Amish Barn Murders

by Samantha Price

  “Where are we going?” Elsa-May asked.

  “Didn’t he tell you?”

  “Who tell us?” Ettie asked.

  “Simkiss.”

  “No, he told me nothing.”

  “Thea’s ready to talk and she’ll only talk if you’re in the room, Mrs. Smith.”

  “Okay. Just as well we came when we did.”

  Kelly drew his eyebrows together, turned back around and continued walking. He turned to his right, heading into a room. “Sit anywhere you like. I’ll have them fetch Thea.”

  Ettie and Elsa-May waited a few minutes until a uniformed police officer brought Thea into the room in handcuffs. Ettie stared at her, barely recognizing her. She was wearing no prayer kapp and her fair long hair fell down way past her waist, and a baggy orange jumpsuit encapsulated her.

  “Hello, Ettie.” Thea then glanced over to the back of the room. “Hi, Elsa-May.” When the ladies said hello back to her, she managed a smile. Looking down at the brightly colored jumpsuit, she explained, “My clothes got dirty and this is all they could give me.”

  “She’s not going to run off anywhere, Detective. Are those handcuffs really necessary?” Elsa-May asked Kelly.

  “No, they are not.” Kelly gave a nod for the officer to take the handcuffs off Thea's wrists.

  Once she was free of the cuffs, the officer took her by the arm and guided her to a chair.

  “This is going to be recorded, Thea. And right up there is a video camera which will tape the conversation.” Detective Kelly pointed up high to the camera in the corner of the room.

  “Okay,” she said.

  Detective Kelly reached up and fiddled with the equipment and then there were some back and forth technical conversations about the audio equipment with someone in another room.

  “Are you sure we’re allowed to be here?” Ettie asked.

  “She can have someone with her when she’s being interviewed, Mrs. Smith, so if it makes Thea more comfortable with you asking the questions, or her speaking with you, I’m okay with that.”

  “Thank you,” Thea said to the detective.

  “Just relax,” Elsa-May said to Thea from her chair at the back of the room.

  Thea blew out a deep breath. “I’ll try.”

  The phone in the room buzzed and Kelly picked it up. “Yeah?” After a small silence, he continued in an angry tone. “No, they’re not there because they’re here already.” He hung up the phone and looked at Ettie and Elsa-May. “You two just happened to come here just now, without you knowing I wanted you here?”

  “Yes, we came by taxi,” Ettie said.

  Elsa-May added, “To speak with Thea.”

  Detective Kelly scowled and muttered something under his breath. “Okay, we’re all set,” Kelly finally said when he'd sat next to Ettie and opposite Thea. “What can you tell Mrs. Smith about what happened, Thea?”

  She took her gaze from the detective, swallowed hard and looked at Ettie. “I’m certain that Thomas was hiding something in the barn. And I thought it was probably drugs because I don’t know what else it could’ve been.”

  “Did he tell you he was hiding something?”

  “He told me he was mixed up in something that he couldn’t get out of. He was doing a favor for someone. Those were his exact words.”

  “What else did he say?”

  Thea looked down at the table.

  “Thea, if you know something you should say so now. Austin’s in trouble, too, and if you know he’s innocent, anything you tell the detective could help him.”

  “Okay. Austin had nothing to do with anything. I was the one who talked him into going to the barn with me. He didn’t even want to. I had the idea that Thomas might have been hiding drugs for his old friends or his brother.”

  “His brother, Roy?”

  “Yes. Thomas told me that he hid drugs in the house once and Roy found them and took them away. Thomas first thought that Roy destroyed them and then he thought that Roy might have kept them or sold them.”

  “Why would he think Roy sold them? Surely he was trying to protect his younger brother.”

  Thea shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m just saying what Thomas told me. He didn’t say why he thought that. But Thomas was in trouble when he couldn’t give the drugs back to them and he got into things deeper and had a dreadful trouble getting out of it. They made him work for them.”

