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

  “She had gunshots fired into her apartment. She didn’t tell you?”

  Mildred opened her mouth wide. When Ettie saw the hurt in Mildred’s eyes she regretted asking the question. Ettie knew how painful it was for Mildred that Camille resented her. Of course Camille wouldn’t have told her about the attempt on her life.

  “I don’t know how to help him, Ettie. I found a card from a lawyer amongst Nehemiah’s things.” Mildred stood up and walked over to a small bureau, found a business card, and brought it back to Ettie.

  Ettie took the card and read the name. “Claymore Cartwright.” Ettie looked at the back of the well-worn card and read the address. “He’s just in town, if he’s still in business. I’ll go with you if you want to see him.”

  “Would you, Ettie?”

  “Jah. Do you want me to call now and make an appointment?”

  Mildred nodded.

  Ettie rose to her feet with the card in hand. “I’ll do it right away. You stay here and take some deep breaths. Do you want a cup of tea?”

  “Nee, I had tea just now with the bishop.”

  “Jah, I just passed him when I came through your gate.”

  Ettie made her way to the barn. She pushed the door open and saw things scattered everywhere. The police must’ve done this. No one would keep their barn in a state like this. She stepped over things and made her way to the telephone on the other side of the barn. She picked up the receiver and dialed the number on the card. Ettie was pleased when she heard it ring – that meant the man was still in business.

  After a couple of weird dial-tone and clicking sounds on the other end of the phone, a male voice answered. It was the lawyer himself. Once Ettie explained the situation to the lawyer, he had them come in immediately. Ettie called for a taxi, placed the receiver back on the hook, and hurried to tell Mildred.

  * * *

  Ettie convinced Mildred to take the taxi in to visit with the lawyer rather than taking the buggy, figuring they should get there as fast as possible.

  When they arrived in town, the taxi dropped them right outside the address that was on the old business card.

  They took the elevator up to the fourth floor. When the elevator doors opened, they stepped out and followed the corridor around the corner. They were looking for the office of Claymore Cartwright, but it was nowhere to be seen. All the offices appeared to be empty. When they walked up to the end of the corridor, Ettie was pleased to see an open door. Ettie walked two more steps and when she peeped in she saw a young man behind a desk in a sparsely furnished office. The man was dressed in casual clothes and wore a bright green baseball cap.

  He smiled and rose to his feet. “Mrs. Esh?”

  Ettie was surprised that the man was so young. He had to be the lawyer, as he’d known Mildred’s name. Given his name and the aged business card she had expected a much older man. Ettie nodded and pulled Mildred forward. “This is Mrs. Esh. I’m her friend, the one who called you. Ettie Smith.”

  “Please, come in.”

  Ettie had never seen a lawyer in casual clothes. She’d only seen them wear dark suits and ties.

  “I heard that your son was arrested. Are you here because you want me to represent him?”

  Ettie spoke first. “He’s not been arrested, although the news stations seem to think so.”

  “Yes, they do like news - bad news, anyway - about the Amish.”

  “Seems so.” Ettie continued, “He was taken in for questioning, and the police had a search warrant and took a great number of things out of Mildred’s home and out of her barn.”

  Ettie glanced at Mildred, hoping she didn’t mind her speaking on her behalf. Mildred wasn’t used to doing things for herself because Nehemiah, or Jacob, had always been around to do things for her. Ettie looked back at the lawyer and continued, “Mildred found your card amongst her late husband’s things, and we really need some legal advice. We’re not too sure how these things work.”

  Claymore looked at Mildred. “I set a few things up for your husband.”

  “The bank trust fund?” Ettie asked.

  “Yes,” the lawyer said with a sharp nod. “I also helped him write his will.”

  Mildred finally spoke. “They took Jacob in the early hours this morning and searched all through our house and also our barn. The police took things away with them.”

  The lawyer leaned forward in his chair. “What did they take?”

