Amish Barn Murders

by Samantha Price

  “Who else knew about the money, Thea?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “When did you learn all this?”

  She blinked, as more tears fell. “Thomas told me and made me say I wouldn’t tell anyone. He was trying to get out of—trying to get away from all these people. He met them on rumspringa and he got involved in some bad things and then they wouldn’t let him go. He said they had got their hooks into him, but if I’d told someone, maybe Thomas would still be alive.”

  “You can’t think like that. It’ll do no one any good going over the past. Things happen exactly the way they’re meant to.”

  “Do you have any idea who could’ve killed him or Bart?”

  “Nee, but probably one of the people who were organizing everything. I thought the organizer might have been Bart because of the hidden money, but I guess it wasn’t. And he was still in jail until after Thomas died.” Thea looked over her shoulder. “I should go. Dat will want to be getting home.”

  “Will you be okay?”

  “Jah, I’ll be fine. Denke for listening to me. My parents don’t know any of what I’ve told you. Dat knows about Austin turning himself in and that’s all.”

  * * *

  Later that night, Kelly knocked on the door of Elsa-May and Ettie's haus.

  “You raced out of here at top speed last night. What did you find out?” Ettie asked the detective as he walked to a chair in the living room.

  After he had sat down, he breathed out heavily. “There were drugs in some of the honey jars that were in some of the boxes. I got a team organized for a raid and when we got there, Austin was back at the station turning himself in. He must’ve gotten a tip-off and decided to turn himself in rather than run.”

  “How would he have known you were coming after him?”

  He shook his head. “These things have a way of leaking sometimes. I’ll be looking into it, don’t you worry.”

  Elsa-May placed her knitting in her lap. Looking over her thin-rimmed glasses, she asked, “Who killed Thomas and the other man? Do you know that yet?”

  “Naturally, Austin denies he had anything to do with the deaths. Strangely enough, he also denied knowing anything about the money, but we have a deposit in his account of just under twenty thousand dollars.”

  “How did he explain that?” Ettie asked.

  “He can’t. He claims he had no knowledge of it.”

  “Can anyone put the money into his account?”

  “Yes, that’s the thing, you see. The money was paid into the bank by a person. It wasn’t transferred by electronically. We’re looking at the bank’s security footage tomorrow morning. We’ll soon find out who paid the money into his bank account. If it’s not him, he’s not off the hook for the murders.”

  “If it is him, it doesn’t mean he is responsible.”

  “I’m well aware of that, Mrs. Lutz.”

  “We’re about to have dinner. I’m afraid it’s only pea and ham soup tonight, with rolls that Elsa-May made this morning. Would you care to join us?”

  “I’d love to. Thank you.”

  During dinner, Detective Kelly said something surprising. “I’d like you both to come to the station tomorrow and look at that bank footage. There’s a chance you might be able to identify the person if it’s someone from your community.”

  “Do you think it might be?” Elsa-May asked.

  “I’ve got no reason to believe so, but just in case it is, it would save time if both of you were there. An Amish man was killed and his brother still has a question mark hanging over his head. We’re not certain that Roy Strongberg is telling us the truth about everything. They were in direct opposition to each other.”

  “It wouldn’t make sense for the killer to put the money in Austin’s account, would it?”

  “It could if they want to make Austin appear guilty.”

  “Surely they would be aware that banks have security cameras these days.”

  Kelly nodded. “We’ll know more when we see the footage.”

  Ettie sat there eating her soup, careful not to slurp from the spoon. The sound of slurping irritated Elsa-May and she didn’t want to be reprimanded in front of the detective.

  “This is delicious,” he said after a couple of spoonfuls.

  “Thank you,” Ettie said.

  “I made the bread, but usually Ettie makes the bread. She’s so much better at it than I. I like to keep my hand in every so often so that I don’t forget how to make it.” Elsa-May chuckled.

  The detective broke off a piece of bread. “Mind if I dunk?”

  “Eat it how you wish,” Elsa-May said.

  “How about slurping?” Ettie suggested.

  “Everything is acceptable except for that.”

  “Unfair.” Ettie placed another spoonful of soup into her mouth while Kelly gave a laugh.

  “I’ll try not to slurp,” he said. “Although, I believe in Japan it’s a compliment to the chef to slurp your noodles. It shows it’s so delicious that you can’t wait for it to cool down. I’ve never been to Japan, but it’s on my bucket list—when work slows down. Maybe when I retire.”

  “You’re not planning on retiring soon, are you? Detective Crowley finds it hard to fill in the time. I’m certain he misses his work,” Elsa-May said.

  “No. You’ll have me around for a little longer. I’m not sure in what culture dunking bread in soup is acceptable.”

  Elsa-May chuckled. “It’s acceptable in our house.”

  After dinner, they sat in the living room. Detective Kelly had refused an after dinner cup of coffee or a cup of hot tea.

  “Who are your suspects so far?” Ettie asked the detective.