  “So he was guilty,” Kelly murmured to himself.

  “He was scared of them.”

  “Thea, do you know the man in the barn, or had you ever seen him before?” Ettie asked.

  “I’m certain I saw him once before when Thomas was on rumspringa. He came to the market with a couple of friends and I’m sure one of them was Bart. The detective showed me a photo of Bart. It was too dark in the barn to see what he looked like.”

  Ettie looked at Kelly. “Thea and Austin were just a couple of innocent kids in a barn. Do you really think they’re killers?”

  “This is the first time Thea has talked about all of this, and I can’t get a word out of Austin. If Austin talks and his story matches, I could see my way clear to dropping the charges.”

  “Where do we go from here?” Ettie asked.

  “I’ll get some sniffer dogs out to the barn first thing tomorrow. If there were drugs hidden there at any time, they’ll pick up the scent.”

  “Good!” Ettie said. “Now, Thea, can you think of anything else that might be of help to the detective regarding Thomas, or anything else about Roy?”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “All I know is that Thomas didn’t trust Roy.”

  When the interview was over, Thea was taken back to her cell.

  * * *

  “It’s odd that they spent Thomas’ last day together, then,” Kelly said as he walked out to the entrance of the police station with Ettie and Elsa-May.

  “Or did he?” Ettie asked. “We only have Roy’s word on that. Did anyone see them together at the market? All we know for certain is that Roy was the one to find Thomas’ body. You could speak to Roy’s wife to see if that story he told us about him going to get meat for her at the market was true.”

  Kelly nodded. “I’ll do that. I’m surprised that you’re not defending Roy. You normally are defensive of anyone who’s Amish.”

  “I’m just trying to get to the bottom of things,” Ettie said.

  “Do you think Thea and Austin can go home now?” Elsa-May asked.

  “I’ll see if Austin will talk and we’ll go from there. I’m not making any promises.”

  Ettie and Elsa-May left the police station and went to get something for dinner on the way home. While they were in the market, they wandered past Austin and Thea’s side-by-side stalls.

  Elsa-May walked to Austin’s stall and picked up a jar of honey.

  A lady came over to her, and said, “It’s the best honey in the area.”

  “Where’s it from exactly?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Whose stall is this?” Elsa-May was trying to get information.

  “It belongs to my brother, Austin.”

  “And you don’t know where your brother’s hives are?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Doesn’t it have to be far away from pesticides and such to be labeled as organic?”

  “I’m not certain about that.”

  “Who collects the honey? Is it your brother, or does someone else do it?”

  The girl looked annoyed and took the jar out of Elsa-May’s hands. “Look, it’s just honey. It’s basically sugar.”

  Ettie wandered over to stand next to Elsa-May. “It’s nice of you to look after your brother’s stall. Gone on vacation, has he?”

  “Yep.”

  Elsa-May continued, “I’m interested in the honey because I only like the honey that is made in the local area.”

  “I’m sorry I don’t know where it’s made.”

  Elsa-May looked over at a box behind the girl. She saw a tin
of honey with a white and sky-blue label. She knew it was cheap honey that the supermarket-chain store sold. “That’s a shame. How long has your brother sold the honey here at the market?”

  “Not long. Do you want a jar?”

  “No, thank you,” Elsa-May said.

  Ettie and Elsa-May walked away and Elsa-May said to Ettie, “I saw a huge tin of honey—the cheapest honey you can buy from the large supermarket stores. Don’t you think that’s odd?”

  “I do. What part of it was odd?”

  “They sell organic honey, so what are they doing with that tin of honey?”

  “Was it out in the open?”

  “It was in a box and it was partly showing. I recognized the label. You know how I like my honey. And she doesn’t know where Austin has his hives. I would’ve thought he would take some kind of satisfaction in his honey production. Surely he would’ve talked to his sister about it and especially since she’s helping him out on the stall. That struck me as odd.”

