Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries Box Set 6 Read online

  “Are you sure?”

  “Take a seat in front of the fire,” Elsa-May said.

  “I hope you didn't put that fire on for me, because I have a little furnace inside me keeping me warm all the time. I'm generally too hot.”

  Ettie said, “Snowy needed a bath after his adventure with the neighbor’s topsoil.”

  “Oh no.” Ava laughed.

  When Jeremiah walked in the door, Ettie rushed over to him. “Come with me and I’ll show you where the fence needs nailing back together.”

  “I’ll go around the side so I don’t get the house dirty from my work boots.”

  “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. We’ve already got dirt on the floor from Snowy.”

  Jeremiah laughed as he walked through the front door and headed toward the back with Ettie.

  “She wanted to fix the fence herself,” Elsa-May explained with a chuckle.

  Ava giggled. “Jeremiah’s happy to do any work around the place.”

  “He’s always been the one we can rely on,” Ettie said.

  “Me too,” Ava said.

  When Ettie and Jeremiah went outside, Elsa-May picked up the towel by Snowy’s bed, kneeled down, and continued to dab at his damp fur. “I never like washing him late in the day because it takes too long for all his fur to dry.”

  “He’ll dry by the fire. It looks like he’s quite comfortable there.”

  “He’s just happy to be out of the water. He doesn’t like baths one little bit. Oh, I must show you what I’ve knitted for your boppli. I’ve also been knitting teddy bears for the children’s hospital, so I’ve been busy.”

  Ettie walked back into the house. “Would you like to lie down, Ava?”

  “I’m fine, Ettie. Sometimes I have a little sleep in the afternoon, but not every day.”

  “You can lie down in my room. Jeremiah might be a while fixing the fence.”

  “When I got home, I ate a lot and that gave me more energy. And I had a rest on the drive over. I can't wait to see what you’ve knitted, Elsa-May.”

  “Ah.” Elsa-May got up, and headed over to the bureau. She leaned down and pulled out a fabric bag. It was the same bag where she kept all her special knitted pieces. Ava moved to sit closer when Elsa-May sat back down in her usual chair. One by one, she showed Ava the tiny clothes.

  “Oh, Elsa-May these are lovely! They're so delicate. I don't know how you do this so well.”

  Elsa-May stretched her knobbly-knuckled hands out. “I might not be able to do it for much longer, so I'm making the most of it.”

  “I'll keep these forever and tell my children they came from their great grossmammi, and then they can be passed down through the generations.”

  Elsa-May shook her head and made a funny sound, and Ettie knew she was pleased with what Ava had said.

  “Have you made any progress with your thought processes regarding Jedidiah?” Ava asked.

  To the sound of loud hammering outside, Elsa-May said, “We haven’t had any time to think about things. When we got home, we were immediately faced with a broken-down fence, a cranky neighbor, and Snowy, who sorely needed a good scrubbing.”

  “Let me know if I can help you with anything besides driving you tomorrow.”

  “Nee, you've done quite enough for us,” Elsa-May said.

  “It would give me something to do. And I'd appreciate it. I haven't been doing much. Jeremiah won't let me do a thing.”

  Elsa-May chortled. “And neither should you do anything too ambitious, except rest and get ready for the birth.”

  “Ach nee, don't frighten me.”

  Elsa-May folded the baby clothes and placed them back in the bag. “There's nothing to worry about. Women have been giving birth for thousands of years.”

  “I know. That's something I keep telling myself. Everyone else can do it, so I’ll be able to.”

  “You'll be okay.” Ettie said.

  Ava gave a weak smile. “I'll feel much better when the time comes.”

  Ettie stared up at the ceiling. “I remember when I was waiting for my firstborn to come. I thought the day would never arrive.”

  “That's kind of how I'm feeling. It's taking so long.” Ava’s mouth turned down at the corners.

  “I think you should rest and not go out tomorrow. You look tired and it’s our fault.”

  “Nonsense. I didn’t have to come back with Jeremiah just now. I feel fine.”

