Murder in the Amish Bakery (Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Book 3) Read online

  Murder in the Amish Bakery

  Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Book 3

  Samantha Price

  Copyright © 2016 Samantha Price

  All Rights Reserved

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  Scripture quotations from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The personal names have been invented by the author, and any likeness to the name of any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Chapter 1.

  “It happened again, Elsa-May,” Ettie yelled from the kitchen.

  “Who’s coming over?” Elsa-May called back from the living room.

  Ettie threw down the tea towel onto the kitchen counter and walked into the living room with her hands on her hips. “I didn’t say anyone was coming over. You need to get your hearing checked. I said that the bread sank in the middle again.”

  “You don’t have to shout at me,” Elsa-May said setting her knitting in her lap.

  Ettie sighed and fell onto the couch. “I don’t mean to be cranky. It’s just that the bread has sunk again, and that’s another batch of wasted ingredients.”

  “What do you think is causing it?”

  Ettie shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve gone through everything I can think of. I haven’t done anything different and you know how good my bread usually is.”

  “Jah, your bread is wunderbaar normally.”

  “Just when I was going to take a loaf over to Detective Kelly. I told him how good my bread is, and I don’t think he’s ever tasted it before. Has he?” Ettie stared at Elsa-May waiting for an answer.

  “Not that I’m aware of. Are you sure you’re not doing anything differently? There must be something that’s affecting it.”

  Ettie shook her head. “I just wish I knew what it was. There must be something, but what?”

  Elsa-May picked up her knitting again. “I’m not going to be much help to you. I haven’t made bread in years. Not since we moved in together.”

  The two elderly sisters had begun living together after both their husbands died.

  Elsa-May looked over the top of her glasses at Ettie. “Perhaps it’s the ingredients. Have you bought new ingredients lately?”

  “I buy everything in bulk, and I’m working my way down. I’m nearly due to buy more. I haven’t bought anything new at all.”

  “Perhaps there’s something wrong with the yeast.”

  “Nee. It’s worked for me before.”

  “Do we have something wrong with the oven?”

  Ettie shook her head again. “The oven is working perfectly.” Ettie bit the inside of her lip while wondering what to do.

  “Why don’t you ask Ruth Fuller? See if she’s got any idea.”

  “I couldn’t possibly ask Ruth. She’s so busy, and besides, everybody’s always after her bread secrets.”

  Elsa-May chuckled. “You wouldn’t be asking her for secrets. You’ll be asking her what you might be doing wrong.”

  Ettie raised her eyebrows and considered what her sister had said. She waved a bony finger in the air. “You know, you just might be right.”

  Elsa-May smiled while she continued clicking her knitting needles together.

  After a moment of silence, Ettie said, “You know what?”

  “What?”

  “I’m going to call her right now.”

  “Good. Why don’t you do just that?”

  Ettie took some money out of her bedroom, and then hurried to the shanty that held the telephone down at the end of her street. She placed the money in the tin can, and then dialed the number she had written in her notebook.

  Her friend, Ruth, owned the biggest Amish bakery in town and her bread was famous. Everyone wanted to know how she made her bread so tasty and special. Ettie would have to be careful what she said to Ruth; she didn’t want to make it sound like she was after any of Ruth’s bread secrets.

  After a few rings, someone answered the phone. “Hello,” a man said.

  “Hello. Is this the bakery where Ruth works?”

  “Ruth owns the bakery.”

  “Yes, that’s what I meant. Is she there at the moment?” Ettie heard a click. Either the person had just hung up on her, or he was heading to find Ruth. Ettie stayed on the line to find out which one.

  “Hello, this is Ruth.”

  “Ruth this is Ettie, Ettie Smith.”

  “Ettie, it’s lovely to hear from you.”

  “Denke, Ruth. I have a favor to ask. I have a question about bread.”

  “Jah, go on. What is it?”

  “I’ve been baking bread exactly the same way for years, and for the last few days, it’s been falling in the center.”

  “Sounds like too much yeast or the temperature is too high.”

  “Nee. I’m just doing everything the same as I’ve always done it. I haven’t been doing anything differently.”

  “Think about it, Ettie, you must be doing something differently if it’s falling in the center now, and it hasn’t been before.”

  “I suppose that’s true, but I can’t think what it would be.” There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment.

  “Meet me here tomorrow morning and we can talk about it then. I’ve just got to get this last order out and I’m running behind time.”

  “Denke. That would be wunderbaar. I don’t want to keep you from your work. I’d love to come and meet you tomorrow morning. What time would you like me to be there?”

  “Three.”

  “In the morning?”

  “Jah that’s what time I always start. The workers get here at four.”

  “I’ll be there and thank you again, Ruth. I really appreciate you helping me with all of this.”

  “I’ll look forward to seeing you at three in the morning, Ettie. Bye-bye now.”

  Ettie hung up the phone and wandered back to her house. How was she going to wake up at three in the morning? She and Elsa-May normally woke up around seven to seven thirty. Even when she’d been married and had to get her husband breakfast before he worked on the farm she only woke at five.

