Amish Cover-Up Read online

  “What was this woman wearing?”

  “I asked her that and Dianne said she doesn’t remember.”

  “She can’t have taken too much notice, then,” Elsa-May said.

  “Dianne did say the woman wasn’t Amish. She was an Englischer.”

  “That narrows it down,” Elsa-May said sarcastically. “We’re no further ahead. We already know someone left cookies there and we still don’t know who it was. I would’ve guessed that it was a woman rather than a man. Leaving cookies at someone’s door is the kind of thing that a woman would do.”

  Ettie said, “Jah, but now we know it was an Englischer. That’s something we didn’t know before.”

  “Would it help if Dianne saw a red car parked down the road?” Florence asked, blinking rapidly.

  “A red car!” Ettie and Elsa-May blurted simultaneously.

  “Jah.” Florence nodded.

  “Ettie, doesn’t John have a red car?”

  “Jah, he does.”

  “Exactly,” Florence said.

  “Why didn’t you start with the red car?” Elsa-May frowned sternly at Florence while Florence put her hand over her mouth and chuckled.

  “Let’s think about this carefully,” Ettie said. “If it was Connie taking the cookies to Levi’s, why would she have done it?”

  “And don’t they live some distance away?” Elsa-May asked.

  “They live a six-hour drive away. I know that John is often away on business trips. I think that’s why it took them so long to get here after Levi died, because John had to come back from a business trip before they drove here. What if, when he was away on that business trip, Connie drove here and left the cookies?” Florence asked.

  “For what purpose, though? She doesn’t strike me as the type of person to do anything nice for anyone and not take credit for it. So, if the cookies didn’t kill him and they had no poison in them, should we be bothered about the cookies at all? If Kelly’s right about the nurse then we don’t have to look any further about the cookies, do we?” Elsa-May asked.

  “I think we need to look at the whole picture. The nurse has a white car, if the car we saw her in was hers, so we could probably rule her out for bringing the cookies,” Ettie said.

  “I don’t know why you’re still fixated on the cookies!” Elsa-May stared at Ettie.

  “It’s just that it doesn’t add up, that’s all. It’s not as though I’m worried about the cookies. Well, maybe I am, because it bothers me that someone would leave cookies for him when no one likes him.”

  “Let it go, Ettie. Anyone could’ve given him cookies. Anyone at all. If Detective Kelly is exhuming the body, that means he’s pretty close to an arrest.”

  “I’ve got chills.” Florence said.

  Ettie said, “Sit closer to the fire.”

  “Not those sort of chills. Chills about the nurse being a serial killer. What else did the detective say?”

  “Nothing much. But the nurse said she was going to the police station to set them straight when we told her that Levi thought she’d taken money, but she didn’t show.”

  “You think she could’ve killed him for the money?” Florence asked.

  “I suppose it’s possible,” Ettie said.

  “Don’t serial killers do it because they like to? I suppose if she was going to kill him anyway and she knew he had eighty thousand dollars lying around, maybe she thought she might as well take it.”

  “We’re forgetting about the neighbor in all of this,” Ettie said.

  “Eric?”

  “Jah, it seems odd that he would give someone eighty thousand dollars as a gesture of good will, or as a deposit without having any contract or paperwork signed. He did have the receipt signed, but Eric or someone else might have known how Levi signed his name.”

  “Florence, perhaps you should pay another visit to John and Connie.”

  Florence stared at Ettie. “And why is that?”

  “Because if there was never any eighty thousand, the neighbor’s done that for a reason. He might have done it to get money from John, or a huge discount off the purchase price of the orchard.”

  Florence slowly nodded. “That makes perfect sense. But I’m not going there alone. One of you will have to come with me.”

  Elsa-May sank down into her chair. “I’m starting to feel that cold coming back.”

  Ettie rolled her eyes. “I suppose that only leaves me—again. Can we do that tomorrow, Florence? It’s too late in the day.” Ettie secretly hoped that Detective Kelly would find it in his heart to stop by and tell them about the new autopsy results. If they had exhumed Levi’s body that day then surely they would know something tomorrow by the very latest.

