Read Online Murder, Simply Stitched: An Amish Quilt Shop Mystery by Isabella Alan - Free Book Online Page B

winced. No wonder she was prickly. Martha used to work for me at Running Stitch, but quit to open her own Amish quilt shop because she thought the changes I made to my shop were “too English.” That wouldn’t have bothered me at all if Martha hadn’t opened her shop right next to mine. I could just imagine what Martha had said about me to her cousin. I knew none of it was good. “If you know Martha, then you must know that I am friends with Rachel Miller.”
    She dropped her gaze back to her basket liner.
“Ya.”
    I shifted from foot to foot. She wasn’t going to make this easy. “I’m sure you have heard the news about Wanda Hunt.”
    “Ya.”
    She really was a conversationalist, wasn’t she?
    “Were you here earlier today when Wanda spoke with Rachel at her table?”
    “Why do you ask? You were there.” She picked up her needle again and resumed her work.
    “I wasn’t there the entire time. Did you overhear anything they said before I arrived?”
    “The Amish do not eavesdrop.” The way she glared at me made me wonder if she saw me eavesdropping on the sheriff and the coroner.
    “How did Wanda act when she first walked up to Rachel? Did she look upset, angry, or ill?”
    “I do not know. I do not mind others’ business.”
    I set the place mat back on the table. The woman had decided to dislike me because of her cousin. There was nothing I could do to change her mind. Martha made sure of that.
    She made eye contact again. “It is a shame the Millers have been so influenced by an outsider. I have always thought Aaron Miller to be a strong and reliable Amish man.”
    I opened my mouth.
    “Mary, how are your baskets selling today?” Anna Graber asked.
    I turned to see Anna walking toward us.
    “Very well. It is kind of you to ask,” Mary said.
    “I’m glad that you were able to meet Angie. As you know she’s the niece of my dear friend, Eleanor Lapp.” Her voice held a scolding tone to it.
    “I do.” Mary returned her attention to her embroidery.
    Why did I think that the two were having an entire conversation between the words that I wasn’t privy to?
    “Angie, can we speak for a moment?” Anna asked.
    I followed Anna to the other side of my booth. “By talking to me, you are likely only proving Mary’s point that I am a bad influence on your family.”
    “Do not listen to her. She and Martha are close.”
    “I know. She just told me that they are cousins.” My brow wrinkled. “In the time she worked for me, Martha never mentioned a cousin.”
    “I doubt she would mention much of anything to you, Angie, other than her distaste for the changes you made to the shop. She was set to dislike you before you moved back to Ohio. The moment she learned Eleanor left Running Stitch to you, not her, she made up her mind about you. She hoped you would not stay here, but you did.”
    I chewed on the inside of my lip.
    “I am very glad you made that decision. Having you here is like having a part of Eleanor with me. I know she’s happy and without pain as she’s gone on to her heavenly reward, but I miss her dearly.”
    I will not cry. I will not cry.
    “Now, we must think about the more pressing issues at hand. Rachel and Aaron Miller.”
    I blinked away the tears gathering in the corners of my eyes. “I feel awful about what has happened to them. Aaron’s not taking the sheriff’s thinly veiled accusations seriously enough. From experience I know Sheriff Mitchell means business.”
    She adjusted her glasses. “You think he will put them through what you went through over Joseph Walker’s murder?”
    “Mitchell is a good cop. He will come to the right conclusions in the end. The longer it takes him to reach those conclusions, the more it will hurt the Millers and their reputation within the community, both English and Amish.”
    She nodded. “That is why we need to meet with the quilting circle. There must be a way to help.”
    “You mean to investigate what happened to Wanda.”
    She