“What? They were kissing?”
Ava nodded, and then took a sip of coffee. “Ahh. This is hot. Anyway, I did get a good look at him and you were right. He is one of those men from the photos this morning.”
Ettie nodded and then looked at her cup. “Well we can’t drink this in the store. We’ll have to sit down and drink it before we go back in. I don’t think they’d like us spilling coffee all over their fabrics.” Ava followed Ettie to a nearby seat, and when they sat down, Ettie said, “I’m glad you’ve seen him too. This does put an entirely different slant on things.”
“What are you thinking, Ettie?”
“It seems to suggest that the daughter is somehow involved in her father’s death. She lied about the loan sharks coming after her.”
“Are you sure? How could she have something to do with her own father’s death?”
“Many people kill for money and her father’s life was insured.” Ettie took the lid off her coffee and took a sip. “Ah, it is hot.”
“I wonder what they’re doing here?”
“He might live here for all we know. It’s too risky to keep following them. We might be seen and we could end up in danger. I don’t think there’s anything more we can do except tell Kelly that we’ve seen Melissa with one of those men in the photographs this morning.”
Ava and Ettie sat in silence for a while. Ettie had one eye on the entrance of the café. The couple hadn’t come out.
“When we finish here, Ava, do you mind taking me back to the Police Station?
“Jah, of course, I will, Ettie.”
Ettie took another mouthful of coffee. “I don’t think I can drink any more of this.”
“It’s not very good.”
“Nee it’s not. I’m going to throw mine out.” Ettie stood up and put her hand out for Ava’s cup. Then she threw both containers of coffee in the trashcan.
“Ettie, do you think we should call the detective instead? Maybe he’ll want to know right away.”
“Jah. I don’t know why I didn’t think about that. Let’s find a phone and call him before we do anything else.”
When they found a public phone, Ettie made a call only to find out that detective Kelly wouldn’t be back until much later in the day. The officer on the other end of the call offered to take a message, but Ettie declined to leave one.
“He’s not there?” Ava asked.
Ettie shook her head. “He’s out and won’t be back until late today.”
“That’s okay, we’ll call in and see him on the way home.”
“Let’s go and have a look at that fabric, shall we?” Ettie said.
Ettie and Ava walked back into the fabric store. Ava found the exact charcoal-colored wool blend material she was looking for and the store was able to supply the quantity she needed.
As they stepped out of the store, Ettie said, “I wonder if they’re still in the café.”
“They might be. Do you want me to go and have a look?” Ava asked.
Ettie shook her head. “Nee. It won’t do any good since you won’t be able to get close enough to hear anything.”
They caught the bus back to the farmers’ market and continued by buggy to the police station.
When Ava stopped the buggy close to the station, she said, “You go in and I’ll wait here.”
“Okay. I shouldn’t be too long.” Ettie hurried into the station only to be told that Detective Kelly still wasn’t back.
Ettie stepped up into the buggy.
“He’s still not there?” Ava asked.
“Nee. I’ll have to call him tonight.”
“How long does he work for?”
“Detective Crowley used to work all hours. I’m guessing Detective Kelly is the same.”
When they were just about at Ettie’s house, they came across Elsa-May carrying her pup. Ava stopped the buggy when it drew level to Elsa-May.
Ettie yelled out, “Isn’t the dog supposed to walk too?”
“He was walking, and now he’s tired. He sat and refused to go any further. I’m just going a little farther and then I’ll turn around and come back. Are you pleased about that?”
“Gut! I’ll see you at home.”
Ava continued the buggy onward, and stopped outside Ettie’s house.
“Come inside and show Elsa-May the fabric. Do you have time?” Ettie asked.
“Jah, I do.”
“Gut. Elsa-May will be pleased to be the first to see it, besides me, of course.” When they walked into the house, they saw chewed up pieces of wood and small stuffed animals on the floor.”
“Looks like a storm hit the place,” Ava said.
