Amish Murder: Amish Mystery (Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Book 2) Page 6

  “Let’s just eat our food in silence,” Elsa-May said in an angry tone.

  Suits me just fine, Ettie thought.

  * * *

  The next day, Elsa-May and Ettie sat in the doctor’s waiting room. The receptionist had fitted them into an eleven thirty appointment slot. Ettie tried to stop thinking about Jacob, and the information Ava might be able to find out, and did her best to concentrate on her sister.

  When the doctor was ready, the receptionist told Elsa-May she could go in. Ettie stood up at the same time.

  Elsa-May frowned at her. “You don’t need to come in with me.”

  “I will. I want to hear what he says.”

  “Please yourself, then, but I think I have to give permission for you to go in with me.” Elsa-May had a word to the nurse, and then both sisters went into the examination room.

  When the doctor had finished examining Elsa-May, he gave them his conclusions. “You were right to come in. It could very well be a blood clot. I’ll book you straight into the hospital for tests. You’ll need to have a scan and the sooner the better.”

  Ettie was grateful for Mildred warning her of such a thing.

  “I thought people only got clots if they were still for long stretches.”

  Ettie kept quiet, stopping herself from pointing out to Elsa-May that she sat down without moving for hours almost every day while she knitted.

  “As people get older, they’re more at risk, and with your weight problem it puts you in a high-risk category.”

  “I don’t have a weight problem. I’ve always been on the bigger side.”

  The doctor stared at her and blinked a couple times. “You could do with losing some weight. Try taking a walk every morning and cut down on your food.” The doctor looked across at his computer, and then said, “I’ll call an ambulance to take you in.”

  “That’s not necessary, surely!” Elsa-May barked.

  “I’d prefer that we take precautions.”

  Ettie leaned over close to her, and said, “Do as he says, Elsa-May.”

  Elsa-May looked at the doctor. “Okay, have it your way.”

  The doctor smiled, and then turned back to his computer and tapped on a few keys. “I’m letting the hospital know you’re coming, and arranging for an ambulance.”

  Once they were back in the waiting room of the clinic, Elsa-May turned to Ettie who was sitting next to her. “There’s no point in you coming with me. Why don’t you go and see what Ava has found out?”

  “Nee, I’ll wait with you.”

  “Just go, Ettie. Stop being so schtarrkeppich.”

  Elsa-May’s comment made Ettie smile. It was she who was the stubborn one. “All right, then. I’ll come and check on you at the hospital after I’ve seen Ava.”

  “I’ll get a taxi home when they’ve done the test.”

  “I should be at the hospital before you go. You might have a long wait before they can run the test. They’ve probably got a long line of people in front of you.”

  “Just go, Ettie, and stop being a mother hen. Jacob needs your help. I’m big enough to look after myself – too big, the doctor tells me.” Elsa-May chuckled. “The doctor just doesn’t realize I’ve got large bones.”

  “Okay, as long as you don’t mind me going.”

  “Go!”

  Chapter 9.

  Ettie went straight to Ava’s place after she left Elsa-May to wait for the ambulance.

  Ava had seen her arrive and she waited at the door of her grossdaddi haus. “I’m glad you’ve come when you did. I was just about to get ready, then I was going to drive over to your haus to see you.”

  “I wouldn’t have been there. I’ve just taken Elsa-May to the doctor, and now she’s waiting to be taken to the hospital for tests.”

  “Nothing serious, I hope.”

  “The doctor thinks she might have a blood clot so she needs to have a scan.”

  “I hope she’ll be all right.”

  Ettie nodded. “She’s in good hands.”

  “Come in, and I’ll tell you what I’ve found out.”

  Once they were sitting at the small kitchen table, Ava said, “I noticed something on the list you gave me; the number of conversations the people had with Camille were written on the side.” Ava picked up the list and pointed out the numbers to Ettie. “Now, you can see that most of the conversations on her cell were with a woman called Judith Mackelvanner.”

  “Did you find out about this woman?”