  “We’re still looking into the person who made the anonymous call. Tomorrow we should also have the phone records from the phone in the Strongberg’s barn. We’ll be able to see who Thomas was calling.”

  “What call was that?” Elsa-May dropped her knitting into her lap.

  “You said there was an anonymous call?” Ettie asked.

  “There was an anonymous call made informing us of Thomas’ death. It was a male voice and it was made from the public phone closest to the Strongberg house.”

  “You never told us that,” Ettie said. “The Strongberg’s thought the funeral director informed the police and the paramedics.”

  “I thought you knew about that call,” he said.

  Ettie and Elsa-May shook their heads.

  “It was from a man and the voice was muffled as though he were trying to disguise his voice.”

  “No, we never knew that. Roy told us they didn’t think to call the police because Thomas fell off a ladder and then he said the police weren’t too happy that they weren’t called.”

  “But it appears they were called, but not by Roy,” Elsa-May added.

  “On that mysterious note, I’ll say goodnight.” Kelly rose to his feet.

  “Don’t you have any idea who called?”

  Kelly smirked. “Not a clue. Perhaps you’d care to listen to the call when you’re at the station tomorrow?”

  “If you think it could help, we will.”

  “There’s a chance you could recognize the voice. I can’t think why I didn’t mention it to you.”

  “I suppose there was a lot going on.”

  “Are you sure it was a man’s voice?” Elsa-May asked.

  “Quite sure,” Detective Kelly said while walking to the door. He turned around and said, “I’ll send a car for you tomorrow morning to save you getting a taxi.”

  “Thank you,” Elsa-May said.

  Ettie and Elsa-May stood at the front door and watched Kelly get into his car.

  After he had driven away, Ettie said, “You might as well let Snowy back in.”

  “Jah, he’ll be wondering what he did to be shut out for so long.”

  Ettie giggled. The detective didn’t like Snowy and Snowy didn’t seem to know it because he’d taken a liking to the detective, which he demonstrated by
continually scratching at his legs.

  Elsa-May leaned down and unlatched the dog door and Snowy was in like a shot. He ran around sniffing everywhere Detective Kelly had been.

  “He’s gone,” Elsa-May said.

  Snowy looked up into Elsa-May’s face and, as though he could understand, he slowly walked over to his dog bed in the corner of the living room and made himself comfortable.

  Ettie sat down on the couch. “I wonder who could’ve made that phone call.”

  “And who could’ve put the money in Austin’s account, and why?”

  “I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”

  “We could find out who deposited the money, but it’s going to be harder to find out who made that call.”

  “Hopefully, one will lead the detective to the other.”

  Chapter 23

  By nine in the morning, Ettie and Elsa-May were ready and waiting for the police car to collect them. Detective Kelly hadn't given them a precise time; he’d only said he’d send a car in the morning. Now it was ten o’clock.

  “Do you think he forgot?” Elsa-May asked.

  “Nee, it’s not likely that he forgot.”

  “He’s most likely getting things organized, I suppose. There, that sounds like a car now.” Elsa-May walked to the window and looked out. “It’s not a police car, but the driver is one of the plainclothes policemen from the station.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Ettie and Elsa-May headed out to the car.

  * * *

  Once they arrived at the station, the policeman led them into a room where they found Detective Kelly seated, and on the wall was a flat screen television.

  “Have a seat,” Kelly said.

  The policeman left them with Kelly, and both sisters sat down at the table.

  “Are you ready?”

  Seeing that the detective had a peculiar look on his face, Ettie asked, “Have you already watched it?”

  “I have, and it’ll be a good thing you’re sitting down.”

  Detective Kelly picked up a remote control and played the tape. Ettie and Elsa-May stared at the screen.

  “What are we supposed to be seeing?” Elsa-May asked.

  “Wait. It’s coming up in just a minute,” he replied.

  Then, as plain as day they saw an Amish woman enter the bank with a bag in her hand. On looking closer, they both gasped.

  “It’s Thea!” Ettie said.

  The detective pressed the button and switched off the tape. “Yes. Thea deposited money into Austin’s account.”

  “Why?” Elsa-May asked. “What does Thea have to do with all this nasty business?”

  “That’s what we’re about to find out.”

  “What do you mean?” Ettie asked.

  “We’re bringing her in for questioning. She’ll be here soon.”

  Ettie put her hand to her forehead. What had Thea gotten herself into?

  * * *

  Thea was at the market busily serving customers when she saw two stern-looking police officers coming her way.

  “We’ll need you to come with us,” one of them said.

  “Why?” She looked around wishing she had someone with her. Austin was gone and her father had long since gone after bringing her to the market early in the morning. “I haven’t done anything,” she added for good measure.

  The customers she had at the stall had quickly dispersed with the appearance of the police.

  “Come with us,” he repeated.

  “I can’t leave my stall.”

  “Can you call someone to watch it while you’re gone.”