  “Ettie’s right. You rest up tomorrow. We’ll fill you in on what we find out. You must think of your boppli.”

  Ava sighed. “Okay.”

  Jeremiah opened the back door. “I’ve fixed it as best I can. You shouldn’t have any more problems.”

  “That’s wunderbaar. Denke, Jeremiah,” Ettie said.

  “I hope that keeps your neighbor happy.”

  Ettie pulled her mouth to one side. “Well, that would be a hard thing to do.”

  “It's a wonder Greville hasn’t come over here to complain about the hammering.” Elsa-May chuckled. “He’s caused us some problems since he moved in. But I’m sure he thinks we’re his biggest problem.”

  “And our disagreeable yapping dog,” Ettie added.

  “That's true,” Elsa-May said.

  Jeremiah sat down with them. “Ava tells me you’re trying to find out what happened to Jedidiah Shoneberger.”

  “Jah,” Elsa-May nodded. “Do you know anything?”

  “I don’t. Ava and I were talking about it on the way here. I don’t think there's any use doing anything about it. If the man could've been found he would've been by now. Nell might find out something she doesn’t want to know.”

  “Jeremiah and I don’t agree on this,” said Ava gently. “I said that Nell wants to find out, no matter what the truth is. I think that people can handle the truth, it’s the ‘not knowing’ about a thing that’s the hardest.” Ava looked at Jeremiah. “If you’d gone missing two weeks before our wedding, I don’t know what I’d have done. I don't know how Nell ever found it within herself to love again.”

  “She had to move on rather than live in the past, I'd say,” Ettie said.

  Elsa-May added, “She says she knew in her heart that he’d died. That helped her to move on. She wants us to find out why he vanished. There are so many unanswered questions, and she would like the truth.”

  Ettie nodded. “Who did he upset so much that they wanted to kill him?”

  “Or did someone want to stop him from marrying Nell? Now, on a happy note, can you two stay for the evening meal?”

  “I've got our meal prepared at home, but thanks anyway,” Ava said.

  “I don’t know how you had time to prepare it,” said Elsa-May.

  “We have plenty,” Ettie added. They would, once she cooked it.

  Ava shook her head. “We’re having a quiet dinner at home tonight. Denke for the offer.”

  Chapter 9

  Once they stepped out of the taxi, Ettie had a look at Rose Cottage with fresh eyes. It was a little run-down looking, but that only added to the charm. Large roses, all shades of pinks and reds, still bloomed in the much-loved rose garden at the side of the house.

  “Come along, Ettie. What are you staring at?”

  “Just taking it in.”

  Elsa-May walked ahead and knocked on the door. Ettie caught up with her and waited by the scratched and faded turquoise-colored door. The narrow windows were framed in the same color. It was an odd color choice for doors and windows, especially for an Amish house, but somehow it suited the place. More subtle and neutral shades were preferred by the folks in their community. Nell wouldn’t have thought twice about skirting the parameters of what was expected, but with Jennifer around it was surprising she hadn’t 'suggested' her sister have all the doors and windows painted white, cream or beige.

  Nell answered the door. “What have you found out?”

  She looked at them so expectantly that Ettie felt awful to have to tell her they’d found out nothing.

  “Nothing y
et. We’ve come to ask you some more questions,” Elsa-May said.

  “Do come inside.” She ushered them into her long narrow living room. On the end of the room there were two tall rectangular windows looking out onto the fields.

  “You can see forever from here,” Ettie said as she sat down.

  “Jah, it’s a lovely room. I like to sit here and knit.”

  Elsa-May’s face lit up. “Ah, you like knitting?”

  “I do.”

  “We're looking for more ladies to help us knit for the hospital.”

  “Someone else asked me to knit for something or other and I agreed, but I never heard anything else about it. I’d be very happy to help, Elsa-May.”

  Elsa-May’s face beamed with delight and she asked Nell to make squares in a certain size. “I’ll stop by soon and bring the yarn. I’ve had a lot donated by a store in town.”

