* * *
By the time Ettie paid for the vegetables and meat and got back to Ava’s buggy, Elsa-May had arranged for Ava to drive them to speak with Titus the very next day.
Chapter 7
Ava stopped the buggy under a shade tree at Titus’s house. It had been a long drive, as the Kings' farm was on the outskirts of the community. “You two go in and I'll stay here and rest.”
“Are you sure?” Ettie asked.
“Mm-hmm. I don't mind sitting here. Take your time; don't rush on my account.”
Ettie sat still and looked over at the well-cared-for house. “Titus and his wife mainly keep to themselves, don’t they?”
“That’s right, now that you mention it,” Elsa-May said.
“Off you go,” Ava said, shooing them away with hand gestures.
Elsa-May chuckled as she got down from the buggy. When they knocked on the door, Titus's wife, Sarah, opened it. She looked surprised to see them. They’d never visited her before, and it was too small a house to host Sunday meetings.
“Hello. Come in.” She opened the door wider and smiled. Then she looked over at the buggy. “Is that Ava in the buggy?
“Jah. She's not feeling very energetic these days.”
“She's around seven months along now, you know,” Elsa-May added.
“Oh, could I take anything out to her?”
“She should be fine. We just came to see if we might have a quick word with Titus, if he's here.”
“Of course. He was working around the back. I'll see where he is now. Take a seat in here.” She showed them to a small living room.
The curtains were drawn over the two small windows, leaving the room quite dim. Elsa-May sat and her eyes traveled to a framed cross-stitched sampler on the wall. She unhooked the glasses from her apron and popped them on the end of her nose. “Faith, Hope and Charity.” The words were intertwined with vines. Ettie was looking closely at the sampler, wondering how long it had taken for someone to sew it, when Titus walked into the room.
“Hello, ladies. What can I do for you?”
Ettie pushed herself to her feet.
“Sit down, Ettie,” Sarah said, as she came in right behind her husband. “I'll get us some hot tea.”
“We don’t need anything,” Elsa-May said, “Unless you’re getting something for yourselves.”
“Nee, we’re fine.”
As Titus sat on the couch opposite to the ladies, Sarah said, “Do you want to talk to my husband about something personal, or of a private nature?”
“Not at all. You're certainly welcome to be here.”
Sarah sat down, and Elsa-May continued, “We’re here about Nell’s … well, we’re here about Jedidiah Shoneberger.”
“His disappearance,” Ettie added.
Titus scratched the side of his cheek, and then squirmed in his seat. “What is it about his disappearance?”
Elsa-May looked directly at Titus. “We're wondering if you had any ideas where he might have gone.”
“I was just as amazed by his disappearance as everybody else in the community. I have no idea what was going through his mind or why he left.”
“According to Nell, you were one of the last people to see him.”
“Was I?”
Elsa-May nodded. “That's right.”
“I probably was. I was helping him at the cottage.”
Ettie asked, “Doing what?”
“He wanted everything to be perfect before they got married. I think he had his head somewhere up in the clouds because there was too much to be done, far too much in the timeframe he had. The place was in a dreadful state. He wanted the haus and the garden both perfect. I told him it would have to be one or the other. I mean, a garden doesn’t grow overnight. It made more sense to work on the haus.”
“Quite right.” Elsa-May nodded.
“Nell told me how she and Jedidiah used to walk past the place when they were younger and how much she admired the large pink and red roses. Then the place changed hands and was unlived in and unloved for years. I guess Jedidiah wanted Nell to have everything she’d ever wanted,” Sarah said. “And have it all perfect.” When Titus turned and frowned at her, she said, “Oh, well that’s what it sounded like from what she told me. I never met him. I’m just going on what you told me, Titus, and what Nell told me.”
Elsa-May asked, “Was he working in the garden or inside the cottage?”
“He took my advice and worked inside, mostly, after that.”
“Was there anybody who was annoyed with him at the time?” Ettie asked.
