Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 1

by Samantha Price

  “Hard to say since they never found out who killed Alan’s wife. That’s what Brandy told me. Brandy said Georgina, Alan’s wife, disappeared, and then she was found months later, murdered.”

  “So she just disappeared and no one could find her?”

  Ettie nodded. “Jah.”

  When they got to Ruth’s house, they saw Ruth at the front door just about to enter her house. She stepped back, and waved to them.

  “This is a nice surprise,” Ruth said. “Come inside and I’ll put a pot of tea on.”

  They followed Ruth through to her kitchen and sat down at the table. After Ruth put the pot on to boil, she sat down with them.

  “We’ve been to the pie drive this morning,” Ettie said.

  “I totally forgot that was on. I usually go to all the pie drives. How did it go?”

  “Wunderbaar. Together we raised over twelve hundred dollars for charity.”

  “That’s very good. That’s better than last year, isn’t it?” Ruth asked.

  “I think so. The reason I’ve come here, Ruth, is that I’ve just found out something interesting and I have to wonder why you hadn’t told me about it before now.”

  Ruth tilted her head to one side. “What is it, Ettie?”

  Ettie took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I heard that Alan Avery’s wife disappeared years ago, and then months later, she was found murdered.”

  “That’s right. That did happen many years ago.”

  “You knew?”

  Ruth nodded. “I wasn’t keeping it a secret. I didn’t think to mention it. It didn’t come to mind.”

  “Don’t you think it’s strange that a man was found murdered and a few years before that his wife was also murdered? What are the chances of that happening?”

  “Jah. I see what you mean. It does seem odd. And if it was the same person who killed both of them, that means that Alan Avery might not have been after my bread recipe. When Georgina was murdered, no one was after my recipe back then. Although there were plenty of people asking for it, no one was offering to pay for it.”

  Ettie thought about what Ruth had just said. It still left her wondering why Alan Avery was in Ruth’s bakery after closing hours. “Tell me everything you remember about Georgina’s murder, Ruth.”

  Ruth screwed up her face. “It was a long time ago. Hmm, let me think.” Ruth’s gaze shifted to the ceiling. “I remember that she vanished, and everybody was searching for her. When she didn’t turn up for many months, everyone feared the worst, and then she was found dead.”

  “How did she die?” Ava asked.

  “She drowned. To my knowledge, the police never found out whether she disappeared of her own accord, and then accidentally drowned, or whether she was abducted against her will and drowned on purpose. That’s if my memory serves me correctly.”

  Ettie looked across the table. “You’ll be able to find all that out on the library computer, won’t you, Ava?”

  “Jah, I should be able to. If nothing else, there should be some old newspaper records of the murder. How long ago was it, Ruth?”

  “It could’ve have been as long ago as eight or nine years.” Ruth stood up. “Tea or kaffe?”

  “I’ll have tea denke,” Ettie said.

  “Me too,” Ava said.

  As she made the tea, Ruth asked, “How did it go with the realtor, Ettie?”

  “Very good. I’m meeting her back at the house in a few days.”

  “You’re selling Agatha’s haus, Ettie?”

  Suddenly Ettie realized she hadn’t told Ava what she'd found out from the realtor, or even that she'd had the realtor come to look at Agatha's old house. “Jah, well only after you’re married, of course. You weren’t there the other day when I had a realtor give me an idea of what the house is worth. It was disappointing news, I’m afraid, because of the murder. She said that I would get a very low price for it. Also, it would take a long time to sell.”

  “That’s a shame,” Ava said. “It’s such a nice house and I’ve loved living in the grossdaddi haus.”

  Why don’t you and your Jeremiah buy Ettie’s haus, Ava? You’re used to living in the spot already.” Ruth placed the teapot down and sat back down at the table.

  “Jeremiah has got a haus for us already.”

  “The one he’s been working on for years?” Ruth asked.

  “That’s the one. He’s nearly finished.”

  “Brandy certainly knows a lot of people in town,” Ettie said changing the subject.

  “Jah, that’s her business to know everybody and everything that’s going on around the place,” Ruth said.

