Plain Murder (Amish Romance Mystery): Clean Mystery series (Amish Secret Widows' Society Book 8) (5 page)

Chapter 8.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4

Later that night, when Sabrina arrived home, she found Bailey and Silvie in the kitchen.

“Bailey,” Sabrina began, clearly upset. “I need to talk to you about something.”

“Sabrina, what is the matter?” Bailey was immediately concerned, gesturing for her sister-in-law to take a seat by the kitchen table.

“At work today my friend May told me she thinks her brother, Trevor, is responsible for the murder of their father.”

Silvie was standing behind Bailey and as she heard the words her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. Bailey remained expressionless as he waited for Sabrina to continue.

“Judging by his behavior today at work, it looks like he’s been planning this for a while. And I had two calls from people today claiming Mr. Caruthers owed them money.”

After listening to Sabrina’s thoughts on the matter, Bailey found that her suspicions matched his own, at least in part. From what Crowley had already told him, Bailey knew that Trevor would stand to have the most to gain from his father’s death making him the prime suspect. As far as Bailey was aware, Trevor was going to be pulled in for any further questions. Something niggled at Bailey; it seemed too obvious that Trevor would be the guilty party. If he were going to kill his father to gain an early inheritance, why wouldn’t he have been cleverer about it? Why wouldn’t he have made it look more like an accident, perhaps even a suicide?

“I think it’s important that we just let the police handle this,” Bailey said, sounding sincere. “I’m sure they’ll get to the bottom of it.”

“But what if it was Trevor that did it?” Sabrina asked, traces of fear beginning to lace her voice. “I could be working with a murderer. Silvie said that you are helping Detective Crowley with all of this.”

“Sabrina, please....” Wanting to keep the young girl calm, Bailey glanced sideways to Silvie looking for her help.

Taking a seat by her sister’s side, Silvie took Sabrina’s hand in hers in an attempt to keep her calm.

Bailey dropped his head slightly, so his eyes were in line with Sabrina’s. “I used to work with these guys. Trust me they know what they are doing. If they had any concerns, they would have kept him in for further enquiries, but they didn’t. I’ll call Crowley in the morning to see if anything new has come to light. I’m sure you’ve nothing to worry about.”

Seeing a measure of comfort register in Sabrina’s eyes signaled to Bailey that his words had calmed her slightly. Now feeling more at ease himself, Bailey tried to move her attention completely away from her boss. “Now tell me about these phone calls, what were their names?”

Sabrina paused to recall the details from earlier that afternoon.

“Clarkwell and Addison,” she replied. “I didn’t recognize their names at all. There are no accounting files under their names or the names of their firm and nothing in the firm’s whole database.”

“Did they specify what the debt was for? Or how much was owed?” Bailey asked rubbing the back of his neck in an effort to relieve some tension.

“No, they both seemed quite evasive when I tried to get more information. At least one of them said it was a personal matter.” Sabrina then realized something she should have noticed when she first spoke to the debtors. “I’ve been working on the books for the stables for several months now and I never saw anything that looked like a considerable debt. We owed money in various places, but just the usual small amounts to the auctioneers and a few contractors for work done on the stables. None of it makes sense.”

Bailey allowed Sabrina to go off on her various tangents while he thought over the situation with Trevor. After a while he said, “Just go back to work tomorrow and tell Trevor about the calls and let him deal with it, alright? Seems to be some personal debts that the old man accrued along the way somehow.”

“Okay,” Sabrina said with a weak smile on her lips.

“Well, I’ve got a widows’ meeting to go to straight after dinner,” Silvie announced.

“Can I come with you, Silvie?”

Silvie raised her eyebrows. Sabrina had been to two widows’ meetings and had complained the whole time. Silvie knew that the other four widows found Sabrina spoilt and annoying. “Why do you want to come this time, Sabrina? You’ve complained the whole way through at each meeting you’ve gone to.”

Sabrina dropped her head. “I know, but they might be able to help figure the whole thing out.”

“No complaining?”

“I won’t make one complaint.
Ach
, do they have a couch yet?”

Silvie laughed. “
Nee
, and don’t say a thing about it. They don’t seem to have the need to sit in something comfortable. They like their chairs.”

“Okay, so I can come if I don’t complain?” Sabrina asked.

Silvie nodded. “You can come.”

Silvie had made apple cupcakes with lemon icing that day to take to the gathering. Each of the five widows always made something delicious to take to their weekly get-togethers.

* * *

Two hours later, Silvie and Sabrina knocked on the door of the elderly
schweschders,
Ettie and Elsa-May. Not long after they were seated, the other two widows, Emma and Maureen, arrived.

As soon as everyone was seated, Silvie took a deep breath and began, “Sabrina wanted to come here tonight because something terrible happened at her work yesterday.”

