Lev said, 'We have many strangers here, Chief Tolliver. It's the nature of our work to invite strangers into our homes. Isaiah beseeches us to "bring the poor that are cast out to thy house." It is our duty to help them.'
'Amen,' the family intoned.
Jeffrey asked Esther, 'Do you remember what she was wearing the last time you saw her?'
'Yes, of course,' Esther paused a moment, as if the memory might break a dam of emotions she had been holding back. 'We had sewn a blue dress together. Abby loved to sew. We found the pattern in an old trunk upstairs that I believe belonged to Ephraim's mother. We made a few changes to update it. She was wearing it when we said goodbye.'
'This was here at the house?'
'Yes, early that morning. Becca had already gone to the farm.'
Mary provided, 'Becca was with me.'
Jeffrey asked, 'Anything else?'
Esther told him, 'Abby's very calm. She never got flustered as a child. She's such a special girl.'
Lev spoke up, his voice deadly serious in a way that made his words sound not like a compliment to his sister, but as a matter of record. 'Abby looks very much like her mother, Chief Tolliver. They have the same coloring, same almond shape to their eyes. She's a very attractive girl.'
Lena repeated his words in her mind, wondering if he was intimating another man might want his niece or revealing something deeper about himself. It was hard to tell with this guy. He seemed pretty open and honest one minute, but then the next Lena wasn't even sure if she would believe him if he told her the sky was blue. The preacher obviously was the head of the church as well as the family, and she got the distinct feeling that he was probably a lot smarter than he let on.
Esther touched her own hair, recalling, 'I tied a ribbon in her hair. A blue ribbon. I remember it now. Ephraim had packed the car and we were ready to go, and I found the ribbon in my purse. I had been saving it because I thought I could use it as an embellishment on a dress or something, but it matched her dress so well, I told her to come over, and she bent down while I tied the ribbon in her hair . . .' Her voice trailed off, and Lena saw her throat work. 'She has the softest hair . . .'
Rachel squeezed her sister's hand. Esther was staring out the window as if she wanted to be outside and away from this scene. Lena saw this as a coping mechanism that she was more than familiar with. It was so much easier to keep yourself removed from things rather than wearing your emotions out on your sleeve.
Paul said, 'Rachel and I live on the farm with our families. Separate houses, of course, but we're within walking distance of the main house. When we couldn't locate Abby last night, we did a thorough search of the grounds. The workers fanned out. We checked the houses, the buildings, from top to bottom. When we couldn't find anything, we called the sheriff.'
'I'm sorry it took him so long to get back to you,' Jeffrey said. 'They've been pretty busy over there.'
'I don't imagine,' Paul began, 'many people in your business get concerned when a twenty-one-year-old girl goes missing.'
'Why is that?'
'Girls run off all the time, don't they?' he said. 'We're not completely blind to the outside world here.'
'I'm not following you.'
'I'm the black sheep of the family,' Paul said, and from his siblings' reaction, Lena could tell it was an old family joke. 'I'm a lawyer. I handle the farm's legal business. Most of my time is spent in Savannah. I spend every other week in the city.'
'Were you here last week?' Jeffrey asked.
'I came back last night when I heard about Abby,' he said, and the room fell silent.
'We've heard rumors,' Rachel said, cutting to the chase. 'Horrible rumors.'
Ephraim put his hand to his chest. The old man's fingers were trembling. 'It's her, isn't it?'
'I think so, sir.' Jeffrey reached into his pocket and took out a Polaroid. Ephraim's hands were shaking too much to take it, so Lev stepped in. Lena watched both men look at the picture. Where Ephraim was composed and quiet, Lev gasped audibly, then closed his eyes, though no tears spilled out. Lena watched his lips move in a silent prayer. Ephraim could only stare at the photograph, his palsy becoming so bad that the chair seemed to vibrate.
Behind him, Paul was looking at the picture, his face impassive. She watched him for signs of guilt, then any sign at all. But for his Adam's apple bobbing when he swallowed, he stood as still as a rock.
Esther cleared her throat. 'May I?' she said, asking for the picture. She seemed perfectly composed, but her fear and underlying anguish were obvious.