  Ava turned to Ettie. “Ettie, before I forget, will you come with me tomorrow to get some material for the men’s suits for the wedding. I’m making a suit for Jeremiah and he’s got three friends who’ll need suits. We can go to the library after that and use the computer.”

  “I’d love to. I’m sure Elsa-May would too. What about your mudder?”

  “Nee, she’s too busy with too many things.”

  “That is something I would really like to do, Ava. Denke.”

  While Ettie and Ava had been talking, Ruth had poured their tea.

  Ruth said, “That’s something I’ve missed out on by never marrying. I’ve had no wedding of my own and don’t have any kinner to look forward to their weddings.”

  “I remember you had an admirer or two.”

  “There was only ever one, Ettie.”

  “William Yoder?”

  Ruth nodded. “He asked me to marry him, and I wouldn’t give him an answer. I wasn’t sure. How do you know what love is if you've never been in love?”

  “You don't,” Ettie said. “It's a leap of faith. You have to trust Gott to bring you the right man, and to help you make a good marriage.”

  “When I decided I'd tell him yes,” Ruth's head sank, “I found out that he'd asked Iris to marry him.”

  “That’s awful,” Ava said.

  “I heard a whisper that he and Iris moved very quickly to marry,” Ettie said. “It was a surprise at the time for me because I knew he liked you.”

  “And that was the only man you’ve been interested in, Ruth?” Ava asked.

  “Jah, I left things too long. Anyway, he married Iris, and he died five years ago.”

  Ava nodded and the three ladies were silent for a while. Ettie patted Ruth on her arm when she saw that Ruth looked sad.

  Ava said, “My mudder kept telling me I’d better find a man before I was twenty, but I was interested in other things when I was younger.”

  Ettie added, “Jah, and Jeremiah’s parents were worried about him.”

  Chapter 14

  The next morning, Snowy barked and scampered to the door as Ettie opened it for Ava to enter.

  “No! Bad dog,” Elsa-May said firmly taking the dog away from the door.

  Ettie walked up behind her sister. “Oh, Snowy looks all sad now.”

  “I don’t want a barking little dog. There’s nothing worse than a yapping irritating dog.”

  “Come in, Ava. Are you early, or am I late?” Ettie asked.

  “I’m a little earlier than I said I’d be.”

  “Well, I’m already to go. Elsa-May has decided to stay home.” Ettie reached behind the door to lift her black cape off the peg. As she wrapped it around her shoulders, she said, “Bye, Elsa-May. Bye, Snowy.”

  Elsa-May picked up Snowy’s paw and waved it at them.

  Ava closed the door behind them. “She’s really attached to that dog, isn’t she.”

  “Jah, she’ll never admit to it, though. Since it’s on the way, Ava, do you mind driving me to the police station? There are just a couple of things I’d like to ask Detective Kelly.”

  “Of course, that will be okay.”

  “Denke.”

  Half an hour later, Ettie and Ava were waiting at the police station for Detective Kelly to see them. He suddenly appeared and beckoned for them to follow.

  When they sat d
own in his office, he asked, “Now what can I do for you today, Mrs. Smith?”

  “I have a question for you, Detective.”

  “Yes? Go ahead.”

  “I was wondering if you’ve questioned Hugh Dwyer yet about the knife?”

  “Mrs. Smith, I know you’ve been helpful to me in the past, but that doesn’t mean I can let you in on my entire investigations.”

  Ettie frowned. “It was a simple question, Detective, and you’re right about me being helpful to you. And I’d like to be helpful to you again in the future. Remember how hard you found it when no one in my community would talk to you? That wasn’t so long ago.”

  Detective Kelly drew his lips together as if he’d sucked on a lemon. “What is it in particular that you want to know?”

  Ettie licked her lips. “I just had a question about the knives in Hugh Dwyer’s kitchen. Did you see that the largest knife was missing? And, if I’m right, isn’t it exactly the same as the knife that was sticking out of Alan Avery’s back? I did have a good look at the handle, and the inscription in the metal part of it just above the handle, when I was checking for a pulse.”