  “Jah, I’m a little too tired to do anything else today. Why don’t I collect you tomorrow around mid-morning, Ettie?”

  “I’ll be waiting.”

  Chapter 15

  When Florence and Ettie drove up to John’s house the next morning, Ettie saw a police car there.

  “Keep driving,” Ettie said.

  “I wonder what happened.”

  “They’d be telling John the results of the new autopsy.”

  “I wish we knew too.” Florence guided her horse and buggy past Levi’s cottage.

  “We’ll have to wait and see. You said there were four people that Levi mentioned who might have killed him?”

  “That’s right. Eric from next door, John, the nurse, or—”

  “Tony Troyer,” Ettie said.

  “That’s right, Tony Troyer.”

  “Why don’t we pay him a visit while we’re filling in time? We can come back to Levi’s haus soon and hope John will tell us what happened.”

  “You mean John’s haus.”

  “Jah, I suppose it’s his now.”

  “Tony only lives fifteen-minutes up this road. He wasn’t at the funeral,” Florence commented.

  “Not many people were.”

  Florence chuckled. “I always told Levi to be nicer to people.”

  “He was set in his ways, I suppose. I wonder if he made a good profit from his apples. I think he might have and that’s why John wanted to keep the orchard.”

  “I don’t know. With Levi, it was hard to tell. I think he saved money by being mean and cutting corners wherever he could.”

  “I hope Tony’s at home.”

  “What does he do with himself nowadays?” Florence asked Ettie.

  “He’d be most likely retired by now. Last I heard of him, he was doing odd jobs here and there, filling in for workers when they were sick or had time off.”

  When Florence turned the buggy up the narrow lane that led to Tony’s house, they saw him sitting on his porch. When they got closer, he stood and his large red dog made his way toward the buggy.

  “Rusty, come back. Heel!”

  The dog stopped, turned slowly, and went back to Tony. “I’m sorry about that. I’ll put him inside.” He grabbed the dog and pushed him into the house. “He’s not much of a watchdog. He likes people too much.” He moved toward them. “How are you ladies today?”

  Ettie and Florence stepped down from the buggy.

  “How are you, Tony?” Florence asked.

  “Jah, I’m good, and how are you two ladies?”

  “Good,” Ettie said.

  “Have you recovered from what happened the other day, Florence?”

  “With Levi?”

  “Jah.”

  “Sort of.”

  “It was a dreadful shock for her,” Ettie said. “Very traumatic.”

  “I had intended to go to Levi’s funeral, but something came up at the last minute and I wasn’t able to go. I know he was a particular friend of yours, Florence.”

  “I suppose he was in a way. Do you mind if we ask you a couple of questions about Levi and his orchard?”

  “Of course, I don’t mind. We can sit on the porch rather than go inside and be licked by the dog. Rusty’s a little too friendly. He’d jump all over you and lick you to d
eath if he could.”

  Ettie laughed. “The porch is fine.”

  Once they were all seated, Florence said, “It’s about Levi.”

  Tony nodded. “Did he say I owed him money, or something?”

  “Nee, not at all.”

  “Well, I don’t. I thought it might be something he’d do—to take a last parting jab at me.”

  Florence cleared her throat. “It was nothing like that. That’s not why we’re here. We’re hoping you might be able to give us some information. He predicted his own death, in a way. I don’t know if you know this, but I was the last person to speak with him before he died.”

  He nodded sympathetically. “I know.”

  “He told me that if he died and it looked like an accident, it wouldn’t be. He said someone was out to kill him.”

  Tony leaned back. “He didn’t say that I was going to kill him, did he?”

  “Not in so many words.” Ettie didn’t want to reveal too much. “Did you have any recent dealings with Levi?”

  “I hadn’t talked to him in years. Ever since we were going into partnership and he changed his mind.”