  “They took so many things. They asked about firearms, so I told them where Jacob kept his hunting rifles and they took all of them. Some were his father’s, and some didn’t even work. They also took things from the barn; I’m not sure what.”

  Ettie spoke again, “Before all this happened, the detective, Keith Kelly, asked for my help because no one in our Amish community would talk to him. He told me he thought that Jacob was innocent. I was only to find out later that he thought nothing of the kind.”

  The lawyer looked at Mildred. “Where’s your son now?”

  “He’s at the police station.”

  “He shouldn’t be questioned without a lawyer. I’ll go and see what I can do.”

  “Could you do that?” Mildred asked.

  “Yes, I’ll see what I can find out.”

  “Have you done this kind of thing before?” Mildred asked.

  Ettie knew Mildred was asking because he didn’t look like a lawyer and his office didn’t look like any lawyer’s office she’d ever been to.

  Claymore smiled as though he’d often answered that question. “Yes, I have. I do a bit of everything.”

  While the lawyer asked Mildred some background questions, Ettie took in her surroundings. There were only two small offices and no receptionist. He appeared to work by himself. There was no one in the other office, and from what she could see when she’d walked past it, it was bare. Ettie turned her head to view the small reception area through the open door of the office. There were a few filing cabinets and some ten large white folders on a bookshelf. Nothing about the office was plush or expensive.

  As the lawyer stood up, he said, “Don’t you ladies worry about anything. I’ll go and see him right now and I’ll give you a phone call this afternoon to let you know what’s happening.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Cartwright,” Mildred said. “Oh, and there’s the matter of your fee.”

  The young lawyer waved his hand in the air. “Let’s talk about that later. Don’t concern yourself with that now. I can sort something out with your son.”

  The lawyer smiled at them as Ettie stood up and helped Mildred to her feet. Mildred looked as though she would cry again. Ettie wanted to get out of the office so Mr. Cartwright could lock up and go to see how he could help Jacob.

  * * *

  All Ettie could do was take Mildred home and wait for a call from the lawyer. They’d opened the barn door so they could more easily hear the telephone while they sat in the room closest, which was the kitchen.

  “Ach, Ettie. I’ve already lost Nehemiah and Camille was always lost; I can’t lose Jacob as well. What if they’ve arrested him?”

  “The detective didn’t say he’d arrested him. In fact, he said he hadn’t arrested him. I’m sure Jacob will be home as soon as they finish questioning him. At least he’s got a lawyer with him now.”

  Mildred nodded. “I suppose I should’ve called a lawyer first thing when they took him.” Tears trickled down Mildred’s cheeks. “I don’t know what I ever did to make Camille hate me so much.”

  Ettie leaned over and rubbed Mildred’s arm. “I don’t think she hated you. She was probably so upset over her mudder’s death that she never got over it.”

  Mildred shook her head. “I don’t know. She used to look at me with such hatred in her eyes.” Mildred looked across at Ettie. “I’ve never seen anything like it. She used to scare me. I thought one time she was going to hit me.”

  “I didn’t know things were that bad.”

  “I couldn’t tell anyone how mean she was to me. Whenev
er she’d walk past me she’d push me or bump me. I didn’t know whether it was my fault, if I’d done something to upset her, but Jacob was never like that toward me and I always treated him in the same way that I treated her. I gave them both the same discipline when they needed it and I tried to give them all the love that Mary would’ve.”

  The sound of a car humming up toward the house met Ettie’s ears. Mildred sprang to her feet and peered out the window.

  “It’s him. I think it’s the lawyer. I can see two people in the car.”

  Ettie joined her at the window, and then Mildred sprinted to the front door. Ettie managed to catch up to her as Jacob got out of the lawyer’s car. He straightened himself up. He looked dreadful. His face was white and he had deep circles under his eyes.

  Mildred ran to him. “Are you all right?

  “I am now that I’m home.”

  Mildred hugged Jacob and he put his arm around her shoulder. “It’s okay, Mamm. Everything’s gonna be okay. But right now I just wanna get some sleep.”