  A lady from a nearby stall stepped closer and called out, “Are you okay, Thea?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay, Beth-Ann. I’m going to have to close my stall for a few hours. Can you keep an eye on it, so nothing goes missing?”

  “Sure. I’ll do my best.”

  “Thank you.” Thea looked at the police. “I’ll just need to put a cover over.” She reached behind her and got a large covering and flipped it across the stall. It was the same covering she used when she needed a bathroom break during the day. That had to be better than having her father come back into town and look after the stall for her. Then there was a chance he’d make a scene and refuse to allow her to answer any questions.

  Once Thea arrived at the station, she was shown into a room where the detective sat behind a table. A large flat screen television was on the wall.

  “Good morning, Thea.”

  “Good morning, Detective. What is this all about? Didn’t I answer all your questions before?”

  “Why don’t we talk after I play this?”

  When Thea sat down, the two policemen who had driven her there left the room.

  Thea watched the bank tape and saw herself deposit the money into the bank.

  Kelly stopped the tape with the remote control and then placed the remote on the table in front of him and stared at Thea.

  After a long silence, the detective finally spoke. “Well?”

  “What is the question?”

  He breathed out heavily, obviously annoyed. “Why did you deposit that large sum of money into Austin’s account?”

  “It was Austin’s account?”

  The detective nodded.

  “I didn’t know whose account it was. All I knew were the numbers. There was no name on the paper.”

  “What were you doing with that money? Where did you get it?”

  “Thomas said if anything ever happened to him I was to put the money into that account. He made me promise.”

  “Did you have the money in your possession?”

  “I got it out of the barn. Thomas told me where it was hidden.”

  “Don’t say any more.” He flipped a couple of switches on a camera on the wall until a red light came on. “I’m going to be recording you now.”

  “Okay.”

  “Would you like anyone to be present with you? Or would you like a lawyer?”

  “No. It’s okay.”

  “I have Ettie and Elsa-May here.”

  “No. It’s all right. I’ll speak with you.”

  Once the recording was underway, Kelly went over the same questions, and then he asked, “When did you get the cash from the barn?”

  “The day of the funeral. I slipped into the barn when everyone was viewing Thomas’ body in the house.”

  “Did Thomas say why he wanted you to put the money in that particular account?”

  “No, and I didn’t ask why. I had no idea it was Austin’s account. All I had on the piece of paper were numbers of the account and no name.”

  “But you knew you were doing wrong, didn’t you?”

  “I knew Thomas was into some bad stuff, but I didn’t know exactly what.”

  “When you knew Thomas had that amount of cash you must’ve realized that it came from some kind of crime.”

  “Not really, no. How would I know that? I didn’t. He could’ve saved it from working hard. He had just started his own business and was doing really well.”

  “Mostly people leave a will. They don’t have people promise to put the money in someone’s account.”

  Thea shrugged. “That’s all I know. I don’t know where the money came from, or where it was going to. He was my friend and he asked me for a favor, and I said yes. When I agreed to do it, I never even dreamed I’d have to actually do anything. I thought he was being silly. Do you think he knew someone was going to kill him?”

  “I’m the one asking the questions here, Thea.”

  “Okay.” Thea glanced at the camera on the wall wondering who would end up watching her recording.

  “Why did you keep this from me when you were questioned last?”

  “I didn’t want to get into trouble. I couldn’t see how it would help you find who killed him.”

  “Do you have any idea why Thomas would want the money put into Austin’s account?”

  Thea shook her head. The only thing she could think of was that Austin mi
ght have agreed to hold it for Bart, but now Bart was dead, leaving Austin with the money. She bit the inside of her lip, not wanting to think Austin had done anything wrong. The involvement with drugs was too much already.

  “Can I go back to my stall now? I really don’t want my father to know I was questioned and if I don’t make enough money today, he’ll know something’s wrong.”

  Kelly breathed out heavily. “Okay. Interview’s over, but I might need to speak with you again. I’ll have your statement typed out and as soon as you sign it, I’ll have someone drive you back to the market.”

  “Thank you.”

  Chapter 24

  While waiting for the statement to be typed, Thea was directed to the waiting area where she saw Ettie and Elsa-May.

  “What are you two doing here?”

  “Kelly wanted us to come in and see who deposited money into Austin’s account. We had no idea it was going to be you.”

  Thea nodded and told them everything she knew. She was then called to an interview room where she read through her statement and signed it before she was driven back to the market.

  * * *

  “Why did Kelly want us to wait here?”

  “More questions, I guess,” Ettie said. "And he asked about us listening to the phone call recording."

  “It’s pointing to Austin, I’m afraid. They must’ve been in it together, the three of them.”

  “Maybe Bart was the leader. He told Thomas if anything happened to him he was to put the money in Austin’s account.”

  “Jah, Ettie, but why put it into an account, why not just pass the cash on to Austin?”

  “Good point, Elsa-May. That would make more sense. It’s almost as though someone wanted Austin to look guilty. If there was money laundering going on, they wouldn’t want to have to explain a large amount of money going into an account.”