  Ava passed over all the printouts from her friend at the DMV, including photos of all the people on Camille’s phone list.

  Ava pulled out the photo of the woman and tapped on it. “That’s her there; she’s a doctor. I ‘Googled’ her and found out that she works at the hospital, and she studies neurology. I know that because she’s been looking for volunteers on some trials she’s running for a paper she’s writing.”

  “Was Camille one of her volunteers?”

  Ava shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know.”

  “Who else is on the list?”

  “There was a call to a woman. Now this is interesting – her mobile phone records are in the name of Lacey Miller, but the DMV has that number down as belonging to a Leah Miller.”

  “Your friend traced the mobile numbers?”

  “Jah. Now look at this photo of Leah Miller.”

  “That’s Leah Miller who used to be in our community! She’d have to be right around the same age as Camille. That would be one of the Englisch friends she had that Mildred was speaking about.”

  “Yep. I remember her, and she certainly looks like the Leah we know.”

  “Camille had also called some businesses, and a few car places. It looks as though she might have been about to buy a car. There was also a call to someone called Nick Heaton.”

  “Who’s he?”

  “I looked him up on the computer and found various articles in the paper about a Nick Heaton being arrested a couple of times, but it might not be the same man; I couldn’t find photos of him to match with his driver’s license photo. I also found out that there is a Nick Heaton who sells used cars. Ava continued, "But definitely most of Camille's incoming calls were from the woman doctor. There were also calls listed from the hospital to Camille's cell phone."

  “Strange. I wonder who that woman was that Camille was arguing with. Would it have been the doctor, or Leah Miller, or someone else? I wonder whether Camille was sick?”

  “Why would she argue with her doctor if she was sick? She could have been one of the doctor’s volunteers.”

  “I don’t know. Good work finding all that out. Be sure to thank your friend for me.” Ettie took a moment to take a deep breath. “Come with me to the hospital. I’ve got to see what’s happening with Elsa-May. I’m worried about her.”

  * * *

  When Ettie and Ava got to the hospital, Ettie was surprised to be directed to a room on the top floor. They found the room and walked in to see that Elsa-May was sharing a room with three other women. Elsa-May was at the far wall near the window.

  “Have you had the tests yet?” was the first thing Ettie asked when she stood next to Elsa-May’s bed.

  Elsa-May smiled at Ava. “Nice to see you, Ava.”

  “You feeling okay?”

  Elsa-May nodded. “Fine.” She looked at Ettie. “I’ve had an ultrasound, but they couldn’t tell anything. They said the test was inconclusive and now I have to stay in while they do another test. Looks like I’ll be in overnight.”

  “You’ll need some things if you’re going to be in overnight. I’ll go home and bring some things to you.”

  “Nee. I’ll wear the hospital gown. It doesn’t bother me. I’ve got everything I need. Don’t exhaust yourself rushing around.”

  “What kind of test will they do, Elsa-May?” Ava asked.

  “They call it a venogram. They shoot dye into me through a catheter and then X-ray me.”

  Ava winced. “Sounds like it might be painful.”

  “I hope not,” Elsa-May said. “I don’t have much of a choice but to go ahead and do it.”

  “They can’t do it today?” Ava asked.

  Elsa-May shook her head. “They’re doing it tomorrow. I have to fast for hours before they do the X-ray.”

  “Well, I guess I don’t need to bring you any food, then,” Ettie said.

  “Take my mind off things and tell me what you’ve found out,” Elsa-May said.

  Ettie and Ava told her what they knew so far about the people on the list Ettie had gotten from Kelly.

  “This Judith Mackelvanner is a neurologist?”

  “Jah,” Ettie and Ava said at the same time.

  “Neurology is something to do with the brain, I believe,” Elsa-May said. “And from what you know so far, do you think Camille might have been arguing with Judith or Leah?”

  “We’ve no idea; it might have been neither of them,” Ava said.

  “What reason would she have for arguing with a neurologist?” Elsa-May asked.

  Ettie was silent while she thought. “It could have been something personal. Just because this Judith Mackelvanner is a doctor doesn’t mean that the argument was about something medical.”

