Amish Murder: Amish Mystery (Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Book 2) Read online

  The detective nodded before he took a mouthful of coffee. “Yes, that’s what he tried to tell us.”

  Ettie raised her eyebrows. “Tried to tell you? You mean you don’t believe him?”

  “There’s no proof, is there? It seems a generous offer for someone to make.”

  “Anyway, she turned it down,” Ettie said. “She wanted the entire farm – one hundred percent.”

  “We’ve only his word on that,” Detective Kelly said. “Do you know about the money she inherited?”

  Ettie said, “To be accurate, I don’t think that she inherited it. It was banked for her well before Nehemiah died.”

  “Are you talking about the trust fund?”

  “Yes,” Ettie said.

  “Jacob told us about the trust fund and you’re right, it wasn’t an inheritance. It was a trust fund that her father set up for her. The thing was that Jacob had control of it. Nehemiah Esh wasn’t a smart man.”

  “Detective!”

  Kelly took a mouthful of coffee and then brought the cup down to the desk. “You’ve got two siblings that don’t get along; you don’t put one in charge of the other’s money. Not a smart move.”

  “He most likely had his reasons.”

  “Only if he wanted them to hate each other more.”

  Ettie wasn’t pleased that the detective knew that Jacob and Camille didn’t get along. That wouldn’t be good for Jacob.

  “I’ll make a note to look into that fund and see how much of it’s left.” The detective had another mouthful of coffee. “I’m sorry, do you want tea or coffee? I’ll have someone make you one if you do. It mightn’t be very good – that’s why I get mine from the coffee shop down the road.”

  “No. I’m fine, thank you.” Did Kelly think Jacob might have spent some of Camille’s money?

  The detective rubbed his hands together, picked up a pen and wrote something down on his notepad. When he finished, he looked up. “Did you find anything else out?”

  “Yes, it seems that Camille had quite a few people she didn’t get along with. She was seen in town arguing with a woman, and Mildred heard her speaking on a cell phone arguing with a woman as well.”

  The detective screwed up the white paper takeout bag and tossed it in the trash basket. Once he had his pen in hand again, he asked, “Do you have any names?”

  “No, I don’t, but that’s good, isn’t it? She had other people she didn’t get along with.”

  “Good for Jacob?”

  “Yes.”

  The detective stared at Ettie before he took another mouthful of coffee. “We’ll see.” He rose to his feet with his coffee in hand. “Thank you, Mrs. Smith. You’ve been a great help. I’d still like you to keep your eyes and ears open. I might still need your help depending on how things go.”

  “I’d be glad to help anytime.” Ettie stood up, said goodbye, and walked out the door. She suddenly turned and walked back into Kelly’s office.

  Kelly was now sitting down at his desk. He looked up at her. “Yes, Mrs. Smith?”

  She studied his face. Could he be keeping something from her? “Nothing, Detective.” Ettie walked away feeling she was getting far too suspicious of people.

  Chapter 6.

  Ettie was pleased to get home and she told Elsa-May every detail of the conversations she’d had and all she’d found out that day. “Well, what do you make of it all?”

  Elsa-May was knitting as usual and had her sore leg elevated on a chair. “The man next door doesn’t seem sure who he was speaking with. Was he speaking with Camille or was he speaking to Mildred?”

  “That’s what I wondered at first, but Mildred said she had no interest in the farm and only wanted to stay on there. She didn’t feel the need to own the farm or have any part of the ownership. I don’t think she’d be running over to the man next door to do a deal behind everyone’s backs. She didn’t want to be left anything. She didn’t even want any money. Nee! The neighbor must have been speaking to Camille because she had expected that she’d inherit the farm.”

  “Strange.”

  “Do you think that’s strange?”

  Elsa-May nodded. “A little strange that she didn’t want to own the house or anything when she’s got a stepdaughter like Camille who’d be pleased to see her off the property. She was taking a risk relying solely on Jacob.”

