Murder, Served Simply (12 page)

“Was anyone upset that she came back?” I took a step after her.

“So many of the Amish were, but they wouldn't hurt her. They just ignored her. That was painful enough.” She ran her fingers along the spines of the books on her cart.

“What about her uncle Nahum?”

She chewed on her lip. “Well, Nahum is different, but Eve always said he was crazy but harmless. She told me to just ignore him.” Amber picked up a stack of novels and began sorting them by author's last name. She did this quickly and without thinking. It must have been something that she had done a thousand times before.

“Do you think he's harmless?”

“I don't know. The guy is definitely nuts. Eve's old Amish district even kicked him out. That had to have made him mad, but what does that have to do with Eve?”

Good question. Why was Nahum so upset with Eve for leaving the community when the community wanted nothing to do with him?

“Did she ever say anything about her cast mates during the play?”

Amber began to shelve books. “She said Lena was angry for being passed over for Eve's part. I guess Lena had been part of the theater company for a long time. She wasn't very nice to Eve, but after three years in New York, Eve said that she was used to diva actresses.”

It was interesting that Eve would call Lena a diva actress. I certainly needed to have a conversation with her, and then with her leading man, Ruben Hurst.

“Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to hurt her?”

She straightened several books, building a new stack to shelve. “Yes, the person who was threatening her.”

M
y pulse quickened as I realized that Amber was about to tell me something critical about Eve's death. “Who was it? What do you mean?”

“I know she was having some trouble with someone. The problem is Eve and I didn't know who.” Her shoulders sagged.

“Trouble? What kind of trouble?”

“She was getting threatening cards and notes at the hotel. Every morning when she woke up, she would find one had been slipped under her door. She even tried to stay up all night to see it happen. She wanted to catch the person in the act. She said she must have dozed off around three because when she woke up again, another note was just inside the door.”

I shivered. “Was she afraid?”

“I don't know. Eve may have grown up Amish, but she was not a timid girl. I was the more reserved one between the two of us.” She shelved two books. “I think she was more irritated by it.”

Amber's description of Eve was what I experienced. Of all of the people at the progressive dinner, she was the last I would have suspected of growing up Amish.

“I was more upset by it than she was. I offered for her to stay with me, but she said that it would be too much
trouble. Up until the opening day, their rehearsals were going on until after midnight. I would have needed to pick her up late each night, which I had no problem with, but she kept turning down my offer, saying she'd never know when the rehearsals would be done. Eve didn't know how to drive even if she had access to a car. She never learned because she grew up Amish, and she didn't need to learn to drive to live in New York. The actors here didn't have much time to prepare for the production since the hotel added the performances before Christmas. The original opening day was the day after Christmas.”

I raised my eyebrows. “I hadn't known that.” I made a mental note to ask the trustees why a day was added before Christmas. “Did she show you any of the notes?”

“She showed me one a few days before she died. It was awful. I told her to take it to the police, but she refused. She said she didn't want whoever was doing it to think he had any power over her. That was a big thing with Eve—she didn't like people controlling her. I think that was why she was never comfortable being Amish.”

“What did the note say? Do you remember?”

“It said ‘Break a Leg or I will break it for you.' That was it. It wasn't signed or anything.”

I shivered again. Did the sheriff know about this? The notes had to be related to Eve's death. “Did you tell the sheriff about these notes?”

“No. Do you think I should?”

I wanted to scream “Yes!” but instead, I merely nodded. Amber was grieving. During a time of mourning, it was difficult to wake up in the morning, much less have your wits about you to know what to do. I was impressed she had the determination to come into work the day after her best friend was murdered. I didn't think I would be able to do that. In fact, I knew that I wouldn't. “What did it look like?”

“What do you mean?”

“Was it handwritten, typed, or were the letters cut out of a magazine?”

She wrinkled her nose. “You mean the way a serial killer sends a note? That would have been really scary.”

As if the situation weren't already scary enough.

“It was typed,” she said. “You know, on regular paper.”

“With a computer.”

“I guess. What else would a person use?”

“There is a typewriter in the library,” I reminded her. I knew this because Mattie used it from time to time when she was in the library to type up letters to her friends in Lancaster County.