Sabrina spoke across Silvie, “
Jah,
my boss was murdered and Silvie was the one who found him.”

The widows gasped.

“How horrible for you,” Ettie said to Silvie.

Elsa-May shook her head with her eyes cast downward.

“How was he killed?” Emma asked.

“He was stabbed,” Sabrina said before Silvie could open her mouth.

“Where was he found?” Maureen asked.

This time Silvie was quick to speak. “I found him in one of the stables behind one of the horses.”

“He was in with a horse?” Maureen asked.

Silvie nodded.

“Well, we’re not looking for someone who was afraid of horses then,” Ettie said.

“So, you’ll help then?” Sabrina asked.

“The police don’t have any idea who did this?” Elsa-May asked.

Sabrina shook her head.

Silvie said, “Bailey talked to Crowley last night after the police interviewed everyone. They interviewed Silvie, me and the boss's son, Trevor, and a few employees. Anyway, Crowley wants Bailey to help him with the evidence.”

“How does Bailey feel about that?” Elsa-May asked, frowning at Silvie.

“He’d rather stay out of it. He’s left that part of his life behind him and is fearful to take it up again. You know the problems that he’s had with his nightmares and things?” Silvie said.

“
Jah,
I’d understand that he’d want to stay away from anything like that,” Elsa-May said. “And what brings you here tonight, Sabrina?”

Sabrina brightened up. “I’ve come here to see if you could all help find who killed Mr. Caruthers. I know you’ve done things like that before.”

“Tell us what you know,” Ettie said.

“I’d seen Mr. Caruthers yesterday morning and that’s all, which isn’t unusual the day before an auction. He’ll usually come into his office of a morning and spend the rest of the day going over the paperwork for each horse, which he does ‘hands on,’ in the stables. Silvie came to visit me and I wanted to show her all the horses that had come in ready for the auction. Anyway, I just wanted to finish up some paperwork, so I sent Silvie ahead.”

“
Jah
, and the first stall I came to, I saw that someone was lying in the back of the stable. I pushed the horse to one side and then I saw him lying there face down.”

“Was the horse upset?” Ettie asked.

“That’s a strange question to ask, Ettie,” Elsa-May said.

“
Nee,
it’s not. If there was a violent struggle in the stable with the horse, the horse would surely have been distressed and I would think the horse would have looked a little nervous. Maybe he would be snorting, pacing or breathing heavily.”

Elsa-May pushed out her lips and nodded her head as if she approved of Ettie’s reasoning. Then both elderly ladies looked at Silvie.

“
Nee
, the horse didn’t appear upset at all. The horse looked calm. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until I saw a man lying behind the horse.”

“That might mean that it was sudden and there was no struggle. Or, it could mean that he was killed elsewhere and dragged into the stable,” Maureen said.

“Have the police done a crime scene and investigated all those things, Sabrina?”

Sabrina shrugged her shoulders. “They had yellow tape around the stables and wouldn’t let anyone in or out.”

“That might be where Crowley was. He wasn’t at the police station ‘til they had finished my interview,” Silvie said.

“Did they give Bailey any information?” Emma asked. “You said that Crowley wanted him to help them, so he could have told Bailey some things.”

“I don’t like to ask him. I don’t want him to be stressed about things,” Silvie said.

“Emma, you go to Crowley tomorrow and see what you can find out,” Elsa-May said.

“He’d tell Bailey things. Why do I always have to be the one to go and see Crowley?” Emma asked.

“He tells you things, that’s why,” Elsa-May said with a glint in her eye.

It was clear to Silvie that Emma did not want to go and talk to Crowley, but what Elsa-May said was true, Crowley did tell Emma things. He probably would have told either Elsa-May or Ettie just as much, but Ettie had been feeling poorly for a while. “Would you do that, Emma?” Silvie asked. “I don’t want to put too much pressure on Bailey.”

Emma smiled at Silvie. “Of course I will.”

Ettie coughed. “Excuse me, I’ll just get the tea.”

“
Nee
, you sit, Ettie. I’ll get the tea,” Maureen said.

“Are you alright? You don’t look very well,” Sabrina said to Ettie.

“I’ve been very tired lately. Old age might be catching up with me,” Ettie laughed, but it turned into a coughing fit with rattling sounds coming from her lungs.

When she finished, Emma said to Elsa-May, “I think Ettie should see a doctor, that does not sound
gut
at all. It sounds like the cough has gone to her lungs.”

“Nonsense. I’m alright,” Ettie insisted. “I don’t go to doctors.”

Elsa-May said, “We’ll keep an eye on it and if it gets any worse, we’ll go to the doctor.”