'Oh, Mother,' Ephraim began, his voice cracking from grief. 'You may look if you like, but please, trust me, you don't want to see her like this. You don't want this in your memory.'
Esther deferred to her husband's wishes, but Rachel reached out for the photograph. Lena watched the older woman's lips press into a rigid line. 'Dear Jesus,' she whispered. 'Why?'
Whether she meant to or not, Esther looked over her sister's shoulder, seeing the picture of her dead child. Her shoulders started shaking, a small tremble that erupted into spasms of grief as she buried her head in her hands, sobbing, 'No!'
Mary had been sitting quietly in the chair, but she stood abruptly, her hand to her chest, then ran from the room. Seconds later, they heard the kitchen door slam.
Lev had remained silent as he watched his sister go, and though Lena couldn't read his expression, she got the feeling he was angered by Mary's melodramatic exit.
He cleared his throat before asking, 'Chief Tolliver, could you tell us what happened?'
Jeffrey hesitated, and Lena wondered how much he would tell them. 'We found her in the woods,' he said. 'She was buried in the ground.'
'Oh, Lord,' Esther breathed, doubling over as if in pain. Rachel rubbed her sister's back, her lips trembling, tears streaming down her face.
Jeffrey didn't offer specifics as he continued, 'She ran out of air.'
'My baby,' Esther moaned. 'My poor Abigail.'
The kids from the pigpen came in, the screen door slamming closed behind them. The adults all jumped as if a gun had been fired.
Ephraim spoke first, obviously struggling to regain his composure. 'Zeke, what have you been told about the door?'
Zeke leaned against Lev's leg. He was a spindly kid, not yet showing signs of his father's height. His arms were as thin as toothpicks. 'Sorry, Uncle Eph.'
'Sorry, Papa,' Becca said, though she hadn't been the one to slam the door. She too was stick-thin, and though Lena wasn't good with ages, she wouldn't have put the girl at fourteen. She obviously hadn't hit puberty yet.
Zeke was staring at his aunt, his lips trembling. He obviously sensed something was wrong. Tears sprang into his eyes.
'Come here, child,' Rachel said, dragging Zeke into her lap. She put her hand on his leg, petting him, soothing him. She was trying to control her grief, but losing the battle.
Rebecca kept to the door, asking, 'What's wrong?'
Lev put his hand on Rebecca's shoulder. 'Your sister has passed on to be with the Lord.'
The teenager's eyes widened. Her mouth opened and she put her hand to her stomach. She tried to ask a question, but no words came out.
Lev said, 'Let's pray together.'
Rebecca breathed, 'What?' as if the air had been knocked out of her.
No one answered her question. All of them but Rebecca bowed their heads, yet instead of the booming sermon from Lev that Lena expected, they were silent.
Rebecca stood there, hand to her stomach, eyes wide open, while the rest of her family prayed.
Lena shot Jeffrey a questioning look, wondering what they should do now. She felt nervous, out of place. Hank had stopped dragging Lena and Sibyl to church after Lena had torn up another girl's Bible. She wasn't used to being around religious people unless they were down at the police station.
Jeffrey just shrugged, taking a sip of lemonade. His shoulders went up, and she watched him work his jaw to get the sour out.
'I'm sorry
,' Lev told them. 'What can we do?'
Jeffrey spoke as if he was reading from a list. 'I want employment records on everyone at the farm. I'd like to talk to anyone who had contact with Abigail at any time over the last year. I want to search her room to see if we can come up with something. I'd like to take the computer you mentioned and see if she's been contacted by anyone through the Internet.'
Ephraim said, 'She was never alone with the computer.'
'Still, Mr Bennett, we need to check everything.'
Lev said, 'They're being thorough, Ephraim. Ultimately, it's your decision, but I think we should do everything we can to help, if only to eliminate possibilities.'
Jeffrey seized on this. 'Would you mind taking a lie detector test?'
Paul almost laughed. 'I don't think so.'
'Don't speak for me, please,' Lev challenged his brother. He told Jeffrey, 'We will do everything we can to help you.'
Paul countered, 'I don't think –'
Esther straightened her shoulders, her face was swollen with grief, her eyes rimmed red. 'Please don't argue,' she asked her brothers.
