wife had been murdered. Surely that would have been something to mention?

  “Ettie, we need to make pies.”

  Ettie looked up at her sister who was holding Snowy in the doorway of the kitchen. “That’s right. I completely forgot about the pie drive. I’ll make us cups of tea while we figure out what kind of pies to make.”

  The charity pie drive was on the day after tomorrow. In the past, the sisters normally made ten pies between them to take to the drive. That was the most they could manage in their small kitchen.

  Elsa-May put Snowy on the floor and sat down at the kitchen table. “We’ve got lots of apples. We’ve enough to make three apple pies.”

  “We’ve got pumpkin from Bernie next door. What else do we have? I really don’t want to go out again. I’ve been out nearly every day for the past week.”

  “We got plenty of jam. We could make some jam cakes.”

  “Not exactly pies, but people do like jam cakes.”

  Chapter 12

  On the morning of the pie drive, Ava arrived in her buggy to pick up Ettie and Elsa-May, and the goods they were taking to sell.

  “Denke for collecting us, Ava,” Ettie said, as Ava helped them into the buggy with their baked goods.

  “Any time, you know that.”

  Once they were all in the buggy, Ava drove the horse forward.

  “I see you’ve done some baking too, Ava,” Elsa-May said.

  “I have, but not as much as I’d hoped. I’ve been busy helping Mamm with the dresses for the wedding.”

  “Are your cousins going to be your attendants?” Ettie asked.

  Ava rolled her eyes. “When I asked them, they had their neighbor, Trudy, there. And she asked if she could be an attendant as well. I only wanted two and now it looks like I’ve got three.”

  “Couldn’t you just have said ‘no?’” Elsa-May asked.

  Ava shook her head. “She looked so excited I didn’t like to tell her ‘no.’ I really wasn’t expecting her to ask me. Now we’ve got three attendants’ dresses to make.”

  “Well, you have plenty of time,” Ettie said.

  “That’s true. Mamm is one of the ladies setting out the tables today.”

  When Ettie, Elsa-May, and Ava arrived, they set up their baked goods on the table closest to the refreshment tent. Ava went back to her buggy and brought out two fold-up chairs for Ettie and Elsa-May.

  “That’s very thoughtful of you, Ava,” Ettie said.

  “Hopefully we’ll be selling so many pies we don’t have time to sit in them,” Elsa-
May said.

  It was an hour after the pie drive started before the park’s grounds filled with people.

  Ettie suddenly dug Elsa-May in the ribs. “Look over there, that’s Hugh Dwyer.”

  “The man who owns the Amish small goods store?”

  “Jah, that’s the one. I’ve visited him with Ruth.”

  “Looks like he’s heading this way. I think he’s seen you.” Elsa-May walked down to the other end of the table to serve some customers, leaving Ettie alone.

  Elsa-May was right. Hugh Dwyer was heading straight for her. She gave a little smile and waved to him.

  “Mrs. Smith, isn’t it?”

  “Yes it is, but you can call me Ettie.”

  “I remember that, and I never forget a face.”

  “What brings you here today?” Ettie asked.

  “I’m always looking for new goods to add to my inventory. I might find my next pie supplier here.”

  Ettie nodded.

  Hugh continued, “Is Ruth here today by any chance?”

  “No, she should be back at her bakery today.”

  “She’s back in business already?”

  “Yes the bakery was only closed down for a little over a day.”

  “Are you particularly good friends with Ruth?”

  “Yes, I’d say that I am. Why do you ask?”

  He rubbed his jaw. “I just can’t stop thinking about poor Alan. Do the police have any idea why he was holding a Bible when they found him?”

  “I have no idea what the police think,” Ettie answered.

  “Well what does Ruth think? I’m only asking because it seems strange.”

  “It is, and it’s also strange that he was in the bakery after closing. What would he have been doing there?”

  Hugh chuckled. “It’s obvious, isn’t it?”

  “Is it?” Ettie asked.

  “He would only have been there to find Ruth’s bread recipe. Everyone knew he was trying to buy it from her and she wouldn’t sell it to him.” His eyes fell to one of her pies on the table in front of him. “That looks like a nice pie.”

  “These are my pies and my sisters, and a couple of them were baked by a young friend. Our pies aren’t very good. Not like Clara Yoder’s.”

  “And would Clara Yoder be here today?”

  “Yes. She's directly across there, in the purple dress. She's talking to that man who's wearing the black hat.”

  “Thank you, Ettie. I think I shall go over there and sample one of her pies.”

  When Hugh Dwyer left, Elsa-May walked back and stood by Ettie’s side. “And what did he want?” Elsa-May asked.

  “He asked why I thought Alan Avery was found with a Bible in his hands.”

  “That’s ridiculous. How would you know something like that?”

  Ettie shrugged. “Hugh seemed to think that it was no secret that Alan Avery was there to get Ruth’s bread recipe. The only thing he seemed confused about was the Bible. I wonder if the police have been to see him yet to ask about that knife?”

  “Yes, the knife that was missing from his kitchen when you and Ruth went to visit him. Well, it might not have been missing. It could have been placed somewhere else,” Elsa-May said. “You should’ve asked him to tell you how he got that bruise on his face.”

  “I mentioned that to the police and they didn’t think it was important. They said there was no sign of a struggle in Ruth’s office. It’s only a faint bruise, so it was probably an old one. That reminds me, we must find out why Ruth hasn’t mentioned that Alan Avery’s wife was murdered.”

  Elsa-May shook her head. “Not ‘we,’ you can do that by yourself.”

  “Won’t you come with me? I thought Ava could take us around to see her when we finish here.”

  “You’re forgetting about Snowy.” Elsa-May said.