“It wasn't from a typewriter. If it had been, I would definitely think the person was Amish. Who else uses a typewriter nowadays?”

I wasn't so sure. A savvy Amish person could use a computer if they had to, but could they without drawing attention to themselves? They wouldn't have one in the privacy of their homes, and for such letters, would they risk using a public computer at the library? In any case,
I couldn't completely rule them out, but it did make the culprit that much more likely to be English.

She licked her lips. “I should get back to work.”

“Do you want me to shelve this book?” I asked, picking up the one she dropped when I first arrived.

She took the book from my hand. “You don't have to. It's not your job.”

“Let me. I worked in my college library. I think I can handle it.” I held out my hand for the book. “It's the least I can do for almost making you fall.”

She relented and handed me the book.

I slid it into its spot.

“Thank you.” She chewed on her lower lip and didn't look more than ten, but if she was Eve's age, she was closer to twenty. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“I've been afraid to ask anyone else. I mean anyone I know.”

I tensed. “Ask me whatever you want.”

“Do you think it hurt when she fell? Do you think she felt a lot of pain?”

I gave a sharp intake of breath. I suspected the impact onto the stage hurt a great deal, but Eve died on impact, so it was short-lived. Maybe less than a second. Even so, I couldn't tell her friend who loved her so much that. I shook my head, trying to suppress the tears gathering in my eyes. “No, no, I don't think it hurt.”

She gave a great sigh. “That's good. For some reason, that's what I have been thinking about the most. I couldn't bear it if I knew she had been in pain even for a moment.”

“She died on impact,” I said.

New tears started to fall from Amber's eye. “Thank you for telling me. I have been afraid to ask because I was afraid to know.” She began sorting the books on her cart again.

I turned to go.

She stopped me. “Can I ask you one more thing?”

I spun on my heels. “Sure.”

“If you find out who did this to Eve, can you come back and tell me why? I need to know why. That's the second thing I think about most.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“Thank you,” she murmured, and returned her attention to her cart.

I left the library, itching to call the sheriff and tell him about the threatening notes Eve had been getting. Did he already know about them? Was it worth giving myself away as a meddler to tell him? I knew the answer was yes. Even if the sheriff already knew, the information was too important to keep to myself.

“What are you doing there, staring off into space?” a jovial voice asked.

I found Jonah smiling at me from beside the book drop. Instead of his typical black felt hat, he wore a black stocking cap. He opened the book drop's hatch and slid four books inside.

I pushed thoughts of the sheriff away. “Are you surprised to see me at the library?”

“
Nee
, but I didn't expect to see you here today. Shouldn't you be visiting with your parents?”

I was grateful he didn't mention Ryan, although I
suspected that he was thinking it. “I dropped by to talk to Amber Rustle.”

“Trustee Rustle's daughter? Why did you talk to her?” Jonah thoughtfully pulled on his dark blond beard.

“She was Eve Shetler's best friend.”

Jonah dropped his hand from his beard, and his face clouded over. “And that is important to you because?”

“I had some questions about Eve.”

Jonah groaned. “Does the sheriff know about this?”

“No.” I pulled my gloves up over my wrists. “But he probably suspects I'm poking my nose where it doesn't belong. Why should I be the one to disappoint him?”

Jonah shook his head. “I know you won't pay me any mind, but I don't think you should be talking to anyone about Eve.”

“You're right about the ‘not paying you any mind' part.” I adjusted my bag on my shoulder. “Why do you feel so strongly about it?”

“We don't know those theater people. They could be dangerous. On cases you've looked into before, the people involved were all people I knew. We don't know anything about these new folks, and they are actors. They can lie right to your face, and you won't even know it.”

He did have a point about the lying. I would have to take everything that they said to me with that in mind, but then again, I have had Amish lie directly to my face. You didn't have to be an actor to be a great liar, especially when you were trying to protect your own hide.

“Speaking of investigating, I need your help.”

Jonah pushed a book through the slot. The book fell to the bottom of the book drop with a thud. “I don't think I am going to like whatever you have to say next.”

“You need to take me to Nahum Shetler's shack.”

“I'm right. I don't like it.” He turned and started strolling toward his buggy, which was hitched to the post.

