Murder, Served Simply (13 page)

I
carried Oliver up the stairs. The grand staircase opened onto the second-floor sitting room. A grand piano stood quietly in the corner. A lone man sat in the corner of the room, talking on his cell phone.

If play practice was postponed until evening, where had the actors gone? Didn't Blake mention they were here without cars? Were they taking a collective nap in their various rooms?

Oliver padded behind me over the flowered carpet on that floor of the hotel. He stopped to smell the legs of a coffee cart piled high with Christmas cookies.

“Oliver, those are for the guests.”

With a sigh, he followed me into the hallway.

Room 215 was halfway down a long corridor. Light shone from the doorway. I slowed my pace. The door was open.

I squatted next to Oliver. “Sit,” I whispered. “And stay.”

The Frenchie wagged his front paw at me in protest.

I pointed to the ground. “Stay.”

He lay down on the flowered carpet with his head on his paws.

I crept the rest of the way to room 215. As I suspected, the door was ajar. My pulse quickened. I heard
movement inside. With both hands, I pushed the door open and it banged against the wall.

Junie covered her face and screamed.

“Junie! Junie! Calm down. It's just me.”

Oliver galloped into the room. His bat ears perked on high alert. He skidded to a stop next to me in the doorway. Frenchie to the rescue.

Junie dropped her hands a fraction of an inch. “You gave me the scare of my life.”

I winced. “I'm sorry. I thought—I don't know what I thought.” I took a breath. “This was Eve's room, wasn't it?”

There was a pile of clothes on one side of the king-sized bed. Next to the clothes two large suitcases sat open.

“You're packing her things,” I said.

“It has to be done. The room must be turned. Mimi asked me to do it. She wanted someone who knew Eve to do it.” She picked up a T-shirt and folded it with such precision, she put a teenager working at the Gap to shame. “She wasn't up to doing it herself. She's broken up over Eve.”

Mimi was too upset to do it but asked Eve's sister to do it? I wondered. And wasn't Junie equally broken up over Eve's death, if not more?

Her brow furrowed as if she were trying to read my thoughts. “And the sheriff said that was all right. The
police were here last night. Mimi would not ask me to pack Eve's things if it wasn't allowed.”

“No, of course not.” I scanned the pile of clothing on the bed. “Did the police take anything from her room? Did you notice anything missing?”

“I would not know what was missing among her
Englisch
things.”

“Of course,” I said. I knew Mitchell's deputies would take anything that might be remotely related to her death. That put my chance of finding one of the threatening notes at zero.

Even with that in mind, I asked, “Care if I have a look around?”

She shrugged and kept folding.

I knelt and peered under the bed. No note. Junie had already emptied the closet and the dresser of Eve's clothes. I wandered into the bathroom. Eve's cosmetics stood in a line on the bathroom counter. They were many. The right side of the counter was her everyday toiletries, but the left side was covered with stage makeup.

I poked my head out of the bathroom. “Did Eve do her own makeup for the play?”

Junie shrugged. “I don't know. I suppose she did.”

That wasn't too surprising, considering the size of the production. How many stagehands had Mimi said there were? Four: Jasper, Blake, and the two teenagers from Millersburg, doing it for school credit.

I sat on the desk chair. “Do you know if she had a sweetheart?”

“A—a what?”

“Did Eve have a boyfriend?”

“She never said anything about anyone from New York. I told you we didn't talk much since she's been away. Eve doesn't like to write letters, and I don't have access to a telephone.”

“This hotel is full of telephones.” I pointed to the one on the nightstand.

She folded a pair of jeans. “I can't make long-distance calls from Mimi's phones.”

“That's a good point. If Eve didn't have an English boyfriend, did she have an Amish one before she left?”

Silence. She folded three more shirts during the quiet.

I spun the desk chair in her direction. “Junie?”

She played with the edge of her apron. “There was a boy, but it was so long ago. I wouldn't give him another thought. He's married to another girl now. He married right after Eve left.”

I leaned forward. “Is it a happy marriage?”

“I think so. They have two children now.”

“What's his name?”

