Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 6 Page 15

  Ettie’s eyebrows rose and she stared at Gabriel. “I thought that’s why you brought her here, Gabriel.”

  The two old ladies stared at Gabriel, who in turn looked at Selena.

  “So did I,” he answered.

  “I mean, do you think you can help me find out who he was protecting?”

  “We already said so,” Elsa-May said, with a touch of frustration.

  Ettie put her hand over her sister’s, and said to Selena, “Sometimes we don’t need to know everything. Perhaps this is one of those times?”

  Suddenly a white fluffy dog, its tail wagging happily, streaked into the kitchen and started pawing Selena’s leg. “What a dear little dog.” His eyes were black and so was his nose and they stood out in contrast against his white fur.

  “Elsa-May, you said you’d put him out.”

  “I did. I must’ve forgotten to latch the dog door. I’m terribly sorry, Selena. Snowy has such sharp claws.”

  Selena giggled. “That’s okay. I like dogs. That's the perfect name for him.”

  “I’ll have to remember that,” Gabriel said.

  She looked over at him wondering why he’d say such a strange thing. As soon as the house was in her name, she’d go back to New York City and she’d hope never to see him again.

  “Put him out, Elsa-May.”

  Elsa-May scooped the dog up and took him outside.

  “We can help if you want us to, Selena. It’s up to you.” Ettie brought the teacup to her lips and took a small sip.

  “I’m here for a few days. Thank you. I might think about it.”

  “Yes, good idea. You have a little think on it.”

  She doubted if the old ladies would be any help at all. After they had finished their cake and tea, she thanked the ladies and then she and Gabriel left.

  As they were about to climb into the buggy, Gabriel said, “You don't trust them?”

  “It’s not that. I just think they won’t be able to help. They were nice ladies and everything, but I’ve got my own way of doing things.”

  “And what's that?” he asked.

  “I spent a little time on the police force.”

  “Doing what?”

  She stared at him, thinking it was an odd question. Everyone else assumed that police all did the same thing. “I'm a trained police officer, but I didn't stay for long after I met my fiancé.”

  “Yes that’s good. I think a woman really does need to be home all the time.”

  “What?”

  “Your boyfriend didn't want you to work, yes?”

  That made her fiancé sound like a chauvinist. “It's not like that.”

  “My apologies. I didn't mean to offend. The last thing I want is to upset you; it seems that everything I say upsets you.”

  He was making her head hurt. And he’d just demoted Eugene to her boyfriend rather than her fiancé. Was that deliberate? “Can we just go to my house now?”

  “Yes, that's where I'm taking you.”

  “Are you sure they won’t mind us coming by with no notice?”

  He shook his head. “They'll be fine.”

  “Good.”

  When they pulled up to the house, she was able to have a closer look at the peeling paint. “You said you were using the money for the upkeep.” She then looked at him, wondering just how honest he was. “Are you sure you’re not keeping the money for yourself?”

  He threw his head back and laughed like a maniac. “No. I don't even take anything for my time and sometimes the place takes a lot of my time.” He shook his head. “All I’m getting is the happiness of doing something for my dear old friend.”

  She stared back at the place. It would be quite pretty once it was painted and maybe had some proper landscaping to set it off. “What would be the value of a place like this?”

  “I'd say about one fifty.”

  “Cents?” she asked while still looking at the shabby exterior.

  He laughed again. “Dollars,” he said. “Actually, thousand dollars.”

  “Did you know my grandfather well?” She knew she’d asked him that before, but she found it hard to believe that they could’ve been friends.

  “That’s right.”

  “What was he like?”

  “Grumpy sometimes. Well, a lot of the time.”

  Selena giggled. “That's how I remember him.”

  “He was a generous man and always lent anyone a hand with anything. A grumpy old man with a good and genuine heart. He was sad—he was alone without his daughter; that’s the part of his life that kept him from being cheerful. She meant everything to him after his wife died. I can’t say I remember Martha, but she came alive in his stories. I feel like I know her.”

  “I remember Mom saying she died when Mom was just twelve. That’s sad he was alone.”

  “He had a lot of friends.”

  “I’m glad.”

  Chapter 4

  Gabriel went ahead while Selena waited in the buggy. He said a few words to the tenant, Molly, who answered the door. Molly looked past him to Selena and then nodded. Gabriel turned toward Selena and beckoned to her.

  Selena hurried over and Gabriel introduced the two women.

  “I'm sorry for such short notice, Molly, but I’m in town only for a short time.”

  “That's fine. Sorry for the mess. Matt, my husband, is at work. He’ll be disappointed he didn’t meet you.”

  When she walked into the house, it wasn’t a mess. Everything was neat and clean. There were four young children on a rug playing with wooden toys.

  “I’ve got my baby asleep.” Molly pointed to the crib and as she did so, Selena noticed she was expecting. The woman would soon have six children and she only looked to be in her early thirties.

  “Oh, sorry. I won’t speak loudly. Are these all yours?” She pointed to the four children.

  “All of them.” Molly giggled. “And just speak normally. It wouldn’t matter. Not with the noise these four make. He’s quite used to sleeping through noise. I want to thank you, Selena, for allowing us to stay here. We would’ve had nowhere to live if it hadn’t been for your kindness.”

