Amish Barn Murders

by Samantha Price

  “Do you know who found Thomas?” Elsa-May asked, pushing her knitting back into the bag by her feet.

  “It was one of his brothers, Roy.”

  “Roy! He doesn’t live at home still, does he, now that he’s married?”

  “Nee, he doesn’t. He lives close by. He was visiting and no one was in the haus and he went into the barn to see if anyone was there. That’s when he found Thomas lying on the barn floor.”

  Elsa-May reached back into her bag and pulled out her knitting again as she said, “Now, now, Thea. The world is not about to end. A nice cup of tea always helps one to see things clearly and think things through. If there is a problem, then there’s surely a solution. This is just the way the world works.”

  Thea nodded. “Okay. I guess I’ve gotten myself a bit worked up over the whole thing. A cup of tea would be nice.”

  “Ettie!”

  “Jah, I’d like one too, denke Elsa-May.”

  Elsa-May’s brow furrowed more deeply. “I meant, you can please get it for us, Ettie.”

  “Ah!” Ettie pushed herself up. She would’ve much preferred to sit talking to Thea. And besides, they’d just finished a cup with Detective Kelly. “How do you have it, Thea?”

  "I like it white with one, denke.”

  Ettie walked to the kitchen listening to Elsa-May talk to Thea, while also thinking of her own questions to ask Thea when she returned.

  * * *

  Thea felt a little brighter talking to Elsa-May. She was a kind woman who seemed to care about her problems.

  “Here you are, Thea. White with one.”

  “Denke, Mrs. Smith.” Thea took the cup and saucer with both hands.

  “What about me?” Elsa-May asked her sister.

  Ettie held up both her hands. “How many can you count? I’ve only got the two.” Ettie shook her head at her sister. “Ours are in the kitchen. I can only carry one at a time.”

  “You normally bring everything out on a tray.” Elsa-May made a gruff sound from the back of her throat while Ettie hurried to the kitchen.

  Thea did her best to contain a smile.

  Once they all had their tea, Ettie asked Thea, “Have I missed anything? What did you two talk about while I was in the kitchen?”

  “Nee, nothing; we waited for you. I first heard that Thomas fell off a ladder. Is that what you heard?” Thea asked them.

  “That’s what we heard, but what we hear and the truth are often two very different things,” Ettie said. “We also heard a rumor of Thomas arguing with a man and then that man had threatened him.”

  “That’s almost true. That was someone I know at the market, but he didn’t mean he would actually kill him. It wasn’t said like that at all. Thomas had developed a bad temper and he pushed over a stallholder’s honey display and smashed a bottle and that made the stallholder angry. I worry that Thomas might have made some enemies out of some Englischers.”

  “What was the stallholder’s name?”

  “His name is Austin. I don't know his last name. He’s fairly new at the market and sells organic honey. I guess he’s got hives, too, somewhere. I think he said once that he leases some land somewhere near someone’s orchard.”

  “Organic honey? That’s a new one to me. Exactly what does it take for honey to be called organic?” Elsa-May asked.

  “He told me once. There can be no pesticides used on any land within so many miles of where the beehives are kept.”

  “Ah, that sounds like a good idea,” Ettie said.

  “Did Thomas have any enemies that you knew of personally, or by name?” Elsa-May asked, leaning forward to take a piece of cake from the plate Ettie had brought in after she'd delivered their tea.

  “Nee. He wasn’t very nice to a lot of people. People outside of the community might not be so forgiving with the way he’d become.”

  “Are you talking specifically about Austin?”

  Thea shook her head. “Nee. I’m not. I don’t know how that rumor got around so quickly.”

  “We’ve heard it from a couple of people now,” Ettie said.

  “Oh dear, poor Austin. He didn’t mean it. They got into an argument, him and Thomas. It was Thomas’ fault. I’ve always been good at knowing what people are like and Austin is a gentle person. He wouldn’t do anything to harm anybody—that’s what I think he’s like, anyway.”