  “I suppose it could’ve been about anything.” Ava chewed on the end of her thumbnail.

  “Could she have been Nehemiah’s doctor?” Ettie suggested.

  “I don’t think so. He died from heart disease and this doctor studies the brain,” Elsa-May said.

  Ava turned to Ettie. “Why don’t you ask Mildred if she’s heard of Dr. Judith Mackelvanner?”

  “That’s a good idea, Ava. A good idea indeed. I’ll take you to your place, and then I’ll have the taxi continue to Mildred’s haus.”

  “Okay.”

 
Ettie turned to Elsa-May. “Are you sure you don’t need anything?”

  “Jah, I’m sure. Don’t tell anyone I’m in the hospital. I don’t want anyone to worry, and I don’t want visitors fussing about.”

  “Okay.” Ettie leaned over and rubbed her sister’s arm. “You’ll be in my prayers.”

  Elsa-May breathed out heavily and closed her eyes as she said, “Denke.”

  Ettie turned to Ava. “Come on, then.”

  “Bye, Elsa-May,” Ava said.

  “Goodbye,” Elsa-May said without opening her eyes.

  Chapter 10.

  When Ettie and Ava approached Ava’s place, Ettie was surprised to see Jeremiah’s buggy. She looked closer and saw Jeremiah standing near his horse.

  “My goodness. What’s he doing here? I wonder if Elsa-May saw him and let him know I wanted him to do some jobs at the haus.”

  “I think he’s here to see me, Ettie.”

  Ettie frowned and looked at Ava only to see her face flush crimson. “He is? That’s wonderful news.”

  Ava gave a little giggle. “It’s not like that. We’re just friends and that’s all.”

  “Jah, that’s what everyone says. That’s what I told my parents when my late husband and I were secretly courting.”

  Ava shook her head.

  When Ava got out of the taxi, Ettie said, “Say hello to Jeremiah for me and tell him I’ve got some work for him, when he’s got some spare time.” Ettie smiled and resisted teasing Ava. Ettie called after her, “That’ll save me talking to him on Sunday.”

  Five minutes later, Ettie was at Mildred’s house.

  After Ettie told Mildred about Elsa-May being in the hospital and asked her to keep quiet about it, she inquired about Jacob.

  Mildred answered her. “The lawyer’s only just left. He asked Jacob a lot of questions. Anyway, Jacob’s very tired, but he’s out back now fixing fences. He’s a hard worker. We’ve saved geld with Jacob being able to work. Camille couldn’t work on the farm; all she could do was organize the workers and she didn’t do that very well at all, so Nehemiah said.”

  “Jah, I suppose you would save a lot on labor now that Jacob can be so hands-on. The police haven’t been back around?”

  “Nee.”

  “Tell me, Mildred, have you ever heard of a Dr. Mackelvanner?”

  Mildred’s eyebrows drew together. “I can’t say for certain that I have, but the name does sound a little familiar. Was she one of the doctors that Nehemiah went to see?”

  “I’m not sure. He saw a few different doctors?”

  “Jah, he went to one who referred him to others; all of them tried to find out exactly what was wrong with him. His symptoms were fairly general. He went downhill so quickly.”

  Ettie poked a finger under her prayer kapp and scratched her head. “This woman, Dr. Mackelvanner, specializes in brain disorders. Do you know anyone afflicted with anything like that?”

  “Only Mary.”

  “Mary?” Ettie hadn’t figured that the doctor might have had something to do with Mary and her condition.

  Mildred nodded. “Nehemiah told me that Mary had mental problems. I always thought that Camille suffered the same thing.”

  “So Mary would’ve seen a doctor.”

  “What’s all this about, Ettie?”

  “I’m following up on a few things that might be able to help Jacob. They seem unrelated at the moment, but I’m hoping they’ll all piece together at the end.”