  Selena opened her mouth not knowing what to say. “You’re welcome,” was all she could think of. She hadn’t known of their existence until earlier that day. When she glanced up at Gabriel, he smiled.

  “I’ll show you through the bedrooms,” Molly said. “Or do you want to show Selena around, Gabriel?”

  “No, you go ahead.”

  There were three bedrooms, one small bathroom and another working toilet in a small room outside. Gabriel explained the bathroom had been built on, and when the house was originally built, there had been no bathroom inside.

  Selena shook her head. “I don't know how anybody could live like that.”

  “Everybody did back then, and not just us Amish folk,” Gabriel said.

  “I guess that’s true,” she said.

  “I’ll show you the outside facilities when we finish in here,” he said.

  Selena shook her head. “You don't need to.”

  He remained silent and then she was shown the kitchen. Her mother had told her that was the most important room in an Amish household. It was where they cooked and ate, where they canned and preserved their food, and sometimes there were two rooms used as kitchens. In Abner’s house, there was one large kitchen. It had a surprisingly lovely view of the countryside. The whole house was a pleasant surprise.

  “It’s a lovely kitchen. I was here when I was about eight, but everything looks so different. Thanks for showing me through.”

  “Of course. Why wouldn’t I? I guess you might be thinking about selling. If you do, we’ll go to Matt’s aunt’s place. She has room in her house now that her children have moved out. We won’t be out on the street. Don’t worry.”

  Gabriel said, “We’ll give plenty of notice if Selena decides to sell.”

  “Yes, we will. Thank you for showing us through.”

  “Come back any t
ime. Would you like some coffee before you go?”

  Selena smiled at her. “Oh, no thank you.”

  Gabriel and Selena headed out of the house.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to see the barn?” Gabriel asked.

  “Sure, okay. Oh, is that what you meant by the outside facilities?”

  “Yes. What did you think?”

  She couldn’t keep the smile from her face. “The outside toilet.” They both laughed.

  “There wouldn’t be much to see, but I’ll show you that too if you’d really like to see it.”

  “Just the barn will be enough.”

  He nodded to the barn. “Come with me.” He opened one of the double doors of the barn and light shone through. There were stalls to one side and old buggies, and parts of buggies.

  “Oh my, this really does need a cleaning out.”

  “It does. I’ll organize it soon, don’t worry. You should’ve seen it a year ago. I’ve been gradually getting it cleared.”

  “I don’t remember the barn from when I was here as a kid.”

  “Your grandfather liked to make things over, and that’s why there’s so much stuff in here. He collected bits and pieces from all over the place.”

  She stepped back. “Okay. I’ve seen enough.”

  When they were outside, he closed the door and pulled the metal latch over.

  “I’m sorry I was so rude to you when I first arrived. I can see you really have done a good job looking after the place.”

  “I do have a bank account for it. The rent goes in and then I pay necessities out of it. I’ll show you the balance if you’d like. I don’t take a cent for myself.”

  “I’m sure everything’s in order, and you’re entitled to a management fee. I’ll work something out.”

  “No. I don’t want money. I agreed with Abner I’d do it. He didn’t expect to pay me and neither did I expect to be paid.”

  He seemed offended she’d offered to pay him. “My grandfather obviously left you to look after the house for a reason. He trusted you and that’s good enough for me. I’m grateful.” Halfway back to the buggy, she said, “Do you mind if I just make a quick call to my fiancé before we leave?”

  “Go right ahead.” He walked a few steps, and then said over his shoulder, “I’ll be waiting in the buggy.”

  “Sure.” She was excited about the house and hoped Eugene would be too.

  He answered the phone with hurried words. “Yes? Quick.”

  She hesitated, not happy with his dismissive attitude. It was even more noticeable to her after spending time with Gabriel. Eugene had to have known it was she because he had her name and phone number programmed into his phone. He certainly wouldn’t talk to anyone else like that. “It's okay I'll talk to you later.”

  “No, talk now. You called so there must be a good reason.”

  “I’ve just looked through the house.”

  “Tell me about it tonight. I’ll call you.” And just like that, he ended the conversation without so much as a ‘goodbye,’ an ‘I love you,’ or a ‘see you later.’

  Even though she was hurt, she fixed a smile on her face, and turned back toward the buggy and her waiting admirer, who was growing on her in a small way.

  Chapter 5

  “Ettie, why didn't you tell Selena that Abner was protecting his daughter?”

  Ettie passed the plates to Elsa-May for the washing up after their visitors had left. “Why didn’t you?”

  “Only because you didn’t.”

  Ettie sighed. “How could I tell the young lady her mother borrowed or possibly stole a car from somewhere and drove over her old Englischer boyfriend and is essentially a murderess?”

  Elsa-May placed the plates carefully on the sink and then adjusted her glasses. “I believe the correct usage for that word these days is murderer.”

  “What does it matter? It means the same thing, so why would I tell Selena that?”

  “It’s definitely not the same thing. You can’t call a man a murderess. Anyway, we’ll shelve that word discussion for another time.”