  Elsa-May chuckled. “Quite fond of him, are you?”

  “I do like him, but not like that—not in a romantic way. He’s just a friend. Oh, please don’t say anything to my vadder; he’s already so overprotective. He was there just after the argument. Thomas told him about it and he would’ve made it sound ten times worse.”

  “I won’t say anything. We had a vadder like that ourselves once. I was married with six kinner before he stopped being overprotective. It’s a wonder he allowed me to marry at all.”

  Ettie laughed at Elsa-May’s story. "Jah, I remember feeling the same way, like he'd always see me as a little girl."

  “I hope it doesn’t take that long before Dat stops watching me.” Thea gave a little laugh and then stopped abruptly and frowned. “I’m a little worried. What if Austin gets blamed for Thomas’ murder?

  Elsa-May shook her head. “That shouldn’t happen.”

  “But things like that do happen. My friend Bessie said that he might get blamed.”

  “Police have scientific ways of finding out who committed crimes in these modern days.”

  “I know that, Mrs. Lutz, but the detective who came to the house asking questions said they weren’t even sure how he died because Thomas was moved after he died.”

  “Who moved him?”

  “I don’t know. He just said the familye moved him. So he might mean his bruder because that’s who found him—I’m not sure.”

  “Try not to worry, Thea. You’re much too young to have those worry lines in your forehead,” Elsa-May said. “Another line or two on my face wouldn’t matter, but you’re far too young to have lines. Although I do think you're old enough to do away with the 'Mrs.' thing, and call us Elsa-May and Ettie.”

  Thea smiled and nodded, and then sipped from her teacup. It was good to be with the elderly sisters. Everything was calm in their house. Even the fluffy white dog curled up asleep in the corner of the room looked peaceful. The sisters made her feel that everything would turn out okay. She leaned back into the couch clutching her teacup and hoping it would be so.

  Chapter 7

  The next day Ettie and Elsa-May went to visit the Strongbergs, Thomas’ parents. The funeral was still a few days away, until relations who lived in different communities had time to get there.

  When they knocked on their door with a chicken casserole in Ettie's hands, the door was opened by Thomas’ younger sister, who called out to her parents, invited the sisters into the living room, and then disappeared into the kitchen with the casserole.

  The gurgle of the water heating on the stove soon filtered into the living room.

  Soon they were joined by Thomas’ parents, Wilma and Samuel.

  After getting through the mandatory pleasantries and some uncomfortable pauses, Elsa-May asked, “How are both of you coping?”

  “We know where he is, so that gives us some comfort,” Wilma said.

  “So, he got baptized?” Ettie asked knowing that if he hadn’t been baptized, they would be uncertain about his place in the hereafter.

  Wilma gasped.

  Samuel put a hand on Wilma’s shoulder. “He was baptized shortly after he came back to us.”

  Their daughter sat down with them. “Mrs. Lutz and Mrs. Smith brought us a chicken casserole.”

  “How kind, denke. Becky, would you make us some tea?”

  “Jah, I’ve just put the pot on the stove.”

  When Becky went out of the room again, Wilma said, “We don’t know what happened to him and that’s a horrible thing. We don’t know if someone took his life or whether he just fell.”

  Samuel said, “He’s g
one and that’s all that should matter.”

  “Nee, if someone killed him, someone else might get killed too,” Wilma said. “And if he was killed, why would someone do that?”

  “Surely there would be no reason for him to be killed?” Ettie asked.

  “There’s no reason,” Samuel said. “He more than likely fell. Roy said that the ladder was across his body as he lay there. It’s more than likely he fell even though it seems hard to work out why he would’ve fallen and how the fall would’ve killed him.”

  “I heard that Roy moved him, or that someone did after he died. Do you know why?”

  Samuel nodded. “Roy tried to revive him but to no avail. He was gone. Wilma and I arrived home and Roy came out of the barn to tell us what had happened. We didn’t want him to lie there in the barn alone, so we moved him into the house. The police weren’t too happy about that when they arrived.”

