Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 3 Page 21

  Chapter 2

  The next day, Ettie Smith, an elderly Amish woman, was in her kitchen putting the finishing touches on her apple pie. She was just about to place it in the heated oven when she heard familiar footsteps thumping quickly through the house. Only moments before, her older sister, Elsa-May, had headed out the door for a walk with her small dog, Snowy, before the evening air got too cold.

  “What is it?” Ettie asked as she turned to see a distraught Elsa-May leaning against the kitchen doorway.

  “There’s been a death.”

  Ettie stared at Elsa-May, scared to ask who it was. By the look of Elsa-May, she was upset but not as devastated as she would be if it were a close family member. Elsa-May was still standing squarely in the doorway in her black lace-up boots. “Who?”

  “Young Thomas Strongberg.”

  “Nee!” Ettie had been expecting another elderly person—another of their friends to have 'fallen off the perch,' not a strong, healthy young man like Thomas Strongberg.

  “Jah, he fell off a ladder in his barn.”

  “And he died from the fall?”

  Elsa-May nodded, wiping her eyes. “It was an accident.”

  “How did you hear this?”

  “Snowy and I got to the end of the road and Nancy Miller was driving past in her buggy. She stopped and told me, and she said she'd heard it from Doris Wyberger.”

  Ettie frowned and looked back at her uncooked pie. It was a sad thing when a young person died before they’d lived out their life to reach old age. She picked up a fork and pressed the prongs against the edges of the pastry to make a nice pattern.

  “Don’t you care, Ettie?”

  Ettie turned back to look at her sister. “I care, but what can I do?”

  “We can visit his familye; that’s what we can do.”

  “Give it a day or two.” Ettie finished decorating the edge of her pie, opened the oven door and slid the pie onto the middle rack.

  Elsa-May spat out, “That’s what I meant.”

  “I’m not arguing with you.”

  “Gut!”

  “Do you think it’s true?” Ettie asked.

  “I do. Doris wouldn’t have made something like that up.”

  “I don’t mean that. I know Doris wouldn’t make something up. I meant about Thomas falling off a ladder to his death. When was the last time someone was killed by falling off a ladder?”

  “It’s possible to die from a fall.”

  Ettie raised her eyebrows. “Seems odd to me, that’s all. I would’ve thought he’d get a broken arm or a broken leg.”

  “They say he landed on his head and that’s what killed him.”

  News had always traveled through the Amish community at lightening speed, and it didn’t take long for the talk to spread amongst the Amish that Thomas Strongberg was found dead in his family’s barn. Rumors spread that an Englisch man at the farmers market had threatened him the day he died.

  Old Doris Wyberger had stopped by Thea’s house to tell the family the dreadful thing that had happened to the Strongberg family. Thea was in tears; she’d only seen Thomas the day before at the market. Even though their friendship had been rocky in the recent past, he was still a friend that she’d grown up with.

  When Doris left the house, Thea’s father told Thea, “It’s no secret that Thomas and I haven’t always seen eye-to-eye about things, but Thomas told me that the young man at the market had threatened to kill him. I can’t have you around that man again. We’ll have to see about getting your stall moved.”

  “Nee, Dat. Austin didn’t mean it. That was only because Thomas was being mean to him. Anyway, Thomas was well over six feet tall, and Austin could only be about five feet nine or ten. I don’t think that Austin would have been able to overpower someone like Thomas, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “I told you no good would come of speaking to the Englischers.”

  “He said hello, and I said hello back, and that’s all. Surely there’s no harm in that. I’ve got to be friendly, don’t I? And my regular customers know where I am. It’ll be a huge financial risk to move the stall.”

  Her father remained silent.

  Thea continued, “Anyway, everyone speaks to Englischers. Mamm says it’s all right as long as we don’t become friends with them.”

  Her mother, who was sitting alongside Thea, nodded.

  “What else has Mamm always told you?”

  “She said something about the wheat mixing with the chaff.”

  “That’s right, Thea, don’t make friends with them was what your mudder meant.”

  “Jah, that’s what I meant, Thea.”

  Levi glared at his wife. “Hush.”

  A chill ran through Thea. She’d never heard her father speak harshly to her mother, and he had never hushed her.

  Her mother was upset. She stood and hurried out of the room.

  Thea would go to her as soon as she finished setting her father straight about Austin. “Austin offered to fix my bike. He’s only been nice to me.”

  “What’s wrong with your bike?”

  “I’m not sure; it’s not working.”

  “I’ll fix it.”

  “You will? Denke.”

  “Jah! I’ll fix it by throwing it on the scrap heap. I’ll take it to the recycling center.”

  “Nee, Dat, it’s still usable; it just needs fixing. Unless, you’re thinking of buying me a new one?”

  He shook his head. “You need to be punished for disobeying me. You’re too big to take the strap to, so I’ll take your bike away instead.”

  Thea looked at her hands in her lap. Her father had always threatened to take a strap to her and her sisters, but had never done it. He’d never treated her four older sisters this bad before they’d left home to get married.

  “I didn’t feel right about that boy. He’s got the devil in him.”