  “He did?”

  “Jah, he did. I’d nod to him whenever I saw him and that was it. He went back on his word and I’ve got no time for anyone who does that.”

  Ettie said, “I might as well tell you that you were one of the people Levi named who wanted him dead.”

  Tony frowned and then spluttered, “You’re joking, aren’t you?”

  Ettie shook her head. “I’m afraid not.”

  “It’s true,” Florence said. “He told me himself.”

  “Who were the other people?”

  Florence shook her head. “I’d rather not say.”

  “I knew he’d do something like this. That’s just the way he was. I don’t know why he didn’t like me. If I did anything to upset him, I’ve got no idea what it was.”

  Ettie tried her best to figure things out. “When you two had the idea of going into business together, that was many years ago, wasn’t it?”

  “That’s right, and like I said, I’ve had nothing to do with him since. I can’t believe he’d think I’d kill him.”

  Ettie figured that part was true because Florence always said he had few friends and she thought no one visited him. “If you can think of a reason why he said that, will you let us know?”

  “I will. Is that why you stopped by?” Tony asked.

  Florence nodded. “Jah, we’re trying to find out who killed him.”

  “Florence believes he was killed, and it wasn’t just a heart attack.”

  “I hope you find your answers.” The dog barked from inside the house and then they heard scratching sounds. “Stop it!” Tony yelled out. Then there was silence.

  “Denke,” Ettie said as she rose to her feet.

  As they got into the buggy, Tony called out, “Don’t be surprised if you never find an answer. A lot of things Lousy Levi did and said never made sense.”

  Florence smiled and gave him a wave before turning her horse to face the road.

  Chapter 16

  Ettie was tired, so instead of going anywhere else Florence took Ettie home. She hadn’t been home long when Detective Kelly knocked on her door. It was just she and Elsa-May at home.

  “Can I come inside?” He looked a little sheepish.

  “Certainly.”

  When he sat down on one of the wooden chairs in the living room, Ettie asked, “How did the second autopsy and the exhuming of the body—?”

  Elsa-May interrupted before Ettie could finish her sentence. “It’s called an exhumation, Ettie.”

  Ettie ignored her sister and continued to wait for an answer from the detective.

  “That’s why I’m here. I didn’t exactly tell you ladies the whole story.”

  Ettie leaned forward. “What did you leave out?”

  “There was no court-ordered exhumation. Instead, the truth was that I got a tip-off that Levi’s son was exhuming his father’s body for cremation.”

  “What? You lied to us?” Ettie was puzzled and then remembered the odd look of amusement on his face when he’d lied to them.

  “I’m sorry. It was wrong of me.”

  Ettie shook her head. “It certainly was. All this time we thought that poor nurse might be responsible for Levi’s death.”

  Kelly’s lips turned down at the corners. “All this time? I believe I only told you that yesterday. And, I am sorry.”

  “Now tell me again. John exhumed his father’s body of his own accord?” Ettie asked.

  “That’s right.”

  “I don’t think it’s right for a man in your position to tell such outrageous untruths. If we had told anyone and word got around that the poor lady was a serial killer that could have been devastating to her, especially in her position.”

  He put a hand on his dark grey suit, in the position of his heart. “I swear to you ladies I will not do anything like that again. I am sorry. I let you think the department was exhuming his body and then as an error in judgment, I added the rest. Am I forgiven?”

  Ettie slowly nodded and Elsa-May said, “I suppose we’ll have to forgive you. John never mentioned to us that he was thinking of doing anything of the kind.”

  “It doesn’t make sense,” Ettie said.

  “I was too late, I’m afraid. The body was gone when I got to the crematorium. By the time the call came into the station, there was no time to get a court order to stop the cremation.”

  “Why would John do that?” Elsa-May asked.

  “When I asked him that very same question, he said he remembered that’s what his father had wanted. I must say I gave little credence to what your sister said about Levi being murdered until I heard John Hochstetler was cremating his father’s body. You two know why people are often anxious to do that, don’t you?”