  “Who called the police?”

  “They came automatically when we called the funeral director, and so did the paramedics.”

  Wilma shook her head. “We have no experience in these things. We didn’t know the proper things to do. How would we know we weren’t supposed to touch anything? It was the last thing on our minds that someone might have killed our son.”

  Samuel said, “He was one fine young man. He never ever fainted or felt dizzy, or anything like that. He was healthy and he steered clear of booze. And he’s been up there hundreds of times to that loft—if not thousands of times. I can’t think who’d have reason to want him dead, but neither am I convinced he fell.”

  “We’ve gone over it and over it a million times and we can’t work it out,” Wilma said.

  “I understand. It is all very peculiar. Sorry for asking silly questions, burdening you over your loss,” Ettie said.

  “The police have been here, and detectives. I think they feel there’s more to things than Thomas falling,” Wilma said.

  “Well, whatever happened, whoever did what—my son died. And whoever had a hand in that will have to face his maker one day and give an account.” Samuel clenched his jaw and Ettie knew he was doing his best to stop the tears that were forming in his eyes.

  Wilma touched his arm gently.

  “I suppose you’ve heard rumors that there was an argument at the farmers market involving Thomas?” Elsa-May asked.

  “Jah, we heard,” Wilma said. “I think that’s what’s got everyone thinking there’s more to this than Thomas falling.”

  “Could he have met some people on his rumspringa who might have disagreed with him over something?” Ettie asked.

  * * *

  “He was aware of who to spend time with, and who to avoid. He didn’t go to the clubs, pubs or the like—he was bored by that stuff! He was not that into baseball or other sports either. So he never got into fights, really. He preferred working in the orchard, waking up early, going to the market, taking care of the livestock, and he recently started his roofing business. Look, if we had any idea, we would tell you just like we would’ve told the police.”

  “How about love?” asked Elsa-May with a faint smile.

  “Love?”

  “Jah, love. Did he have any love interests?”

  “Well, we know he liked Thea, but it was far from a relationship.”

  “They say he had an argument with a boy from the market over Thea,” Ettie said.

  “Roy heard the men argue at the market,” Samuel said.

  “They both probably were fond of young Thea,” Wilma said in a soft voice suddenly joining the conversation. “I know Thomas was fond of her.”

  Elsa-May carefully continued, “Well… love is a battlefield, says one of the Englischers’ songs, or so I’m told.”

  It suddenly clicked with Ettie that Samuel said something odd. “Roy was there, at the market, too?”

  “Jah, that’s right, but he described it as boys bickering. One jealous guy was barking at another. Besides…” Samuel hesitated.

  “Besides…?” asked Elsa-May quizzically after the pause got longish.

  “Besides, my son was a big man. He wouldn’t have been easy to overpower.”

  Ettie wanted to point out that if his son had been hit over the head, Thomas’ height or physical strength wouldn’t have mattered, but good sense told her to keep silent. The picture in her mind was too grisly. It seemed Thomas’ parents knew nothing, but Roy seemed always to be about. He was there at the market and he also found the body.

  “How is Roy?” Ettie asked.

  “He’s upset, naturally. It was awful for him finding Thomas like he did.”

  “That day, did Thomas go home with Roy—did they travel back here together?”

  Samuel shook his head. “You’d have to ask Roy that. We don’t know how Thomas got home, or how Roy came to be here at that moment.”

  Ettie gave Elsa-May a sideways glance and knew they were thinking the same thing. Their next stop had to be a talk with Roy. Was it merely a coincidence that he witnessed the argument and then found his brother’s body as well?

  While riding back to their house in a taxi, Ettie said, “They didn’t know anything.”

  “Nee, we’ll have to find Roy.”

  “Shall we wait until the funeral?”

  “I think that’s the best idea. We don’t want to make a special trip to his haus since we’ve never visited him before now.”

  Ettie blew out a deep breath.

  “Are you okay?”