He clicked his tongue. “I can't think of anybody who was ever annoyed with him. He got along with everyone.”
“What about anybody who wished him harm?” Ettie frowned when she realized that was probably the same thing, but then she looked at Titus to see what he’d say.
He was silent for a moment, squirmed again a little as though his chair wasn't quite comfortable, and then he shook his head.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t like a cup of tea or something? I do feel awful about Ava being out in the buggy by herself,” Sarah said.
“It's our fault. She’s driving us around today, but she’s fine. It’s too much effort to her to climb in and out, and we’ve just had a cup of tea before we left home,” Elsa-May said.
Ettie nodded. “She’s fine.”
“What do you think happened to Jedidiah, Titus?” Elsa-May asked.
“I think he left of his own accord.”
“Why would he do that?” Ettie asked. “If he was set to marry and had his whole life ahead of him?”
“I don't know. I think that’s what he planned when he turned the house over to Nell. Why put it in her name if they were both to be married to one another?” Titus pressed his lips together. “He could’ve met someone else, or simply changed his mind about Nell. Otherwise, it makes no sense for a husband to put the house in the fraa’s name.”
Ettie noticed Sarah didn’t look happy with his reasoning and that was confirmed when she scrunched her nose, and said, “I thought it was for the gesture. She loved the place, so he gifted it to her as an act of love.”
Titus scratched his dark beard. “What is love? It’s just a feeling. He might have gotten over the feeling when the reality of marriage set in. It was probably guilt over getting Nell’s hopes up, and guilt over thinking about canceling the wedding that led him to give her Rose Cottage. It was better for Nell to have him disappear rather than for her to live with the shame of a canceled wedding. He was an honorable man.”
“If that’s what happened, it’s the cruellest thing he could ever have done, to leave her wondering if he might be lying dead somewhere.”
Titus turned to look at his wife. “Judge not lest ye be judged, Sarah.”
Sarah let out a frustrated ‘humph’ sound. “Love isn’t something you change your mind about.”
“You don’t know how the man felt, Sarah,” Titus said. “No one does.”
Sarah looked away from her husband. “You’re right. I don’t know Jedidiah, so I can’t comment.”
Embarrassed at the tension between husband and wife, Ettie cleared her throat. “We should go, Elsa-May.”
“Jah. Denke for answering our questions.”
As Ettie pushed herself to her feet, she said, “If you can think of anything that might help us in our search to solve the mystery, will you let us know?”
Titus bounded to his feet. “Of course, we will.”
* * *
When Ettie and Elsa-May got back into the buggy, Ava asked, “What happened?”
“It was a little tense,” Ettie said. “But, I did notice something odd. Sarah said, I don’t know Jedidiah. She didn’t talk about him in the past tense like everyone else does.”
“It’s just a word, Ettie. We didn’t find out anything, Ava. Titus didn’t know anything. He thought Jedidiah gave Nell Rose Cottage because he knew he was leaving.”
“To appease his guilt ove
r changing his mind about marrying her,” Ettie added. “But, Nell never noticed anything amiss in their relationship.”
“Well, it sounds like that was a waste of time. Where to now?” Ava asked.
“Back home, please,” Elsa-May said. “By the time you take us home and then go home yourself, you’ll be worn out. If you want, you can help us again tomorrow. If you feel up to it.”
Ava nodded. “Okay.”
* * *
As soon as Elsa-May walked in the door after their day with Titus, she looked around. “Where's Snowy?”
“He's probably outside,” Ettie said as she glanced over and noticed the dog door hadn’t been latched. Ettie and Elsa-May hurried to the back door and opened it, looking all around for Snowy. He normally greeted them when they came in the front door if he wasn’t asleep in his dog bed.
Just as they stepped out into the backyard, a man’s voice boomed from the front of the house. “You’re finally home.”