'We're not arguing,' Paul said, but he sounded like he was spoiling for a fight. Over the years, Lena had seen how grief exposed people's real personalities. She felt the tension between Paul and his older brother and wondered if it was general sibling rivalry or something deeper. Esther's tone implied the pair had argued before.
Lev raised his voice, but he was talking to the children. 'Rebecca, why don't you take Zeke into the backyard? Your aunt Mary's there and I'm sure she needs you.'
'Hold on,' Jeffrey said. 'I've got a couple of questions for her.'
Paul put his hand on his niece's shoulder and kept it there. 'Go ahead,' he answered, his tone and posture indicating Jeffrey was on a short leash.
Jeffrey asked, 'Rebecca, did you know if your sister was seeing anyone?'
The girl looked up at her uncle, as if asking permission. Her eyes finally settled back on Jeffrey. 'You mean a boy?'
'Yes,' he answered, and Lena could tell that he saw this as a fruitless exercise. There was no way the girl would be forthcoming in front of her family, especially considering she was a bit rebellious herself. The only way to get the truth out of her was to get her alone, and Lena doubted very seriously that Paul – or any of the men – would allow that.
Again, Rebecca looked at her uncle before answering. 'Abby wasn't allowed to date boys.'
If Jeffrey noticed that she didn't answer the question, he didn't let on. 'Did you think it was strange when she didn't join you at the farm when your parents were away?'
Lena was watching Paul's hand on the girl's shoulder, trying to see if he was exerting pressure. She couldn't tell.
'Rebecca?' Jeffrey prompted.
The girl's chin lifted a little, and she said, 'I thought she'd changed her mind.' She added, 'Is she really . . .?'
Jeffrey nodded. 'I'm afraid she is,' he told her. 'That's why we need all your help to find out who did this to her.'
Tears flooded into her eyes, and Lev's composure seemed to drop a little at his niece's distress. He told Jeffrey, 'If you don't mind . . .'
Jeffrey nodded, and Lev told the girl, 'Go on and take Zeke out to your aunt Mary, honey. Everything's going to be okay.'
Paul waited until they were gone before getting back to business, telling Jeffrey, 'I have to remind you that the employment records are spotty. We offer food and shelter in return for an honest day's work.'
Lena blurted out, 'You don't pay anyone?'
'Of course we do,' Paul snapped. He must've been asked this before. 'Some take the money, some donate it back to the church. There are several workers who have been here for ten, twenty years and never seen any money in their pocket. What they get in return is a safe place to live, a family and the knowledge that their lives are not wasted.' To put a finer point on it, he indicated the room he was standing in, much as his sister had done before in the kitchen. 'We all live very modest lives, Detective. Our aim is to help others, not ourselves.'
Jeffrey cleared his throat. 'Still, we'd like to talk to all of them.'
Paul offered, 'You can take the computer now. I can arrange for the people who've been in contact with Abby to be brought to the station first thing tomorrow morning.'
'The harvest,' Lev reminded him, then explained, 'We specialize in edamame, younger soy beans. The peak time for picking is from sunrise to nine p.m., then the beans have to be processed and iced. It's a very labor-intensive process, and I'm afraid we don't use much machinery.'
Jeffrey glanced out the window. 'We can't go over there now?'
'As much as I want to get to the bottom of this,' Paul began, 'we've got a business to run.'
Lev added, 'We also have to respect our workers. I'm sure you can imagine that some of them are very nervous around the police. Some have been the victims of police violence, others have been recently incarcerated and are very fearful. We have women and children who have been battered in domestic situations without relief from local law enforcement –'
'Right,' Jeffrey said, as if he had gotten this speech before.
'It is private property,' Paul reminded him, looking and sounding every bit the lawyer.
Lev said, 'We can shift people around, get them to cover for the ones who have come into contact with Abby. Would Wednesday morning work?'
'I guess it'll have to,' Jeffrey said, his tone indicating his displeasure at the delay.
Esther had her hands clasped in her lap, and Lena felt something like anger coming off the mother. She obviously disagreed with her brothers, just as she obviously would not contradict them. She offered, 'I'll show you to her room.'