  “You’re correct. The knives you saw in Dwyer’s kitchen are the same brand and model of the knife that killed Alan Avery. When we checked his set of knives, they were all present and accounted for.”

  “They were? Well when we went there, the largest knife was not on the rack.”

  “Normally I’d say it could’ve been elsewhere, in the dishwasher or somewhere like that. I had a good look at the knives and noticed that the largest one seemed to be newer than the rest of them. I questioned Mr. Dwyer about it and asked him if the larger one had been more recently acquired. He denied it and said he purchased the set overseas, and said he’d find the receipt, and then he’d scan and email it it to me.”

  “Isn’t that reason enough to look more closely at Hugh Dwyer? Both Hugh and Alan Avery wanted Ruth’s bread recipe, and you said yourself it looked like his knife had been replaced.”

  “If I took those two pieces of information to a judge to get a warrant for his arrest, or even a search warrant, I’d be laughed at. I do want to be taken seriously in this town. I’m not saying that you’re wrong; I need more evidence than Dwyer using the same brand of knife as the one that killed Alan Avery. I did do some research and found out that the knife is not commonly available, so I’m following up on suppliers.”

  “Hugh made it sound as though the knives were rare.”

  Kelly’s lip curled. “You questioned him?” When Ettie nodded, Kelly shook his head in disgust. “Mrs. Smith, go home and forget the whole thing, would you?”

  “Detective Kelly, my friend and I found a dead body in her office. It’s not something I’ll ever forget.”

  Kelly blew out a breath. “I found out there is one supplier of those knives here in the US. I’m waiting for a call back from them regarding who they’ve supplied around this area.”

  Ettie was a little pleased that he was starting to follow some leads.

  The detective continued, “It’s a good thing you’ve come by today because I want to show you some photos to see if you recognize anyone.” The detective opened a folder on his desk, pulled four photos out, and placed them in front of Ettie. “I want you to have a close look and tell me if you’ve seen any of these men in or around the bakery.”

  Ettie picked up the photos of each of the four men and studied them in turn. “No. I can’t say that I’ve ever seen them before. These faces, I would remember.”

  “Yes you’d remember their faces, but you wouldn’t want to remember them.They’re hardened criminals.”

  “Who are they?” Ettie asked.

  “These are the loan sharks Alan Avery borrowed money from.” Detective Kelly tapped a finger on one of the photos. “This one is known as ‘Big Freddy.’ He’s the head of the criminal organization, but we’ve never been able to pin anything on him.”

  “They all look rather intimidating,” Ava said.

  “You wouldn’t want to meet any of them in a dark alley,” Kelly said.

  “And the other three work for Big Freddy?”

  “Yes. As far as we’ve been able to tell. Seems as though Big Freddy sits back and calls the shots and the other three do his bidding.” The detective put the photos back in the folder.

  “Can I have one more look at them?” Ettie asked.

  He retrieved the photos and pushed them toward Ettie once again.

  Ettie picked each one up and had a closer look. “Has Ruth seen these photos?”

  “Yes. I was down at the bakery this morning speaking to Ruth. She claims to have never seen these men before in her life.”

  Ettie’s gaze fixed onto the detective’s face. “And you don’t believe her?”

  “That’s not true. I’ve got no reason not to believe her.” Detective Kelly leaned forward. “Do you know something that I don’t, Mrs. Smith?”

  “No. It’s just when you said ‘she claims never to have seen the men before’ it sounded like you didn’t believe her.”

  The detective sighed, and then rose from his chair. “Is that all I can do for you today, Mrs. Smith?”

  Ettie raised her eyebrows. “I just came here to find out what you’d learned about the knife at Hugh Dwyer’s place.”

  “Very good; call and see me again if you wish. I enjoy our chats.”

  Ettie rose to her feet. “Yes, I’m sure that you do. Come on, Ava, let’s go.” Ettie hurried out of the police station with Ava following her.

  “Ettie wait! I’ve never seen you walk so quickly.”