“Jah, a Snowy storm.” Ettie kicked the toys out of the way as she walked to the kitchen with Ava close behind.
Just as they sat down at the kitchen table, they heard Elsa-May close the front door. She joined them at the kitchen table, sitting down with the dog in her arms.
“I don’t know why everyone keeps telling me walking is good for me. I feel like it’s going to kill me,” Elsa-May said.
“I’m sure you’ll get used to it. Now have a look at this.” Ava unwrapped a corner of the package in front of her to reveal the fabric.
“That looks lovely, Ava. I want to touch it but my hands aren’t clean. That’ll make beautiful suits.”
“It should, for the price of it,” Ettie said.
“I’ll only have one wedding, Ettie.”
Ettie pulled a face. “And that’s all you’d be able to afford.”
Ava giggled. “I don’t care. I just want everything to be perfect.”
“Where did all those toys come from?” Ettie asked Elsa-May.
“Your new best friend from next door brought them over. His dog grew out of the toys, he told me. Anyway, I hope it keeps Snowy away from my boots.”
Ettie grasped Elsa-May’s arm. “Elsa-May, you’ll never guess what we saw today.”
“Get me a glass of water first, and then tell me,” Elsa-May said.
Ava jumped up. “I’ll get it”
While Ava was getting the water, Ettie told Elsa-May about the photos that Detective Kelly had shown her, and then told her that they saw Melissa Avery with one of those men.
After Elsa-May took a mouthful of water, she said, “Are you certain your eyes weren’t playing tricks on you, Ettie? It’s an easy thing to do, especially since you just saw the photos this morning.”
“Nee, Ava saw him too.”
“That’s right, and I’m positive, too, that it was one of those men.”
“Really? Well that doesn’t look too good for Melissa Avery. Have you told Kelly what you saw?”
Ettie shook her head. “We tried to call him as soon as we saw the man, but he was out of the station. Then we stopped in on our way here, but he still wasn’t back.”
Elsa-May said, “Give him an hour, or so, and then try him again.”
Ettie nodded. “Jah. That’s what I was going to do.” Ettie hit her head. “Ava, we forgot about looking up to find out more about Georgina Avery’s death.”
“I totally forgot about it. I’ve had my mind on the wedding. I’ll go to the library tomorrow and look it up on the computer.”
“Would you?” Ettie asked.
Ava nodded.
Later that evening, Ettie got through to Detective Kelly and told him that they had seen Melissa Avery and one of those men who were in the photos he’d showed her earlier that day. He asked her which one, but she wasn’t able to describe him well enough for him to determine the man’s name. Detective Kelly asked her to come in at twelve the next day.
Chapter 16
When Ettie woke the next morning, she remembered she had that second appointment with Brandy Winnie, the realtor, at the house.
Ettie sat up and yawned, and then she swung her feet over the side of the bed and attempted to slide them into her slippers. When she could only feel one, she looked over the side of the bed for the other. She stood up after placing her foot i
n the sole slipper, and looked under the bed. Ettie always wore soft slippers in the house rather than going barefoot on the floorboards.
There was only one place her slipper could be. She walked out to the living room wearing one slipper and saw Snowy munching on her other fluffy slipper. Elsa-May was knitting beside him.
“Elsa-May, can’t you see he’s chewing on my slipper?”
Elsa-May glanced down. “Jah. Sorry about that.”
“Well, why didn’t you stop him?”
Elsa-May looked at Ettie over the top of her glasses. “It was too late. When I came out this morning, he’d already ruined it. I figured if I let him keep chewing on it, that would save something else in the haus from being ruined.”
Ettie groaned and put her hands on her hips.
Elsa-May smiled, seemingly calm about Ettie’s slipper being torn to shreds. “I’ve got a spare pair in my cupboard you can have.”
“Denke.” Ettie went to her sister’s cupboard and pulled out the slippers and stuck her feet into them, after kicking off her now-partnerless slipper. “These will do.”