“Maybe,” Ettie uttered.

Maureen came back with the tea. Emma jumped up and brought the cakes and cookies in from the kitchen and placed them on the small table in the living room.

Sabrina took a bite of cake and chewed on it carefully. When she finished her mouthful she said, “There’s something else I wanted to tell you about tonight.” When she had all the widows’ attention, she continued, “Today I got two calls from two men I’d never heard off and they both said that Mr. Caruthers owed them money. I went right through my computer and all though my paperwork and the firm had no dealings with these two men. One of the men said that it was personal not business. Mr. Caruthers kept his personal accounts on my computer as well, you see and there’s nothing – no record of these debts.”

“Did you say something to the son?” Emma asked.

“I would have except he was busy with the auction today. I’ll say something about it when I go into work tomorrow. I can’t help thinking that it’s all very strange. It’s strange that I know nothing about these two men.”

“Interesting,” Elsa-May said. “What were their names?”

“Clarkwell and Addison.”

“Ettie and I can make some enquiries about them tomorrow and you see what you can find out from his son tomorrow too.”

Sabrina nodded. “Okay. There’s another name I’d like you to look into as well; it’s Victor Parker; I believe that my old boss could’ve owed him money too.”

“Come back here tomorrow night and see what we’ve found out,” Elsa-May said.

Chapter 9.

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts:

and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

1 Peter 3:15

As soon as Sabrina entered the office the next morning, she knew that something was not right. She could hear a low voice coming from Mr. Caruthers’ office and it was not Trevor’s voice. Sabrina stowed her things in the top drawer of her desk and then walked toward Mr. Caruthers’ office and put her ear to the door. There was definitely someone in there, maybe it was John Steele, but John would have gotten himself into a heap of trouble if Trevor came and saw him there. No, it wasn’t John’s voice.

Sabrina opened the door a crack, but the door squeaked.

She heard a man’s voice say, “I’ll call you back.” There was a sound as if he threw a cell phone onto the desk. “Who is it?”

Sabrina knew she had no choice but to open the door fully and step through. “Who are you?” she said when she saw a young man with his feet crossed up on the desk.

“Your new boss, I’d say, that is if you’re Sabrina. And I’d say you are Sabrina because I don’t see any other Amish women here today.” The man chuckled and added, “I’ve heard all about you.”

Sabrina was used to being treated differently by
Englischers,
as if being Amish was an oddity. She inched her way into the office. The man appeared to be in his late twenties. He had short-cropped dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes. “Where’s Trevor?”

The man jumped to his feet, moved away from behind the desk, and stretched out his hand. “I’m Jamie Caruthers, Trevor’s older and better looking brother.”

Sabrina opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. She didn’t even know that May or Trevor had an older brother. Sabrina glanced at his outstretched hand and shook it. “I’m sorry; I didn’t know that Trevor and May had an older brother.”

Jamie threw his head back and laughed. “I’m the black sheep of the family. May is the good one and Trevor is the bad, but still moderately acceptable one.” Jamie pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and flipped it open to show his driver’s license. He was a Caruthers. “I was in Europe and just got back yesterday.” Jamie sat back down behind the desk. “I guess you’ll be working for me from now on. You can start by making me coffee.”

Still dazed by the revelation that there was an older brother in the Caruthers family, Sabrina walked toward the door then she turned back to Jamie. “Does Trevor know you’re here?” Sabrina knew that with Trevor’s temper there would most likely be an almighty row because Trevor expected to be the new boss.

“Trevor is in jail, and also May.”

“What do you mean?”

“Jail, you know, the place with bars and bad food?”

Sabrina frowned at his careless manner about such an important matter. “I know what jail is, but you mean they are actually in jail?”

“Happened last night. I only just got back into the country when I got a call from Dad’s lawyer saying that they were both in jail. He suggested that I drop what I’m doing and run the business before May and Trevor’s absence causes the business to go broke.”

Sabrina walked to the desk and sat down on one of the chairs opposite Jamie. “Why, why are they both in jail?”

Jamie raised his eyebrows and looked at her for a moment. “Have a seat.”

This man is just like Trevor except worse. No wonder he’s the black sheep of the family.
“May’s my friend, could you just please tell me why she’s in jail? Or is this a joke?”

“My brother and my sister each confessed to murdering our father.”

“Why would they do that?” Sabrina knew that May would not be capable of such a thing – Trevor maybe, but not May.

“There would be many reasons to kill my father. I’m surprised he lasted this long without someone killing him. Let me see, he’s a child beater, a wife- beater, a liar and a cheat… shall I go on?”

Sabrina shook her head and jumped to her feet. “I’ll go and get that coffee.”

“Good idea,” Sabrina heard Jamie say on her way out of his door.