  “What about him? He’s just a dog. He’ll be alright by himself a little while longer.”

  Elsa-May snapped, “He’s not a dog, Ettie, he’s a little pup. He’s not used to being on his own. He’s used to being with a litter of pups and a mother dog. I’m sure right now he’ll be crying, wondering where we are.”

  “Very well, then. I’ll see if Ava will drive you home and then drive me to Ruth’s. Will that make you happy?”

  “Jah.”

  Ettie wagged a finger at her sister. “But only if you take him for a walk.”

  “I will take him for a walk, but not if it’s too cold.”

  Ettie shook her head knowing that it would probably be colder by the time they got home. “Speaking of Ava, where is she?”

  “Over there.” Elsa-May pointed to the refreshment tent where she was sitting down having a cup of coffee with Jeremiah.

  “Ah,” Ettie said. “Young love. Do you remember what it was like, Elsa-May?”

  Elsa-May chuckled. “I’ve got a dim memory of it.”

  “They do look good together, don’t they?”

  “They certainly do.”

  Ava looked over and saw them looking at her and gave a wave. And then Jeremiah turned his head and smiled at them.

  “They’re probably saying what a couple of old fools we are, Ettie.”

  “I think you’re most probably right. And isn’t that what we thought about the old people when we were young?”

  Elsa-May nodded, and then customers approaching their table took the elderly sisters’ attention.

  Chapter 13

  Ava delivered Elsa-May and Ettie back to their home when the pie drive was over. In total, the pie drive had raised just over twelve hundred dollars for charity.

  “Ava, you must come in and meet Snowy.”

  “I’d love to. Are you in a hurry to go to Ruth’s, Ettie?”

  “I’m in no particular hurry. A few more minutes will give Ruth time to get home from the bakery.”

  As soon as Elsa-May pushed the door open, the pup came scampering towards her, and then danced on his hind legs for Elsa-May to pick him up. Elsa-May crouched down and picked him up before she moved into the house to let the others in.

  She turned around for Ava to see Snowy.

  Ava stroked his head. “He’s lovely, he makes me want a puppy.”

  “Take him, if you want him,” Elsa-May said.

  “I can’t. He’s your dog.”

  “I don’t want him.”

  “I couldn’t.

  Ettie giggled. “You’d have to run it by Jeremiah anyway, Ava, because you’ll soon be living with him.”

  “He’s already got two dogs,” Ava said.

  Ettie walked further into the house. “Look at this Elsa-May.” Ettie picked up a chewed boot.

  “Nee!” Elsa-May screamed. “That’s my best pair of boots.”

  “They were your best pair of boots,” Ettie corrected her. “Looks like he’s only chewed one of them.”

  Elsa-May snapped, “Well one boot’s not much good to me, is it?”

  At that moment, Ettie was pleased that the pup was Elsa-May’s dog and not hers.

  Ava looked over Ettie’s shoulder. “It’s not too bad; it might be able to be fixed up.”

  Elsa-May sighed and said to the dog. “Why did you have to go and do that? Just when I was starting to like you.”

  Ava and Ettie laughed.

  Ettie said, “I’ll put it in a bag ready for the next time we go to the boot maker.”

  “Denke, Ettie.”

  “Can I hold him?” Ava asked.

  “Take him with you if you want,” Elsa-May said.

  “She’s not serious,” Ettie said to Ava.

  Ava took hold of the dog. “She sounds serious.”

  “I never said I wanted a dog. The man next door forced him on me before I had a chance to say anything. It seems Ettie opened her big mouth once again, and told our neighbor that I needed to walk.”

  “It’s not what I said, Elsa-May, it’s your doctor who said you need to walk. I was just telling Bernie that you needed exercise and that’s what the doctor had said.”

&n
bsp; “Wunderbaar! Now everybody knows my private medical information.”

  “Not everybody, just Bernie,” Ettie said. “It’s not as though he’s going to tell everyone.”

  “Thanks to your big mouth, now Ava knows. And she’ll likely tell Jeremiah, and then he’ll tell his mudder and vadder. The last thing I need is them fussing about.”

  “Give the dog back to Elsa-May, Ava, we’d better get going.”

  Ava handed the dog back. “Jah, it’s time we headed off.”

  Elsa-May took hold of the dog. “You’re a bad, bad dog for chewing my boot. Couldn’t you have chewed Ettie’s boot? It was right beside mine, and I’m sure it was tastier.” The pup licked Elsa-May’s hand. “I suppose you think being cute will keep you out of trouble? Are you sorry? I suppose I can forgive you just this one time.” Elsa-May looked up at Ava. “Are you sure you don’t want him?”

  Ava smiled. “Nee denke; I don’t.”

  Ettie pulled Ava out the door and closed it behind them.

  “Bye,” Ettie called to Elsa-May through the closed door. They didn’t hear a reply.

  “Does she like the dog, or not, Ettie?”

  “She loves him.”

  “She kept trying to give him to me.”

  Ettie shook her head. “She loves him. She just doesn’t want to admit it. And now instead of knitting all the time she has him in her lap. Which I suppose is good because she’s getting arthritis in her fingers and probably can’t knit for too many more years.”

  They climbed up into the buggy, and then headed to Ruth’s house.

  Ava asked, “So why exactly are we going to Ruth’s haus?”

  “I’ve got a couple of things to ask her. I need to know why she didn’t mention anything about Alan Avery’s wife being murdered years ago. You’d think that would’ve been an important thing that she should have told me.”

  “She might not know about it.”

  “She’s known the Averys for a long time. She told me she’s known them for many years. She would’ve heard about it at the time it happened.”

  “Do you think the two murders are linked? Do you think that the same person who killed Alan might have killed his wife as well?” Ava asked.