The two sisters went into the kitchen for breakfast.
“I’ve got that second appointment with Brandy today at the haus. Do you want to come?”
Elsa-May shook her head.
“Then after that, I’m going to see Detective Kelly to tell him which one of those men I saw with Melissa Avery.”
“Okay, then I’ll cook the evening meal.”
“Only if you feel up to it.”
“I’m better, nothing wrong with me. I’m getting exercise like the doctor said, so no need to worry.”
“Hello again, Ettie.” Brandy Winnie was as bubbly as ever.
Ettie waited for her at the front door. “Hello. Come in, Brandy.”
“Lovely day, isn’t it?”
“It’s a bit chilly, so I suppose if you like the chilly weather, it’s a lovely day.”
“Oh yes. I love the cold; I love sitting cozy in front of an open fire sipping hot chocolate with marshmallows.”
“Yes that does sound good,” Ettie said.
As soon as Brandy walked in, she said, “Have you decided to go ahead and sell?”
“Yes I will sell it, but I don’t want anything to be finalized until after my young friend moves out. I’ve only bought one house in my life and that was with my sister, Elsa-May. I lived in my parents’ home, and then I went straight into my husband’s house.”
“That’s exactly why you have me. I’ll fix up all those details and handle everything for you.” Brandy pulled paperwork from her briefcase. “I’ll just explain the listing procedure, and then, if you’re happy with that you can sign the paperwork.”
“We better go sit down at the table,” Ettie said.
“That brings up a question. Are you planning to sell the furniture with the house?”
“No,” Ettie answered. “There are pieces I think I'd like to keep, and I might give others to my friend when she gets married.”
Fifteen minutes of explaining later, Ettie signed the paperwork. “That’s a relief. But I hope you do get a good price for it. Not for myself; it was my dear friend’s house and it seems such a waste if I don’t get a good price for it just because someone was murdered here.”
“Yes, I quite understand. I’ll get you the best price possible, and that’s a promise I make to you.”
“Thank you, Brandy. I appreciate that. Now, I have a question to ask you on quite a separate subject from real estate.”
“Yes what’s that?”
“What do you know about Melissa Avery?”
Brandy batted her long false eyelashes a couple of times. “She had a very strange relationship with both of her parents. I should say with her mother, and her stepfather.”
“Stepfather? Alan Avery? Was he her stepfather?”
“Yes. Alan Avery wasn’t her real father. Her father died when she was just a young girl. In no time at all her mother married Alan Avery. I’ve been told that set a few tongues wagging.”
“Why was that?”
Brandy looked away from Ettie for a moment, before she said, “There should be a waiting period after someone dies before someone remarries.”
“And why did Melissa have a bad relationship with her mother?”
“She didn’t want her mother to marry Alan. What made things worse was that Alan was never at home. He was always out working. Georgina, Melissa’s mother, became very lonely and turned to drink. She became an alcoholic and some say she drank herself to death. It was really quite sad.”
“I had no idea.”
“I think that’s why Alan Avery tried to make things up to Melissa. With the money from his wife’s life insurance settlement he bought Melissa the café. When that didn’t make her happy, he went ahead and bought that big warehouse he intended turning into a bakery.”
Ettie was certain that Melissa had told Ruth she wasn’t interested in having a bakery. Had Melissa lied to Ruth? “Do you know how much Georgina Avery’s life was insured for?”
“Not a lot. I believe it was about seven hundred and fifty thousand.”
Ettie’s eyes grew wide. That certainly sounded like a lot of money to her. “I had no idea.”
“Didn’t Ruth mention it to you?”
“Ruth knew?”
“It was common knowledge amongst people who knew the family.”
Ettie shook her head. “Nee, she never mentioned it.” Ettie’s mind ticked over. Melissa’s mother, Georgina, was found dead and happened to have life insurance. A few years later, Melissa’s stepfather was murdered and he also had life insurance. Melissa had made out that she was going to see very little of the money, due to her father owing money to one of those thugs. Seeing that she'd been kissing one of those thugs, Ettie doubted he would be demanding money.
