Amish Regrets (Amish Secret Widows' Society #4) (3 page)

Chapter 4.

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved,

bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

Colossians 3:12

The next night was the night of the widows’ meeting. The five widows regularly met at the elderly
schweschders,
Elsa-May and Ettie’s,
haus
for friendship and to discuss whatever was on their minds. Silvie brought Sabrina because Sabrina did not want to be left alone.

Emma was the first to speak to Sabrina. “I’m sorry to hear what happened, Sabrina.”  

“
Denke,
Emma.” Sabrina shot a quizzical look to Silvie.

“All the ladies here know about what happened. We don’t have any secrets and we can all help you,” Silvie said.

“What way can they help me?” Sabrina asked.

Elsa-May leaned forward. “This thing’s not over yet, not by a long shot. You saw Mrs. Liante cross the street after she saw her husband dead in his office. She had no reaction, neither did she call the police. She denies to the police she was ever there and had her housekeeper say that she was at home. Something stinks.”

“I suppose it does,” Sabrina said. “But there’s nothing much I can do.”

“There are things that we can do though,” Ettie said as she waved one of her long bony fingers in the air.

Maureen leaned her ample body towards Sabrina, “Don’t you worry about a thing; we’ll find out who killed him.”

“He’ll still be dead though, so what’s the point?” Sabrina wriggled in her chair. “How do you people sit in these chairs? Don’t you have anything more comfortable?” Sabrina looked at Elsa-May and Ettie. “Why don’t you have a couch like everyone else does?”

Silvie lowered her head in embarrassment at her
schweschder’s
constant ungratefulness and complaining.

“What’s wrong with the chairs?” Elsa-May asked.

Silvie was embarrassed at Sabrina’s words. The elderly sisters had no couch, just several wooden chairs. No one had ever said anything to them about the discomfort, up until now.

Sabrina scrunched up her face. “They’re hard and they’re worse than what we have to sit on at the gatherings.”

Silvie shot her head up. “Be quiet about the chairs. Everyone is trying to help you.”

Sabrina lifted her chin to the ceiling. “I’m not in any trouble.”

“
Jah
, but you might be if they start thinking you had anything to do with his murder,” Emma said. “You wouldn’t be the first innocent person to end up in jail.”

“I’m not going to jail.” Sabrina looked at Silvie. “I wish you hadn’t made me come here.”

“You said that you didn’t want to be left alone,” Silvie said.

“I didn’t know it was going to be like this. You said you sat around and talked and ate cakes and things.” Sabrina swiveled her head around. “Where are the cakes?”

Silvie looked at the other widows and said, “I’m sorry.”

“This is not something to be taken lightly, Sabrina. A man’s been murdered and they are looking for someone to pin it on. I mean they’ll be looking for the person who did it.” Elsa-May’s voice boomed so loud that Sabrina cringed. Elsa-May continued, “Sabrina, you must tell us everything you know and don’t leave anything out.”

Sabrina straightened her back. “What kind of things?”

“Start with telling us if you know of anyone, anyone at all who would wish Carmello harm,” Elsa-May said.

“His wife for one. He wanted a divorce and she didn’t give him one until he agreed that she could have everything. She was about to sign the papers that day. I’m not sure if she did or not.”

Elsa-May pushed her finger into her round cheek. “Seems silly for her to kill him if she was going to get everything anyway. Anyone else?”

“He often fought with Neville, his business partner.”

“What about?” Ettie asked.

“Just business things, I’d guess. Then he had a secretary that he had to fire. She was lazy and never did anything she was told and turned up late to work and left early. When he fired her she put in a claim of sexual harassment, but then she dropped it a few weeks later.”

“What was her name?” Elsa-May asked.

“I can’t remember. Maybe I never heard it; I couldn’t really say. Do you think that’s important?”

Elsa-May ignored her question. “Have you met any of these people?”

“
Nee
, I’ve just seen them. I haven’t actually met them. Except, Silvie and I met the wife yesterday. She came to the door and was really mean.”

“What did she say?” Emma asked.

“She called us both horrible names and said she’d have us run out of town,” Silvie said.

“No wonder Carmello wanted a divorce from her,” Sabrina said.

“People can say awful things when they’re upset,” Maureen said. “She would’ve had a nasty shock over the whole thing.”

Elsa-May read back her notes that she’d scribbled on her yellow writing pad. “Suspects so far are the wife, the secretary, or I should say the ex-secretary, and the business partner, Neville.”

“That’s the only people I know about,” Sabrina said.

“Ettie, you do what you do best, which is scout around and talk to people. Find out what you can about Carmello. Emma, you go and speak to Crowley and see what he knows so far…”

“Me? Why do I always have to speak to Crowley? He’ll ask me why I’m not married to Wil yet. Do you know that last time he called me Mrs. Jacobson, when he knows very well my last name is Kurtzler. He takes delight in making me uneasy.”

“Nonsense, Emma. You were the one to speak with him most of the time on the last case and he told you everything he knew.”

“
Jah
, Emma. Just put your personal feelings to one side,” Ettie said.

“What do you mean last case? Are you all like detectives or something?” Sabrina asked as she looked around at each of the widows.

“
Nee
, we just help people where we can, that’s all,” Maureen said with a wide smile revealing the slight gap between her two front teeth.

Emma blew out a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll go and talk to him first thing in the morning.”

“
Gut,
” Elsa-May said then turned to Maureen, “Maureen, you try and find out what you can about the housekeeper.”