  “Denke, Gott, for that mercy,” Ettie prayed under her breath.

  “Selena wants to know the truth,” Elsa-May said.

  “Does she?” Ettie drew her lips together tightly. “Which would she prefer to believe, her mother killed someone, or the killing in cold blood was acted out by the grandfather she barely knew?”

  “I see your point of view, Ettie, but there’s no escaping that the truth is the truth.”

  “Correct. I'm not disputing that. I'm just saying, what does it really matter? The man is dead, and Abner’s dead. And, we shouldn’t keep saying that Kate did it because Kate might not have done it. We’ve assumed this whole time that she’s been guilty with zero proof.”

  “We have the evidence that Abner said he did it and why would he have said that if he wasn’t protecting his only child?”

  Ettie said, “That’s right, but on the other hand, we don’t even know if Wayne Robinson was killed deliberately, or was it accidently—by a stranger who was too scared to stop?”

  “I suppose you're right. Jah, very true. I hadn't thought about there being more possibilities.”

  “Well, I'm glad you didn't blab to Selena that her mother was a murderess.”

  Elsa-May shook her head at her sister’s insistence on using that word. She looked back at the dishes. “If Kate didn’t do it, I’m still positive Abner was convinced she did.”

  “That’s what we can agree upon.”

  Elsa-May smiled. “At last we agree on something.” After she’d filled up the sink with sudsy water, she turned to Ettie. “What would have made Abner think his daughter killed Wayne?”

  “Because she obviously had a good enough reason to kill him. We had this conversation five years ago.”

  Elsa-May said, “Hmm. I know, but we never got to the bottom of things.”

  “At the time, we decided not to. We didn’t know his granddaughter would be knocking on our door looking for the truth years later. She was off living somewhere with Kate. And Kate never even came back for her father's funeral.”

  “One good thing came out of our unexpected visitors.”

  Ettie looked up from wiping the crumbs off the table. “What was that?”

  “We’ve just had an hour and a half where we didn't talk about the Charmers once.”

  Ettie groaned. “Don't get me started on them.” To the sound of Elsa-May’s chuckles, Ettie walked over to the kitchen window and peeped out at the house next door. From there, she had a good view of the garden and the two windows at the side of the house. But, to which rooms did those windows belong? They’d been in the living room of the house once before, some time ago when they’d visited Stacey, so Ettie knew the one near the front of the house was the living room. The back window must’ve belonged to one of the bedrooms, she supposed, or maybe a bathroom.

  When Gabriel saw Selena heading to the buggy after calling her fiancé, he jumped down. Then, he tried to help her up into the buggy and she pulled away from him.

  “I can manage, thanks.” She squirmed out of his way.

  “I'm just trying to help.”

  “Yes, I know you are.” She climbed in, sat down and adjusted her blouse.

  He hustled around to the driver’s seat and jumped in beside her landing with a thud. “What do you think of your house?”

  It was time to throw his words back at him. “It's not mine yet, remember? It's not mine until I get married.”

  “We can marry tomorrow. Then it will be your house sooner.” He chuckled at his own joke.

  She had to giggle at his silliness. “I have a perfectly good fiancé, Eugene Ryder, and that’s who I’ll marry, thanks all the same. We're having a large white wedding with five hundred guests. My wedding planner and I have been planning it for six months, so I will have to decline your offer.”

  “Okay, but if it’s all the same to you, I won’t give up.”

  She star
ed at him to figure out if he was joking. His face told her he was dead serious.

  “So. You didn't answer my question yet. What did you think of the house?” he asked once more as he turned the buggy toward the street.

  “It was fine. Better than I thought it would be inside. Do you really think it would be worth one hundred and fifty thousand dollars?”

  “I do.”

  She thought about what that would buy back in her home of New York City. Parking spaces sold for more than that. There didn't seem much point to sell; it would make sense to just keep renting. After the cost of the upkeep, it might give her some good pocket money. Even though Eugene was on a good income, she didn’t want to be in the position to ask him for money. They hadn’t even discussed what their financial arrangements would be after the marriage.

  Eugene had been adamant about her going there to see the place, but he could've estimated on the Internet what the place was worth. That led her to worry about his new secretary. He seemed to get a new one every six months, but this one worried her. Elga’s name had come up far too many times in conversations. She’d never met Elga like she’d met his other secretaries. She imagined her as some six-foot-tall Nordic beauty with clear skin, bright blue eyes and naturally blonde hair. Of course, she’d be skinny and wear figure-hugging skirts and tight, low-cut stretchy blouses. Selena bit the inside of her mouth. She hated feeling jealousy toward someone she’d never met and Eugene had never once given her grounds to mistrust him—apart from his long working hours.

  Despite Selena trying to talk herself around, her mind kept spiralling into negativity. Was Elga the reason Eugene wanted her to stay in Lancaster County for a few days? He also said it would be good for her to get away from the stress of planning the wedding and he was probably right about that. It had been a nice change to think about something other than the wedding and what might and could go wrong on the day. She felt Gabriel looking at her, and she looked over at him to see him smiling—again.

  “Are you figuring out what to do with the place when it’s yours?” he asked.