  “Okay. It’ll give me something to keep my mind occupied.”

  “Good. I told the lady in charge of the volunteers that I’d deliver a certain amount by the end of the month, and I’m way behind because I’ve been knitting for my newest addition to my family, Jeremiah and Ava’s boppli.”

  “Ah that’s right. She must be due soon?”

  “Soon enough. Another couple of months.”

  “I'm so pleased to see the both of you because I'm having a big dinner on Friday night to show my appreciation to everyone. Everybody has been so good and kind to me after Abraham's death, and John has agreed to do some renovations on the house. I thought there’s no better time to have a big get-together.”

  “Sounds great.” Ettie knew that was a good opportunity to talk to people about Jedidiah, but only if she could slip it casually into the conversations.

  “What are you having done to the place?” Elsa-May asked.

  Nell placed both hands in her lap. “According to John, there’s rising damp in the spare bedroom.” John was her oldest son, in his early forties with a family of young adult children of his own. He was the only one of her five sons in this community. The second eldest had made his home in his wife's community, and the three youngest had all chosen to leave the Amish life.

  “Is that on the eastern side of the house?” Ettie asked.

  “That's right. The side near the rose garden. He will have to disturb the garden a little and Abraham would never have allowed it.”

  “That's good that John can do it for you. We have Jeremiah to do most things around our house. Everyone else seems too busy, but Jeremiah is always there on the very day that we ask him to do anything for us. He's a blessing of a grandson,” Elsa-May said.

  Nell sniffed. “I always feel a little guilty for getting the work done now.”

  “Why's that?” Ettie asked.

  “Because Abraham would never do anything to the place. Nothing big. I saw the problems there myself years ago and he refused to fix anything.”

  Elsa-May looked around the room they were in. “The place looks freshly painted and in good repair.”

  Nell swiped a hand through the air. “He’d do things like that, but he didn't want anything else touched. And he insisted on doing everything himself. He wouldn’t even let John help, even though he used to help out at John’s haus.”

  “My husband was stubborn like that too,” Elsa-May said.

  Ettie's mind was on cooking. “Shall we bring anything to the dinner?”

  “I'm having some of the ladies bring desserts. Would you mind bringing an apple pie?”

  Ettie asked. “What about something hot as well?”

  “My dochders-in-law will be here all day helping me cook. Everything’s under control.”

  “It sounds like you'll have a busy day and a busy night.”

  “And when is your son starting on the work?” Ettie asked.

  “He's undecided whether he'll start on Saturday or Monday. If he starts on Saturday he'll have to stop for Sunday, but if he starts on Monday, he can work through the week.”

  On the way home, Ettie and Elsa-May stopped by Moses’s house, but he still wasn’t home.

  Later that evening, as the sisters sat knitting in their living room, Ettie decided to talk about something that had been bothering her. “Elsa-May, I’ve got the weirdest feeling.”

  “Upset tummy?”

  “Nee.”

  “Your eyes probably need a rest.”

  “Nee, it’s nothing like that. It’s something Nell said.”

  Elsa-May lowered her knitting and looked over the top of her glasses at Ettie. “What’s that?”

  “What if Jedidiah was killed and buried at Rose Cottage?”

  “Don’t be silly.”

  “Well, I just got the weirdest feeling when she was talking about John doing renovations. And, remember how she keeps saying Abraham would never let anyone do anything?”

  “Jah.”

  “Well, don’t you see?”

  “You’re just having flashbacks of what happened at Agatha’s house when her old beau was found under the floorboards.”

  “Do you think so?”

  Elsa-May nodded. “There’s no chance of anything like that happening again.”

  Ettie sighed. “You’re probably right.”

  “There’s no probability about my being right.”

  Chapter 10

  The food was served buffet style at Nell’s special dinner for her friends. Ettie was pleased she could move around and now she’d have a chance to speak with Moses.