'Thank you,' Lena said, and they all stood at the same time. Thankfully, only Jeffrey followed them down the hall.
Esther stopped in front of the last door on the right, pressing her palm into the wood as if she couldn't trust her legs to hold her up.
Lena said, 'I know this is hard for you. We'll do everything we can to find out who did this.'
'She was a very private person.'
'Do you think she kept secrets from you?'
'All daughters keep secrets from their mothers.' Esther opened the door and looked into the room, sadness slackening her face as she saw her daughter's things. Lena had done the same thing with Sibyl's possessions, every item conjuring some memory from the past, some happier time when Sibyl was alive.
Jeffrey asked, 'Mrs Bennett?' She was blocking their entrance.
'Please,' she told him, grabbing the sleeve of his jacket. 'Find out why this happened. There has to be a reason.'
'I'll do everything I can to –'
'It's not enough,' she insisted. 'Please. I have to know why she's gone. I need to know that for myself, for my peace of mind.'
Lena saw Jeffrey's throat work. 'I don't want to make empty promises, Mrs Bennett. I can only promise you that I'll try.' He took out one of his cards, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one saw him. 'My home number's on the back. Call me any time.'
Esther hesitated before taking the card, then tucked it into the sleeve of her dress. She gave Jeffrey a single nod, as if they had come to an understanding, then backed away, letting them enter her daughter's room. 'I'll leave you to it.'
Jeffrey and Lena exchanged another glance as Esther returned to her family. Lena could tell he was feeling just as apprehensive as she was. Esther's plea was understandable, but it only served to add more pressure to what was going to be an incredibly difficult case.
Lena had walked into the room to start the search, but Jeffrey stayed outside the doorway, looking toward the kitchen. He looked back to the family room as if to make sure he wasn't being observed, then walked down the hall. Lena was about to follow him when he appeared in the doorway with Rebecca Bennett.
Deftly, Jeffrey led the girl into her sister's bedroom, his hand at her elbow like a concerned uncle. In a low voice, he told her, 'It's very important you talk to us about Abby.'
Rebecca glanced nervously toward the door.
'You want me to shut it?' Lena offered, putting her hand on the knob.
After a moment's deliberation, Rebecca shook her head. Lena studied her, thinking she was as pretty as her sister was plain. She had taken her dark brown hair out of the braid and there were kinks of waves in the thick strands that cascaded down her shoulders. Esther had said the girl was fourteen, but there was still something womanly about her that probably drew a lot of attention around the farm. Lena found herself wondering how it was Abby instead of Rebecca who had been abducted and buried in the box.
Jeffrey said, 'Was Abby seeing anyone?'
Rebecca bit her bottom lip. Jeffrey was good at giving people time, but Lena could tell he was getting antsy about the girl's family coming into the room.
Lena said, 'I have an older sister, too,' leaving out the fact that she was dead. 'I know you don't want to tell on her, but Abby's gone now. You won't get her into trouble by telling us the truth.'
The girl kept chewing her lip. 'I don't know,' she mumbled, tears welling into her eyes. She looked to Jeffrey, and Lena guessed the girl saw him as more of an authority figure than a woman.
Jeffrey picked up on this, urging, 'Talk to me, Rebecca.'
With great effort, she admitted, 'She was gone sometimes during the day.'
'Alone?'
She nodded. 'She'd say she was going into town, but she'd take too long.'
'Like, how long?'
'I don't know.'
'It takes around fifteen minutes to get downtown from here,' Jeffrey calculated for her. 'Say she was going to a store, that'd take another fifteen or twenty minutes, right?' The girl nodded. 'So, she should've been gone an hour at most, right?'
Again, the girl nodded. 'Only, it was more like two.'
'Did anyone ask her about this?'
She shook her head. 'I just noticed.'
'I bet you notice a lot of things,' Jeffrey guessed. 'You probably pay more attention to what's going on than the adults do.'
Rebecca shrugged, but the compliment had worked. 'She was just acting funny.'
'How?'
'She was sick in the morning, but she told me not to tell Mama.'
A Grant County Collection Page 50