I trotted after him. “Come on, Jonah. You have to.” I knew I sounded just like I had when I was seven when I tried to convince him to go to the pond on his farm and catch frogs when he should have been mucking stalls for his father. He said yes to me that time, and I knew he would say yes to me again this time.

He glanced over his shoulder as he walked across the icy parking lot. “
Nee
, I don't. And you shouldn't talk to Nahum Shetler. He is an unstable man. Haven't you learned anything after all the trouble you've been in?” He pointed at my gloved hands, reminding me of the burn marks there. Would my friend ever be able to forget that?

“I've learned that I can help.” I ran after him, holding my arms out for balance as I slid across the slick layer of snow on the blacktop.

He snorted and unwrapped his horse Maggie's reins from the hitching post.

“If you don't go with me, I'll go without you.”

“You don't even know where Nahum lives.”

“Sure, in the wood cabin off Yoder Bend.” I fished my key out of my purse and made like I was going to my car.

He grimaced. “Sadly, I know that's not an idle threat.”

“So?” I gave him my most hopeful eyes.

“Ack.
All right. But I can't take you today. I have much work to do.”

“When?” I asked.

He thought for a moment.

“It has to be soon. It's for Eve,” I said.

“Fine. Tomorrow. Meet me on Yoder Bend near the crossroads with Kepler Street at first light.”

“Why so early?”

“It is the best time to catch Nahum.”

“What about—”

“So many questions.” He threw up his hands. “I have told you I will go. Let's leave it at that.”

“Okay. First light at Yoder Bend near Kepler Street. I'll be there.”

He climbed into this buggy. “I know you will. I hope I don't regret this later.”

I closed his buggy door for him. “You won't.”

“
Nee
,
you are wrong. I already do,” Jonah said as he flicked the reins on Maggie's back.

I
drove back to Running Stitch, mulling over my conversation with Amber and still debating whether I should call the sheriff about the threats Eve had received.

The bell over the door rang as Oliver and I stepped into my shop. Two English women dressed in matching oversized parkas perused the fabric bolts, which were organized by color and pattern along the wall across from the register.

Oliver went straight for his dog bed, where Dodger was napping. The Frenchie snuggled down next to the kitten.

Anna was no longer there, but Sarah sat in the rocking chair next to the large picture window. She was quilting another snowman. “Sarah, I didn't expect you to still be here.” I glanced around the shop. “Where's Mattie?”

“She saw me shopping at the mercantile and asked me if I could mind the shop while she went and checked on a friend.”

“That's not like Mattie,” I said. I couldn't remember Mattie ever leaving the shop without checking with me first. She knew my cell phone number and could have used the shop phone to call me. “It's nice of you to cover for her, Sarah.”

“Oh, I don't mind.” Sarah rocked on the chair.

“Did she tell you where she had gone?”

“Nee
.
”
She smiled. “And you know that I asked.”

I certainly knew that.

“I wonder if I should go back to the hotel.”

“Whatever for?” Sarah asked.

“I think I'd like to talk to Junie again.” I told her what Amber shared with me about the threatening notes Eve had received.

Sarah held a hand to her face. “Oh my.
Ya
, you should go to the hotel and ask her if she knew about the notes. It's essential intel for the case.”

I cocked an eyebrow at her. “Intel?”

She grinned. “I've picked up a word or two since we have solved some murders.”

That I didn't doubt. I was single-handedly teaching my quilting circle murder investigation. Mitchell must be so proud.

“I saw Junie there this morning at the hotel, but I didn't know about the notes then to ask her.” I shook my head. This morning seemed like so long ago. “I was surprised to see her so soon back at work.”

“It's not the Amish way to stay home and cry. Busy hands keep the mind busy and off your troubles,” Sarah said, sounding just like Anna.

I wasn't sure I'd agree with that. A good crying fit after such a loss sounded like a better course of action to me, but then again, everyone deals with grief in a
different way. If working helped Junie, that was what she needed to do, but from the sound of it, it didn't help her that much.

Sarah made a shooing gesture with her hands. “Go. Go.”

I shook my head. “I can go after Mattie returns. I don't want to keep you from your family any longer.”