  Before she reached her house, she saw her neighbor, Bernie, walking toward her leading his dog.

  “Good morning, Ettie. How are you?”

  “I’m fine, and you?” Ettie reached down to pat the small dog.

  “Good, good. How’s Elsa-May doing since she got out of hospital?”

  “Fine. As you know she didn’t have a clot at all, but the doctor did tell her to lose weight. He suggested she walk every morning.”

  “I haven’t seen her about.”

  Ettie shook her head. “I’m afraid she always seems to have an excuse. It’s too cold, it’s too hot, and so forth.”

  “She needs a dog. That’ll make her walk. She’ll have to take the dog for a walk.”

  Ettie’s dear old dog, Ginger, had died some time ago and another do
g had been out of the question ever since. They did have a small back-yard and a dog door. “Interesting idea. I’ll give it some thought. That could be the very thing she needs.”

  “I’ve got a friend who works at the dog shelter and he said they just got a lovely Maltese Terrier puppy.”

  “Maltese Terrier? What do they look like? Are they the white fluffy ones?”

  “Yes. They’re lovely dogs.”

  “I don’t think that will do. Elsa-May and I are used to much bigger dogs, farm dogs.”

  “Smaller dogs are a lot less trouble. They cost less to feed and their business is a lot smaller. Trust me, they’re a lot less trouble. And it will give your sister a reason to walk and a big dog might be too strong for her.”

  “You could be right about that. I’ll give it some serious thought,” Ettie said. “You’ve given me something to think about.”

  “Very good. Say hello to Elsa-May for me.”

  “Will do,” Ettie called over her shoulder as she opened her front gate. She wouldn’t mention the dog to Elsa-May because she would give a flat ‘no’ regarding having another dog in the house. If she did decide to go ahead with getting another one, it would have to be a surprise. Once Elsa-May saw it, she’d surely fall in love with it.

  Elsa-May looked up from her knitting when Ettie walked into the house. “You were a long time.”

  “I’ve got some exciting news. Ruth said to meet her at the bakery tomorrow.”

  Elsa-May sat up straight in her chair. “What? At the bakery?”

  Ettie nodded. “Jah, that’s right. I told her the problem I was having and she said to meet her there tomorrow morning.”

  “Why go there? Couldn’t she tell you over the phone what you’re doing wrong?”

  Ettie shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know why she wants me to go there; I just agreed.”

  “Good for you. You might be able to pick up some secret tips.”

  “I just hope she solves the problem of what’s going on with my bread.

  She said she thought it might be that I’ve got the kitchen too hot, or the bread too hot or something.”

  “The weather hasn’t been any hotter, and neither has the kitchen. You’re using the same amount of things that you’re always using, aren’t you?”

  “That’s right.”

  Just then they heard a knock, and both turned to look toward the front door. Ettie got up to answer it and saw her young friend, Ava Glick.

  “Ava, come in. It’s lovely to see you.”

  Ava walked inside. “Denke, Ettie.” Ava gave a little laugh as she walked toward Elsa-May. “Hi, Elsa-May.”

  “Hello, Ava. Come and sit with us.”

  Ava took a deep breath. “Have you just baked bread? It smells wunderbaar.”

  Ettie grunted. “It smells all right, but that’s where it ends.”

  Ava turned her attention to Elsa-May. “What are you knitting?”

  “I’m always knitting. Lately I’ve been knitting boppli clothes. If I don’t know people having bopplis, I give them to charity.”

  “That’s good of you,” Ava said.

  “I might as well do something useful with myself.”

  “Would you like some tea or kaffe, Ava?” Ettie asked.

  “Kaffe denke, Ettie.”

  Ettie hurried into the kitchen to make the coffee. She threw the bread in the trash basket in disgust. Once she poured the coffee into the coffee pot, she cut some apple cake and put some gingersnaps on a plate. She took everything in on a tray and placed it in the living room. By the look on Ava’s face, Ettie knew she was there to tell them something.

  “There you go,” Ettie said as she passed a cup to Ava. Once she had a cup for herself, she sat down on the couch.

  “Well what is it that you’ve been doing with yourselves?” Ava asked the elderly sisters.

  “I’ve been having bread problems,” Ettie said, still fuming about her failed bread. “My bread is falling in the middle and I’ve no idea why and it’s been distressing.”

  Ava looked concerned as she took a sip of coffee. “That’s no good.”

  “Nee, it’s no good at all. I called Ruth, and she told me to go to her bakery tomorrow morning.”

  “Ruth Fuller?”

  Ettie nodded.

  “Is she going to tell you how she makes her bread?”

  Elsa-May interrupted. “She’ll never tell anybody. People come from miles around to have her bread. And people have been asking her for years to reveal her secrets.”

  Ava frowned. “It can’t be that secret; its only bread.”

  “It’s not just any bread,” Elsa-May said.

