“Nee. Nothing is against you. Sometimes we get trials thrown at us. All the things that come against us make us stronger.”
Ruth sniffed. “Everyone thinks I’m a strong person, but I’m not at all. Just because I’ve always been on my own they think I’m tough.”
Ettie saw a box of tissues on the filing cabinet. She plucked two out, and handed them to Ruth. Ruth took the tissues, wiped her eyes, and then blew her nose.
“I can’t do everything anymore. All the strength I had is gone.”
“Why don’t you take a few days off?”
Ruth opened her mouth and stared at Ettie as if she’d just sworn or said a bad word. “I can’t take any time off.”
“Of course, you can. You must be under a lot of pressure running a business of this size on your own for so many years. I think if you don’t take time off now, you’ll regret it. And you can’t make rational decisions when you’re stressed. You told me this was your life and couldn’t think what you’d do if you sold. If you sell now you might regret it when you feel better.”
Ruth sniffed. “I suppose you’re right. If I have a day or two off, my head might clear.”
“When was the last time you had a day off?”
“When we went to visit Rupert Bird; before that, I don’t even remember. Maybe never, except for Sundays.”
“Jah, but even then you unlock the place to let the workers in. You told me that before. So it’s not as though you can switch your mind off and not think about the place of a Sunday. Have two weeks off, and then you’ll feel like a new woman.”
Ruth stared at Ettie through bleary eyes. “Do you think so, Ettie?”
“I do.”
“But it’s been busier since all the press about the murder. I thought it might keep people away, but it’s done the opposite.”
“I’ll get a roster going and get some of our ladies to help out. I know quite a few who’d be willing to come in and help.”
“Would you do that, Ettie?”
“Of course. I’ll organize everything so you don’t have to worry about a thing. Stay away from this place for two weeks, and I’ll organize three ladies to come in every day except Sunday.”
“That sounds gut. I don’t know why I didn’t think about it before, but who will I trust with my key and my recipe?”
“You trusted your manager with the key once. You need to let someone in on some things. How about you trust the manager again?” Ettie suggested.
Ruth nodded. “I suppose I can. He’s been with me for many years and he’s never let me down.”
“Why don’t I wait here with you while you tell your staff what’s going on, and then I’ll walk home with you?” Ettie patted Ruth on her shoulder.
Ruth nodded.
When Ettie got home that evening, she had Elsa-May help her make up a roster with ladies they knew would help at the bakery.
When the roster was done, Elsa-May put Snowy on a leash and all three walked down to make some calls. After workers for the next few days had been confirmed, the two elderly sisters and Snowy made their way home.
“I thought that was a job well done,” Ettie said as they strolled along.
“Jah, from what you said she needed a rest. I didn’t think Ruth would be the type of woman to break down and cry.”
“I was surprised too, but it’s not every day you find someone stabbed and dead in your office. It also might have put a strain on her that everyone wants her bread recipe, and her bread secrets, whatever they might be.”
“You’re right, Ettie. I think that has worn her down.”
“It’s good that Detective Kelly is finally following up on the knives.”
“Ruth said he was heading to talk to Rupert Bird right after his visit with her this morning, seeing that he also had that same knife set.”
“Didn’t Kelly already know that Melissa resented her father?” Elsa-May asked.
“Stepfather,” Ettie corrected. “I don’t know if the detective knows that yet.”
They walked into their house, and Elsa-May took her pup off the leash. The pup ran around in circles and Elsa-May and Ettie sat down in their living room.
“Let’s think about the facts we have so far, Elsa-May. Melissa’s stepfather was stabbed in the back while inside the bakery of a person he was trying to buy a bread recipe from. Melissa’s mother had disappeared years earlier only to turn up dead. Trying to make his stepdaughter happy, Alan Avery bought a café, and then later, a large building to turn into a bakery.”
“Jah and I do find it odd that he’d spend so much money without having Ruth’s recipe.”
“And that would make him desperate to have it, seeing he was spending all that money on the remodeling.”
Elsa-May added, “It wouldn’t do to have a bakery with no customers. And his bread would’ve been nowhere near as good as Ruth’s.”
“So we can assume he was there to steal her recipe, he was certain it was in the bureau and then he found her Bible. We’re missing the identity of the person with him.”
“Who would have gained from his death?”
“Only Melissa. He had life insurance, and we can safely say that the men he borrowed money from aren’t coming after her like she’d said because we saw her cozying up to one of them. Ava saw them kissing in the café.”
“Are you thinking Melissa killed him, or had one of the thugs kill him?”
“Kelly seemed to think it was a man who killed Alan Avery. It’s unlikely Melissa would’ve done it herself. If she had wanted him dead she would’ve asked her boyfriend to do it.”
“We know that the knives aren’t commonly available, and Hugh Dwyer lied to Kelly about the largest knife being a replacement, even when the detective could plainly see that it was.”
Ettie sighed. “We haven’t heard from Ava about Georgina’s death. She said she’d look it up today. I’d like to learn more about Rupert Bird, too. He went funny when I asked if he used to live in the area around Ruth’s bakery. He couldn’t look me in the eye, and mumbled something about tasting the bread when his family was passing through.”