  “Yes, of course. It’s to hide evidence of a murder.”

  Elsa-May nodded. “Yes. Evidence that was missed on the initial autopsy.”

  Ettie knew Levi wouldn’t have wanted to be cremated. It wasn’t the Amish way.

  The detective looked at Ettie. “What are you thinking, Mrs. Smith? You’ve been very quiet.”

  “I’ve got a few things running through my mind. I don’t think John’s telling the truth about what Levi wanted.”

  “That’s what I suspected. I’ve been to a handful of Amish funerals, and have never been to a cremation. He’s trying to keep something hidden.”

  “Have you questioned John again—I mean more thoroughly?”

  “We’ve talked to him but not questioned him too much about it. We will and we’re still looking for Nella Bridges. She’s done a decent job of disappearing into thin air.”

  “Perhaps she heard that someone thought she was a serial killer,” Elsa-May commented.

  Detective Kelly wagged his finger at Elsa-May. “Forgiven, but not forgotten?”

  “Perhaps as punishment someone could go over the autopsy results very carefully again?” Elsa-May asked.

  “That’s taking place as we speak.”

  Ettie said, “I still can’t believe you told us the serial killer thing. It’s most unprofessional”

  “I’m sorry, again, that I told you that. I needed to keep a clear head and I told you the first thing that came to me. It was just off the top of my head.”

  Elsa-May gasped. “Perhaps you need a vacation if the job is getting to you?”

  “I couldn’t tell you what was really happening when you came into the station, and I was in a rush. While I was speaking to you, one of my men was tracking down which crematorium Levi was being taken to. To put it frankly, I was just trying to get rid of you and put you off the track so you’d keep right out of my way. I didn’t want you finding John and telling him anything.”

  “Who gave you the tip-off that John intended to cremate his father?” Ettie asked

  “It was an anonymous call into the station.”

  “Man or woman
?” Elsa-May asked.

  Kelly folded his arms over his chest. “I’m afraid I can’t give out that information. I continually bend the rules for you ladies, but there are some things I just can’t tell you.”

  “And what do you know about Nella Bridges?” Ettie asked, knowing he wouldn’t tell her that either.

  “All I can say is we’re looking for her. If you see her or hear from her, be sure to let me know. Tell her to call into the station.”

  Ettie nodded. “We will, but we’re not expecting to see her.”

  He shook his head. “Even her brother didn’t know where she was.”

  The phone buzzed and Kelly answered it. “I’ll be one minute.” He stepped outside, not noticing his notebook as it fell onto the floor.

  Ettie leaned forward to pick it up and as she did she read what was on the page that it had opened to. “Elsa-May, this must be Nella’s brother’s business. Bridges Roofing.”

  “I’ve seen that sign before. I know where it is.”

  Ettie put the book back on the chair, and the moment she was back in her seat, Kelly returned. “I’ll have to go,” he said as he grabbed the notebook and slipped it into his pocket.

  “Do you have time for tea or coffee?” Ettie asked.

  “And cake?” Elsa-May added.

  “Some other time. I’ve got another appointment to make.”

  The detective left just as quickly as he’d arrived.

  Chapter 17

  When Ettie sat back down on her couch, she heaved a large sigh. “Oh, dear. It’s hard to believe John would’ve done that to his father’s body. He told no one, I’m certain of it. He knew Florence was close to his father and he didn’t even tell her.”

  “Kelly is right; it makes him look really guilty. He had to know that the autopsy missed something. Or hadn’t tested for a certain kind of poison maybe.”

  “It seems the most likely reason for a sudden cremation. Levi had only been in the ground a few days.” Ettie shook her head while thinking of Levi. He certainly wouldn’t have wanted to be cremated.

  Elsa-May made clicking noises with her tongue. “I can’t believe Kelly lied to us.”

  “I know. It was most unexpected with him being in law enforcement. I wouldn’t have thought he’d do that.”