  “You mean Thomas or Austin?”

  Her father nodded. “Maybe both of them. Thomas changed somewhere along the way. Well, I guess we’ve got a funeral to go to this week.”

  Thea stood up and, risking another outburst from her father, she said, “You don’t like Austin and you didn’t even like Thomas. You don’t like anyone.” With that said, Thea rushed out of the house to the barn. She unloaded the cheese from the large cold box into the chilled cartons in the back of the buggy that they carried the goods to the market in.

  A little later, Thea crept back into the house to see if her mother was still in the kitchen. She’d gone and her father was nowhere to be seen either. They’d both gone to bed and left a sole light burning in the kitchen for her return.

  Her father never said anything about her heated words and drove her to the market in silence the next morning. She wheeled her goods in and unpacked them, just as she'd done every other day. Austin arrived a little after she had.

  “Austin, did you hear what happened?”

  “What?”

  “Thomas has died.”

  “The man who knocked over my stuff?”

  Thea nodded.

  “How? He looked healthy.”

  “I don’t know much; I heard it was a fall. A lady in the community, she’s a gossiper, she’s going from house to house telling everyone that he died. She could have it all wrong, I mean, I’m sure he died, but he might not have died the way she said he did.”

  “Well, I’m sorry to hear that. That’s crazy, and to think that he was just here, and now he’s gone.”

  Chapter 3

  After Ettie and Elsa-May had eaten an early dinner, there was a knock on their door.

  “I’ll see who it is,” Ettie said as she pushed herself up from the kitchen table.

  “I can’t imagine who it could be at this time of night.”

  Ettie opened the door and Doris Wyberger pushed her way inside. “Have you heard what’s happened, Ettie?”

  “Jah, Elsa-May told me.”

  “I’ve got something to tell you that you might not have h
eard. You’ll be hearing it first from me.”

  “What is it?” Elsa-May stepped out of the kitchen and into their small living room.

  Doris’ eyes flickered around the room until they settled on the couch. She remained silent while she hurried over and sat down. “Sit down and I’ll tell you what I heard. I learned it when I was at Levi’s haus.”

  Ettie and Elsa-May sat down, ready to hear what she had to say.

  “Is it about poor young Thomas?” Elsa-May asked.

  “Jah, I heard that he’s been killed—murdered,” Doris said.

  Ettie narrowed her eyes. “And how does Levi know that?”

  “I was just leaving their haus and I overheard him talking to his dochder about the man at the market who threatened to kill Thomas just hours before his death. Of course, they didn’t know that I’d heard. Mind you, I wasn’t listening in deliberately—they thought I’d left and I just happened to overhear them. You see, what happened was I was just about to step off the porch after Levi had closed the front door, and I saw that my laces on my shoes were loose. I didn’t want to trip over them and have a nasty fall, so I crouched down and did them up properly. That’s when I heard what Levi said.”

  “Where was Levi when he found out about this?”

  "Well, Levi was collecting his dochder, the younger one, from the market.”

  “You mean Thea?” Elsa-May asked.

  “That’s the one. Levi always collects Thea from the market every day, and I heard from someone else that there had been an almighty argument between Thomas a man who has a market stall, so it all ties in nicely. Thomas told Levi that the man said he was going to kill him.”

  “So Levi didn’t actually witness anyone killing Thomas?” Ettie asked.

  “Nee, he wasn’t there, but don’t you see?”

  “Nee!” Ettie said. “People say things in anger, and if someone said he was going to kill Thomas in front of others, he’d be the one least likely to kill Thomas. That is if Thomas was indeed killed. And no one’s heard that Thomas’ death was a murder.”

  “Are the police saying that Thomas was killed, Doris?” Elsa-May asked.

  Doris’ lips turned down at the corners. “I haven’t heard that.”

  “You seem to know everything else,” Elsa-May shot back.

  “I thought you’d both be interested to know that Thomas Strongberg might have been killed.”

  “We are. Denke for letting us know. You say he fell off a ladder? That’s what Elsa-May told me.”

  “Fell off, or pushed off?” Doris asked. “As with most barns, they have a ladder leading to the loft. Their loft was quite high.”

  Ettie frowned while she thought about Doris’ murder theory. “So this man who argued with him that day. He would’ve had to hide in the barn—in the loft—knowing that Thomas was going to go up the ladder, and then he pushed the ladder over. And to do that, he would’ve had to have known where Thomas lived, and get there before Thomas did.”

  “He was an Englischer so he probably had a car and could get to Thomas’ haus faster right after the market closed,” Doris said.

  Elsa-May perched her glasses on the end of her nose and then picked up her knitting from the bag by her feet. “And, he would’ve had to get into the barn without anyone seeing him, and get out without anyone seeing him.”

  “Maybe someone saw something. We don’t know yet because they still think it was an accident,” Doris said.

  Ettie rubbed her chin. “I wonder.”

  “What? What is it, Ettie?” Doris asked.

  “What did the two men argue about?”

  “Why, Thea, of course. Didn’t I mention that?”

  Elsa-May dropped her knitting into her lap. “A love triangle? How intriguing. It’s been many years since we had one of those around here.”