“How will I do that? I don’t know where they live or what the housekeeper’s name is or anything,” Maureen said.

“Emma will find all those sorts of things from Crowley, and then you can take things from there,” Elsa-May said.

“What do you want me to do?” Silvie asked.

“You just look after Sabrina.” Sabrina smiled and her face lighted up until Elsa-May added, “Keep her out of any more trouble because she obviously does not have one ounce of commonsense.”

Sabrina’s smile vanished, replaced with an angry glower, directed at the elderly Elsa-May. Elsa-May glared right back at her until Sabrina looked away.

“You were after some cake, weren’t you, Sabrina?” Ettie said as she rose to her feet.

The smile quickly returned to Sabrina’s face. “
Jah
, Silvie said that there would be cake.”

“Coming right up,” Ettie said.

Chapter 5.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are
love
ly, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Philippians 4:8

The next morning, Emma reluctantly knocked on Detective Crowley’s office door. She knew how uncomfortable he would make her feel, but the widows needed his help and he had always come through for them.

“Come in.” His deep voice rang in Emma’s ears as she stepped through his doorway.

Detective Crowley stood up from behind his desk. “Ah, Mrs. Kurtzler. Elsa-May told me you’d be coming this morning.”

“Call me Emma.”

He waved his hand in the direction of one of the two chairs in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”

Emma sat down and licked her lips as nerves had made her mouth dry.

Thankfully the detective spoke first on the subject she’d come about. “You’re interested to know about Carmello Liante?”

“Yes I am. Sabrina, Silvie’s sister, found him dead before the janitor found him, but she was scared and hid when she heard someone coming.”

“I know, I’ve read her statement. Says she heard Mrs. Liante come into the office, look at her dead husband on the floor then leave.”

“That’s right.” Emma crossed her legs in an effort to feel more comfortable, but she nearly tipped herself off balance on the chair. She uncrossed her legs and hoped Crowley hadn’t noticed her awkwardness.

His raised eyebrow and downturned mouth told Emma that he had noticed.

Then the detective lowered his eyebrow and his face returned to its usual deadpan state. “Did it occur to you that this might be a crime of passion and Sabrina might be guilty and trying to implicate Mrs. Liante?”

Emma sat tall; she was highly offended by his suggestion. “No, it didn’t occur to me because I know that is not true. Amish aren’t capable of violence. It’s against everything we stand for.”

Detective Crowley picked up a pencil and tapped it a couple of times on his desk. “Isn’t having relations with a married man also against what the Amish believe in?”

He’s trying to rattle you again, Emma. Think your answer through before you speak.
Emma knew what he said was true and she did not like having to defend Sabrina’s actions. “All people sin, Detective, even the Amish, because we are still people. To answer your question, I do not believe that Sabrina is capable of murder. She was in love with the man and she had no reason to kill him.”

He pushed out his lips. “He might have told her that he didn’t want to see her anymore.”

Emma narrowed her eyes. “But he didn’t.”

“You can’t know that with absolute certainty.”

“I know it in my heart.” Emma pounded her fist against her heart so hard that she involuntarily coughed.

“I agree.” The detective leaned back in his chair.

“You do?”

“Yes. I don’t think she did it at all.” He swiveled slightly in his chair and then stopped.

“Why did you say those things, Detective?”

The detective gave one of his seldom seen smiles. “To see how strongly you agreed with me.”

Emma tilted her head at the riddles the detective was speaking in.
Why can’t he just speak straightly?
Emma thought. “You were testing me?” she asked.

The detective leaned back in his chair once more, but he remained silent. Emma wished that Elsa-May had come instead of her. She knew that the detective would cause her to feel foolish.

Emma forged ahead with the reason she was there. “Now that we have all that out of the way, what can you tell me about the case?”

“Seems that Carmello was quite the ladies’ man.”

Emma was disappointed to hear that and hoped it wasn’t true. Sabrina would be sad to know that she hadn’t been the only woman in his life. “Is it true that his wife was just about to sign some sort of contract, like divorce papers or some kind of property settlement papers?”

“We found no personal papers whatsoever in his office. I personally questioned Mrs. Liante and she told me that she had a happy marriage and was unaware of any indiscretions. When she learned of your friend, Sabrina’s, relationship with her husband she was visibly shaken. She either had no idea her husband was having an affair, or she’s a mighty good actress. She denies any talk of separation or divorce.”

Emma knew that the woman was not being truthful, but that did not mean that she was guilty of murder. “Did she know of anyone who wished her husband harm?”

“She said that she couldn’t think of a single enemy her husband might have had.”

“Was he poisoned?”

“He’d ingested a lethal dose of Aconitine.”

Emma chewed on a fingernail at the thought of the painful death Carmello might have had. Poison would not be the nicest way to die. “Could it have been an accident?”

“Not in that dose.”

“Suicide?”

“There was no note, and no poison near him. Suicide isn’t plausible.”

“Elsa-May also wanted me to ask you about Mrs. Liante’s address and the name of the housekeeper.”

Detective Crowley shook his head.

“Elsa-May said if you don’t want to give it that’s okay, there are plenty of other ways she can find out.”

The detective continued to shake his head as he wrote the information on a slip of paper and handed it to Emma.

Emma smiled. “Thank you, Detective Crowley.”

The detective leaned forward and spoke in a low tone. “You didn’t get that information from me.” He gave Emma a wink.