  It was in the middle of the meal when she saw him across the other side of the room talking with a few people. She waited until the others moved on before she approached him. “Hello, Moses.”

  He nodded his head. “Ettie.”

  “How are you enjoying the food?”

  “I've heard you been asking questions about Jedidiah.” He shook his head. “No good will come of you poking around in things like that. I know that's the only reason you've come to talk with me.” Ettie opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t get a word in. “You need to leave things alone.”

  “And why do you think I would do that? Jedidiah has never been found and I was wondering if you know anything.”

  “Like what? You think I killed him? Is that it? And if I did, what reason would I have for that?”

  “Nee, I don't think that at all, but —”

  “Ettie, I don't want to be rude to a woman many years my senior, or any woman, so I'd be pleased if you never spoke to me about it or had anybody else speak to me about it ever again.” He opened his eyes widely and all she could do was agree. He took his plate of food and strode away from her.

  She'd never had an Amish person speak to her so abruptly or so dismissively. It made her feel terrible. She hurried over to tell Elsa-May.

  “Ettie, what did you find out?”

  When a friend came up to speak with them, Ettie whispered, “I’ll tell you when we get home.”

  Elsa-May nodded, and Ettie was pleased that her sister didn’t insist on knowing immediately.

  After they had chatted with the friend, Elsa-May left to speak to someone else while Ettie sat down by herself on a chair at the side of the room. She had a good look around. Did one of these people know what happened to Jedidiah? Surely someone knew something, and if so, why were they keeping it a secret?

  Was he killed for his money? Who were the people he’d loaned money to? Ettie still hadn't gotten to the bottom of that one. If he hadn't kept his money in a bank, where had he kept it? Was it still hidden in Rose Cottage somewhere? Had Abraham found it and that's why he didn't want anybody poking around his house? Perhaps it was hidden in a box underneath the rose garden.

  John walked up to her and sat down. “How are you, Ettie?”

  “I’m okay. I hear you’re starting work on this place.”

  “Yeah. The state of it has been bothering me and my bruder for some time. Dat wouldn’t allow us to do anything about it when he was alive. I think he was worried we might be neglecting our own homes by fixing
his.”

  “Possibly. I could understand that. What are you going to do?”

  “No drastic changes.”

  For the next ten minutes, Ettie tried to look interested while John told her what he was going to do to his mother’s house. He hadn't even been born when Jedidiah disappeared, of course, and Ettie would much rather be speaking with someone who was old enough to remember those days. She’d asked the question, so she had to listen to the answer.

  When he paused for a breath, Ettie made an excuse to leave and headed back to help with the desserts, which were now being placed on the table.

  “There you are, Ettie.” Elsa-May placed their pie and another pie on the table.

  “Can I do anything?”

  “It’s all done.” Elsa-May leaned in, and asked, “Did you find anything out from John?”

  “Only what he’s going to do on the haus here. He wouldn’t know anything. I need to talk to older people. People who knew Jedidiah.”

  Elsa-May grabbed Ettie’s arm and led her to a deserted corner of the room. “And what did Moses say? It didn’t look like it went well.”

  “Nee. He was angry with us for trying to find out about things. He said we should leave things be.”

  “Hmm. We should take a closer look at him, then. He might know more than he’s letting on.”

  “You might be right. No one else has been so upset with us for asking questions. A sign of a guilty conscience?”

  “Maybe. I hope not, but, maybe.”

  It was late Saturday afternoon when they heard someone pounding on the front door. “That's not Greville again, is it?” Ettie looked up from the square she was knitting.

  They both looked at Snowy, fast asleep in his bed.

  “He's been right there, asleep for hours. He hasn’t done anything. Stay there, I'll see who it is.” Ettie placed the knitting down even though she was in the middle of a row, and opened the door. She was quite surprised to see a worried-looking Ava.

  “What is it?” Ettie's first thought was that it was something wrong with the baby. Elsa-May was by Ettie’s side in an instant. “Is everything all right?” Elsa-May asked.