Murder, Served Simply by Isabella Alan Page B

the hotel owner burst into tears.
    The man with the rattling newspaper was really giving the sports section a workout. I wrapped my arm around Mimi’s shoulder and led her across the dining room to the French doors, which led into the swimming pool area. Oliver waddled in after us and made a beeline for a lounge chair. Shades and a towel were all he needed to be ready for a day at the pool, which looked pretty enticing right then.
    I guided her to a small table near the deep end and farthest away from the door. The whirlpool bubbled a few feet away, and the smell of chlorine burned the inside of my nose. There was no one in the pool room, and the whirlpool would cover our conversation if anyone were to step inside.
    Mimi whipped at her eyes, and her heavy layer ofmascara melted and smeared onto her cheek. “I’m sorry,” she muttered through her tears. “I should have better control over myself.”
    I rifled through my monster purse and came up with a crumpled packet of travel tissues. “Don’t be silly. Eve’s death has been a shock for all of us.” The tissues appeared to have been stepped upon by an elephant, but they were clean. I handed Mimi the package.
    She accepted it and removed a tissue from the plastic. “Thank you.” She blew her nose.
    Oliver hopped off his lounger and licked Mimi’s hand. The hotel owner smiled. I could always count on Oliver to mend wounds.
    Overhead, snow gathered on the corners of the atrium’s glass ceiling. Inside the pool room, tropical plants flourished, and the warm humid pool air felt lovely against my dehydrated winter skin. It was all I could do not to throw myself into the crystal blue water.
    â€œHow did you know Eve? Was it from her life here before she left for New York?” I asked.
    She nodded. “She was like a daughter to me.”
    Involuntarily, I felt my eyebrows pop up.
    Mimi wiped tears from her eyes with one of the mangled tissues. “She was such a sweet girl. I don’t know how anyone could do this to her, especially her own family.”
    I leaned back in my chair. “Her family? Do you mean her uncle Nahum?”
    â€œI wouldn’t limit it to just him.” There was an edge to her voice.
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œNahum may have been the most outspoken against Eve’s return to Holmes County, but her whole family has treated her poorly since she returned. People think that the Amish are kind and caring. They usually are, but they can be cold too. They treated Eve like a leper, even her own father.”
    â€œWhat’s her father’s name?”
    â€œNoah Shetler. He and his brother, not Nahum, own Shetler Tree Farm in Berlin. They are very well off for an Amish family. They supply many of the greenhouses and nurseries with trees and shrubs in Holmes, Wayne, and Stark Counties.”
    â€œTree farm?” I asked. “What about Christmas trees?” I asked with an idea sparking in the back of my brain.
    â€œOh yes, this is a great time for business for them. Even though the Amish won’t have Christmas trees in their homes, it doesn’t mean they won’t make money off the English who will.”
    â€œDo you include Junie in that number of relatives who have been unkind to Eve?”
    Mimi placed her hands on the table. “Junie is confused. She wanted Eve to come back to Holmes County, but when Eve arrived, Eve told me that Junie had hardly spoken to her. I know she was hurt when her sister left, but now was her chance to make amends. That chance is gone now. She will never get it back.”
    â€œDid you meet Eve through Junie?”
    She shook her head. “I met Junie through Eve. Eve started working for me the summer after she finished school.”
    Oliver stared into the whirlpool. I hoped that he didn’t get any ideas about going for a dip.
    Mimi twisted the packet of tissues in her hands, and the plastic crackled. “Eve was a