“It’s still early in the day. Why don’t we head to the library and look it up on the computer ourselves? Ava’s got enough on her mind at the moment; it’s most likely slipped her mind since she’s giddy and in love at the moment.”
Ettie nodded. “But we can’t take Snowy to the library.”
Elsa-May looked down at her pup who was now sleeping on his bed. “I don’t see how that’s fair. Okay, we’ll leave him here. He seems to have exhausted himself.”
Chapter 18
Later they were settled at the library, and Ettie was looking up information on the Internet while Elsa-May sat beside her.
“I can’t find anything here about Georgina Avery’s death,” Ettie said.
“She could’ve gone by her maiden name. Or her first married name. She might have still gone by Melissa’s father’s name.”
“That wouldn’t be likely if Melissa’s name was changed to Avery, and her mother hadn’t changed her name.”
“Don’t worry about that if you can’t find it. See what you can find out about Rupert Bird,” Elsa-May said.
Ettie did as her sister suggested and concentrated on finding out about Rupert. A few minutes later, she found something and gasped. “Listen to this Elsa-May! You won’t believe it. This is a news report from the eighties. A man by the name of Marvin Montgomery was hiking when he fell down an embankment, hit his head and was knocked unconscious. With him were his two foster children, Alan Avery and Rupert Bird!”
“Really?”
“Look; there’s a photo of them on the screen. It’s definitely the same Alan Avery and Rupert Bird. They’re young but you can still tell it’s them.” Ettie moved away so Elsa-May could get a better look at the screen.
“It’s no use, I didn’t bring my glasses with me.”
“Hang on, then. There’s more; I’ll keep reading it and then I’ll tell you what i
t says.” Ettie read for a few moments. “Marvin couldn’t be reached due to the rocky terrain, and one of the boys went for help and one stayed close. The rescuers finally reached Marvin, and he later recovered in a local hospital.” Ettie hit Elsa-May in the arm. “They’re referring to Marvin as a local man. I thought Rupert grew up around these parts. Didn’t I say that?”
“Ow.” Elsa-May rubbed her arm where Ettie had hit it. “When did you say that?”
“That’s right. You weren’t there at the time.”
“So Rupert did live in the area and he grew up in a foster home with Alan.”
Ettie nodded. “Seems as though they both had tasted Ruth’s bread as children. And they were most likely competitive with one another seeing that they both wanted to buy Ruth’s bread secrets.”
“Rupert already has a bakery, is that what made Alan want one?”
“Could be, if they were that competitive.”
“Do you think Melissa would know Rupert Bird? Would Rupert and Alan have kept in contact?” Elsa-May asked.
“Well, we can’t very well go and ask her,” Ettie said. “I’ve only met her once at her stepfather’s funeral.”
“We can’t go ask her, but Ruth could.”
“Have you forgotten already that Ruth’s having some kind of breakdown? I had to force her to have time off. I don’t want to go to her with this kind of news.”
Elsa-May scratched her neck. “Then what shall we do?”
“One of us can call Melissa on the phone and ask to speak to Rupert Bird. When she says that he’s not there, you can say that this is the number you were given for him. Then, she might say that Rupert Bird is her uncle, or friend, or some such thing.”
Elsa-May frowned at her sister. “What if she asks you who you are, and what you want with him?”
Ettie grinned. “It’s worth a try.”
“Well, it might be, but you’ll have to be the one to make the call.”
“Go on, Elsa-May. Your speaking voice is so much better than mine. You’re forthright and you sound official.”
Elsa-May shook her head, and grunted. “All right, but only on the condition that if we have to do anything else horrible after this, it’ll be your turn.”
“Okay,” Ettie agreed.
“Now find her phone number and I’ll give her a call.”
Ettie looked up Melissa’s number and found her cell phone number attached to her café’s listing. She scribbled the number on a piece of paper and handed it to Elsa-May. “There you go. I wrote it nice and big since you don’t have your glasses. Call her from the phone over there.” Ettie nodded her head to a public phone at the entrance of the library.
Elsa-May snatched the paper from Ettie, and then stared at it. “You’d better write that man’s name down in case I get nervous and forget it.”
Ettie took the paper back and wrote ‘Rupert Bird’ in large letters. Ettie heaved a sigh of relief as she watched her sister head to the phone. While she waited, she turned back to the computer to see if she could find any other information about Rupert, or Alan.
“Well, that was a complete waste of time.”
Ettie looked up to see Elsa-May back already. “Didn’t she answer?”
“She answered all right. When I asked if I could speak to Rupert Bird, she told me flatly that I had the wrong number with no hesitation in the slightest.”
“There was nothing else said?”
Elsa-May shook her head.
“Did you get the feeling she was being cagey, or that she just had never heard the man’s name?”
“I couldn’t tell. Now what?” Elsa-May asked.
Ettie turned back to the screen. “I’m looking for anything else on Rupert or Alan.”
“I wonder what Detective Kelly has found out on his visit to Rupert.”
“We should stop in on him on the way home. See if he knows that the boys were raised in the same foster home.”