“You aren't at all. In fact, I'm happy for the distraction. My husband's family is here from Geauga County for Christmas. I need a break from my mother-in-law. It seems I can't do anything right where she is concerned.” She wrinkled her nose, and her glasses slid down to the tip of it. “This morning she said that my biscuits were passable. Can you believe that? Passable? My husband and children have never found fault with my biscuits.”

I smiled to think even Amish had unwanted visitors at Christmas. “All right, then. Thank you for helping me! I will be back as quick as I can.” I glanced at Oliver, who had just fallen asleep. “Ollie, we are leaving.”

The Frenchie opened one eye and sighed. Slowly, he stood.

“Now, go. I'll organize a quilting circle meeting while you are gone,” she said firmly.

That sounded ominous.

•   •   •

As I drove back to the hotel, my cell phone rang. I winced when I saw my mother's face on the screen. I wasn't being a very good daughter. Mom and Dad had come a long way to spend Christmas with me, and I had yet to even have a meal with them.

“You're father and I had a nice day shopping. When are you coming home?”

“The shop closes at four today.” I wasn't at the shop, of course, but she didn't need to know that.

Mom sighed.

Remembering Rachel's story about her own parents, I said, “I'm sorry. How about we meet for an early dinner? Can you meet me at the Double Dime Diner at five?”

Mom sighed. “I suppose we can if that's the only way that we will be able to see you today. I hope you will spend more time with your family on actual Christmas.”

“I will,” I promised. “Today is just a crazy day between the quilt show and the quilting class.” And because of Eve's death, but I didn't say that. “So I will see you there. Do you know where it is?”

“I know where it is,” Mom said. “That place has been in Millersburg for decades. I can't believe it's still open.”

“See you there,” I said, and hung up as I turned into the hotel parking lot.

Before I went inside the hotel, I called the sheriff. The call went directly to voice mail. That was just as well.

“Hi, Mitchell. Just wanted to let you know that I spoke with Amber Rustle, Trustee Rustle's daughter, in case you didn't know. She's Eve's best friend here in Holmes County. She said Eve was receiving threatening notes in her hotel room. Talk to you later.”

As I slipped my phone into my mammoth purse, I imagined Mitchell grinding his teeth as he listened to that message.

“It can't be helped,” I told Oliver.

Oliver huffed and followed me into the hotel. Instrumental renditions of Christmas music played lightly over the hotel's loudspeaker in the lobby.

Bethanne was no longer at the desk. Instead, I found Junie dusting the counter.

Her face fell as I approached the desk. “Oh, it's you.”

“Were you expecting someone else?” I asked.

She was about to say something and then thought better of it.

“I came here looking for you.”

“Me?” she squeaked.

“Did you know about any threatening notes that Eve had been getting?”

She swallowed. “Notes?”

I nodded.

Her eyes flitted around the room. “
Nee
. I don't know about anything like that. My sister didn't tell me if she was in trouble.”

“I met Amber today.”

Junie resumed her dusting.

“Did your sis—”

“A pox on you, sir!” someone shouted from the sitting room.

Oliver ducked behind the registration desk, and an elderly couple reading and drinking coffee beside the Christmas tree fled.

There was a squeal, and then Blake, the stagehand, leapt into the lobby. He held a quilt rod in his hand. “Stand back or I will run you through.”

A second teenager appeared, holding a second quilt rod. “Prepare to meet your Maker.”

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” I said, sounding much like Jonah when he was trying to pull Maggie to a stop.

Both boys froze, with quilt rods held at the ready to strike.

“What in the world are you doing?”

Blake lowered his arm. “Um.”

I held out my hands. “Give those to me!” I made a gimme sign with my hand.

The nameless second actor with the goatee scowled. “Why should we?”

I stared him down. “Because they belong to me. You took them from the sitting room, am I right? Where is the quilt that was on this?”

Blake blushed. “Kyle, give it to her. We're really sorry.”

“My name is Angie, and you had better hope for your sake none of the quilts were damaged. They are worth a lot of money.”

Kyle snorted. “Why? They are just blankets. I can buy one at Walmart for ten bucks.”

I glared at him. “For your information, these are handmade Amish quilts and worth much more than ten dollars. They are worth more than your paycheck.”

He handed me the rod. “Geez, there's no reason to get all bent out of shape over it.”