She scowled, taking her frustration out on an
I LOVE NYC
hoodie. “It's bad enough that you come here and pester us with your questions. I won't let you bother him.”

“Is he a friend of yours?”

She paused. “He was. A long time ago. His name is Nathan Eby, and I am only telling you because you will not leave me alone until I do.”

At least she understood that about me.

“Was it serious?” I opened the closet door. There were a few pairs of jeans and a couple of dresses hanging
there. Three pairs of shoes sat at the bottom. They were sturdy and dependable; none of them were that expensive. If her possessions were any indication, Eve lived on a very tight budget.

“They went to singings and on buggy rides. It was a way Eve could pass the time while she decided what to do with her life. I knew nothing would ever come of it.”

If Junie wouldn't tell me about this mystery boy, maybe Amber would.

Junie wrapped her arms around her waist just above the band in her apron as if she had a stomachache. “I have much work to do. I think you should leave now.”

I stood. “Don't you want to know what happened to your sister?”

She didn't say anything.

I turned. “Don't you?”

Tears welled up in her dark eyes. She removed a white handkerchief from the pocket in her apron. “Finding out what happened won't bring Eve back.”

I gripped the back of the desk chair. “Junie, we can't let whoever did this get away with it.”

“The actors will be gone within the week. Let them go and let us forget.” She dropped her gaze back down to the pile of laundry.

“You think this will be over when they are gone. Do you think one of them is behind it?”

“They are all jealous of one another. Look at Lena.”

“You think it's Lena?”

“I didn't say she did it, but what does it matter in the end?” she argued. “It's better to grieve and let
Gott
do the rest.”

Mimi had been right. There was no doubt that Junie was destined to stay Amish. Her Amish beliefs were cemented in forgiveness and the justice of God.

Junie was right too; I should leave the room and return to Running Stitch. If there were any notes, the sheriff's department must have already found them. I wondered if Mitchell had heard my voice mail and how that went over.

“Did Eve say anything to you about feeling afraid or threatened?” I asked.

“Nee.”
She zipped up the larger of the two suitcases and put it on the floor. “Eve didn't have a care in the world.”

That I didn't believe. I shut the dresser drawer. All I learned from searching Eve's room was that she was really a struggling actress. All of her things were well cared for, but she didn't have many of them. Many of the clothes had been mended. The only way I knew was I had an eye for seams and thread as a quilter. It made me terribly sad.

“What will happen to her things?” I asked.

“I guess we will give them away. My parents are handling her funeral arrangements. It will be small and not as noteworthy as it would have had she remained Amish.”

“That is kind of them,” I murmured.

“My mother loves—loved Eve.” She wouldn't meet my eye and continued folding.

“She must have missed her terribly when she left the community,” I said.

“It broke her heart. My father told her to forget Eve,
that it would be easier if she did.” She dropped a pair of socks into the second suitcase. “But you can't help who you love. It's not always who you are supposed to.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked.

“Nothing. My father tells me I should not give in to idle musing. I should focus on the here and now. Eve was the only one with daydreams.” She studied me. “Are you going to marry the nice man from Texas?”

I tripped on the rug and had to brace myself on the side of the bed so that I wouldn't fall to the carpet. “What? No, of course not. He's a family friend.”

Her eyes narrowed. “He is very handsome.”

“He is, but I'm still not marrying him.”

“And he loves you.”

I stepped back from the bed. “He might have at one time, but not anymore.”

“You are wrong on that count. He still loves you. You are all he's spoken about since he got here.” More underwear and socks went into the suitcase.

“You've spoken to Ryan?”

“He's nice and likes to chat. I'm only being kind to a customer of the hotel.”

I bit my tongue to hold back the questions about what Ryan said about me. It didn't matter what Ryan said about me; that wouldn't change anything. At the end of the week, he would go back to Dallas, and I would remain here with my quilting circle, Running Stitch, and the sheriff.

Her face darkened. “It must be nice to choose who you want to love because everyone loves you back. Eve was like that. Everyone, even Nathan, knew that Eve
was going to leave the Amish life. I think he was just hoping he could talk her out of it. You couldn't make Eve do anything that she didn't want to do.” She said it like someone with experience. “So you see, Eve was just like you. She was the one who got to make the decision to walk away and break someone's heart. Not all of us have that chance.”