  “What happened? Didn’t they feed you? Oh, you were there for so long. You looked dreadful.”

  Jacob shook his head. “I can’t talk about anything right now. I just need to sleep.” He nodded hello to Ettie, and then said, “Excuse me, will you?”

  “Certainly,” Ettie said.

  Jacob turned around and shook the lawyer’s hand.

  “I’ll be in touch.” The lawyer slapped Jacob lightly on his back before Jacob walked into the house.

  “Thank you for getting him out,” Mildred said to the lawyer.

  “We’re not out of the woods yet. They didn’t have anything to hold him on, but they seem pretty confident that they’re getting some evidence soon. They’re running ballistics tests on the bullets they found. And they mentioned they found fingerprints in Camille’s apartment that didn’t belong to her. They’ve taken his prints.”

  “So they didn’t arrest him?” Mildred asked.

  “They questioned him, or rather, grilled him. You should’ve called me sooner. He could’ve refused to answer.”

  “He’s got nothing to hide.” Mildred started blubbering again, so Ettie did her best to comfort her.

  “He’s home now,” Ettie said. “Safe and sound.”

  “I’ve made a time with Jacob to come here tomorrow and go over a few things. All the guns they took from here have Jacob’s prints on them.”

  A lawyer who makes house calls? Ettie then noticed that he was wearing different clothes than when he saw them in his office earlier that day. “You changed your clothes from this morning?”

  “It was my day off. Your call was diverted to my mobile. I thought it sounded serious enough to forgo my free time.”

  Ettie smiled. “Thank you.”

  “Oh, we didn’t know. That was so good of you.”

  He chuckled. “I changed my clothes before I went to the station. I always keep a suit in my office.”

  The lawyer said goodbye and the two ladies watched as his car hummed down the driveway.

  “Such a nice young man, and handsome too,” Ettie said.

  “Jah, if only I was young again,” Mildred added.

  Ettie and Mildred looked at each other and giggled. “Well, at least we can find something to laugh about,” Ettie said.

  “You do cheer me up, Ettie. Will you stay for dinner?”

  “Nee denke. Normally I would, but I’ll have to get home to see Elsa-May and fix her dinner. She’s got a bad leg and can’t walk very well.”

  “What’s wrong with her leg?”

  “I’m not certain. It started giving her some trouble a few days ago. If she keeps it elevated she says it doesn’t hurt as much.”

  “Has she been to the doctor about it?”

  “Nee.” Ettie pulled a face. “Why? Do you think she should?”

  “I have heard that blood clots can give people sore legs. They can be very dangerous, and sometimes people even have to have their legs amputated.”

  Ettie gasped. It hadn’t occurred to her that her sister could be in danger of something like that. “Well, it’s too late to take her to the doctor now. I’ll take her first thing in the morning.”

  On Ettie’s way home, she stopped by Ava’s place to see if her young friend could help with the list of names and addresses that Kelly had given her.

  * * *

  “I’m here to ask you to help me with something. You helped me before with Horace, so I was hoping you’d be able to help me again.” Ettie filled Ava in with what she knew so far about Camille’s murder and her life.

  “I’ll help in any way I can. What do you want me to do?”

  Ettie pulled out the list of names that Kelly had allowed her to take. “I’m going to work through these one by one and see what I can find out. These are the people who Camille was speaking to from her cell phone. These are the names of the people she called, and those who called her."

  “What do you want me to do? Come with you when you speak to them?”

  Ettie passed the list to Ava and then said, “Firstly, I’d like you to see what you can find out about each one. I’ve been told she was having arguments with people, so…”

  “How could I do that? You mean on the Internet?” Ava looked at the list.

  “Jah, that, and have you still got that helpful friend who works at the DMV?”

  Ava glanced up at Ettie. “Jah, I do.”

  “I’m hoping your friend can get us photos that match these phone numbers. And also verify that the addresses are current.”