  “I disagree. Jacob will always look after his mudder. Jacob and Mildred are like real mudder and son.”

  “Even so, she seems a little naive.”

  “How so?”

  Elsa-May rubbed her leg. “From what you told me, the detective might think that someone killed Nehemiah since he was questioning you about his death.”

  Ettie regretted telling Elsa-May so many details. “Jah, I think he might.”

  “And it sounds like Camille had many enemies.”

  “I’m hoping that Jacob’s in the clear. Kelly said he believes he’s innocent.”

  Elsa-May added, “I hope that’s right.”

  “Well, I’d better go and fix the dinner. Speaking about food, you should have seen what Kelly ate for lunch. I was so surprised and you would’ve had something to say about it if you’d been there too.” Ettie told Elsa-May about the detective’s eating habits and Elsa-May had a good chuckle. “It’s dreadful, Elsa-May. It’s not a laughing matter. He can’t go on eating like that every day.”

  “Hmm. Why don’t you cook up some extra dinner tonight, and then take him some food tomorrow? I’m sure he’d appreciate a decent meal rather than having sweets.”

  “That’s a good idea. I’ll do that.”

  * * *

  The next day, Ettie had fixed some sausage and egg casserole to take to detective Kelly, and since he had a sweet tooth, she’d gone to the trouble of making him some blueberry muffins. She placed the bowls in a cloth bag and walked down the road to call for a taxi. As soon as the taxi stopped, a small man in long cream-colored pants and a matching short-sleeved shirt sprang out and opened the front passenger-side door for her.

  “Such service! Thank you.”

  “No problem at all, lady.”

  He seemed such a happy man that Ettie was certain she was in for a pleasant drive, but as soon as she sat in the seat, heavy cigarette smoke invaded her nostrils. She wound down the window and inhaled some fresh air before the driver got in the car. Normally Ettie didn’t mind a little smoke, but the odor in the taxi was overpowering. She glanced down at an overflowing ashtray between the two seats and crinkled her nose. She was glad the muffins in her lap were covered in heavy cloths and the casserole was in a tightly-lidded glass bowl so they wouldn’t pick up the smoky smell.

  “Where to?” the driver asked while he fastened his seat belt.

  Ettie was tempted to make a comment about him fastening his seat belt but not being concerned how many cigarettes he was smoking. She held her tongue.

  “Where to?” he asked again glancing over at her.

  “The police station.”

  He flicked the meter on while he pulled away from the shoulder. When he turned onto the main road, he lit up a cigarette. He drew in a long breath, and then blew it out the partially opened window. Ettie glanced in his direction to see smoke wafting out of his nose in waves. Then she looked directly ahead hoping the fabric in her clothes and her prayer kapp wouldn’t pick up the smell.

  Suddenly the taxi driver asked, “Are you a relative of the Amish man who was arrested last night?”

  “What man?”

  “I heard it on the radio. Some Amish man was just arrested for murdering his sister.”

  Ettie’s mouth fell open. It could only be Jacob who had been arrested. There had been no other murder in the Amish community. “Put your foot on it, driver!” Ettie yelled.

  The man did as instructed.

  “I’m not a relative. I’m a good friend and I believe I’ve been double-crossed.”

  The taxi driver gave her a sideways look and remained silent the rest of the trip. When the t
axi pulled up, Ettie threw down some money hoping it was enough to cover the fare. The driver got out of the car to help Ettie out, but by the time he reached the passenger side of the car she was halfway up the steps of the station.

  Once she was through the door, she hurried to the man sitting behind the front desk. “Where’s Detective Kelly?”

  The man looked up at her with a bored face, and drawled, “He’s busy at the moment, ma’am.”

  “I need to see him immediately. Let him know Ettie Smith is here, would you? Now?”

  “What’s it regarding?”

  “He’ll know.”

  “Take a seat and I’ll call him.” The officer picked up his phone and talked to Kelly, and when he placed the receiver down, he called out to Ettie, “He’ll be out as soon as he can.”

  “How long will that be?”