  “Are you thinking he might be guilty of something after all? Thea said it was her idea to go to the barn that night and he didn’t want to go. We both know that Thea is innocent.”

  “Yes, and Thea is convinced Austin is innocent.”

  “Let’s get something to eat and go home. Too much thinking is making my head ache.”

  “Good idea.”

  Chapter 20

  The next morning, Detective Kelly was at Elsa-May and Ettie’s house early.

  “I thought you’d like to know that last night Austin and Thea were released.”

  “Oh good!”

  “What made you decide to do that?” Elsa-May asked.

  “Once Austin found out that Thea had talked he decided to talk too. He told us the exact same story that Thea gave us about why they were there and how they came to be there. Thea coming to his apartment and talking him into it etc., etc.”

  Ettie heaved a sigh of relief. “That poor girl. I’d say she would’ve been glad to get home.”

  “Well, that leaves us with no suspects. We’ve got the dogs going to the barn today. I’ll be there to see if there have been any drugs there.”

  “Good.”

  “I also talked with Roy’s wife after you two left yesterday.”

  “You went to Roy’s house?”

  “Yes, and thankfully he wasn’t home from work at that time, so I was able to talk with his wife by herself. She didn’t know anything about Roy going anywhere with Thomas on the day he died. Of course, I didn’t tell her what Roy’s story had been. She said he went out in the afternoon and that’s when he found Thomas’ body in the barn. That’s all she knew. From her point of view, Roy wouldn’t have had time to go anywhere with Thomas, and she admits that the brothers didn’t get along.”

  “And she had no problem speaking with you?”

  “No. She said she’d answer anything if it would help us with our investigations.”

  “That’s good,” Elsa-May said.

  Ettie wondered if she should mention their conversation with Austin’s sister at the market. None of it made sense to them, so she decided to keep it up her sleeve for the moment.

  He glanced at his watch. “We have the dogs going out to the Strongberg’s at twelve.”

  “So Wilma Strongberg has seen no more lights in the barn?”

  “I’ll find out today when I go over there,” Kelly said.

  Thea was glad to get back to the market and be back in her normal routine. Her father wasn’t too happy about Austin being under suspicion, but when Thea and the officer had explained everything to him, he calmed down.

  “How was it for you in jail?” Austin asked her as she was setting up for the day.

  She looked over to see him smiling. “I didn’t see you anywhere. There was no one in the other cells.”

  “I must’ve been over on the other side. They have two blocks of holding cells.”

  “It was dreadful. That bed was so hard and I got no sleep. They wouldn’t even give me anything to read. All I did was count the bricks. I’m sorry to drag you into things. You didn’t want to go with me, so I should’ve just gone by myself.”

  “It was my decision to go. Besides, if you were by yourself, you would’ve found the body by yourself and that would’ve been awful.”

  “That’s true, but I’m sorry you were in jail because of me.”

  He waved a hand in the air. “Don’t worry about that. I got to reconnect with my sister. She looked after the stall while I was away.”

  Thea looked into Austin’s kind brown eyes. “I feel better that some good came out of it.”

  “It’s best to look on the bright side of things.”

  “I guess so. I’ll try to do that more often.”

  “How’s that bike going? I’ll still fix it if you want me to.”

  “That’s okay. Looks like I’ll be saving up for a new one. The old one was too far gone.” Thea didn’t want to tell Austin that her father threw her bike away as punishment. She missed the independence of having a bike like so many of the other young Amish people had.

  “Your father pays you for being at the stall doesn’t he?” Austin asked.

  “Yes, he does.”

  “It shouldn’t take too long to save up.” Austin continued to set up his display of honey.

  “I hope so. Are you finding that the stall here is working out for you? You seem to be busy.”

  “Yeah, it’s working just fine. I’m making a good amount of money. People like anything that’s labeled organic these days.”