  “Have you never tasted Ruth’s bread, Ava?”

  “Nee, I haven’t.”

  Elsa-May and Ettie looked at each other. That would explain Ava’s attitude.

  “Bread is the staff of life, Ava. Haven’t you heard that?” Elsa-May said bluntly.

  “Jah, I know, but…”

  “There’s no buts about it, Ava. Our whole diet is based around bread. If you take away bread, what are we left with?” Elsa-May smiled when Ava chuckled.

  “And she’ll solve your problem with your bread, Ettie?” Ava asked.

  “I hope so. If she can’t help me, I doubt anyone can.”

  “She’ll know what you’re doing wrong, Ettie,” Elsa-May said.

  “I hope so, but I don’t know how she’s going to help me with what I’m doing wrong if she doesn’t come here and see it for herself. She needs to be in my kitchen. It’s not the same me just telling her about it.”

  “Ettie, she’s just invited you to the place where they make the best bread in the world. You should be able to figure out what you’re doing wrong just by being there.”

  Ettie stared at Elsa-May. “I hope so.”

  “Besides, I’d rather not have her see how small our kitchen is.” Elsa-May looked down at her knitting.

  Ettie pursed her lips. “There’s nothing wrong with our kitchen. It’s just the two of us, and it’s all we need.”

  Elsa-May’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t think of asking her to come here to watch you make bread. She might say she will to be polite.”

  Ettie wasn’t happy with what her sister said, but remained silent.

  “Would you like me to drive you there tomorrow, Ettie? I won’t come in; I could drive you there and fill in time around town, and take you home when you’re ready.”

  “That’s very kind of you, but she wants me to meet her at three in the morning.”

  “That’s early,” Ava said.

  “That’s what time she starts. I didn’t like to say it was too early for me since she’s doing me a huge favor.”

  “Well I could take you, and I could just wait in the buggy until you’ve finished.”

  Ettie shook her head. “Nee it’s far too early. I’ll call and book a taxi tonight for the morning.”

  “Are you certain?” Ava asked before she took another sip of coffee.

  “I’m certain.”

  When Ava left fifteen minutes later, Ettie and Elsa-May waved as her buggy drove away from the house.

  “She doesn’t come to visit very often for no reason at all,” Elsa-May said.

  “When she first arrived, I thought she was going to tell us something. It seemed to me that she had some news.”

  “Jah, I wonder if she had something to tell us. Do you think there’s something wrong in her grossdaddi haus? She could need you to repair something, Ettie.”

  “Then why didn’t she ask?”

  Both sisters walked back into their house.

  “She might have felt awkward about you spending money when the main haus is sitting vacant.”

  Ettie raised her eyebrows. “Perhaps the oven or something has stopped working and she needs it repaired. I’ll visit her tomorrow after I see Ruth and I’ll ask Ava if everything’s all right.”

  Chapter 2.

  Ettie had her alarm clock wake her so she would have enough ti
me to get ready for the taxi to drive her into town at three. She changed out of her nightgown and into her dress. Once she placed her black over-bonnet on top of her white prayer kapp, she went into the kitchen to have her morning glass of water with a squeeze of lemon juice. It was far too early to think about breakfast.

  Once she laced up her black boots, she pulled her black cape from the peg behind the front door, swung it over her shoulders, and waited by the door for the taxi.

  The taxi appeared right on time at two forty-five. She opened the front passenger-side door and sat in the front seat.

  “Good morning.”

  “Good morning,” Ettie said back to the man. Ettie was glad that the driver wasn’t a talker, as she was still trying to wake up. The last thing she had wanted was to have to think about making conversation. It normally took her brain some time to catch up with her body of a morning.

  The taxi took her right to the front door of the bakery. As the taxi zoomed off down the gray road, Ettie saw that the street was deserted, and she wasn’t surprised. A few minutes later, she saw a small figure in the distance. As the figure drew closer, she saw that it was Ruth. Ruth gave a wave and Ettie waved back.

  “Ettie, I didn’t know if you’d make it this early in the morning.”

  “I said I’d be here.” Ettie smiled. “Denke for sparing me the time.”

  “I’m happy you’ve come. I don’t often take time to see friends. I’m so busy in the bakery every day. I’m here six days a week, you know.”

  “Are you? That’s a lot to work, isn’t it?”

  “It is and it’s hard work too. I try not to work Sundays, since it’s our day of rest, but I do have to be here early to let the workers in.”

  “Can’t you give one of them a key?”

  “I’m the only one with the key and that’s the way it shall stay.” Ruth opened her hand to reveal a key, and then she held it up in the air. “This is the only key, besides my spare key at home.” She nodded her head to the alley. “I always enter through the back.”

  Ettie followed her around the back. Ruth pushed the key into the lock and then slowly turned it until they heard a click.

  When they walked in, Ruth flicked on some lights and the place lit up. Ettie was reminded how the members of the community were permitted to have electricity in their places of business, but not their homes. Electricity in their homes was bringing ‘the world’ in.