I didn't bother to argue with her or tell her Ryan dumped me, not the other way around. So it wasn't true. Sometimes the person I loved did not love me back.

W
hen I got back to Running Stitch, Anna, Mattie, and Sarah were all waiting for me. The only member of the quilting circle not there was Rachel, which was telling. The quilt frame was in the middle of the room, and the three women sat around it, adding stitches. Dodger curled up on the counter between the register and a large picnic basket.

After I removed his boots, Oliver padded over to check the condition of his young charge.

“What's going on?” I asked, hanging my coat on the peg on the wall.

“Have you eaten anything?” Anna asked, ignoring my question.

“Not since breakfast, but I'm meeting my parents for an early dinner at the Double Dime Diner after the shop closes for the day.”

Dodger jumped off the counter, and he and Oliver chased each other around the store.

“You still need to eat something now.” Anna licked the tip of her thread before pushing it through the eye of the needle. “There is vegetable soup in the thermos in the hamper there. It's still good and hot.”

I opened up the picnic basket and found the promised thermos of soup, plus fresh bread, bowls, and
spoons. “Do any of you want some? There is plenty here.”

“We already ate while waiting for you,” Mattie said.

I filled one of the bowls with soup, grabbed a spoon, and sat in my chair at the quilt rack. “Now, can you tell me what you are all doing here? Shouldn't you be home making last-minute preparations for Christmas?”

Anna pulled her thread through the fabric. “Christmas preparations are all but done, and as a quilting circle, we have pressing business.”

“Does this have something to do with Eve's death?” I blew on my spoon. Anna was right, the soup was hot.

“Yes, it does, and with Rachel. The poor girl. She doesn't need this last incident bringing up old feelings from her childhood,” Anna said. “She's had a hard-enough year as it is.”

“Do you know more about her family?” I asked, feeling a little guilty for going to Anna for the information when I knew I should talk to Rachel herself.

Anna pushed her glasses up her nose. “They've always been an odd bunch. Part of the district but very standoffish. My husband used to say it was because of the family tree farm. The Shetlers thought that they were better than everyone else in the district because the farm is big enough for all three boys to work there, and they did until Rachel's father, Nahum, went off the deep end.”

“What happened to Nahum? Why did he go crazy?” Sarah asked. “I don't think I have ever heard the story.”

“If you haven't heard it,” Anna said, “then it's been kept a close family secret.”

With deft fingers Sarah tied a quilter knot at the end of her thread. “Very funny. Is it my fault people tell me things?”

“The great mystery,” Anna said, “is why they do.”

Sarah frowned.

I set my empty soup bowl on the small tray table between Mattie and me. “Okay, okay. Back to the Shetler family, please.”

Anna began a stitch. “From what I have heard and have not repeated until this moment”—she gave Sarah a pointed look—“Nahum did not agree with a ruling the bishop made. It may have had to do with the death of Rachel's mother. At least that was what everyone else assumed because there didn't seem to be anything else that would have made him so angry.”

“Do you think Rachel knows?” I asked.

Anna frowned. “I'm not certain. She was very young. And since she lived with her mother's sister and brother-in-law, she had very little interaction with her father or his family.”

“But she's still upset about Eve, even though she didn't know her well,” Sarah said. “I mean, she seems more upset than an average person would be about the death of a young girl. It seems strange.”

“She is,” I said. “But you know how sensitive and caring Rachel is.” I picked up a needle and threaded it. We worked in silence for a moment.

“Angie, you promised to tell me about your visit to the library this morning, and I would like to hear about your trip back to the hotel this afternoon too.” Sarah peered at me over her glasses.

I told the ladies about my conversations with Amber and with Junie. “So, there is reason to believe because of the notes that someone was threatening Eve. The question is who, and whether that person was the one who actually cut the rope.”

Mattie shook her head. “It's just so terrible.”

When Mattie spoke up, it reminded me of her absence earlier that day. “Mattie, why weren't you here when I got back from the library? I was surprised to find Sarah filling in for you.”