She made her way to the lunchroom in a daze. Her good friend May in jail? It didn’t make sense. Sabrina had to know more.

Minutes later, Sabrina knocked on Jamie’s door with his coffee in her hands.

“Yes?” Jamie looked up from his laptop.

She placed the coffee in front of him. “Do you mean that they both said that they did it together? May and Trevor both killed their father?”

Jamie pushed himself back into the high-backed leather chair. “No. They each say that the other is innocent.”

May had to be covering for Trevor. “I see, so what happens now?”

“I’m not sure. I’m not thinking about that right now. Whatever happens to them happens. It’s not in any of my control, so there’s no point me giving it a second thought.”

May stepped back, turned around and walked out the door. She collected a coffee she’d made for herself from the lunchroom then went back to her desk. He sounded so cold, as if he had no feelings for either sibling.

She sat back down at her desk and checked the daily emails.

At nine o’clock John Steele walked through the door. Sabrina stood up and waved him over.

“John, have you heard what’s going on?”

“What now?”

Sabrina told John about May and Trevor both confessing to the murder and also that Jamie the oldest son was now running the place.

John scratched his head. “Not to sound selfish at a time like this, but that’s all I need.”

“Do you know Jamie?”

John pulled a face. “I’ve met him once before. I’m not his favorite person and he’s not mine.”

At that moment, Mr. Caruthers’ office door swung open. Jamie ducked his head out and looked at John. “John Steele.”

“Hello, Jamie.”

“Do you actually intend to do any work here, or are you on a social visit?” Jamie scowled at Sabrina obviously upset at the two of them having a conversation in work hours.

John walked over to Jamie. “As soon as your father died, your brother demoted me. I was second in charge to your father.”

“Ah, good. I’ll remote you then. Remote - is that a word?” Jamie laughed loudly. “You can have your old job back and bring me up to speed on what’s happening around here. I haven’t worked here for a good ten years.”

John shot Sabrina a pleased look.

Jamie looked him up and down and then looked at Sabrina as if he were studying her. He looked back at Jamie, “Grab yourself a coffee and come into my office. I’ve got some paperwork I’d like to go over with you.”

Normally Sabrina would consider herself lucky to be working so closely with two such handsome men, but right now Sabrina was pleased that everyone would be away from her for a while. The few days after an auction were always busy and Sabrina had a ton of paperwork to get through. Sabrina noted that John did not look particularly upset to learn that May was being held in custody. She would have thought that he would have gotten in his car and driven straight to the police station. Maybe they weren’t as close as she had thought. Sabrina knew that Bailey was off to see Detective Crowley today; hopefully Bailey would find some things out and tell her as soon as she got home.

Later in the morning, Sabrina phoned the police station but they would neither confirm nor deny that they were holding May and Trevor. Neither of them had shown up for work, so it was most likely true. An email sounded on her computer. The email was from Jamie announcing that Mr. Caruthers’ funeral was the day after tomorrow.

Sabrina looked at the post-it note stuck on her computer. It had the two men’s names that claimed that Mr. Caruthers owed them money. “Well, if Jamie is running this place I’ll tell him about the two men and let him handle it.”

Just as Sabrina was about to go for lunch, Jamie walked out of his father’s office.

“Mr. Caruthers.”

Jamie walked over to her desk. “Please, Mr. Caruthers was my father. Call me Jamie. What can I do for you, Sabrina?”

She handed him a slip of paper with the two men’s names and phone numbers. “These two men say that your father owes them money.”

Jamie took the paper and looked at the names. “What for?” Jamie looked back at her with his sky-blue piercing eyes.

Her heart beat a little faster; he made her nervous. “They said that it was a private matter.”

He scrunched up the paper and tossed it into her waste paper basket.

Sabrina gasped. “What did you do that for?”

Jamie tipped his head to one side. “That was the recycle bin, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, but…”

“Well, paper is recyclable.” He sat on her desk. “Lunch?”

Was he asking her out for lunch or was he asking if it was lunchtime? The way he asked her made it sound like he wanted to take her out to lunch. There was something dangerous yet appealing about Jamie and it was more than the fact that he was handsome. “I’ve eaten already.”

“Liar.”

How could he possibly know? “What?”

“I could order you to come to lunch with me, but I won’t. Come on, I think we both need a break from this place, don’t you?” Jamie leaned slightly toward her.

Sabrina breathed out heavily. Maybe if she went she could find out more about May and Trevor, possibly even figure out whom Clarkwell and Addison were. Surely he would know a little of his father’s dealings. Mr. Caruthers might have been a gambler or something and that’s why he owed those two men money. Besides all that, Jamie did not look like the kind of person who was going to take no for an answer. “Okay, lunch.”