Ettie jumped with fright. “Ach nee! It’s Greville.” She went back inside to see that they’d left the front door wide open, and Greville was standing there holding out a grubby Snowy at arm’s length. The normally fluffy white dog was all matted and covered in black dirt, and he was panting. He was almost unrecognizable except for his innocent dark eyes and slightly crooked bottom teeth.
“I've been waiting until you came home because this pesky dog …” He thrust the dog at Ettie and she grabbed him. “This dog of yours pushed down the side fence, made his way into our place and left several messes over our newly laid lawn.”
Chapter 8
Elsa-May was quick to take Snowy from Ettie and she held him close to herself in spite of the dirt because he was shaking in fear.
Then Ettie noticed that Greville was covered in dirt. “I’m so sorry he’s gotten dirt all down the front of your lovely white shirt.”
“It's not just dirt, lady, it's topsoil. It's expensive, and now I have to redo the whole thing. That’ll take time I don’t have, and money I don’t have.”
Ettie pulled her mouth to one side and glanced at Snowy. “I'm terribly sorry, I don't understand how he could've done that.”
Elsa-May asked, “How did he get into your place?”
“Take a look at your back fence. He's broken it down. You’d better get it fixed fast.”
“Yes, we’ll get it repaired immediately,” Elsa-May said.
“See that you do. If your dog does anything like this again, I won’t bring it back.” He looked down at his shirt and dusted off dirt.
Elsa-May’s eyes opened wide. “What do you mean?”
He pointed at Snowy. “If I see the dog on my property I'm going to take it to the pound.”
“Why would you do that when you know he belongs to us?” Ettie asked.
“If you care about your dog, ladies, best you make sure he can't get out.”
“We will,” Ettie said quickly before Elsa-May could open her mouth and say something that might further enrage him.
When Greville had stomped down the porch steps, Ettie closed the door. “He wins the prize for the most awful neighbor we've ever had.”
“And then some,” Elsa-May added, looking at Snowy. “What have you been up to?”
Snowy squirmed to get down.
“You can’t let him down, he’s covered in dirt. You need to give him a bath.”
“I think the first thing we should do is take a look at that fence.”
They closed Snowy in the bathroom, and walked out to look at the back fence. Two palings had been knocked over. Ettie was annoyed with herself. She knew the fence wasn’t in the best repair and they should’ve strengthened it before something like this happened.
Elsa-May made tsk tsk sounds. “This is no good, no good at all.”
“I think they'll be okay, they just need hammering back up. I can do that myself. You go inside and I'll get the hammer and the nails.”
“Do you know what you're doing, Ettie?”
“Of course I do. You go and give Snowy a bath and I’ll tend to the fence.”
Elsa-May took a step back.”Nee, Ettie. It needs to be done properly.”
Ettie pulled a face.
“I’ll call Jeremiah to fix the fence as soon as I finish bathing Snowy.”
“What makes you think I wouldn’t do it properly?”
“I’ve seen how you drive nails in and you’ve never driven a nail straight in your life.”
Ettie scratched her chin. “No matter. It’ll still stick together even if the nail’s a bit crooked, won’t it?”
Elsa-May narrowed her eyes. “We need Jeremiah. If this happens again … you heard what Greville said he’s going to do.”
Ettie sighed. Her sister was right. She probably wouldn’t do a good enough job of it. “Okay. I’ll call Jeremiah while you look after Snowy.”
“Good.”
Even though it wasn't cold enough to have a fire, Elsa-May didn't want Snowy to get cold. The evening air always had a slight chill to it. After she had scrubbed and rinsed him twice, and thoroughly dried him with one towel and then another, she lit the fire. Just then Ettie walked through the door. She’d been gone for some time. Ettie had only gone to call Jeremiah, remembered Elsa-May. She wondered what had taken her sister so long. “Did you get Jeremiah? Is he coming?”
“Jah, he and Ava are both coming over right now.”
“What took you so long?” she peered at Ettie.
“I wasn’t long at all.”