  “I’ll see what I can find out. I’m certain he’ll help.”

  Ettie nodded. “Very good. Before I go home, I’ll have a quick look through the haus to see what repairs need doing.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?”

  “Nee, you look like you’re busy cooking.”

  “I’ll talk to my friend tonight, if I can, or first thing in the morning. I’m guessing you want the information quickly?”

  Ettie smiled. “You know me well.” After Ettie left Ava, she walked around to the front door of the main house. She bent down to fetch the key from under the potted fern at the front door. Once she pushed the rusty key into the lock, she turned it to the right and heard a loud click.

  Ettie pushed the door open and a waft of stale, warm air swept over her. “I must air the place out,” she mumbled to herself. When Ettie walked further in, she realized how much she missed her dear friend, Agatha. They used to sit for hours and talk. Ettie wiped a tear from her eye and was a little sad that she’d never be able to live in this house. Not after they found poor old Horace dead under the floor.

  The rocking chair was back in the middle of the floor where Ettie had left it last time she was in the house. The chair had always been placed right over poor old Horace. “I’ll see you again when Gott takes me home, Agatha,” Ettie muttered. Ettie blinked hard and reminded herself why she was there. There was no time to reflect on sentimental nonsense, not when Elsa-May was waiting for her to cook the dinner.

  Ettie walked through the house, making a mental note of all the repairs she’d have to get Jeremiah to do. There were kitchen doors coming off their hinges, the ceiling had peeling paint, and some of the windows didn’t open. There was mold in one corner of the living room, and she had noticed when she’d been unlocking the door that the boards on the porch needed replacing.

  Ettie sighed. “So many things to do.” Thankfully Agatha had also left her money. She could use that to fix the house, and then she’d lease it to a nice Amish family.

  Chapter 8.

  Over dinner with Elsa-May, Ettie brought up the subject of visiting a doctor.

  “Nee, definitely not! I’ve had problems like this before and it just goes away.”

  “But what if it’s something more serious this time?”

  “Like what?” Elsa-May’s eyebrows drew together.

  “Mildred said it could be a blood clot.”

  Elsa-May’s eyes opene
d wide. “Really? She’s had experience with that kind of thing?”

  “She’s heard of it.”

  “Perhaps I should go.”

  “I think that’s for the best. You haven’t been yourself lately.”

  “I have been tired.”

  “And vague,” Ettie added.

  “Have I been vague?”

  Ettie nodded. “And that’s not like you.”

  “I have been concerned about Mildred being all on her own if something happens to Jacob.”

  “She’ll be okay,” Ettie said.

  “She’s quite frail, you know. I don’t mean physically. She’s relied on her husband all the time for everything, and now that he’s gone I guess she’s relying on Jacob. What will happen if…?”

  “We can’t think about that,” Ettie said. “We’ll have to keep our thoughts off the bad things.”

  “Jah, Ettie, you’re right. And anyway, there are so many people in the community to help her and there’s all the ladies in the knitting circle.”

  “I forgot she was in your knitting circle. And there’s something else I forgot to tell you about.”

  “What is it, Ettie?”

  “The detective gave me a list of names of the people who Camille called from her cell phone. And the people who called her.”

  “He just gave it to you?”

  Ettie nodded. “Well, he didn’t really give it to me. He told me he couldn’t help the fact if someone took the list from his desk.”

  “Then he is on Jacob’s side.”

  “I wouldn’t say that. I was angry that he’d told me he believed Jacob and then I’d found out that he’d been stringing me along. It was more a peace-offering; jah, that’s what he called it.”

  Elsa-May scratched the side of her forehead. “Don’t you think that’s a little dangerous if the woman was murdered? One of the people on the list could very well have killed her. Why would you put yourself in danger like that?”

  Ettie shrugged. “Too late now. I was happy to stay out of the whole thing. Detective Kelly was the one who knocked on our door. Jacob and Mildred need our help. I just can’t turn my back on them.”