“Oh dear, have I upset you, Ettie? I’m certain Ruth wasn’t keeping that information from you deliberately. She might have even forgotten it.”
“I’m not upset. I’m just thinking about something. Last time you were here, you mentioned Big Freddy. Do you know if Melissa had any connections to Big Freddy or any of his men?”
Brandy shook her head. “The only thing I can think of is that her father owed him money.” Brandy leaned forward. “Why? Have you heard anything different?”
“No, I was just wondering, that’s all.” Ettie had no intention of telling Brandy she'd seen Melissa with the thug.
“Have the police found out who murdered Alan Avery yet? There hasn’t been anything on the news about it and no one seems to know. I haven’t heard a thing.”
“They don’t know anything yet. Brandy, would you mind taking me to Ruth’s bakery if you’re heading that way?”
“Of course I can. I’m going back to my office, and it’s just a few doors from there.”
Ettie couldn’t wait to see if Ruth knew that Alan Avery was Melissa’s stepfather.Brandy dropped Ettie right outside the door of the bakery. Ettie hoped that Ruth was still there.
She walked through the door of the retail area of the bakery and asked one of the workers if Ruth was there. The worker led her to Ruth’s office.
Ruth looked up. “Ettie! This is a surprise.”
“I just had another meeting with Brandy and she brought me into town. I’ve found out something interesting.”
“Sit down and tell me.”
Ettie pulled out a chair and sat across the desk from Ruth. “Did you know that Alan Avery was Melissa’s stepfather?”
“Nee. Did Brandy tell you that?”
Ettie nodded.
“She said that he married Melissa’s mother not long after her father died, and the marriage was an unhappy one. Brandy said Melissa’s mother had turned to drink.”
Ruth said, “There was talk that Georgina was a drinker. That’s why Alan wasn’t too concerned when she disappeared. Apparently she’d done that a couple of times before. She’d be gone for a couple of days here and there without telling anyone
where she was going. The last time she’d left without telling anyone, Alan got concerned when it got to day four. I knew that much but I never knew that he was Melissa’s stepfather.”
“According to Brandy, Melissa blames Alan for her mother’s death, or at least blames him for her mother’s drinking. Brandy said Alan bought her the café to make it up to her – get on her good side, and when that didn’t work he bought the building he was going to turn into a bakery. Why would Alan do that if his daughter didn’t really want a bakery?”
“Maybe she did, then. She might have been embarrassed to admit it to my face.”
Ettie nodded. “Jah, could be. That would make sense.”
Ruth leaned back in her chair. “Kelly visited me today.”
“He did? What did he want?”
“He’s been following up the information about the knives. The only firm that supplies them in the US gave Kelly their list of customers who’ve purchased the whole set, or knives belonging to the set. He found out that Hugh Dwyer had ordered that exact same knife, the same as the one that killed Alan Avery.”
“The large one that we saw was missing?”
“Jah. And do you know when it was ordered?”
“Nee, tell me quick.”
“Two days before the murder.”
“Two days before? That’s odd. He’s got something to hide. He told Kelly that the large knife wasn’t a replacement.”
“And that’s not all,” Ruth said. “Rupert Bird also bought that exact same set six months ago. Detective Kelly is on his way right now to talk to Rupert Bird.”
Chapter 17
Since he was most likely already in Harrisburg talking to Rupert Bird, Ettie would have to wait to tell the detective about Melissa’s grudge against her stepfather.
Ruth who’d been sitting down talking to Ettie suddenly covered her face with her hands and began to cry.
Ettie ran over to her and placed her arm around her shoulders. “What is it, Ruth? What has upset you?”
“I’ve decided that I’m going to sell up. I’ve had enough! I just can’t do this any more. Everything’s against me.”
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