“I—I had some business to take care of.”

I frowned. “Sarah said you needed to speak with a friend.”

Mattie frowned at Sarah. “
Nee
, it was just an errand for Christmas. I hope you don't mind.”

“Of course I don't mind, but please tell me when you leave the store.”

She ducked her head. “I'm sorry.”

I tied a quilter's knot at the end of my thread. “It's fine, Mattie, really,” I said, but I knew there was more to the story. I trusted my assistant. Mattie would tell me when she was ready. Then again, that didn't mean I wouldn't try to get to the bottom of it.

Anna stuck her needle into an apple-shaped pincushion. “Our only choice is to find out who cut the rope, not just to solve the murder but to help Rachel make peace with her past.”

Easier said than done.

“I'm going to see Nahum tomorrow morning. The best way to find out why he left the Amish and why he had such a problem with Eve is to go directly to the source.”

All three Amish women cried out at once. Sarah was the loudest. “Angie, you can't do that. It's too dangerous.”

I stood and carried my empty bowl back to the picnic basket. “I'm not going by myself. Jonah is taking me.”

Anna snapped the lid of her sewing box shut. “My son should do no such thing.”

I smiled. “Don't blame Jonah. I didn't give him much of a choice. I told him if he didn't go with me, I would go myself.”

Anna shook her head. “It's foolish. Wait until you can see Nahum on neutral ground. Don't go to his home, because then it will be on his terms.”

“The decision has already been made. I'll be fine. I'm even more eager to go now that I know he's Rachel's father.” I looked at each of them in turn. “Don't any of you tell her that I am going. . . .”

Anna and Sarah reluctantly nodded, but Mattie stared at the quilt in front of her.

I walked over to my assistant's chair. “Mattie? Are you going to tell Rachel?”

She removed her needle from the quilt and slid the thread out the needle's eye. “I won't tell her.”

•   •   •

It wasn't until I was driving to Millersburg that I remembered Ryan had gone off with Jessica that morning. It
was best not to dwell on why I found that irritating. After a quick stop at home to drop off Dodger, I rolled by her store on the way to the Double Dime Diner. At the last second, I swerved into a parking space in front of it.

The driver in the minivan behind me made angry gestures and shouted something indecipherable out of his window.

Oliver hopped right out of the car when I opened the door. He was always happy to visit Jessica's shop. It was where he met Dodger for the first time and fell in love with his feline brother.

Before I even stepped into the shop, I saw Ryan and Jessica through the window. Ryan laughed at something Jessica said, and she put her hand on his arm.

I clenched my jaw and was about to turn away when Jessica saw me and waved me inside.

“We need to be on our best behavior, Ollie,” I said before opening the door.

He cocked his head at me as if to ask when he had ever not been on his best behavior. Truth be told, he really didn't want me to recite the list.

Inside the shop, I spied Melon, Jessica's ginger-colored shop cat, snoozing on top of a bookshelf. The big cat opened one eye, saw it was Oliver and me, and went back to sleep. Melon and Cherry Cat, Dodger's mom, were the only two I had ever seen. Jessica had claimed to have a third cat, but I had never seen it. I was convinced it was a ghost.

I edged around Sir Richard, Jessica's suit of armor standing guard at the front door. Oliver gave Sir Richard a wide berth. He'd run into the suit of armor one too
many times and almost got chopped with Sir Richard's ax.

“Angie!” Jessica beamed at me. “Come in from the cold. Ryan and I were just having a cup of cocoa. Would you like some?”

“Angie is always up for chocolate,” Ryan said with a smile.

“That's true,” I admitted.

Jessica spun around to the electric kettle on the back counter to make my cocoa.

Cherry Cat, a sleek, solid, silver gray beauty, sat on the counter and peered down at Oliver. My Frenchie wagged his stubby tail in greeting. The pair's relationship had much improved ever since Oliver and I took in her son, Dodger.

“What were the two of you up to all day?” I asked, trying to sound casual but failing miserably.