  He shook his head. “I’m not sure.”

  Ettie stood up with the bundle of food still in her arms, and walked over to the officer. “Then I’d like to speak to Jacob Esh.”

  “Who?”

  “I believe you have him here somewhere. He’s just been arrested.”

  “No, you can’t talk to anyone in custody. Please take a seat and Detective Kelly will be out to see you as soon as he can.”

  Ettie narrowed her eyes at the officer, and then turned and took a seat. It was an hour later when Detective Kelly finally came out to see her.

  “Come through,” he said, motioning to her with his hand.

  Ettie followed him through to his office with the bag of food clutched in her hands. Once he was seated, she placed the food on his desk without any explanation of what it was, sat down, and then asked, “What’s going on, Detective? You’ve arrested Jacob?”

  He interlocked his fingers, placing them under his chin. “We have him in for questioning. He’s not under arrest, not at all.”

  “The taxi driver said he heard on the radio that an Amish man was under arrest for killing his sister.”

  “I said he’s not under arrest. I’d hardly think a taxi driver is a reliable source of information.” The detective sniffed the air. “Do you smoke?”

  “No, I do not.” Just as she’d feared, her clothes had picked up the odor in the taxi.

  “I can smell cigarette smoke. I’m sensitive to the smell. I’ve given them up.”

  “Congratulations,” Ettie said sarcastically before she regretted her tone. She licked her lips, about to make an apology and explain about the smoke-filled taxi she’d ridden in to get there, when the detective spoke.

  “I’m afraid there was more to things than I let on to you.”

  Ettie tipped her head to one side. “What haven’t you told me?”

  “The kind of things that made it look like Jacob Esh murdered his sister.”

  Ettie pulled her mouth to one side. “I didn’t know there were things that made him look guilty. You said…”

  “There are.”

  “Can you be more specific?”

  The detective leaned back in his chair and scratched his forehead. “We had dealings with Camille before she died. She’d had shots fired into her apartment. Someone drove past and shot into her home three times. More accurately, it was a drive-by shooting and three shots were fired.”

  Ettie gasped.

  The detective nodded. “Someone tried to kill her.”

  “You think it was Jacob?”

  “Evidence strongly points to him. He’d hardly be sticking to your Amish rules if he was about to kill someone. He could’ve paid someone to shoot her, or he could’ve borrowed a car and done the job himself. I know you were just about to point out to me that he doesn’t own a car.”

  “Were the gunshots to scare her or kill her?”

  “I don’t know what you’re getting at, Mrs. Smith, but when someone has a gun fired into their home, we take it that the person or persons involved who were doing the shooting were aiming to kill.”

  “Was it while she was living in her apartment? Because Mildred never mentioned anything about a gun being fired into her home.”

  “It was after she left the house and started living in the apartment.”

  “So after her father’s death, then? Because that’s when she left the house, when she found out she hadn’t been left the farm.”

  “Yes, that’s right.”

  “There’s no motive for him to kill her. He already had the farm.”

  “There’s the money. People have killed for a lot less.”

  “So, you’ve got Jacob here still?”

  “He’s still being questioned. I’ve already grilled him but he’s sticking to the same story so I’m letting someone else have a crack at him.”

  “Have you considered that he might be telling the truth?”

  “Someone’s dead, Mrs. Smith. If the brother didn’t do it, then who did?”

  “In just one day I found out that Camille had enemies; two people told me that. Why don’t you look into those people?”

  Kelly sighed. “I thank you for your help, but I think you’ve done all you can do. I hoped you’d uncover something we didn’t know, but it seems there is nothing we didn’t already know.”

  “You think he’s guilty, and you thought he was guilty all along, which means you tricked me into believing you were trying to help him.”

  “I had to make you think I was on his side. I knew you wouldn’t help if you thought otherwise.”

  Ettie rose to her feet. She bit her tongue while thinking of all the things she wanted to say to the despicable person before her. “I can’t speak the words on my mind right now.” She pushed the food she’d brought toward him. “Elsa-May thought you should have some proper food at lunchtime.” Ettie turned and walked out the door without saying goodbye.