Elsa-May could tell by the look on Ettie’s face that she’d been up to something. “You were spying on them again, weren't you?” Elsa-May asked as she sat down.
Ettie's eyebrows rose so high that they nearly touched the edge of her prayer kapp. “Who?”
“Greville and Stacey.”
“I don't spy.”
“Whatever you choose to call it, you were watching them again.” If Greville saw Ettie watching him, that would only enrage him further. Elsa-May wasn’t used to angry people; they scared her. Especially Greville, who towered over both her and Ettie, to say nothing of his blazing, flashing eyes.
“I was simply talking to Stacey while she was in her garden. She apologized for her husband's behavior. I didn't know what to say. It would be wrong of me to agree with her that his behavior was dreadful, but it was. And she shouldn't be the one apologizing.”
While Elsa-May listened, she got off the chair, and pulled Snowy and his dog bed closer to the fire. “You’d better make enough dinner for Ava and Jeremiah tonight.”
“Ach, it’s my turn again?”
“Jah.”
“I should've asked them if they could stay.”
“They probably will.” Elsa-May made herself comfortable knitting.
“Unless they have something else planned.”
“We'll soon find out.”
Several minutes later, they heard the sounds of buggy wheels turning on the gravel and the clippety-clop of hooves. Elsa-May opened the door in time to see Jeremiah helping Ava down from the buggy. Ettie rushed past her, almost sending her flying.
Ettie barely said hello to Jeremiah as she linked arms with Ava to help her into the house.
“I'm fine, Ettie,” Ava said with a giggle.
“Are you sure?”
“Take a seat in front of the fire,” Elsa-May said.
“I hope you didn't put that fire on for me, because I have a little furnace inside me keeping me warm all the time. I'm generally too hot.”
Ettie said, “Snowy needed a bath after his adventure with the neighbor’s topsoil.”
“Oh no.” Ava laughed.
When Jeremiah walked in the door, Ettie rushed over to him. “Come with me and I’ll show you where the fence needs nailing back together.”
“I’ll go around the side so I don’t get the house dirty from my work boots.”
“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. We’ve already got dirt on the floor from Snowy.”
Jeremiah laughed as he walk
ed through the front door and headed toward the back with Ettie.
“She wanted to fix the fence herself,” Elsa-May explained with a chuckle.
Ava giggled. “Jeremiah’s happy to do any work around the place.”
“He’s always been the one we can rely on,” Ettie said.
“Me too,” Ava said.
When Ettie and Jeremiah went outside, Elsa-May picked up the towel by Snowy’s bed, kneeled down, and continued to dab at his damp fur. “I never like washing him late in the day because it takes too long for all his fur to dry.”
“He’ll dry by the fire. It looks like he’s quite comfortable there.”
“He’s just happy to be out of the water. He doesn’t like baths one little bit. Oh, I must show you what I’ve knitted for your boppli. I’ve also been knitting teddy bears for the children’s hospital, so I’ve been busy.”
Ettie walked back into the house. “Would you like to lie down, Ava?”
“I’m fine, Ettie. Sometimes I have a little sleep in the afternoon, but not every day.”
“You can lie down in my room. Jeremiah might be a while fixing the fence.”
“When I got home, I ate a lot and that gave me more energy. And I had a rest on the drive over. I can't wait to see what you’ve knitted, Elsa-May.”
“Ah.” Elsa-May got up, and headed over to the bureau. She leaned down and pulled out a fabric bag. It was the same bag where she kept all her special knitted pieces. Ava moved to sit closer when Elsa-May sat back down in her usual chair. One by one, she showed Ava the tiny clothes.
“Oh, Elsa-May these are lovely! They're so delicate. I don't know how you do this so well.”
Elsa-May stretched her knobbly-knuckled hands out. “I might not be able to do it for much longer, so I'm making the most of it.”
“I'll keep these forever and tell my children they came from their great grossmammi, and then they can be passed down through the generations.”
Amish Mystery at Rose Cottage Page 5