“What about the old man?” Elsa-May asked.
“Marvin Montgomery?”
“Jah. I wonder if he’s still alive. He might be able to shed some light on things.”
Ettie nodded. “I’ll see if I can find anything out about Marvin Montgomery. Can’t be too many people with that name. While I’m looking, you go and call the station and find out if Detective Kelly’s going to be in later today.”
“That’s a call I don’t mind making.”
While Elsa-May called the station, Ettie found a phone number and an address for Marvin Montgomery. He lived around fifteen minutes away. Ettie wrote down his contact details while wondering the best way to approach him.
“He’s not going to be back until around five,” Elsa-May announced before she sat back down next to Ettie.
“I’ve just found a phone number and an address for Marvin. Shall we call or just go and knock on his door?”
“Going by my call to Melissa, I think it would be better to see him in person. Where does he live?”
“Close by. It’ll only take us fifteen minutes by taxi.”
Chapter 19
Ettie and Elsa-May stood at the front path and looked at the house of Marvin Montgomery, the man who once had fostered Rupert Bird and the late Alan Avery.
“There it is, Ettie.”
“What reason are we going to give him for asking questions? He’ll want to know.”
Elsa-May said, “We should’ve brought Ava. She would’ve thought of something.”
“We could say we’re interested in foster children and how they cope.”
“True, and that wouldn’t be a lie. Because we are interested in the boys he fostered.” Elsa-May pulled on Ettie’s sleeve. “Now, you knock on the door and I’ll stand behind you.”
Ettie winced. “Me?”
“It’s your turn, remember?”
Ettie pouted, and then walked forward and knocked on the door. She looked over her shoulder at Elsa-May, and hissed, “Stand closer.”
Elsa-May inched forward.
When the door opened, they saw a man in his late sixties to early seventies.
“Hello, Mr. Montgomery?” Ettie asked.
He said nothing while he looked Ettie up and down. “You after donations?”
“No we’re not after anything like that at all. I’m here about foster children. I heard from one of your neighbors that you fostered some children years ago. We were wondering if you might spare a few moments to tell us about your fostering experiences?”
The man took a step forward and peered down the street, first left, and then right. “Which neighbor told you that?”
“I don’t quite recall exactly who told me.”
“It was probably that old bat next door. I wish she’d mind her own business. She’s always watching what I do.” He pointed to the house next door. “There she is now!”
Ettie turned to look where he pointed and saw a curtain move. “I can’t say for certain, I’m sorry, but can you spare us a few moments of your time?”
He clenched his jaw and looked from Ettie to Elsa-May.
“I’m Ettie, and this is my sister, Elsa-May.”
“I suppose you can come in. It’ll give that old bat next door something to talk about.”
Relief washed over Ettie as they followed the man into his living room.
“I don’t get many visitors anymore.” He pointed to an armchair, and said to Ettie. “You can sit there.” He pointed to the one next to it, and said to Elsa-May, “You can sit there.” Then he sat at the end of a three-seater couch. “I always sit here, so I can see the TV better.”
“Do the boys you fostered ever visit you?”
He shook his head. “It was my wife’s idea. She’s dead now. We couldn’t have children for one reason or another. They never found out why, but back then it was just accepted. There weren’t any of these newfangled tests they have today.”
“Sorry to hear about your wife,” Ettie said while Elsa-May nodded. “How many children did you and your wife foster?”
“Yes, we can. You had five foster children, and did you have a mix of boys and girls?”
“All boys.”
“And did they get along together?”
“The first two we had for two years before they turned eighteen and they weren’t a problem. Then we took in three younger ones the same age. My wife took a liking to one of them, and when his mother died, he became available for adoption; she wanted to adopt him. I told her it wasn’t a good idea because I knew the other two would get their noses out of joint. You know how women can get; she nagged and nagged me until I gave in. And you know what I got for it?”
“What?” Ettie asked.
“I don’t know which one of them it was, but one of the other two boys pushed me off a cliff and nearly killed me.”
Elsa-May gasped. “Pushed you?”
“As sure as you’re sitting here right now. I didn’t know which one it was. Hugh stayed at home that day because he was sick; he was a sickly boy.”
“Hugh?” Ettie asked trying not to choke. Could that be Hugh Dwyer? Ettie felt she couldn’t ask him what Hugh’s last name was.
“Hugh was the one we adopted.”
Elsa-May took a turn at asking questions. “So you were looking after three boys all roughly the same age?”
“That’s right.” He glanced up at the clock again. “Is there anything else you’d like to know? You can come back tomorrow and I can tell you more, but not around this time. If I had my time over I can’t say I’d foster again. Not boys, they were too much of a handful, but I’ve heard girls are worse.” He shrugged his shoulders and smiled before he reached for his remote control and flicked the TV on. “Do you ladies mind showing yourselves out?”
Ettie looked at Elsa-May, who said, “Thank you for talking with us.”
Ettie and Elsa-May stood up and made their way out of the house.
Once they were on the street, Ettie was the first to speak. “Elsa-May, he said one of the boys pushed him. That means Alan, or Rupert tried to kill him.”
Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 1 Page 35