  Ettie whispered so that the taxi driver wouldn’t overhear, “Yeah, fine. I'll feel better once we find out what the police think about why he died.”

  Elsa-May whispered back, “The coroner will make his report soon.”

  “And until then, we perhaps shouldn’t ask too many questions.”

  Elsa-May nodded. “I think you’re right for once, Ettie.”

  Ettie turned and stared at her sister, thinking perhaps she was joking, but her eyes remained looking to the front and her face was deadpan.

  Chapter 8

  At the market the next day, Thea was concerned about the mounting rumors surrounding Austin, and then she was even more concerned when he hadn’t shown up for work an hour and more past his usual opening time.

  When her father came to collect her from work at the end of the day, she told him she wanted to visit friends and would come home later. Thankfully, he nodded and asked no questions.

  Thea had found out from someone at the market where Austin lived and soon after she stood at the front door of his apartment and rang the doorbell. Her boot tapped nervously on the mat outside the door. She bit her lip and suddenly hoped he wouldn’t answer, and then a second later she prayed that he would.

  The door opened just a crack and she could see part of Austin’s face.

  “C’min,” he murmured after a while, leaving the door open and withdrawing into the dark behind him.

  Thea cautiously tiptoed inside and was overwhelmed by the odor of stale beer. She stepped over the clumps of things lying everywhere and followed him to the couch where she sat down. He lit a cigarette and took up the controller of a game console, and continued with his game.

  After a while, he spoke. “If you want anything, go take it. There’s beer in the fridge, and OJ.”

  “I’m okay.” Thea sat silently for a few minutes, watching his game as Austin made his way through waves of space monsters jumping out from behind trees in a colorful forest.

  He suddenly stopped and turned off the game and stared at her. “Why are you here, Thea? I hope your dad didn’t follow you here, or I’ll be in all kinds of trouble. More trouble than I’m probably already in.”

  “I’m worried about you, that’s all.”

  “Why? Is it because everyone thinks I caused Thomas’ death? I hope the coppers don’t think I did it! Because that good-for-nothing lunatic chose that very moment, minutes after our argument to freaking walk off from the roof of his barn so skillfully that he was able to kill himself from a twelve foot fall!�
�� He wasn’t making much sense at all and his speech was slurred.

  “Why weren’t you at work today?”

  “Why? Because if I’m going to be arrested, I don’t want it to happen where so many people can see it.” Austin jumped off his threadbare couch and stormed into the kitchen.

  Thea pulled her legs up and hugged them. A tear trickled silently down her face, and she heard the hiss of a beer bottle opening.

  He lurched back, putting a beer bottle under Thea’s nose without asking anything, and slammed back into the couch, hugging his bottle. He took up his cigarette packet, shook out another cigarette and lit it. Thea wasn’t fond of beer and left the one that he’d meant for her sitting in front of her.

  He drew in the smoke and slowly exhaled. “What was his problem anyway?”

  She knew he was referring to Thomas. “I don’t know. He wasn’t always like that. Something seemed to be eating away at him lately.”

  “He was horrible.”

  “He wasn’t. You didn’t know Thomas like I did.”

  “Do you believe that he died accidently?”

  “Yes. I guess so. There’s no reason to believe otherwise. I don’t think you did it if that’s what you’re asking.”

  He scoffed and tapped the ash of his cigarette into the top of one of the several empty beer bottles on the coffee table. “That’s a relief. How did the rumor get around that I had anything to do with it?”

  “I think because people at the market heard the argument you had with him just before he died.”

  “I figured that. Coppers listen to things like that. That’s why I just hung out here today. I could be facing life or the electric chair because of that idiot,” he said in a hoarse tone. “I could see the way people were looking at me yesterday. I didn’t want to go through that again today.”

  “You’re not going to jail. You’re innocent, and they don’t have anything against you. So you can just… get yourself together and quit whining.” She stood up. There was no use staying. He looked like he’d been drinking all day and he probably wouldn’t even remember she’d come there.