  When she got to the door of the station, Ettie turned around. “Well the man infuriates me. I couldn’t wait to get out of his office. Sometimes he’s just downright rude, and after all the help I’ve given him in the past it’s unacceptable.”

  “Are you sure you want to come with me today?” Ava asked.

  Ettie forced a smile. “It’s all right. I’ll calm down in a minute. How far is Coatesville again?”

  “I’m leaving the buggy at the farmers’ market where Mamm parks her buggy when she’s at work, and then we can catch a bus from there. It’ll be less than an hour’s bus ride.”

  Chapter 15

  Later that day, Ettie and Ava arrived at Healey’s Fabrics in Coatesville. As soon as they walked in, Ettie smelled freshly cut material. It reminded her of how her mother sewed constantly for Ettie and her brood of siblings.

  “Do you know exactly what you’re looking for, Ava?”

  “Jah. I’m looking for charcoal-colored wool, or some kind of wool blend. Mamm said I’d need five yards for each suit. So that means I’ll need twenty yards. There’ll be Jeremiah, and his three friends will want the same suits. Charcoal isn’t gray and it’s not black either.”

  “Jah. I know what a charcoal color is.”

  A male sales assistant approached Ava, and when she explained what she wanted, he pointed her toward the fabrics at the back of the store. The sales assistant said that he’d let them browse.

  “Come on, Ettie. It’s down this way.”

  “Jah. I’m coming.” Ettie’s attention was taken by the intricate patterns in the samples of lace by the window. Just as she was about to turn and join Ava, something caught her eye. She looked out the window to see a familiar woman walking past. Ettie looked again to make sure she wasn’t mistaken. There was no mistake about it; the woman walking past the window was Melissa Avery. Melissa was with a man. Ettie had a good angle to see who the man was. She was certain it was one of the men in the photographs that Detective Kelly showed her earlier that day. Ettie quickly turned around so she wouldn’t be seen if either of them if they happened to glance into the store.

  Ava came up to her. “What is it, Ettie?”

  “It’s Melissa Avery, and she’s with one of those men in the photos.”

  “The girl’s whose father was killed?”

  Ettie nodded.

  Ava peered out the window at the couple who w
ere just past the store. “Are you certain?”

  “Yes, I got a clear look at him. It’s definitely one of those men in the photos.”

  Ava gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. “Not Big Freddy?”

  “Nee. One of the others.”

  “Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”

  Ettie grabbed Ava’s hand and pulled her out the door. Melissa and the man were now some ten yards in front of them. “Let’s follow them and see where they go,” Ettie whispered.

  “We can’t do that, Ettie.”

  “Why not? Detective Kelly says it’s a free country.”

  “They might see us.”

  “And?”

  “If you’re right, then he’s a bad criminal.”

  “Has a criminal history,” Ettie corrected her.

  “Okay. We’ll have to stay back so they don’t see us.”

  As they followed the pair, they saw the man put his arm around Melissa’s waist. Ettie and Ava looked at each other with raised eyebrows. It seemed they were a couple. They followed them until they walked into a café a few doors up and across the road from the fabric store.

  “We’ll give them a few minutes and you can go in and see what they’re doing,” Ettie said.

  “Me? Why me?”

  “Melissa might recognize me from the funeral, and you weren’t at the funeral, so she won’t recognize you. Go in and order a take-out coffee. While you’re waiting for it to be made, see if you can sit close to them and hear what they’re saying.”

  “It’s not very likely that I’ll be able to do that.”

  Ettie shrugged. “Less talking and more action.” Ettie made shooing motions with her hands. “Go on, go in now. I’ll wait back in the store.”

  Ettie went back into the fabric store and stayed by the window. If she stood in just the right place, she had a good view of the door of the café.

  Fifteen minutes later, Ettie saw Ava heading back with two take-out coffees. “I didn’t tell her to get two coffees, I only told her to get one,” Ettie muttered to herself as she stepped outside the store. “Well, did you hear anything?”

  Ava handed Ettie a cup of coffee. “Nothing. I didn’t hear anything. I couldn’t get close enough. They were snuggled in a corner, holding hands and smooching.”