  She heard him call after her: “Wait, Mrs. Smith.”

  Ettie turned around.

  “I couldn’t tell you. It would have influenced your thinking when you were finding things out for me.”

  Ettie folded her arms firmly in front of her chest. “That’s something Crowley never would’ve done. He was always honest with us and we respected him for it.”

  “Mrs. Smith, I do appreciate your help, but I’ll handle things from here.”

  “You told me you thought he was innocent. That’s the only reason I helped you.”

  “Like I said, I had to tell you something to get you on my side.”

  Ettie opened her mouth in shock. “That’s unethical and downright disgusting.”

  Kelly smirked. “I didn’t want to deceive you; it’s just part of the job sometimes. Often it’s the only way we can get things done.”

  “So you do think Jacob’s guilty for certain?”

  “Have you come up with any other suspects?”

  “I told you; there’s the neighbor, and the woman Camille was seen arguing with in town. Maybe there were two people she was arguing with, because Mildred heard her arguing with someone on her phone and the neighbor saw her arguing with a woman in town.”

  “Hearsay and conjecture. It’s too fuzzy a lead to follow up. I need something concrete.”

  “Everything is fuzzy until you follow the leads and see where they take you.”

  “Are you telling me how to do my job?”

  “Yes, I suppose I am. Because if you think that Jacob is guilty, you’re not doing a good job right now.”

  “You think he’s innocent because he’s a part of your community?”

  Ettie shook her head. “It’s not that.”

  “I think we’re through speaking for today.”

  “What? Until the next time you need my help?”

  The detective frowned and threw his hands in the air. “It doesn’t please me that I had to lie to you, but that’s just what had to happen.”

  Ettie pressed her lips together. “You don’t mind if I follow some leads that you’re ignoring, do you?”

  “As long as you don’t get in my way you are at liberty to do as you wish.”

&nb
sp; The detective reached out and grabbed a piece of paper from his desk. He motioned for her to come forward and she did so. “I’ll tell you what. Since you’re so upset with me, I’ll give you a peace offering.” He tossed the sheet of paper to Ettie. “This is a list of names and addresses of the people Camille talked to most often from her cell phone.”

  Ettie took hold of the paper and stared at it. There weren’t many names on it. She looked up at the detective. “Isn’t this against some kind of law, letting me have this list?”

  The detective smiled. He swiveled in his chair and turned his head away. “I can’t help it if the list disappeared from my office. If I need the list, I’ll just print out another one. Maybe I never printed one out at all.”

  Ettie looked down at the paper, holding it tightly, and then disappeared out of his office without saying goodbye. He didn’t deserve a goodbye. Ettie was mad with herself for not figuring out what Kelly had been up to from the start. She wasn’t normally fooled so easily, and now she was so upset she was nauseous

  Chapter 7.

  After Ettie left the station, she hailed a taxi, knowing she had to go and see her dear friend, Mildred.

  When the taxi pulled up at Mildred’s house, she could see the bishop’s buggy leaving. Well, at least she had someone to speak with this morning. When Ettie’s taxi drove off, a teary-eyed Mildred met her at the front door. “I’m so glad you’ve come. You’ve heard what’s happened?”

  “I have.” Ettie put her arm around Mildred as she broke down and sobbed. “Come on, let’s sit inside.”

  Once they were sitting down in the living room, Mildred sniffed back her tears. “They came here with so many police cars; lights were whirling and flashing, and then they stormed in here and said they had a search warrant. Then they went right through the house, and the barn, and took things away with them.”

  “What kind of things?” Ettie was amazed that Kelly had never mentioned the search warrant or the fact that the police had taken things.

  “I didn’t see exactly what they took from the barn, but they took all Jacob’s hunting guns that he had kept in the house for safety. They think that Jacob killed Camille, but she wasn’t shot. Why would they take the guns?”