I held my hand out to Blake.

He placed the rod in my palm.

I frowned. “You can't tell me that swordplay is part of
An Amish Christmas
.”

Blake's blush faded, making his freckles more pronounced. “We were just messing around. Practice has been canceled for the rest of the day. There's not much to do around here.”

“Especially if you don't have a car,” Kyle grumbled. “We might as well be trapped on a desert island.”

“Polar ice cap,” Blake corrected.

“Why's practice canceled?”

Kyle narrowed his eyes. “Who are you to ask?”

I tapped the two rods on the floor. “I'm just curious.”

Blake pushed Kyle lightly. “Don't be so uptight.” He looked at me. “The director said he had business to take care of this afternoon. Practice will resume after dinner.”

“Man,” Kyle complained. “I hate that. We will practice late into the night. I need my Zs. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.”

“What kind of business?”

Blake frowned.

Kyle eyed me. “You ask a lot of questions for a quilt lady.”

“So I've been told.” I leaned on the rods as if they were canes. “I don't remember seeing the two of you in the play. I was there last night.”

“Yeah, we didn't even get to my scene before Eve fell,” Kyle said.

“Hey, man, show some respect.”

Kyle shoved his friend. “Blake thought he had a chance with her. Everyone knew she was off-limits.”

I straightened up. “Did she have a boyfriend?”

Kyle shook his head. “Don't know. She made it clear she wasn't interested in anyone. She said she was focusing on her career.”

Blake shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I know Ruben had his eye on her too. He probably didn't take it well when she turned him down cold.”

“I wish I could have seen that. Just because he has an accent, he expects women to fall to his feet. Some do, like Lena.”

“I hope Lena didn't know he asked Eve out. She would poke Ruben's eyes out with a butter knife. The girl is vicious.”

Jealous girlfriend. I mentally rubbed my hands together. Tailor-made suspect.

“What has she done?” I asked.

Blake folded his arms. “The female lead of our last production broke her arm when she fell down the stairs at the theater we were performing at.”

“Oh yeah,” Kyle said. “I remember that. It was the gig in Des Moines. Everyone thought Lena pushed the girl down the stairs, but she insisted she tripped, and nothing happened to Lena. The girl went back home to Kansas or wherever she was from. Everyone thought for sure that Lena would have the lead in our next production, and then one day Wade shows up with Eve.

“I thought Lena was going to go all jungle cat on Eve the moment she stepped into the room. I mean, the girl had
hate
in her eyes.”

Interesting. Very interesting. Lena was looking better
and better as a prime suspect for the murder. And there was the matter of the notes too. Could she have been behind them also? The two events had to be connected. I wished I could get my hands on at least one of those notes, but Amber had said that Eve destroyed them the moment she found one.

Kyle gave me a wide grin. “Hey, you should come to another performance to see me in action. I'm pretty good.”

His friend snorted. “Yeah, you do an awesome job playing farmer number one and the love-struck Amish boy.”

“You will regret saying that when I accept my Oscar someday.”

The two young men strolled away, laughing and pushing each other.

I returned the quilt rods to the sitting room. At least Kyle and Blake had had the decency to fold the quilts before they took off with the rods.

When I returned to the lobby, Junie was gone. She must have made her escape from me while I had been speaking with the actors. In fact, there was no one at the registration desk. An old-fashioned guest book sat in the middle of the desk.

Thanks to Kyle and Blake's antics, they had scared off the only other guests in the room. It was a golden opportunity. One little peek wouldn't hurt.

My finger slid down the registry of guest names and stopped at “Shetler, Eve. Room 215.” The check-in date was a week ago Monday. The checkout date was left
open. I supposed, to be accurate, yesterday's date could have been entered there.

What would I do with this information? I knew I should return to the shop to let Sarah go home. I still needed to find out why Mattie ran off without telling me in the middle of the afternoon.

The second floor was just at the top of the staircase. I could dash up there for a quick look. Undoubtedly, the room would be locked and that would be the end of it. However, it might be good to know where Eve's room was, because that was where the threatening notes were dropped each night.

I stepped around the registration desk to Oliver's hiding place. “What do you think, Ollie?”

He set a white paw on my boot. He knew as well as I did that my mind was already made up.