  “Thank you for helping. You’ve been wunderbaar. I couldn’t be certain who the doctor was that Mary saw, but Nehemiah did say that Mary had some kind of mental disorder and that’s all I know. He said that not long after she started having violent episodes, she was gone in a matter of months.”

  Ettie thought back to Mary as she’d known her many years ago, and at the time, she’d had no idea that Mary was sick. “Would Jacob know more about it?”

  “Nee, he was only a young bu when Mary went home to be with Gott. Not unless his vadder told him something of it in later years, but I don’t know.”

  “That’s possible.”

  “Except Nehemiah wasn’t much of a talker.”

  Ettie pushed her lips and nodded. Many of the Amish men weren’t good at talking. Her own father had to be asked about his childhood and only then would he tell her stories, whereas her mother had often told her stories about how things were when she was growing up.

  “Stay for lunch, Ettie. Jacob will be home and you can ask him yourself.”

  “Denke, I’ll do that.”

  When Jacob came home, Ettie had a chance to ask him about his mother’s illness.

  “Jah, I didn’t know when I was young she was sick, but I found out when I was older that my mudder had something called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. I was upset that it kind of shared my name.”

  Ettie frowned. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

  “It’s a degenerative disease of the central nervous system, apparently. I looked into it.”

  “That sounds awful. Was she treated by a neurologist?”

  “I don’t know. I couldn’t get much information out of Dat about the whole thing. He didn’t like to talk about her much. It made him too upset.”

  “She was your mudder; you had a right to ask as many questions as you wanted to and have your questions answered,” Mildred said.

  Jacob nodded and the corners of his mouth twitched. “Why do you ask, Ettie?”

  “I’m following up on a few things.” Ettie figured she should tell him the truth. “In point of actual fact, I’ve reason to believe that your schweschder had many conversations with a doctor from the hospital. I found out today when I was visiting Elsa-May…”

  Jacob interrupted, “Elsa-May’s in the hospital?”

  “Don’t worry about her, she’s okay, and don’t let anyone know she’s there. She’s just having some tests. Anyway, I found out that the doctor is a woman, and she’s also a neurologist. I was just wondering if she might have had anything to do with your mudder’s treatment.”

  “I wouldn’t be able to tell you. Is the doctor old?”

  “I haven’t seen her in person, but I’ll find out how old she’d be. I saw a photo and she didn’t look very old, maybe around forty or so.”

  “Anyone who treated my mudder would have to be around sixty I’d guess.”

  Ettie knew she’d slipped up. She should’ve had Ava check the ages of the people. Dr. Mackelvanner seemed as though she’d be too young to have treated Mary Esh. Ava’s friend from the DMV would’ve had the birth dates recorded on the system.

  Ettie turned to Mildred. “You said someone told you they saw Camille in town arguing with a woman. Did they say what the woman looked like?”

  “A woman with long dark hair, an Englischer. That’s all they said.”

  “Really?”

  Mildred nodded. “That’s right.”

  “This doctor has long dark hair.”

  “So my schweschder had many conversations with this doctor and she was seen arguing with a woman who fits the doctor’s description? What does any of this have to do with me? Do you think the doctor you’re asking about murdered Camille?”

  “I don’t know. I’m trying to find out who Camille was talking to and why. That could go a long way to finding out if she’d upset anyone enough for them to want her gone.”

  “I’m sorry, Ettie. I don’t mean to be irritable, or ungrateful. Denke for helping, but I don’t think there’s anything you can do. I’ll just have to wait, hope, and trust in Gott that the police give me the all clear.”

  “And they will because you didn’t do anything,” Mildred said.

  Jacob smiled at Mildred.

  It was getting late in the day, and Ettie figured that she shouldn’t press anything further since both Jacob and Mildred were under a lot of pressure. The best thing she could do was go and see Detective Kelly. He’d be able to find out about the doctor even if he had to go and ask the doctor how she knew Camille.

  After Jacob went back to his farm work and Ettie finished helping Mildred with washing the dishes, Ettie made her way back to the police station.

  The officer at the front desk must have recognized her; because before Ettie said a word, he said, “Detective Kelly?”