Ryan stirred his hot chocolate with a teaspoon. “Jessica has been kind enough to give me a tour of the county. We drove through Berlin, Sugarcreek, and Rolling Brook. I was shocked with the number of Amish I saw. I can see why you like it here. The scenery is very picturesque and charming. Jessica was the perfect tour guide. I'm sure I got a much more thorough tour of the county than those poor folks stuck on those tour buses we kept seeing. I can't see traveling like that as being comfortable.”

Jessica blushed. “Ryan was very curious about the county. We even stopped at one of the cheese shops where he could get samples.”

“I sent a huge cheese basket home to my parents. It
won't make up for my missing the big Dickinson Christmas, but it will at least make my father happy.”

I moved a candelabra from the top of a dresser and perched it on the dresser's top. “The county is beautiful, but Texas is pretty too.”

Ryan perked up. “Do you miss it?”

“Of course, I miss it sometimes, but I know I can always go back since my parents are there.” I paused. “I'm glad Jessica was available to show you around.”

Ryan frowned.

Jessica handed me the mug of hot chocolate, but she wouldn't meet my eyes.

“Thanks.” I sipped from the Flintstones
mug. “I was just about to head over to the Double Dime to meet my parents for an early dinner. It's a bit early, so I thought I would stop in and see how the two of you were.”

“The Double Dime?” Ryan asked.

“It's the diner across the street,” Jessica said as she stirred her hot cocoa. “The food is really good traditional diner fare. It's especially nice if you need a break from all of the Amish restaurants in the county.”

“Care if I join you?” Ryan asked. “I've used up too much of Jessica's time as it is. I know she must have work to do.”

“No,” Jessica said a little too quickly. “I don't have anything pressing.” She blushed. “But if you want to join Angie and her parents for dinner, please go ahead. Visiting with them is the reason you are here.”

It seemed that Jessica liked Ryan a lot, but how could I tell her that she had no chance? Ryan would never move to Rolling Brook. He would have to leave his
high-powered career in Dallas. He was a Texas guy through and through.

But what was I doing begrudging her a little distraction? I was being absolutely ridiculous. Jessica was my friend. So what if she had a crush on Ryan.

Regardless, I knew inviting Jessica to dinner too with my parents would be a bad idea. My mother would hit the roof if she saw Ryan with another woman, especially one so taken with him. But I had an alternative. I took a deep breath and said, “Jessica, what are you doing on Christmas Eve?”

“Oh,” she said. “I planned to go to Midnight Mass, but other than that, I will be wrapping gifts and baking. My extended family celebrates on Christmas Day.”

“Why don't you come with us to the Grabers' farm for Christmas Eve dinner? It will be at three, so you will have plenty of time to finish everything you need to for Christmas Day beforehand and to go to Mass afterward.”

Ryan's eyebrows knit together as if he didn't like where this conversation was going. Too bad for him. He should have thought about that before he spent the entire day with my friend.

She ran her hand along Cherry Cat's back as Dodger's mother pranced across the counter. “Are you sure? Won't that be one person too many for Anna and Miriam?”

“Anna would love for you to come.” I laughed. “And Jonah's wife is always put out about something. One more person won't make a bit of difference with how
she feels about the entire affair. Besides, the dinner is at Anna's little
dadihaus
, so Miriam can't argue much.”

“A
dadihaus
?” Ryan asked.

“That's what the Amish call the home that the grandparents live in on the farm,” Jessica explained. “When one Amish generation turns over the family farm to the next, the older generation usually gives the new generation the big house and moves into a small home on the property. It's translated as ‘grandpa house.'”

I nodded. “But in the Grabers' case, Anna lives there alone because she is a widow.”

Oliver was lying across Ryan's shoe. I tried to suppress the grimace. It shouldn't bother me that Oliver was so enamored with Ryan. Ryan had always been kind and taken great care of my dog. Jessica watched Ryan with rapt attention. Oliver wasn't the only one taken with the Texas lawyer.

“So, do you have room for one more at your dinner table for today?” Ryan asked.

“Sure,” I said through my teeth. “I know Mom would like to see you. She and Dad have been sightseeing today too. You can compare notes.”