  “I hardly think it was anything of the kind, Elsa-May,” Doris said.

  Elsa-May pulled a face and went back to knitting. “Darn it! I’ve dropped a stitch.”

  While Elsa-May tried to save the stitch, Doris said, “The young man in question is an Englischer. Thea doesn’t like him at all. Neither did she like Thomas, I believe. It was nothing like that, Elsa-May, nothing like a love triangle or any other love shape. The point is that both young men liked Thea, and that’s how the argument began.”

  “Did Thea tell you that?”

  “She was there when I was talking with her mudder and vadder. Levi was speaking and Thea didn’t say it wasn’t so. I overheard Levi comment something about that to his dochder when I was on the porch.”

  Chapter 4

  Thea Hersh opened the door to see an Englischer in a rumpled dark blue suit.

  “Hello.”

  “Good evening. I’m Detective Kelly. Can I come in?”

  “I guess so.” Thea opened the door wider and the detective walked in.

  “Should I get my parents?”

  “Yes, that might be a good idea. I’m here about Thomas Strongberg.”

  Thea ran upstairs to get her parents. She and her vadder hadn’t been back long from the market, and her mother and father were talking while her father was washing up and changing clothes.

  “Dat, Mamm, there’s a detective downstairs, here to talk about Thomas.”

  “You let him in the haus?” Her father stared at her.

  “Jah. Was that wrong?”

  She could tell her father was furious. How was she to know he didn’t want the man in the house? When she walked back downstairs with her parents following, the detective had made himself comfortable on the couch in the living room.

  “I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” Levi said.

  “I’m Detective Kelly, and I'm here about Thomas Strongberg. Were any threats made towards Thomas?” the detective asked Thea.

  “No, just a man at the market who said something in anger about killing him, but he didn’t mean it. Thomas was being a bully and I guess that Austin was trying to stand up for himself.”

  “How well do you know Austin?”

  Thea’s father stared at her, waiting for her to answer the detective’s question.

  She looked at her father, and then said to the detective, “I know him well enough to know that he didn’t mean what he said. People say things when they get angry that they don’t really mean.”

  The detective stared at Levi as though waiting for him to comment.

  Levi hesitated, and then said, “Thomas told me that the man running the honey stall said he was going to kill him.”

  “Did Thomas appear to take his threats seriously?” Kelly asked.

  “I don’t mean to be rude, but my daughter shouldn’t have let you in the house. I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

  Kelly stood up. “Just one more question, please. Was Thomas worried by the threat?”

  “I thought so,” Levi answered gruffly.

  “Detective, do you think someone killed him? Is that why you’re asking?” Thea asked.

  Levi strode to the door, opened it and Kelly took the hint, walking toward it while answering Thea’s question. “It’s too early to tell at this stage. It’s hard for the forensics crew to work out exactly what happened, since his family moved his body immediately.”

  “Is that all?” Levi said at the now opened front door.

  Detective Kelly nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry to have disturbed you.”

  Kelly walked out the door and just as he was about to get into his car, Thea ran outside.

  “Wait!” she yelled out.

  Kelly stepped back from the car, closing the driver's-side door. “What is it?”

  “I don’t know if this will help…” she looked over her shoulder knowing her father wouldn’t like her talking to the detective without him being there. She had to be quick. “It might be nothing, but I noticed that Thomas was a different person when he came back from his rumspringa. He seemed stressed and almost worried.”

  “Rumspringa—that’s when you young Amish people leave the community
and go wild?”

  Thea nodded. “I guess that’s right, for some.”

  “Exactly when did he return from his rumspringa?”

  “Around six months ago.” She glanced around to see her father at the front door with his arms folded. “I have to go.”

  “Thank you,” the detective said before he got into his car.

  Thea hurried back to the house.

  “What did you say to him?” Levi asked.

  “I was telling him that Thomas had changed since he came back to the community, that’s all.”

  “None of that is our concern, Thea. Now go help your mudder.”

  Chapter 5

  “I suppose you’ve heard what’s happened?” the detective asked when Ettie opened her front door to see him standing there.

  “You mean about young Thomas?” she answered, standing aside to allow him in.

  “Yes.”

  “Come in.”

  “Yes, we’ve heard,” Elsa-May called out from her favorite chair where she sat knitting. “I suppose you want us to do some asking around for you?”

  “No one in the community talking to you?” Ettie asked with amusement in her voice.

  Detective Kelly sat on one of their wooden chairs, while Ettie sat on the couch opposite. “I’ve spoken to Thea and her parents. They knew Thomas. Thea was a good friend of his.”

  “So, why are you here?” Elsa-May asked.

  Ettie’s mouth opened wide. “Elsa-May, that sounds a little rude.”

  Elsa-May dropped her knitting into her lap. “I’m sorry, Detective Kelly, I didn’t mean it to sound like that. You’re welcome here anytime. You don’t need a reason to drop by.”

  “Are you here because there’s a rumor going around that his death wasn’t accidental?” Ettie asked.

  “Which was it, an accident or a murder?” Elsa-May looked over the top of her glasses at Detective Kelly.