  Some customers for Thea’s cheese came along, so she turned her attention to them. She still felt bad for involving Austin, but he genuinely didn’t seem to mind and wasn’t holding any kind of grudge. If only he were Amish, and then she might be interested in him romantically because had all the qualities she wanted in a man.

  That afternoon, Ettie and Elsa-May went into the station to find out if there had been any sign that drugs had been kept in the barn.

  Kelly was just on his way out of the station.

  “I don’t have too long. I’m following up on another lead.”

  “What is it?” Ettie asked.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t say at this stage. I can tell you that the dog handler said that the dogs found that there had been cash and drugs in the barn. There was a trapdoor at the end of the barn and it appears that the drugs and the cash were kept there. The dogs also picked up drugs in many other places around the barn. Which is odd and we’re still trying to work it all out.”

  “What are the chances that the dogs are wrong?” Elsa-May asked.

  “The dogs are never wrong. We’ve taken fingerprints of the trapdoor area and we’re waiting on those to come back.” He moved forward several steps. “I must go.”

  “We won’t hold you up.”

  Over his shoulder, he said, “Keep in touch.”

  Ettie nodded. “I wonder where he’s going.”

  “It’s strange that he didn’t tell us.”

  “I guess he can’t tell us everything. As it is, he probably lets us know a lot more than he should.”

  “We’ve come all this way into town for nothing.”

  “It would have been helpful if he told us what his lead was. Do you think it’s about the girl who was stalling Thomas?”

  “That’s ‘stalking,’ Elsa-May.”

  Elsa-May chuckled. “Stalking, then.”

  “It could be. Perhaps he’s found her. If only we had a car, then we could follow him.”

  Elsa-May laughed some more. “He’d never talk to us again if we did that. And he’d most likely have us arrested for doing it.”

  Ettie giggled. “You’re probably right. Let’s go home.”

  “Nee. Why don’t we go back to the address we have for Deanna Taylor? We can ask around the neighbors, see what they know.”

  “Elsa-May, her name wasn’t Deanna. It was Breanna.”

  Elsa-May shrugged. “I’m not doing well today. I should go back t
o bed and start this whole day over.”

  “Jah, it’s not like you to make so many mistakes.”

  “I’m not familiar with these names, that’s why. Now, do you remember Breanna’s address?”

  “I do.”

  “Let’s get a taxi.”

  “I’m right behind you.”

  Chapter 21

  Ettie started off by knocking on the door of Breanna’s apartment, hoping someone might be staying there who knew where Breanna was.

  A small young dark-haired woman dressed in an old blue robe answered the door. She looked as though she was half asleep.

  “Hello, we’re looking for Breanna Taylor. ” Ettie recognized the woman they saw on the library computer.

  “I’m Breanna. What’s this about?”

  Ettie glanced at Elsa-May, pleased to have found her at last. “We are friends of Thomas Strongberg.”

  “Okay.” She stared at the two of them. “I don’t think I know anyone by that name.”

  “He’s dead now.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, but I don’t know him. Did someone say I knew him?”

  “His mother said you went to his house looking for him once.”

  “Was he Amish too?”

  “Yes.”

  “Ah, yes. That makes sense now. I did go looking for someone once and he was Amish. It could’ve been the person you were talking about.”

  Ettie frowned trying to work it out. “Why did you look for him and go to his house if you didn’t know him?”

  Breanna folded her arms across her chest and leaned on the doorframe. “Someone asked me to go fetch him. He didn’t meet someone where he was supposed to.”

  “You were never boyfriend and girlfriend?”

  “With the Amish man?”

  “Yes, with Thomas Strongberg.”

  She rubbed her nose. “I don’t know who told you that, but no. I don’t think I ever even met him. When I went to the house, his mother said he wasn’t there.”

  Elsa-May said, “Who asked you to go to his house?”

  “What’s this about?”

  “We can’t really say; we’re just trying to piece some things together.”